Middle East Today: The Emergence of ISIL

What is the Islamic State?

• Create Caliphate:

• Wahibist Sunni Muslims

• Control Large Parts of Northern Iraq and Syria

• Movement Spreading to North Africa

• Former Iraqi Officers Play Key role

The U.S. role• U.S. is an Imperialist Power

• Uses Economic, military and cultural power to control or strongly influence the Land, Labor and Resources of the World

• If There Were No Oil in the Middle East, Would the U.S. Be There??

A Quick Tour of the U.S. in the Middle East

• 1. Before Oil: The Ottomans

• 2. World War I: Ottoman Empire goes Down

• 3. Britain and France Divide up the Region

• 4. Oil Becomes Increasingly Important

Ottoman Empire 1912

France & England Divide Levant

Oil, Oil & More Oil

• Massive Oil Deposits Discovered 1908-1930s

• Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 1932

• Wahibist Version of Sunni Islam dominates

• U.S. & Saudis Become Great Friends

• By 1950s ME Oil Largest Producer in the World

Cold War (1947-1991)

• U.S. Develops Alliance System to Control theMiddle East @ Its Oil…and stop Soviet influence in the region

Iran Resists Western Control of Its Oil: They Strike Back….Nationalize Oil…U.S. and U.K. Overthrow the Government of Iran in 1953 support Shah

Baghdad Pact: 1955….Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Turkey …. Shiite Iran Key Power in Region

Chaos Develops

• Things Look Up for the U.S. and Its Allies in 1950s and 1960s… stability and dictators

Then A Bombshell: The Iranian Revolution 1979…. U.S. Loses an Ally

Saddam Hussein: Dominates Iraq, and goes to War with Iran…. Iraq has a Shiite Majority

U.S. Invades Iraq 2003-2011

• Iraq Falls Apart With U.S. Invasion

• U.S. Disbands Iraqi Army

• Civil War Begins…Shiite vs. Sunni, tribe against Tribe….. Chaos Unfolds

• ISIL Responds: Fills the vacum,e organizes an army, begins to spread its ideas across the region

Arab Spring 2011

• Tuniisa: People Rebel and New Government

• Egypt: Mubarak Regime Ousted

• Libya: Guadaffi Regime Overthrown

• Syria: Civil War Begins

• Iraq War Ends

• ISIL Emerges

ISIL

Caliphate (Iraq & Syria)

Growing Califate

U.S. Intervenes