Region: The Middle East Flashcards

1
Q

The Middle East is the most t——- of teh world’s regions

A

tumultuous

p111

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Most of the countries in the Middle East got their independence after

A

WW2

p111

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What happened in 1956 in the Middle East?

A

Israel, France, UK vs. Egpyt (over the latter’s nationalization of the Suez Canal)

p111

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

When was Israel’s war with Lebanon?

A

1982

p111

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What was the first Gulf War

A

1990-91 (international coalition against Iraq following its invasion of Kuwait)

p111

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

When was the second war against Iraq?

A

2003

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

The Middle East is comprised of these 3 geographies…

A
  1. Maghreb
  2. Levant
  3. Persian Gulf

p111

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What are the countries of the Maghreb?

A

Egypt + Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia

“ELTAM”

p111

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What are the four countries of the Levant?

A

Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria

p111

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Nine countries in the Persian Gulf?

A
  1. Bahrain
  2. Iran
  3. Iraq
  4. Kuwait
  5. Oman
  6. Qatar
  7. Saudi Arabia
  8. UAE
  9. Yemen

p111-2

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is the population of the Middle East

A

450 million

p112

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What’s an Arab?

A

Ethnic designation for those people descended from the region’s tribal peoples

p112

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

% of Musilims who are non-Arab?

A

More than 3/4

p112

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

The Middle East’s Muslims are …

A

Mostly Sunni
Apart from in Iran (Shia)

p112-3

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Which sect has ruled Syria for decades?

A

The Alawites

p113

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

GPD of the Middle East

A

Around $3.5 trillion

p113

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

More than half of exports in the Middle East are from

A

Oil and gas

p113

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

The Middle East is home to just over half the world’s

A

Oil reserves

p114

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

The world’s largest oil exporting country is

A

Saudi Arabia

p114

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Oil producing cartel, dominated by Middle East countries is called

A

OPEC

p114

21
Q

Transition from Ottoman to European colonial rule in the Middle East was embodied in …

A

the Skyes-Picot Agreement

In 1916

p116

22
Q

Egypt’s leader, —-, seized control of the Suez Canal in 1956

A

Gamal Abdel Nasser

p116

23
Q

Who took the other side of Egypt in the Suez Crisis?

A

Israel, France, UK

p116

24
Q

Who told the allies to back down in the Suez Crisis?

A

Dwight Eisenhower

p116

25
Q

What started the Six Day War?

A

Egypt blocked Straits of Tiran to Israeli vessels

p118

26
Q

What did Israel seize by the end of the 6 Day War?

A
  • Sinai Peninsula (from Egypt)
  • Gaza Strip (from Egypt)
  • Golan Heights (from Syria)
  • West Bank and East Jerusalem (from Jordan)

p118

27
Q

Why did the Arab countries start the Yom Kippur War?

A

To undo the post-1967 status quo

p118

28
Q

Who (and when) visited Israel to start peace between Israel and Egypt?

A

Anwar Sadat, 1977

Officially was signed in 1979

p118

29
Q

Describe UN Security Council Resolution 242 (in three points)

A
  • Israel’s withdrawal from territories gained in 1967
  • Just settlement of the Palestinian refugee problem
  • Respect for sovereignty etc. of every state in the area

p120

30
Q

What attempt at peace between Israel and Palestinians was attmpted in early 1990’s

A

Oslo Accords

p120

31
Q

Who normalized relationships with Israel in 2020?

A

UAE and Bahrain

p121

32
Q

Iran’s branch of Islam is mostly

A

Shia

p121

33
Q

Who overthrew the Iranian Shah in 1979?

A

Ayatollah Khomeini

p122

34
Q

Sadaam Hussein ruled as part of the —- minority over the —- majority

A

Sunni, Shia

p122

35
Q

In 1990, Saddam Hussein invades…

A

Kuwait

p123

36
Q

The Iran-Iraq war, started in 1980 b/c…

A

Fear of Iraq’s Shia population rising up against Saddam and fellow Sunnis

(possibly)

p123

37
Q

Who liberatd Kuwait after 7 weeks of war (in 1990)?

A

President George H.W. Bush with international coalition

p123

38
Q

What spurred the 2003 US invasion of Iraq?

A
  • Fear of nuclear weapons
  • Aim to turn them into a democracy (hoping others in the region will follow)

p124

39
Q

What was the Arab Spring?

A

Citizen protests against their authoritarian leaders, starting 2010

p124

40
Q

Where did the Arab Spring start?

A

Tunisia

p125

41
Q

What happened as a result of the Arab Spring, in various countries in the Middle East?

A
  • Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood ruled for a year, then removed by millitary
  • Libya: Qadafi removed, chaos, country splits into 3 regions
  • Iran: Demonstrations crushed by force
  • Syria: Civil war, government eventually prevails (with support from Iran and Russia)

p125

42
Q

How many Syrians have lost their lives in post-Arab Spring civil war?

A

500,000

p126

43
Q

What was USA’s intervention in Syria?

A

To attack ISIS (Islamic State)

p126

44
Q

The one country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons is

A

Israel

p128

45
Q

When and how did Israel develop nuclear weapons?

A

1960s. With French assistance

p129

46
Q

What is the JCPOA?

A

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (2015)
Iran’s reduced ability to amass the fuel needed to build a nuclear weapons arsenal, and in return, sanctions relief

p129

47
Q

What was Trump’s policy on Iran?

A

Backed out of JCPOA in 2018, b/c terms were not demanding enough; new sanctions introduced

p129

48
Q

Who ruled Egypt for 3 decades before the Arab Spring?

A

Hosni Mubarak

49
Q

What are some details of the foudning of Hamas?

A
  • Main figure: Sheikh Ahmed Yassin
  • 1987
  • Offshoot of Muslim Brotherhood
  • Alternative to the secular, PLO