Iraq.docx

IRAq GEOGRAPHY Capital

Baghdad 33°20′N44°23′E

and largest city  

Official languages

Arabic Kurdish

Religion

Islam

Demonym(s)

Iraqi

Government

Federalparliamentaryrepublic

• President • Prime Minister • Speakers of the Council of Representatives • Chief Justice Legislature

Barham Salih Adil Abdul-Mahdi Mohamed al-Halbousi

Medhat al-Mahmoud Council of Representatives

Independence from the United Kingdom • Kingdom • Republic declared • Current constitution Area • Total • Water (%) Population • 2016 estimate • Density GDP (PPP) • Total • Per capita

3 October 1932 14 July 1958 15 October 2005 437,072 km2(168,754 sq mi) (58th) 1.1

37,202,572[1](36th) 82.7/km2(214.2/sq mi) (125th) 2018 estimate $695 billion[2](34th) $17,429[2] (71st)

GDP (nominal) • Total • Per capita

2018 estimate $223 billion[2](47th) $5,601[2] (88th)

Gini (2012)

29.5[3] low

HDI (2017)

0.685[4] medium · 120th

Currency

Iraqi dinar (IQD)

Time zone

UTC+3 (AST)

Driving side

right

Calling code

+964

ISO 3166 code

IQ

Internet TLD

.iq

The geography of Iraq is diverse and falls into five main regions: the desert (west of the Euphrates), Upper Mesopotamia(between the upper Tigris and Euphrates rivers), the northern highlands of Iraq, Lower Mesopotamia, and the alluvial plainextending from around Tikrit to the Persian Gulf. The mountains in the northeast are an extension of the alpine system that runs eastward from the Balkans through southern Turkey, northern Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, eventually reaching the Himalayas. The desert is in the southwest and central provinces along the borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan and geographically belongs with the Arabian Peninsula.

Government and politics Main article: Politics of Iraq

Baghdad Convention Center, the current meeting place of the Council of Representatives of Iraq.

The federal government of Iraq is defined under the current Constitution as a democratic, federal parliamentary republic. The federal government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as numerous independent commissions. Aside from the federal government, there are regions (made of one or more governorates), governorates, and districts within Iraq with jurisdiction over various matters as defined by law. The National Alliance is the main Shia parliamentary bloc, and was established as a result of a merger of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's State of Law Coalition and the Iraqi National Alliance.[128] The Iraqi National Movement is led by Iyad Allawi, a secular Shia widely supported by Sunnis. The party has a more consistent anti-sectarian perspective than most of its rivals.[128] The Kurdistan List is dominated by two parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party led by Masood Barzani and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan headed by Jalal Talabani. Both parties are secular and enjoy close ties with the West.[128] In 2018, according to the Failed States Index, Iraq was the world's eleventh most politically unstable country.[129][130] The concentration of power in the hands of Prime Minister Nouri alMaliki and growing pressure on the opposition led to growing concern about the future of political rights in Iraq.[131] Nevertheless, progress was made and the country had risen to 11th place by 2013.[132] In August 2014, al-Maliki's reign came to an end. He announced on 14 August 2014 that he would stand aside so that Haider Al-Abadi, who had been nominated just days earlier by newly installed President Fuad Masum, could take over. Until that point, alMaliki had clung to power even asking the federal court to veto the president's nomination describing it as a violation of the constitution.[133] Transparency International ranks Iraq's government as the eighth-most-corrupt government in the world. Government payroll have increased from 1 million employees under Saddam Hussein to around 7 million employees in 2016. In combination with decreased oil prices, the government budget deficit is near 25% of GDP as of 2016.[134] Pro-independence rally in Iraqi Kurdistan in September 2017 Since the establishment of the no–fly zones following the Gulf War of 1990–1991, the Kurds established their own autonomous region.

Law Main article: Law of Iraq

In October 2005, the new Constitution of Iraq was approved in a referendum with a 78% overall majority, although the percentage of support varying widely between the country's territories.[135] The new constitution was backed by the Shia and Kurdish communities, but

was rejected by Arab Sunnis. Under the terms of the constitution, the country conducted fresh nationwide parliamentary elections on 15 December 2005. All three major ethnic groups in Iraq voted along ethnic lines, as did Assyrian and Turcoman minorities. Law no. 188 of the year 1959 (Personal Status Law)[136] made polygamy extremely difficult, granted child custody to the mother in case of divorce, prohibited repudiation and marriage under the age of 16.[137] Article 1 of Civil Code also identifies Islamic law as a formal source of law.[138] Iraq had no Sharia courts but civil courts used Sharia for issues of personal status including marriage and divorce. In 1995 Iraq introduced Sharia punishment for certain types of criminal offences.[139] The code is based on French civil law as well as Sunni and Jafari (Shi'ite) interpretations of Sharia.[140] In 2004, the CPA chief executive L. Paul Bremer said he would veto any constitutional draft stating that sharia is the principal basis of law.[141] The declaration enraged many local Shia clerics,[142] and by 2005 the United States had relented, allowing a role for sharia in the constitution to help end a stalemate on the draft constitution.[143] The Iraqi Penal Code is the statutory law of Iraq.

Military Main article: Iraqi Armed Forces

An Iraqi Army BMP-1 on the move.

The current military situation, 24 October 2017: Controlled by Iraqi government Controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) Controlled by Iraqi Kurds

Iraqi security forces are composed of forces serving under the Ministry of Interior (which controls the Police and Popular Mobilization Forces) and the Ministry of Defense, as well as the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Bureau, reporting directly to the Prime Minister of Iraq, which

oversees the Iraqi Special Operations Forces. Ministry of Defense forces include the Iraqi Army, the Iraqi Air Force and the Iraqi Navy. The Peshmerga are a separate armed force loyal to the Kurdistan Regional Government. The regional government and the central government disagree as to whether they are under Baghdad's authority and to what extent.[144] The Iraqi Army is an objective counter-insurgency force that as of November 2009 includes 14 divisions, each division consisting of 4 brigades.[145] It is described as the most important element of the counter-insurgency fight.[146] Light infantry brigades are equipped with small arms, machine guns, RPGs, body armour and light armoured vehicles. Mechanized infantry brigades are equipped with T-54/55 main battle tanks and BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles.[146] As of mid-2008, logistical problems included a maintenance crisis and ongoing supply problems.[147] The Iraqi Air Force is designed to support ground forces with surveillance, reconnaissance and troop lift. Two reconnaissance squadrons use light aircraft, three helicopter squadrons are used to move troops and one air transportation squadron uses C-130 transport aircraft to move troops, equipment, and supplies. It currently has 3,000 personnel. It is planned to increase to 18,000 personnel, with 550 aircraft by 2018.[146] The Iraqi Navy is a small force with 1,500 sailors and officers, including 800 Marines, designed to protect shoreline and inland waterways from insurgent infiltration. The navy is also responsible for the security of offshore oil platforms. The navy will have coastal patrol squadrons, assault boat squadrons and a marine battalion.[146] The force will consist of 2,000 to 2,500 sailors by year 2010.[148]

Foreign relations Main article: Foreign relations of Iraq

US President Donald Trump with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in 2017. This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2012)

On 17 November 2008, the US and Iraq agreed to a Status of Forces Agreement,[149] as part of the broader Strategic Framework Agreement.[150] This agreement states "the Government of Iraq requests" US forces to temporarily remain in Iraq to "maintain security and stability" and that Iraq has jurisdiction over military contractors, and US personnel when not on US bases or on–duty. On 12 February 2009, Iraq officially became the 186th State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention. Under the provisions of this treaty, Iraq is considered a party with declared stockpiles of chemical weapons. Because of their late accession, Iraq is the only State Party exempt from the existing timeline for destruction of their chemical weapons. Specific criteria is in development to address the unique nature of Iraqi accession.[151]

Iran–Iraq relations have flourished since 2005 by the exchange of high level visits: Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki made frequent visits to Iran, along with Jalal Talabani visiting numerous times, to help boost bilateral co-operation in all fields.[citation needed] A conflict occurred in December 2009, when Iraq accused Iran of seizing an oil well on the border.[152] Relationships with Turkey are tense, largely because of the Kurdistan Regional Government, as clashes between Turkey and the PKKcontinue.[153] In October 2011, the Turkish parliament renewed a law that gives Turkish forces the ability to pursue rebels over the border in Iraq."[154]

POLITICAL BACKGROUND Iraq was a British mandate under the League of Nations from 1920 until 13 October 1932, when it became a sovereign and an independent state. Following a military coup of July 1958 that overthrew the monarchy, Iraq was declared a republic and has since been governed by various constitutions. According to the 1970 Constitution and its 1973 amendments, the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) was the supreme organ of the state. A simple majority elected its members from the Regional Command of the Socialist Arab Ba'ath Party. The RCC oversaw foreign as well as domestic policies, declared war, concluded peace, and ratified treaties. It elected the president and the vice president by a two-thirds majority. The president of the country was concurrently the chairman of the RCC. The president was responsible to the RCC, but the Constitution did not spell out his term of office. The president was the commander in chief of the armed forces, nominated members of the council of ministers, and appointed Iraq's diplomatic representatives abroad. The vice president and minister were responsible to the president. The Constitution contained provisions for a National Assembly with responsibility to consider bills suggested by the RCC or the assembly members. No National Assembly existed in Iraq between the 1958 revolution and 1980. On 8 February 1963, a military coup carried out by the Ba'ath Party and Nationalist Army officers overthrew the government of Abdul Karim Qasim. Abdul Salem Arif, who had been sentenced to death by Qasim in January 1959, became the prime minister. Following this coup, Saddam Hussein returned to Baghdad from Egypt, where he had been living in exile, and became active in the Ba'ath Party. When political disagreements arose between Ba'athists and Arif, Arif declared the Ba'ath Party illegal, and Hussein and other Ba'athists went underground. Hussein was arrested in 1964 and imprisoned, but escaped in 1966. He fled into hiding again and was named deputy secretary of regional leadership for the Ba'ath Party in 1966. When Arif was killed in a helicopter crash in April 1966, his brother Abdul Rahman Arif became the president. A group of Ba'athist officers under Hassan al-Bakr organized a military coup on 17 July 1968 and deposed Abdul Rahman Arif. Al-Bakr then became the president and the chairman of RCC. Saddam Hussein, who took an active role in organizing the coup, was elected acting deputy chairman of the RCC, a post he held from November 1969 until July 1979. Finally, on 16 July, President alBakr announced his resignation from both the Ba'ath Party and the government because of health reasons. He relinquished the presidency to Hussein, who became chairman of the RCC, prime minister, and secretary of the Ba'ath Party.

A year later, in June 1980, the first National Assembly was elected, but it was comprised of members close to Hussein and had little power. Through the 1980s, National Assembly elections were held fairly regularly (1980, 1984, and 1989). Saddam Hussein's ambition was to become a regional leader. In September 1980, he decided to invade Iran, partly in an attempt to broaden his regional sphere of influence and partly because he feared the growing power of Islamic fundamentalists in that country. He used the war to generate internal as well as external support for his regime and to weaken opposition forces in Iraq. Opposition to Hussein came from disparate Kurdish, Communist, and Shiite organizations within Iraq. Although these forces were internally divided and often antagonistic toward one another, they would repeatedly attempt to forge efforts to unseat the government of Saddam Hussein. In turn, Hussein's government tried to coerce, intimidate, and appease the opposition. Kurdish and Shiite opposition intensified during the course of the Iran-Iraq War. In November 1980, the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP), the Unified Socialist Party of Kurdistan (USPK), and the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (DPK) formed the Democratic Iraqi Front. Around the same time in Syria, a National Pan-Arab Democratic Front, composed of different groups, including the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Ba'ath, as well as ICP dissidents, was formed. In November 1982, the Shiite opposition established the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution of Iraq for the purpose of overthrowing Saddam Hussein's government. In May 1988, the DPK and the PUK announced that a coalition of six organizations had been formed to continue the struggle for Kurdish self-determination. In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait after a lengthy dispute regarding territory, debt repayment, and petroleum production quotas. In reaction, the United Nations (UN) imposed sanctions on Iraq and set a deadline of 15 January 1991 for Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait. Hussein refused to withdraw his troops, triggering what would become known as the Persian Gulf War. A multinational force led by the United States began "Operation Desert Storm," comprised of a series of air strikes on Baghdad followed by a ground offensive to liberate Kuwait. Defeated in a few short weeks, Hussein withdrew his forces from Kuwait and accepted UN Security Council Resolution 687, which indicated the terms for a ceasefire, war reparations, and conditions for the lifting of sanctions against Iraq. Over the next few years devastation resulting from Allied bombing, coupled with the effects of the UN sanctions, led to a deterioration of economic conditions: hyperinflation, the devaluation of the Iraqi currency, the rise of unemployment, and the decline of agricultural production. Most industrial development projects requiring foreign participation were suspended. The Iraqi economy continued its decline throughout the 1990s and living conditions for all Iraqis deteriorated as a result. UN sanctions, imposed in 1990, prohibited Iraq from selling oil on the global market and froze Iraqi assets overseas. In May 1991, recognizing the need to rebuild Iraq's damaged infrastructure and restore its industrial production, the government approved new regulations to encourage greater Arab investment and provided incentives for farmers to enhance agricultural output. Hussein adopted various policies to retain or enhance his political power. Through these measures he expected to attract the support and loyalties of a

broader spectrum of the population, as well as to weaken political opposition to his regime. No legislative elections had been held since 1989 and Hussein's Ba'ath party had a stranglehold on all political activity; in March 1996, when the legislative election for the fourth National Assembly was held, all 689 candidates either Ba'ath Party members or nonpartisan supporters. (The same was true of all candidates in the 27 March 2000 election for the fifth National Assembly.) Throughout his years in power, actual and potential opponents of Hussein were systematically purged from the government and military and replaced by loyalists. Learning from the experience of military coups in the 1960s, Hussein paid close attention to the loyalties of senior military officers and the political control of the military forces by the Ba'ath Party. His relatives and members of his clan from Takrit filled most sensitive positions in the military, and Hussein used both the "carrot and stick"—surveillance and intimidation accompanied by lavish material incentives—to keep them under his control. Despite such inducements and control, coup attempts by senior army officers were reported in 1989 and 1995. Moreover, a coalition of opposition groups created the Iraqi National Congress in October 1992 to overthrow Hussein. Some of these opposition forces were encouraged or supported by Iran and Syria, but they remained weak and divided. In December 1996, the UN agreed to an "oil for food" arrangement with Iraq. The program allowed Iraq to export $2 billion in oil to buy food and medical supplies. Iraq began receiving 400,000 tons of wheat in the spring of 1997. In 1999 the UN's "oil for food" program was expanded to allow for the sale of $5.25 billion in oil by Iraq over a six-month period to buy good and medicine. As of 2000, most observers agreed that the decade-long UN sanctions, while impoverishing Iraq and threatening its population with a major humanitarian crisis, had failed in their goal of weakening Hussein's hold on power. Despite the scarcity of food, educational supplies, and other basic necessities caused by nine years of international trade sanctions against his country, Hussein celebrated his sixty-third birthday in 1999 with the unveiling of a large mural depicting himself as Nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of ancient Babylon. Supporters paraded as part of the birthday celebration, carrying banners that proclaimed, "With your birth Iraq was reborn." By April 2003, Hussein's regime had ended, with his whereabouts unknown.

Read more: https://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/World-Leaders-2003/IraqPOLITICAL-BACKGROUND.html#ixzz5cpKj5DcN