...Alqosh, Iraq—The 800-year-old synagogue believed to house the tomb of thebiblical prophet Nahum could become the next victim of Iraq's ancient and modern conflicts. The crumbling stone walls, weakened by weeds sprouting from cracks, tilt precariously over a sidewalk; the decorative buttresses that prop up the pockmarked roof appear ready to cave in. To keep the historic structure from collapsing, authorities have erected a makeshift metal awning to shield it from the fierce winds that whip across the storied Nineveh Plains. They have strung rusty coils of barbed wire around its perimeter to discourage worship in the synagogue for fear of falling masonry, and they have tried to plug some holes with gravel and sand. But with no active preservation effort, the tomb seems condemned to a slow, weather-induced death. It's an unexceptional plight in Iraq, where more than 12 years of near-unbroken violence have inflicted irreparable damage on many cultural sitesand compromised the government's limited attempts to safeguard the country's heritage. But the circumstances that have conspired against what is believed by many to be the resting place of Nahum, a holy man from the seventh century B.C., illustrate the challenges that conservationists face in salvaging architectural riches in conflict zones. Even by ancient standards, Nahum's life is poorly documented—it's not even certain where he's buried (a village south of Jerusalem also lays claim to him). His supposed prediction of the...
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...To be successful in Iraq, and in any war for that matter, our use of force must be tied to a political objective more complete than the ouster of a regime. To date, that has not happened in Iraq. It is time it did. In the past week the situation in Iraq has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. While we may have differed on how we went to war, Americans of all political persuasions are united in our determination to succeed. The extremists attacking our forces should know they will not succeed in dividing America, or in sapping American resolve, or in forcing the premature withdrawal of U.S. troops. Our country is committed to help the Iraqis build a stable, peaceful and pluralistic society. No matter who is elected president in November, we will persevere in that mission. But to maximize our chances for success, and to minimize the risk of failure, we must make full use of the assets we have. If our military commanders request more troops, we should deploy them. Progress is not possible in Iraq if people lack the security to go about the business of daily life. Yet the military alone cannot win the peace in Iraq. We need a political strategy that will work. Over the past year the Bush administration has advanced several plans for a transition to democratic rule in Iraq. Each of those plans, after proving to be unworkable, was abandoned. The administration has set a date (June 30) for returning authority to an Iraqi entity to run the country, but there is no...
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...Iraq Monica Brown History January 23, 2012 Mr. Fitzsimmons Fact sheet National name: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah Current government officials Languages: Arabic (official), Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian Ethnicity/race: Arab 75%–80%, Kurdish 15%–20%, Turkoman, Assyrian, or other 5% Religions: Islam 97% (Shiite 60%–65%, Sunni 32%–37%), Christian or other 3% National Holiday: Revolution Day, July 17 Literacy rate: 74% (2003 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2009 est.): $112 billion; per capita $3,600. Real growth rate: 4.3%. Inflation: 6.8%. Unemployment: 15.2%. Arable land: 13%. Agriculture: wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep, poultry. Labor force: 7.4 million; agriculture n.a., industry n.a., services n.a. Industries: petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur. Exports: $38 billion (2009): crude oil (83.9%), crude materials excluding fuels (8.0%), food and live animals (5.0%). Imports: $55.4 billion (2009): food, medicine, manufactures. Major trading partners: U.S., Spain, Italy, Canada, Syria, Turkey, Jordan (2006). Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 1.547 million (2005); mobile cellular: 10.9 million (2007). Radio broadcast stations: after 17 months of unregulated media growth, there are approximately 80 radio stations on the air inside...
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...Nhan T. Pham Sociology 300 Introduction Less Developing Countries (LDCs) are emerging in the 21st century with the increasing role of new technologies, private investment that have led to the remarkable reduction in poverty. The Third World development in the future will likely be very different from what it has been in the past. Less Developing Countries are often unindustrialized, economically instable, have an underdeveloped political system and have high levels of human health. LDCs have changed and evolved over the years as we move into the modern age. The purpose of this paper is to examine two developing countries (Vietnam and Iraq). I will focus on the three major problems that the two countries are experiencing in today's world that include political, economic and human rights. Despite the country’s political differences, they share some similarities; though much of the philosophy has been debated, there are points of value to both countries. This essay intends to study some of their most painful discover in their political philosophy. Vietnam Political The North and the South were divided politically in 1954 because of different economic ideologies. Communist was in the North and capitalist in the South. Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese revolutionary leader, who established the communist governed Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945. Ho Chi Minh became president of Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 1945 to 1969. He died in 1969. After the fall of Saigon in...
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...Introduction Hassig and Al Adely argue in their book known as Iraq: Culture of the world, that Iraq has been a major discussion featured in news all over the world in the last ten years of the 20th century and in the early years of the 21st century. Its ancient history has fascinated and owed many though triggering the international community to have many negative reactions. In ancient days, Iraq was known as Mesopotamia meaning “land between two rivers-the Euphrates and the Tigris” with Arabs, Sumerians, Turks and Babylonians contributing to the prosperity of the country. This has made Iraq to be known as “the cradle of civilization.” They later discuss Iraq's climate, geography, fauna, governance, economy, flora and the country's history as discussed below. Geography Iraq's geography is made of mountains in the north, marshland on river banks and deserts in the south. The Iraq terrain is rugged seen in the citizens who live in poverty and war though still holding to their religion, beliefs, customs and interests. The country's geographical location is in the south western region of Asia. Iraq's fertile land is found between the two rivers which has supported agriculture for many years. Although besides the lands fertility, the country's topography and vegetation is changing drastically with west and southern parts changing into deserts and the north transforming into cold mountainous regions. There are steppe desert plains towards the west. This makes the place to be...
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...1941: IRAQ AND THE ILLUMINATI The growing guerrilla war in Iraq has shown Saddam Hussein's Baath Party to be far more resilient than anyone realized. To understand their resilience and grass-roots strength, one must look at the party's mystical origins. Columnist Maureen Dowd says the Arabic word Baath stands for resurrection. But Baath is not a word that translates well into English. A better synonym would be the Italian word Risorgimento. Actually, the party had its origin in the little town of Asadabad in western Iran. Here, in 1839, was born Sayyid Jamal ad-Din, a Muslim mystic sometimes known as al-Afghani (Arabic for the Afghan--J.T.) and "the Sage of the East." Jamal ad-Din was raised as a Shiite Muslim and, in 1845, his family enrolled him in a madrassa (Islamic school) in the holy city of Najaf in what is now Iraq. Here Jamal was initiated into "the mysteries" by "followers of Sheik Ahmad Asai (1753-1826). He also may have had some family connections with the Babis, followers of Siyyid Ali Mohammed al-Bab," an imam keenly interested in politics. "After years studying Shia theology at the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, he spent several years in India, the Caucasus and Central Asia before surfacing in Afghanistan as the senior advisor to the pro-Russian ruler." (Editor's Comment: Strange that a supposedly devout Muslim would head for India instead of making the traditional haj or pilgrimage to Mecca. It appears that Jamal ad-Din was one of the few Illuminati to...
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...Cultural Awareness on Iraq In thesis I talk about why Iraq has one of the world's oldest cultural histories. Iraq is where the Ancient Mesopotamian Civilizations were, whose legacy went on to influence and shape the civilizations Of the Old World. Culturally, Iraq has a very rich heritage. Iraq is an Islamic nation and has one of the most colorful histories in the world. The country’s traditions remain evident in many aspects of everyday life, the most common tradition is afternoon cup of tea also know as shy, it is a welcoming invitation to sit with your friends and family enjoy a cup of tea specially if you are not from this country. In the past, arranged marriages were common. However, “this practice is becoming more rare, and a law was...
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...1. SS Notes 7: Iraq-Kuwait conflict Causes of conflict Factors: Economic problems, oil production and dispute over territoryEconomic problems: Iraq had previously fought a war with Iran, which drained its reserves. As aresult, Iraq’s economy was severely weakened. Iraq also had debts to other countries such as the USand France. For example, Iraq owed about US$80 million in debts. Iraq thus had to find ways to payoff its debts and saw Kuwait as a potential solution. Thus the economic problems of Iraq are animportant cause of conflict between Iraq and Kuwait.Oil production: Iraq’s main source of income is through the sale of oil. Oil production wasmaintained by OPEC, to prevent a decline in oil prices. However, Kuwait ignored its quota, thus theprice of oil dropped from US$18 to US$7 per barrel. This loss of revenue for Iraq meant that it wasunable to pay off its debts through the sale of oil. This prompted Iraq to look for alternative ways tosettle their debts and looked to Kuwait as a potential solution. Thus oil production is an importantcause of the Iraq-Kuwait conflict.Territorial dispute: Some borders in the region were not well defined as both Iraq and Kuwaitinherited their borders from the British. There were thus clashes between the two countries as theyboth wanted certain territories for themselves. An example is the Rumaila oilfield. The Rumailaoilfield was shared between both countries as its borders were not clearly defined. However in 1990,Iraq claimed that Kuwait...
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...OUTLOOK OF IRAQ GROUP MEMBERS NAMES REG NO SIGNITURE 1. Tari Elizabeth Qabale DS/0002/010 2. Sessia Sammy Kipyegon DS/3005/010 INTRODUCTION Country formal name: Republic of Iraq and the local long form is (Jamhuriyyat al-Iraq) Convectional short form: Iraq and the local short form is al-Iraq Continent: Asia Country Motto: Allahu-Akbar (God is the Greatest) National Anthem: Mawtini (My Homeland) National symbol: Golden Eagle Terms for citizens: Iraqi(s) Capital city: Baghdad which lies in the center east of the country and actually the largest city. Current president: Jalal Talabani Current Prime Minister: Nouri Al-Maliki Year of independence: From United Kingdom on 3rd October 1932 and was declared a republic on 14th July 1958. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Historically, Iraq was known in Europe by the Greek troponin ‘Mesopotamia’ meaning the land between the rivers. Iraq has been home to numerous civilizations since 6th century BC. The ruins of Ur, Babylon and other ancient cities are situated in Iraq as well as the legendary location of the Garden of Eden. The region between Tigris and Euphrates rivers is identified as the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of writing and the wheel. The water from these two rivers as well as the fertility of the soil in the alluvial plain and the delta allowed early agriculture to sustain the population as early as 6 BC. Once known as Mesopotamia, Iraq was the...
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...Writing 3 Iraq has many problems over the past decade. As today, Iraqi government is trying to develop and enhance their country. The environment of Iraq becomes more polluted every day. Because of the toxic gases which produced by the factories. However, this is just one the problems that Iraq is facing today. Iraq is facing three important challenges or problems which are political, religious, and educational. Iraq is challenging great political problems. There are many parties in Iraq, and each party is working for its own benefits and advantages. If you watch Iraqi parliament for one time, you will see that they are just want money and high positions. They just agree on constitutions that benefit them, and they don't care about the country. The latest issue was the conflict between Nuri Al-Malki and Anbar's tribes. Anbar's tribes request from the government to change some policies because they are not fair, but Al-Malki disagrees because that is against his benefits. Iraq has political issues with neighbor countries too. For a long time, Iraq has problems with Kuwait and still has problems because Iraq conquered Kuwait in 1990. Iraq has troubles with Iran because Iran wants to control our country, so they can control the Middle East after that. Iran has many spies in our country and government. The other reason is that Iraq is the main base of USA army in the Middle East Iraq has many religious problems. There are different types of religions in Iraq; Islam (Sunna)...
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...Iraq War Iraq War was an armed conflict that began with the invasion of Iraq in March of 2003 and lasted until 2011. The US counted with some allies in this war such as United Kingdom or Australia. There were different reasons to explain the interest of the invasion and posterior war. Iraq invasion had a lot to do with 9/11 and the 1991 Gulf war. The Bush administration made the argument that in the post 9/11 climate there should be a belated reckoning with Saddam Hussein. He had continued to sponsor terrorism, had over the years invaded or attacked four of his neighbours, and had killed tens of thousands of his own people. Another important reason was the strong belief that Iraq had weapon of mass destruction, according to CIA, and most Middle Eastern governments and European intelligence agencies agreed. This started with the belief that there were missing stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. The possible possession of these weapons was never clear, but was useful to get some more support as the other reasons would not generate enough public urgency for pre-emption. Another motivation to invade Iraq was the issue of oil. The intention was not to take Iraq oil, but to avoid Saddam of having the control of oil. Iraq’s oil revenues meant that Saddam would always have the resources to foment trouble in the region, would always be difficult to remove through internal opposition, and would always use petrodollar influence. Finally, we could also say that another reason...
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...The Iraq War: An Avoidable Situation Introduction Iraq has generally never been a nation at peace, but that did not stop the United States from exacerbating those problems. Following the attacks of September 11 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003 the United States’ actions and counter terrorism strategy created an insurgency that set them up for a long and arduous war. Through what appeared to be a rushed planning process the United States entered Iraq and acted as if they wanted to worsen their situation. This paper will look at how the ordinances passed during the first year in Iraq, due to Paul Bremer’s lack of knowledge concerning counter-insurgency, made the United States government reconsider their strategy in Iraq. These actions combined with a growing resentment towards United States occupancy and Shi’a and Sunni insurgencies caused the United States to change its course of action towards counter-insurgency. The civil war that was beginning only added to the problem. Quickly, they wrote two new field manuals on counter-insurgency and with successful campaigns, led by General Petraeus, regained some stability in the war-torn nation. Background A decade before the War on Terror and the subsequent invasion of Iraq under the Bush regime, there was the Gulf War. Following the Iraqi defeat at the hands of a USA led, United Nations backed force there were strict sanctions placed on weapons, the military, and oil reserves in Iraq. Also, following this conflict, a wealthy...
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...Iraq War Thesis Statement: What are the different reviews on the war? I. Debate over War with Iraq A. Pros of the Iraq war 1 .The U.S. has a duty to disarm a nation like Iraq. 2. Saddam Hussein is a tyrant that has demonstrated a complete disregard for human life and should be brought to justice. 3. The people of Iraq are oppressed people, and the U.S. has a duty to save these people. 4. The oil reserves of the region are necessary to the U.S. economy. A rogue element like Saddam threatens the oil reserves of the entire region. 5. The practice of appeasement only fosters even bigger tyrants. 6. By removing Saddam Hussein, the U.S. is safer in the future from terrorist attacks. 7. The creation of another nation favorable to U.S. interests in the Middle-east. 8. The removal of Saddam Hussein would uphold previous UN resolutions and give the body some credibility. B. Cons of the Iraq war 1. A pre-emptive strike lacks moral authority and violates previous U.S policy. 2. The war will create civilian casualties. 3. The UN inspectors may be able to resolve this issue. 4. The liberating military will lose troops as well as the U.S. 5. The country of Iraq could disintegrate. 6. The U.S. and allies will be responsible for rebuilding a new nation. 7. There is very little proof of a connection to Al-Qaeda. 8. The world consensus doesn’t exist for war. 9. Allied relationships will be damaged. II.U.S. Occupation of Iraq Will Increase Terrorism ...
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...Iraq & Vietnam: A comparison and contrast Kirkland Young HUMN 410 Professor Harris 11/17/09 Introduction Many pundits who opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq now compare it to the invasion of Vietnam by viewing the daily attacks on U.S. soldiers as indications of repeating mistakes that were made in Vietnam. In their view, “the United States has yet again stumbled into a foreign quagmire – a protracted and indecisive political and military struggle from which they are not likely to remove themselves without considerable loss of life and currency.” (Terrill, p. 1) However, profound differences separate the domestic and international objectives of the Vietnam and Iraq wars even though there are many similarities these similarities can be misleading. The Vietnam War was over the spread of communism in the Indochina region of the world. The French and the Japanese had been thoroughly conquered by the Vietnamese led by a Ho Chi Minh who had an overwhelming amount of support from his compatriots. In 1954 the president of the U.S.A. attempted to divide the country of Vietnam into two opposing governments. Selecting a former Vietnamese official named Ngo Dinh Diem and planting him in South Vietnam to oppose the elections that would unite the country. This was done because an intelligence estimate showed that the election would be won by Ho Chi Minh and thus would give “control of the associated states (Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) in the region – the three parts...
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...Talisman’s Decision to Enter Iraq Robert A. Neufeld Athabasca University Executive Summary The board of directors of Talisman Energy Inc., a Canadian publicly-traded oil and gas company, has been presented with a request from management that the company jointly purchase a 40 percent interest in Block 44 in the Kurdistan region of Iraq with another Canadian firm called WesternZagros, The investment is potentially very profitable and fits well into Talisman’s growth strategy however it is also very risky. Within its recent past Talisman suffered reputational damage and was forced to sell off its operational investment in Sudan after underestimating the risks involved in operating in a politically unstable region and specifically the efforts of non-governmental organizations and resulting pressures from stakeholders. The board needs to decide if it should enter Iraq and if Talisman can successfully operate there in a corporately responsible and profitable manner while managing many apparent risks. The main risk is the political and legal relationship between the Kurdistan and the Iraqi Central Government is transitory if not non-existent, and there is higher international support for Iraq unity than Kurdistan independence. The risks are great enough that Talisman should wait to enter Iraq. Problem Statement Can Talisman enter and operate as a joint venture in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in a profitable and corporately responsible manner that avoids the issues faced...
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