Chapter 15 – Ferment in the Middle East
had fled the country, seeking exile abroad.
hoped for military intervention by the United States in their battle against the Islamic conservatives.
76. Tensions between Iran and Iraq escalated because of
Iraq’s Shi’ite government’s opposition to Iran’s Sunni Moslem leadership.
disputes about their common border with Saudi Arabia.
the ambitions of the Ayatollah Khomeini to conquer Iraq by force.
Iran’s sometime support for Kurdish rebels in Iraq’s mountainous north.
Iran’s use of poison gas in the attempt to assassinate the family of Saddam Hussein.
77. The 1990 victim of Saddam Hussein’s ambition to build a “greater Iraq” was
the United Arab Emirates.
78. Saddam Hussein survived his defeat in the Gulf War because
the victors feared a totally destroyed Iraq would tilt the Middle East balance of power towards Israel.
the victors, including the United States, lacked the military resources to drive Hussein from power.
Israel was more fearful of Iran than Iraq.
the victors feared that a breakup of the country might ultimately benefit Iran.
the belief that Hussein had learned his lesson and would now be a “good neighbor.”
79. The first response by the United States after September 11, 2001, was to
overthrow Afghanistan’s Taliban regime.
negotiate a tentative truce with nuclear North Korea.
invade Iraq and destroy the repressive regime of Saddam Hussain.
seize Iranian monetary assets in Europe and North America.
condemn the pro-terrorist statements of the French and German governments.