Iraq Essay Research Paper Lauterbach KevinHistory Period

Iraq Essay, Research Paper

Lauterbach, Kevin

History, Period 4

January 7, 1996

Iraq: A Country on the Rise

Iraq is a country that is on the rise. After being crushed by allied troops for their

invasion of Kuwait, they have begun the slow rebuilding process. In this report, I will

discuss the basic geographic features of Iraq, and other various important features such as

mineral wealth, vegetation, ect.

Iraq’s total area is 271,128 square miles (just slightly more than twice the size of

Idaho). It’s capital, Baghdad, is located at 33.20 north longitude, 44.24 east latitude. It’s

boundaries are 2,222 miles long. With 906 miles bordering Iran, 83 miles bordering

Jordan, 149 miles bordering Kuwait, 502 miles bordering Saudi Arabia, 376 miles

bordering Turkey, and a coastline 36 miles long. The terrain in Iraq is mostly broad

plains, with reedy marshes in the southeast, mountains along toe borders with Iran and

Turkey.

The Climate in Iraq is most desert, with mild to cool winters and dry, hot

cloudless summers. The northernmost regions along Iranian and Turkish borders

experience cold winters and occasional heavy snows. Iraq has few natural resources,

consisting of Crude oil, natural gas, various phosphates, and sulfur. Their maritime

(ocean) clams are just the continental shelf on their coastline, and twelve nautical miles

beyond that.

Iraq and Iran have just recently restored diplomatic relations in the year 1990, but

are still trying to work out written agreements settling their disputes from their eight-year

war concerning definite borders, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of navigation and

sovereignty over the Shatt-al-Arab waterway. In April of 1991, Iraq officially accepted

the UN Security Council’s Resolution 687, which states that Iraq accepts the boundaries

that were set in it’s 1963 agreement with Kuwait, and ending all claims to the Bubiyan

and Warbah Islands, and all claims to Kuwait. On June 17, 1992, the UN Security

council reaffirmed the finality of the Boundary Demarcation Commission’s decisions.

Disputes also occur with Syria about water rights on the Euphrates, and a potential

dispute with Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates river.

Iraq has some environmental problems, consisting of air and water pollution, soil

degradation (caused by salinization), land erosion, and deserification. Iraq has 12% of

it’s land still arable, with 1% permanent crops, 9% meadows and pastures, 3% forest and

wood land, 4% irrigated farm land, and 75% is used for other various things (housing,

ect.)

Iraq does not produce very many industrial products. On the average year, Iraq

produces 13,000 metric tons of paper and paperboard, 3,000 metric tons of particle

board, 8,000 sawnwood, 207,000 metric tons of phosphate fertilizer, and 409,000 metric

tons of nitrogen fertilizer.

Iraq currently has 1,300,000 televisions in use (about 69 per 1,000 people). It

also has 3,880,000 radios in use (about 205 per 1,000 people). Iraq has 6 newspaper

publications, with a circulation of 650,000 a day (about 34 per 1,000 people). This

causes a 1,797 kilograms of newsprint to be consumed per 1,000 people. Iraq has one

FM station and 16 AM broadcast stations, and 13 TV stations. Reconstruction of Iraq’s

telecommunication system began after Desert Storm was over. It includes of many

coaxial cables and microwave links, 632,000 telephones (with an operational network),

satellite earth stations, 1 INTELSAT satellite and 1 GORIZONT satellite over the

Atlantic Ocean, 1 INTELSAT satellite over the Indian Ocean, and 1 ARABSAT in the

Intersputnik system. Their country telephone code is 964.

In Iraq, travel can be very shaky. International flight schedules can change

without prior notice. The Al-Basrah and Umm Qasar Seaports are closed because of

their proximity to the war zone. A railroad connects At-Basrah to Baghdad, but the

Syrian segment of the railroad linking Iraq to Turkey and Europe has been closed since

1982. Border crossing points between and Iraq and Syria and Iraq and Iran have been

closed. Iraq has paved highways connecting major cites and neighboring countries.

Some highways have been severely deteriorated due to increased use by heavy military

and commercial vehicles.

Iraq has 21,566 total miles of highways, with 10,876 miles of it being paved, and

the other 11,000 miles being improved earth. It has 2,704 miles of crude oil pipelines,

451 miles of petroleum pipelines, and 845 miles of natural gas pipelines. It has 1,527

miles of railroad. Iraq has 42 ships registered to it. Including of 1 passenger, 1

passenger/cargo, 16 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 3 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 19 petroleum

tankers, and 1 chemical tanker. But since January 1, 1992, none of them have been

trading internationally. Iraq has about 631 miles of inland waterways to trade amongst it

self. After the Pers

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