Ottoman Empire An empire that controlled much of the Middle East from the 1299 until the End of WWI Osman I First leader of the Ottoman Empire Mandate System The treaty that ended WWI and divided the Ottoman Empire between France and Great Britain. This Mandate made the Arabs mad. Artificial Borders The mandate system crated false boundaries. New Counties were not based on ethnic groups or religions but on sought after resources. Antisemitism Hatred of Jews simply because they practice the Jewish faith Holocaust A time when over 6 million Jews were killed in concentration camps during WWII Israel A republic in Southwest Asia, on the Mediterranean Sea, created in 1948 by the United Nations as a home to the Jewish people of the world Gulf War A military force used to liberate Kuwait from the Iraqi invasion in 1991 (also called Operation Desert Storm) Palestine Also called Holy Land. An ancient country in Southwest Asia, on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Zionism a worldwide Jewish movement that resulted in the establishment and development of the state of Israel. Arab-Israeli Conflict Arabs felt that Palestine should have become an Arab state after WWII. Since 1948, Arabs and Israelis have battled consistently over Palestine. Southwest Asian Wars Numerous wars have been fought between Israel and Arab nations. To this day, control of these areas (Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights) is a source of conflict and bitterness between Israelis and Arabs Religious Conflict Islam is the most popular religion in Southwest Asia. Arabs, Persians, and other large groups are Muslim. Most Israelis are Jewish. Large Christian populations exist in some countries. Some of the bitterness that exists in the Middle East is due to religious differences. Impact of Cold War Rivalry after World War II between the Soviet Union and the democratic countries of the Western world, under the leadership of the United States Saddam Hussein Iraqi political leader: president of Iraq from 1979 to 2003 9/11 The day on which Islamic terrorists, believed to be part of the Al-Qaeda network, hijacked four commercial airplanes and crashed two of them into the World Trade Center in New York City and a third one into the Pentagon in Virginia: the fourth plane crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania. Al-Qaeda a radical Sunni Muslim organization dedicated to the elimination of a Western presence in Arab countries and militantly opposed to Western foreign policy: founded by Osama bin Laden in 1988. Osama bin Laden 1957-2011, Arab militant leader: founder of al-Qaeda. War on Terror the ongoing campaign by the United States and some of its allies to counter international terrorism War in Afghanistan President Bush assembled an international alliance that invaded Afghanistan to stop the Taliban government. Iraq War A USA led coalition of nations that invaded Iraq to look for "weapons of mass destruction." None were found, but Saddam Hussein's government was