Iraq

The Zapatistas: The Second Stage (July 15, 2005)
...hat the WSF cannot simply continue to do the same things over and over. In Iraq and the Middle East in general there seems also to be a sense that the res...
Minutemen Leave Early; Protesters Celebrate (July 8, 2005)
... said many immigrants are being used by the government to fight the war in Iraq with the hope of gaining U.S. citizenship. “If the Minutemen want to fight...
Civil War In Iraq, Made In the USA (August 4, 2005)
..." says journalist Dahr Jamail, describing the sectarian conflict engulfing Iraq. From the beginning of the occupation, most observers agreed that while ci...
Darfur Genocide Easily Trumped by Michael Jackson on Nightly News (July 13, 2005)
...report, which concludes that media fixation with celebrity, as well as the Iraq war, is crowding out news of important events that deserve global attentio...
Three Strikes For Empire (March 28, 2005)
...f the U.S. imperial sword—discovered during the “recent unpleasantness” in Iraq—the Bush administration is setting up a new office in the State Department...
Under Bush, a New Age of Prepackaged TV News (March 13, 2005)
...e administration's most cherished policy objectives, like regime change in Iraq or Medicare reform. Others focused on less prominent matters, like the adm...
Pentagon Favors Air Strikes on Syria to Overthrow Assad, Free Lebanon (March 4, 2005)
...op support of insurgents waging a guerrilla war against American forces in Iraq as well as Palestinian militants against Israel, the U.S.-sponsored Al Hur...
CNN's Nuke Plant Photos Identical for Both Iran and N. Korea (February 14, 2005)
...he U.S. "not to make the same mistakes with Iran that he said it made with Iraq". Déjà vu, indeed. All of which begs at least these questions: Wh...
U.S. Military Advisers 'Embed' in Iraqi Units (February 10, 2005)
...d today, speaking on background. A top priority for coalition forces in Iraq over the next year is to do "all we can to make sure the Iraqis understand...
What I Heard about Iraq (February 3, 2005)
...dad and get ‘bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq’. I heard him say: ‘The question in my mind is how many additional America...
Gonzales OK could be seen as OK for torture rules (February 2, 2005)
... his re-election victory in November was a new mandate for his policies on Iraq. "People who wanted a public discussion of this issue of interrogation...
The Moral Case Against the Iraq War (May 31, 2004)
... once and for all. —Arundhati Roy As the Iraq war continues into its second year, the Bush Administration's reasons for...
The risks of the al-Zarqawi myth (December 28, 2004)
...ermind. Almost overnight, Zarqawi's terrorist group, al-Qaida Holy War for Iraq, expanded its operations across the width and breadth of Iraq. Al-Zarqa...
You Break It, You Pay For It (December 22, 2004)
...anyone who dares to suggest that the time has come to withdraw troops from Iraq: Sure the war is a disaster, the argument goes, but we can't stop now̵...
Reflections on Tsunamis and the State of Exception (December 29, 2004)
...vided intellectually sound and morally ugly rationales for his position on Iraq, it is no mistake to compare “Soft on Fascism” Hitchens with C...

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Iraq

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Republic of Iraq is a nation in the Middle East in the southwest of Asia. It shares borders with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to the south, Turkey to the north, Syria to the north-west, Jordan to the west and Iran to the east. Located in Mesopotamia, the country is currently in a state of flux following the 2003 invasion of Iraq and subsequent military occupation.

Al-Jumhuriyah Al-Iraqiyah جمهوريّة العراق


(In Detail)

National motto: Allah is great (Allahu Akbar)

Official language

Arabic

Capital

Baghdad

Civil Administrator

L. Paul Bremer

Interim President

Mohsen Abdel Hamid

Area
- Total
- % water

Ranked 57th
437,072 km²
1.1%

Population
- Total (2002)
- Density

Ranked 44th
24,001,816
55/km²

Independence

October 3, 1932

Currency

Iraqi dinar

Time zone

UTC +3

National anthem

Ardulfurataini Watan

Internet TLD

.IQ

Calling Code

964

Table of contents

1 History

2 Politics

3 Provinces

4 Geography

5 Economy

6 Demographics

7 Culture

8 Miscellaneous topics

9 External links

10 Related Amnesty International links

History

Main article: History of Iraq

The fertile area of Mesopotamia, between the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers, was the birth place of several of the world's oldest civilisations, such as the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians. After being part of Persia for a long time, it was conquered by the Arabs in 656, and in 762 the Caliphate was moved to the new city of Baghdad (near ancient Babylon). This city remained the centre of the Arab world until it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1534.

In 1915, British troops occupied Iraq and established a League of Nations mandate, which ended with independence in 1932. The socialist Ba'ath Party gained control in 1968, and established a strict rule, notably after the ascent to power of Saddam Hussein in 1979. In the 1980s, Iraq was involved in a long war with neighbour Iran, ending in 1988.

Following Iraq's occupation of Kuwait in 1990, and the subsequent expulsion by international troops, Iraq was internationally isolated until the spring of 2003, when the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia controversially invaded and removed the Ba'ath Party from leadership and continue to occupy the country while battling a tenacious insurgency.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Iraq

Up until 2003, Iraq was a dictatorship with all power completely in the hands of the repressive Ba'ath Party, under the leadership of President Saddam Hussein. The regime claimed it was democratic, but during the last presidential election, Saddam received 100% of the votes, with 100% voter turnout. The unicameral Iraqi parliament, the National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani, had 250 seats and its members were elected for 4-year terms. Like in presidential elections, no non-Ba'ath candidates were allowed to run.

Iraq is currently under a U.S.-led occupation following the ousting of the Ba'ath Party in April. Its political future is uncertain, and a violent campaign of attacks by insurgents against U.S. and coalition forces has prevented hoped-for postwar stability from emerging. Rampant looting, crime, as well as infrastructure problems continue to plague the country. The occupation is led by the U.S. Civil Administrator, L. Paul Bremer. An Interim Iraq Governing Council has also been appointed by the coalition with a monthly rotating interim presidency. The Council has in turn appointed a cabinet of ministers and other officials.

In November 2003 the U.S. announced plans to turn over sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government by the summer of 2004. The proposed US system - holding regional caucuses which then elect national leaders - has been rejected by Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, which has resulted in massive peaceful protests against the proposed systems. Sistani, the most senior Shiite cleric in Iraq, declared the system as too easy to manipulate to elect an America-friendly government and not representative of the people. The US is currently seeking assistance from the United Nations to help resolve the dispute.

Provinces

Main article: Provinces of Iraq

Iraq is divided into 18 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah):

Al Anbar
Al Basrah
Al Karbala
Al Muthanna
Al Qadisyah
An Najaf
Arbil
As Sulaymaniyah
At Ta'mim
Babil
Baghdad
Dahuk
Dhi Qar
Diyala
Maysan
Ninawa
Salah ad Din
Wasit

Geography

Main article: Geography of Iraq

Large parts of Iraq consist of desert, but the area between the two major rivers Euphrates and Tigris is fertile, with the rivers carrying about 70 million cubic meters of silt annually to the delta. The north of the country is largely mountainous, with the highest point being Haji Ibrahim at 3,600 m. Iraq has a small coastline with the Persian Gulf. Close to the coast and along the Shatt al-Arab there used to be marshlands, but many of these were drained in the 1990s.

The local climate is mostly a desert clime with mild to cool winters and dry, hot, cloudless summers. The northern mountainous regions experience cold winters with occasional heavy snows, sometimes causing extensive flooding. The capital Baghdad is situated in the centre of the country, on the banks of the Tigris. Other major cities include Basra in the south and Mosul in the north. Iraq is considered to be one of the fifteen states that comprise the so-called "Cradle of Humanity"

Economy

Main article: Economy of Iraq

Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. In the 1980s financial problems caused by massive expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran and damage to oil export facilities by Iran led the government to implement austerity measures, borrow heavily, and later reschedule foreign debt payments; Iraq suffered economic losses from the war of at least $100 billion. After hostilities ended in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities.

Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic sanctions, and damage from military action by an international coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically reduced economic activity. Although government policies supporting large military and internal security forces and allocating resources to key supporters of the regime have hurt the economy, implementation of the United Nations' oil-for-food programme in December 1996 has helped improve conditions for the average Iraqi citizen. For the first six, six-month phases of the programme, Iraq was allowed to export limited amounts of oil in exchange for food, medicine, and some infrastructure spare parts.

In December 1999 the UN Security Council authorised Iraq to export under the program as much oil as required to meet humanitarian needs. Oil exports were more than three-quarters of the prewar level. However, 28% of Iraq's export revenues under the programme are deducted to meet UN Compensation Fund and UN administrative expenses. The drop in GDP in 2001 was largely the result of the global economic slowdown and lower oil prices. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq the economy has to a great extent shut down and attempts are underway to revive it from the damages of the war and rampant crime.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Iraq

Almost 75% of Iraq's population consists of Arabs, the other major ethnic group are the Kurds (20%), who live in the north and northeast of the country. Other distinct groups are Turkomans, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Iranians, Lurs, and Armenians. Arabic is the official language, although Kurdish has an official status in the North and English is the most commonly spoken Western language. More than 40% of the Iraqi population is under the age of 15.

Most Arab Iraqi Muslims are members of the Shiite sect, but there is a large Sunni population as well, made up of both Arabs and Kurds. Small communities of Christians, Jews, Bahais, Mandaeans, and Yezidis also exist. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslim but differ from their Arab neighbors in language, dress, and customs.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Iraq

Music of Iraq

Miscellaneous topics

Communications of Iraq
Transportation in Iraq
Military of Iraq
Foreign relations of Iraq
List of Kings of Iraq
List of Presidents of Iraq
List of Prime Ministers of Iraq
Human rights violations in Iraq
List of places in Iraq

External links

Bush in Baghdad
Iraq News
On a Small Bridge in Iraq
CIA information on Iraq
Iraq.gov