Iraq War Q & A

Short Response

1. Where do most Kurds, Shi'a, and Sunnis live in Iraq?

Kurds: In the northern mountainous region of Iraq and Kurdistan
Shi'a: In the south mostly near the oil reserves
Sunnis: Primarily where there are less oil reserves

2. Which ethnic group(s) hold(s) power over the majority of oil reserves in Iraq?
Shi'a

3. What is the main reason Britain become involved in Iraq?
Iraq was rich in oil.

4. What did pan-Arabists advocate after World War II?
They sought independence for the entire Midle East and encouraged Iraq to sever ties to Britain.

5. How was Saddam Hussein able to gain power and popularity in the 1970s?
The rapid increase in the price of oil provided him money to fund different programs causing his power and popularity to increase.

6. Why did the United States become involved in the Iran-Iraq War?
The Reagan asministration didn't want Iran's Islamist government to be victorious.

7. Why did President George H.W. Bush (1989-93) bring the ground portion of the First Persian Gulf War to a halt? List two reasons.

a. The president and his advisors worried about the consequences of controlling a completely destabilized Iraq.

b. Iraq's military presented few obstacles to the advance of the coalition forces.

Extended Response:

8. What are the different ethnic and religious groups in Iraq? Why is it important to understand these differences?
The different ethnic and religious groups in Iraq are the Shi'a, Kurds, and Sunni. These religious differences are a major part in the making of iraq's history. To understand these divisions gives us the knowledge to understand the reasoning behind the violence. It is also important to understand these differences so the U.S. can make good decisions on the difficulties it's facing in Iraq.

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Part II Questions:

Short Response

9. What dangers did President George W. Bush (2001-09) say Iraq posed to the region and the world? Name two.

a. sponsorship of terrorism

b. Iraq's allleged weapons program

10. What were the U.S. government's declared goals in sending troops to Iraq?

a. end Saddam Hussein's regime

b. uncover weapons of mass destruction

11. List two reasons violence continues in Iraq.

a. the people are angry at the U.S. for being in Iraq

b. they are also distrustful of their new government

Extended Response:

12. Describe the different groups involved in the ongoing conflict in Iraq. What are their goals? (Reasons for fighting)

Shi'a: Political and military group whose goal is to resist the U.S. and Sunni dominance to increase power within Iraq.

Sunni: Military group whose goal is to resist U.S. and Shi'i dominance. Some have recently joined U.S. forces fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Kurd: Political and military group whose goal is Kurdish self-determination.

al Qaeda: Military group whose goal is to instigate a civil war in Iraq and drive the U.S. out of Iraq.