#5 - ADDITIONAL NOTES: Iran 1979 to Afghanistan 1989

5. Fundamentalist Islam: Iran 1979

a. In 1979 the United States lost a valuable ally in the Middle East when an Islamic revolution toppled the

pro-American Shah and a fiercely anti-American theocratic government rose in its place headed by the Ayatollah Khomeini.

b. Iranian student militants seized the American embassy in Tehran and took fifty US citizens hostage.

The hostage crisis would not end for 444 days.

c. President Carter authorized a rescue attempt that ended in disaster. Helicopters collided in a sandstorm and charred US corpses were left behind. The burned bodies of American soldiers were exhibited in Tehran before hysterical mobs.

d. Carter was swept from office in 1980 losing 43 states. As the new president, Ronald Reagan, was inaugurated on January 20, 1981 the hostages were released and flown to freedom.

e. Khomeini died in 1989. President Bush described Iran as “an axis of evil” for its support/condoning of terrorist acts as well as its attempts to develop nuclear weapons.

6. The Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)

a. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein hoped to take advantage of the chaos in Iran. Iraqi forces invaded Iran in September, 1980. The war lasted for eight years and left an estimated one million dead.

b. Iranian soldiers went into battle with a picture of Ayatollah Khomeini, a key symbolizing their ability to unlock the gates of paradise if they were martyred (killed) and a Koran. The Iraqis fought from trenches using machine guns and chemical weapons to stem the Iranian attacks.

c. The USA provided Iraq with intelligence to prevent an Iranian victory and the spread of fundamentalism.

d. The war ended in July of 1988. Khomeini told the Iranian nation he had accepted a UN Security Council cease-fire resolution. He concluded his speech “I pledged to fight to the last drop of my blood, and though this decision is akin to drinking a chalice of poison, I submit myself to the will of God.”

e. Khomeini died eleven months later in June of 1989. The Islamic Republic he founded has survived and continued its anti-American stance. Iran provides training, weapons and monetary support to insurgent groups in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories.

f. Iran is currently the focus of intense international attention for its development of enriched uranium necessary for the development of nuclear weapons. Iran’s President Ahmadinejad has denied the Holocaust and has declared that Israel (the Zionist entity) must be wiped off the map.

g. UN sanctions have failed to lead Iran to abandon its nuclear research. Leaders of both the Democratic and Republican parties have said that “all options” are on the table as it concerns stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

7.The Soviet Union’s War in Afghanistan 1979-1989

  1. On Christmas Eve, 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Many nations boycotted the Moscow Olympics of 1980 in response, including the United States.
  2. The USA funneled weapons to the Afghan resistance including Stinger missiles that could knock Soviet helicopters out of the sky. The Soviets fought for ten years in a failed effort to subdue the country.
  3. 40,000 Soviet soldiers died during the struggle, many more were wounded. Many Soviet soldiers began using heroin during their time in Afghanistan. More than one million Afghans were killed.
  4. When the Soviets withdrew civil war followed. A radical band of Islamists, the Taliban, gained control of the shattered country and established a theocratic government. The Taliban employed Sharia to govern the nation. They provided a sanctuary for the growth and development of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda whose leaders began to plan a campaign of violence against the secular West in the hopes of uniting the Islamic world.
  5. After September 11th, American forces invaded Afghanistan, toppling the government and beginning a world-wide war on terror that continue to the present day.

NAME: ______PERIOD:_____

#5 – Iran 1979 to Afghanistan 1989

Questions:

  1. Who did the Islamic revolution of 1979 in Iran oust from power? What type of government did the revolution install? The Shah – Theocratic
  1. Who seized American citizens in Tehran, Iran in 1979? How long did the hostage crisis last? Student militants /444 days
  2. Who was president of the US during this crisis? Was his rescue attempt successful? Jimmy Carter - NO
  3. How did the militants holding the hostages embarrass that American President? Releasing the prisoners to Pres. Reagan
  4. When did the Iran-Iraq War begin? How long did it Last? How many were killed in this grueling conflict? Sept. 1980, eight years, 1 million
  1. Why did Saddam Hussein launch the war when he did (September 1980)? Take advantage of the chaos in Iran
  2. What did the Iranian soldiers bring into battle with them? A picture of the Ahyatollah
  3. What very controversial weapon did the Iraqis utilize? Chemical weapons
  4. Who did the US support in this war? Why? Iraq, stop the spread of fundamentalism
  5. How did the war end? UN cease fire
  6. What role does Iran have today in the Islamic fundamentalist/anti-western world? Training and weapons to support insurgent groups
  1. Why does Iran pose such a large threat to world peace? Enriched uranium
  2. What has negatively impacted Iran’s economy? UN sanctions
  3. What happened on Christmas Eve, 1979? Soviets invaded Afghanistan
  4. How did the European community respond to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan? Boycotted the Moscow Olympics
  5. Who did the US support in this conflict? How did the US support them? Afghan resistance, sending stinger missils
  6. In total, approximately how many people died in this conflict? 40,000 Soviets, 1 million Afghans
  7. Who seized power in Afghanistan after the Soviets left? Taliban
  8. What happened in 2001? US invaded Afghanistan