The People of Iraq

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a detailed look at the present situation of the people of Iraq and the factors that have brought them to the current state of turmoil. The paper discusses how the Iraqi people have endured three major wars in the last 25 years, suffered a long period of tyrannical dictatorship under Saddam Hussein and undergone a lengthy period of UN mandated economic sanctions. All these factors have combined to lower the living standards of its people to among the lowest in the world and unless there is a total reversal of fortunes soon, the immediate future of the Iraqi people does not look too bright.

From the Paper:

"In order to understand the current situation of the Iraqi people, we must take a quick look at the country's background and how it reached its current state. The modern state of Iraq was created by the British in 1920 after the First World War . The country possesses some of the largest petroleum and natural gas deposits in the world, and has large quantities of water (a rare commodity in the Middle East) as two great rivers--the Euphrates and the Tigris flow through it. It lies at the northern end of the Persian Gulf with a very short, i.e., 30 km coastline, and has common borders with Iran, Kuwait, Turkey, Syria and Saudi Arabia. Most of its population (about 75-80%) is ethnic Arab with about 15-20% Kurds inhabiting the northern part of the country. A large majority of the population (96%) are Muslims with about 60-65% belonging to the Shiite branch of Islam and the rest being Sunnis."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Conetta, Carl, "The Wages of War: Iraqi Combatant and Noncombatant Fatalities in the 2003 Conflict." Project on Defense Alternatives. October 20, 2003. April 30, 2006. http://www.comw.org/pda/0310rm8.html#4.%20Iraqi%20combatant%20fatalities%20in%20the%202003
• "Counting the civilian cost in Iraq." BBC News. June 6, 2005. April 30, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3672298.stm
• "Country profile: Iraq." BBC News. April 22, 2006. April 30, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/791014.stm
• Hassan, Ghali. "Living Conditions in Iraq: A Criminal Tragedy." Centre for Research on Globalization. June 3, 2005. April 30, 2006. http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/HAS506A.html
• "Iraqi Insurgency." From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 2006. April 30, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_insurgency

More papers on The People of Iraq:

• Analytical Essay # 25881 : "Saddam and the People of Iraq"
• Persuasive Essay # 103553 : "The Republic of Iraq:The Cradle of Civilization"
• Analytical Essay # 133121 : "The War in Iraq and the Bush Doctrine"

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