Region: The Middle East

Question 1

The Middle East is the most t——- of teh world’s regions

Answer 1

tumultuous

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Question 2

Most of the countries in the Middle East got their independence after

Answer 2

WW2

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Question 3

What happened in 1956 in the Middle East?

Answer 3

Israel, France, UK vs. Egpyt (over the latter’s nationalization of the Suez Canal)

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Question 4

When was Israel’s war with Lebanon?

Answer 4

1982

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Question 5

What was the first Gulf War

Answer 5

1990-91 (international coalition against Iraq following its invasion of Kuwait)

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Question 6

When was the second war against Iraq?

Answer 6

2003

Question 7

The Middle East is comprised of these 3 geographies…

Answer 7

1. Maghreb
2. Levant
3. Persian Gulf

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Question 8

What are the countries of the Maghreb?

Answer 8

Egypt + Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia

“ELTAM”

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Question 9

What are the four countries of the Levant?

Answer 9

Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria

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Question 10

Nine countries in the Persian Gulf?

Answer 10

1. Bahrain
2. Iran
3. Iraq
4. Kuwait
5. Oman
6. Qatar
7. Saudi Arabia
8. UAE
9. Yemen

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Question 11

What is the population of the Middle East

Answer 11

450 million

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Question 12

What’s an Arab?

Answer 12

Ethnic designation for those people descended from the region’s tribal peoples

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Question 13

% of Musilims who are non-Arab?

Answer 13

More than 3/4

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Question 14

The Middle East’s Muslims are …

Answer 14

Mostly Sunni
Apart from in Iran (Shia)

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Question 15

Which sect has ruled Syria for decades?

Answer 15

The Alawites

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Question 16

GPD of the Middle East

Answer 16

Around $3.5 trillion

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Question 17

More than half of exports in the Middle East are from

Answer 17

Oil and gas

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Question 18

The Middle East is home to just over half the world’s

Answer 18

Oil reserves

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Question 19

The world’s largest oil exporting country is

Answer 19

Saudi Arabia

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Question 20

Oil producing cartel, dominated by Middle East countries is called

Answer 20

OPEC

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Question 21

Transition from Ottoman to European colonial rule in the Middle East was embodied in …

Answer 21

the Skyes-Picot Agreement

In 1916

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Question 22

Egypt’s leader, —-, seized control of the Suez Canal in 1956

Answer 22

Gamal Abdel Nasser

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Question 23

Who took the other side of Egypt in the Suez Crisis?

Answer 23

Israel, France, UK

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Question 24

Who told the allies to back down in the Suez Crisis?

Answer 24

Dwight Eisenhower

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Question 25

What started the Six Day War?

Answer 25

Egypt blocked Straits of Tiran to Israeli vessels ## Footnote p118

Question 26

What did Israel seize by the end of the 6 Day War?

Answer 26

* Sinai Peninsula (from Egypt) * Gaza Strip (from Egypt) * Golan Heights (from Syria) * West Bank and East Jerusalem (from Jordan) ## Footnote p118

Question 27

Why did the Arab countries start the Yom Kippur War?

Answer 27

To undo the post-1967 status quo ## Footnote p118

Question 28

Who (and when) visited Israel to start peace between Israel and Egypt?

Answer 28

Anwar Sadat, 1977 | Officially was signed in 1979 ## Footnote p118

Question 29

Describe UN Security Council Resolution 242 (in three points)

Answer 29

* Israel's withdrawal from territories gained in 1967 * Just settlement of the Palestinian refugee problem * Respect for sovereignty etc. of every state in the area ## Footnote p120

Question 30

What attempt at peace between Israel and Palestinians was attmpted in early 1990's

Answer 30

Oslo Accords ## Footnote p120

Question 31

Who normalized relationships with Israel in 2020?

Answer 31

UAE and Bahrain ## Footnote p121

Question 32

Iran's branch of Islam is mostly

Answer 32

Shia ## Footnote p121

Question 33

Who overthrew the Iranian Shah in 1979?

Answer 33

Ayatollah Khomeini ## Footnote p122

Question 34

Sadaam Hussein ruled as part of the ---- minority over the ---- majority

Answer 34

Sunni, Shia ## Footnote p122

Question 35

In 1990, Saddam Hussein invades...

Answer 35

Kuwait ## Footnote p123

Question 36

The Iran-Iraq war, started in 1980 b/c...

Answer 36

Fear of Iraq's Shia population rising up against Saddam and fellow Sunnis | (possibly) ## Footnote p123

Question 37

Who liberatd Kuwait after 7 weeks of war (in 1990)?

Answer 37

President George H.W. Bush with international coalition ## Footnote p123

Question 38

What spurred the 2003 US invasion of Iraq?

Answer 38

* Fear of nuclear weapons * Aim to turn them into a democracy (hoping others in the region will follow) ## Footnote p124

Question 39

What was the Arab Spring?

Answer 39

Citizen protests against their authoritarian leaders, starting 2010 ## Footnote p124

Question 40

Where did the Arab Spring start?

Answer 40

Tunisia ## Footnote p125

Question 41

What happened as a result of the Arab Spring, in various countries in the Middle East?

Answer 41

* Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood ruled for a year, then removed by millitary * Libya: Qadafi removed, chaos, country splits into 3 regions * Iran: Demonstrations crushed by force * Syria: Civil war, government eventually prevails (with support from Iran and Russia) ## Footnote p125

Question 42

How many Syrians have lost their lives in post-Arab Spring civil war?

Answer 42

500,000 ## Footnote p126

Question 43

What was USA's intervention in Syria?

Answer 43

To attack ISIS (Islamic State) ## Footnote p126

Question 44

The one country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons is

Answer 44

Israel ## Footnote p128

Question 45

When and how did Israel develop nuclear weapons?

Answer 45

1960s. With French assistance ## Footnote p129

Question 46

What is the JCPOA?

Answer 46

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (2015) Iran's reduced ability to amass the fuel needed to build a nuclear weapons arsenal, and in return, sanctions relief ## Footnote p129

Question 47

What was Trump's policy on Iran?

Answer 47

Backed out of JCPOA in 2018, b/c terms were not demanding enough; new sanctions introduced ## Footnote p129

Question 48

Who ruled Egypt for 3 decades before the Arab Spring?

Answer 48

Hosni Mubarak

Question 49

What are some details of the foudning of Hamas?

Answer 49

* Main figure: Sheikh Ahmed Yassin * 1987 * Offshoot of Muslim Brotherhood * Alternative to the secular, PLO