3. • Great Britain, USA, USSR – Allies
– Protect oil of the Middle East from Nazis
– “oil is the lifeblood of the armies of WWII”
• 1940 – 63% of world’s oil from the USA only 5% from
ME
• Why would the USA want to preserve their oil and use
the oil in the Middle East in the future?
– Increased importance of Saudi Arabia
• 20% of the world’s oils reserves are in SA
World War II – 1939-1945
5. Cold War Era
Cold War 1948 – 1991
United States Vs. Soviet Union
-spread
democracy/capitalism and
stop the spread of
communism
Overall Goal
-spread communism and
stop the spread of
capitalism
-gain allies and access to oil
reserves
Goal in the
Middle East
-gain allies and access to oil
reserves
6. Cold War Era
• Countries that recently gained independence
were feared to side with Soviet Union
– Iran
• Elected Prime Minister (Mossadegh) in 1951
• Nationalized oil
• Legitimate fear or ‘excuse’ to get involved?
7. 1953 Iranian Coup
• Britain & US CIA involvement
– Embargo on trade caused economic troubles
– “Operation Ajax”
• False reports were planted in newspapers
• Violence occurred in the streets of Iran
• Shah overthrew Mossadegh
– Received aid & military arms from US & Britain
8. Shah’s Rule of Iran
• Contradictory?
– Liked many aspects of “modernism”
• Supported women’s rights
• Claimed to redistribute land from wealthy to farmers
• Receptive to Western policy ideas
– Very authoritarian
• Islamic clergy’s power slowly taken away
• Created a one-party system
• Corruption
9. 1979: Islamic Revolution in Iran
• Ideology:
– Saw Western culture as a
‘plague’
– Traditional Islam was the
only ‘liberator’
• Ayatollah Khomeini
– Began leading opposition
against Shah in 1963
– Believed everyone &
everything needed
supervision by Islamic
leaders, to ensure sticking to
the laws of the faith
12. Islamic Revolution: Groups Involved
• Political Groups
– Marxist
• Focused on social-class issues
• Islamic Groups
– Followers of Khomeini
• Focused on cultural issues
13. Results of Revolution
• Ties between Iran & West completely severed
– Shah’s Westernization reversed
• Women were ordered to wear head coverings and full
body cloaks
• gangs of religious zealots roamed the streets enforcing
new laws
– Ayatollah rule not what was expected
14. Results of Revolution
• Some revolutionaries now seen as enemies
– Even people who supported the revolution but not
Kohmeini were imprisoned, beaten & killed
• Shah & wife left Iran in January, 1979
• October 1979: Shah comes to US for cancer treatment
– Hostage situation, lead by student group
– Failed rescue attempt killed 8 Americans
– Shah died in July 1980, hostages not released until January
1981
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8bC1DEYbI4
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9COJXrrHHQ
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld2KOv_zWWw
15. Hostage Situation
• What would you have done?!
– If you were the President of the U.S. during the
hostage crisis, what would you do?
• What are the options?
17. Iraq
• Attacked Iran to prevent being attacked
– Weak after revolution
– Shia leader of Iran made Hussein nervous
• Lead by Saddam Hussein
– Militaristic dictator
– 65% of population: Shia
– 32% of population: Sunni
• Including Saddam Hussein
• Openly oppressed Shia
18. Iran-Iraq War
• Who did the US support?
– Why?
• War lasted 8 years (Sept. 1980- July 1988)
– Over 1 million casualties, cost $500 million for each
country, neither side claimed victory
19. Impact of War on Iran
• What did the Persepolis video tell us about
the war’s impact on Iranian society?
– Air strikes
– Strict laws
– Food shortages
20. Impact of War on Iraq
• Increased ‘personality cult’ of Hussein
• Civilian rations
• Terror campaign
– Fear people into supporting, fighting well
– 300 Iraqi army officers killed for ‘poor
performance’ in battle
– Use of force against Kurds in northern Iraq
• Chemical weapon use, 1988
• US response?
21. Iraq
• 1990: Hussein accused Kuwait of taking oil that
belonged to Iraq
– Iraqi army invades Kuwait
• US & International forces fight back
– Operation Desert Storm, January 1991
– Defeated Iraqi forces, cease-fire declared in February
22. Results of Persian Gulf War
• Iraqi government remained
– UN imposed economic sanctions, limiting sale of
oil, created no-fly zones
– UN conducted regular inspections to prevent
production of nuclear, chemical, and biological
weapons
23. U.S. Relations in Middle East
• Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, & others felt US
presence was necessary for protection
– 15,000 US troops stayed
• Reminder to Arab world of weaknesses
• Angered a lot of people in Middle East
24. U.S. Relations in Middle East
• March 2003: Iraq Invasion
– Operation Iraqi Freedom
• Bush administration believed Hussein had WMD and
would use it against U.S.
• Did everyone in U.S. support invasion?
– Hussein’s government toppled in weeks
• WMDs?
25. Who lead the attacks on 9/11?
• Al-Qaeda
• Osama Bin Laden
26. Osama Bin Laden
• Founded Al-Qaeda, 1989
– Multinational, stateless
– Sunni Islamic Militant Group
– Dedicated to opposing non-
Islamic governments with
force, removing Western
influence from Muslim world
– Roots back to Soviet War in
Afghanistan
• Mujahideen
27. Why Afghanistan?
• Taliban
– Islamic fundamentalist political group
– Ruled Afghanistan from 1996-2001
• Only recognized as legitimate political leader in Saudi
Arabia, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates
– After Bin Laden moved to Afghanistan in 1996,
groups became allies
• Al-Qaeda began training Taliban army forces
28. History of Violence
• 1993: World Trade Center
Attack
– Truck bomb was intended to
destroy foundation, bringing
both towers to the ground
– 6 were killed; ~1,000 injured
• 1996: Attempt at Clinton
assassination
– Bomb was planted under
bridge; found by secret service
• 1998: US Embassies in Africa
were bombed
– 300 deaths
29. History of Violence
• 1998: Central Intelligence
Counterterrorism Center
reported Al-Qaeda prepping
for attack on US using
hijacked planes
• Sept. 11, 2001: Attack on
the World Trade Center
– 2,977 people killed
