The History Of The Iraq-Iraq War

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In September 1980, Iraq invaded Iran because of a territorial dispute. This led to a long drawn out war that cost many lives and billions of dollars in damages, with either side unable to claim victory. This paper will focus on the three things that distinguish this war from previous wars. First, it was an excessively protracted and attritive war, lasting eight years, essentially destabilizing the region and devastating both countries. Second, it was a disproportionate war in regards to the means employed by either side. Iraq was supported by Kuwait, the United States, and several other Western European countries, allowing them to acquire advanced weapons and expert training (History.com staff, 2009). Lastly, this war used three modes of warfare not seen in previous wars: ballistic-missile attacks, the use of chemical weapons, and attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf (History.com staff, 2009). The Protracted War The Iraq-Iran War lasted eight years, lasting longer than either world wars. Because of Iraq's central location and limited access to the gulf, Iraq was forced to cross other countries' land to pipe its oil, making its oil fields extremely vulnerable (Iran-Iraq War Documentary, 2013). Iraq was determined to establish itself by neutralizing its closest rival, Iran. Oil and territory were their main objective. Iraq's plan was to invade Iran in several areas including Bakhtaran, Dezful, Ahvaz, Khorramshahr, and Abadan (Hiro, 1989). These areas spread from north to south. Iraq's strategic plan was to protect its northern oil fields; cut a vital road to Tehran; cut communication between northern and southern Iran; to take over strategic oil fields in the Arabian Peninsula (Hiro, 1989). Iraqi forces moved qui... ... middle of paper ... ...ted Iraq pressured him to accept a cease-fire. After eight years of fighting and millions of casualties the borders remained unchanged. Works Cited Hardy, R. (2001, Sept 22). The iran-iraq war: 25 years on . BBC News. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4260420.stm Hiro, D. (1989). The longest war: The iran-iraq military conflict. London, England: Psychology Press. History.com staff. (2009). Iraq-iran war. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/iran-iraq-war Iran-Iraq War. (2013). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1. Perrimond, G. (1999, April 14). The threat of theatre ballistic missiles. TTU Europe, DOI: TTU Europe Sheridan, C. (Writer) (1995). The war between iran and iraq [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDHwvmZXyro Willet, E. (2004). The iraq-iran war. New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

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