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Persian Gulf War - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com

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Find out more about the history of Persian Gulf War, including videos, interesting articles, pictures, historical features and more. Get all the facts on HISTORY.com

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The First Gulf War

Of all the policy successes during this era, the Department of State and President Bush are most clearly associated with the successful effort to roll back the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

President G. H.W. Bush visiting the Troops during the First Gulf War

When Saddam Hussein invaded his small, oil-rich neighbor in the summer of 1990, the Department faced its first full-scale post-Cold War international crisis. Bush's foreign policy team forged an unprecedented international coalition consisting of the NATO allies and the Middle Eastern countries of Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Egypt to oppose Iraqi aggression. Although Russia did not commit troops, it joined the United States in condemning Iraq, its long-time client state. The Department of State orchestrated the diplomacy for this grand coalition's effective air campaign in January 1991, which was followed by "Operation Desert Storm," a 100-hour land war, which expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

During the Gulf crisis, Secretary of State Baker relied heavily on two men-John Bolton, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, who played a significant role in coordinating relations with the United Nations, and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Robert Kimmitt, who was Baker's day-to-day crisis manager. One innovation that greatly facilitated decision-making during the Gulf War was the use of teleconferences, which saved many hours of travel time. Instead, Baker and others could communicate and display charts through cameras and television screens.

Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, John Bolton

After the success in Kuwait, President Bush paid special tribute to the Foreign Service officers who labor in relative obscurity until they are caught up in a dangerous conflict or become the victims of international terrorism. President Bush made a special visit to the Department of State to honor 33 employees for their service at our embassies in Baghdad and Kuwait, which included finding food and supplies for trapped Americans in those countries and helping children to safe havens after fighting erupted. Acknowledging the peril most Americans never see, Bush said, "I know that often your jobs are not comfortable or safe."

Iraq was not the only trouble spot in the Middle East during Bush's four years in office. The perennial tension between Israel and its Arab neighbors continued to test the expertise of the many U.S. ambassadors and area experts. Baker's personal involvement, reflected in numerous trips to the region, helped bring about the first face-to-face talks between Israel and all of its Arab neighbors in Madrid, beginning in October 1991. Secretary Baker's "shuttle diplomacy" rivaled Henry Kissinger 's in 1974. From the beginning of Baker's tenure until August 23, 1992, when he resigned to become White House Chief of Staff, he made 217 trips abroad.

Lawrence Eagleburger, who succeeded Baker, became the first Foreign Service officer to serve as Secretary of State. During a 27-year government career, Eagleburger had been a staffer for Kissinger's National Security Council, and held numerous senior positions at the Department of State, including Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Deputy Under Secretary for Management, and Assistant Secretary for European Affairs. Eagleburger's appointment reflected Bush's deep respect for the Foreign Service. Bush compiled an impressive record of nominating career officers to ambassadorships (72 percent), one of the best records for all Presidents in the post-1945 era.

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The First Gulf War - Short History - Department History - Office of the Historian

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Make sure to watch President Bush's address to Congress about Iraq invading Kuwait, in the middle of the page.

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also called:

Gulf War

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Persian Gulf War, (1990-91), international conflict that was triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, ordered the invasion and occupation of Kuwait with the apparent aim of acquiring that nation's large oil reserves, canceling a large debt Iraq owed Kuwait, and expanding Iraqi power in the region. It was the first major international crisis of the post- Cold War era, and the U.S.-led response would set important precedents for the use of military force over subsequent decades.

The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait

Tensions in the Persian Gulf began to build during the summer of 1990, with Iraq adopting an increasingly belligerent tone toward both Kuwait and members of its ruling Ṣabāḥ dynasty. On July 17 Saddam launched a televised verbal attack on Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates for exceeding the oil export quotas that had been set for them by OPEC. A day later Kuwait was accused of stealing oil from the Al-Rumaylah oil field, which straddles the border between Iraq and Kuwait. As criticism mounted, talks between the two countries in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, broke down on August 1. Hours later, early on August 2, Iraqi armoured divisions invaded Kuwait despite personal assurances from Saddam to Egyptian Pres. Hosni Mubarak that Iraq would avoid using force to press its claims against Kuwait.

Active resistance to the invasion lasted about 14 hours, during which time an estimated 4,200 Kuwaitis were killed in combat. Although remnants of Kuwait's 20,000-man army maintained a spirited defense over the next 36 hours, the Iraqi takeover of Kuwait city was completed with little difficulty. The fiercest opposition came at Dasman Palace, the royal residence of emir Sheikh Jābir al-Aḥmad al-Jābir al-Ṣabāḥ, which only yielded to the Iraqis after hours of bitter hand-to-hand fighting in which the emir's younger brother, Sheikh Fahad, was killed. At 11:11 am on August 3 Kuwait Radio fell silent with these words: "Arabs, brothers, beloved brothers, Muslims. Hurry to our aid." Sheikh Jābir, his cabinet, and senior members of the Ṣabāḥ family fled to Saudi Arabia to establish a government-in-exile. Crown prince Saʿd al-ʿAbd Allāh al-Sālim al-Ṣabāḥ quickly emerged as the dominant personality within this group, and finance minister Sheikh Ali al-Khalifah al-Ṣabāḥ took control of most of Kuwait's overseas assets, which amounted to some $100 billion. As many as 350,000 Kuwaiti refugees also fled south into Saudi Arabia.

On August 4 Iraqi occupation forces appointed Col. Alaa Hussain Ali as head of state of Kuwait; he was backed by a nine-member cabinet of "revolutionaries" who, Iraq said, were responsible for ousting remnants of the previous regime. On August 8 the Iraqis installed the Provisional Free Government of Kuwait, a body that was established to give credence to Iraq's dubious claim that the invasion was conducted at the request of Kuwaitis opposed to the Ṣabāḥ dynasty. On August 10 foreign diplomats were given a two-week deadline to close their embassies in Kuwait and move to Baghdad. On August 28 Saddam declared that Kuwait was now the 19th province of Iraq. Place-names were "Iraqized," and the southern Iraqi province of Al-Baṣrah was extended to include the Kuwait side of the Al-Rumaylah oil field as well as the islands of Būbiyān and Al-Warbah at the head of the Shaṭṭ Al-ʿArab waterway.

During the occupation of Kuwait, Iraqi troops began a systematic campaign of pillage, rape, torture, murder, and theft of Kuwait's economic assets. The Iraqi occupation government announced the death penalty for looters but condoned the removal to Baghdad of medical equipment from hospitals, the assets of the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, treasures of Islamic art from the Kuwait National Museum, and $1.6 billion in gold and cash from the Central Bank of Kuwait. Amnesty International reported that Iraqi soldiers had carried out hundreds of extrajudicial killings and taken several thousand Kuwaiti civilians prisoner. One widely circulated story about Iraqi soldiers removing newborn infants from hospital incubators was eventually debunked as a fabrication, but the truth did not emerge until long after the conflict had been settled.

The international response to the invasion of Kuwait

The diplomatic response to the invasion was swift. On August 6 the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 661, which imposed a ban on all trade with Iraq and called on UN member countries to protect the assets of the legitimate government of Kuwait. A day later the first U.S. troops were sent to Saudi Arabia, while Mubarak invited Arab leaders to Cairo for an emergency summit. On August 10, 12 of the 21 Arab League countries passed a resolution condemning Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and endorsing the UN resolution. Among those Arab states sympathetic to Iraq were Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Tunisia, and Algeria as well as the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The key supporters of Kuwait, apart from Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states, were Egypt and Syria, whose leaders had improved mutual relations in the months preceding the invasion. Saddam countered the Arab League resolution on August 12 by declaring that "all occupation problems, and those portrayed as occupation problems in the Middle East, can be resolved simultaneously and on the same principles and bases as should be set out by the UN Security Council." Saddam also used the crisis as an unlikely opportunity to conclude peace with Iran. On August 15 he announced that Iraq was ready to accept Iranian terms for the settlement of the Iran-Iraq War: the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from occupied Iranian territory, resolution of the Shaṭṭ Al-ʿArab waterway dispute, and a prisoner-of-war exchange. The Soviet Union, at first guarded in its response to the invasion, on September 3 expressed its support for the U.S. military presence in the Gulf.

More than 600,000 expatriates, including some 7,000 Western nationals, remained in Kuwait after the invasion, having been barred from leaving the country by Iraqi occupation authorities. The Iraqi regime began rounding up hundreds of Westerners and holding some of them at strategic military and industrial sites as "human shields" in the event of attack. On August 28, the same day that Iraq declared that it had annexed Kuwait, Saddam said that women and children would be allowed to leave. The plight of the remaining hostages resulted in a procession of Western politicians and celebrities to Baghdad. Among those appealing for the release of the hostages were former British prime minister Edward Heath, Labour politician Tony Benn, American heavyweight boxing champ Muhammad Ali, and British singer-songwriter Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens). In a sudden and dramatic move, on December 6 Saddam announced that all remaining hostages would be released. Although this put the Iraqi government in compliance with Security Council Resolution 674-which demanded that "Iraqi authorities and occupying forces immediately cease and desist from taking third State nationals hostage"-there remained the matter of Iraq's continued occupation of Kuwait and the potential threat to Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer and exporter.

Operation Desert Shield

Saddam's conquest of Kuwait had been achieved in short order, and he seemed poised to continue his military push into Saudi Arabia. Conquering Saudi Arabia would give Saddam control of more than 40 percent of the world's oil reserves as well as two of the holiest sites in the Islamic world, Mecca and Medina. With Iraqi troops on the Saudi border, King Fahd, in an unprecedented move, invited Western and Arab forces to deploy in the kingdom in support of the Saudi defense forces. The U.S. immediately dispatched elements of its Rapid Deployment Force. This included the "ready brigade" of the 82nd Airborne Division, the U.S. Marine Corps First Expeditionary Force, and two squadrons of U.S. Air Force F-15s. Two U.S. Navy carrier battle groups were also deployed to the Persian Gulf. The U.S. ground contingent was a relatively lightly equipped "trip wire" force; even if Saudi Arabian and other Arab armies had rushed to the area, it is unlikely that the hastily assembled defenders could have repelled a concerted Iraqi attack. Nevertheless, this initial U.S. deployment deterred Saddam from attacking Saudi Arabia and initiating a war with the U.S. and its allies.

On paper, the Iraqi military looked formidable. Its army was the fifth largest in the world, with some 950,000 personnel, 5,500 main battle tanks, 10,000 additional armoured vehicles, and nearly 4,000 artillery pieces. The Iraqi air force consisted of some 40,000 personnel and 689 combat aircraft. Both the army and air force had extensive combat experience from the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), including the large-scale use of chemical weapons. Iraq was believed to also have a significant stockpile of biological agents, most notably weaponized botulinum toxin and anthrax. In addition, Iraq had a force of modified Soviet-made Scud surface-to-surface missiles mounted on mobile launchers. These missiles had an effective range of 185 miles (300 km) and were capable of carrying a payload of conventional explosives as well as chemical or biological weapons.

Over the following months the U.S. military carried out its largest overseas deployment since World War II. By mid-November the U.S. had more than 240,000 troops in the Gulf and another 200,000 on the way, and the United Kingdom had sent more than 25,000, Egypt 20,000, and France 5,500. Some 25 other countries, including Canada, Syria, Bangladesh, and Morocco, had committed troops and weapons to the military buildup that was designated Operation Desert Shield. On November 29, 1990, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 678 by a vote of 12 to 2, sanctioning the use of force if the Iraqis had not left Kuwait by January 15, 1991. Only Cuba and Yemen voted against the resolution, with China abstaining. This was the first UN authorization of the use of force since 1950, when the Security Council approved military action against North Korea after its unprovoked attack on South Korea. With this resolution in place, the U.S. offered to engage in a dialogue with Saddam to extend the possibility of a peaceful settlement based on a timely Iraqi withdrawal.

Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, had advised Bush that if the U.S. wished to use its military to liberate Kuwait, several conditions needed to be fulfilled. The force employed must be overwhelming and utilized as a last resort, the goals must be clear and accompanied by a coherent exit strategy, and the operation must have broad domestic and international support. In time these criteria would come to be known as the Powell Doctrine. Powell had served as a field-grade officer in Vietnam, the last major U.S. conflict, and had witnessed the dangers of "mission creep"-that is, the growth of a military operation beyond its original stated goals without a clear end. The Powell Doctrine was intended to prevent a repeat of the Vietnam War, and, as it was implemented in the Persian Gulf War, it was wholly successful.

Another legacy of Vietnam was a debate over the war-making powers of the president of the United States. Article I of the U.S. Constitution gives only Congress the power "to declare war" and "to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions." Yet Article II says that the president is "commander in chief of the Army and Navy" and has the power, with the consent of the Senate, to make treaties with other nations. That ambiguity came to a head in 1973 during the Vietnam War, when Congress-over Pres. Richard Nixon's veto-passed the War Powers Act. That legislation required the executive branch to consult with Congress prior to major deployments of U.S. forces, but it was generally resisted or outright ignored by subsequent presidents. Bush, for his part, eventually sought congressional approval for the U.S. military operation in the Persian Gulf. On January 12, 1991, the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution was passed by the House (250-183) and the Senate (52-47). It cited UN Security Council Resolution 678 as its casus belli, and Bush signed the measure into law on January 14. The UN deadline for Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait was the following day.

Casualties, Kuwaiti oil fires, and Gulf War syndrome

There are no official figures for the Iraqi military operation, leading to vastly differing figures of combatants and casualties. Estimates of the number of Iraqi troops in the Kuwait theatre range from 180,000 to 630,000, and estimates of Iraqi military deaths range from 8,000 to 50,000. Allied casualties, by contrast, were remarkably light. Just 147 U.S. personnel and 47 British troops were killed in action; for the duration of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, U.S. noncombat deaths actually exceeded combat fatalities in the Kuwaiti theatre. Approximately 1,000 coalition troops were wounded.

During their retreat from Kuwait, Iraqi troops set fire to oil storage installations and more than 700 of Kuwait's 950 oil wells, creating an environmental disaster that affected the entire region. A pall of dense smoke covered Kuwait, causing a slight fall in temperature and blotting out sunlight in Kuwait city. The fires emitted a toxic mixture of hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide. Below the smoke, pollution was severe, with the number of soot particles about 1,000 times higher than normal. In nearby Bahrain May temperatures were 7 °F (4 °C) cooler than normal. Particles from the fires were detected more than 600 miles (965 km) away, and the massive injection of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere caused acid rain to fall as far away as the Black Sea and Pakistan. By November the fires, which had consumed about six million barrels of oil per day, had been extinguished, and temperatures and air quality in the area returned to normal values.

Exposure to the fires was proposed as one possible cause of Gulf War syndrome, a cluster of illnesses that were reported by some veterans of the conflict. As many as 300,000 of the 700,000 troops who served in the Middle East during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm complained of a variety of symptoms that included fatigue, anxiety, muscle and joint pain, headaches, memory loss, and post-traumatic stress reactions. While these claims were initially dismissed as psychological in nature, Gulf War veterans continued to insist that they were experiencing an array of chronic and debilitating maladies. Researchers eventually concluded that Gulf War syndrome was likely caused by exposure to a class of extremely toxic chemicals known as anticholinesterases. Anticholinesterases to which Gulf War veterans could have been exposed include nerve toxins such as sarin, the prophylactic anti-nerve-toxin drug carbamate pyridostigmine bromide, and organophosphate- or carbamate-containing insecticides. A 2016 study by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found that veterans of the Persian Gulf War continued to report poorer health than those who had served in the military at the same time but had not deployed.

Aftermath and Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction

The terms of the peace were, inter alia, that Iraq recognize Kuwait's sovereignty and that it divest itself of all weapons of mass destruction-i.e., nuclear, biological, and chemical-and all missiles with ranges exceeding 90 miles (150 km). Pending complete compliance, economic sanctions would continue.

In the aftermath of Iraq's defeat, Kurds in the north of the country and Shiʿis in the south rose in a rebellion that was suppressed by Saddam with great brutality. These actions prompted the allies to prohibit Iraqi aircraft from operating in designated "no-fly" zones over these areas. As the other allies gradually left the coalition, U.S. and British aircraft continued to patrol Iraqi skies, and UN inspectors sought to guarantee that all illicit weapons were destroyed. Iraq's failure to cooperate with inspectors led in 1998 to a brief resumption of hostilities (Operation Desert Fox). Iraq thereafter refused to readmit inspectors into the country, and regular exchanges of fire between Iraqi forces and U.S. and British aircraft over the no-fly zones continued into the 21st century. In 2002 the United States sponsored a new UN resolution calling for the return of weapons inspectors, who then reentered Iraq in November. Member states of the UN Security Council, however, differed in their opinion of the degree to which Iraq had cooperated with inspections.

On March 17, 2003, the United States and the United Kingdom, which had begun to mass troops on Iraq's border, dispensed with further negotiations, and U.S. Pres. George W. Bush-seeking no further UN endorsement-issued an ultimatum demanding that Saddam step down from power and leave Iraq within 48 hours or face war; he even suggested that if Saddam did leave Iraq, U.S. forces might still be necessary to stabilize the region and to hunt for weapons of mass destruction. When Saddam refused to leave, U.S. and allied forces launched an attack on Iraq on March 20 and thus began what became known as the Iraq War.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Michael Ray.

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Persian Gulf War | Summary, Dates, Combatants, Casualties, Syndrome, Map, & Facts

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Persian Gulf War, conflict (1990-91) triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait with the apparent aim of acquiring its large oil reserves, canceling a large debt owed to Kuwait, and expanding Iraqi regional power. A U.S.-led invasion ended Iraq's occupation and required Iraq to divest of its weapons of mass destruction.

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War stories, oral history, and weapons and technology.

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Marking the fifth anniversary of the war with Iraq, FRONTLINE investigates what really happened during the invasion of Kuwait, the months of diplomatic maneuvering, the air war and ground assault, and the post-war rebellion inside Iraq. The two-hour episodes are built around dozens of interviews with key political and military leaders in the U.S., its allies, and Iraq, as well as soldiers on both sides of the front line. Interviews include General Norman Schwarzkopf, General Colin Powell, former Secretary of State James Baker, former Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney, Britain’s Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Jordan’s King Hussein, and Israeli Premier Yitzahk Shamir.

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Timeline included

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Facts:
The Allied coalition was made up of 39 countries: Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Kuwait, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The US Department of Defense has estimated the incremental costs of the Gulf War at $61 billion, with US allies providing about $54 billion -- Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states covered $36 billion. Germany and Japan covered $16 billion.

Estimates of Iraqi soldier deaths range from 1,500 to 100,000.

Timeline:
August 2, 1990 - Iraq invades Kuwait. Reportedly, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein decided to invade the small, oil-rich nation in order to pay off debts incurred during Iraq's eight year war with Iran.

August 2, 1990 - The United Nations passes a resolution denouncing Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

August 6, 1990 - The UN imposes sanctions on Iraq.

August 7, 1990 - US President George H. W. Bush orders the start of Operation Desert Shield.

August 8, 1990 - Iraq formally annexes Kuwait.

August 25, 1990 - The UN passes a resolution to allow enforcement of the embargo by military means.

November 29, 1990 - The UN authorizes use of force after January 15, 1991.

January 16-17, 1991 - Operation Desert Storm begins.

February 24, 1991 - The allied ground assault begins.

February 27, 1991 - Baghdad radio announces that Iraq will comply with UN resolutions.

February 27, 1991 - Kuwait is liberated.

February 28, 1991 - Coalition attacks against Iraq end.

March 14, 1991 - Kuwait's Emir returns home.

April 6, 1991 - Iraq accepts the terms of a cease-fire agreement.

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Facts: The Allied coalition was made up of 39 countries: Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Kuwait, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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Images taken during the Persian Gulf War.

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On January 16, 1991, President George H. W. Bush announced the start of what would be called Operation Desert Storm-a military operation to expel occupying Iraqi forces from Kuwait, which Iraq had invaded and annexed months earlier. For weeks, a U.S.-led coalition of two dozen nations had positioned more than 900,000 troops in the region, most stationed on the Saudi-Iraq border. A U.N.-declared deadline for withdrawal passed on January 15, with no action from Iraq, so coalition forces began a five-week bombardment of Iraqi command and control targets from air and sea. Despite widespread fears that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein might order the use of chemical weapons, a ground invasion followed in February. Coalition forces swiftly drove Iraq from Kuwait, advancing into Iraq, and reaching a cease-fire within 100 hours-controversially leaving Saddam Hussein in power. While coalition casualties were in the hundreds, Iraqi losses numbered in the tens of thousands.

View this page Hints: full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

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Operation Desert Storm: 25 Years Since the First Gulf War

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On January 16, 1991, President George H. W. Bush announced the start of what would be called Operation Desert Storm-a military operation to expel occupying Iraqi forces from Kuwait, which Iraq had invaded and annexed months earlier. For weeks, a U.S.-led coalition of two dozen nations had positioned more than 900,000 troops in the region, most stationed on the Saudi-Iraq border.

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President George W. Bush addresses the nation when US invades Iraq in 2003.

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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 19, 2003

President Bush Addresses the Nation
The Oval Office

10:16 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.

On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign. More than 35 countries are giving crucial support -- from the use of naval and air bases, to help with intelligence and logistics, to the deployment of combat units. Every nation in this coalition has chosen to bear the duty and share the honor of serving in our common defense.

To all the men and women of the United States Armed Forces now in the Middle East, the peace of a troubled world and the hopes of an oppressed people now depend on you. That trust is well placed.

The enemies you confront will come to know your skill and bravery. The people you liberate will witness the honorable and decent spirit of the American military. In this conflict, America faces an enemy who has no regard for conventions of war or rules of morality. Saddam Hussein has placed Iraqi troops and equipment in civilian areas, attempting to use innocent men, women and children as shields for his own military -- a final atrocity against his people.

I want Americans and all the world to know that coalition forces will make every effort to spare innocent civilians from harm. A campaign on the harsh terrain of a nation as large as California could be longer and more difficult than some predict. And helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable and free country will require our sustained commitment.

We come to Iraq with respect for its citizens, for their great civilization and for the religious faiths they practice. We have no ambition in Iraq, except to remove a threat and restore control of that country to its own people.

I know that the families of our military are praying that all those who serve will return safely and soon. Millions of Americans are praying with you for the safety of your loved ones and for the protection of the innocent. For your sacrifice, you have the gratitude and respect of the American people. And you can know that our forces will be coming home as soon as their work is done.

Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly -- yet, our purpose is sure. The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder. We will meet that threat now, with our Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines, so that we do not have to meet it later with armies of fire fighters and police and doctors on the streets of our cities.

Now that conflict has come, the only way to limit its duration is to apply decisive force. And I assure you, this will not be a campaign of half measures, and we will accept no outcome but victory.

My fellow citizens, the dangers to our country and the world will be overcome. We will pass through this time of peril and carry on the work of peace. We will defend our freedom. We will bring freedom to others and we will prevail.

May God bless our country and all who defend her.

END 10:20 P.M. EST

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In an address to the nation Wednesday night, President Bush said, "My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger."

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Send any friend a story
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.

Sunnis and Shiites praying together on Sunday in Beirut, Lebanon, in protest of the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Credit... Hassan Ammar/Associated Press

Saudi Arabia's execution of the Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr could escalate tensions in the Muslim world even further. In the Shiite theocracy Iran, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Sunday that Saudi Arabia, which is ruled by a Sunni monarchy, would face "divine vengeance" for the killing of the outspoken cleric, which was part of a mass execution of 47 men. Sheikh Nimr had advocated for greater political rights for Shiites in Saudi Arabia and surrounding countries. Saudi Arabia had accused him of inciting violence against the state.

Here is a primer on the basic differences between Sunni and Shia Islam.
What caused the split?
A schism emerged after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632, and disputes arose over who should shepherd the new and rapidly growing faith.

Some believed that a new leader should be chosen by consensus; others thought that only the prophet's descendants should become caliph. The title passed to a trusted aide, Abu Bakr, though some thought it should have gone to Ali, the prophet's cousin and son-in-law. Ali eventually did become caliph after Abu Bakr's two successors were assassinated.

Shiite pilgrims at the shrine to Imam Hussein in Karbala, Iraq, in December. Each year millions visit the city to mark Arbaeen, the end of the 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, one of Shiite Islam's most revered figures. Credit... European Pressphoto Agency

After Ali also was assassinated, with a poison-laced sword at the mosque in Kufa, in what is now Iraq, his sons Hasan and then Hussein claimed the title. But Hussein and many of his relatives were massacred in Karbala, Iraq, in 680. His martyrdom became a central tenet to those who believed that Ali should have succeeded the prophet. (It is mourned every year during the month of Muharram.) The followers became known as Shiites, a contraction of the phrase Shiat Ali, or followers of Ali.

The Sunnis, however, regard Ali as well as the three caliphs before him as rightly guided and themselves as the true adherents to the Sunnah, or the prophet's tradition. Sunni rulers embarked on sweeping conquests that extended the caliphate into North Africa and Europe. The last caliphate ended with the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I.
How do their beliefs differ?
The Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam encompass a wide spectrum of doctrine, opinion and schools of thought. The branches are in agreement on many aspects of Islam, but there are considerable disagreements within each. Both branches include worshipers who run the gamut from secular to fundamentalist. Shiites consider Ali and the leaders who came after him as imams. Most believe in a line of 12 imams, the last of whom, a boy, is believed to have vanished in the ninth century in Iraq after his father was murdered. Shiites known as Twelvers anticipate his return as the Mahdi, or Messiah. Because of the different paths the two sects took, Sunnis emphasize God's power in the material world, sometimes including the public and political realm, while Shiites value in martyrdom and sacrifice.
Which sect is larger, and where is each concentrated?
More than 85 percent of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims are Sunni. They live across the Arab world, as well as in countries like Turkey, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia. Iran, Iraq and Bahrain are largely Shiite. The Saudi royal family, which practices an austere and conservative strand of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism, controls Islam's holiest shrines, Mecca and Medina. Karbala, Kufa and Najaf in Iraq are revered shrines for the Shiites.

Saudi Arabia and Iran, the dominant Sunni and Shiite powers in the Middle East, often take opposing sides in regional conflicts. In Yemen, Shiite rebels from the north, the Houthis, overthrew a Sunni-dominated government, leading to an invasion by a Saudi-led coalition. In Syria, which has a Sunni majority, the Alawite Shiite sect of President Bashar al-Assad, which has long dominated the government, clings to power amid a bloody civil war. And in Iraq, bitter resentments between the Shiite-led government and Sunni communities have contributed to victories by the Islamic State.

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How Do Sunni and Shia Islam Differ? (Published 2016)

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Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Saudi Arabia's execution of the Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr could escalate tensions in the Muslim world even further.

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Images from the Iraq War

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Timeline included

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Timeline:
February 5, 2003 - US Secretary of State Colin Powell makes the case to the United Nations that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein poses an imminent threat.

February 14, 2003 - UN Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix reports to the UN Security Council that his team has found no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

March 17, 2003 - President George W. Bush issues an ultimatum to President Hussein and his family - leave Iraq within 48 hours or face military action.

March 19, 2003 (10:15 p.m. EST) - President Bush announces US and coalition forces have begun military action against Iraq.

March 20, 2003 - President Hussein speaks on Iraqi TV, calling the coalition's attacks "shameful crimes against Iraq and humanity."

March 23, 2003 - Pfc. Jessica Lynch and other members of the 507th Maintenance Company are ambushed and captured outside Nasiriyah, Iraq.

April 1, 2003 - Lynch is rescued from a hospital by US forces.

April 9, 2003 - Coalition forces take Baghdad. A large statue of Saddam Hussein is toppled down in Firdos Square. The White House declares "the regime is gone."

May 1, 2003 - Speaking on the USS Abraham Lincoln, President Bush declares "major combat operations" over, although some fighting continues.

May 22, 2003 - The UN Security Council approves a resolution acknowledging the US and Great Britain's right to occupy Iraq.

July 22, 2003 - Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay, are killed by US forces.

December 13, 2003 - Saddam Hussein is captured in a "spider hole" in Tikrit. This is not confirmed until December 14 by the US Defense Department.

June 28, 2004 - The handover of sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government takes place two days before the June 30 deadline previously announced by the US-led coalition.

June 30, 2004 - The coalition turns over legal control of Saddam Hussein and 11 other former top Iraqi officials to the interim Iraqi government. The United States retains physical custody of the men.

July 1, 2004 - Saddam Hussein makes his first appearance in court. A judge charges Hussein with a variety of crimes, including the invasion of Kuwait and the gassing of the Kurds.

August 2004 - US and Iraqi forces battle insurgents in Najaf who are followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

September 6, 2004 - The number of US troops killed in Iraq reaches 1,000.

November 2004 - US and Iraqi forces battle insurgents in Falluja. About 2,000 insurgents are killed. On November 14, Falluja is declared to be liberated.

October 25, 2005 - The number of US troops killed in Iraq reaches 2,000.

November 19, 2005 - At least 24 Iraqi civilians, including women and children, are killed in Haditha, Iraq. Suspicion falls on Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. Eight US Marines faced charges in the deaths, but only one is convicted of a crime, that of negligent dereliction of duty.

November 5, 2006 - The Iraqi High Tribunal reaches a verdict in the 1982 Dujail massacre case. Saddam Hussein is found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging, pending appeal.

December 30, 2006 - Saddam Hussein is hanged a few minutes after 6 a.m. Baghdad time (10 p.m. EST).

December 30, 2006 - The number of US troops killed in Iraq reaches 3,000.

January 10, 2007 - A troop surge begins, eventually increasing US troop levels to more than 150,000.

September 3, 2007 - Basra is turned over to local authorities after British troops withdraw from their last military base in Iraq to an airport outside the city.

March 22, 2008 - The number of US troops killed in Iraq reaches 4,000.

July 10, 2008 - Gen. David Petraeus is confirmed by the Senate as commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM). General Ray Odierno succeeds Petraeus as Multinational Forces commander in Iraq.

July 16, 2008 - The surge officially ends, and troop levels are reduced.

December 4, 2008 - The Iraqi Presidential Council approves a security agreement that paves the way for the United States to withdraw completely from Iraq by 2011.

January 1, 2009 - The US military hands over control of Baghdad's Green Zone to Iraqi authorities.

February 27, 2009 - President Barack Obama announces a date for the end of US combat operations in Iraq: August 31, 2010.

June 30, 2009 - US troops pull back from Iraqi cities and towns and Iraqi troops take over the responsibility for security operations. However, US troops remain in the country to continue combat operations and patrols in rural areas.

August 19, 2010 - The last US combat brigade leaves Iraq. A total of 52,000 US troops remain in the country.

September 1, 2010 - Operation Iraqi Freedom is renamed Operation New Dawn to reflect the reduced role US troops will play in securing the country.

May 22, 2011 - The last British military forces in Iraq, 81 Royal Navy sailors patrolling in the Persian Gulf, withdraw from the country. A total of 179 British troops died during the country's eight-year mission in Iraq.

October 17, 2011 - A senior US military official tells CNN that the United States and Iraq have been unable to come to agreement regarding legal immunity for US troops who would remain in Iraq after the end of the year, effectively ending discussion of maintaining an American force presence after the end of 2011.

October 21, 2011 - President Obama announces that virtually all US troops will come home from Iraq by the end of the year. According to a US official, about 150 of the 39,000 troops currently in Iraq will remain to assist in arms sales. The rest will be out of Iraq by December 31.

December 2, 2011 - The last US troops to occupy Camp Victory leave as the Iraqi government assumes control of the complex.

December 15, 2011 - American troops lower the flag of command that flies over Baghdad, officially ending the US military mission in Iraq.

December 18, 2011 - The last US troops in Iraq cross the border into Kuwait.

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operation iraqi freedom and operation new dawn fast facts - cnn

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Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn Fast Facts

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Timeline: February 5, 2003 - US Secretary of State Colin Powell makes the case to the United Nations that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein poses an imminent threat. February 14, 2003 - UN Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix reports to the UN Security Council that his team has found no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

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Joyous homecomings flash on television screens with the return of troops from Iraq. But away from the jubilation, stories of loss, darkness and ambivalence emerge.

CNN iReport invited service members, contractors and others affected by the Iraq War to tell how it changed their lives. While some stories resonated with pride, out of the dozens of iReports submitted, a darker theme surfaced about whether the war was worth the price.

In their own words (edited for length and clarity), here are eight stories from eight years in Iraq, compiled from interviews and iReports that reflect the spectrum of feelings about the war:

I don't think that the gravity of what we were doing ever really hit me. I was just a silly 23-year-old, excited to be a part of something big with one of the best-known units in the United States Army.

I was like a little kid on a family trip with my nose pressed against the window, not wanting to miss anything on this grand adventure.

When I contrast my experience with what happened later on in the war, it makes me feel guilty that my time there was so easy. Every time I heard about a soldier from my old unit who was hurt or killed, I felt a tremendous anger but was unsure of where to direct it. I find it embarrassing when someone thanks me for my service, because I feel like I didn't really do anything compared to some. But I have the memories of my time there, which I treasure.

I don't know if it was all worth it. I know now that the invasion was based on flawed intelligence, although at the time, everyone thought that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction. Everyone. So we liberated Iraq from a madman, and saved them from perhaps a later, worse fate.

So much blood, and where are the Iraqi people now? Are they in a better situation? We want to know, we want reassurance, that all the American lives, both lost and ruined, were worth it. I can't say.

Baghdad during that time was a complete firestorm, and four days from going home to Alaska, orders came from the president extending our deployment indefinitely. To help make sense of my thoughts and emotions I wrote poems. Some were long, some very short, and each one meant more to me than any weapon I had to carry while protecting myself in that nightmare.

a landscape that spits acid in your face,
destroys civilization with its sourness.
god has no place here.
yet the people embrace him as they are whipped.
evil smells swim through the hairdryer heat.
grit bounces off the eyelids of a shunned existence.
smashed and burned.
the souls of many exit through this place.
a factory producing painful lives,
one after another.
-- from "Land of Pain," 2006

I will never be able to forget how I saw human beings treat one another with such hateful intentions. Where families were tortured and murdered for following one religious doctrine or another. Where the police robbed the very people they were hired to protect with their lives. Where murderers would be freed by relatives in the Iraqi judicial system.

We removed one corruption and replaced Saddam Hussein with officials that were just as murderous and evil.

The secret about combat -- what not even the harshest anti-war cynic will tell you -- is coming home and walking around every day feeling like you're a bad person.

All things surrounding Iraq continue to be the black hole in the otherwise loving light surrounding me in my life. Though life was difficult when I was in combat, I never really suffered until I got home. I lost everything. My wife, my place to live, my friends, and the future that I had once seen.

It was not worth the lives. To say nothing of the money, material, energy and effort. It was not worth the lives of my friends to take the lives of someone else's friends so that they would not take the lives of someone else's friends. It was not worth liberating Iraqis so that warlords, thugs and gangsters could rule over Iraqis. There were no WMDs, or ties to al Qaeda, or ties to 9/11.

We talk about the superiority of our culture, but then we invade their country and set them at each other's throats like animals.

The Iraq War, from its planning to our withdrawal, as a whole, has been a fiasco, an embarrassment, a disaster.

'Proud to be a part of something'
in the Army. He spent a year in Iraq, 2010-2011, helping to shut down more than 40 U.S. military bases. He asked not to use his full name because he is still in the Army.

This was my first deployment to Iraq and the amount accomplished is simply astonishing. As bases closed and troops left, the U.S. military was humming at full speed. As we departed, I have never felt more proud in my life to be a part of something.

Being deployed also gave me a greater sense of just how good America truly is ... from the air and scenery to the security. When was the last time an American citizen worried about an IED on one of our highways? Or when the temperature hit 135? We are truly blessed, and I feel sorry for anyone who does not realize this.

Any war that has been fought is worth the sacrifices. I trust in my country as well as God that when we are asked to fight, the end will be a just cause. Is that the case for Iraq? Sure. We are talking about a dictator who killed his own people and suppressed their voices.

When I came home, the first thing my wife said to me was that she was filing for divorce. So ended an eight-year relationship and sent me spiraling into despair and hopelessness. The war didn't kill me, but coming home almost did.

Sadly, almost everyone who was there has struggled and will struggle for possibly the rest of their lives. The families who lost someone there will never fully recover. And the soldiers who came back wounded have to deal with something I cannot imagine.

The Iraq War was a waste because although we did depose a dictator, we ruined the country in the process. Most Iraqis have paid a tremendous price for it. I oftentimes remember people telling me, "It was better under Saddam."

Clearly there were strategic interests in toppling Hussein, but I'm not convinced that those interests outweighed the costs to this nation. It also cost the U.S. a tremendous amount in international credibility.

I realize that it's possible that in 20 years from now the Iraq War may be seen as the turning point in the Middle East from dictatorships and theocracy to democracy and civil liberties, but I highly doubt that.

As a Canadian, but trained by the United Nations at a six-week course in Vienna, I felt honored to be selected as an international observer and weapons inspector for this most important mission.

When we were notified that we were to leave the country in advance of the initiation of the armed invasion, the Iraq citizens were beside themselves, begging for us to stay. One woman, a single parent with two children, dropped to her knees in front of me, pleading for us to stay. She knew that there would be substantial collateral damage on the streets of Baghdad because Saddam had offices and building throughout the city mixed within residential areas.

The invasion of Iraq and the subsequent hostilities have left a mixed taste in my mouth. For starters, the principle excuse to invade Iraq to discover WMD was a nonstarter from the get-go. The U.N. found no traces of Iraq reconstituting their WMD programs, nor did the subsequent Iraq Survey Group. Whether it was a sound decision to invade Iraq to seek WMDs (or to seek a regime change) will be debated for a long time.

We didn't think of it as an occupation, but we were going there to do whatever we needed to win, whatever that would end up being ... a patriotic sense of, "This is what our country needed us to do, so we were going to do it and do it well."

But when we were there, it seemed like the war was over. There was just a sense that we had done all that we could possibly do, if we had done anything. [Saddam Hussein] had been located, they hadn't found any weapons of mass destruction, and they didn't believe they would ever be found. So there was a kind of a feeling of, "Why are we still here?"

We probably might have wrecked their country, but we offered to repair or do what we could, and there wasn't that feeling of "Help us." It was more, "Get out of here."

None of us could see a reason why we were still there. And it just kept going on and on.

Was it the right thing to do? Should we have been there, or should we have left sooner? Nobody really knows. The only thing we received was President [George W.] Bush saying only history will be able to tell, which kind of tells me nobody knows.

In the end, we freed the Iraqi people from a dictator. We helped build up their infrastructure after tearing it down. We helped train their leaders, police and military so that on their own the Iraqi people have a chance at a brighter future.

Our attempts to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people may never change the contempt many Iraqi people still have for Americans, but at least during my time in Iraq I know my unit touched the lives of many people in a positive way.

But I'm afraid the bad outweighs the good. I don't know any soldiers who really have a positive view on any of it. Most guys, almost all of them reflect on how relationships went bad, and other people have been through more stuff -- lost lives and seen people killed. There's a lot of negativity.

The hardest part was re-integration. When I first got back, I was a lot more quiet. I didn't talk to people as much. I was expecting when I got back, it was going to be all happy. I used to enjoy movies and playing Xbox and now I'm just sitting around.

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in their own words: 8 lives changed by the iraq war - cnn

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In their own words: 8 lives changed by the Iraq War

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Joyous homecomings flash on television screens with the return of troops from Iraq. But away from the jubilation, stories of loss, darkness and ambivalence emerge. CNN iReport invited service members, contractors and others affected by the Iraq War to tell how it changed their lives.

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Do not watch the entire documentary!

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Operation Iraqi Freedom - NBC News Documentary - 2003

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Operation Iraqi Freedom - NBC News Documentary - 2003. Featuring Tom Brokraw, David Bloom, and the Today Show hosts Matt Lauer and Katie Couric.

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Gulf War Veterans' Medically Unexplained Illnesses

A prominent condition affecting Gulf War Veterans is a cluster of medically unexplained chronic symptoms that can include fatigue, headaches, joint pain, indigestion, insomnia, dizziness, respiratory disorders, and memory problems.

VA refers to these illnesses as "chronic multisymptom illness" and "undiagnosed illnesses." We prefer not to use the term "Gulf War Syndrome" when referring to medically unexplained symptoms reported by Gulf War Veterans. Why? Because symptoms vary widely.

Military service connection

Gulf War Veterans who meet the criteria below do not need to prove a connection between their military service and illnesses in order to receive VA disability compensation.

VA presumes certain chronic, unexplained symptoms existing for 6 months or more are related to Gulf War service without regard to cause. These "presumptive" illnesses must have appeared during active duty in the Southwest Asia theater of military operations or by December 31, 2021, and be at least 10 percent disabling. These illnesses include:

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a condition of long-term and severe fatigue that is not relieved by rest and is not directly caused by other conditions.

Fibromyalgia, a condition characterized by widespread muscle pain. Other symptoms may include insomnia, morning stiffness, headache, and memory problems.

Functional gastrointestinal disorders, a group of conditions marked by chronic or recurrent symptoms related to any part of the gastrointestinal tract. Functional condition refers to an abnormal function of an organ, without a structural alteration in the tissues. Examples include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional dyspepsia, and functional abdominal pain syndrome.

Undiagnosed illnesses with symptoms that may include but are not limited to: abnormal weight loss, fatigue, cardiovascular disease, muscle and joint pain, headache, menstrual disorders, neurological and psychological problems, skin conditions, respiratory disorders, and sleep disturbances.

VA benefits

Gulf War Veterans may be eligible for a variety of VA benefits, including a Gulf War Registry health exam, the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, health care, and disability compensation for diseases related to military service. Their dependents and survivors also may be eligible for benefits.

Learn more about benefits related to Gulf War service.

Research on Gulf War Veterans' illnesses

VA and other researchers continue to conduct research to investigate how service in the Gulf War is linked to illnesses Gulf War Veterans have experienced. Research includes:

VA contracts with the Health and Medicine Division (HMD) (formally known as the Institute of Medicine) of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to scientifically review the evidence for possible connections between Gulf War Veterans' illnesses and exposure to environmental agents or preventive medicine during service, and the best treatments for these illnesses.

VA is currently reviewing HMD's latest Gulf War and Health report, Gulf War and Health: Volume 10: Update of Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War, 2016.

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US Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration

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A prominent condition affecting Gulf War Veterans is a cluster of medically unexplained chronic symptoms that can include fatigue, headaches, joint pain, indigestion, insomnia, dizziness, respiratory disorders, and memory problems. VA refers to these illnesses as "chronic multisymptom illness" and "undiagnosed illnesses."

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Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq was ruled by a mostly secular Sunni Arab elite, which viciously suppressed the Shiite Arab majority and the Kurdish minority. But the toppling of Saddam's regime has altered the power balance between those groups, who are waging an increasingly bitter power struggle.

Shiites and Sunnis: Origins of Differences

The divide between Sunni and Shiite Arabs is currently Iraq's most volatile. The distinction between the Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam dates back to a 7th Century split over who would inherit the leadership of Muslims after the passing of the Prophet Muhammad. The Shiites believe that the Prophet had passed the mantle of leadership to his own descendants, first to his cousin and son-in-law, Imam Ali, who in turn passed it to his own son (and the Prophet's beloved grandson) Imam Hussein. They rejected the three Caliphs chosen by consultation among the Prophet's followers after his death — those recognized by the Sunnis, who constitute about three quarters of the world's Muslims today — and instead followed a series of 12 imams who were direct descendants of Muhammad. The schism originated as a violent power struggle, with both Ali and Hussein murdered by rivals. The latter, killed at the battle of Karbala in Iraq, came to symbolize the cult of martyrdom in the Shiite tradition, with followers still today flagellating themselves during the annual Ashura festival for their failure to rally to Hussein and prevent his death.

The two traditions have different approaches to religious law and practice, and different notions of religious hierarchy, but both observe the same fundamental tenets of Islam. Although Shiism is the overwhelmingly dominant form of Islam among the Persians of Iran, in most of the Arab world Shiites are an impoverished and disenfranchised underclass. And the more extremist Sunni "Salafist" tradition that predominates in Saudi Arabia, as well as among the jihadists of al-Qaeda, denigrates Shiites as apostates. Within both Shiism and the Sunni tradition, however, there are a variety of different approaches to theological, legal and political questions, and they have coexisted for centuries. Members of both sects rub shoulders during the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

The contemporary conflict between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq is based not only on a schism that happened almost 14 centuries ago, but on the politics of the Saddam Hussein era. The Sunni Arabs, some 15-20% of the population, provided the bulk of the governing class under Saddam, while the Shiites, who comprise upward of 60% of the population, were denied political rights and their religious freedoms were curtailed. The contemporary politics of the divide also has a regional dimension: The main Shiite religious political parties that have dominated both of Iraq's democratic elections have close ties to Iran, a fact that has irked not only Iraq's Sunnis but also the U.S.-allied regimes of the Arab world, who fear the consequences throughout the region of expanded Iranian influence.

Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen

Almost 80% of Iraqis are Arab, while some 15-20% are Kurds — a distinct ethnic group with its own language, history and culture, concentrated in northern Iraq, eastern Turkey, northeastern Syria, northern Iran and southern Georgia. Kurds have struggled for their rights as a cultural minority in all of those societies, often suffering vicious repression, but have enjoyed de facto independence in northern Iraq under U.S. protection since the 1991 Gulf War. Although they participate in Iraqi national politics and one of their key leaders, Jalal Talabani, is currently Iraq's president, the vast majority of Iraqi Kurds have signaled their desire for formal independence from Iraq. The Kurds are predominantly Sunni Muslim, although there is a Shiite minority, but Kurdish identity politics are dominated by secular nationalism, although an Islamist party made a surprisingly strong showing in January's election.

The new Iraqi constitution recognizes the Kurds' de facto autonomy in northern Iraq, allowing them to keep the revenues from any new oil fields and to maintain their own armed forces. But the status of the oil rich northern city of Kirkuk remains a flashoint, because it is claimed not only by Kurds and Arabs, but also by the Turkmen minority — less than 5 percent of the population, but which carries the backing of Turkey, which is vehemently opposed to an independent Kurdish entity.

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Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com

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Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq was ruled by a mostly secular Sunni Arab elite, which viciously suppressed the Shiite Arab majority and the Kurdish minority. But the toppling of Saddam's regime has altered the power balance between those groups, who are waging an increasingly bitter power struggle.

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Ethnic Differences= Maps 1-4
Background= Maps 5-13
Impact= Maps 14-27

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Time was, across the Arab world, that it was simply rude to ask people their religion or sect, even if it was obvious from their name, their accent, from where they lived or worshipped or the pictures on their walls that they were a Sunni Muslim, Shia, or Christian.

In the glory days of the post-colonial era the focus was on creating an overarching Arab and national identity. Syria, with its mosaic of Sunnis, Alawites, Druze and many Christian communities, boasted of being the "beating heart of Arabism". Even in Lebanon, with its elaborate power-sharing arrangements, confessional identity remained a private matter. Intermarriage was common.

The Ba'ath party, which ruled in both Baghdad and Damascus, was the creation of a Christian ideologue, Michel Aflaq. Two radical Palestinian leaders, George Habash and Nayef Hawatmeh, were Christians. So was George Antonius, the great historian of Arab nationalism.

In Iraq, carved by the British out of three Ottoman provinces, a poor, largely rural, Shia majority, a Sunni minority, and the Kurds were the predominant groups. Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, tried to co-opt them all; all were oppressed.

Change was driven by Iran's Islamic revolution of 1979, a cataclysmic moment in Middle Eastern history and an inspiring one for downtrodden Shia everywhere. Saddam's invasion of Iran in 1980 was billed as an Arab war against Persians - and was bankrolled by the Arab and Sunni Gulf states. In 2003, when Saddam was overthrown, Iraqi Shia celebrated by invoking the martyrdom of their revered Imam Hussein at the hands of the Sunni Umayyads at the battle of Kerbala in 680.

Sectarianism reflects real religious differences and defines "otherness", but it has always been linked to power, resources and territory. In Bahrain, the Sunni Al Khalifa dynasty rules over a Shia majority denied its rightful place in the system, but Manama blames Tehran for fomenting unrest. Saudi Arabia similarly accuses Iran of causing trouble in the Shia-dominated east. In both cases the accusation masks genuine local problems.

Over the past four years the vicious war in Syria has amplified sectarian sentiment so that Alawites are now identified en masse with Bashar al-Assad and Sunnis with the opposition. Lebanon's Hezbollah, a militant Shia group backed by Iran and supporting Assad, reinforces this binary narrative. But disputes exist of course within sects while other ties transcend religious identity.

Extremist Sunni preachers based in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait abuse Shia as "idol-worshippers" - the intolerant language of Wahhabi exclusivity. Iranians are scorned as "Safawis", a pejorative reference to the 16th-century Safavid dynasty. Fanatical jihadis such as the Islamic State justify the killing of "apostates" under the doctrine of " takfir".

In its heyday, al-Qaida targeted the "far enemy" - America in particular. But the Islamic State has placed anti-Shia sentiment at the centre of its poisonous ideology. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, its "caliph", has ignored pleas by Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's successor, to refrain from the indiscriminate killing of Shia and, instead, to attack the Shia-dominated and Alawite regimes in Iraq and Syria.

Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the influential Sunni cleric given a platform by al-Jazeera TV, famously denounced Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah (the "party of God") as the leader of the "party of Satan".

So sectarianism has certainly raised its ugly head in recent years - but a lot of people have worked hard to make that happen. And social media has made it easier than ever to spread toxic and intolerant messages.

Yet sectarianism is not the main cause of divisions in the Middle East. Yemen's deepening crisis involves the rebel Houthis of the Zaydi sect, linked to Shia Islam but close to the country's majority Sunni doctrine. The support they get from Iran is primarily about winning allies and projecting power - the main reason the Houthis face armed intervention from Saudi Arabia.

To say that Iran backs the Houthis for religious reasons "is like assuming that Scottish Presbyterians will always support Southern Baptists because both are forms of Protestantism", says Juan Cole, a US academic and commentator on the Middle East. It is the geopolitical context that gives this conflict its sectarian hue, not the other way round.

Egypt's Muslims are monolithically Sunni but the 2011 revolution and its divisive and repressive aftermath have seen the Coptic Christian minority identified as supporters of the old regime and targeted by Islamist extremists.

In the Maghreb, where the Arab spring began so hopefully with the Tunisian uprising, sectarianism is not an issue, though extremism has spread back poisonously from the war in Syria and the growth of Isis. In Libya, Morocco and Algeria, Berber rights and identity are important, but not the focus of a crisis.

It is worth remembering that the Arab awakenings began everywhere with calls for secular reform. "Whatever tribe, clan, religion, sect or ethnic group they belonged to, citizens asked for 'dignity' before anything else," wrote Talal Salman in the Lebanese paper al-Safir. "It was only over time that sectarian tendencies came to the forefront. As transitions appeared to be regressing, people increasingly chose to identify themselves along tribal or confessional lines, rather than political ones.

"Arabs today are like brothers and enemies at the same time. Each subgroup brandishes its religious or ethnic identity to confront the other subgroup in a futile war, in which all will lose ... In short, the fall of Arabism as a unifying identity will mark the start of a series of civil wars among brothers. And once those wars start, nobody knows when or how they will end."
Topics

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Sunni v Shia: why the conflict is more political than religious

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Time was, across the Arab world, that it was simply rude to ask people their religion or sect, even if it was obvious from their name, their accent, from where they lived or worshipped or the pictures on their walls that they were a Sunni Muslim, Shia, or Christian.

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Travel through northern Iraq and you'll notice something strange. Most of the flags aren't Iraqi ones; they're the red, white, green, and yellow flag of the Kurds, who have long sought to carve out a new nation of their own there.

With the eyes of the world focused on North Korea, the Kurds have just taken a large - and very dangerous - step in that direction by overwhelmingly approving a referendum on formally declaring independence from the Iraqi central government in Baghdad. Qubad Talabani, deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), called it a "historical day" for Kurds.

The referendum isn't binding, and there's no sign that the US-backed government in Baghdad has any intention whatsoever of acting on it. In a televised speech on Sunday, just one day before the referendum vote, Iraqi Prime MinisterHaider al-Abadi called the vote "unconstitutional" and declared that Baghdad "will not recognize its outcome."

Still, the mere act of holding the vote risks a new rupture between the Kurds and the Iraqi government - one with a real risk of actual fighting between the two sides.

On September 18, seven days before the referendum, Iraq's supreme court ordered the Kurds not to hold the vote. But Kurdish leaders ignored the order, holding the vote not just in Kurdish areas but also in the "disputed territories" that have significant numbers of both Arabs and Kurds. That means the Kurdish government in northern Iraq is making a bold play for power in areas still bound to Baghdad.

Iraq's neighbors are not pleased either. Iran has built close ties to Baghdad, and worries that an independent Kurdistan would weaken Iraq and potentially encourage separatist movements among its own Kurdish minority of about 8 million Iranians. An independent Kurdistan could also become a military hub for Western forces on Iran's doorstep.

Turkey, which has waged a bloody decades-long war against its own Kurdish separatists,has called the inclusion of the disputed territories a "grave mistake." This spells trouble for the Kurdish government in Erbil: Turkey is the only gateway for the export of Kurdish oil to international markets. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to choke off Kurdistan's lifeline.

In a joint statement issued last week, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq warned that the referendum could distract from the fight against ISIS and jeopardize recent advances. They say they've agreed to consider countermeasures against Kurdistan (though what countermeasures, exactly, remains unclear). The Iraqi constitution does not have a mechanism for secession; independence cannot happen without a decision by the Iraqi parliament, which would definitely reject the Kurdish push.

All of that means it's unclear what the referendum will have achieved, beyond giving Kurdish leaders more of a mandate to pursue secession talks, no matter how unlikely those talks are to succeed.

"It will be like Brexit," says Najmaldin Karim, governor of the oil-rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk. He meant that optimistically, but it's not necessarily a comparison Kurds should cheer given the bitter, unproductive status of Brexit negotiations.

Kirkuk will be the battleground

"Iraq has always failed as a state," says Karim, a Kurd who returned to his hometown of Kirkuk in 2009, after 30 years in the US. Karim wants Kirkuk, one of the country's disputed territories, to be part of an independent Kurdistan.

Kurds have a historical claim to Kirkuk. Saddam Hussein forcibly displaced them during his "Arabization" campaign in the 1980s. Since 2003, they have moved back to reclaim it. Jalal Talabani, the founder of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of the main Kurdish political parties, has called Kirkuk the "Jerusalem of the Kurds."

And though the province is ethnically mixed, it has been under de facto Kurdish control since June 2014, when Kurdish peshmerga forces defended it from ISIS, filling the vacuum left by the fleeingIraqi military. Now the Kurdish flag flies alongside the Iraqi federal one in the city of Kirkuk(which shares the same name as the province). Earlier this summer, Karim defied orders from an Iraqi court to take it down: "The Kurdistan flag will fly high," he insisted.

Kirkuk is a flashpoint largely because of its massive oil wealth. Nine billion barrels of oil reserves liejust outside the city - 6 percent of the world's total and 40 percent of Iraq's. These reserves are capable of producing more than 1 million barrels a day, though as of last year they have been pumping at only half capacity, according to data from the Iraqi oil ministry.

Until recently, Baghdad produced and sold all of Kirkuk's oil. But after ISIS sabotaged Baghdad'spipeline and peshmerga forces streamed in, Baghdad lost control. Kurds now control three of the five oil fields. A deal reached in August 2016 ensured that both Kurdish and Iraqi governments get a share of the oil proceeds, but Baghdad wants its oil fields back. Yet Kurdistan needs oil revenue from Kirkuk to pay even a fraction of the costs of running a quasi-independent Kurdish state, says Luay Al-Khatteeb, director of the Iraq Energy Institute, a London-based think tank.

Kirkuk's value is also symbolic. It was the first place Iraq discovered oil in 1927. A lot of Iraqis have grown up knowing Kirkuk as one of the country's great cities, says Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.If Kirkuk goes, it feels like Iraq is breaking up.

Krexit?

The last reliable Iraqi census in 1957 put the population of Kirkuk at around 50 percent Kurds, 30 percent Arabs, and 20 percent Turkmen. Now it has also taken in more than 500,000 Arabs displaced by the fight against ISIS. Arabs and Turkmen called for a boycott of the vote.

Nevertheless, the electoral commission announced on Wednesday that the outcome was a resounding "yes." Of the 3.3 million Kurds and non-Kurds who cast ballots, 92 percent voted for secession. The Iraqi parliament has responded by asking the prime minister to deploy troops to Kirkuk and the surrounding area.

Baghdad's only way to regain control of Kirkukis through negotiations or fighting, says Bilal Wahab, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The peshmerga and Shia militias have cooperated in the fight against ISIS. As their common enemy nears defeat, they may turn on each other.

Shia militias, which were funded by the Iraqi government to fight ISIS, have threatened to retake the city. They are technically part of the Iraqi security apparatus, and any attack could easily escalate into civil war unless Baghdad disowns them, says Wahab.Karim has summoned peshmerga reinforcements in response.

Western forces, including the United States and the United Nations, urged the Kurdish government to call off the vote, citing the need for a peaceful reconstruction of the territories regained from ISIS and the safe return of refugees. The UShas offered Masoud Barzani, the Kurds' president, and Haider al-Abadi, Iraq's prime minister, a room at the American Embassy in Baghdad to negotiate a deal. Oil could help lubricate relations. A revenue-sharing deal with Baghdad is the only way Kirkuk won't blow up, says Wahab.

Kurdish leaders still say they will do whatever it takes for independence. Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, testified this summer that Kurdish independence is a matter of "not if but when." Karim says of the 30 million Kurds dispersed across the Middle East: "We're the largest ethnic group in the world that doesn't have a recognized nation state."
Elizabeth Winkler is a journalist based in Washington, DC. F ind her on Twitter @ElizWinkler.

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Iraq's Kurds just voted to secede. Here's why that could cause a new civil war.

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Travel through northern Iraq and you'll notice something strange. Most of the flags aren't Iraqi ones; they're the red, white, green, and yellow flag of the Kurds, who have long sought to carve out a new nation of their own there.

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Travel through northern Iraq and you'll notice something strange. Most of the flags aren't Iraqi ones; they're the red, white, green, and yellow flag of the Kurds, who have long sought to carve out a new nation of their own there.

With the eyes of the world focused on North Korea, the Kurds have just taken a large - and very dangerous - step in that direction by overwhelmingly approving a referendum on formally declaring independence from the Iraqi central government in Baghdad. Qubad Talabani, deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), called it a "historical day" for Kurds.

The referendum isn't binding, and there's no sign that the US-backed government in Baghdad has any intention whatsoever of acting on it. In a televised speech on Sunday, just one day before the referendum vote, Iraqi Prime MinisterHaider al-Abadi called the vote "unconstitutional" and declared that Baghdad "will not recognize its outcome."

Still, the mere act of holding the vote risks a new rupture between the Kurds and the Iraqi government - one with a real risk of actual fighting between the two sides.

On September 18, seven days before the referendum, Iraq's supreme court ordered the Kurds not to hold the vote. But Kurdish leaders ignored the order, holding the vote not just in Kurdish areas but also in the "disputed territories" that have significant numbers of both Arabs and Kurds. That means the Kurdish government in northern Iraq is making a bold play for power in areas still bound to Baghdad.

Iraq's neighbors are not pleased either. Iran has built close ties to Baghdad, and worries that an independent Kurdistan would weaken Iraq and potentially encourage separatist movements among its own Kurdish minority of about 8 million Iranians. An independent Kurdistan could also become a military hub for Western forces on Iran's doorstep.

Turkey, which has waged a bloody decades-long war against its own Kurdish separatists,has called the inclusion of the disputed territories a "grave mistake." This spells trouble for the Kurdish government in Erbil: Turkey is the only gateway for the export of Kurdish oil to international markets. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to choke off Kurdistan's lifeline.

In a joint statement issued last week, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq warned that the referendum could distract from the fight against ISIS and jeopardize recent advances. They say they've agreed to consider countermeasures against Kurdistan (though what countermeasures, exactly, remains unclear). The Iraqi constitution does not have a mechanism for secession; independence cannot happen without a decision by the Iraqi parliament, which would definitely reject the Kurdish push.

All of that means it's unclear what the referendum will have achieved, beyond giving Kurdish leaders more of a mandate to pursue secession talks, no matter how unlikely those talks are to succeed.

"It will be like Brexit," says Najmaldin Karim, governor of the oil-rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk. He meant that optimistically, but it's not necessarily a comparison Kurds should cheer given the bitter, unproductive status of Brexit negotiations.

Kirkuk will be the battleground

"Iraq has always failed as a state," says Karim, a Kurd who returned to his hometown of Kirkuk in 2009, after 30 years in the US. Karim wants Kirkuk, one of the country's disputed territories, to be part of an independent Kurdistan.

Kurds have a historical claim to Kirkuk. Saddam Hussein forcibly displaced them during his "Arabization" campaign in the 1980s. Since 2003, they have moved back to reclaim it. Jalal Talabani, the founder of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of the main Kurdish political parties, has called Kirkuk the "Jerusalem of the Kurds."

And though the province is ethnically mixed, it has been under de facto Kurdish control since June 2014, when Kurdish peshmerga forces defended it from ISIS, filling the vacuum left by the fleeingIraqi military. Now the Kurdish flag flies alongside the Iraqi federal one in the city of Kirkuk(which shares the same name as the province). Earlier this summer, Karim defied orders from an Iraqi court to take it down: "The Kurdistan flag will fly high," he insisted.

Kirkuk is a flashpoint largely because of its massive oil wealth. Nine billion barrels of oil reserves liejust outside the city - 6 percent of the world's total and 40 percent of Iraq's. These reserves are capable of producing more than 1 million barrels a day, though as of last year they have been pumping at only half capacity, according to data from the Iraqi oil ministry.

Until recently, Baghdad produced and sold all of Kirkuk's oil. But after ISIS sabotaged Baghdad'spipeline and peshmerga forces streamed in, Baghdad lost control. Kurds now control three of the five oil fields. A deal reached in August 2016 ensured that both Kurdish and Iraqi governments get a share of the oil proceeds, but Baghdad wants its oil fields back. Yet Kurdistan needs oil revenue from Kirkuk to pay even a fraction of the costs of running a quasi-independent Kurdish state, says Luay Al-Khatteeb, director of the Iraq Energy Institute, a London-based think tank.

Kirkuk's value is also symbolic. It was the first place Iraq discovered oil in 1927. A lot of Iraqis have grown up knowing Kirkuk as one of the country's great cities, says Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.If Kirkuk goes, it feels like Iraq is breaking up.

Krexit?

The last reliable Iraqi census in 1957 put the population of Kirkuk at around 50 percent Kurds, 30 percent Arabs, and 20 percent Turkmen. Now it has also taken in more than 500,000 Arabs displaced by the fight against ISIS. Arabs and Turkmen called for a boycott of the vote.

Nevertheless, the electoral commission announced on Wednesday that the outcome was a resounding "yes." Of the 3.3 million Kurds and non-Kurds who cast ballots, 92 percent voted for secession. The Iraqi parliament has responded by asking the prime minister to deploy troops to Kirkuk and the surrounding area.

Baghdad's only way to regain control of Kirkukis through negotiations or fighting, says Bilal Wahab, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The peshmerga and Shia militias have cooperated in the fight against ISIS. As their common enemy nears defeat, they may turn on each other.

Shia militias, which were funded by the Iraqi government to fight ISIS, have threatened to retake the city. They are technically part of the Iraqi security apparatus, and any attack could easily escalate into civil war unless Baghdad disowns them, says Wahab.Karim has summoned peshmerga reinforcements in response.

Western forces, including the United States and the United Nations, urged the Kurdish government to call off the vote, citing the need for a peaceful reconstruction of the territories regained from ISIS and the safe return of refugees. The UShas offered Masoud Barzani, the Kurds' president, and Haider al-Abadi, Iraq's prime minister, a room at the American Embassy in Baghdad to negotiate a deal. Oil could help lubricate relations. A revenue-sharing deal with Baghdad is the only way Kirkuk won't blow up, says Wahab.

Kurdish leaders still say they will do whatever it takes for independence. Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, testified this summer that Kurdish independence is a matter of "not if but when." Karim says of the 30 million Kurds dispersed across the Middle East: "We're the largest ethnic group in the world that doesn't have a recognized nation state."
Elizabeth Winkler is a journalist based in Washington, DC. F ind her on Twitter @ElizWinkler.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Iraq's Kurds just voted to secede. Here's why that could cause a new civil war.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Travel through northern Iraq and you'll notice something strange. Most of the flags aren't Iraqi ones; they're the red, white, green, and yellow flag of the Kurds, who have long sought to carve out a new nation of their own there.

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