CRISIS AND CONFLICT: Middle East and North Africa

There is a lot of stuff covered in this presentation, so strap in.

CONFLICT: Israel and the Arab World

Creation of Israel• Zionism- Political movement for a

Jewish homeland. Jews to return to “Promised Land”. Organized by Theodore Herzl in 1897.

• Why? Jews faced persecution and genocide throughout their history. Worldwide sympathy for Jews after WW2.

• Jews slowly moved to Palestine in 1890’s – 1930’s. Conflict with local Arabs over land, water, business.

How was Israel created?United Nations settled on a part of the region of Palestine for a Jewish Homeland• Why Palestine?1. Ancient kingdom of Israel, “Promised Land”2. Not very crowded in the 1940’s3. Controlled by Britain, which was willing to give it

to Jews

1948 – UN Resolution 181 divided Palestine into 3 sections:4. Israel – for Jews5. Palestine – for Arabs6. Jerusalem – run by UN for all groups

Immediately triggered the 1948 war, first of many Arab-Israeli wars.

Arab-Israeli WarsIsrael believes it has a right to exist. Arabs feel that Israel was forced upon them by the West. Both sides became part of the “Cold War”, aggravating the issue. Arabs and Israelis fought several large wars and many small ones. The two most important ones are:

• 1948 – “War of Independence”/Nakba: Arab armies invaded, Arab refugees fled, hoping to return after war. Israel won. These refugees became today’s Palestinians.

• 1967 – Six Day War: Egypt, Syria prepped for war, but Israel hit first. Total win for Israel, Occupied lots of territory, including West Bank, Gaza, and Golan Heights, and captured Jerusalem.

• 1973 – Yom Kippur War: Egypt, Syria tried to get territory back, surprise attacked. Israel won, with USA aid. Led to “_oil embargo ______” on USA by OPEC (Organization of the Oil Exporting Countries).

• 1978, ’82, and ’85 Lebanon Campaigns: Israel was attacked across the border by the _PLO_________ and later by _Hezbollah___(a Lebanese Shia resistance movement sponsored by Iran).

• Israel invaded Lebanon to create a “safety zone” in southern Lebanon twice – once in 1982, again in 2006.

Major wars ended after Camp David Agreements (1977-1978), peace between Egypt and Israel. Other Arab countries still hostile, but no wars since.

JerusalemJerusalem is a holy city for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. It has been fought over for thousands of years.

• In the 1967 “Six Day War”, Israel captured the entire city, and made it the capital of Israel. Part had previously been controlled by Jordan. The Palestinians see it as part of the West Bank, and thus belonging to them.

• The “Western Wall”, part of the ruins of the main temple of Judaism, is considered the holiest site by Jews. The “Dome of the Rock” is a mosque where Muslims believe Muhammad ascended into heaven. Both sites are on the same hill, with constant tensions between Jews and Muslims.

Israel vs. Palestine

• In the 1948 war, many Arabs left their homes, living in refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza. After 1967 War, Israel expanded into this captured land, and occupied it to protect itself.

• Most Palestinians live in West Bank and Gaza, area which are crowded and poor, and blame Israel for their hard lives. Formed the “Palestine Liberation Organization”(PLO) to fight Israel.

• Three main groups against Israel:– Fatah – Once part of PLO, controls the West Bank, backed by

Arab countries.– Hamas – Controls Gaza, backed by Iran.– Hezbollah – Group in Lebanon against Israel.

• Peace negotiations have gone on since 1990, but

several uprisings, called “Intifadah” have occurred.

CONFLICT: Iran, Iraq, and the Persian Gulf

USA in the Persian GulfWhy are we there?• To protect the flow of oil to the world, mostly.

We need it, and that is where it comes from.

What have we done there?• The USA has supported dictators, overthrown

governments, sold weapons to both sides in a war, and fought wars.

What resulted from this?• USA is mistrusted in the region, involved in a long

war, and faces terrorism at home.

What it worth it?• Maybe. Gotta have the oil, after all.

Iraq and Iran – NOT THE SAME

IRAQ IRANETHNIC GROUP ARABS PERSIANS

LANGUAGE ARABIC FARSI

ISLAMIC SECT 20% SUNNI, 80% SHI’A 90% SHI’A

GOVERNMENT DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC ISLAMIC THEOCRACY

CAPITAL BAGHDAD TEHERAN

LOCATION WEST EAST

RELATION TO USA FRIENDLY OPPOSED

What are the Gulf Wars?Conflicts between the USA, Iraq, and Iran to control the Persian Gulf. Alliances shift – today’s ally is tomorrow’s enemy!

1. IRAN-IRAQ WAR (1980-1988): Iran vs. Iraq; Chemical weapons used by both sides, possibly a million people died. US supported Iraq and Saddam Hussein, but covertly sold weapons to Iran.

2. GULF WAR (1991): US vs. Iraq; Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait to take the oilfields. USA and coalition fought to protect Saudi and Kuwaiti oilfields. War stopped by UN with Saddam Hussein still in power (Big Mistake?)

3. IRAQ WAR (2003-2011): US vs. Iraq; USA and allies invaded Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein. Sectarian fighting between Shia vs. Sunni vs. Kurds. US withdrew in 2011.

Kurds and Kurdistan

• The Kurds are a people who live in the Middle East, about 30,000,000 in all. They have their own language and culture, and a separate identity as Kurdish people.

• They have no country of their own, instead living scattered across a dozen other countries, including Turkey, Iraq, and Iran.

• They are in conflict with several governments, as some wish to create a separate Kurdish country, called Kurdistan.

• Kurds often point to the Jews and the creation of Israel as an example.

Why is there conflict with Iran?

• 1950’s-1970’s, USA supported the “Shah” (Emperor) of Iran because he was anti-Communist. He was a harsh ruler.

• In 1979 an Islamic Revolution happened, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, opposed to the USA. They took 50+ American hostages, held them for almost a year and a half.

• Iran has opposed the USA on Israel, Iraq, and nuclear weapons. The Iranian government calls the USA the “Great Satan”.

• Iran was once Persia, a great empire, and it wishes to resume importance on the world stage.

• They are currently threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz/Persian Gulf, due to international sanctions against them.

Terrorism• What is Terrorism?

- Terrorism: the political use of __Violence_____ and/or intimidation

- Terrorism is designed to make a point, through psychological means, fear.

- Terrorism is a __criminal___ act usually aimed at civilians or non-military targets.

What does the phrase “one man’s terrorist” is another man’s freedom fighter” mean? • Who and where are terror groups? - Members of small groups, or even people working alone. - Often supported by countries like _____________, _______________, and North Korea. - Have an ideology that calls for violence… political or religious. - Found everywhere, not just the Middle East.

• Most (in)famous group is “___Al-Qaeda_______________”, the group responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

• Led by __Osama bin Laden_________________.

• Al-Qaeda was based in Afghanistan, protected by the __Taliban____The Taliban is a Sunni Islamic fundamentalist group) ( who ruled there.

Gotcha!!!• Shortly after eleven o’clock on the night of May 1st, (2011) two MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters carrying Navy SEAL Team

Six, a Pakistani-American translator, and a dog named Cairo—a Belgian Malinois— lifted off from Jalalabad Air Field, in eastern Afghanistan, and embarked on a covert mission into Pakistan to either detain or kill Osama bin Laden.

• The SEALs’ destination was a house in the small city of Abbottabad, which is about a hundred and twenty miles across the Pakistan border.

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/08/08/110808fa_fact_schmidle#ixzz2K9h781Dc

The Arab Spring

The “Arab Spring” RevoltsThe Arab Spring is a wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world starting in late 2010.

• Revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt

• Civil war in Libya resulted in fall of its government

• Civil uprisings in Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen, resulting in resignation of Yemeni prime minister

• Major protests in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, and Oman

• Minor protests in Lebanon, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Western Sahara.

• Clashes between Israel and Palestine along border posts also inspired by Arab Spring.

Arab Spring RevoltsThe protests have shared techniques of civil resistance, as well as the use of social media (Facebook and Twitter) to organize and coordinate.

Many demonstrations have met violent responses from authorities, as well as from pro-government militias and counter-demonstrators.

Improvised riot helmets in Tahrir Square (Egypt)!!!

Results of the Arab SpringAs of January, 2013, the following changes have resulted from the Arab Spring:

Crisis in Syria• Syria is a small country located between Iraq and

Turkey, with a powerful military. • Before the Arab Spring, Syria was ruled by the Assad

family as a dictatorship.

• Protests broke out against Assad’s regime in March 2011, inspired by the Arab Spring revolts across the region, he has used force to seek to crush the unrest, killing more than 40,000 people.

• By 2012, a full civil war was on between the Assad government and rebel factions, including some Islamists and some supported by Iran… not friends of ours.

• The USA supports the rebels in theory, but many of them consider us enemies.

• Russia and China support the Assad regime. We want to stay out of this one.

• To make matters more complicated, the Syrian military has a lot of chemical weapons, very dangerous.

Crisis in Mali and North Africa

• In 2012, there was a rebellion in the northern part of Mali, an African nation. The rebels were Tuaregs, an ethnic group that wanted its own country.

• By the summer of 2012, the rebels had been taken over by Islamists called “Ansar al-Dine”, friends of Al Qaeda.

• Northern Mali is now a new safe-haven for Al Qaeda. They acquired large numbers of weapons and equipment from Libya, which collapsed last year.

• The French military has gone to fight the Islamists, because the French have interests in Mali. Other African and NATO countries are slowly getting involved as well.

Historical Thinking - Editorial CartoonsThe following screens are a series of political cartoons about sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq, especially around 2005-2006, during the Bush Administration. After ten years of US occupation the problems still exist, though they rarely make the news anymore.

Together we are going to interpret and discuss these cartoons. We will see each cartoon twice, once without the caption, and once with it. Use your worksheet to record your answers.

Political Cartoons: Pictures with a Point

• A political cartoon makes a point about a political issue or event.

• You can find them in any daily newspaper, but they won’t be in the comics section.

• Cartoonists have several ways to get their point across. These include symbolism, exaggeration, labeling, analogy, and irony.

Techniques in a Political Cartoon?1. Symbolism - Cartoonists use simple objects, or symbols, to stand for

larger concepts or ideas.

2. Exaggeration - Sometimes cartoonists overdo, or exaggerate, the appearance of people or things in order to make a point.

3. Labeling - Cartoonists often label objects or people to make it clear exactly what they stand for.

4. Analogy - An analogy is a comparison between two different things that have some things in common.

5. Irony - Irony is the difference between the ways things are and the way things should be, or the way things are expected to be.

Questions You Should Ask

1. What issue is this political cartoon about?

2. What are some of the techniques the cartoonist is using?

3. What is the cartoonist’s opinion on this issue?

4. Did you find this cartoon persuasive? Why or why not?

Cartoon #1 and Questions

1. What do you see in this cartoon?2. Who is the cartoon depicting?

3. What visual clues does the artist give you to draw these conclusions?

BONUS: Can you guess what the characters are saying?

4. What stereotypes does the author use about Muslims?

5. What is the author’s opinion about the war in Iraq?

6. In your opinion, does the author get his/her point across effectively?

Cartoon #2 and Questions

1. What is this cartoon depicting?

2. What visual clues does the author give you to determine who the characters are in the cartoon?

3. What is the author saying about Sunnis and Shiites?4. Is there a double meaning to the phrase, “the writing on wall.” 5. Using this cartoon as evidence, can you predict what

might happen in Iraq?6. Who do you think the intended audience of this

cartoon is? Why?

Cartoon #3 and Questions

1. Describe the scene depicted in this cartoon.

2. In this cartoon, who are the “bad guys”?

3. Use this cartoon to predict what would happen if the U.S. troops completely and immediately pulled out of Iraq?

4. What do you think the author of this cartoon would say if you asked him/her, “Do you think Iraq is in a civil war?” What evidence of this can you find in the cartoon?

Conclusion

Why is it important for us to understand the differences and complexities between Sunnis and Shiites?