The End Of Iraq

Kamil Rodzeń
Jarosław Kopacz
 My name is Kamil. I have prepared a short presentation on the topic of The End Of Iraq.
Let me start with as the war started.

The US-led invasion in 2003 unleashed a bloody insurgency led by Iraq's Sunni Arabs, who controlled the
country under Saddam Hussein. Attacks on officials and civilians triggered large-scale reprisals by
members of the Shia Arab majority. Although still below the peak of 2006, sectarian violence has been on
the rise since US troops withdrew in late 2011.
Now, let me move to the current time,so Current events kicked off in December when Sunni
militants seeking to create an Islamic state in Iraq and Syria seized the central city of Falluja.
Backed by local tribesmen, the militants exploited widespread anger among Sunni Arabs, who
accuse Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a Shia, of discriminating against them and monopolising
power. Six months later, the militants launched an assault on Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, to
the north. Thirty-thousand soldiers dropped their weapons and fled when confronted by an
estimated 800 gunmen. Emboldened, the militants advanced southwards, towards the capital.
 Who's behind the offensives?
The assaults on Iraq's towns and cities have been spearheaded by the Islamic State in Iraq and the
Levant (known as Isis). Five years ago the US said the al-Qaeda breakaway was "on the verge of a
strategic defeat". Today, it carries out almost daily bombings in Baghdad and controls territories
stretching for hundreds of miles through western and northern Iraq and into Syria, where it aspires to
form a state. However the brutal tactics of Isis' fighters and the extreme interpretation of Islamic law
they have imposed on areas under their control have so alienated rebel groups in Syria that they have
joined forces to expel them. Isis has even proved too much for al-Qaeda's central leadership, which
disavowed the group in February. Despite the backlash, Isis grows ever stronger. Although Isis
numbers only an estimated few thousand fighters, they are hugely bolstered in Iraq by support from
Sunni tribesmen and former soldiers from the Iraqi army, which was controversially dissolved by the
US after the overthrow of Saddam.
Isis has declared a "caliphate", but what does
this mean?
On 29 June, Isis announced the establishment of a caliphate - an Islamic state ruled by
a caliph with religious authority over the world's Muslims - in the territory where it
holds sway. Its borders were not defined, other than running from Aleppo in northern
Syria to Diyala province in eastern Iraq.The creation a caliphate had been Isis's
declared intention. However, its vision of a territory in which Muslims are united by a
single version of their faith is deeply hostile to Shia Muslims, as well as to the states
which govern in the region.
Isn't the Iraqi army big enough to
deal with the insurgents?
The Iraqi government is believed to command hundreds of
thousands of US-trained and US-armed security personnel, so
on paper they ought to be able to easily overcome a militant
group whose supporters say has at least 15,000 fighters.
However, the same might have been said after Falluja fell.
Troops have since become increasingly disillusioned by the
grinding conflict and Isis's ferocious attacks - from suicide
bombings to beheadings and crucifixions - leading many to
desert. The security forces are also said to have been steadily
weakened by sectarian tensions, abuses and corruption.
 Is it all about religion?

For more than 1,000 years, Iraq has served as a

battleground for many of the events that have defined the
schism between Sunni and Shia Muslims.
In recent decades, the dominance of Iraq's minority Sunni
Arabs and their persecution of the Shia majority only served
to stoke sectarian tensions.
Though religious divisions have been the main catalyst of
the violence, many argue that blaming sectarianism alone
overstates the case.
 Is Iraq's oil production at risk?

A battle over Iraq's largest refinery at Baiji, which supplies

much of the country's domestic fuel, has forced production
to be shut down and sparked fears of long lines at petrol
pumps and electricity shortages.
Some oil companies have pulled foreign staff out of Iraq, in
case violence spreads to the major oilfields in the south
that produce about 90% of the country's oil. Iraqi officials
have insisted the oil fields are completely safe.
 Where does ISIS get its money
from?
Isis is reported to have vast funds at its disposal.
Initially, much of its financial support came from individuals
in Arab Gulf states. Today, Isis is said to earn a significant
amounts from the oil fields it controls in eastern Syria, and
from smuggling and extortion.
US officials estimated it had cash and assets worth $875m
(£515m) before the fall of Mosul, when it stole $425m from a
branch of the Bank of Iraq. Experts say that makes ISIS the
world's wealthiest militant group.