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Iraq....
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The Republic of Iraq is a
Middle Eastern country in southwestern Asia
encompassing the ancient region of Mesopotamia at the confluence of the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and also including the southern Kurdistan. It
shares borders with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south,
Jordan to the
west, Syria to the north-west, Turkey to the north, and Iran
(Persia) to
the east. It has a very narrow section of coastline at Umm Qasr on the
Persian Gulf.
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Modern Iraq became a
British mandate at the end of
World War I and was
granted independence from British control in 1932. It was formed out of
three former Ottoman Willayats (regions): Mosul, Baghdad and Basra. The
British installed Hashemite monarchy lasted
until 1958, when it was overthrown through a popular revolution, known as
the 14 July Revolution. |
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The Ba'ath's key figure became Saddam Hussein who acceded
to the presidency and control of the Revolutionary Command Council,
Iraq's supreme executive decision making body, in July 1979, killing off
many of his opponents in the process. Saddam's absolute and particularly
bloody rule lasted throughout the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), which ended in
stalemate; the al-Anfal campaign of the late 1980s, which led to the alleged
gassing of thousands of Kurds in northern Iraq. |
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The American-led 2003 invasion of Iraq removed Saddam
Hussein's Government from power, replacing it with an interim
American-backed Provisional Authority, and then an interim government. On
January 30, 2005, Iraq held new legislative elections, changing the
political face of Iraq, which had been mostly dominated by its Sunni
minority since its foundation. A coalition of Kurds, Sunnis, and Shi'ites
came to power. The current situation remains volatile while the new
government attempts to re-establish security in the country. |
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