Introduction Iraq
Background:
Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain
during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League
of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next
dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A
"republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of
military strongmen ruled the country, the latest was SADDAM Husayn.
Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly
eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait, but
was expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of
January-February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN
Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass
destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification
inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions
over a period of 12 years led to the US-led invasion of Iraq in
March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. Coalition
forces remain in Iraq, helping to restore degraded infrastructure
and facilitating the establishment of a freely elected government,
while simultaneously dealing with a robust insurgency. The Coalition
Provisional Authority, which temporarily administered Iraq after the
invasion, transferred full governmental authority on 28 June 2004,
to the Iraqi Interim Government (IG), which governed under the
Transitional Administrative Law for Iraq (TAL). Under the TAL,
elections for a 275-member Transitional National Assembly (TNA) were
held in Iraq on 30 January 2005. Following these elections, the
Iraqi Transitional Government (ITG) assumed office. The TNA was
charged with drafting Iraq's permanent constitution, which was
approved in a 15 October 2005 constitutional referendum. An election
under the constitution for a 275-member Council of Representatives
(CoR) was held in December 2005. The CoR approval in the selection
of most of the cabinet ministers on 20 May 2006 marked the
transition from the ITG to Iraq's full-term government.
Geography Iraq
Location:
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait
Geographic coordinates:
33 00 N, 44 00 E
Map references:
Middle East
Area:
total: 437,072 sq km
land: 432,162 sq km
water: 4,910 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly more than twice the size of Idaho
Land boundaries:
total: 3,650 km
border countries: Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi
Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 352 km
Coastline:
58 km