Iran and Iraq

Iran is the 2nd largest country in the Middle East and has the 3rd largest population. Unlike other Middle Eastern countries, most Iranians are ______, not Arab. In addition, most are ______Muslims and not ______Muslims.

In 1925, Iran broke away from European imperialism under the leadership of Reza Khan Pahlavi. Reza took the title of ______ or king. His son, Muhammad Reza-Shah Pahlavi, later took over and decided to create a modern industrial state by building roads, factories, and distancing the religion of Islam from the government’s policies. Many men and women adopted western clothing and women earned greater freedom. Health care and education also improved, mostly in the cities.

However, most Iranians were unaffected by these changes. These Islamic fundamentalists were angry that Islamic traditions were being replaced by western ideas and they began to listen to the Muslim cleric (holy man) ______. In 1979, supporters of Khomeini overthrew the shah and turned Iran into a ______ (a government ruled by religious leaders). An Islamic revolution occurred where western ideas were banned and Iran became a new enemy of the United States.

In 1980, tensions rose between Iran and her neighbor ______. For 8 years they fought the Iran-Iraq War. Millions were killed and many oil tankers destroyed.

Faced with massive debt from the war, ______(the ruler of Iraq) sought a way to win popular support among Iraqis. In 1990, he used his military power to invade ______claiming it belonged to Iraq. He then threatened Saudi Arabia as well. Both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are among the world’s leaders in oil production.

With United Nations (UN) support, the US formed a coalition of nations to oppose Iraq. Within days, Iraq had been defeated and Kuwait was freed. The United States named the defensive part of the conflict “______” and the offensive part “______.” The only problem was that Saddam was left to remain in power. President George H.W. Bush (the 1st one) felt it would be too costly to try to invade Iraq and overthrow Hussein.

The UN maintained trade sanctions against Iraq after the war. They determined that sanctions would only be lifted if the UN arms inspectors saw that Iraq’s weapons programs had been dismantled. Saddam’s refusal to follow through with these instructions, and the US and British belief that he was holding ______(WMDs), led to the invasion of Iraq and the situation that the US faces today. Prior to the invasion, President ______also asserted that Iraq was linked to the terrorism of 9/11. He referred to Iraq as a member of the “______” along with Iran and North Korea.

It was later determined that Iraq neither possessed WMDs nor did they have anything to do with the 9/11 attacks. Bush then stated that the conflict’s purpose was to Iraq from Hussein and the mission took on a new name: ______.