History Lesson:
Middle
East Timeline
(Iraq,
Iran, Afghanistan)
pre-WWII -- Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan gain independence from
British control. Prescott
Bush, grandfather of President George W. Bush, instrumental in bankrolling
Hitler's rise to power.
WWII -- Iraq and Iran invaded and occupied by Allies to protect
oil fields
1951 -- Dr. Muhammad Mossadaq elected Prime Minister of Iran,
intending to nationalize country's oil
1953 -- West supports Iran coup, installing Shah and retaining
oil in hands of 8 private companies
1972 -- Iraq nationalizes its oil industry (at the expense of
US and British oil companies)
1973 -- USSR supports Afghanistan coup, resulting in popular
unrest which is met, by 1979, with a Russian invasion
1979 -- Ayatollah Khomeni replaces Shah of Iran in popular Islamic
revolution
1980-88 -- US backs Iraq's Saddam Hussein with conventional,
chemical and biological arms in all-out war against Iran. Meanwhile
undercover arms sales to Iran by the West (orchestrated by Oliver North
in the US) supply illegal funds to Nicaraguan right-wing Contras. In
Afghanistan, US and Britain organize, train and supply Islamic fundamentalist
rebels such as Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. These efforts lead to withdrawal
of Russians and setup of Taliban government.
1990 -- Saddam invades Kuwait in territorial claim, suddenly
becoming US enemy
1991 -- Gulf War sees quick annihilation of Iraqi army. US supports
Kurdish and Shi-ite rebels in Iraq to revolt against Saddam; Saddam
responds by attacking them with chemical weapons previously supplied
by US.
1991 ff. -- Western sanctions, together with spent-uranium war
residue, leads directly to massive
civilian deaths in Iraq over next decade
Nov. 2000 -- Iraq switches its petro-currency from dollars to
euros.
2000-01 -- In Afghanistan, Taliban decides to outlaw opium crop,
and withholds approval of oil pipeline from southern Russia. US makes
plans for armed intervention in Afghanistan.
Sept. 2001 -- US is hit by airline hijackings in NY and DC;
Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda are blamed; US initiates bombing and takeover
of Afghanistan by anti-Taliban forces.
2002 -- Opium crop and pipeline plans reinstated by new government
in Afghanistan. US makes plans for invasion and takeover of Iraq, including
control of oil fields. Saddam blamed for chemical and biological weapons
and ties to terrorists.
2003 -- US war plans demand narrow window of action: mid-February
to mid-March. While millions around world and most UN nations plead
for patience with inspections, Bush proceeds with invasion and takeover
of Iraqi oil fields on schedule. Six months later, no weapons of mass
destruction are found, nor ties to Al-Qaeda. Meanwhile, Bush's previous
"evidence" of WMD is exposed as a forgery known at the time.
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