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Years of coups and counter-coups in iraq, and rise of the Baath party, up to the growth of OPEC
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They have been savaged by Saddam over the years, most famously in chemical gas attacks in the 1980s.
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Saddam invaded Kuwait, and the United States responded with a brief but deadly war.
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the industry declined and scarcity of food became a serious worry for perhaps half of the country’s population.
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Gulf War left Saddam Hussein in power and punished the Iraquis for that fact by also leaving in place the UN sanctions that had been imposed after the invasion
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The 1991 War crippled the electric power system, reducing generating capacity from around 5 gigawatts to 1.8 gigawatts, according to a report in Middle East Economic Survey
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Postwar Iraq has seen the formation of gangs inspired by Islamic fundamentalism, that have made a habit of kidnapping women who in their eyes flaunted Islamic law in clothing and behavior
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Crude oil exports for May 2004 averaged 1.6 million barrels a day.
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According to August 2004 reports, some 1,000 Iraqi schools need to be rebuilt as a result of damage and looting, almost 20% of the country's 18,000 school buildings need comprehensive or partial repair
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Even where schools, some parents are afraid to allow their children to attend, not wanting to expose them to the dangers of stray bullets, or rampant kidnappings
