bellwork 1.list three reasons why the allies were successful in the gulf war. 2.explain the...
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BELLWORK1. List three reasons why the Allies were successful in the Gulf
War. 2. Explain the political effects of the Gulf War in Iraq.3. How did the Gulf War effect Middle Easterners views of the
West? 4. How was the environment affected by the Gulf War?5. THINKER: Although many governments were hostile towards
Saddam’s actions, there was a lot of support for him amongst ordinary Arab citizens. Why? In your opinion, why did so many people still support Saddam despite his aggression?
Effects of the Gulf War
Civilians and Coalition military forces wave Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian flags as they celebrate the retreat of Iraqi forces from Kuwait
Political Effects in Iraq• UN Resolution 687: required
Saddam to be open with all nuclear, chemical, biological weapons programs.
• Tough economic sanctions, including ban on Iraqi oil exports
• From 1991 until 2003, the effects of government policy and sanctions led to inflation, widespread poverty and malnutrition
• UN inspection teams visited Iraq to find evidence of WMD’s.
Environmental Effects of Gulf War• Iraq dumped 400 million gallons of oil
into the Persian Gulf, causing the largest offshore oil spill in history.
• The draining of the Qurna Marshes was an irrigation project used to relocate the local Shi'ite population. Estimated that 90% of the marshlands had disappeared, causing desertification of over 7,500 square miles.
• 600 Kuwaiti oil wells burned for ten months = loss of 6 million barrels each day & widespread pollution
Social Effects of Gulf War• In Northern Iraq, Kurdish leaders took
American statements that they would support an uprising, and began fighting, hoping to trigger a coup d'état.
• After no U.S. support came, Iraqi generals remained loyal to Saddam and brutally crushed the Kurdish uprising.
• Millions of Kurds fled across the mountains to Turkey and Kurdish areas of Iran.
• Resulted in no-fly zones being established in northern and southern Iraq.
Criticism of Bush Administration• The Bush administration was
heavily criticized because they chose to allow Saddam to remain in power instead of pushing on to capture Baghdad and overthrow his government.
• What do YOU think? Would this have been a realistic option? Why or why not?
• Why do you think President Bush chose NOT to overthrow Saddam?
Criticism of Bush Administration“I would guess if we had gone in there, we would still have
forces in Baghdad today. We'd be running the country. We would not have been able to get everybody out and bring everybody home.
And the final point that I think needs to be made is this question of casualties. I don't think you could have done all of that without significant additional U.S. casualties, and while everybody was tremendously impressed with the low cost of the (1991) conflict, for the 146 Americans who were killed in action and for their families, it wasn't a cheap war.
And the question in my mind is, how many additional American casualties is Saddam (Hussein) worth? And the answer is, not that damned many. So, I think we got it right, both when we decided to expel him from Kuwait, but also when the President made the decision that we'd achieved our objectives and we were not going to go get bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq”
- Dick Cheney; Secretary of Defense, 1992
DISCUSSION• Make a connection How did the effects of
the Gulf War lead to U.S. occupation of Iraq in 2003?
• Western leaders accused him of having WMDs & links to Al-Qaeda (led to US invasion in 2003)
Statue of Saddam being
toppled in Firdos Square after the 2003 US invasion
Saddam after being captured by
American troops in
2003.
Saddam’s Trial• Responsible for the deaths
of around one million people (Iraqis, Iran-Iraq War, Kurds, dissenters)
• In November 2006, he was convicted of charges relating to human rights violations
• He was executed December 30, 2006.
Saddam Hussein’s Human Rights Violations
Saddam’s letter before executionTo the great nation, to the people of our country, and humanity, Many of you have known the writer of this letter to be faithful,
honest, caring for others, wise, of sound judgment, just, decisive, careful with the wealth of the people and the state ... and that his heart is big enough to embrace all without discrimination.
Here, I offer my soul to God as a sacrifice, and if He wants, He will send it to heaven with the martyrs, or, He will postpone that ... so let us be patient and depend on Him against the unjust nations.
Remember that God has enabled you to become an example of love, forgiveness and brotherly coexistence ... I call on you not to hate, because hate does not leave a space for a person to be fair and it makes you blind and closes all doors of thinking and keeps away one from balanced thinking and making the right choice.
I also call on you not to hate the peoples of the other countries that attacked us and differentiate between the decision-makers and peoples. Anyone who repents — whether in Iraq or abroad — you must forgive.
You should know that among the aggressors, there are people who support your struggle against the invaders, and some of them volunteered for the legal defence of prisoners, including Saddam Hussein ... some of these people wept profusely when they said goodbye to me.
Dear faithful people, I say goodbye to you, but I will be with the merciful God who helps those who take refuge in him and who will never disappoint any faithful, honest believer ... God is Great ... God is great ... Long live our nation ... Long live our great struggling people ... Long live Iraq, long live Iraq ... Long live Palestine ... Long live jihad and the mujahedeen.• Saddam Hussein President and Commander in Chief of the Iraqi Mujahed Armed Forces• Additional clarification note:• I have written this letter, because the lawyers told me that the so-called criminal court — established and named by the invaders — will
allow the so-called defendants the chance for a last word. But that court and its chief judge did not give us the chance to say a word, and issued its verdict without explanation and read out the sentence — dictated by the invaders — without presenting the evidence. I wanted the people to know this
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