History of Iraq

As the U.S and Iraq are on the brink of war, Iraqi citizens prepare for something all to familiar. The country has been devestated by nearly a century of political corruption, continous warfare, constant regime changes, and unstable foriegn relations. Below is a brief synopsis outlining major political changes that have shaped Iraq.

4800 BCE- Sumerians begin to establish cities along the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers. The cities flourish and Sumerians are prosperous
for over 2000 years.
1792-1750- The reign of Hammurabi who developed Mesopotamia
as the center of trade.
1120- Babylonia becomes the strong power in the Mesopotamia
region
620- Assyrians rise to power and defeat Babylonians and extend
their empire through Palestine and Syria.
605-562- Nebuchadnezzar II attempted to revive Babylon
331- Alexander the Great conquers Babylon in an attempt to conquer
the world and make Babylon the capital.
226- Mesopotamia becomes part of the Sasinid Empire
637 CE- Islam spreads through the region
750-The Abbisid family becomes the ruling dynasty of the Iraqi
region
757-Baghdad becomes the capital
1258-The Mongols invade and end the rule of the Abbisid family
1405-Iraq is ruled by Turkish tribes
1533-1914-Iraq is part of the Ottoman Empire
1914- British forces invade Baghdad
1918-Borders are drawn between Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran.
1920-British forces refuse to leave Baghdad causing conflict.
1921-Iraq elects Prince Faisal of Hijaz as King and Shiites and
Kurds begin their struggle for independence
1922-Iraq signs alliance with Britian
1925-The Iraq parliament votes to allow other countries to search for
oil
1931-Oil wells in the north are controlled by international companies
October 3,1932- Iraq is declared an independent country
1936-Non-agression pact signed with Saudi Arabia
1941-After four weeks of military conflict, Britian regains control in
Iraq
1943-Iraq joins World War II by declaring war on Germany
1948-Iraq joins other Arab states in their attack on the newly formed
Israel
1955-The Baghdad Pact is signed between Iraq, Turkey, Britain, and
Iran for military security
July 14, 1958- General Karim Qassim leads a military coup in which
the king, crown prince, and prime minister are killed
1960-Kuwait becomes independent
1963-U.S supports a coup to overthrow Qassim and places Shah in
power
1967-Iraq and other Arab nations fight a six day war against Israel
Iraq strengthens ties with the Soviet Union
1970- Kurds are elected to parliament for the first time
1972-Iraq nationalizes the oil industry
1974-Conflict arises between Kurds and Iraq. Iran supports Kurds
1975-Iraq and Iran make agreements over the Shatt el-Arab an
important water way leading to the Persian Gulf. Iran stops aid to
Kurds
1979- Shah is overthrown and Saddam Hussein becomes president and murders hundreds of those opposing him
1980- Iraq, urged by the United States, invades Iran and claims control over the Shatt el-Arab
"Carter Doctrine" is passed stating that the U.S will use military force
to protect their oil
Iraq is placed on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism
1981- Israel bombs a nuclear reactor outside of Baghdad
1982- Iran reclaims much of the land lost in 1980
Iraq is removed from the terrorist nation list
1984-President Reagan resumes alliance with Iraq and begins to
share intelligence.
1987-U.S increases aid to Iraq and bombs Iranian oil wells
1988-Cease fire between Iraq and Iran
Saddam Hussein uses poisonous gasses against Kurds.
Thousands are killed
July 1990-Iraq blames Kuwait for failing economy and stealing oil.
Iraq begins mobilizing troops on the boarder of Kuwait
August 2, 1990-Iraq invades Kuwait
August 6, 1990- U.N passes resolution 661, imposing sanctions
against Iraq
August 8, 1990- U.S deploys 40,000 troops to Saudi Arabia
August 12, 1990- U.S rejects two proposals by Iraq
November 8, 1990- U.S troops have doubled to 400,000
November 29, 1990- U.N threatens to use force if Iraq doesn't leave
Kuwait by January 15, 1991
January 17, 1991-U.S assault begins
January 19, 1991-Iraq fires scud missiles at Israel
January 25, 1991-Iraq wages an environmental war and begins to
dump thousands of barrels of oil into the Persian Gulf
February 26, 1991-Iraq begins to withdraw troops. Assault continues
February 28, 1991-Iraq and U.S agree to cease-fire and U.N
demands Iraq destroy all weapons of mass destruction and allow
inspectors
April 1991-Thousands of Kurds flee from Iraq after an unsuccessful
revolt
September 1991- U.N finds detailed plans to build a nuclear
weapon
August 1992-No fly zones imposed in southern Iraq in an attempt to
stop attacks on Shiite Muslims
January 7, 1993- U.S war planes fire missiles after Iraq refuses to
move missiles.
June 27, 1993- U.S fires cruise missiles at headquarters in
Baghdad after plans are found to assassinate President Bush.
May 26, 1996-Iraq sells the United Nations oil for 2 billion dollars
used for food and medicine
October 7, 1994- President Clinton deploys 54,000 troops after Iraq
threatens to invade Kuwait
September 2, 1996-U.S fires cruise missiles at Iraq after Iraq
invades Kurdish cities that were protected by U.S troops
January 13, 1998- Iraq accuses weapons inspectors of spying for
the U.S and bans them
November 17, 1998- Iraq allows inspectors to resume
December 16, 1998- Weapon inspectors leave after UNSCOM chief,
Richard Butler, issues a statement saying inspectors do not have
Iraq's full cooperation
U.S airs trikes begin
December 30, 1998- Iraq fires on U.S planes in the "No Fly" zone
March 1, 2000-Hans Blix becomes chief of UN Monitoring and
Verification Inspection (UNMOVIC) that replaces UNSCOM
May 3, 2002-Iraq and the U.N hold the first talks since 1998
July 5, 2002- U.N agrees to lift sanctions
July 31, 2002- Richard Butler tells U.N that Iraq has continued its
production of weapons of mass destruction
September 12, 2002- President Bush warns U.N assembly of
necessary military action
September 16, 2002-Iraq allows the unconditional return of
inspectors
October 11, 2002- The house and senate authorize President Bush
to use force on Iraq
October 25, 2002- U.S proposes a resolution to the U.N
November 4, 2002- Iraq agrees to comply with the resolution
November 8, 2002- The U.N unanimously passes the resolution
November 18, 2002- Weapon inspectors return to Iraq
March 2003- Weapon inspectors request for more time
March 17, 2003- U.S gives Hussein and sons 48 hours to leave the country or military force will be used without U.N support