Iraq is a country in the Middle East. It lies at the north end of the Persian Gulf and has a small (58 km) coastline in the southeast of the country. It is surrounded by Iran to the east, Kuwait to the south, Saudi Arabia to the southwest, Jordan to the west, Syria to the northwest, and Turkey to the north.
Regions
Baghdad (بغداد)Salah ad Din (صلاح الدين)DiyalaWasitMaysanAl Basrah (البصرة)Dhi Qar (ذي قار)Al MuthannaAl Qadisyah (القادسية)Babil (بابل)Al Karbala (كربلاء)An Najaf (النجف)Al Anbar (الأنبار)Ninawa (نينوى)Dahuk (دهوك)Arbil (أربيل)At Ta'mim As Sulaymaniyah (السليمانية)Cities
Arbil (أربيل)Baghdad (بغداد)Basra (بصرى)DahukFallujah (الفلّوجة) Karbala (كربلاء)Kirkuk (كركوك)Mosul (موصل)Najaf (نجف)Nassiriya (ناصرية)Osiraq Samarra (سامراء)Ar Ramadi (الرمادي)Ar Rutba (الرطبة)As Sulaymaniyah (السليمانية)Tikrit (تكريت)Umm Qasr (أم قصر)Other destinations
Babylon (بابل)Nineveh (نينوى)Sumer (سومر)Ur (أور)Understand
The area where Iraq is today was the birthplace of many of the Earth's oldest civilizations, including the Babylonians and the Assyrians. A part of the Ottoman Empire from 1534, the Treaty of Sèvres brought the area under British control in 1918. Iraq gained independence in 1932. In 1968 the socialist Ba'ath Party took control of Iraq and Saddam Hussein came to power eleven years later.
The next twenty-five years took a grinding toll on the country. A long war with neighboring Iran in the 1980s cost hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of dollars. The invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and subsequent Gulf War caused further casualties, followed by civil war inside the country and a decade of international sanctions.
Iraq was invaded in 2003 by a U.S.-led coalition of forces, principally including the United Kingdom, Poland and Australia, who removed Saddam Hussein from power. Although some transfer of power to an Iraqi interim government has occurred, the country remains occupied by 120,000 US and coalition soldiers. Rebuilding on a massive scale inside larger cites has occurred, thanks to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. However, ongoing attacks from U.S. soldiers against it's resistors, and vice-versa have made it particularly dangerous, especially inside the "Sunni Triangle".
Get in
All visitors to Iraq, except those from countries that are members of the Arab League, require a visa for entry. Currently, contract and military personnel working for the U.S. Department of Defense are exempt from this visa policy, as long as they present a valid Common Access Card (CAC card) issued by the Department of Defense.
For those entering the country without a visa, one can be purchased at most border crossings for US$80. The border crossing from Turkey to Iraq (Silopi/Zakho) did not charge for a visa as of December 2006. If you intend to acquire a visa at your port of entry, be prepared for long waits, and bring plenty of documentation about who you are and what your business in Iraq is. Letters on company or government letterhead are preferred. Visas can be acquired in advance at the Iraqi embassies in London, Paris, and Washington (D.C.).
By planeBaghdad International Airport (BIAP) (formerly known as Saddam International Airport) (IATA: BGW; ICAO: ORBS, now ORBI) is about 16 km from the center of Baghdad.
The civilian side of BIAP continues to grow rapidly every week.
Currently, Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJ) operates two roundtrip flights daily from their base at the Queen Alia International Airport (IATA: AMM) in Amman.
Internet booking has recently become possible for RJA flights to Baghdad, and Iraq has now been effectively opened to the public.
After the 2003 invasion, some of Iraqi Airways Aircraft were retrieved from storage in Syria and Jordan and are now flying again under the Iraqi Airways name. Iraqi has recently begun computerised operations, and tickets for future European routes are now
theorectically available for
reservation online via the IA website. Although IA does not yet hold an FAA airworthiness certificate, they operate from London to Erbil using various charter flight providers, tickets for this slightly disorganised system are available from Iraqi's appointed agent
"You Should Travel" - Royal Jordanian (RJA) is advisable over Iraqi for the time being, as it's schedule is much more comprehensive.
In addition to Iraqi Airways, Turkish Airways has begun operating flights between Istanbul (IATA: IST) and BIAP several times per week. Flights from Dubai to Erbil are now in operation twice weekly, via Kurdistan Airlines.
Additional Services to the city of Van, Turkey are offered by Turkish airlines from most western cities via Istanbul, from here a taxi will take you to the border for the equivelant of $35 - $200 depending on your bargaining skills (note that Turkish drivers will only usually accept Lira, Euros or Pounds Sterling)
For those working for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Iraq, there are two charter airlines operating into BIAP. Skylink and AirServ operate frequent flights. Travel on either of these services requires sponsorship by your NGO to get you onto an approved traveller list maintained by each. Schedules and services can be irregular, and change frequently.
The civilian side of the airport is under control of the Iraqi government. The military side is still controlled by the U.S. military, as well as all Iraqi airspace above FL100. Take-offs and landings at BIAP are controlled by the Iraqi Ministry of Transportation, under the advisement of the U.S. military. Several critical pieces of Air Traffic Control gear have not been turned on, and the result of this is that BIAP can only accommodate Visual Flight Rule (VFR) landings, not instrument landings. Because of this, the frequent sandstorms that hit the area can obscure visibility and cause flights to be turned away. It is not unusual for commercial flights to make it all the way to BIAP, and then turn around and return to their origin due to limited visibility on the runway. To protect against the extreme danger of ground-based attacks, incoming civilian flights descend from cruising altitudes in a tight spiral within protected BIAP airspace.
When departing at BIAP, be prepared for long, disorderly, and excessively slow lines wherever you go. If you are not working in Iraq on a government contract, your entrance to the airport grounds about three or four miles from the airport terminal will require you and your vehicle to wait in line to be searched. These security checkpoints can take from two to three hours to process through. The best strategy is to find accommodations somewhere within the BIAP area of control on the day prior to your flight so that you aren't subjected to the long wait and end up missing your flight.
All airlines operating services at BIAP have a 100% bag matching policy. All bags, whether carry-ons or checked luggage, are lined up on the tarmac next to the aircraft. Each individual passenger must physically touch and claim their bags before a baggage handler and security personnel will match it and then load it into the hold. Any bags left on the tarmac after the boarding process is complete are not loaded and are taken away from the terminal area to a secure facility for disposal.
By trainThere was a weekly train from the Turkish town of Gazientep to Baghdad, but it is no longer operational.
By carCars can be the most
dangerous method of travel into the country. On reaching the border it is advisable to leave your taxi/rental car, for an armored 4x4, these are available for hire, with an armed guard if required, from the British security company GENRIC for £300 ($500) approx.
From TurkeyDriving in from Turkey is the best method of entry into the Northern part of the country, colloquially known as Kurdistan. This area of the country is
fairly safe, at least compared to the rest of the country. Border police and locals will advise you which cities are safe to travel in (Zakho, Dohuk, Erbil, etc.), and will warn you away from specific cities (such as Mosul or Baghdad).
From Diyarbakir, Turkey you will drive south east to Zakho, Iraq. It is possible to take a previously arranged taxi, the average cost of this taxi ride is $150 American dollars and most of the drivers only speak Kurdish or Arabic. You will often switch taxis in Silopi about five minutes from the Iraqi border, or you will change cars about 70km from the border and continue on from there. The taxi driver will then take care of all your paperwork at the border. This involves your driver running from building to building getting paperwork stamped and approved. You must have a photocopy of your passport for the Turkish section of the border, which they require that you leave with them (the photocopy, not your passport).
A much less expensive option is to take a bus from Diyarbakir directly to Silopi. This won't cost more than about 20 YTL. From the Silopi otogar (bus station), it's easy to get a taxi to Zakho. A good taxi driver can handle all of the photocopying and paperwork for the Turkish side.
At this point you will finish driving across the border crossing into Iraq. Your taxi driver will then take you to the Iraqi immigration and customs section. All persons and vehicles entering Iraq must be searched for contraband by the customs officers, and their vehicles are registered and pay some sort of stamp tax, however, occasionally, searches are not conducted. Without this stamp tax, it is illegal for a non-Iraqi vehicle to purchase gas at any of the state-run gas stations all over the country. After paying any import duties to customs and receiving the vehicle stamp, the immigration officers will check your passport and stamp it if you have a visa. Additionally, at some land border crossings, your fingerprint and/or photo will be taken. As of December 2006, there was no visa fee at this border crossing.
At this point, you will be at the border taxi stand, a few kilometers outside of the city of Zakho, and may need to hire another taxi to get to Zakho's city center (5,000 Dinars). For the taxi ride from the Turkish city where you changed cars to Zakho, it's about $20 US dollars. This is a safe place to meet your friends or to charter a taxi into another part of the country. Enjoy some tea while waiting.
From JordanFor land crossings from Jordan, be prepared for a long ride. The trip through the eastern Jordanian desert is much like a moonscape. The journey from Amman to Baghdad can take anywhere from 10-15 hours. You will depart Amman between 5am and 10am, and arrive at the border crossing about four hours later. The border crossing can take anywhere from an hour and a half (on a
very good day) to more than five or six hours. Entering Iraq usually takes about half as much time as leaving Iraq. The Jordanian immigration and customs officers are very finicky about whom they will let in, and they will often shut their side of the border and not allow anyone to enter for unspecified reasons.
The trip from the border to Baghdad is
VERY dangerous. The route is full of highway bandits and gangs of thieves that prey upon unprotected travellers. Travelling this route without adequate
communications gear or
weapons of any kind is
STRONGLY DISCOURAGED. Do not make any stops along this route, if traffic becomes stalled for any reason on the highway (other than a possible IED), then it is best to make circles until traffic flows again. Vehicles, especially those that may be occupied by westerners, are subject to attack at any time. Carry extra fuel and plenty of food, and utilize U.S. military checkpoints to rest or stretch your legs.
From KuwaitTravelling from the Kuwaiti border is just as difficult as crossing from Jordan. The Kuwaiti crossing is even more complicated by the fact that Kuwaiti immigration and customs officers are even more strict than the Jordanians and anything at all can cause them to arbitrarily block your entry or exit. Sneaking into a military convoy can be the safest route in southern Iraq but is very dangerous to do north of about Hillah.
Cars can be purchased relativity cheaply at the Kuwaiti border. Reliable but inconspicuous transportation is a
must in Iraq. It is probably best to buy a vehicle that blends in with the other cars on the road. Renaults and Kias along with less familiar Eastern European and Asian brands are common. The majority of Iraqi cars are actually privately owned taxis that are painted orange on the fenders and white everywhere else. BMWs and Mercedes are also seen in Iraq but are less common, especially nice ones, which usually have the steering wheel on the right side. A feasible option for the determined tourist would be to purchase a used BMW with a good engine, beat up the exterior, paint it orange and white, beat it again, scuff it up to produce a slight amount of rust, and one would have a very close approximation of an Iraqi vehicle. Again the key is to blend in, not stick out.
By busIt is possible to enter Iraq from Jordan by taking a bus from Amman. Other countries may have bus service to Iraq. Third party nationals can also gain entry into Iraq for work purposes; these buses usually depart from Kuwait.
Get around
By carDriving at night may be a safer alternative to daytime driving, but a few rules to follow:
Keep your lights off especially if the road is lit. Iraqis think that turning on lights will run down their batteries, and since they don’t do it, you shouldn't either.Avoid city centers. Although most Iraqis are asleep by midnight, the few that are awake are almost certainly up to no good.Watch for the U.S. military. If you are out late at night and effectively trying to blend in with the locals, you could be mistaken for a hostile/troublemaker.Talk
Arabic is the national language of Iraq, but English is so commonly spoken there that most travelers will get by in the various shops, markets and cafes. The downside is that speaking English will immediately identify you as an outsider. This is dangerous because of the strong underground network of Iraqis who inform attackers of possible target opportunities.
Kurdish is spoken in the Kurdistan region, in one of two varieties: Kurmanji and Sorani. Kurmanji is spoken in and around Dohuk while Sorani is spoken in and around Arbil (Hewlar) and Sulaymaniyah. These two varieties are mutually unintelligible. However, Arabic is also widely spoken, and the number of speakers of English is on the rise.
Buy
You will be able to spend U.S. dollars or Iraqi dinar almost everywhere. Be aware that most people do not like to make change for large bills. Also note that any defects in the bills (creases, ink stamps from banks, tears, etc.) will raise suspicion that you are a counterfeiter. Don't bring old bills with you, either. Carry mostly small bills in the form of Iraqi dinars for daily spending cash. Since the introduction of the new Iraqi dinar, its widespread acceptance and confidence has reduced the prominence of the U.S. dollar, and many shopkeepers are now refusing to accept them. However, most people will still pay large hotel bills or rent payments using U.S. dollars due to the sheer volume of bills required to pay with dinars. The conversion rate fluctuates from day to day and from town to town, but is roughly 1800 dinar to 1 dollar.
Learn the security features of the new dinar and dollar notes; the former Iraqi government was known to be making passable $20, $10, and $5 U.S. notes, and these counterfeiters are apparently still in business.
Eat
See "Stay healthy" for food advisories.
Drink
Alcohol is
legal in Iraq and Street vendors can usually get alcohol if you really need it, but again this is just asking to be identified as an outsider. Even though many Iraqis drink, this will not help your efforts to blend in. Furthermore, while Alcohol is legal many insurgent groups in Iraq have targeted Alcohol vendors and users.
Sleep
Sleep in the hot summer months can be difficult. Sleeping outside and near flowing water is the most comfortable setting one can find outside of air conditioning.
Stay safe
Even people who have always lived in Iraq and who are uninvolved with political issues are often subject to kidnapping-for-profit, which can be fatal if a ransom is not paid. The ransom price is very high and few governments will pay it.
Iraq is beset with numerous problems that make travelling risky and difficult. The security situation is perilous in most areas of the country, and continues to deteriorate under continuing terrorist attacks. Resistance to continuing military occupation, U.S. and U.K. forces, and Iraqi military, police or anyone associated with the Iraqi government, as well as increasing factional and sectarian conflict makes street warfare, bombings, and other acts of armed violence daily occurrences.
The central third of the country is the most volatile; the northern Kurdish area and southern ports are
less dangerous, but only relatively so.
Traveling alone makes you an easy kidnapping target, and is best avoided – if possible travel with a translator/guard. There are comprehensive private and state security services available for your personal protection - you are strongly advised to use the available options for your own safety. If employed in Iraq, consult your employer on how to handle your personal safety. Independent contractors will usually have security provided by their clients, if no security is provided you should seriously consider not travelling to Iraq, if you must go you should hire armed security and get proper training in appropriate protective gear, survival, and weapons.
Be aware that Iraq has mine fields, do not walk into fields, especially marked ones unless you're absolutely sure that it's safe.
Stay healthy
It is not safe for short term visitors to drink the water anywhere in Iraq. It is best to always drink bottled water, preferably made by a Western company. It will usually be sold at vendors and large stores, and will be easy to find. Most Iraqi water companies pump their water directly from the Tigris or Euphrates rivers, treat it with ozone, and then filter it into bottles. The taste is often not very good, and those with sensitive systems should not drink it. Many street vendors will offer drinks such as water with a lemon twist, which should be presumed unsafe for foreign visitors.
Those with experience in Iraq should use their discretion and past experience when purchasing drinks.
Drinking the local tea (chai) can be safe for some people since it is brought to a boil before serving, but when in doubt, insist that bottled water be used. Many kinds of water-borne disease, pollution, and infectious agents are not affected by boiling of water, and are still present in the water after boiling.
As a walk past an Iraqi butcher shop will demonstrate, food preparation standards are not the same as in Western countries, and consumption of local food can make a visitor ill. Try to bring your own. As tap water is generally not potable, you should especially avoid uncooked foods.
Should you find your body in the uncomfortable position of rejecting food and water due to something you shouldn't have drunk, immediately find someone who speaks Arabic and send them to a local pharmacist and request a product known locally as "InterStop". This works better than any well-known western brands.
Respect
Never show the soles of your feet to others. This is considered very disrespectful by most Iraqis, unless you are in the company of friends. When in the company of friends, it's still best to excuse yourself before putting your feet up in the air with the soles of your feet in the direction of any person.
Don't spit in public or in the direction of others, even when obviously done without malice.
Iraq, officially known as the
Republic of Iraq (Arabic: , ), is a country in the Middle East spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. It shares borders with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the west, Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, and Iran to the east. It has a very narrow section of coastline at Umm Qasr on the Persian Gulf. The country has two major flowing rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. These rivers provide Iraq with agriculturally capable land and are a contrast to the desert landscape which composes the majority of the Middle east.
Iraq is a developing parliamentary democracy, composed of eighteen governorates (known as
muhafadhat). The capital city, Baghdad, is located in the center-east of the nation. Iraq has a rich history dating back to ancient Mesopotamia. Historians identify the region between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River as the Fertile Crescent, a cradle of civilization, and as the birthplace of writing. During its long history, Iraq has been part of the Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Macedonian, Parthian, Arab, Ottoman and British empires.
Beginning with the invasion in 2003, an American-led coalition of forces has occupied Iraq. The invasion has led to increased civil violence, political break-down, the removal and execution of former president Saddam Hussein, and national problems in the development of political balance, economy, infrastructure, and use of the country's massive reserves of oil. These issues have led to major set-backs for Iraq, making the country a developing nation that is the focus of increased attention from the West.
Etymology
Iraq (Arabic: العراق ,Turkish: Irak, Assyrian:
ܥܪܐܩ, Kurdish:
عيَراق) has a disputed histroy of the origins of the name. There are several suggested origins for the name. One dates to the Sumerian city of Uruk (or Erech); another posits that
Iraq comes from the Aramaic language, meaning "the land along the banks of the rivers"; another, that
Iraq refers to the root of a palm tree numerous in the country.
Under the Persian Sassanid dynasty, there was a region called "Erak Arabi," referring to the part of the south western region of the Persian Empire that is now part of southern Iraq. The name
Al-Iraq was used by the Arabs themselves, from the 6th century, for the land Iraq covers.
Their are several ways of pronunciating Iraq.(1) ɪ.ˈɹɑ(ː)k, (2) ɪ.ˈɹæk, (3) aɪ.ˈɹæk. (1) is the preferred pronunciation in most dictionaries, and the only pronunciation listed in the Oxford English Dictionary. MQD lists (2) first. (3) is considered uneducated or unacceptable to some. It is the pronunciation which is least like the original Arabic pronunciation ʕiˈrɑːq.
Geography
Located at and with a size of 168,743 sq mi (437,072 km²), Iraq is the 58th-largest country in the world, after Morocco. It is comparable in size to the US state of California, and somewhat larger than Paraguay.
Iraq's geography mainly consists of desert, but the area between the two major rivers (Euphrates and Tigris) is fertile, with the rivers carrying about 60 million cubic metres (78 million cu. yd) of silt annually to the delta. The north of the country is is composed mostly of mountains, with the highest point being a 3,611 metres (11,847 ft) point, unnamed on the map opposite, but known locally as Cheekah Dar (black tent). Iraq has a small coastline with the Persian Gulf. Close to the coast and along the Shatt al-Arab (known as
arvandrūd: اروندرود among Iranians) there used to be marshlands, but many of these were drained in the 1990s.
The local climate is mostly desert 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.
With 112 billion barrels of proven oil, Iraq ranks second in the world behind Saudi Arabia in the amount of Oil reserves, the United States Department of Energy estimates that up to 90 percent of the country remains unexplored. Unexplored regions of Iraq could yield an additional 100 billion barrels. Iraq's oil production costs are among the lowest in the world. However, only about 2,000 oil wells have been drilled in Iraq, compared to about 1 million wells in Texas alone.
History
Ancient Mesopotamia Iraq was historically known as Mesopotamia, which, in Greek, literally means "between the rivers". It was home to the world's first known civilization, the Sumerian culture, which was followed by the Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian cultures, whose influence extended into neighboring regions as early as 5000 BC. These civilizations produced the earliest writing and some of the first sciences, mathematics, laws and philosophies of the world; hence its common epithet, the "Cradle of Civilization".
In the sixth century BC, Cyrus the Great conquered the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and thus Mesopotamia was incorporated in the Achaemenid Persian Empire for nearly four centuries. Alexander the Great conquered the region again, placing it under Hellenistic rule for nearly two centuries. A Central Asian tribe of ancient Iranian peoples known as the Parthians then annexed the region, followed by the Sassanid Persians. The region remained as a province of the Persian Empire for nine centuries, until the 7th century.
Islamic Caliphate Beginning in the seventh century AD, Islam spread to what is now Iraq during the Islamic conquest of Persia, led by the Muslim Arab commander Khalid ibn al-Walid. Under the Rashidun Caliphate, the prophet Mohammed's cousin and son-in-law Ali moved his capital to Kufa "fi al-Iraq" when he became the fourth caliph. The Umayyad Caliphate ruled the province of Iraq from Damascus in the 7th century.
The Abbasid Caliphate built the city of Baghdad in the 8th century as their capital, and it became the leading metropolis of the Arab and Muslim world for five centuries. Baghdad was the largest multicultural city of the Middle Ages, peaking at a population of more than a million, and was the centre of learning during the Islamic Golden Age. The Mongols eventually destroyed the city during the sack of Baghdad in the 13th century.
Mongol Conquest In 1257, Hulagu Khan amassed an unusually large army, a significant portion of the Mongol Empire's forces, for the purpose of conquering Baghdad. When they arrived at the Islamic capital, Hulagu demanded surrender but the caliph refused. This angered Hulagu, and, consistent with Mongol strategy of discouraging resistance, Baghdad was decimated. Estimates of the number of dead range from 200,000 to a million.
The Mongols destroyed the Abbasid Caliphate and The Grand Library of Baghdad (Arabic بيت الحكمة Bayt al-Hikma, lit., House of Wisdom), which contained countless, precious, historical documents. The city would never regain its status as major center of culture and influence.
Ottoman Empire Later, the Ottoman Turks took Baghdad from the Persians in 1535. The Ottomans lost Baghdad to the Iranian Safavids in 1509, and took it back in 1632. Ottoman rule lasted until World War I, during which the Ottomans sided with Germany and the Central Powers.
During World War I the Ottomans were driven from much of the area by the United Kingdom during the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The British lost 92,000 soldiers in the Mesopotamian campaign. Ottoman losses are unknown but the British captured a total of 45,000 prisoners of war. By the end of 1918 the British had deployed 410,000 men in the area, though only 112,000 were combat troops.
During World War I the British and French divided the Middle East in the Sykes-Picot Agreement. The Treaty of Sèvres, which was ratified in the Treaty of Lausanne, led to the advent of the modern Middle East and Republic of Turkey. The League of Nations granted France mandates over Syria and Lebanon and granted the United Kingdom mandates over Iraq and Palestine (which then consisted of two autonomous regions: Palestine and Transjordan). Parts of the Ottoman Empire on the Arabian Peninsula became parts of what are today Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
British Mandate of Mesopotamia At the end of World War I, the League of Nations granted the area to the United Kingdom as a mandate. It formed three former Ottoman
vilayets (regions): Mosul, Baghdad, and Basra into a single country.
For three out of four centuries of Ottoman rule, Baghdad was the seat of administration for the vilayets of Baghdad, Mosul, and Basra. During the mandate, British colonial administrators ruled the country, and through the use of British armed forces, suppressed Arab and Kurdish rebellions against the occupation. They established the Hashemite king, Faisal, who had been forced out of Syria by the French, as their client ruler. Likewise, British authorities selected Sunni Arab elites from the region for appointments to government and ministry offices..
Hashemite monarchy Britain granted independence to Iraq in 1932. on the urging of King Faisal, though the British retained military bases and transit rights for their forces. King Ghazi of Iraq ruled as a figurehead after King Faisal's death in 1933, while undermined by attempted military coups (dictatorships), until his death in 1939. The United Kingdom invaded Iraq in 1941, for fear that the government of Rashid Ali might cut oil supplies to Western nations, and because of his strong ideological leanings to Nazi Germany. A military occupation followed the restoration of the Hashemite monarchy, and the occupation ended on October 26, 1947. The rulers during the occupation and the remainder of the Hashemite monarchy were Nuri al-Said, the autocratic prime minister, who also ruled from 1930-1932, and 'Abd al-Ilah, an advisor to the king Faisal II.
Republic of Iraq The reinstated Hashemite monarchy lasted until 1958, when it was overthrown by a coup d'etat of the Iraqi Army, known as the 14 July Revolution. The coup brought Brigadier General Abdul Karim Qassim to power. He withdrew from the Baghdad Pact and established friendly relations with the Soviet Union, but his government lasted only until 1963, when it was overthrown by Colonel Abdul Salam Arif. Salam Arif died in 1966 and his brother, Abdul Rahman Arif, assumed the presidency. In 1968, Rahman Arif was overthrown by the Arab Socialist Baath Party. This movement gradually came under the control of Saddam Hussein al-Majid al Tikriti, who acceded to the presidency and control of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), then Iraq's supreme executive body, in July 1979, while killing many of his opponents.
Saddam Hussein Saddam's regime lasted throughout the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), during which Iraqi forces attacked Iranian soldiers and civilians with chemical weapons. The war ended in stalemate, largely due to American and Western support for Iraq. This was part of the US policy of "dual containment" of Iraq and Iran. This period is notorious for the Saddam regime's human rights abuses, for instance, during the Al-Anfal campaign.
In 1977, the Iraqi government ordered the construction of Osirak (also spelled Osiraq) at the Al Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center, 18 km (11 miles) south-east of Baghdad. It was a 40 MW light-water nuclear materials testing reactor (MTR). In 1981, Israeli aircraft bombed the facility, in order to prevent the country from using the reactor for creation of nuclear weapons.
In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, resulting in the Gulf War and economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations at the behest of the U.S. The economic sanctions were intended to compel Saddam to dispose of weapons of mass destruction. Critics estimate that more than 500,000 Iraqi children died as a result of the sanctions. The U.S. and the UK declared no-fly zones over Kurdish northern and Shiite southern Iraq to oversee the Kurds and southern Shiites.
Invasion by American-led Coalition Forces In March 2003, a United States-organized coalition invaded Iraq, with the stated reason that Iraq had failed to abandon its nuclear and chemical weapons development program in violation of United Nations
resolution 687. When Iraq invaded Kuwait during the first Gulf War, the United Nations Security Council, under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, adopted
resolution 678, authorizing U.N. member states to use
"all necessary means" to "restore international peace and security in the area." After Iraq was expelled from Kuwait the United Nations passed a cease-fire resolution 687. The agreement included provisions obligating Iraq to discontinue its nuclear weapons program. The United States asserted that because Iraq was in "material breach" of resolution 687, the armed forces authorization of resolution 678 was revived.
The United States gave further justification for the invasion of Iraq in claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and the opportunity to remove an oppressive dictator from power and bring democracy to Iraq. In his State of Union Address on January 29, 2002, the American President George W. Bush declared that Iraq was a member of the "axis of evil", and that, like North Korea and Iran, Iraq's attempt to acquire weapons of mass destruction gave credence to the claim that the Iraqi government posed a serious threat to America's national security. He added, "Iraq continues to flaunt its hostilities toward America and to support terror. The Iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax, and nerve gas, and nuclear weapons for over a decade... This is a regime that agreed to international inspections--then kicked out inspectors. This is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized world... By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred."
Post-invasion Following the invasion, the United States established the Coalition Provisional Authority to govern Iraq. Government authority was transferred to an Iraqi Interim Government in June 2004 and a permanent government was elected in October 2005. More than 140,000 Coalition troops remain in Iraq.
Studies have placed the number of civilians deaths as high as 655,000 (see The Lancet study), although most studies have put the number much lower: the Iraq Body Count project has a figure of less than 10% of The Lancet Study. The website of the Iraq body count however states, "Our maximum therefore refers to reported deaths - which can only be a sample of true deaths unless one assumes that every civilian death has been reported. It is likely that many if not most civilian casualties will go unreported by the media." .
After the invasion, al-Qaeda took advantage of the insurgency to entrench itself in the country concurrently with an Arab-Sunni led insurgency and sectarian violence. In 2006 Foreign Policy Magazine named Iraq as the fourth most unstable nation in the world.
On December 30, 2006, Saddam Hussein was hanged. Hussein's half-brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Hassan and former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court Awad Hamed al-Bandar were likewise executed on January 15, 2007; as was Taha Yassin Ramadan, Saddam's former deputy and former vice-president (originally sentenced to life in prison but later to death by hanging), on March 20, 2007. Ramadan was the fourth and last man in the al-Dujail trial to die by hanging for crimes against humanity.
Iraqi diaspora The dispersion of native Iraqis to other countries is known as the Iraqi diaspora. There have been many large-scale waves of emigration from Iraq, beginning early in the regime of Saddam Hussein and continuing through to 2007. The UN High Commission for Refugees has estimated that nearly two million Iraqis have fled the country in recent years, mostly to Jordan and Syria. Although some expatriates returned to Iraq after the 2003 invasion, the flow had virtually stopped by 2006.
Governorates
Iraq is divided into eighteen governorates (or provinces) (Arabic:
muhafadhat, singular -
muhafadhah, Kurdish: پاریزگه
Pârizgah). The governorates are subdivided into
qadhas (or districts).
{| border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" align="center"
The new constitution of Iraq provides for regions to be created by combining one or more governorates. There is currently only one Region in existence - Iraqi Kurdistan - and there are proposals for one or more further regions to be created in the south.
Politics
Iraq was under Baath Party rule from 1968 to 2003; in 1979 Saddam Hussein took control and remained president until 2003 after which he was unseated by a US-led invasion.
On October 15, 2005, more than 63% of eligible Iraqis came out across the country to vote on whether to accept or reject the new constitution. On October 25, the vote was certified and the constitution passed with a 78% overall majority, with the percentage of support varying widely between the country's territories. The new constitution had overwhelming backing among the Shia and Ķurdish communities, but was overwhelmingly rejected by Arab Sunnis. Three majority Arab Sunni provinces rejected it (Salah ad Din with 82% against, Ninawa with 55% against, and Al Anbar with 97% against).
Under the terms of the constitution, the country conducted fresh nationwide parliamentary elections on December 15 to elect a new government. The overwhelming majority of all three major ethnic groups in Iraq voted along ethnic lines, turning this vote into more of an ethnic census than a competitive election, and setting the stage for the division of the country along ethnic lines.
Iraqi politicians have been under significant threat by the various factions that have promoted violence as a political weapon. The ongoing violence in Iraq has been incited by an amalgam of religious extremists that believe an Islamic Caliphate should rule, old sectarian regime members that had ruled under Saddam that want back the power they had, and Iraqi nationalists that are fighting the U.S. military presence.
Iraq has number of ethnic minority groups in Iraq: Kurds, Assyrians, Mandeans, Iraqi Turkmen, Shabaks and Roma. These groups have not enjoyed equal status with the majority Arab populations throughout Iraq's eighty-five year history. Since the establishment of the "no-fly zones" following the Gulf War of 1990-1991, the situation of the Kurds has changed as they have established their own autonomous region. The remainder of these ethnic groups continue to suffer discrimination on religious or ethnic grounds.
Economy
Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95 percent 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 US$100 billion. After hostilities ended in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. A combination of low oil prices, repayment of war debts (estimated at around US$3 billion a year) and the costs of reconstruction resulted in a serious financial crisis which was the main short term motivation for the invasion of Kuwait.
On November 20 2004, the Paris Club of creditor nations agreed to write off 80% ($33 billion) of Iraq's $42 billion debt to Club members. Iraq's total external debt was around $120 billion at the time of the 2003 invasion, and had grown by $5 billion by 2004. The debt relief will be implemented in three stages: two of 30% each and one of 20%.
At the end of 2005, and in the first half of 2006, Iraq implemented a restructuring of about $20 billion of commercial debt claims on terms comparable to that of its November 2004 Paris Club agreement (i.e. with an 80% writeoff). Iraq offered to its larger claimants a U.S. dollar denominated bond maturing in 2028. Smaller commercial claimants received a cash settlement of comparable value.
Reconstruction Reconstruction of Iraq has been difficult mainly due to the amount of damage done to Iraq's basic infrastructure, the influx of the US invasion and strife among factions within the native populace. Large-scale reconstruction efforts have had, at best, limited success.
Demographics
A July 2006 estimate of the total Iraqi population is 26,783,383.
Seventy-four percent of Iraq's population are Arabs; the other major ethnic groups are the Kurds at 22-24%, Assyrians, Iraqi Turkmen and others (5%), who mostly live in the north and northeast of the country. Other distinct groups are Persians and Armenians (possible descendants of the ancient Mesopotamian culture). About 25,000–60,000 Marsh Arabs live in southern Iraq.
Arabic and Kurdish are official languages. Assyrian and Turkmen are official languages in areas where the Assyrians and Iraqi Turkmen are located respectively. Armenian and Persian are also spoken but to a lesser extent. English is the most commonly spoken Western language.
Ethnic composition includes:
Arab, 70–74%; Kurdish, 22-24%; Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%.Religious composition includes:
Muslim, 97%; Christian or other, 3%.There are no official figures available, mainly due to the highly politically charged nature of the subject. Two estimates of the Muslim proportions of the population are:
Shi'a as much as 60%, Sunni about 40% (source: Britannica, Religion section of Iraq article).Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37% (source: CIA World Fact Book).
The Shi'a are mostly Arabs some Turkmen and Faili Kurds almost all are Twelver school. Sunnis are composed of Arabs, Turkmen who are Hanafi school and Kurds who are Shafi school
According to most western sources the majority of Iraqis are Shi'ite Arab Muslims (around 60%), and Sunnis represent about 40% of the population made up of Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen. Sunnis hotly dispute these figures, including an ex-Iraqi Ambassador, referring to American sources. They claim that many reports or sources only include Arab Sunnis as 'Sunni', missing out the Kurdish and Turkmen Sunnis. Some argue that the 2003 Iraq Census shows that Sunnis were a slight majority. Ethnic Assyrians (most of whom are adherents of the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East) account for most of Iraq's sizable Christian population, along with Armenians. Bahá'ís, Mandaeans, Shabaks, and Yezidis also exist. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, although the Faili (Feyli) Kurds are largely Shi'a.
Culture
In the most recent millennium, what is now Iraq has been made up of five cultural areas: Kurdish in the north centered on Arbil, Sunni Islamic Arabs in the center around Baghdad, Shi'a Islamic Arabs in the south centered on Basra, the Assyrians, a Christian people, living in various cities in the north, and the Marsh Arabs, a nomadic people, who live on the marshlands of the central river. Markets and bartering are the common form of trade.
Music Iraq is known primarily for an instrument called the
oud (similar to a lute) and a
rebab (similar to a fiddle); its stars include Ahmed Mukhtar and the Assyrian Munir Bashir. Until the fall of Saddam Hussein, the most popular radio station was the Voice of Youth. It played a mix of western rock, hip hop and pop music, all of which had to be imported via Jordan due to international economic sanctions. Iraq has also produced a major pan-Arab pop star-in-exile in Kazem al Saher, whose songs include
Ladghat E-Hayya, which was banned for its racy lyrics.
Reconstruction of IraqBaghdad Renaissance PlanEconomy: Iraq Stock Exchange, Iraqi Dinar, Economy of IraqEvents: 2005 in Iraq, 2004 in Iraq, 2003 Invasion of Iraq, Post-invasion Iraq, 2003–present, Iraqi insurgency, Iraq WarGeography: List of places in Iraq, Communications of Iraq, Transportation in IraqGroups: Kurds, Shiites, Sunni, Assyrians, Arab Tribes in Iraq, MaslawiAyad Rahim, an Iraqi-American journalist who reports on Middle East affairsPolitics: Politics of Iraq, Iraq and Democracy, New Iraqi Army, Foreign relations of Iraq, Human rights violations in Iraq, Iraqi insurgency, Civil war in Iraq, M. Ismail Marcinkowski, Religion and Politics in Iraq. Shiite Clerics between Quietism and Resistance, with a foreword by Professor Hamid Algar of the University of California at Berkeley. Singapore: Pustaka Nasional, 2004 (ISBN 9971-77-513-1)History: List of Kings of Iraq, List of Presidents of Iraq, List of Prime Ministers of Iraq, British Mandate of Iraq, History of the Jews in Iraq, Iran-Iraq War, History of astrology, Fertile Crescent, Mesopotamia, BabylonLiterature: Epic of Gilgamesh, Enuma Elish, Atra-HasisOthers: Postage stamps and postal history of Iraq, Gay rights in Iraq, Mesopotamian mythologyMass graves in IraqMilitary of Iraq Further reading
Interview with Refugees International's Sean Garcia on the plight of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees Shadid, Anthony 2005. Night Draws Near. Henry Holt and Co., NY, USA. ISBN 0-8050-7602-6Hanna Batatu, "The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq", Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978Iraq was one of the major settings for the John J. Rust science fiction novel "Epsilon"A Dweller in Mesopotamia, being the adventures of an official artist in the garden of Eden, by Donald Maxwell, 1921. (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format)By Desert Ways to Baghdad, by Louisa Jebb (Mrs. Roland Wilkins) With illustrations and a map, 1908 (1909 ed). (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format) External links
GovernmentIraqi Government official government siteNew Iraqi government structure (PDF) (As of July 17, 2006)Kurdistan Regional GovernmentMinistry of Industry and MineralsOverviewsEncarta EncyclopediaBaghdad's Golden Periodal-Bab - IraqEncyclopaedia Britannica Iraq Country PageBBC News Country Profile - IraqCIA World Factbook - IraqUS State Department - Iraq includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reportsRead Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding IraqIraq Country Profile from Reuters AlertNetCountry Briefing: Iraq from The EconomistNewsFocus on Iraq Daily News on IraqIraq News and Iraqi views from Electronic IraqNews in Depth from the Financial TimesDiplomacy Monitor-IraqIPS Inter Press Service Independent news about IraqIraqis react with joy, anger to Hussein death sentence CNN story on Hussein's death sentenceOtherIraq Image, a cultural resource on Iraq cities and locations Juan Cole, a leading scholar and public intellectualThe Ground Truth Project -- A series of exclusive interviews and other resources capturing the voices of Iraqis, aid workers, military personnel and others who have spent significant time on-the-ground in Iraq.Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC) -- A Washington DC-based nonprofit organization promoting a free and secure IraqAmnesty International Report on IraqCoalition Provisional Authority Now-defunct occupation authority; site is archivedIraq Law from the University of Pittsburgh’s Jurist project1900 - 2000 a history of IraqUS Embassy in Baghdad, IraqIraqi Familiarization Guide - (546 kilobyte PDF file)
