Also, from the iraqi side, the majority of the soldiers were sunni during the iraniraq war. The united states has strongly criticized both syria and iran for contributing to the regions volatility and, in particular, for playing a destabilizing role in each of three regional conflicts. The fighting during this operation was the heaviest and bloodiest during the war, with the area around shalamcheh becoming known as the somme of the iran iraq war. Pdf the origins of the iraniraq war are geopolitical in two essential ways. Pdf the iraniraq war can be seen both as a symptom of.
The persian gulf war was one of the most lopsided conflicts in history. The iraniraq war is also noted for iraq s use of chemical weapons and biological weapons against iranian troops and civilians. Back then, to my mind, the word iraq evoked a place. Number 29 july 20 civilians gather at the site of a car bomb attack in amara, southeast of. The files record 66,081 civilian deaths out of 109,000 recorded deaths. In every operation that we won in the war, we lost more than the iraqis. From 1980 to 1988 iran and iraq fought the longest conventional war of the century. By then there was already unambiguous evidence indicating the urgency of defusing the imminent danger posed by iraq and its primary allies in the growing terrorist conspiracy. The iran iraq war is one of the largest, yet least documented conflicts in the history of the middle east.
The collateral damage to the economies of other nations was also immense. Iran iraq war iran contra whorm subject files co071 entire category iran white house staff and office files chief of staff, office of the. The abides came into rising conflict with the british forces in the gulf. First, it was inordinately protracted, lasting longer than either world war, essentially because iran did not want to end it, while iraq could not. Operation staunch was created in spring 1983 by the united states state department to stop the illicit flow of u. An overview of the entire reagan presidential collection is available in the guide to holdings. In the winter of 197475, iran and iraq almost went to war over iran s support of the kurds in iraq. Iran offered little resistance when iraq invaded in september 1980 but within a month they were halted in the desert. Trump administrations dangerous escalation of war with iran and iraq with the extrajudicial drone assassination of. In an address to the nation, president barack obama underscores the war s shared sacrifices while stressing that the united states will not abandon iraq. Iraniraq war 198088, prolonged military conflict between iran and iraq. The iran iraq war was fought for nearly nine years, during which time both countries suffered millions of casualties and billions of dollars in damage.
The 2003 iraq war was one of the great disasters in the history of american foreign policy. While iraq did launch scud missiles into israel and saudi arabia, they did not cause a. Manosevitz in october 1980, the cia briefed then presidential candidate ronald reagan on the impact of the iran iraq war in the middle east. Leaked intelligence reports expose how iran dominates iraq. The iraq war, the united nations security council, and the. Iraq s gdp only returned to pre war lvls in 2007 thanks to american oil companies.
In the years since the war, however, other, less useful conventional wisdoms have formed. Many were subsequently integrated into the iraqi security forces, particularly the army and the national police. But iran, as the leaked cables make clear, also viewed the increased american presence as a threat and a cover to gather intelligence about iran. Relations with iran had grown increasingly strained after the shah was overthrown in 1979. The eighth year of the iran iraq war is nearly over, but the conflict shows little sign of ending anytime soon.
The iraqiran war 1980 1988 on 22 september 1980, iraqi troops invaded iran, starting a war that would last for eight years. The first gulf war, better known as the iraq iran war the imposed war, as the iranian authorities came to call it was one of the longest and most atrocious interstate conflicts since the end of world war ii. Iran on the other hand relied on human wave attacks to overwhelm the iraqi defenders in the early stages of the war. Roughly 65,000 iranians and 20,000 iraqis became casualties because of operation karbala5. Debunking the bush administration the ciaas senior political analyst on iraq during the iraniraq war, and then, from 1988 to 2000, pelletiere was senior professor of national security affairs and the u. In the latter half of 1986, the east german military attache in baghdad reports on how the iran iraq war has progressed and where it is going. The iraniraq war, which ended in the summer of 1988, a month short of its eighth anniversary, is undoubtedly the third worlds longest and bloodiest conflict in. Tensions soon spilled over into outright war when saddam invaded. One of the earliest focuses of iran s interest in exporting revolution was the persian gulf area. It was sparked by the iranian revolution, led by ayatollah ruhollah khomeini, which overthrew shah pahlavi in 197879. Williamson murray and kevin woods have produced an exceptionally detailed and valuable book on the military dimensions of the iran iraq war. The entire iraq baathisiran war cost maximum 800k dead.
Pdf geopolitical origins of the iraniraq war researchgate. The folders and case files listed on these topic guides may still have withdrawn material due to freedom. Allowing the rivals to weaken each other was seen as ultimately in the us interest. The iraq war, the united nations security council, and the legitimacy of the use of force 41 air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations article 41. Ammar al hakim has led isci since the death of his father, abd.
While most iraqis shias supported the war in the first 2 years of the war, the last 6 years, they were neutral. International aid to combatants in the iran iraq war. This conclusion is by now, and for good reason, very widely accepted. At the same time both superpowers accepted iraq as the lesser of two evils and had worked against iran during the war, the u. However, nations like france and egypt has also been quite helpful. Yet iran faces a number of dilemmas with its iraq policy that cannot, in the last resort, be decoupled from the broader challenges it faces in the region, especially its relations with the united states. May 2006 august 20, 2007 irans proxy war against the. The iraqkuwait conflict, which was known as the second persian gulf war, eventually became known simply as the persian gulf war. The iran iraq war while the iran iraq war during the 1980s may have permanently altered the course of progress in iran and iraq, the war also altered the resulting permanent involvement of the rest of the world in the middleeast.
Karshs book on the iran iraq war not only suffers from only skimming the surface of a complex subject, but there is also a fairly obvious proiraqi bias. During the eight years between iraq s formal declaration of war on september 22, 1980, and iran s acceptance of a ceasefire with effect on july 20, 1988, at the very least half a million and. The iraq war documents leak is the disclosure to wikileaks of 391,832 united states army field reports, also called the iraq war logs, of the iraq war from 2004 to 2009 and published on the internet on 22 october 2010. Pinkley researched and wrote this publication while detailed for nine months in the joint history office. In the border province of khuzestan literally, the land of towers, long. Irans vital national interests could be helped by ending the standoff with the united states. The iraniraq war was originally referred to as the persian gulf war until the persian gulf war of 1990 and 1991, after which it was known as the first persian gulf war. Unlike many modern wars, the iraniraq war was shaped by a wide variety of historical. The states role expanded significantly during the long iraq iran war in two ways. The role of the united states and soviet union was very important, dating back to the cold war. Drawing from an extensive cache of captured iraqi government records, this book is the first comprehensive military and strategic account of the war through the lens of the iraqi regime and its senior military commanders. Council issued statements that chemical weapons had been used in the war. On 22 march 1988, the hitherto obscure kurdish town of halabja in the northeastern mountains of iraq suddenly skyrocketed to prominence in the western press as the site of the most recent and perhaps most grievous atrocity of the iran iraq war. Dec 12, 2002 iran iraq war in the air 19801988 schiffer military history book tom cooper, farzad bishop on.
Most iranians believed they were fighting for good. Long term causes short term causes since regaining all lost territory in 1982, iran was on the offensive until 1988 course of war changed radically in spring of 1988, moving nations to ceasefire series of iraqi victories in 1988 compelled iran to accept previously refused. To understand why the iran iraq war broke out in september 1980, it is necessary to look for more proximate causes, namely the nature of. In fact, this was just one of a series of wars in the region israel won without firing a bullet. The references for this article are on file and available through infantry. Iraniraq conflict causes and consequences 198088 introduction. Ill let the personal attacks pass as that is only thing iranians are good at. This conflict began when iraq invaded iran in 1980 followed by border disputes and irqs desire to become dominant persian gulf state and the iranian revolution at that time. A strategy for ending the syrian civil ar 2 syrias zones of control any attempt to deescalate the syrian war and reach a political settlement must begin with an acknowledgement of changing dynamics on the ground.
Although iraq won the war militarily, and possessed a significant military advantage over iran in 1989, the 1991 persian gulf war reduced iraq s capabilities to a point where a rough parity now exists between iran and iraq conditions similar to those found in 1980. Iran iraq war caused an enormous ecomomic, military and social problems to both iran and iraq. It examines iran s war history as a form of propaganda that acts as a framework for the irgc and recounts how the war with iraq has been remembered, retold, and utilized. It is doubtful at the time that anyone realized the one. This is a study of the iran iraq war from which we attempt to derive useful lessons for military professionals. Likewise, the united states has more to gain than lose if it adopts a more coherent and pragmatic policy toward the islamic republic. It is a fact that iran and iraq both were ruined after the war not just iraq and no you did not devastate iraq it was us who did in 2003 which is why you have much more influence in iraq today. Iran gained 110 km 2 42 sq mi of its territory back in the north, gained 15 km 2 5. Meeting with tariq aziz 1984 national security council nsc staff and office files. Iraniraq war in the air 19801988 by tom cooper and farzad bishop atglen, pa. The war in iraq and international law the war in iraq and international law gerry simpson in this paper i argue that the 2003 war on iraq was illegal, and that this illegality matters.
This activity is designed to enable your students to evaluate, analyse and link the causes of the iran iraq war. While tanks, artillery, helicopters and jets were used frequently during the war they were not used to their full potential and thus man power played a huge role on the war. Sabin and efraim karsh much has been written about conflict escalation in the context of nuclear strategy or the involvement of the superpowers in. Beyond that however, karshs book provides a limited and somewhat helpful overview of the military and political aspects that influenced the war.
Third, the war has been thoroughly documented, making it possible to do a detailed analysis of iranian operations. Iraqi president saddam hussein, who despised the shah, welcomed this change, but his joy turned to alarm when the ayatollah began calling for a shia revolution in iraq to. Iraniraq war causes and effects by rebecca abelson on prezi. Iraq had superior fire power but iran, sent in hundreds of thousands of new recruits. While reza shah came to power in the persian side, iraq became. After 2003, thousands of badr militiamen entered southern iraq from iran to help secure that part of the country. In the first substantive part of the paper part ii, i consider three legal justifications that have been. Iraq responded to these losses by firing a series of scudb missiles into the cities of dezful, masjid soleiman. Representations of masculinities in iran iraq war fiction present a deep, and at times, confounding paradox. Whilst this corpus of war fiction at times deeply challenges hegemony and completely reformulates its own definitions of normative codes of manliness, at other. Although iraq won the war militarily, and possessed a significant military advantage over iran in 1989, the 1991 persian gulf war reduced iraqs capabilities to a point where. First, compulsory draft into the army and its associated industries solidified the states control over the labor force, and secondly, the diversion of all resources to the military industrial.
By the end of the day, israel never liked both of them. Fighting was ended by a 1988 ceasefire, though the resumption of normal diplomatic relations and the withdrawal of troops did not take place until 1990. Jan 03, 2016 the books on the iran iraq war have been neither voluminous nor satisfying, in part because iran and iraq have remained relatively closed to scholars, and no researcher has enjoyed total liberty. Basra was largely destroyed, and iraq s army had taken many material losses. The revolutionary leaders viewed the arab countries of the gulf, along with iraq, as having tyrannical regimes subservient to one or the other of the superpowers. Iraq war, also known as the imposed war, jangetahmili and holy. United states and iraqi military officials at a 2011 signing ceremony handing control of camp victory, a central base for american forces during the iraq war, over to iraq. Iran escalated its involvement in syria in the latter half of 2014, as assad faced increasing losses on the battlefield. Estimates of total casualties range from 1,000,000 to twice that number. An aptly named simulation of the 19801988 war between iran and iraq. Finally, the iranians themselves continue to take the war seriously. This 8 years war before the fall of saddam hussiens regime undermines the tragedy of the iraqi people 5 years later.
This security council resolution calls on iran and iraq to observe an immediate ceasefire, discontinue all military actions and withdraw all forces to the internationally recognized boundaries. Top 10 books about the iraq war books the guardian. Thus, the war in a sense no winner, and both countries suffered from the war. Iraq invades iran with the united states tacit approval.
The real victims of the iraniraq war cultural survival. The iran iraq war dealt a devastating blow to the iraqi economy. This game features everything from human wave assaults to chemical and missile attacks. During the war so far, iraq s greatest source of imports has been, by far, from the soviet union. The war was a complex affair, with peculiar features that are essential to.
In a frontpage story appearing in the london times, nicholas beeston, one of a number of journalists flown into the town by the iranians who had just. Iran iraq war in the air 19801988 schiffer military history book. Ayatollah khomeini has been replaced by ayatollah khameini, who appears to be. This work has many positive aspects, but its most unique feature is the extensive use of previously unavailable captured iraq documents. The many ties that bind iran and iraq world news mideast. Iraniraq war in the air 19801988 schiffer military history. United states support for iraq during the iraniraq war. Iraniraq relations congressional research service summary with a conventional military and weapons of mass destruction wmd threat from saddam husseins regime removed, iran seeks, at a minimum, to ensure that iraq can never again become a threat to iran, whether or not there are u.
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