Chapter 16 lesson 5

OPEC's Dominance: The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) controls 80% of the world's oil.
Economic Impact: If the U.S. antagonizes OPEC countries, the U.S. economy could collapse.
OPEC's Influence: Most Middle Eastern economies depend on OPEC's decisions.
Key Members: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran have the most significant influence within OPEC.

Failed Peace Agreements: Efforts to reach peace agreements between Israelis and Palestinians have repeatedly failed due to terrorist attacks and territorial disputes.
Ongoing Conflict: The conflict has been ongoing since 1948 and remains relevant today.

Strict Islamic Law: Iran is governed by Muslim clerics who enforce strict adherence to Islamic law, limiting the rights of women, free speech, and a free press.
Voter Fraud Allegations: Following elections, there were allegations of voter fraud, and protesters were violently suppressed.
Nuclear Agreement (2015): An agreement was reached between Iran and Western countries where Iran would limit its nuclear weapons program in exchange for the eventual removal of economic sanctions by Western countries.
Economic Sanctions restrict a country's ability to access or buy certain things; Iran was restricted from purchasing weaponry and aircraft parts.
Helicopter Incident: In 2024, the Iranian president and his cabinet were in a helicopter crash due to old parts resulting from the economic sanctions placed on the country since the 1970s.

Invasion of Afghanistan: The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001 following the events of 9/11.
Invasion of Iraq: The U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003 following allegations that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
WMD: Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Absence of WMDs: Saddam Hussein did not actually have WMDs.
Unintended Consequences in Iraq: Removing Saddam Hussein led to a bitter civil war between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
Current Status of Iraq: Iraq appears to be gaining some stability, but it's fragile.
Afghanistan: The Taliban was removed from power in the early 2000s but reseized power in 2021 and maintains control of most of the country.

Broader Scope: The Arab world includes countries in both the Middle East and Northern Africa.
Examples: Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.

Anti-Government Protests: The Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions across the Arab world that began in 2011.

Egypt: Policies impact daily life negatively since 2015.
Libya: Continues to struggle with ongoing violence and instability since the 2011 rebellion against the authoritarian regime. The UN intervened, but the country has experienced multiple terrorist attacks, political oppression, and exploitation.

Civil War: Protests against the government in Syria in 2011 led to widespread government crackdowns and a civil war between the government and rebel groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Free Syrian Army. The conflict is ongoing.
Casualties and Displacement: Over 500,000 deaths and over 13 million displaced citizens since 2011.
Bordering Countries: Syria is bordered by Turkey (north), Iraq (east), Jordan (south), Israel (southwest), and Lebanon (west).
Refugee Crisis: 13 million displaced Syrian citizens are running out of places to go as countries like Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, and Turkey shut their borders.
European Restrictions: Many countries in Europe are also restricting refugees from Syria.

Large Continent: Africa is a massive continent with diverse environments.
Wide Variety of Environments: The continent includes the Sahara Desert, mountains, rainforests, grasslands, deserts, and swamps.

Rich in Resources: The continent is rich in resources, but many regions face civil wars and political instability.
Post-Independence Challenges: Most African countries gained independence between the 1950s and 1960s and have struggled to establish stable governments and economies.
Population Growth: Massive population growth has slowed economic growth in some areas. An economy that doesn't have the framework to support a growing population, it will crumble.
HIV/AIDS: HIV and AIDS continue to be a concern, but some countries, such as Uganda, have made significant progress in fighting the disease, reducing the rate of infection from 30% to $6.1\%$ . Treatment relies heavily on global organizations.

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ongoing conflict and violence as different groups fight for control of resources, including cobalt used in cell phones.
West Africa: Conflict is largely religious, stemming from tensions between Muslim and Christian groups.
Cote D'Ivoire: Experienced a large amount of conflict and went through a civil war following decolonization. A series of terrorist attacks in 2016 destabilized the country and set them back economically.