Cultural diffusion has played a huge role in influencing Iraq’s culture and the current situations that Iraq is dealing with right now. “In 1979, President Bakr resigned, and Saddam Hussein assumed control of the government. He immediately purged the Ba’ath party after an unsuccessful coup, killing leftist members. War between Iran and Iraq, primarily over the Shatt al Arab waterway, erupted full-scale in 1980. The eight-year war became a series of mutual attacks and stalemates, as both countries’ oil production fell drastically, the death toll rose, and great mutual destruction was inflicted. Poison gas was reportedly used by both sides, and by Iraq on Kurdish villages as the Kurdish rebellion continued. Eventually, a cease-fire under the auspices of the United Nations led to the war’s end in 1988. Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990.”(The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001). This shows how Saddam Hussein took control of Iraq and his hatred for the Kurd’s. “Modern Iraqi authorities have feared their Kurdish population and fought many wars against it. As a result, the Kurds have been left on the margins of national life and have been in a state of perpetual revolt. The history of Iraq's mistreatment of its Kurdish population is both poignant and complex. In 1946, during the first movement for a free Kurdistan, the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party emerged and played a major role in the Kurdish resistance movement in Iraq. Though Iraq formally recognized the Kurds' rights to their national language and to self-rule, it broke the agreement and the Kurds rebelled. Until 1970, the Kurds formally had no rights to self-identity, suffering from continuous oppression. In the 1970s, a U.S. tilt toward Iran led to an Iraqi massacre of Kurds who were rising up against the regime, assisted by Iran. A decade later, during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), Iraq conducted military campaigns against the Kurds in both countries. In 1983, Iraqi soldiers abducted about 5,000-8,000 Kurds from the Barzani clan. Later in 1987-88, Iraq ini

Some topics in this essay:
Saddam Hussein, United Nations, Iraq Iraq, Syrian Desert, Arab Muslims, Iran Iraq, Shiite Arab, Kurds Barzani, Fertile Crescent, Kurds Iraq, saddam hussein, sunni arab, shiite arab, sunni kurd, united nations, culture regions, sunni arab sunni, center iraq, iraq persian, persian gulf, arab overlap, iraq persian gulf, kurd shiite arab, sunni kurd shiite, government united nations,