Comparative Politics Final

LDP

Liberal Democratic Party, a conservative party founded in 1955 in Japan. It was founded through the merging of 2 conservative parties. The Liberal Party and Democratic Party. The LDP is a catch all party. The LDP is pro business, pro capitalism and supports the United States and the west in terms of foreign policy.

catch-all party

attracts members from different classes and isn’t just a party of the rich and wealthy. The LDP is an example of a catch all party.

Japan Inc

refers to the alliance between three groups, the business community, politicians, bureaucrats. The businessmen donate money to politicians to fund their campaigns. In return, the business men expect tax breaks, favor, and subsidies from the politicians. Both business men and politicians turn to bureaucrats for favor in terms of getting their petitions taken care of and overcoming any red tape, to the point of sometimes breaking the law.  These three groups have been influential in carrying out a number of different policies. They are very close to the LDP.

Discuss the founding of the LDP and its significance. Why is the LDP considered a catch-all party?

The liberal democratic party (LDP) is a conservative party founded in 1955 in Japan. It was founded through the merging of 2 conservative parties: Liberal party + Democratic Party. The LDP is a catch all party, which means that it attracts members from different classes and it isn’t just the party of the rich and wealthy.  The LDP is pro-business, pro capitalism, and supports the United States and the west in terms of foreign policy.

MITI

Ministry of Trade and Industry began to conduct good trade policies and relations between Japan and other countries. It was one of the factors that led to Japans economic miracle.

Aum Shinrikyo

a terrorist group which claims to be a Buddist sect. It opposes the Japanese government and its policies. In 1995, members of the group release sarin gas in Tokyo subways, killing many. The Japanese government responded by arresting many members and group leaders. Many members of the group fled Japan and are living in exile in countries such as Russia.

Shintoism

ancient religion founded in Japan, traced back to belief in Sun Goddess. Significance, some believe Shintoism is a cult, not a religion, may temples build in Japan. Shintoism supports monarchy.

Diet

zaibatsus

Identify and discuss key factors that led to Japan’s economic miracle **

-       By 1950, there was massive unemployment in Japan, inflation, and food shortages.

-       Several factors led to Japan’s economic miracle:

-       1. Korean War (1950-1953) – the American military hired Japanese military to produce uniforms, blankets, trucks during the war. It helped Jumpstart the the Japanese economy

-       2. A new nationally regulated banking system in Japan, began to direct these funds to companies for reconstruction of new factories that replaced those destroyed in WW2.

-       3. Role of Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). It began to conduct good trade policies and relations between Japan and other countries.

-       4. The hard working character of Japanese people.

-       5. Japan has protected its markets by raising tariffs on foreign imported goods

-       6. Japan emphasized major investment in its economy instead of the military

7. Production of superior Japanese goods, especially electronics and autos. The Japenese used America technology to produce these goods.

Discuss some important challenges faced by the Japanese monarchy and its future prospects.

• The Japanese monarchy is said to be the oldest in the world

• The monarchy in Japan began in ancient house of Japan

• The current monarch is Naruhito (2019-present)

• In the 12th century, a civil war led to the emergence of the Shogun as the political leader, who unified Japan.

• The emperor was reduced to a figurehead.

A number of different shogunates controlled Japan, the first being the Kamakura Shogunate in the 12th century and the last being the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1867).

• In 1867, Emperor Meiji was restored to power when the Tokugawa Shogunate fell apart.

• During the Meiji Restoration (1868-1912), the emperor industrialized Japan.

• The emperor hired European advisors. English and other European languages were taught at Japanese schools, new ministries were created, and yen became the new currency.

-Japan began to militarize extensively in the 19th century.

• In 1895, Japan won a war against China. The war was fought over the control of Korea. China gave Taiwan to Japan as a result.

• In 1905, Japan won a war against Russia and took control of the Khuril Islands.

• Japan was a member of the League of Nations, but withdrew in 1931 due to its aggression and control of Manchuria in northern China.

• In 1937, Japan launched a full-scale war on China.

-Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941 which led the United States to get directly involved in WWII.

• The war in Europe was over in May 1945, when Hitler committed suicide. Japan had not yet surrendered.

• The United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 which led to Japan’s surrender.

• Allied forces occupied Japan. General Douglas MacArthur was the head of the SCAP and administered Japan.

• Japan became a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.

-Today the Japanese society is divided between the Left and the Right.

• The Left detests the monarchy and see the monarch as the head of a cult/Shintoism. The Left views Shintoism as a cult, not a religion.

• The Right supports the monarchy and views the monarch as a divine figure.

• The post-war Japanese constitution refers to the monarch as a figurehead and not a divine figure. The monarch doesn’t rule.

• In 2019, Emperor Akahito stepped down due to poor health and was succeeded by crown prince Naruhito. Naruhito has a daughter, but daughters aren’t allowed to rule. Naruhito’s younger brother may take control. The future of the monarchy remains uncertain.

Middle East

refers to an area that stretches all the way from Egypt into north Africa to Arab countries further east such as Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, and the 3 non-arab countries of Israel, Iran and Turkey. There are other terms that have been used to refer to this area such as the Near East and Levant. The Near East was the term used by Europeans to refer to this area located closer to them in the east as opposed to the far east, which refers to east asia. Levant is the term used to refer to the countries of Lebanon and Syria.

Sunnis v. Shias

Islam is divided into two branches. Sunnis are the majority who believed that the leadership of Islamic faith had to go to capable companions of Mohammad who possessed intelligence and fighting capabilities, and live throughout the Middle East. The Shias are the minority, who believed that leadership had to remain in Mohammad’s family through his daughter, Fatima’s husband, Ali, and live predominately in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. The division between these 2 branches occurred following Mohammad’s death who was the founder and prophet of Islam.

Ottoman Empire

the last ruling Islamic Empire in the Middle East. The Ottoman empire was founded by the Turks in the 15^th century and lasted until 1918. Its capital was Constantinople, later renamed Istanbul. During WW1, the Ottoman Empire had sided with Germany. When the Germans lost the war, so did the ottomans. The British and French divided the Ottoman Empire amongst themselves and took mandates over the Middle East with the approval of the League of Nations.

Al-Qaeda

founded by bin laden from Saudi Arabia, based in Afganistan, did 9/11. Saudi gov threw out his citizenship. Homeless and looked for a base for terrorism, found it in the Taliban. Al-Qaeda means “the base”, Sunni

ISIS

ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAQ AND SYRIA based there, founded by members of Al-Qaeda, ISIS has emerged as more powerful and active then al qaeda, Sunni

Identify and discus the main ethnic, linguistic and religious groups in the middle east ***

-              Arabs- the Arabs are the dominant ethnic group in terms of numbers in the middle east

-              The Arabs live throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

-              The Arabs speak Arabic.

-              The Arabs are predominantly Muslim and most are Sunnis. The Shias are the minority.

-              A small number of Arabs practice Christianity.

-              There are three non-Arab countries:

-              1. Israel – the Jews speak Hebrew and they practice Judaism

-              2. Turkey- the Turks speak Turkish and they practice Sunni Islam. A small number practice Christianity and Judaism,

-              3. Iran – The Persians speak Persian/Farsi and they practice Shia Islam. A small number practice Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and other religions.

 

Why is the Middle East considered to be one of the most important regions in the world? ***

Importance of the Middle East:

1.     The Middle east is the birth place of the worlds 3 greatest religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

2.     The middle easy is the birth place of some of the world’s greatest civilizations: Sumerian, Egyptian, Persian, and others

3.     The Middle East is important because of its strategic location. It serves as a gateway between Europe, Africa, and East Asia.

4.     Oil- Saudi Arabia is the regions top oil producing country. Others include Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait.

5.     Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism and terrorism: Al-Qaeda and ISIS. – are two Sunni terrorist groups.

Sick Man of Europe

the sick man of Europe was Sultan (King) Abdul Hamid who decided to reform the Ottoman Empire along the western lines. He opened up a parliament and issued a constitution. However, within a year, he shut down the parliament in fear that the parliament members would overthrow him. When he did so, the Europeans referred to him and the Ottoman Empire as this name.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

An ottoman military commander who opposed the Europeans and wanted to preserve Anatolia which was later renamed Turkey for the Turks. Kemal became the first president of Turkey. He did not kill the Ottoman Sultan but instead let him go into exile in England. Kemal began to modernize Turkey among the western lines and created a republic in Turkey eventually charactered as a democracy.

mandate

a form of colonial rule where a stronger country controls a weaker country and prepare the weaker one for eventual independence. At the end of WW1, the British and French were granted mandates over the Middle East and land that used to be part of the Ottoman Empire. The mandates were approved by the League of Nation.

Arab Nationalism

A powerful sentiment that transformed into a movement between the 19^th century and the 1940s. Arab Nationalism went through two phases. 1. Arabs were upset with the Ottoman or Turkish rule for centuries and wanted to end it. This is because Arabs were the majority and Turks were the minority in the Middle East. 2. Arabs became upset with the European mandate rule over the Middle East in the aftermath of WW1, which lasted into the 1940s. The British and French had taken mandates over the middle east.

Zionism

an ideology which emerged in the 19^th century Europe and Russia which advocated for the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people.  In 19th century, a group of progressive Jews in Europe and Russia, began to think about a solution to help the Jewish people. The solution was to establish a homeland for the Jews, especially in Palestine (as it was called back then), where the city of Jerusalem was located and was the original homeland of the Jews. Ever since the Romans had driven the Jews out of their homeland in Jerusalem, other groups including the Muslims had taken control of Jerusalem and the area became known as Palestine under their rule.

Political Islam

Radical ideology that emerged in the Middle East and North Africa in the 20^th century. It is anti western and seeks to spread its influence worldwide. There are two brands of Islamic Fundamentalism which are the Sunni and Shia

League of Nations

organization created at the end of ww1 to promote international peace and security. Significance” it was the predecessor to the United Nations, dissolved in 1945. It approved the mandates the French and British had over the Middle East

Define the term mandate and discuss the British and French mandates in the Middle East by providing necessary examples.

-              Mandate – a form of colonial rule where a stronger country controls a weaker country and prepares the weaker one for eventual independence.

-              At the end of WW1, the British and French were granted mandates over the Middle East and land that used to be part of the Ottoman Empire. The mandates were approved by the League of Nations.

-              Britain took control of Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine

-              France: took control of Lebanon and Syria

mosque

A place of worship for Muslim people. Over time, however, it has become the center for a number of different political activities which has raised much concern. Political activities range from plots to overthrow any given government to terrorist related activity.

Bazaars

refers to a market place which is usually located in the central part of many Islamic cities. Just like the mosques, the bazaars have also come a center for different political activities.

Hijab

In most Islamic countries, women are forced to wear the veil, which is the coverage of women’s body from head to toe for purposes to remain pure. It is a religious issue, based on the belief that skin showing leads men to sin. It is a human rights violation because a lot of women get killed for not veiling.

Discuss the differences among Middle Eastern countries in terms of historical evolution, social composition, economic and state structure.

1. Historical Evolution:

Following Mohammad’s death, Islam began to spread in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, and parts of Europe.

Islam became the dominant religion in the Middle East through Arab conquests of the middle east

The Ottoman Empire was the last ruling empire in the Middle East. It controlled most of the Middle East except Persia/Iran. The Ottoman Empire was defeated at the end of WW1 by the British and the French.

2. Social Composition:

In terms of ethnicity, the Arabs are the dominant ethnic group. They speak Arabic, and the majority practice Islam. The Arabs live throughout the Middle East

There are 3 non-Arab countries:

 Israel: the Jews are the main ethnic group in Israel, they speak Hebrew, and practice Judaism. Other religions in Israel include Christianity and Islam.

Turkey: the Turks speak Turkish and they practice mainly Sunni Islam. A small number practice Christianity and Judaism.

 Iran: The Persians speak Persian/Farsi and practice mainly Shia Islam. A small number practice Judaism and Christianity.

3. Economic features: oil producing or not

Oil producing: the top 4 oil producing countries in the region are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, and Iraq. These 4 countries are members of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). OPEC was created in 1960 to give oil producing countries control over their oil production and prices whereas it had been previously controlled and influenced by the Europeans and the United States.

Non-oil producing countries: These countries rely on agriculture and handicraft productions such as textile or carpet weaving. Examples include Lebanon, Turkey, or Jordan.

4. States Structure:

The majority of the countries in the Middle East are republics and are classified as a democracy in the Middle East: Israel and Turkey.

A small number of countries in the Middle East have a monarchy or kingship. Examples include Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Discuss the dilemma of women in the Middle East.

Women in the Middle East:

Women do not have the same political and legal rights as men do

Marriages are for the most part arranged.

Women are encouraged to stay home and take care of their families rather than pursuing an education and career. Things have gradually started to improve for women in terms of finding a job and getting married at a later age,

Women face several problems and hardships including veiling, female infanticide, and honor killings.

Veiling – in most Islamic countries, women are forced to wear the veil which refers to the coverage of woman’s body from head to toe.

Female infanticide – a practice where young female children are killed because of their gender. This practice also takes place throughout Asia and Africa as sons are preferred to daughters due to:

1. The passing of one’s name down the generations

2. Men have traditionally been valued for labor and being the bread winners

Honor killings: when a woman is murdered by a male relative, husband, uncle, brother, if it is determined that she has brought shame to the family name through her actions. Honor killings are frequent in countries such as Jordan, Turkey, and Pakistan.

International organizations such as the UN and NGOs such as Amnesty International have tried to raise awareness about the human rights abuses in the Middle East, but much needs to be done. Education is key to spreading awareness among people and saving the lives of women and children.

Ba’th Party

socialist party created in Syria, spread to other Arab countries in the middle  including Iraq. Many members of the military were attracted because of the message which is social justice and arab unity

Saddam Hussein,

when the Arif Brothers were overthrown by a military coup led by Hasan al-Bakr, Al Bakr made Saddamn Hussan second in command in Iraq. He became president in 1979 and ruled until 2003 where he used Iraqi forces to invade Kuwait.

patrimonial rule

a regime where a dominant male figure is the center of authority surrounded by a bureaucracy, which includes a cabinet, several agencies, and a military. Some well known examples of patrimonial rule in the Middle East include, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, President of Turkey, Mohamad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah/King of Iran, and Aziz ibn Saud, King of Saudi Arabia

White Revolution

the shah of iran carried out a series of western inspired reforms and called it the White Revolution. White means that there was no blood shed in carrying out these reforms and they were accepted by the people. He gave women freedom and the right to vote.

Discuss the growth and significance of military establishments in the Middle East.

The Middle East is the most militarized region in the world when measured in terms of the size of its military establishment and expenditures

The military in the Middle East is larger and more expensive than any other region in the Developing World

The Middle East has the largest market for international arms trade.

Saudi Arabia is the largest arm importer in the region. The majority of its weapons and sophisticated fighter jets and tanks are bought from the US

Currently Israel is the only country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons. Countries such as Iran are trying to develop nuclear weapons even though they claim that their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes,

Nuclear energy can be developed for both peaceful or violent purposes

The most dangerous scenario is if Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) fall into the hands of terrorist groups such as ISIS or Al-Qaeda. WMDs include chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons.

Discuss Kemal’s rise to power and his efforts that led to the founding of Modern Turkey.

Patrimonial rule – a regime where a dominant male figure is the center of authority, surrounded by a bureaucracy, which includes a cabinet, several agencies, and military

Some well known examples of patrimonial rule in the Middle East include:

1. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, President of Turkey

2. Mohamad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah/King of Iran

3. Aziz ibn Saud, King of Saudi Arabia

Kemal was a military commander in the Ottoman Army

Kemal had 2 major problems to overcome:

1. European powers, who wanted to take the land of Anatolia for themselves. Kemal fought against Europeans including the Greeks. Through a combination of war and negotiations, he was able to preserve Anatolia for the Turks. He renamed Anatolia as Turkey (land of Turks) and created a republic. Kemal became the first president of Turkey.

2. Kemal asked the Turkish parliament to pass an act to officially end the sultanate (monarchy) in the Ottoman Empire. The sultan was forced into exile and left for England.

Kemal separated religion from politics.

He shut down Islamic schools and instead opened modern schools where European curriculum and languages were taught.

Kemal changed the Turkish alphabet and script. He got rid of the Arabic alphabet/script and instead adopted the Latin alphabet mixed with Turkish words.

Kemal adopted the Western Gregorian calendar in place of the Islamic calendar, which was based on the lunar cycle.

Kemal gave women the right to vote and had both men and women dress in European fashion.

Wahabism

traced back to the 18^th century AD when Saud Tribe leader Mohamad Ibn Saud approached a scholar named Abd al Wahab for his blessings and promise to protect wahab. This partnership led to wahabism. Wahabism turned into a crusading Islamic movement. The Wahabi code is modeled after Mohammad’s original Islamic community that had been established back in the 7^th AD. Saudis are Sunni Muslims who practice Wahabism

Discuss some important challenges the Saudi monarchy is currently facing.

A major concern to the royal family is the rise of Islamic fundamentalists and terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

• Al-Qaeda was founded by Osama Bin Laden who was a Saudi millionaire. Bin Laden had fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s against the Soviets. He also began to oppose the United States and Europe.He founded Al-Qaeda in the late 1980s.

• In 1995, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan granted Bin Laden refuge. From there, Bin Laden planned the 9/11 attacks. Bin Laden was later killed in 2011 by U.S. Special Operation Forces.

• Saudi Arabia also continues to oppose Israel and its influence.

Another major concern to the royal family is the large number of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia. These workers are either Western: from Europe and the United States or Non-Western: Egypt, Pakistan, India, Philippines, Jordan and others.

• These foreigners have their own culture and life style. The Saudis are afraid that these foreigners will influence their culture.

• Saudi Arabia is also afraid of Iran’s Shia influence in the region. The two countries remain bitter rivals and both have tried to spread their influence in the region. The 2 countries are involved in a proxy war in Yemen. Iran supports the Shias while Saudi Arabia supports the Sunnis.

Operation Desert Shield

the United States send 200,000 forces to Saudi Arabia to protect Saudi arabia because Saudia Arabia was worried that Sadam Hussein would send Iraqi forces to attack Saudi Arabia. By November that number doubled to 400,000. The United States was supported by a UN coalition.

Operation Desert Storm

the war to liberate Kuwait began on January 16 1991. The US operation desert shield was transformed into Desert storm to liberate Kuwait. The US and UN coalition forces engaged in an air and land war against Iraq.

Discuss the factors that led to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990

In August 1990, Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait. There were several reasons why Iraq had invaded Kuwait:

1. Economic reasons – Prior to invading Kuwait in 1990, Iraq had fought an eight year war with Iran (1980-1988). Iraq’s economy was in ruins and it had to take drastic steps to improve its econoy.

During the Iran-Iraq war, Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi dictator had borrowed large sums of money from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Saddam asked both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to forgive war debt claiming that he had fought against Iran to protect other Arab countries. But neither Saudi Arabia nor Kuwait forgave the debt.

Saddam was especially angry at Kuwait for extracting more than its share of oil from the Rumaila oil field, which was located at the border between Kuwait and Iraq. This had happened during the Iran-Iraq war. Kuwait had not shared the oil revenues with Iraq.

Saddam had also asked Kuwait, if he could use the islands of Bubiyan and Warba to transfer Iraqi oil to world market since the Iraqi ports had been destroyed during the Iran-Iraq war

2. Strategic reasons – prior to attacking Kuwait, Sadam had claimed that Kuwait was an Iraqi province. Kuwait used to be administered as part of Iraqi during the Ottoman period, but Kuwait had won its autonomy with the help of the British.

Saddam was now very angry at both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and decided to take revenge. He decided to attack Kuwait, since it was a very small country and much easier to invade than Saudi Arabia

In 1990, Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait and would remain there until February 1991, when they were driven out by the US and UN coalition forces.

During the invasion, Saddam tried to get Israel dragged into the conflict to create confusion. He said that Iraqi forces would not withdraw from Kuwait, until Israel withdrew from the occupied territories. (West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights).

UN Resolution 687

Before they left Kuwait, Iraqi forces set the Kuwaiti oil fields on fire and created an environmental disaster. The fires lasted for several months. Kuwait city was also left in ruins by the Iraqis.

• The United States and the international community however did not take any further action against Saddam Hussein when Kuwait was liberated. He was allowed to remain in power.

• On April 3, 1991, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 687, which set forth the terms for a formal cease-fire in the Gulf War. Iraq accepted the terms on April 6, 1991.

The resolution meant to reduce Iraq’s military capabilities. It required Iraq to destroy all its chemical and biological weapons, as well as ballistic missiles

Discuss the transition from Operation Desert Shield to Operation Desert Storm and their significance

Saddam thought that the United States and the rest of the world did not care about the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Why did Saddam think as such? It is because during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), the United States had supported Iraq since Iran had fallen to Islamic fundamentalists led by the radical Ayatollah Khomeini.

Saddam however was wrong. The United States and the United Nations wanted Iraqi forces to get out of Kuwait.

Meanwhile Saudi Arabia was worried that Saddam Hussein would attack Saudi Arabia next. Saudi Arabia asked the United States for help.

The United States sent 200,000 forces to Saudi Arabia in what became known as Operation Desert Shield to protect Saudi Arabia.

By November 1990, those numbers were doubled to 400,000.

The United Nations was supported by a UN coalition.

The United Nation set a deadline for Iraqi forces to get out of Kuwait by January 15, 1991.

If Iraq refused, US and UN forces would go to war and push the Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.

Safdam missed the UN deadline and the war began

The war to liberate Kuwait began on January 16,1991. The US operation desert Shield was transformed into desert storm, to liberate Kuwait.

US and UN coalition forces engaged in an air and land war against Iraq.

During the war, Iraq fired missiles at Israel to get Israel involved. The United States asked Israel not to get involved and promised to protect Israel.

Kuwait was liberated on February 27, 1991. Iraqi forces were driven out of Kuwait and back into Iraq. President George H.W. Bush declared victory.

Food for Oil Agreement (1996)

By 1996 Iraq was facing severe economic problems due to the UN sanctions, There was a shortage of food and medicine. To help the starving people in Iraq, the UN reached a food for oil agreement with Iraq in 1996. Iraq was allowed to sell $2 billion worth of oil every 6 months and would use the money from oil revenues to purchase food and medicine. To make sure that Saddam would not steal the money from the sale of oil, the proceeds were placed in a UN controlled bank account.

OPEC

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting countries – founded in 1960 by 5 major oil producing countries: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Venezuela. The headquarters of OPEC is in Vienna, Austria. OPEC began to use oil as a political weapon to manipulate the west and other countries

Discuss the main reasons behind the Bush administration’s decision to send US forces to Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein ***

There are several reasons why U.S. forces were sent to Iraq in 2003:

1. The United States wanted to prevent Saddam from obtaining and possessing WMDs. No weapons though were found in Iraq.

2. The United States wanted to replace Saddam’s regime with a democratic regime. Saddam was a brutal dictator and many Iraqis welcomed his downfall.

3. Initially the United States thought Saddam had ties to Al-Qaeda, however that was not proven. Saddam did however had ties with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and supported the Palestinian cause against Israel.

4. The United States wanted to sustain regional stability and ensure there was no disruption in the region’s oil economy. Saddam was an unstable leader and was not afraid to go to war with anyone. He had gone to a war with Iran and invaded Kuwait. He would have attacked Saudi Arabia had the United States not helped and got involved.

5. Many argue that Bush also wanted to remove Saddam from power given his past actions and assassination attempt on his father. Saddam Hussein was not found right away until six months later. He was hiding in a hole in Iraq. He was arrested, put on trial, and hanged

Discuss the founding of OPEC and its significance ***

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded in 1960 by 5 major oil producing countries: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Venezuela. The headquarters of OPEC is in Vienna, Austria.

• These oil producing countries wanted to gain greater measure of control over their pricing policies as well as their production and supply of oil.

• At the end of WWII, cheap Middle Eastern oil had been used by the West to rebuild Western Europe and Japan. OPEC began to use oil as a political weapon to manipulate the West and other countries.

• In 1973, OPEC precipitated an Energy Crisis. When the Arab-Israeli war of 1973 broke out, the United States helped Israel and give Israel 2 billion dollars of aid.

• Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries who opposed Israel got upset at the United States. Saudi Arabia declared an oil embargo on all oil shipments to the United States and the Netherlands (major entry and distribution to other parts of Europe).

As a result of the embargo, their was a shortage of oil supply around the world and prices increased dramatically. 1973 energy oil crisis.

• The crisis came to an end through negotiations. On January 1, 1974, OPEC set the price of oil at $11.65 per barrel, whereas previously it was $2.74 a barrel.