Social Studies Notes
Se 4 Textbook
Ch 1: Managing Peace and Security:
Regional and International Conflicts
MIDDLE-EAST
Made up of parts of: northern Africa, south-west Asia, south-east Europe
Largest population: Arabs
Smallest group: Turks, Kurds
Main Religion: Islam
Other Religions: Christianity, Judaism
Richest countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait (oil reserves)
Gulf States: oil-producing countries around Persian Gulf
OPEC: aim : to stabilize oil prices
How? Control amount of oil that its members can produce
Suez Canal: *strategic waterway that links Europe to Middle East and Asia
*important trade route for transporting goods and oil to other parts of the
World
Historical Relationship between Iraq and Kuwait
Iraq and Kuwait: former British colonies
Kuwait independence?: 1961
Problem: Iraq claimed sovereignty over Kuwait and sent troops to claim Kuwait in 1961
1963: Kuwait paid large sums of money to Iraq yet Iraq used military power to threaten
Kuwait over border disputes
1980s: Iran-Iraq War: Kuwait provided Iraq with a loan
Why? Due to national self-interest
Why Relationship Worsened?
1. Economic Problems in Iraq
*Iraq inflicted massive losses after Iran-Iraq War.
*post-war reconstruction required US$23 billion
2. Oil Production
* oil prices dropped due to over-production
*OPEC: set a quota
*Kuwait and UAE (united Arab Emirates ignored quota and produced oil above given
limit)
*RESULT: a. Iraq list revenue
b. Iraq angered by Kuwait and UAE actions
3. Dispute over Territory
*Iraq and Kuwait inherited borders from Britain
PROBLEM: borders not well-defined
*Rumaila Oilfield: ISSUE: oil drilling (slant drilling)
*Bubiyan and Warbah Islands: ISSUE: Iraq did not accept Kuwait’s ownership of
these 2 islands
Mediation?
Arab League: *to get Kuwait to produce oil according to OPEC quotas
*called for dialogue between Iraq and Kuwait to discuss outstanding
territorial issues
RESULT: mediation failed because Iraq and Kuwait could not agree on
territorial demands
OUTCOME: 2 August 1990: Iraq invaded Kuwait
Why Iraq invaded Kuwait?
1. Official Reason
* to free Kuwait from its ruling power
2. Saddam Hussein Leadership
*situation in Iraq shaky: a) Prices of basic necessities increased sharply
b) strong Iraqi army could turn against Saddam Hussein
3. Misreading US position
*Saddam thought that Americans were sympathetic to Iraq’s situation
Reaction to Invasion
1. Fear of Iraqi dominance
* with invasion of Kuwait, Iraq was closer to the Saudi Arabia border. Therefore it
would have access to cast amounts of oil
RESULT: a) increasing tension and suspicion in the region
b) creating problems for the world economy
2. Arab solution
*Arab League condemned Iraqi action
*League unable to effectively deal with the crisis
3. American Response
*the American response came in response to Saudi request
*Operation Desert Storm: a coalition: to defend Saudi Arabia and get Iraq out of
Kuwait
4. International Response
*US condemned Iraqi’s actions
*UN Security Council demanded immediate Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait
*Economic and Military sanctions were placed on Iraq
Was the use of force the only way to get Iraq out of Kuwait?
1. Iraq response to diplomatic attempts
*Arab leaders called for resolution to conflict
* Iraq agreed to withdraw from Kuwait but refused to allow ruling government back
into power
*Saddam grew unhappy with Arab League’s vote to condemn his actions
RESULT: a) Saddam annexed Kuwait
b) took Westerners in Kuwait as hostages
BUT: as the western coalition troops grew, Saddam was willing to discuss withdrawal
from Kuwait, but with conditions
*Americans refused to accept these pre-conditions
*UN gave Iraq deadline: 11 Jan 1991
RESULT: all diplomatic attempts failed
2. Impact of Economic sanctions
*Full impact could only be felt after a year or so
*US felt this was too long to wait for a response from Iraq (to get out of Kuwait)
*Furthermore the impact would be strong only if all UN members adhered to it
RESULT: UN Security Council voted that there was a need to use force on Iraq
3. Outbreak of War
* Military operations known as Operation Desert Storm began after Iraq failed to keep
to the 15 January 1991 deadline
Destruction in Iraq? Air command and control capability, air force, communication
centres.
*War officially ended when coalition forces regained Kuwait City, calling for a ceasefire.
What was the impact of the conflict?
1. Impact on Kuwait
*More than a 1000 Kuwaitis dies and many others tortured
*Iraqis occupied homes of Kuwaitis who were forced to flee from Kuwait
*Iraqi soldiers looted homes, Museums, hospitals and shops
RESULTt: Kuwait not only had to sacrifice its citizens, its economy was badly affected
with 950 oil well damaged
2. Impact on Iraq
Destruction of Iraqi military capability
The coalition forces had destroyed almost one-third of the Iraqi war machine (prior to invasion, Iraq was one of the undisputed military powers in the Middle East)
Iraqi air force was unable to provide cover for its air troops against the coalition force’s state-of-the-art weapons.
RESULT: *coalition forces able to successfully carry out a sustained bombing campaign
*Iraqi remaining troops suffered a loss of morale
*Highway of Death: as many troops were killed in their fleeing vehicles during
the allied bombing
Political instability in Iraq
*Rise of a group (Kurds) going against Saddam Hussein as they believed that Saddam’s
power would have weakened and that the coalition forces would help them
*Kurds were brutally put down by the Iraqi military
RESULT: many Kurds were massacred
Almost 1 million Kurdish refugees fled Iraq
UN passed a resolution condemning Iraqi’s handling of the Kurdish situation
Peacekeepers sent to northern Iraq to provide safe areas for the Kurds
Suffering of Iraqis
*The Operation Desert Storm caused destruction of a large part of Iraqi infrastructure
*Daily activities were disrupted
*Diseases spread due to lack of electric supply and water contamination
3. Regional and International Impact
Environmental Catastrophe
*Iraq dumped millions of barrels of oil into Persian Gulf, causing an environmental
catastrophe: threatened marine life, oil slick in Persian Gulf
Displacement of foreign workers
*Foreign workers fled Kuwait when war broke out
RESULT: sudden loss of income
Great suffering for their families
Was the UN successful in maintaining international peace and stability?
SUCCESS:
UN able to gather ints resources to deter aggression
Reasons: Support of 5 permanent members of the Security Council
US involvement was a crucial reason
UN was able to easily form a coalition force
Reason: conflict affected the interests of the countries that helped UN
Gulf War was resolved in a relatively short period of time
Reason: Since the aggressor involved was known, a failure in diplomacy
paved the way for an attack
What is transnational terrorism?
*Terms:
Terrorism: a threat to all states and the people
Terrorists: can strike at anytime / anywhere
Transnational Terrorism: *unlawful use of force
*indiscriminate violence done by internationally-linked
groups
*an act committed against people and properties in many
different parts of the world
OUTCOME: Collective action needed by nations in the world to work
together to manage common enemy
IS terrorism a new phenomenon?
NO
*In the past terrorist acts were:
a. carried out by state agents or non-state organiseations
b. small-scale operations
What was the significance of the September 11 attacks?
*victims: international community and were indiscriminate targets
*well-trained and skilled terrorists able to coordinated simultaneous mass attacks
* its attacks can bring on psychological and emotional impact to the world: Eg: Sept 11,
2001 attack in US
What is Al-Qaeda?
*An organization
*members: a network of Arab volunteers
*practices: Global Terrorism
*Origins arise from Osama: was rejected by Saudis when he offered to liberate occupied
Kuwait
RESULT: Osama carried out anti-state activities
*Al-Qaeda wants to establish a global Islamic caliphate (Islamic form of government representing the political unity and leadership of the Muslim world.
Why is Al-Qaeda significant?
a. Al-Qaeda is the epitome of the new form of transnational terrorist organization.
b. Al-Qaeda has many groups associated with it.
c. It is a resilient organisation
Al-Qaeda’s Ideology:
It is rejected by Muslims and Islam as it is based on the misuse and misinterpretation of religious concepts.
What is the impact of terrorism?
1. Economic impact
USA
* Sept 11 attack resulted in a loss of lives, property (amounting to US$40billion)
*airline industry was badly affected
Outcome: US government had to provide economic help to the airline industry
Bali
*Tourism was badly affected: tourist arrivala fell by more than 50% immediately
*Government spending on security increased
2. Social Impact
*creates suspicion and tension among the various ethnic and religious groups
Outcome: Community Engagement Programme: to ensure that Singaporeans are
better equipped to maintain social cohesion and harmony
AIMS: *bring together Singaporeans from different communities to
strengthen inter-communal bonds
*to come up with response plans to help deal with potential
communal tensions
3. Political impact
*Government tightened security: border security
RESULT: slowed down immigration clearance
Often, measures and laws infringe on individual freedon and personal
Privacy
Can transnational terrorism be managed?
*It is a global threat that required a concerted global effort to manage
ASEAN’s efforts to manage terrorism
*ASEAN governments counter global terrorism through joint police and intelligence
measures
*ASEAN pledged to enhance information and intelligence exchange on terrorists and
terrorist activities
*RESULT: Success in disrupting terrorist activities in member soil
International efforts to combat terrorism
*UN passed resolutions: an aim was to get all member countries to freeze the financial
assets pf terrorists and their supporters
*Counter-Terrorism Committee: **to monitor member countries adherence to resolutions
as well as to strengthen the counter-terrorism
capacity of UN member states
* * provide technical help to countries that require help
in implementing the resolutions
Have the CTC measures been effective?
*more than 4000 terrorist suspects have been arrested
Why is it difficult to get rid of transnational terrorism?
*terrorists are able to evade security restrictions imposed by governments as well as
terrorists’ ability to continually recruit new operatives.
*terrorists able to recruit and influence people to their cause
Nurturing an environment that censures terrorism
*society must take a firm stand against the idea of terrorism
Conclusion
Countries have to work together at the regional and international level to contain the threat of transnational terrorism
All religions advocate peace and harmony. It is the terrorists who miuse and distort religious teachings to justify their acts of violence.
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