The Significance Of The War On Iraq

• Iraq was a part of the Ottoman Empire but when it collapsed the British set up a mandate

• In 1920 there was a revolt against British rule involving Shi'ah Muslims - British crushed the revolt with 500 British troops killed and 6000 Iraqis killed

• 1932 Iraq became independent and British left leaving a divided country

• In 1958 the monarchy in Iraq was removed and Iraq became a republic

• In 1968 Iraq was ruled by the Ba'ath Party

• In 1979 the leader and ruler of Iraq was Saddam Hussein who executed 500 members of his own party to make himself powerful 

• In 1979 there was a revolution within Iran where the king of Iran (a supporter of the west) was removed from power by the Shi'ah militant Ayatollah Khomeini

• Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, USA and the USSR didn't want Irans radicalism to spread

• Saddam planned a short war which would force Iran to make compromises

• September 1980 he launched air attacks and an invasion of Iran - the war lasted 8 years and did a lot of damage to Iraq's economy

• The USA, the Gulf States, Britain and France supported Iraq with chemical weapons

• In 1988 the war ended with 100,000 Iranians killed, 250,000 Iraqis killed and left Iraq with a debt of around $80 billion

• To deal with debt, Saddam wanted to increase oil production

• Kuwait and Saudi Arabia refused to increase oil prices so Saddam invaded Kuwait in 1990

• The UN passed a number of resolutions, demanding the withdrawal from Kuwait

• In 1991 George Bush ordered his armed forces to remove Iraqi troops - Kuwait was a major oil resource for the US 

• The US decided to leave Saddam in power

• To control Saddam they put the following restrictions on him:

UN Resolution 678:

- Destruction of WMD's

-UN weapons inspector allowed to investigate and destroy dangerous chemical weapons

-Pay reparations to Kuwait

-Restrict sale of oil in Iraq

Resolution 688:

-Stop Saddam oppressing his own people

-The Kurdish region becomes safe and protected

- No-fly zones over Northern and Southern Iraq

• He blocked the UN weapons inspector so in 1997 USA and Britain carried out attacks on military sections in Iraq

• Saddam criticised these attacks through Iraqi media and used it as propaganda

• UN sanctions had no effect on Saddam

• 1996 'Oil for Food' programme - Saddam allowed to sell more oil but UN controlled money to feed civilians

• Saddam's power got stronger:

- Close allies ( his family) held important positions

-Used the media

- Willing to act brutally to stay in power

• 20th March 2003 Iraq was invaded by the Multinational force

1) WMD's and Terrorist Links

• February 2003 US secretary Colin Powell stated that Saddam's possession of WMD's was a threat to the world

• People had strong belief that his regime had links with Al-Qaeda 

2) Iraq's Oil Reserves

• The invasion let the USA have more control/access to oil

• The more control Saddam had over Middle Eastern oil, the more damage he could do to Western countries

3) Spreading Democracy

• After the invasion Iraq was one of few democracies in the Middle East- the USA and UK wanted the area to be more democratic (less likely to go to war, more likely to trade)

Other causes

• Religion and divisions between Iraqi society- tensions between Shi'ah Muslims, Sunni Arab Muslims and Sunni Kurds

• Under Saddam's rule many human rights abuses took place against Shi'ah Arabs and Kurds

Saddam Hussein's Human Rights Record

• Abuses include mass murder, torture and chemical weapons

• Only members of the Ba'ath Party had full voting rights

• March 16th 1988 massacre at Halabja- attacks by chemical bombs- 5,000 killed and thousands injured

• Before the war began, anti-war groups organised public protests across the world

• 15th February 2003 8 million people across the world and 1 million people in London protested

Opposition in the USA and the UK

• Foreign secretary Robin Cook and International Development Minister Clare Short resigned

• General Colin Powell resigned in 2004- felt he could no longer pretend the war was justified

Was the invasion legal?

• Resolution 1441 meant the UN offered Iraq " a final opportunity to comply with disarmament obligations"

• The USA and the UK argued this gave them authority to attack Iraq

• Russia, China and France criticised this- French President Jacques Chirac argued they needed a second UN resolution

War Diverted Attention Away From Real Terrorism

• Since the invasion, there were bombings in Istanbul, Madrid, London, Jordan, Pakistan and Mumbai

Inadequate Panning From the USA

• Only 130,000 US troops with 45,000 UK troops were committed

• Baghdad was in control by the USA in less than a month (shows weakness of Iraq)

1) Strength of US and UK military - controlled air, pinpointed targets and destroyed them quickly

2) Economic Sanctions through the 1990's meant Iraq can't develop military power

3) Poor morale among Iraqi forces- surrendering or disappearing

4)Poor leadership of Iraqi military- Hussein believed USA and UK would not invade a foreign country (unprepared to deal with invasion)

• 21st March 130,00 US and 30,00 coalition troops invaded Iraq

• The coalition had sophisticated modern communication technology (carried accurate attacks)

• Advanced firepower- 7,000-12,000 Iraqi deaths, 140 US and 33 British deaths, 4,000 to 7,000 civilians killed

Breakdown of Law and Order

• Lots of looting with violence

• Hospitals were targetted and stripped of supplies

Insurgency

• Sunni Arabs remained loyal to the old regime - began attacking US-led multinational forces and new Iraqi government

• Main groups against the coalition: men from the Ba'ath party (revenge), Iraqi Nationalist and Islamist groups (independence), Sunni Militant Islamists (belief of becoming inferior citizens to Kurds and Shi'ah Muslims, Shi'ah Militant Islamists (wanted America out)

• Methods included roadside bombs, sniper attacks,suicide bombs and kidnapping/ execution of Westerners

• Used sophisticated weaponry to target groups/ individuals
•  trying to retake cities

Impact on Civilians

• Life expectancy, salary, access to clean water went down

• Child mortality increased in 2001

• Best qualified people fled the country

• Less qualified people became refugees- 5 million refugees who went to neighboring Arab countries

• Troop levels too low- 300,000- 400,000 troops needed (130,00 US, 30,00 UK troops sent)

• Inadequate Planning- didn't know how to run Iraq until February 2003

• Underestimated damage to Iraq

• Wrong assumptions- US assumed Iraqi troops would surrender

• Wrong people and policies- people put in charge had no experience of the Middle East, party members above a certain rank were banned- lost 30,000 experienced administrators, armed forces were dissolved putting 300,000 men out of work

• Government from the Green Zone- Americans and allies were based in a secure zone away from real life in Iraq

• Hearts and Minds- 10,000 Iraqis held without a trial, some tortured at Abu Ghraib Prison camp

• June 2004 Ayad Allawi made Prime Minister
• January 2005 elections- 58 % of electorate turned out
• Most of Sunni Arabs Boycotted
• April 2005 new government took place

Less Successful Outcomes

• Economic recovery continued very slowly
• The new government powerless to control insurgency
• Iraqi population saw new government as a creation of America

International Consequences

• Loss of influence for the USA and the UK
• Decline in security
• Change in the Middle East- 2005 Saudi Arabia held first elections

Significance

• Affected Millions and the war changed lives forever