Modern Middle East Conflicts Chart
Conflict & Dates
Countries Involved


Persian Gulf War 

1990-1991
Cause
U.S.
 Iraq illegally invaded
Iraq
Kuwait
Kuwait
39 U.N. countries
dates
 United States
September 11
attacks
th
Key Events & People
 Saddam Hussein
 George H. Bush
 Hussein accuses
Kuwait of stealing oil
 U.N. sends troops into
Iraq
 Al-Qaeda believed the  Al-Qaeda (terrorist group)
led by Osama bin-Laden
U.S. was evil



11/11/01
dates
Invasion of
Afghanistan
dates
 3000 American
citizens died
 starts international
effort to fight terrorism
 U.S. wants to capture
those responsible for
9/11 attacks (alQaeda)
 Osama bin-Laden
 U.S. is still fighting to
 Taliban (Afghan gov’t)
keep Taliban rule from
 Taliban protects binreturning
Laden
 Osama bin-Laden still
 U.S. troops topple
hasn’t been found
Taliban gov’t
 U.S.
 Iraq
 Bush thought Iraq
was a threat to the
U.S.
 Hussein accused of
having WMDs and
aiding terrorists




dates
2003 – now
 Iraq accepts truce &
withdraws from
Kuwait
 Hussein must destroy
all WMDs
 U.S.
 Afghanistan
2001- now
Operation Iraqi
Freedom
George W. Bush
19 terrorists high jacked
planes
Planes crashed into World
Trade Center (NYC) &
Pentagon (D.C.)
Outcome
Saddam Hussein
George W. Bush
U.S. invades Iraq
Hussein loses power
 Fighting between
religious & ethnic
groups
 U.S. still in Iraq trying
organize more
democratic gov’t
Modern Middle East Conflicts Questions
1. What similarities do some of the conflicts in the chart share?
2. Choose one of the conflicts and imagine how it could have been prevented. In other words,
what could or should have been done to keep the conflict from happening in the first place?
3. Choose a different conflict than you did in #2 and determine how the outcome could have been
improved. In other words, what could or should have happened in order to make the conflict
end better?
4. Choose a different conflict than you did in #2 and #3, then predict what the world would be
like today if we didn’t fight in that conflict. In other words, what would be different about our
world? What would be the same?