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Long Term Causes Of Iraq War

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Origins and Causes of the War
Long Term Causes: Iran and Iraq have been enduring rivals since their creation as nations. Iraq fought for its independence from the Persian Sasanian, because of it large population of Arabs, in AD 637 and won it allowing it to form alliances and grudges against other nations. Iraq had conflict with the Ottoman Turks, many of which are ancestors of modern people of Iraq, and the Persian Empire, which represent many of the ancestors of modern day Iranians (Cashman, Robinson 267). This past conflict has caused rivalry and hatred between the countries for centauries and boiled over into a war, the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988, and left both countries bitter to this day. Another instance that has left Iran and …show more content…

The Iranian Revolution is one of the biggest reasons why the Iran-Iraq war began. The change in command caused by the Iranian Revolution caused the Iraqi government to be put on the defensive (Cashman, Robinson 292). Khomeini’s way of governing the Iranian government left his threats in question to the Iraqi government and led to their buildup of the Iraqi army …show more content…

In AD 637, the religious leader of the Islamic nation passed and left the followers of the Islamic religion were left in question on who was to follow his leadership; this created the split of the Sunni against the Shi’a (Cashman, Robinson 282). The Sunni population makes up 90% of the population of the Islamic nation. The Sunni people believe the leaders of the Islamic Nation need not be a descendent of Muhammed, original Islamic leader. The Shi’a population make up the last 10% of the Islamic nation, many of which reside in Iran and Iraq. The Shi’a people believed the true successor of Muhammed should have been his cousin not the three caliphs. Many, if not all, Shi’ite people deny the legitimacy of the three caliphs. The Sunni and Shi’a populations cause violence between the two countries because Iran is primarily Shi’ite while Iraq has a share of both the Sunni and Shi’ite population. This mix of people causes violence among the people and more reason for the Iran government to ‘defend’ itself from the Sunni population of

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