Turkey, Iraq, Iran and the West 1908-2011 Flashcards
What did Ottoman Turkey do in 1914?
Sided with Germany in WW1
What was military commander Ataturk ordered to do?
Dismand ottoman military forces as required by the Allies but instead Ataturk called on people to fight against Allies
What did the Allies allow into Turkey?
Large Greek military force to land at Izmir and occupy the surrounding area
When did the war between the Greeks and the Turks take place?
1920-1922?
How did the war between Greeks and Turks turn out?
At first Turks unable to halt Greeks but in 1921 they drove Greeks out if Izmir and Eastern Thrace.
1923 Allies signed Treaty of Lausanne which recognised Turkish sovereignty over Istanbul, eastern Thrace and Anatolia
What happened to Armenians and Kurds living in turkey?
Armenians fled to what became Armenian Republic within Soviet Union, Lebanon or Syria
In Treaty of Sevres Kurds right to an independent state had been recognised but was cancelled by Treaty of Lausanne
What was Ataturk set on transforming Turkey into?
A secular state - wanted religion to be excluded from politics and the state. Islamic schools and law courts were abolished
What was turkey declared in October 1923?
Declared a Republic with Ataturk as president
In 1924 what did Ataturk organise his supporters as?
Republic People’s Party that ruled for 27 years
How became PM in Iraq in 1938?
Nuri al-Said - pro-brutish and conservative and he dominated Iraq for the next 20 years
What was Iraq’s economy like under the monarchy?
Saw considerable economic development, education and illiteracy improved. Country dominated by small number of big landowners and British control
Who seized power in Iraq in 1968?
Baathists, supported by some army officers
Who made up the majority of the Baathists in Iraq?
Sunni Muslims - had been the dominant group in Iraq ever since the state was set up in 1921 although the Shiites formed the majority of the population
Who was brought into the new government in Iraq after 1968?
Shiites in a show of unity
What did the Baathist government in Iraq do in 1972?
Nationalised and took control of Iraqi oil industry
What did the Iraqis do in 1973?
Joined other Arab oil producing states in reducing production and sales to Western countries. Drove up oil prices by 400%
How did Iraqis income from oil change from 1972-1980?
Rose from $575 million to $26,500 million
In the 1970’s who was Hussein in Iraq?
Saddam Hussien was gov minister responsible for extending gov control over army and secret police - reports of indoctrination and bad treatment of those in prison
When did Saddam Hussein become president of Iraq?
1979 - started with a televised trial of a number of men, 21 who were later executed
In 1980 what did Hussein do to Shiites in Iraq?
1,200,000 Shiites were deported to Iran. Many were successful businessmen whose businesses were then handed to gov supporters
Where were Kurds situated in Iraq?
Mainly in the north, especially along the borders with Syria, Turkey and Iran
What were many Kurd leaders determined to do in Iraq?
Create a separate Kurd homeland, assisted in the 70’s by Iran and when Iran and Iraq went to war in 1980, aid was increased so the Kurds gained greater control of northern Iraq
What did Iraqi forces do to Kurds in 1988?
Planes bombarded Kurdish town of Halabja with chemical weapons. 5000 killed immediately, 12,000 estimated died later.
After Iraq-Iran war ended what did Hussein do to Kurds/
Used chemical weapons and bulldozed villages. 180,000 Kurds were killed and more than 100,000 refugees poured over border mostly into Turkey. Several towns and 90% of all villages were destroyed
Although Iran is a Muslim country, how is it different from its Arab neighbours?
People are mostly non-Arab and don’t speak Arabic
Mostly made up of Shia NOT Sunni Muslims
What happened in Iran in 1921?
Iran had a weak and incompetent shah so army leader, (Colonel Reza Khan) took control of government as PM
What did Colonel Reza Khan of Iran do in 1925?
Made himself shah and embarked on a policy of westernisation
By 1930 what had Iran become?
The world’s 4th largest oil producer
What did Iran do in 1933?
Forced Britain to grant Iran more of the profits of its oilfields
In WW2 who invaded Iran?
Soviet and British troops invaded from the north and south to prevent the Germanys from taking control of the oilfields
In 1951 who was appointed PM in Iran?
Mossadeq - leading Iranian nationalist
Then passed law to nationalise oil fields - Britain withdrew its workforce and persuaded western oil companies not to buy Irans oil
What happened in Iran in 1953?
US and Britain used threats and money to pressure shah into dismissing Mossadeq and replace him with a more pro-western PM
What did the shahs new government do in 1955?
Signed a treaty with USA and joined Baghdad Pact
What did USA persuade Anglo-Iranian oil company (BP) to do?
Join a group of American, French and Dutch oil companies for a 40% share in oil profits of Iran
What was the ‘White Revolution’ in Iran in the 60’s?
Shah keen to make Iran a powerful independent state. Brought in western educated men into his government to carry out policies. Led to:
Transfer of land from biggest landowners to poorer farmers
Grant of the vote to women
Huge expansion in number of schools
Doubling of the rate of literacy in the next 15 years
What caused demonstrations in Iran?
Dependence on non-Muslim West
What happened in Iran in 1978?
Mass demonstrations calling on shah to abdicate.Every time police fought against protests, they just got bigger - led by Ayatollah Khomeini
What happened in Iran at the end of 1978 and into January 1979?
Many soldiers who admired Khomeini and sympathised with protesters refused to fire on crowds. then shah left and never returned
What was the new Islamic state in Iran like?
Western stuff banned
What happened in November 1979?
US gov allow shah into country to receive medical treatment - militant Iranian students stormed US embassy in Tehran and took 50 American staff as hostages
What were Hussein motives for attacking Iran in 1980?
Khomeini was calling Iranians to rise up against Iraqis and overthrow Hussein. Majority of Iraqs population were Shiite by Hussein and followers were Sunnis
Saw an opportunity to gain valuable territory. Hussein wanted to control of Shatt al-Arab waterway for secure outlet into sea
Iran was weak - economy in chaos after fall of shahs regime. Facing western boycott of its trade and Iranian armed forces were demoralised
How did the Iran-Iraq war progress?
Little resistance from Iran at first but within a month, Iraq had been brought into a halt in an Iranian desert.
Then resorted to firing missiles at Iran’s cities to terrorise population - became ‘War of the Cities’ in which both sides bombed each other
Within a year the Iraqis had been forced back to their border
Within 2 years Iran had recaptured all of its land and succeeded in cutting Iraq off from its sea ports
Iran then stated that its target was Baghdad, Iraqi forces became more united. By 1984, 2 sides had become locked in trench warfare along the 1500km border
How were other Arab states involved in the Iran-Iraq war?
Most Arab states supported Iraq - opposed the spread of Iran’s revolutionary Shiite version of an Islamic state
How did Europe, USA and Soviet Union get involved in Iran-Iraq war?
West supportive of Iraqis
Scared of Iran controlling oil
France became main suppliers of arms to Iraq
Using satellite technology USA kept Iraq informed of Iranian troop movements and provided equipment which was later used to make chemical weapons
Where was much of the war focused?
Focused on the Gulf, vital route through which both Iraq and Iran exported their oil
When did Iranians attempt a ceasefire?
1988 - their economy was in ruins and faced prospect of a direct war with the USA. Only a truce and both sides continued to rearm
What did Iran remain?
Remained an Islamic state even when a non clerical man was voted president in 2005
What was the effect of the Iran-Iraq war on Iraq?
Economy was shattered
Value of oil exports had declined because of war damage and a fall in the oil prices on the world market
High rates of unemployment
Why did Saddam invade Kuwait?
To distract from the growing military crisis in Baghdad
When was the Gulf war?
1990-1991
Who did Saddam blame when oil prices dropped in 1990?
Kuwait for deliberately causing the fall in prices through overproduction. Angry that Kuwait was pressing Iraq to pay the $14 billion it had lent to Iraq during the war with Iran
What happened in August 1990?
300,000 crossed the border into Kuwait and overran the country, taking just 3 days
What did the United Nations Security Council do in response to Iraqs invasion of Kuwait?
Agreed on complete trade sanctions against Iraq until they had withdrawn
When did the US respond to Iraqs invasion of Kuwait?
When Iraqi forces massed on Kuwaits border with Saudi Arabia - feared Iraq might seize oilfields
What was the deadline the UN delivered to Iraq?
Withdraw from Kuwait by 15th January 1991 or face military force
How many troops had been assembled in Saudi Arabia ready to fight Iraq?
600,000
What did the Gulf War fighting start with?
Air assault, largely by US forces, on Iraq in January 1991 - targeted military, airports, bridges etc
What happened in February 1991?
Ground attack began. Iraqi driven out of Kuwait but had torched oil wells which caused an ecological disaster in the Gulf. US forces then invaded Iraq
What happened to Kurds and Shiites that stood up to Iraq?
Around 50,000 Shiites killed
British established a no fly zone in the north to protect the Kurds
When was there a ceasefire for the Gulf War?
March 1991
What were the peace terms imposed on Iraq after the Gulf War?
Recognition of Kuwaits sovereignty
Payment of reparations
Imposition of no fly zones in north and south
Iraqi cooperation with UN to destroy all Weapons of Mass Destruction
Agreement with wide ranging trade sanctions
What did USA become suspicious of?
That Iraq still had WMD so demanded regime change before they lifted sanctions
What effects did the sanctions have on Iraq?
Iraq had imported 70% of food before so could only afford basics
Malnutrition and rise in infant mortality
Water breakdown due to bombs that wasn’t fixed - led to illness
What did US and Br do in 1998?
Started bombing Iraqi military sites - angered other Arab countries
What did the USA still claim?
That Iraq had WMB and that al-Qaida might get it
When did the US invade Iraq again?
March 2003 - similar to before
How many coalition troops were there in Iraq compared to population?
150,000 in a country of 26 million
What was US rule like in Iraq?
Chaos - for millions the quality of life deteriorated even further
What did many demobilised soldiers in Iraq do?
Joined the resistance against the west - 20,000-50,000 actively involved
When did final US troops leave Iraq?
2011
In 2005 what happened in Iraq?
Organised elections. Most people voted along sectarian lines. Most of population was Shiite so they won large majority
