Modern Middle East Final Terms

Front 1

Hamas

Back 1

Islamic Resistance Movement - young, university-educated individuals (Palestinian) - "sacralized the land of Palestine...no part of which could be abandoned or conceded." Believes Israel has no right to exist. Militant group seeking to end the Israeli occupation.
Significance: represents a militant desire of many Palestinians, & because not everyone agrees with this militancy, the Palestinians no longer have one group which represents them.

Front 2

Intifada

Back 2

1987 - The Palestinian uprising. Demanded that Israel stop building settlements & confiscating Arab lands, cancel special taxes & restrictions on Palestinians. Boycotts, strikes, etc. Raising awareness about the Palestinian plight through civil disobedience.
Significance: Palestinians were able to demonstrate their identity as a separate nation worthy of self-determination. It resulted in national attention to the Palestinian cause. Brought Israel's image and occupation into question. Expedited the process leading to the Oslo accords.

Front 3

Iran-Contra

Back 3

1985-1986. US ships weapons to Iranians. Iranians to release hostages in Lebanon & put $ in a Swiss account for Contras in Nicaragua. Super illegal! A bunch of people are convicted of felonies, but Bush Sr. pardons them all. Playing both sides - supporting Iraq publicly, but doing this quietly.

Front 4

Camp David Accords

Back 4

1978. Set forth conditions for an Egypt-Israel peace treaty. Endorsed UN Resolution 242. However, most of this never materialized. Recognition of each others' right to exist. Israel withdraws from Sinai. Egypt gets it back. Neutralizes Egypt in conflict. Teakes out a huge player -- eliminates one of Israel's principal threats. Screws over Palestinians. Egypt was expelled from the Arab league. Shot to the heart of Pan-Arabism.

Front 5

UN Resolution 242

Back 5

1967. Acquisition of territory by war - not admissible, so 1) return the land 2) recognize the states' rights to exist 3) resolve refugee problem. Egypt, Jordan, & Israel endorsed it, Syria & Palestine rejected it.

Front 6

UAR

Back 6

United Arab Republic - 1958
Total union of Syria & Egypt into a single state. Desire to eliminate "fictitious" lines drawn by the west. Goal was for the entire area to join. Syrian leaders had to go to Cairo, lost influence, abolished Syrian Political parties.

Front 7

Suez Crisis

Back 7

1956. Nasser, looking to assert himself & Egyptian autonomy & needing $, looking to nationalize the canal, Britain trying to hold on. Last push-back against imperialism.

Front 8

PKK

Back 8

Kurdistan Workers' Party - 1984 - a militant organization within the Kurdish nationalist movement. Endorsed terrorism.

Front 9

Hizbollah

Back 9

1980
Leading Shi'a party in Lebanon. Pushing for representation in Lebanese Government. Want to end any imperialist powers in Lebanon and fight for the obliteration of Israel. Most powerful military force in Lebanon and holds seats in the Cabinet.

Front 10

Containment & Truman Doctrine

Back 10

1946
United States policy using numerous strategies to prevent the spread of communism abroad. A component of the Cold War, this policy was a response to a series of moves by the Soviet Union to enlarge communist influence in Eastern Europe, China, Korea, and Vietnam.
Truman Doctrine:
1947
Seeks to assert US authority & take Britain's place. The US will support free peoples who are resisting communism.
Specifically supporting Greece and Turkey to prevent them from falling into the Soviet sphere.
SIGNIFICANT because it was the start of the containment policy to stop Soviet expansion.

Front 11

Free Officers

Back 11

1950s
Young Egyptian military officers that all came from the lower to middle class. Planned the coup of 1952. "Free" of British influence - poor & rural.
Significant because they successfully led the coup and assumed power. Formed the RCC (Revolutionary Command Council) and introduced reforms and a new constitution.

Front 12

Iran-Iraq War

Back 12

1980-1988
Long standing cultural rivalry between Arab and Persian civilizations. Disputes over borders and navigation rights. Iraq's northern border, Kurds trying to move into Iran to escape the regime of Saddam Husayn. The Iranian government refused to close its borders to the Kurds seeking refuge, violating a previous agreement.
Brought tremendous damage to both countries. Loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. Did not change the borders.
"The Iran-Iraq War is important because it showed the resilience and permanence of the new Islamic Republic of Iran, it resulted in massive Kurdish persecutions, it showed how a mild-border dispute could be easily inflamed by both sides receiving aid from world powers, and it helped to check the advance of Islamic Republics in the Middle East."

Front 13

Muslim Brotherhood

Back 13

1928, founded in Egypt. Political Islamic movement and organization. Called for a reimplementation of the shari'ah, social reform & responsibility, economic reform...
Significance: it became the focus for those marginalized by Egypt's transformation. Appealed tremendously to the urban poor, and offered them assistance. Offered the stability of Islamic values. Showed that religion could supply a strong uniting force.

Front 14

Nasserism

Back 14

1950s-60s
Arab nationalist and pan-Arab ideology, combined with a "Arab-socialism". Against both communism and capitalism. Secular. Wanting to be completely free of the imperial past.
Significant because it was a revolutionary and dynamic movement with definite political and social goals that appealed to Egyptians who desired a new, nationalistic society.

Front 15

October 73 War (Yom Kippur War)

Back 15

1973.
Egypt led a surprise attack against Israel on the East Bank of the Suez Canal while Syria led an attack against Israel in the Golan Heights.
SIGNIFICANCE:
The Arab World, which had been humiliated by the lopsided rout of the Egyptian–Syrian–Jordanian alliance in the Six-Day War, felt psychologically vindicated by early successes in the conflict. In Israel, despite impressive operational and tactical achievements on the battlefield, the war effectively ended its sense of invincibility and complacency. These changes paved the way for the subsequent peace process. The 1978 Camp David Accords that followed led to the return of the Sinai to Egypt and normalized relations—the first peaceful recognition of Israel by an Arab country. Egypt continued its drift away from the Soviet Union and left the Soviet sphere of influence entirely.

Front 16

OPEC

Back 16

1960
Founded as an attempt to gain a greater measure of control over pricing policies. Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. Later expanded to 13 nations. Significant because it was founded in the Nasser era, and one of the principal goals of Nasserism was to break out of the constraints of postwar neocolonialism that found the Western powers still manipulating the diplomatic and economic affairs of the Arab world.

Front 17

PLO

Back 17

1964.
An attempt by the Arab states to restrict Palestinian resistance activity and to prevent the Palestinian movement from operating independently. Based in Cairo. In 1967, the Arab defeat transformed the PLO into an independent resistance organization devoted to armed struggle against Israel. Now based in Jordan.
Significant because the PLO became recognized as the sole representative of the Palestinians. Because of Arafat's stubborn leadership, the PLO did not make anywhere near the progress it could have for the Palestinians.

Front 18

Sadat

Back 18

Succeeded Nasser in 1970.
Sadat reoriented domestic and foreign policy. He wanted to generate US support and did so through the October '73 war. He restored Egypt's credibility as a military power, left the Soviet sphere of influence, and got US support. Made peace with Israel.

Front 19

Supreme Islamic Jurist

Back 19

1979. It was the most powerful position in the governmental structure, and, as with the Council of Guardians, the supreme jurist was selected by appointment, not by popular elections. The position was to be held by "an honest, virtuous, well-informed, courageous, efficient administrator, and religious jurist" who would serve as the leader of the people in the absence of the Hidden Twelfth Imam.
Significance: The creation of the position was a triumph for Khomeini's long-standing belief that a truly Islamic state could be ensured only by the governance of the religious establishment.