IRAQ, IRAN, AND AFGHANISTAN

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IRAQ, IRAN, AND AFGHANISTAN
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IRAQ

• , is an Arab country at the head of the Persian
  Gulf in southwestern Asia. The country is
  bordered by Turkey, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,
  Jordan, and Syria. Baghdad is Iraq's capital and
  largest city.

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IRAQ

• The world's first known civilization and other
  early cultures developed along the Tigris and
  Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. The ancient
  Greeks called part of Iraq and the surrounding
  region Mesopotamia (between rivers) because it
  lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. For
  thousands of years, civilizations there have
  depended on controlling flooding from the two
  rivers and on using their waters for irrigation.

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IRAQ

• Iraq became part of the Arab Empire in the
  A.D. 600's and absorbed Arab Muslim culture.
  Today, about 75 percent of Iraq's people are
  Arabs. Iraq also has a large Kurdish population
  that has struggled on and off for self-government
  for many years.

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IRAQ

• In the 1980's and the early 1990's, President
  Saddam Hussein and other leaders of the ruling
  Baath Party involved Iraq in two wars that had
  devastating effects on the country. Iraq fought a
  war with Iran from 1980 to 1988. In 1990, Iraq
  invaded and occupied neighboring Kuwait.

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IRAQ

• The United Nations (UN) condemned the invasion
  and imposed a trade embargo on Iraq. A coalition
  of 39 nations, organized mainly by the UN and the
  United States, opposed the invasion and sent
  forces to the region. In early 1991, they
  defeated Iraq in the Persian Gulf War of 1991.
  The UN trade embargo continued after the war.

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IRAQ

• A military coalition made up mainly of United
  States forces overthrew Hussein's government in
  2003, during the Iraq War. Soon afterward, the UN
  lifted its trade embargo. Coalition forces
  remained in Iraq. A new Iraqi government is being
  established. However, the country remains
  unstable, with Iraqi and foreign militants
  carrying out many attacks against the coalition
  and its supporters.

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IRAN

• Iran,  ih RAHN or ih RAN, is an ancient
  country in the Middle East region of southwestern
  Asia. It is a land of snow-capped mountains,
  green valleys, and barren deserts. Tehran is the
  country's capital and largest city.

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IRAN

• Iran is one of the world's oldest countries. Its
  history dates back almost 5,000 years and
  includes the days of the great Persian Empire. In
  Biblical times, Persian kings ruled a vast
  territory that included most of southwestern Asia
  and parts of Europe and Africa.

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IRAN

• Foreign powers have invaded and occupied Iran
  time and again during its long history. One of
  the most important invasions occurred in the
  mid-600's, when Muslim Arabs conquered the
  country. The Arab conquest had a lasting effect
  on Iranian culture. The Muslim caliphs (religious
  leaders) governed the country for about 200
  years. During their rule, the Islamic faith
  spread throughout Iran. Today, the vast majority
  of Iranians are Muslims.

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IRAN

• In the early 1900's, the discovery of oil in
  southwestern Iran gave the country an enormous
  source of wealth. Reza Shah Pahlavi ruled Iran as
  shah (king) from 1925 to 1941. In 1941, his son,
  Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, became shah. Both men used
  revenues from Iran's oil exports to modernize the
  country and promote economic and social
  development. In 1979, revolutionaries under
  Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a Muslim religious
  leader, overthrew the regime of Mohammad Reza
  Pahlavi and took control of Iran.

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IRAN

• The revolutionaries changed Iran's government
  from a constitutional monarchy to an Islamic
  republic. Their policies led to strict Islamic
  control over all areas of people's lives and
  resulted in severe economic problems for the
  nation and strained relations between Iran and
  Western countries

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AFGHANISTAN

• Afghanistan, a nation in southwestern Asia, has
  great mountains, scorching deserts, fertile
  valleys, and rolling plains. Afghanistan does not
  have a seacoast. The country is bordered by
  Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan on the
  north, China on the far northeast, Pakistan on
  the east and south, and Iran on the west.

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AFGHANISTAN

• Afghanistan is one of the world's least developed
  countries. Most Afghan workers farm the land, and
  many use old-fashioned farming tools and methods.
  Some of the people are nomads, who roam the
  country with their herds of sheep or goats. Kabul
  is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan.

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AFGHANISTAN

• Almost all the people of Afghanistan are Muslims.
  The religion of the Muslims, Islam, is the chief
  common link among them. The population of
  Afghanistan consists of about 20 ethnic groups,
  most of which are divided into several tribes.
  Most of the ethnic groups have distinct languages
  and cultures. The variety of ethnic groups has
  made it difficult for Afghanistan to develop into
  a unified, modern nation.

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AFGHANISTAN

• Afghanistan has a long and troubled history. In
  early days, Persians, Greeks, Mongols, and other
  peoples conquered the region. In modern times,
  Afghanistan has continued to suffer foreign
  interference. The Soviet Union sought to occupy
  Afghanistan in a war that lasted from 1979 to
  1989. In the 1990's, a conservative Islamic group
  called the Taliban came to power.

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AFGHANISTAN

• The Taliban allowed international terrorist
  organizations to create training camps in
  Afghanistan. Following terrorist attacks against
  the United States in 2001, the United States and
  anti-Taliban forces within Afghanistan drove the
  Taliban from power. A transitional government was
  established to rule the count