Conflicts in the Middle East

1
Conflicts in the Middle East

• Ch 20 Sec. 3

2
Arab-Israeli Conflict

• 1948 Israel born out of British mandate of
  Palestine, Palestinian Arabs claimed as their own
• Initial war in 1948 followed by three more wars
  with Arab neighbors in 56, 67, and 73
• In between, guerilla and terrorist attacks on
  Israel
• In each war Israel was able to occupy more
  territory

3
PLO

• Palestine Liberation Organization
• Organization leading the Palestinian fight
  against Israel (1960s)
• Headed by Yasir Arafat until his death in 2004
• Palestinian revolts in occupied territories
  called intfadas
• Terroristic attacks (hijack airplanes, killing of
  Israeli athletes at 72 Olympics
• Israel has responded with a strong armed forces,
  which in turn increases bitterness from
  Palestinians and other Arabs

4
Attempts of Peace

• U.S. and U.N. have had periods of progress in
  pushing for peace
• Golda Meir, first female prime minister of
  Israel, trying to negotiate peace when Arab
  nations attacked in 1973
• Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in a
  1979 peace accord
• 1990s Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin pushes for peace
  and signs the Oslo Accord with Arafat in 93

5
Attempts at Peace

• Oslo Accord - outlined a plan proposing
  Palestinian self-rule in Gaza and the West Bank
  in exchange for an end of terrorism
• Rabin assassinated for his actions
• Little progress in years following the Oslo
  accord
• Led to the development of radical Palestinian
  groups who have increased terrorist attacks like
  the Hamas
• Hopes for peace in the Israeli region center on
  ending the cycle of violence and retaliation

6
Road Map to Peace

• U.S. devised plan involving potential withdrawal
  of Israelis from Gaza
• After the death of Yasir Arafat, Israeli PM Ariel
  Sharon released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners
  after new pledges of an end of attacks by
  successor Mahmoud Abbas

7
Three Obstacles to Peace

• Original Palestinian land
• Israeli settlements in occupied territories
• Jerusalem - city sacred to Jews, Muslims and
  Christians, capital of Israel

8
Lebanon

• Arab-Israeli conflict spilled over into the
  neighboring nation of Lebanon in the 70s
• Arab Christians were the largest and most
  powerful group of Lebanon when attaining
  independence
• After Palestinians fled into Lebanon from regions
  that became Israel, the Muslims outnumbered
  Christians and demanded a greater share of power

9
Civil War

• 1975-1990 civil war destroyed Lebanon and the
  commerce center that it had become.
• This allowed Israeli invasion in the South and
  Syrian occupation in the East
• Source of conflict still today between Syria and
  Israel

10
Iraq

• Long history of internal and external conflicts
  due to oil wealth and ethnic diversity
• Cold War tug-of-war
• After WW II - set up a monarchy with U.S. support
• 1958 - monarchy overthrown, developed closer ties
  with USSR

11
Iraq

• Cultural diversity
• Sunni Arabs - minority group, yet dominated the
  political power of Iraq until the countrys free
  elections in 2005
• Have developed some insurgent groups over
  bitterness
• Shiites - majority group who won control of
  interim govt. for first time in 2005
• Shiite extremists are Anti-U.S.

12
Kurds

• 1970s effort to control region of northern Iraq
• Iraqs government has responded brutally to this
  groups efforts
• Saddam Hussein seized power in Iraq in 1979 and
  used chemical weapons killing thousands of Kurds
  in northern Iraq

13
Saddam Hussein

• 1979 - seized power and ruled as a dictator until
  his regime was overthrown by Coalition forces in
  2003
• Took advantage of political turmoil in Iran after
  that nations Islamic Revolution, seizing disputed
  border regions between Iraq and Iran
• Won U.S. support during their prolonged war with
  Iran, mainly because of Irans bitter opposition
  to the U.S.

14
Hussein

• Iraqs invasion of the oil-rich nation of Kuwait
  motivated the U.S. to lead coalition forces in a
  counterattack in 1991
• Under the UN banner, the U.S. led forces quickly
  liberated Kuwait from Iraqi forces in the 1991
  Gulf War
• Hussein maintained power and uses torture, terror
  and execution to control crush revolts from
  Shiites and Kurds

15
Hussein

• U.S. Britain and France
• Impose sanctions to control
• No-fly zones
• Economic sanctions on oil production
• UN inspections on Weapons of Mass Destruction
• Iraq fails to cooperate and coalition force
  charges Hussein with supporting terrorists and
  and producing WMDs

16
Iraq

• 2003 U.S. and British coalition forces topple
  Hussein and begin occupation of Iraq
• Interim government created in 2005 elections
• Efforts to rebuild are hampered by insurgents
  (rebels targeting foreigners or Iraqis
  cooperating with foreign troops