Middle East

9 Pages 2218 Words

The Middle East has been a hot bed for political unrest since the end of World War I, when the Western Powers initially divided it up. Today is no different. Saddam Hussein, leader of Iraq, is a constant threat to the countries that surround him. The United States’ top officials believe that he has weapons of mass destruction, and he has shown that he has the will to use them. However, going to war unilaterally is not the best route for dealing with Hussein. It will only further destabilize the region, distract efforts against the war on terrorism, and cost both too many lives and too much money.
Iraq is a country located in south-west Asia. It has a population of 22,345,000 and the official language is Arabic. It is not a third world country, and 70% of the country is urban. The main import is military weapons and the main export is oil. Since 1968, Iraq’s government has been a dictatorship, the Baath Party, led by Saddam Hussein. They have managed to eliminate any opposing political activity.
In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, a small neighboring country that is rich with oil. Kuwait was a US ally and produced much of the petroleum that was consumed by the United States. The United Nations demanded that Iraq withdraw from Kuwait, but they did not. A coalition of 39 countries sent troops and aid to Kuwait, including the United States, which sent 100,000’s. The other leading countries were Egypt, France, Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. The war lasted for just over one month.
Following the war, US troops entered North Iraq, where they helped fleeing Kurdistans. The Kurds had tried to rebel against the Iraq government while they were struggling mightily against the UN coalition, but they were put down. Iraq suffered greatly from the war. It is estimated that 100,000 Iraqis died, as opposed to only 370 coalition troops. However, Saddam Hussein stayed in power because it was feared his removal would hurt the c...