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Extensible Markup Language | 1995-06-15 | 6KB | 19 lines

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> <!DOCTYPE card PUBLIC "-//Apple, Inc.//DTD card V 2.0//EN" "" > <card> <id>23852</id> <filler1>0</filler1> <cantDelete> <false /> </cantDelete> <showPict> <true /> </showPict> <dontSearch> <false /> </dontSearch> <owner>5472</owner> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet_3106.css" /> <content> <layer>background</layer> <id>31</id> <text>IRAQOfficial name: Al-Jumhuriya al-ΓÇÿIraqiya (The Republic of Iraq)Member of: UN, Arab League, OPECArea: 438574 km2 (169335 sq mi)Population: 19435000 (1993 est)Capital: Baghdad 5348000 (including suburbs; 1988 est)Other major cities: Basrah 617000, Mosul 571000, Irbil 334000 (1985 est)Languages: Arabic (official; 80%), Kurdish (19%)Religions: Sunni Islam (41%), Shia Islam (51%), various Christian minoritiesGOVERNMENTThe 250-member National Assembly is elected for four years by universal adult suffrage. The non-elected Revolutionary Command Council appoints the President, who appoints a Council of Ministers. The Arab BaΓÇÖath Socialist Party is the only effective legal party. The Kurdish provinces of northern Iraq have de facto self-government.GEOGRAPHYThe basins of the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates contain most of the arable land and most of the population. Desert in the southwest occupies nearly one half of Iraq. In the northeast, the highlands of Kurdistan rise to 3658 m (12001 ft). Principal rivers: Tigris (Dijlah) 1900 km (1180 mi), Euphrates (al Furat) 2800 km (1740 mi). Climate: Summers are hot and dry with temperatures over 40 ┬░C (104 ┬░F). Most of the rainfall ΓÇô ranging from 100 mm (4 in) in the desert to 1000 mm (40 in) in the mountains ΓÇô comes in winter.ECONOMYIrrigated land in the Tigris and Euphrates basins produces cereals, fruit and vegetables for domestic consumption, and dates for export. Iraq depends upon its substantial reserves of petroleum but exports have been halted by international sanctions and the Gulf War (1991), during which the economy was devastated. Iraq faces economic collapse. Inflation is rampant and there is a shortage of many basic commodities. Currency: Iraqi dinar.HISTORYIraq ΓÇô ancient Mesopotamia ΓÇô was the cradle of the Babylonian, Sumerian, Akkadian and Assyrian civilizations. In the 7th century bc Iraq became part of PersiaΓÇÖs Achaemenid empire. Conquered by Alexander the Great, Iraq was then fought over by Parthia and Rome until it was absorbed by the Persian Sassanian Empire. In 637 ad Muslim armies from Arabia defeated the Persians. In 750 the Abbasid dynasty based its caliphate in Baghdad, which became the administrative and cultural capital of the Arab world. Abbasid power was ended by the Mongols in the 13th and 14th centuries, and Iraq was absorbed by the Turkish Ottoman Empire in 1534.In World War I the British occupied the area, but Iraqi nationalists were disappointed when Iraq became a monarchy under a British Mandate (1920). In 1932 Iraq became fully independent. Following a military coup that brought pro-German officers to power in 1941, the British occupied Iraq until 1945. The royal family and the premier were murdered in the ΓÇÿFree OfficersΓÇÖ coup in 1958. A reign of terror against the left followed a further coup in 1963. In 1968 BaΓÇÖathist (pan-Arab nationalist) officers carried out another coup. Embittered by the ArabsΓÇÖ humiliation in the 1967 war and by US support for the Israelis, the regime turned to the Soviets.In 1980 President Saddam Hussein attacked a weakened Iran, responding to IranΓÇÖs threat to export Islamic revolution. What had been intended as a quick victory became a costly war (1980ΓÇô88) with many casualties. In an attempt to restore IraqΓÇÖs economic fortunes Saddam invaded and annexed oil-rich Kuwait (1990). Following IraqΓÇÖs failure to respond to repeated UN demands to withdraw, the UN authorized armed action by a US-led coalition. Kuwait was liberated in the short Gulf War (1991). After the war, Saddam suppressed revolts by Shiites in the south and Kurds in the north. International efforts established refugee camps for Kurds in a ΓÇÿsafe zoneΓÇÖ and the Iraqi authorities lost control of the Kurdish areas. Despite being forced to accept UN inspection of IraqΓÇÖs chemical and biological weapons and nuclear capacity, Saddam continued to defy UN demands concerning Iraqi disarmament and in 1994 threatened Kuwait again. Faced with the prospect of a renewed coalition, Saddam recognized Kuwaiti independence.</text> </content> <name>Iraq</name> <script></script> </card>