Ruler of Kuwait is Sheikh Jaber AlAhmad Al-Sabah, the Emir
Petroleum and oil are main production
Agriculture and food production is
limited; fishing is now more essential
Surrounded by it’s enemy, Iraq, and
larger countries, Iran and Saudi
Arabia
Invaded by Iraq and taken over
in 1990.
Main religion: ISLAM
•U.S., Saudi Arabia tells Iraq to leave Kuwait.
Hussein ignores them.
•U.S. builds up forces in region.
•War fought between Iraq and Kuwait
•44 days long
•Caused by Iraq’s refusal to withdraw from
Kuwait
•U.S. started a coalition which began a massive air
war
•Kuwait is liberated
•Sheik comes back to rule his badly damaged
country
Gulf War: Desert Storm
Gulf War: Iraqi Surrender
Hussein still claims Kuwait as part of Iraq
Secured by American soldiers and weapons
America has a defense agreement with Kuwait
Ruled by Emir, is a monarchy
Women lost the right to vote and run
for office in November
•chief of state: President
SADDAM Hussein (since 16
July 1979);
•head of government: Prime
Minister SADDAM Hussein (since 29
May 1994);
•Revolutionary Command
Council; Chairman SADDAM
Hussein
•Sunni Muslim
•1937: Born in Audi, near the
city of Tikrit, 200 km north of
Baghdad.
Gulf War
•Reason: Iraq's occupation and
annexation of Kuwait in August
1990. & the Iraqi refusal to
withdraw from Kuwait before
the time limit
•August 2Iraq invades Kuwait.
•January 17 Allied attack
begins with Apache strike at
2:38 A.M.
•February 28 Cease-fire takes
effect at 8 A.M.
•June 8 Victory parade in
Washington.
•2,300 civilians died
during the air
campaign.
IRAN-IRAQ WAR
•At the end, the the Iraqi army stood at
1,300,000 soldiers; 4500 tanks; 600
combat aircraft.
•Intended to "liberate" the oil-rich,
Khuzistan
•Lasted 8 years from 1980-1988
Weapon Inspections
•Reason: Iraq surrendered to allied forces in 1991. Agreed to
give United Nations inspectors access to all facilities the U.N.
believed capable of producing weapons of mass destruction.
•A special United Nations commission called UNSCOM was
created to carry out the task.
•Hussein has too many weapons.
•Hussayn doesn’t participate very well with the U.N
Hussein vs. Weapons
Inspectors
Weapons Inspections
•Shah was a monarchy that ruled over Iran
for 38 years
•Under the Shah, Iran was not Islamic by
law
•Shah considered valuable and powerful
ally by US.
•Shah were hated by most Iranians because
of ties with U.S. and because they were
secular.
•Led by Ayatullah Khomeini from
outside Iran. He had been expelled by
Shah in 1964. He sold cassettes of
anit-Shah sermons into Iran.
•Revolution led other Persian Gulf
countries to think they might have a
revolution also
•Began with small protests and
elevated to kick out the Shah.
•The Shah fled in 1979.
•Afterwards, Khomeini returned to
Iran and created the Islamic
Republic.
•Lasted from 1980-1888
•600,000-1,000,000 people killed
•Used trench warfare
•Able to push back the Iraqis
because of population
•Ended in a stalemate, which
means that nobody won.
Khaminei is the religious leader
Khatami is the current president of Iran
of Iran
He was elected in 1997
He wants to be more like the
Shah
He has improved freedom of
speech and improved Iran’s
economics
He is supported by the military
He wants to be more like
Ayatollah Khomenei.
• Modern Saudi Arabia founded by
Wahhabis, a group of religious desert
warriors.
• Strict application for Sharia Law,
based on Koran, the Sunna.
• 1802: Wahhabis captured Mecca and
founded the capital of Riyadh in 1824.
• Abdul Aziz unifies country.
The Al Saud Family
• 1902: Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud captured
Riyadh. He captured many territories
and proclaimed himself King.
• 1932: He named his vast realm,
Saudi Arabia. After his death in 1953,
his eldest son, Saud, became King.
• 1958: King Saud transferred his
legislative and executive powers to the
prime minister, his brother, Prince
Faisal.
SAUDI ARABIA AND IT’S
OIL
• Saudi Arabia’s vast oil fields bring wealth and
foreigners to Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Arabia supplies the U.S. with 1.4 million
barrels of oil a day, making Saudi Arabia the world’s
most important oil producer.
• Saudi Arabia contains 261 billion barrels of proven
oil reserves.
• Discovery of oil, several places around the
Persian Gulf
• Largest exporter of the world
SAUDIA ARABIA
In the Gulf War
• S.A. was an ally to Kuwait in war against Iraq.
• S.A. contributed more money than soldiers because they were
afraid that Iraq would threaten the territory of S.A. Remember:
Saudi Arabia and Iraq are boarding countries.
• Saudi Government invites American soldiers into country for
protection against the Iraqi military threat.
• Saudi citizens were very controversial about the idea of having
U.S. troops in the holy lands.
• Fundamentalists wanted to overthrow Saudi government with
terrorism.
•There is still terrorism in Saudi Arabia today.