Middle East Conflicts and Events Quiz

• The Middle East is a loosely defined region located at the crossroads of Asia, Europe, and Africa.
• Includes countries of the Arabian peninsula, Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, and Iran.
• Region is predominantly Islamic but also includes other ethnic groups such as Turks, Persians, Kurds, and Jews.
• Home to the three major Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
• Famous for being rich in oil and natural resources.
• The Middle East is always in the news due to numerous conflicts.
• Main causes of Middle Eastern conflicts: division by foreign powers, spread of Wahhabism, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Saudi Arabia-Iran rivalry, and American foreign policy.
• During World War I, the Middle East was divided up by Britain and France without considering ethnic groups or border disputes, leading to deep-rooted tensions.
• Wahhabism, a fundamentalist doctrine of Islam, was spread throughout the Middle East after the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia.
• The Israeli-Palestinian conflict began after the British mandate for Palestine, leading to war and displacement of Palestinians.
• Saudi Arabia and Iran have been competing for dominance and influence in the Middle East, leading to proxy wars in Yemen and Syria.
• American foreign policy in the Middle East has been driven by the need to protect oil interests, support Israel, and counter Soviet influence.
• September 11 attacks on the Twin Towers led to the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, increasing anti-Muslim sentiment and causing long-term instability in the region.- Post-Iraq war, fundamentalist terrorist organizations like Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) thrived, later becoming Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
• ISIS declared a global caliphate in 2014, claiming religious, political, and military authority over all Muslims
• US intervened directly in the Middle East in 2014 due to ISIS's growing influence
• Middle East: a region of major conflicts and events since mid-20th century, including Iranian revolution (1979), Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), Soviet-Afghan War (1979-89), Gulf War (1990-91), 9/11 and Afghanistan (2001), invasion of Iraq (2003), and Arab Spring (2010)
• Iranian revolution (1979): Iranians nationalized oil industry, leading to British and American military coup, which resulted in religious leaders, the Ayatollahs, taking power
• Iran-Iraq War (1980-88): Iraq saw opportunity during Iranian revolution chaos to annex Iranian territory
• Soviet-Afghan War (1979-89): Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to prop up communist government, resulting in holy war by Mujahideen and emergence of Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda
• Gulf War (1990-91): Iraq invaded Kuwait, leading to US and Saudi military intervention to protect their interests
• 9/11 and US invasion of Afghanistan (2001): Al-Qaeda carried out terrorist attacks on US, leading to demand for Taliban to hand over Bin Laden and invasion of Afghanistan
• Invasion of Iraq (2003): US accused Iraq of promoting terrorism and possessing weapons of mass destruction, leading to invasion and removal of Saddam Hussein; no real links between Saddam and Al-Qaeda were established
• Arab Spring (2010): Pro-democracy protests led to regime changes in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen; Syria became embroiled in civil war, allowing ISIS to grow and spread

The real tragedy in the Middle East is the number of innocent civilians affected by competing agendas and ideologies.