Extension : Stuff that happened in 1970-1990 that will affect the U.S. in the next unit.

1. Extension:Stuff that happened in 1970-1990 that will affect the U.S. in the next unit.

2. 1st Persian Gulf War 1st Persian Gulf War (Iran-Iraq War) – was an armed conflict between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Iraq lasting from September 1980 to August 1988, making it the 20th century's longest conventional war. The Iran–Iraq War is considered one of the most violent conflicts since World War II. Iraq invaded Iran via air and land because of border disputes also motivated by fears that the Iranian Revolution would inspire insurgency among Iraq’s long-suppressed Shia majority. Saddam Hussein  Ayatollah  RuhollahKhomeini

3. Iraq also wanted to replace Iran as the dominant Persian Gulf Sate. Half a million Iraqi and Iranian soldiers as well as half a million civilians died. Iraq began receiving support from the United States and west European countries as well. Saddam Hussein was given diplomatic, monetary, and military support by the U.S., including massive loans, political clout, and intelligence on Iranian deployments gathered using American spy satellites, which allowed them to coordinate attacks against the Iranians. The Iraqis relied heavily on American satellite footage and radar planes to detect Iranian troop movements, and they enabled Iraq to move troops to their site before the battle. As President Reagan's Special Envoy to the Middle East, Rumsfeld met with Saddam Hussein during a visit to Baghdad in December 1983, during the Iran–Iraq War. Rumsfeld served as Secretary of Defense under President Gerald Ford, and as Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush.

4. President Reagan decided that the U.S. “could not afford to allow Iraq to lose the war to Iran” and that the U.S. “would do whatever was necessary to prevent Iraq from losing the war with Iran.” In 1982, Reagan removed Iraq from the list of countries “supporting terrorism” and sold weapons such as howitzers to Iraq via Jordan and Israel. France and West Germany also began selling arms to Iraq. The Soviet Union began selling weapons to Iraq when Iran destroyed the Tudeh Party (Iran’s national communist party.) The war ended in a ceasefire. President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush work in the Oval Office of the White House, July 20, 1984. Interesting Fact: Saddam Hussein donated large sums to various institutions in his campaign to gain favor with the United States. He was made an honorary citizen of Detroit in 1980.

5. U.S. Aid to Afghanistan to Fight Off the Soviets The Soviet war in Afghanistan lasted nine years from December 1979 to February 1989. Part of the Cold War, it was fought between Soviet-led Afghan forces against multi-national insurgent groups called theMujahedeen.

6. The Mujahedeen insurgents received military training in neighboring Pakistan and China, as well as weapons and billions of dollars from the UnitedStates, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and other countries. The supplying of billions of dollars in arms to the Afghan Mujahedeen militants was one of the CIA's longest and most expensive covert operations. Eventually, the Soviets will leave Afghanistan. President Reagan meeting with Afghan Mujahedeen leaders in the Oval Office in 1983.

7. The early foundations of al-Qaeda were allegedly built in part on relationships and weaponry that came from the billions of dollars in U.S. support for the Afghan Mujahedeen during the war to expel Soviet forces from that country. (During this war, Osama bin Laden fought with militant groups in Pakistan for Afghanistan and helped filter money from many Arab countries for military aid to Afghanistan.) Every President from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama has dealt with issues in Afghanistan. Soviets leave Afghanistan.

8. Al-Qaeda’s Formation By 1988, bin Laden split with the Pakistani military and established a group called al-Qaeda. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless armyand a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad and a strict interpretation of sharia law. It has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations Security Council, NATO, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, India and various other countries.

9. Among the beliefs ascribed to Al-Qaeda members is the conviction that a Christian–Jewish alliance is conspiring to destroy Islam. Being extremely anti-Semitic, al-Qaeda is has been resentful of the U.S. relationship with Israel and believe that the U.S. should leave the Middle East and Israel be destroyed. Bin Laden is also resentful of the relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia contains two holy Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina, both important to the story of the Prophet Muhammad. The U.S. has military bases in Saudi Arabia for the purpose of controlling air space in Iraq.