1 “Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence, is the key to unlocking our potential” - Winston Churchill The 57 on Heinz ketchup bottles represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had.

2 The Middle East: Part IIPalestine, Iran, Iraq, and Challenges

3 The Palestinian Issue For 20 years after the 1967 war, Arabs and Israelis could not agree on the future of the W. Bank and the Gaza Strip. During this time, the PLO staged terrorist attacks in Israel and in foreign countries. In 1987, the Palestinians carried out an intifada, or uprising against the Israelis. In 1988, the PLO’s leader Yasir Arafat stated that he would renounce terrorism and accept Israel’s right to exist. However, the Israelis did not believe Arafat would keep his word; Israel refused to meet with the PLO and they cont. Jewish settlement in the W. Bank.

4 The W. Bank and Arafat

5 The Peace Process Despite continuing tensions in the Mid. E., the U.S. pressed the Arabs and Israelis to hold peace talks beginning in 1991. 1992: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin agreed in principle to exchange some of the occupied land for security guarantees and to accept self-rule by the Palestinians. 1993: Oslo Accords – Israel and the PLO recognized each other and agreed to eventual self-rule for Palestinians in the W. Bank and the Gaza Strip; Israel would gradually w/draw its military from these areas. Mid-1996: the Palestinians had gained significant self-rule with Yasir Arafat as their first president.

6 The Oslo Accords

7 The Oslo Accords

8 The Oslo Accords

9 Peace and Tensions Although many Israelis and Palestinians supported the peace process, a large number opposed it. Pals: feared peace would lead to an “indepen.” state subject to Israeli restrictions. Israelis: feared a self-gov. Pal. would threaten Israel. 1995: Rabin is shot to death by an Israeli student who opposed the peace; Rabin’s successor, Shimon Peres, pledged (alongside Arafat) to cont. peace. However, in early 1996, the militant Palestinian group Hamas began a series of suicide bombings.

10 Khaled Mashaal, Ismail Haniyah

11 Peace and Tensions After the bombings, the Israeli voters elected the conser-vative Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister; Hamas stepped up its attacks. To keep would-be bombers out of Israeli cities, Net. closed off Palestinian areas from Israel and refused to w/draw Israeli forces still in Pal. areas until the bombings stopped. During the late 1990s, hostilities and fear continued b/w the Israelis and Palestinians. In 1998, the U.S. and Jordon’s King Hussein helped to move the peace process forward: Wye River Memorandum – Is. gives Pals. land, Pals. help to stop terrorism.

12 Israel and Palestine TodayAfter successful peace efforts in the early 1990s, Israeli-Palestinian relations worsened in 1997 – Hamas bombings and a conservative Israeli gov. The elections of Ehud Barak, however, raised hopes and gave the peace process new momentum. Despite Barak’s efforts, relations between the Palestinians and Israelis continued to worsen and the situation remains tense.

13 Benjamin Netanyahu

14 Iran’s Revolution

15 Iran’s Revolution During the 1960s-70s, Iran became a major military power in the Persian Gulf area. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi worked to build a mod. industrialized econ. based on oil; Shiite Muslim religious leaders, however, disliked the influx of W values – the shah silenced all protests. In the late 1970s, anti-shah forces rallied around Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who called for a return to a form of gov. based on Islamic laws and traditions. By Jan. 1979, the shah was forced to flee; Khomeini est. an Islamic state. Anti-shah sentiments also manifested into anti-Am. ones – we had supported the shah.

16 Khomeini

17 Iranian Hostage Crisis

18 Iran vs. Iraq During most of the 1980s, Iran fought a devastating war with neighboring Iraq. The Iraqis first seized a disputed border area and then pushed into Iran. The Iranians, hoping to spread their revolution into Iraq, responded with a fierce counter-attack. The Iraqis had superior weapons and used poison gas, the Iranians however, had more troops. In 1998 Iran and Iraq, both exhausted, agreed to end the fighting. After Khomeini’s death in 1999, Iran's’ leaders worked to rebuild Iran – a struggle b/w the moderates and the militant conservatives conts. to preoccupy Iran.

19 Hassan Rouhani

20 Iraq The war with Iran left Iraq near collapse and in debt to its small, but oil-rich, neighbor, Kuwait. Aug. 1990: Iraq’s president Saddam Hussein sent Iraqi forces into Kuwait, claiming that the country was a historic part of Iraq; Saddam also wanted more influence in the Persian Gulf. Fearing an Iraqi attack, oil-rich Saudi Arabia asked the U.S. for protection – this started the Persian Gulf War. The U.S. and other Arab nations sent troops; the UN imposed an embargo on Iraq. Jan. 1991: After the UN deadline for an Iraqi withdrawal expired, coalition forces began an air war against Iraq and ground fighting began after Saddam’s cont. refusal to w/draw. Iraq was defeated and Kuwait was freed.

21 Iraq and Kuwait Kuwait

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24 Iraq The aftermath of the war saw the Iraqi military destroyed.In return for peace, Iraq was forced to dismantle all chemical and biological weapons it possessed, and end any attempt to create or purchase nuclear weapons. While Iraq had agreed to dismantling, the Iraqi government only sometimes worked with UN inspectors, and ultimately failed to comply with disarmament terms, and as a result, economic sanctions were place on Iraq: 1990 – 2003 On March 20, 2003, a U.S.-organized coalition invaded Iraq, with the stated reason that Iraq had failed to abandon its nuclear and chemical weapons development program in violation of U.N. Resolution 687.

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29 Iraq Following the invasion, the United States established the Coalition Provisional Authority to govern Iraq. Government authority was transferred to an Iraqi Interim Government in June 2004, and a permanent government was elected in October 2005. More than 750 American troops remain in Iraq. After the invasion, al-Qaeda took advantage of the insurgency to entrench itself in the country concurrently with an Arab-Sunni led insurgency and sectarian violence. The current Iraqi government and the U.S. continue to struggle to ensure continuing democracy in Iraq.

30 Fuad Masum

31 The Elusive Dream Unity among Arab people has long been a powerful desire – for centuries, people throughout the Arab world have shared strong cultural ties, traditions, religious beliefs, and a common history. Brit. and Fr. imperialism in the 1800s-1900s increased division among the Arabs and created numerous states with artificial boundaries. Many Arabs thought that with indepen. from foreign powers they would be able to achieve unity. In 1945, the Arab League was formed and by 1995, its membership had grown to 22 members (including the PLO); however, disputes among nations and their unwillingness to give up sovereignty has blocked moves toward further unity.

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33 A Return to Religion In recent years many Mid. Easterners have sought solutions to their econ. and social problems in fundamentalism, or adherence to traditional religious values. Some observers view fundamentalism as a natural reaction by people who are overwhelmed by massive change and desire security in long-valued traditions – this also creates division. In the Mid. E., the revival of traditional religion has increased the political influence and divisions of Islam in many countries.

34 ISIS/ISIL

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