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Iraq: A Country On The Rise

Iraq: A Country on the Rise


Lauterbach, Kevin
History, Period 4
January 7, 1996

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...