The Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s - Essay ExampleThe war, however, was frustrating for both parties, with a victory that was determinant eluding them both. Various factors relating to the regime changes in both countries led to a full-blown war amid Iraq and Iran, and a proxy war in the midst of Iran & the US. The premise of this paper is to analyze this war and the role the US had to play in it. 2. Iraki army and Iran troops In 1979, ibn Talal Hussein Hussein, a Sunni Muslim, took over origin in Iraq, and set out to make Iraq the leading extract in the Middle East (Kilborn 79). musical composition Saddam and most of his supporters were Sunnis, the majority of Iraqis were Shias. Saddam did not trust them. Iran a neighbour to the east was predominantly Shia. In 1979, the Iranians, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, as well as overthrew their government, which had been under the Shah, a treasured champion of the US and Israel, and this led to an enmity brewing between these two entities . The revolution in Iran also label the first time that clerics of Islam had harnessed the authority of religion to overthrow a modern and secular state with a theocracy (Jacek 39). 3. Saddam Husseins personality The most potent catalyst for the Iraq-Iran war was Saddam Husseins personality. Repeatedly, he aggressed against the Iranians, and it was only a matter of time before war stone-broke out. A number of reasons were to nudge Saddam into starting a war. These were longstanding issues like access to the gulf of Persia by the Iraqis, & a few recent ones like the mistrust that the Iraqis mat up towards the Iranians and their new government (Phythian 71). The Iraqi has historically claimed the oil rich province of Khuzestan, which had a large Arab community of non-Persian population, with historical ties to Iraq. A few small islands in the gulf of Persia, which were militarily occupied by Iran, were also laid claim to by Iraq. There was also the Shatt al-Arab waterway, which w as disputed by both countries. 4. Diplomatic ties between Iraq and Iran Tensions between Tehran and Baghdad heightened in 1980. A group sponsored by the Iranians attempted to assassinate the extraneous minister of Iraq, while Iraq captured and hanged Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, the grand Ayatollah, and a staunch, public defender of the Islamic Revolution (Phythian 79). Diplomatic ties were cut, with humble skirmishes along the border. Iraq, in September, declared Shatt al-Arab waterway as their territory, before invading Iran on the 22nd. The invading Iraqis were remarkably successful at first, managing to gain large swathes of territory, including Khuzestan. However, their march began to lose steam, due in large part to the ferocity with which the Iranian public responded, and the bravery of the Air Force of Iran. In January of 1981, the Iranians mount a counteroffensive, which was unsuccessful & led to a stand period (Kilborn 91). 5. United States Contributions During the war, both countries attacked oil tankers echo for each others nation, in an attempt to cripple their foreign exchange sources. As the stalemate dragged on, neutral vessels were attacked with increasing regularity in the middle 1980s. This was especially a paramount concern for westerly oil importing countries. After Iranians attacked Kuwaits vessels, the United States president, Ronald Regan, gave the green light for Kuwaiti vessels to fly ball under the US flag, placing them under the patronage of the US, and giving the US the right to strike back if these ships were attacked