SHOWDOWN IN THE MIDDLE EAST IRAN IRAQ WAR (1980 1988) PERSIAN GULF WAR (1990 1991) WAR IN IRAQ (2003 Present) WAR IN AFGHANISTAN (2001 Present)
Iran Iraq War Disputes over region since collapse of the Ottoman Empire Increased in 1971 due to disputes over control of the Shatt al-arab Waterway (used for oil shipping) 1975 Algiers Agreement was intended to allow both countries equal use of the waterway
Saddam stated that the Iranian Revolution violated the sovereignty of the Iranian Government and was a threat to the safety of Iraq Iran Iraq War Tensions increased between Saddam Hussein of Iraq Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran Sep 1980 Iraqi Causes for Invasion Khomeini stated that Saddam s Government was corrupt, oppressive and secularist and violated the very foundations of Islam Iranians attempted to assassinate the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Disputes over control of the Shatt al-arab waterway increased Prevention of the possible spread of an Islamic Revolution in the Middle East Increased control of vital oil resources along the Iran-Iraq border
Lasted from 1980 1988 Iran Iraq War U.S. supported Iraq to oppose expansion of Iran in the region Key Events of the War Tanker War: Iraq attacked all Iranian oil tankers leaving through the Persian Gulf USS Stark Incident: Iraqi F-1 Mirage Attack Aircraft fired missiles at the USS Stark in 1987 (Killing 37 and injuring 25)
Iran Iraq War USS Vincennes Incident: US Navy Missile Destroyer shot down Commercial Airliner in 1988 (Iranian Flight 655) killing 290 on board US Radar operators identified airliner as an Iranian Fighter Jet Iraqi use of Chemical Weapons accounted for at least 50,000 deaths during the war UN negotiated a cease fire Between Iraq & Iran on 20 August 1988
Persian Gulf War Lasted from Aug 1990 Feb 1991 Iraqi Reasons for Invading Kuwait Claimed Kuwait was a province of Iraq (Recognized their government in 1963) Iran-Iraq war put Iraq in debt to Kuwait (They refused to write off the millions) Collapsing oil prices affected Iraq Claimed Kuwait s slant drilling was stealing Iraqi Oil reserves Claimed Kuwait was exceeding OPEC quotas on oil production
Persian Gulf War 2 Aug 1990 Iraq Invaded Kuwait 7 Aug 1990 Operation Desert Shield established to protect Saudi Arabia from attack 23 Aug 1990 Saddam Hussein appeared on Iraqi TV with Western hostages (to prevent retaliations) 29 Nov 1990 U.N. Resolution #678 gave Iraq until 15 Jan 1991 to withdraw all troops from Kuwait United Nations Coalition Force of 34 different Nations
Persian Gulf War 17 Jan 1991 Air War began UN Forces used Carpet Bombing Iraqi responded by starting Scud Missile Attacks (Suspected of using Chemical Agents) 22 Jan 1991 Iraq fired missiles at Israel Saddam s attempt to start a Holy War
Persian Gulf War 29 Jan 1991 Iraqi forces crossed border into Saudi Arabia and attacked city of Khafji 23 Feb 1991 Operation Desert Storm commenced General Norman Schwarzkopf used the Hail Mary maneuver with elements of the U.S. Army s 7 th Corps & 18 th Airborne Corps
Persian Gulf War: The 100 Hour War
Persian Gulf War Iraq s Scorched Earth Policy Saddam Hussein ordered his retreating forces to light every Kuwaiti Oil Rig on fire as they fled (26 Feb 1991)
Persian Gulf War Highway of Death 26-27 Feb 1991 Iraqi troops tried to flee Kuwait US Tiger Battalion & A-10 Tank Killers caught them as they fled the city
War in Iraq 2003 Present Reasons for Invading Iraq Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD s) Only in limited quantities (Most of the Information given by Iraqi sources was False) Refusal by Iraq to allow UN safety inspectors into facilities Ineffectiveness of UN Economic & Security sanctions on Iraq Belief that Iraq was harboring members of al-qaeda
War in Iraq Human Rights violations committed by Iraqi leaders Over 300 mass graves have been Found so far Mass murder and use of Chemical agents
War in Iraq 2 Oct 2002 US / UK joint resolution to use force was passed 48 NATO Nations formed Coalition of the Willing Initial Invasion Forces made up of 150,000 US 46,000 UK 2,000 Australia 200 Polish
War in Iraq 10 Jul 2002 Advanced CIA pre-invasion teams went in to support rebels 20 Mar 2003 - Operation Iraqi Freedom began with invasion of 101 st Airborne and 82 nd Air Assault troops 12 Apr 2003 Baghdad had fallen to the US led coalition forces (NATO) 13 Dec 2003 - Saddam Hussein is captured by US Forces
War in Iraq: Trial of Saddam Hussein Saddam had his son-in-laws murdered when they tried to escape his control by trying to leave the country Saddam s sons (Usay & Qusay) were both killed by US Forces Saddam was tried on 148 counts of murder by the Iraqi Interim government Saddam was found guilty and hung 48 out of 55 leaders have been captured
War in Iraq In 2005 the first free democratic elections were held in Iraq In 2006 Civil War between Sunni & Shia In 2007 US increased its forces by 21,500 In 2009 Combat forces began withdrawing from Iraq (British, Australian, & US) Sep 2010 Iraqi Freedom ended
War in Afghanistan Reasons for Invading Increased activities by al-qaeda World Trade Center in 1993 US Embassy bombings in 1998 USS Cole Bombing in 2000 World Trade Center (9/11) in 2001 Human Rights oppression by the Taliban government Elimination of al-qaeda leadership & infrastructure
AMERICAN S AT WAR Comparing the Cost of Conflict Span of War Title Americans Dead Estimated Cost of War 1775-1783 American Revolution 4,435 $101,100,000 1812-1815 War of 1812 2,260 $90,000,000 1846-1848 Mexican War 13,283 $71,400,000 1861-1865 Civil War 558,052 $5,183,000,000 1898 Spanish American War 2,446 $283,200,000 1914-1918 World War I 116,708 $18,676,000,000 1939-1945 World War II 407,316 $262,259,000,000 1950-1953 Korean Conflict 33,651 $67,386,000,000 1957-1975 Vietnam Conflict 58,168 $150,000,000,000 1991 Gulf War 293 $61,100,000,000 2001 - PRESENT Enduring Freedom 1858 Unknown 2003-2011 IRAQI Freedom 4484 $3.2 to 4 Trillion
COST in American Lives Comparing War Deaths to Murders in the S.E. United States Total Reported Murders by State State Sq Miles Population 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 TOTALS GEORGIA 57,906 9,363,931 598 606 657 613 564 600 717 650 566 558 6,129 ALABAMA 52,423 4,599,030 379 303 299 254 374 382 412 357 322 273 3,355 MISSISSIPPI 48,434 4,365,557 282 264 267 227 214 223 208 234 194 208 2,321 LOUISIANA 53,821 6,431,652 501 593 584 574 450 530 608 541 529 510 5,420 FLORIDA 58,561 17,089,888 874 911 924 946 883 1129 1201 1169 1017 987 10,041 S. CAROLINA 31,189 4,321,249 330 298 303 286 314 359 352 307 305 280 3,134 N. CAROLINA 53,821 9,299,330 505 548 506 532 585 540 585 605 489 476 5,371 TENNESSEE 42,146 6,038,803 423 420 396 357 431 409 397 412 468 357 4,070 ARKANSAS 53,182 2,923,306 148 142 180 176 189 205 191 164 179 138 1,712 S.E. U.S. Totals 451,483 64,432,746 4,040 4,085 4,116 3,965 4,004 4,377 4,671 4,439 4,069 3,787 0 41,553 Total Reported Combat Deaths AFGHANISTAN 251,825 32,738,376 12 49 48 52 99 98 117 155 317 499 412 1,858 IRAQ 168,754 28,221,181 0 0 486 849 846 822 904 314 149 60 54 4,484 TOTALS 420,579 60,959,557 12 49 534 901 945 920 1,021 469 466 559 466 6,342