Middle East 1915 -Present Created

Middle East 1915 -Present

• Created from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire • Young Turks commit genocide against the Armenians, 1915 -1919, still don’t admit it • Mustafa Kemal Ataturk declares independence & creates a modern secular Islamic state in 1923 • Balances between Western & Islamic influences Turkey

Turkey After Ataturk • 1938 - President Ataturk dies • 1939 -45 - Neutral until end of WWII, declare war on the Axis powers but never fights & then joins the U. N. • 1950 - first open “democratic” elections, won by opposition party • 1952 - Abandons Ataturk’s neutrality & joins NATO

Turkish Unrest • 1974 - Turkey invades Northern Cyprus, trade embargo follows, embargo lifted in 1978 • 1984 - Recognizes Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus & Kurds launch a separatist war (PKK) • 1987 - Applies for full membership in EEC (European Economic Community, now the EU) • 1999 - PKK leader captured, sentenced to life in prison

Turkey Today • Turkey has gone through several military coups & new constitutions • The nation is divided between secularists & Islamists as well as Turks, Kurds, & Christians (Armenians & Greeks) • In 2015, 17 former military leaders were sentenced to time in prison for plotting a coup in 2003

Persia=Iran • Tug of war between Britain, Russia, & the USA throughout the 20 th Century • Ruled by a totalitarian Shah until 1979 • Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 established an Islamic theocracy • The Iranian government was vehemently Anti-American • 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days after the revolution

Iran in the 1980 s • 1980 - Iraq invades Iran & starts the 8 year Iran-Iraq War • 1985 - Iran-Contra Affair, US sold weapons to Iran to send money to rebels in Nicaragua • 1988 - U. S. ship shoots down an Iranian passenger jet killing 290 people • 1989 - Ayatollah Khomeini dies, President Khamene’i named supreme leader

Iran After Khomeini • 1995 - U. S. imposes sanctions against Iran for sponsoring “terrorism” & developing nuclear weapons • 1998 - Iran sends troops to border with Afghanistan after Taliban kills 8 Iranian diplomats & a journalist • 2009 - Green Revolution erupts when election results are disputed, leads to brutal police crack down

Iran’s Nuclear Story • 2002 - Russia starts building Iran’s 1 st nuclear reactor • 2003 - IAEA (U. N. nuclear agency) determines Iran doesn’t have a weapons program • 2005 - Iran starts enriching uranium again • 2012 - more nations impose trade sanctions • 2015 - a deal with Iran established and passed, sanctions were lifted & inspections allowed, not supported by conservatives in both nations

Saudi Arabia • Unified by Abd al-Aziz Ibn Saud beginning in 1902, with the help of ultra-conservative Ikhwan based on Wahhabism • Named Saudi Arabia in 1932 • The Saud family rules the nation • Oil discovered in 1938. • All national improvements made with oil revenue • Extremes of wealth

Saudi Arabia & Oil • 1960 - Saudi Arabia is a founding member of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) • 1973 - Leads boycott against Western nations that support Israel in the October Wars. Oil prices quadruple. • 1979 - cuts ties with Egypt after Camp David Accords establish peace between Egypt & Israel

Saudi Arabia Cont’d • 1987 - Resumes diplomatic relations with Egypt • 1990 - Condemns Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait & expels citizens of Jordan & Yemen because the governments support Iraq • 1994 - Osama Bin Laden stripped of his Saudi citizenship • 2001 - 15 of 19 9/11 hijackers from Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia Today • Saudi Arabia has battled terrorism & civil unrest across the region in the last 15 years • Hundreds have been arrested for ties to al-Qaeda, no clear numbers of convictions • Women have been fighting for rights, voting, holding political office, & driving • Currently fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen & the Islamic State in Syria

Decolonization & Partitioning • 1917 Balfour Declaration. Britain promises a homeland for the Jews • The Arabs were also promised their own state in Palestine

Israel • Jewish nation-state created after the horrors of the Holocaust during WWII • Established May 14, 1948 • Attacked by Arab neighbors on May 15, 1948 • Other wars broke out in 1956, 1967, & 1973 • Conflict introduced the idea of “terrorism” to the world, Israeli athletes murdered at the Munich Olympics in 1972

Israel & Palestine… • 1982 - Israel invades Lebanon to attack Palestinian strongholds • 1987 - First Intifada- Unarmed Palestinians revolt against Israeli rule of Gaza & the West Bank, throw rocks @ soldiers & police • 1993 - Oslo Accords- Established a timeline & plan for peaceful coexistence with Palestinians, Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated in 1995 over this • 2000 - Second Intifada- Oslo Accords failed due to hardliners on both sides, second revolt erupts

Israel Since 2000 • 2005 - Israel pulls out of Gaza & builds wall to protect against suicide bombers • PLO loses elections in Gaza to the militant Hamas • 2006 - Israel fights a missile war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, no clear winner after 33 days • Israel has established a prosperous & stable democracy with a growing economy & high standard of living

Palestinians • Displaced by Israel, many refused to leave or were rejected by the Arab nations • Refuse to recognize Israel as a legitimate nation • Given control of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank • Suicide bombers have frequently attacked Israel from the Palestinian camps • Israel is currently stepping up “settlement” of these areas

PLO • PLO= Palestinian Liberation Organization • Founded & led by Yassir Arafat from 1959 until his death 2004 • The PLO achieved international recognition from the U. N. in 1988

Egypt • Suez Canal built with the French in 1869 made Egypt’s location even more important in terms of Indian Ocean trade and the rapidly developing oil industry during the early 20 th century • Abdul Gamal Nasser “nationalized” the Suez Canal in 1956 which led to a war with Israel, Britain, & France

Egypt Menachim Begin-Israel Anwar Sadat -Egypt • Egypt was the first Arab nation to make peace with Israel, Camp David Accords brokered by Jimmy Carter in 1978 • President Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981 by Islamic extremists for signing the peace agreement, martial law established by Pres. Mubarak • Several of the most famous Islamic terrorists have been from Egypt, Mohammed Atta & Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri

Egypt Today • 2010 election results disputed by opposition parties • 2011 Protests in Tahrir Square, part of Arab Spring, force Mubarak to step down. Tried for ordering killing of protestors • 2012 Muslim Brotherhood wins elections, military ends state of emergency started with Sadat assassination in 1981 • 2013 Military overthrows Morsi & Muslim Brotherhood, religious political parties banned • 2014 General Sisi wins presidential election, human rights still severely limited

Syria • 1918 Arab troops with British support end 400 years of Ottoman rule by capturing Damascus • 1919 Emir Feisal claims all the territory from the Taursus Mtns to Sinai Desert • 1920 Syria-Lebanon becomes a French protectorate while Palestine is a British one • Syria occupied by Germany, Britain, & the French Army during WWII

Syria 1946 -1970 • 1946 French troops leave Syria • 1947 -1970 Syria ruled by a series of dictators & Egyptian President Nasser as part of the United Arab Republic • 1967 Syria loses the Golan Heights & most of their Air Force to Israel in the Six Day War • 1970 Hafez Assad overthrows the president & imprisons other leaders

Syria 1975 -2000 • 1975 Assad agrees to peace with Israel if “Arab lands” are returned • 1976 Syria “intervenes” in Lebanese civil war • 1980 Muslim Brotherhood attempts to assassinate Assad • 1990 Syria part of US-led coalition against Iraq • 2000 Bashar Assad becomes president when his father dies

Syria 2001 - Today • 2001 Bashar Assad continues totalitarian rule • 2004 US imposes sanctions for Syrian support of terrorism • 2007 Israel bombs building site in Syria, IAEA reports it as secret nuclear reactor in 2011 • 2011 Syrian civil war begins • 2012 Assad government accused of using chemical weapons on civilians • 2014 Islamic State of Iraq & Syria established making a 3 sided civil war

ISIS • Terrorist group that founded in 1999 & pledged allegiance to al Qaeda in 2004 • 2014 declared a worldwide caliphate, control of all Muslims • 2014 al Qaeda cut all ties with ISIS due it’s extreme methods • ISIS systematically executes all people who oppose them in captured territories & destroy historic artifacts & sites to “erase” the record

Peace? • The Middle East is home to all three monotheistic religions & extremes of wealth • The Middle East has been controlled by various powers throughout recorded history • The wish to control religious sites has now shifted to the desire to control natural resources and for the people to have a voice in government