Encyclopedia of Islam

Gulf Wars

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of conclusive evidence that Iraq, in fact, still had 

such weapons. Weapons inspections and intel-

ligence assessments conducted before and after 

the war have shown that most, if not all, of Iraq’s 

arsenal of lethal weapons had been destroyed or 

significantly degraded since the mid-1990s as a 

result of the UN inspections.

Alternatively, the Bush administration argued 

that the replacement of Husayn’s government by 

a democratic government would help spread the 

cause of freedom in the region, provide its people 

with greater security, and help resolve the Israeli-

Palestinian conflict. Consequently, the invasion was 

called Operation Iraqi Freedom. On a more practi-

cal level, having a friendly government in Baghdad 

that allowed American troops to be stationed in the 

country would assure U.S. control of the world’s 

oil supply at a time of growing demand by newly 

industrializing nations, especially c

hina

 and i

ndia

. 

Iraq has the fourth-largest proven oil reserves in the 

world and a strategically dominant location vis-à-

vis other oil-producing nations in the Middle East.

The third Gulf War has had a significant 

impact on the dynamics of Islamic politics and 

radicalism in the early 21st century. Above all, 

it has brought Shii Muslims into power where 

there had previously been a secular Arab regime 

consisting mostly of Sunnis. Instead of the Baath 

Party, the dominant parties in the government now 

are the Daawa Party and the Supreme Council of 

Islamic Revolution in Iraq (renamed Supreme 

Islamic Iraqi Council in May 2007), both of which 

are Islamic organizations that had been opposed 

to Saddam Husayn’s regime and had received 

protection, support, and training from the revo-

lutionary Shii government in Iran. In addition, 

two Shii religious figures have risen to national 

prominence in the country—the venerable Ayatol-

lah Ali Sistani (b. 1930), an expert in the 

sharia

, 

and Muqtada al-Sadr (b. 1973), who comes from 

a prominent family of Shii religious authorities 

and controls a Shii militia. Despite U.S. military 

presence in the country, the war has also given 

Iran the opportunity to influence Iraqi affairs in a 

way that it has not been able to do since the days 

of the s

aFavid

 

dynasty

 in the 17th century, when 

it was part of the Safavid Empire. Leaders of Saudi 

Arabia and Jordan, meanwhile, have expressed 

concern that the war has allowed the Shia to exer-

cise more influence throughout the Middle East, 

from l

ebanon

 to the Persian Gulf, creating what 

some observers have called a “Shii Crescent.”

At the same time, radical Sunni Muslim orga-

nizations, led by 

al

-q

aida

, have declared a jihad 

on U.S. and British troops in Iraq, using the 

foreign occupation of a Muslim country in their 

propaganda to win new recruits. In addition to 

attacking U.S. and British troops, they have also 

been held responsible for killing Shii civilians in 

suicide bombings and assassinations. Inspired by 

W

ahhabism

, they regard Shiism as a form of unbe-

lief and oppose the cooperation of Shii officials in 

the Iraqi government with U.S. authorities. Their 

actions have contributed significantly to sectarian 

violence between Iraqi Shiis and Sunnis. Radical 

Islamic groups and overt Shii-Sunni sectarian vio-

lence were not present in Iraq when it was under 

Baath control prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

Experts have expressed concern that these forces 

may further destabilize the entire region and put 

the world’s oil supply in jeopardy.

See also  d

aaWa

  p

arty

 

oF

  i

raq

;  g

UlF

  s

tates

; 

i

slamism

.