What was the Gulf war of 1990?
🔹 In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, occupied and annexed it. United Nations tried to convince Iraq to quit its aggression, but the UN failed to convince. Then the UN mandated the liberation of Kuwait by force.
🔹 The US President George W Bush hailed the emergence of New World Order.
🔹 In response to this, there was an emergence of war which came to be known as First Gulf War. In this war, a huge coalition force from almost 34 countries fought against Iraq. This war was fought under the code name of Operation Desert Storm. This operation of UN was mostly American. There was about 75% of forces from the US.
🔹 The First Gulf War revealed the vast technological gap that opened up between US military forces and other countries. The use of smart bombs made it a computer war. And widespread television coverage made it a video game war.
Middle East Crisis ( First Gulf War ) : –
🔹 In August 1990 , Iraq invaded Kuwait , occupying and subsequently annexing it . After a series of diplomatic attempts failed at convincing Iraq to quit its aggression . the United Nations mandated the liberation of Kuwait by force . A massive coalition force of 660,000 troops from 34 countries fought against Iraq and defeated it in what came to be known as the First Gulf War.
Operation Desert Storm : –
🔹 When in 1990 , Iraq led by Saddam Hussein invaded and captured Kuwait , United Nations gave its permission to use force to liberate Kuwait. Combined 34 countries and a huge force of 6,60,000 soldiers of army waged a campaign against Iraq and defeated it. This military operation was named as ” Operation Desert Storm ” . It is also called ” First Gulf War ” .
Attack on US Embassy : –
🔹1998 The US Embassy in Kenya ( Naroni ) was attacked and also US embassy in Dere Salaam ( Tanzania ) was also attacked. for the attack was attributed to the terrorist organization ” Al Qaeda “.
Operation Infinite Reach : –
🔹 The second military campaign of the Clinton era was ‘ Operation Infinite Reach ‘. In 1919 , the terrorist organization Al Qaeda bombed the US embassies in Nairobi ( Kenya ) and Dare Salaam ( Tanzania ). The bombings were based on radical Muslim views. Its culmination was ‘ Operation Infinite Reach ” .
🔹 Attacks were carried out by cruise missiles in Afghanistan and Sudan targeting Al Qaeda’s camps. It also targeted some cities or civilian areas. In this regard , America did not even care about international laws and the permission of the United Nations.
11 September ( 9/11 ) : –
🔹 In America’s modern day cycle , 9/11 is considered to be the darkest and most . unfortunate day. On this day , 19 hijackers from various Arab countries took possession of four American commercial aircraft after a few minutes of flight.
🔹 Two aircraft crashed into the southern tower on the north side of the World Trade Center in New York. The third plane hit the ‘ Pentagon ‘ in Arlington , Virginia. The Pentagon is the headquarters of the US Department of Defense. The fourth plane was to hit the main building of the US Congress. But it fell on a farm in Pennsylvania. This attack is known as 9/11.
Operation Enduring Freedom : –
🔹 Operation Enduring Freedom was started on 7 October 2001. This operation was run by America against those who were suspected of 9/11. In this operation , the main targets were al – Qaeda and the Taliban regime of Afghanistan. The objective was to break the communication system of Al – Qaeda and eliminate all the threats that were promoting terrorism in association with terrorist groups.
🔸 Second Gulf War ( Iraq War ) : –
🔹 The US propaganda system spread the news around the world that the President of Iraq has kept a stock of very deadly weapons in his country. So , to control it , it has become very important to take action against Iraq.
🔸 Operation Iraqi Freedom : –
🔹 With this propaganda , a front of more than 40 countries was formed in America , which was named as ‘ Coalition of Villains ( Operation Iraqi Freedom ) and waged war against Iraq on March 19 , 2003 under ‘ Operation Iraqi Freedom ‘. The United Nation did not even give permission for this military campaign. Saddam Hussein’s government could not withstand such a massive attack.
🔸 motive behind the attack : –
🔹 After the victory in the war , America did not get the ‘ weapons of mass destruction . This suggests that the purpose of the attack was different , such as the possession of several oil reserves in Iraq and the establishment of a favorite US government in Iraq.
🔹 Despite the victory , where America failed to control Iraq , protests against the US spread. 3000 US soldiers were killed in this war. The number of Iraq soldiers who died was even more . More than 50,000 civilians also lost their lives in this war.
Democratic Politics and Democratization : –
🔸 Democratic Politics : –
🔹 Democratic politics depends on a free flow of information among citizens. groups , candidates for public office , rights of citizens and political parties. Democratic Politics enhances the dignity of citizens.
🔸 Democratization : –
🔹 Democratization is the process or transition to a more democratic political regime and government. It may also be a transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy.
🔹 Democratization makes a government more accountable towards its citizens. It helps to improve the quality of decision making and increases the involvement of citizens in policy making decisions. It also provides a method to deal with differences and conflicts.
🔹 The Middle East , North Africa and many other parts of the world still do not have much or have a lesser form of democratic politics as part of their system.
( CIS ) Commonwealth of Independent States : –
🔹 The Commonwealth of Independent States ( CIS ) was founded in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union . The start of systemic reforms in the CIS is closely linked to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. The Commonwealth of Independent States ( CIS has 12 of the 15 former Soviet Republics as participants in the CIS .
🔸 Membership :- 12 States – Armenia , Azerbaijan , Belarus , Georgia , Kazakhstan . Kyrgyzstan , Moldova , Russia , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , Ukraine , and Uzbekistan.
Democratization in CIS- ( Russia.Balkan States , Central Asia States ) : –
🔹 ( presently only 9 countries – Georgia and Ukraine not formally part of it anymore ) Georgia’s 2003 Rose Revolution ‘ and the ‘ Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004 have initiated the democratization process in CIS. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan held parliamentary elections in 2005.
🔹 The process of democratization and the establishment of proper public governance is an ongoing process in this region . Various democracy – building endeavors like more rights for the citizens , holding elections , constitutions are some of the measures being adopted.
Arab Spring : –
🔹 The 21st century saw the emergence of new developments for democratic systems and democratization in West Asian countries . A similar phenomenon is known as the ‘ Arab Spring , which began in 2009.
The Beginning of The Arab Spring ( Tunisia )
🔹 The Arab Spring started in Tunisia , where people started their struggle against corruption , unemployment and poverty. This struggle turned into a political movement Because people were assuming the result of autocratic di pr dictatorship of troubles. Demands for democracy that started in Tunisia and spread to the dominated Arab countries of West Asia.
Spread of Arab Spring in other countries : –
🔹 Hosni Mubarak , who had been in power in Egypt since 1979 , also disintegrated due to the huge democratic demonstration. Additionally , the impact of the Arab Revolution can be seen in Arab countries such as Yemen , Bahrain , Libya and Syria , where protests by the people led to a democratic awakening in the region.
Immediate causes of Arab Spring : –
🔹 It was sparked by the first protests that occurred in Tunisia on 18 December 2010 following ( a fruit seller ) Mohamed Bouazizi’s self – immolation in protest of police corruption and ill treatment.
🔹 The wave began when protests in Tunisia and Egypt toppled their regimes in quick succession , inspiring similar attempts in other Arab countries . A power struggle continued after the immediate response to the Arab Spring in these countries.
🔹 These protests were against corruption , wanting increased political participation. They brought about greater economic equality.
🔹 Social media has been heralded as the driving force behind the swift spread of revolution throughout the Arab world , as new protests appeared in response to success stories shared from those taking place in other countries.
🔹 In 2019 , multiple uprisings and protest movements in Algeria , Sudan , Iraq , Lebanon. and Egypt have been seen as a continuation of the Arab Spring. In all these countries protests , anti- government rallies , sit – ins , and strike were organised.
🔹 As of May 2019 , only the uprising in Tunisia has resulted in a transition to constitutional democratic governance.
Consequences of Arab Spring : –
🔹 Not every country saw success in the protest movement and demonstrators expressing their political and economic grievances were often met with violent crackdowns by their countries ‘ security forces.
🔹 In some countries leadership changed and regimes were held accountable.
🔹 Overthrow of the President Ben Ali and resignation of the prime minister in Tunisia.
🔹 In Algeria , the 19 year old emergency was lifted.
🔹 In Jordan , King Abdullah dismissed the Prime minister and his cabinet.
🔹 Economic concessions were made by the rulers in Saudi Arabia and Oman.
🔹 Overthrow of the President Hosni Mubarak who was later convicted of corruption and ordered to stand trial for ordering the killing of protesters.
This uprising has resulted in civil war and overthrow of the Government in Tunisia , Egypt and Libya.
Outcome of the Arab Spring : –
- In the aftermath of the Arab Spring in various countries , there has been a wave of violence and instability.
- The long – term effects of the Arab Spring are yet to be seen.