Introduction to Iraq Iraq is a Middle Eastern country in southwestern Asia encompassing most of Mesopotamia as well as the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. It shares borders with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the west, Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, and Iran to the east. It has a very narrow section of coastline at Umm Qasr on the Persian Gulf. Iraq is twice the size of Idaho. The country has arid desert land west of the Euphrates, a broad central valley between the Euphrates and the Tigris, and the mountains in the northeast. The total land area for the country is 437,370 sq km (168,869 sq miles), with a coastline of 36 miles (58 km). 1 Climate In general, the climate of Iraq is much like the climate of Texas: hot and dry in the summers, while cooler and a bit rainier in the winters. In most parts of the country temperatures average in the 80’s during the summer (although they can soar well into the 100’s) and in the 40’s and 50’s during the winter. In the mountains the temperatures are correspondingly cooler. Iraq has two seasons: a long, hot, and dry summer, lasting from May to or through October; and a relatively short, cool, and occasionally cold winter, lasting from December through March. Rain is sparse in almost all of Iraq. In the northeastern highlands rainfall is significant from October to May, ranging from 305 to 559 mm (12 to 22 in); but farther south, on the central alluvial plain and near the Persian Gulf, precipitation is slight, averaging 150 mm (6 in) annually. The Desert gets little or no precipitation. Average summer temperatures in Iraq reach 32° to 35°C (90° to 95°F). Summer daytime high temperatures may reach 40°C (110°F) or even 50°C (120°F). Summer nights are more comfortable, as temperatures normally drop by 14 to 19 degrees C (25 to 35 degrees F). Except near rivers, marshes, and coasts, humidity is low. The summers are essentially rainless, with no rainfall in four of the summer months and less than 13 mm (.5 in) of rain in the others. Skies are clear, and both sunlight and heat are intense during the day. In the south the summers tend to be a little hotter, a little longer, and usually somewhat more 2 humid. The mountains in the northeast are cooler and are high enough to receive occasional summer showers. Typical winter temperatures range from 4°C (40°F) in the north to 10° to 13°C (50°F to 55°F) in the south, but winter nights are often quite cold. Mosul, in the north, has recorded temperatures of -11°C (12°F), and Al Başrah, in the south, has had temperatures of -4°C (24°F). Winter days, except during occasional cold spells, are mild. Most precipitation occurs during winter in the form of rain. The first rainfall usually occurs in November, but most of the rain comes in late January or early February. Heavy snow does fall in the mountains during winter. Terrain Large parts of Iraq consist of desert, but the area between the two major rivers (Euphrates and Tigris) is fertile, with the rivers carrying about 60 million cubic meters of silt annually to the delta. The northern portion of the country is largely mountainous, with the highest point being a 3,611 m (11,847 ft) point, unnamed, but known locally as Cheekah Dar (black tent). Iraq has a small coastline on the Persian Gulf. Close to the coast and among Iranians) there used to be اروﻧﺪرود :along the Shatt al-Arab (known as arvandrūd marshlands, but many of these were drained in the 1990s. 3 Population As of July 2005 the population of Iraq was estimated at 26,074,906. Approximately 40 percent of this population can read and write. Broken down by gender, 55 percent of the men and 24 percent of the women are literate. Government The current leaders of Iraq were elected in December 2005, pending the formation of a new government. The Prime Minister of Iraq is Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who holds most of the executive authority and appoints the cabinet. The current President of Iraq is Jalal Talabani, who serves in a figurehead capacity, with few powers. The Vice-Presidents are Sheikh Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, (president under the Iraqi Interim Government) and Adel Abdul Mehdi, deputy leader of SCIRI, the largest party in the Iraqi National Assembly. History The Republic of Iraq sits on land that is historically known as Mesopotamia, which means 'land between the rivers' in Greek. This land was home to some of the world's first civilizations, including the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian cultures, whose influence extended into neighboring regions as early as 5000 BC. These civilizations produced some of the first writing, science, mathematics, law and philosophy in the world, making this region the center of what is commonly called the "Cradle of Civilization”. Ancient Mesopotamian civilization dominated other 4 civilizations of its time. Beginning in the seventh century AD, Islam spread to what is now Iraq. Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasi Caliphate, was the leading city of the Arab and Muslim world for five centuries. In 1258, Baghdad was devastated by the Mongols and was later occupied by the Ottoman Turks. After World War I, the Turks were driven from the area by the United Kingdom. At the end of World War I, the League of Nations granted the area to the United Kingdom as a mandate. It was formed out of three former Ottoman vilayets (regions): Mosul, Baghdad and Basra. The British gave the mandate the name Al-Iraq, a name that was previously applied only to the southern region of the Basra vilayet. Some say that the name came from a word meaning an area near a river, others that it means "the origin." Iraq was granted independence in 1932. The British-installed Hashemite monarchy lasted until 1958, when it was overthrown in a coup d'etat by the Iraqi army, known as the 14 July Revolution. The coup brought Brigadier General Abdul Karim Qassim's government to power (which withdrew from the Baghdad Pact and established friendly relations with the Soviet Union) from 1958 until 1963, when he was overthrown by Colonel Abdul Salam Arif with American support. Salam Arif died in 1966 and his brother, Abdul Rahman Arif, assumed the presidency. In 1968, Rahman Arif was overthrown by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, with the alleged backing of the U.S. The Ba'ath's key figure became Saddam Hussein who became president and took control of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), Iraq's supreme executive decision making body, in July 1979, killing off many of his opponents in the process. Saddam's absolute and particularly bloody rule lasted throughout the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), in which the United States, Soviet Union, and France backed Saddam after 1982, a war that ended in stalemate; the al-Anfal campaign of the late 1980s, which led to the alleged gassing of thousands of Kurds in northern Iraq; Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 resulting in the Gulf War; and the United Nations economic sanctions imposed at the urging of the U.S. The U.S. and the U.K. declared no-fly zones over Kurdish northern and Shiite southern Iraq to protect the Kurds and southern Shiites. After the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, Iraq was ruled by the U.S.-led coalition authority and later by the Iraqi government that the U.S.-led coalition installed, and is now independent from the United States of America. With ceremony to a minimum, on Monday, June 28, 2004, self-rule was officially restored by the United States to Iraqis two days ahead of schedule. Formal sovereignty was handed over to Prime Minister Allawi who was chosen 5 by the occupation authority. Free elections were held in 2005, but over 140,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq. Relationship with other countries With the fall of Saddam Hussein and the Ba'ath regime, Iraq has taken steps toward re- engagement on the international stage. Iraq has established diplomatic relations with over 60 countries and organizations; most notably the United Nations (UN), the Arab league (AL) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). On June 22, 2005, more than 80 countries and organizations gathered in Brussels in a renewed international partnership with Iraq, to support Iraq’s political transition process, to encourage its economic recovery, and to help establish the rule of law and public order. Economy Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. In the 1980’s financial problems caused by massive expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran, along with damage to oil export facilities by Iran, led the government to implement austerity measures, borrow heavily, and later reschedule foreign debt payments. Iraq suffered economic losses from the war of at least $100 billion (US). After hostilities ended in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. A combination of low oil prices, repayment of war debts (estimated at around $3 billion (US) a year) and the costs of reconstruction resulted in a serious financial crisis which was the main short term motivation for the invasion of Kuwait. Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic sanctions, and damage from the ensuing Gulf War of 1991 drastically reduced economic activity.