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British Navy
British navy in times of WW1 changed fuel from coal to oil for their battleships increased the demand for oil (which is rich in Iraq) -
League of Nations: British Mandate
After World War I, the League of Nations awarded Britain with sovereignty over the Middle East. Control of the Middle East was accompanied with control of the abundant oil fields on the land. With all this oil, Britain wished to expand its market into the United States and create a new avenue of profit. The United States did not want to have to rely on the British for oil so they took matters into their own hands and entered the Middle East. -
Iranian Coup
The U.S. alongside the Saudia Arabia influenced the creation of the Iranian coup to remove the newly elected democratic nationalist prime minister, Mohammed Mosaddegh. Nationalism made the U.S. fearful for it meant the removal of their influence in the U.S.With the removal of Mosaddegh the Shah was restored -
Iran-Iraq War
The war between the two nations erupted after the Iranian Revolution, as the Revolution posed a threat to Iraq's leadership. The U.S. was also fearful because Iran's oil would now be cut off from them. The U.S. created an "alliance" with Iraq, and aided Saddam Hussein with gas warfare. -
Cold War
The United States entered a conflict with the Soviet Union as they had entered the Middle East and began to influence Middle East nations. This made the U.S. fearful to the Soviet Union's spread of the communist ideology that would lead to the ejection of the U.S. To combat the spread of communism the U.S. funded as well as outfitted the Mujhideen, a group of rebels fighting against the Soviets. -
1990-2002
During the Gulf war and after there were about 100 children a day dying due to the war, equaling to 345,000 to 530,000 deaths in children between 1990 and 2002. -
1991
The power system was lowered during the 1991 war, reducing producing capacity from 5 to 1.8 gigawatts. This had a devastating impact on Iraqi civilian life as well as agricultural productivity, on which the country was heavily dependent. -
Persian Gulf War
1991 Persian Gulf War influenced Iraq, in which 3,500 Iraqi civilians died and later caused an Shiite uprising killing 30,000 more civilians. This further lead to health problems causing 111,000 more deaths -
Sanctions
After the Gulf war, sanctions implied Iraq couldn’t sell oil which was responsible for ¾ of Iraq’s GDP and 90% of its foreign exchange -
1996
The UN’s oil for Food program, generated $27 billion for humanitarian purposes. The program wasn’t much but it did help feed Iraq’s people and rebuild some of its infrastructure. -
Iraq Liberation Act
The Act was presented during Clinton's presidency as a way to stop Hussein's tyrannical power. This Act was then used as support/evidence by Bush's administration to invade Iraq as he argued that Clinton supported the change of power in Iraq. The Act was also used to support Bush's claim that Iraq had and was developing weapons of mass destruction -
Reconsturction
Throughout the Bush administration, only 18.4 billion dollars designated for Iraq reconstruction was spent, and none of it on healthcare, water, or sanitation. -
Electrical Issues
After rebuilding their electricity from the Gulf War, it was cut in half after the 2003 invasion, meaning food, medicine, clean drinking water were all at a huge loss -
2004
Following the Gulf War, the availability of safe drinking water became an issue. Raw sewage was seeping into Baghdad's Tigris River as a result of this. -
June 2004
Ahmed Chalabi (a former banker and President of the Governing Council of Iraq) had been charged with spying for the government of Iran by informing Iranians that the U.S had their codes.
