1.
Ba'athist Iraq
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Baathist Iraq, formally the Iraqi Republic, covers the history of Iraq between 1968 and 2003, during the period of the Arab Socialist Baath Partys rule. This period began with high growth and soaring prosperity, but ended with Iraq facing social, political. The average annual income decreased because of external factors. During al-Bakrs de jure rule, the economy grew. However, several factors were threatening the countrys stability, among them the countrys conflict with Iran. An external problem was the conflict with Iran, which would contribute to the Iran–Iraq War. The Baath Party, which was secular in nature, harshly repressed the protests, another policy change was Iraqs foreign policy towards Iran, a Shia Muslim country. Deteriorating relations eventually led to the Iran–Iraq War, which started in 1980 when Iraq launched an invasion of Iran. Following the 1979 Iranian revolution, the Iraqis believed the Iranians to be weak and this notion proved to be incorrect, and the war lasted for eight years. Iraqs economy deteriorated during the war, and the country dependent on foreign donations to fund their war effort. The war ended in a stalemate when a ceasefire was reached in 1988, when the war ended, Iraq found itself in the midst of an economic depression, owed millions of dollars to foreign countries, and was unable to repay its creditors. Kuwait, which had increased oil output following the war, reducing international oil prices. In response to this, Saddam threatened Kuwait that, unless it reduced its oil output, negotiations broke down, and on 2 August 1990, Iraq launched an invasion of Kuwait. The resulting international response led to the Persian Gulf War, which Iraq lost, the United Nations initiated economic sanctions in the wars aftermath to weaken the Baathist Iraqi government. The countrys economic conditions worsened during the 1990s, and at the turn of the 21st century, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks of 2001, the United States initiated a Global War on Terrorism, and labelled Iraq as a part of an Axis of Evil. In 2003, U. S. coalition forces invaded Iraq, in contrast to previous coups détat in Iraqs history, the 1968 coup, referred to as the 17 July Revolution, was, according to Con Coughlin, a relatively civil affair. All telephone lines were cut at 03,00, by which time several tanks had been commanded to halt in front of the Presidential Palace. Abdul Rahman Arif, the then-President of Iraq, first knew of the coup when jubilant members of the Republican Guard started shooting into the air in a premature triumph
2.
Iraq
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The capital, and largest city, is Baghdad. The main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds, others include Assyrians, Turkmen, Shabakis, Yazidis, Armenians, Mandeans, Circassians, around 95% of the countrys 36 million citizens are Muslims, with Christianity, Yarsan, Yezidism, and Mandeanism also present. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish, two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation. It was here that mankind first began to read, write, create laws, the area has been home to successive civilisations since the 6th millennium BC. Iraq was the centre of the Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian and it was also part of the Median, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Ayyubid, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires. Iraqs modern borders were mostly demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations when the Ottoman Empire was divided by the Treaty of Sèvres, Iraq was placed under the authority of the United Kingdom as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. A monarchy was established in 1921 and the Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from Britain in 1932, in 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Iraqi Republic created. Iraq was controlled by the Arab Socialist Baath Party from 1968 until 2003, after an invasion by the United States and its allies in 2003, Saddam Husseins Baath Party was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in 2005. The American presence in Iraq ended in 2011, but the Iraqi insurgency continued and intensified as fighters from the Syrian Civil War spilled into the country, the Arabic name العراق al-ʿIrāq has been in use since before the 6th century. There are several suggested origins for the name, one dates to the Sumerian city of Uruk and is thus ultimately of Sumerian origin, as Uruk was the Akkadian name for the Sumerian city of Urug, containing the Sumerian word for city, UR. An Arabic folk etymology for the name is rooted, well-watered. During the medieval period, there was a region called ʿIrāq ʿArabī for Lower Mesopotamia and ʿIrāq ʿajamī, for the region now situated in Central and Western Iran. The term historically included the south of the Hamrin Mountains. The term Sawad was also used in early Islamic times for the region of the plain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In English, it is either /ɪˈrɑːk/ or /ɪˈræk/, the American Heritage Dictionary, the pronunciation /aɪˈræk/ is frequently heard in U. S. media. Since approximately 10,000 BC, Iraq was one of centres of a Caucasoid Neolithic culture where agriculture, the following Neolithic period is represented by rectangular houses. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gypsum, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations
3.
Iraqi Armed Forces
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The Iraqi Armed Forces are the military forces of the Iraqi government. They consist of the Iraqi Army, the Iraqi Air Force, and they were initially formed in the early 1920s. Six military Coup détats were mounted by the Army between 1936 and 1941, the armed forces first saw combat in the Anglo-Iraqi War of 1941. They fought against Israel in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, in the 1967 Six Day War, two wars with the Kurds were fought in 1961–70 and 1974–75. A much larger conflict was the Iran–Iraq War, initiated by the Iraqis in 1980, the Iraqi armed forces have had mixed success at the strategic level but consistently poor tactical performance during most of their history. Iraq had one of the largest and strongest militaries in the world in 1990, the armed forces are administered by the Ministry of Defence. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which toppled the Saddam Hussein regime, the Iraqi Army, in particular, is one of the most trusted national institutions of Iraq. Iraqi Armed Forces deficiencies have been identified in enabling functions, such as, e. g. logistics, in high-end conventional operations, Iraqi capabilities are currently limited by lack of artillery and air power. There are also concerns regarding corruption and sectarian agendas within the force, Article 9 of the Constitution of Iraq establishes the legal basis of the Iraqi Armed Forces. Much of the wording of Article 9 draws upon Article 27 of the 2004 Transitional Administrative Law, part C expressively notes that military personnel are allowed to vote in elections. The Second Section says that military service shall be regulated by law, Iraqs legislation on defence dates from the Coalition Provisional Authority period of 2003–2004. CPA Order 22 established the New Iraqi Army on August 18,2003, in the process, the New Iraqi Army was expanded to include an Army, Air Force, Coastal Defense Force, reserve forces, and other elements. Iraq does not appear to have issued a national defence review or white paper. Much of defence policy since 2003 has been set by the United States, for example, one mission objective for Multi-National Force-Iraq was an Iraq that has a security force that can maintain domestic order and deny Iraq as a safe haven for terrorists. To do this, the U. S. aimed to train and equip Iraqs security forces, in 2010 there are at least three major defence tasks. The armed forces of Iraq as a modern country began to be formed by the British after they assumed mandated control over Iraq after 1917. During the March 1921 Cairo conference, it was agreed that an Iraqi Army would be created along British lines, with training, king Faisal wanted an army of 15, 000–20,000 men. The army actually grew from 3,500 in 1922 to 7,000 in 1927, the army became a modernising influence in the country
4.
Iraqi Army
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The Iraqi Army, officially the Iraqi Ground Forces, is the ground force component of the Iraqi military, having been active in various incarnations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. The Iraqi Army in its form was first created by the United Kingdom during the inter-war period of de facto British control of Mandatory Iraq. Following the invasion of Iraq by U. S. forces in 2003, because of the Iraqi insurgency that began shortly after the invasion, the Iraqi Army was later designed to initially be a counter-insurgency force. With the withdrawal of U. S. troops in 2011, the threat of war with newly forming Republic of Turkey, which claimed the Ottoman vilayet of Mosul as part of their country, led the British to form the Iraqi Army on 6 January 1921. The Mussa Al-Kadhum Brigade consisted of officers, whose barracks were located in Kadhimyah. The United Kingdom provided support and training to the Iraqi Army, Iraqi Army Day celebrates the soldiers that fight for Iraq. From 1533 to 1918, Iraq was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, after 1917, the United Kingdom took control of the country. The first Iraqi military forces established by the British were the Iraq Levies, in August 1921, the British installed Hashemite King Faisal I as the client ruler of the British Mandate of Iraq. Faisal had been forced out as the King of Syria by the French, likewise, British authorities selected Sunni Arab elites from the region for appointments to government and ministry offices in Iraq. The British and the Iraqis formalized the relationship between the two nations with the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1922, with Faisals ascension to the throne, the Iraqi Army became the Royal Iraqi Army. In 1922, the army totalled 3,618 men and this was well below the 6,000 men requested by the Iraqi monarchy and even less than the British set limit of 4,500. Unattractive salaries hindered early recruiting efforts, at this time, the United Kingdom maintained the right to levy local forces like the British-officered Iraq Levies which were under direct British control. With a strength of 4,984 men, the Iraq Levies outnumbered the army with its British set limit of 4,500 men. In 1924, the RIrA grew to 5,772 men and and it was to stay at 7,500 men until 1933. The force now had six battalions, three cavalry regiments, two mountain regiments, and one field battery. In 1932, the Kingdom of Iraq was granted official independence, the pro-British faction was represented by politicians such as Nuri as-Said who did not oppose a continued British presence. The anti-British faction was represented by such as Rashid Ali al-Gaylani who demanded that remaining British influence in the country be removed. From 1936 to 1941, five coups by the RIrA occurred during each year led by the officers of the Army against the government to pressure the government to concede to Army demands
5.
Iraqi Navy
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The Iraqi Navy is one of the components of the military of Iraq. Its primary responsibilities are the protection of Iraqs coastline and offshore assets, initially called the Iraqi Coastal Defense Force, its official name was changed on 12 January 2005. As of February 2011, the navy had approximately 5,000 sailors and marines which form an Operational headquarters, five afloat squadrons, and two marine battalions. Headed by Rear Admiral Muhammad Jawad, the navy had plans to build six Al Uboor-class patrol boats in Baghdad and this project however, was ultimately canceled. Additionally, two Assad-class corvettes built for Iraq in the 1980s by Italy were originally planned to be delivered sometime around 2006–2007. The ships however, were found to be in a worse state than originally believed, forcing the Iraqi navy to reconsider the deal and instead buy 4, newer, smaller modified-Diciotti class vessels. The 5 British corvettes and 1 Soviet patrol boat operated by the Saddam Hussein-era Iraqi Navy were destroyed in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, respectively. The Iraqi Navy is designed for water protection, preventing the smuggling of people, oil and weapons. As a result, it mainly needs patrol boats and these may be backed up by fast attack craft. The patrol boats need to have the ability to launch rigid-inflatable boats for boarding ships, the Iraqi Navy is building a second Marine battalion. The Iraqi Navy was formed in 1937 as a small four-ship force headquartered in Basra, between 1937 and 1958, it was primarily a riverine force. Following the 14 July Revolution of 1958, the Iraqi Navy began to expand, operationally based in the port of Umm Qasr, the Arabic Gulf Academy for Sea Studies was established in Basra, which offered a bachelors degree in war and engineering naval studies. By 1988, the Navy grew to a force of 5,000, much of the Navy was destroyed during Operation Pearl. Between 1977 and 1987, the Iraqi Navy received eight Osa-class missile boats, armed with Styx anti-ship missiles, the Iraqi Navy was almost completely destroyed during the Gulf War of 1991. The force had 19 ships sunk and 6 vessels damaged, in total, more than 100 Iraqi ships were destroyed. The Navy was not rebuilt and played part in the Iraq War. Of the units that remained by late 2002, most were in a state of repair. Whatever units that remained after 1991 were used primarily for safeguarding Saddams palaces on the Tigris river, in January 2004, the Iraqi Coastal Defense Force officially began training its first 214 volunteers
6.
Iraqi Air Force
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The Iraqi Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces, responsible for the policing of international borders and surveillance of national assets. The IQAF also acts as a force for the Iraqi Navy. The Iraqi Air Force was founded in 1931, during British control of Iraq after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in WW1, the air force used both Soviet and British aircraft throughout the 1950s and 1960s. When Saddam Hussein came to power in 1979, the air force grew very quickly when Iraq ordered more Soviet and French aircraft. Its peak came after the long and bloody Iran–Iraq War, which ended in 1988 and its downfall came during the Gulf War and continued while coalition forces enforced no-fly zones. The remains of Iraqs air force were destroyed during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, after the invasion, the IQAF was rebuilt, receiving most of its training and aircraft from the United States. The Royal Iraqi Air Force considered its founding day as 22 April 1931, before the creation of the new air force, the RAF Iraq Command was in charge of all British Armed Forces elements in Iraq in the 1920s and early 1930s. The RIrAF was based at the airport in the Washash neighborhood of Baghdad, and consisted of five pilots, aeronautics students trained at the RAF College Cranwell, and 32 aircraft mechanics. The original five pilots were Natiq Mohammed Khalil al-Tay, Mohammed Ali Jawad, Hafdhi Aziz, Akrem Talib Mushtaq, and Musa Ali. During the early years of the Royal Iraqi Air Force, it received aircraft from the United Kingdom as well as Breda Ba.65 attack planes. In the years following Iraqi independence, the Air Force was still dependent on the Royal Air Force, the Iraqi government allocated the majority of its military expenditure to the Iraqi Army and by 1936 the Royal Iraqi Air Force had only 37 pilots and 55 aircraft. The following year, the Air Force showed some growth, increasing its number of pilots to 127. The RIrAF was first used in combat against the revolts by tribes in Diwaniya and Rumaytha southern Iraq in 1934 under order of Bakr Sidqi, where it suffered its first combat loss. The RIrAF was destroyed as a force, resulting in an alliance with the Axis which involved Luftwaffe aircraft. The German units were Special Staff F and Fliegerführer Irak, however losses, a lack of spares and replacements resulted in their departure, following which the coup was defeated by British forces. A roughly 1946 order of battle for the Air Force can be found in Janes Fighting Aircraft of World War II. The RIrAF was still recovering from its destruction by the British in 1948 when they joined in the war against the newly created state of Israel in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Even though the RIrAF now had some modern aircraft, the RIrAF played a role in the first war against Israel
7.
Ba'athism
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The ideology is officially based on the theories of the Syrian intellectuals Zaki al-Arsuzi, Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar. A Baathist society seeks enlightenment, renaissance of Arab culture, values, Baathism is based on principles of Arab nationalism, pan-Arabism, Arab socialism, as well as social progress. A Baathist state supports socialist economics to a degree, and supports public ownership over the heights of the economy. The two Baathist states which have existed forbade criticism of their ideology through authoritarian governance, the origins of Baathism began with the political thought developed by Zaki al-Arsuzi and Michel Aflaq. While Aflaq, Bitar and Arsuzi were never members of the same organization, the closest they ever came to being members of the same organization was in 1939, when those three together with Michel Quzman, Shakir al-As and Ilyas Qandalaft, tried to establish a party. This did not happen because Arsuzi personally disliked Aflaq, and Aflaq seemed to have reciprocated the feeling, though Aflaq was influenced by him, Arsuzi initially did not cooperate with Aflaqs movement. Arsuzi was an Arab from Alexandretta who had associated with Arab nationalist politics during the interwar period. He was inspired by the French Revolution, the German and Italian unification movements, and his views were influenced by a number of prominent European and Eurasian philosophical and political figures, among them Georg Hegel, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Oswald Spengler. When Arsuzi left the LNA party in 1939 after its leader died. On 29 November 1940, Arsuzi founded the Arab Baath Party, Aflaqs movement supported al-Gaylanis government and the Iraqi governments war against the British, and organized volunteers to go to Iraq and fight for the Iraqi government. However, Arsuzi opposed al-Gaylanis government, considering the coup to be poorly-planned, at this point, Arsuzis party lost members and support that transferred to Aflaqs movement. Subsequently, Arsuzis direct influence in Arab politics collapsed after Vichy French authorities expelled him from Syria in 1941, Aflaqs Arab Baath Movements next major political action was its support of Lebanons war of independence from France in 1943. In 1966 the Baath movement split in half, one Syrian-dominated, Aflaq is today considered the founder of the Baathist movement, or at least, its most notable contributor. There were other notable ideologues as well, such as Arsuzi, from the founding of the Arab Baath Movement until the mid-1950s in Syria and the early 1960s in Iraq, the ideology of the Baath Party was largely synonymous with that of Aflaqs. Aflaqs view on Arab nationalism is considered by some, such as historian Paul Salem of the Middle East Institute and he insisted on the overthrow of the old ruling classes, and supported the creation of a secular society by separating Islam from the state. Not all these ideas were his, but it was Aflaq who succeeded in turning these beliefs into a transnational movement, the core basis of Baathism is Arab socialism, a socialism with Arab characteristics which is not associated with the international socialist movement, and pan-Arab ideology. Baathism, as developed by Aflaq and Bitar, was a unique left-wing Arab-centric ideology, the ideology presented itself as representing the Arab spirit against materialistic communism and Arab history against dead reaction. Aflaq supported Sati al-Husris view that language was the principal defining unifying factor of the Arab nation because language led to the unity of thought, norms, history was also another unifying feature, as it was the fertile ground in which our consciousness took shape
8.
Michel Aflaq
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Michel Aflaq was a Syrian philosopher, sociologist and Arab nationalist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of Baathism and its political movement and he published various books during his lifetime, the most notable being The Battle for One Destiny and The Struggle Against Distorting the Movement of Arab Revolution. Born into a family in Damascus, Syria, Aflaq studied at the Sorbonne. He returned to Syria in 1932, and began his career in communist politics. Aflaq became a communist activist, but broke his ties with the communist movement when the Syrian–Lebanese Communist Party supported Frances colonial policies, later in 1940 Aflaq and al-Bitar established the Arab Ihya Movement. The movement proved successful, and in 1947 the Arab Baath Movement merged with al-Arsuzis Arab Baath organisation to establish the Arab Baath Party, Aflaq was elected to the partys executive committee and was elected Amid. The Arab Baath Party merged with Akram al-Hawranis Arab Socialist Party to establish the Arab Socialist Baath Party in 1952, during the mid-to-late 1950s the party began developing relations with Gamal Abdel Nasser, the President of Egypt, which eventually led to the establishment of the United Arab Republic. Nasser forced Aflaq to dissolve the party, which he did, shortly after the UARs dissolution, Aflaq was reelected as Secretary General of the National Command of the Baath Party. Following the 8th of March Revolution, Aflaqs position within the party was weakened to such an extent that he was forced to resign as the leader in 1965. Aflaq was ousted during the 1966 Syrian coup détat, which led to a schism within the Baath Party and he escaped to Lebanon, but later went to Iraq. In 1968 Aflaq was elected Secretary General of the Iraqi-led Baath Party and he held the post until his death on 23 June 1989. He was critical of capitalism and communism, and critical of Karl Marxs view of dialectical materialism as the only truth. Baathist thought placed much emphasis on liberty and Arab socialism – a socialism with Arab characteristics, Aflaq believed in the separation of state and religion, and was a strong believer in secularisation, but was against atheism. Although a Christian, he believed Islam to be proof of Arab genius, in the aftermath of the 1966 Baath Party split, the Syrian-led Baath Party accused Aflaq of stealing al-Arsuzis ideas, and called him a thief. The Iraqi-led Baath Party rejects this, and does not believe that al-Arsuzi contributed to Baathist thought, born on 9 January 1910 in Damascus to a middle class Greek Orthodox Christian family, his father, Joseph, working as a grain merchant. Aflaq was first educated in the schools of the French Mandate of Syria. In 1929, he left Syria to study abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris. During his stay Aflaq was influenced by the works of Henri Bergson, and met his longtime collaborator Salah al-Din al-Bitar, Aflaq founded an Arab Student Union at the Sorbonne, and discovered the writings of Karl Marx
9.
Hafez al-Assad
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In 1966, Assad participated in a second coup, which toppled the traditional leaders of the Baath Party, and brought a radical military faction headed by Salah Jadid to power. Assad was appointed minister by the new government. In 1970 Assad seized power by toppling Jadid, and appointed himself the leader of Syria in the period 1970–71. He sided with the Soviet Union during the Cold War in turn for support against Israel, while he had forsaken pan-Arabism—or at least the pan-Arab concept of unifying the Arab world into one Arab nation—he did seek to make Syria the defender of Arab interest against Israel. When he took power, Assad instituted one-man rule and organized state services into sectarian lines, the formerly collegial powers of Baathist decision-making were curtailed, and were transferred to the Syrian presidency. The Syrian government ceased to be a one-party system in the sense of the word. To maintain this system, a cult of personality centered on Assad. Having become the source of initiative inside the Syrian government. His first choice as successor was his brother Rifaat, who was seen as corrupt. In 1983–84, when Hafezs health was in doubt, Rifaat attempted to seize power, when Hafezs health did improve, Rifaat was exiled from Syria. His next choice of successor was his eldest son, Bassel, however Bassels 1994 death in a car accident forced Assad to turn to his third choice—his younger son Bashar al-Assad, who at that time had no practical political experience. This move was met with criticism within some quarters of the Syrian ruling class. Assad died in 2000 and was succeeded by Bashar al-Assad as President, Hafez was born on 6 October 1930 in Qardaha to an Alawite family of the Kalbiyya tribe. His parents were Nasa and Ali Sulayman al-Assad, Hafez was Alis ninth son, and the fourth from his second marriage. Sulayman married twice, had children and was known for his strength and shooting abilities. By the 1920s he was respected locally, and like others he initially opposed the French Mandate for Syria. Nevertheless, Ali Sulayman later cooperated with the French administration and was appointed to an official post. In 1936, he was one of 80 Alawite notables who signed a letter addressed to the French Prime Minister saying that Alawi people rejected attachment to Syria, for his accomplishments, he was called al-Assad by local residents and made the nickname his surname in 1927
10.
Bashar al-Assad
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Bashar Hafez al-Assad is the 19th and current President of Syria, holding the office since 17 July 2000. He is also commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces, General Secretary of the ruling Arab Socialist Baath Party and he is a son of Hafez al-Assad, who was President of Syria from 1971 to 2000. Born and raised in Damascus, Assad graduated from the school of Damascus University in 1988. Four years later, he attended postgraduate studies at the Western Eye Hospital in London, in 1994, after his elder brother Bassel died in a car crash, Bashar was recalled to Syria to take over Bassels role as heir apparent. He entered the academy, taking charge of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon in 1998. On 10 July 2000, Assad was elected as President, succeeding his father, in the 2000 and subsequent 2007 election, he received 99. 7% and 97. 6% support, respectively, in referendums on his leadership. On 16 July 2014, Assad was sworn in for another term after taking 88. 7% of votes in the first contested presidential election in Baathist Syrias history. The Assad government describes itself as secular, while some claim that the government exploits sectarian tensions in the country. During the Syrian Civil War, an inquiry by the United Nations reported finding evidence which implicated Assad in war crimes, in June 2014, Assad was included in a list of war crimes indictments of government officials and rebels handed to the International Criminal Court. Assad has rejected allegations of war crimes, and criticised the American-led intervention in Syria for attempting regime change, however, after the election of Donald Trump, the priority of the United States concerning Assad is to no longer force him out of power. Bashar Hafez al-Assad was born in Damascus on 11 September 1965, al-Assad in Arabic means the Lion, Assads peasant paternal grandfather had changed the family name from Wahsh upon acquiring minor noble status in 1927. Hafez promoted his supporters within the Baath Party, many of whom were also of Alawite background, after the coup, Alawite strongmen were installed while Sunnis, Druzes and Ismailis were purged from the army and Baath party. Assad had five siblings, three of whom are deceased, a sister named Bushra died in infancy. Assads youngest brother, Majd, was not a figure and little is known about him other than he was intellectually disabled. Unlike his brothers Bassel and Maher, and second sister, also named Bushra, Bashar was quiet, reserved and lacked interest in politics or the military. The Assad children reportedly rarely saw their father, and Bashar later stated that he entered his fathers office once while he was president. Assad received his primary and secondary education in the Arab-French al-Hurriya School in Damascus, in 1982, he graduated from high school and went on to study medicine at Damascus University. In 1988, Assad graduated from school and began working as an army doctor at the Tishrin military hospital on the outskirts of Damascus
11.
Gulf War
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The Iraqi Armys occupation of Kuwait that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. US President George H. W. Bush deployed US forces into Saudi Arabia, an array of nations joined the coalition, the largest military alliance since World War II. The great majority of the military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US$32 billion of the US$60 billion cost, the war was marked by the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the US network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast of images from cameras on board US bombers during Operation Desert Storm. The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991 and this was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait. The coalition ceased its advance, and declared a ceasefire 100 hours after the campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel. The following names have been used to describe the conflict itself, Gulf War, a problem with these terms is that the usage is ambiguous, having now been applied to at least three conflicts, see Gulf War. The use of the term Persian Gulf is also disputed, see Persian Gulf naming dispute, with no consensus of naming, various publications have attempted to refine the name. Other language terms include French, la Guerre du Golfe and German, Golfkrieg, German, Zweiter Golfkrieg, French, most of the coalition states used various names for their operations and the wars operational phases. Operation Desert Storm was the US name of the conflict from 17 January 1991. Operation Desert Sabre was the US name for the offensive against the Iraqi Army in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations from 24–28 February 1991, in itself. Operation Desert Farewell was the given to the return of US units and equipment to the US in 1991 after Kuwaits liberation. Operation Granby was the British name for British military activities during the operations, Opération Daguet was the French name for French military activities in the conflict. Operation Friction was the name of the Canadian operations Operazione Locusta was the Italian name for the operations, in addition, various phases of each operation may have a unique operational name. The US divided the conflict into three campaigns, Defense of Saudi Arabian country for the period 2 August 1990, through 16 January 1991