Not particularly.
Look. Their WAS no Iraq prior to 1919 when the British claimed it for the United Kingdom under the mandate of Mesopotamia. It gained it's independence in 1932 and remained fairly stable until we decided to meddle in it. NOW.. it's simply reverting back to what it always was.. ancient Mesopotamia with warring tribes of Sunnis and Shia. Britain started it... and we finished it. NOW it reverts back to antiquity. The only difference NOW is that they HATE us... and want to kill us.. Thanks GEORGE and DICK.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/30/world/meast/iraq-history-fast-facts/
1921 - After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire during
World War I, Great Britain gains control of the area. It sets up a government in Mesopotamia and renames the country Iraq.
1924 - The new Constitutional Assembly of Iraq meets to consider the Anglo-Iraq treaty. The treaty would compel Iraq to honor all agreements made by Great Britain previously, including oil concessions. In order to compel Iraq to accept the treaty, Great Britain threatens to withdraw and leave Iraq vulnerable to Saudi Arabia or Turkey. The treaty is ratified.
October 3, 1932 - Iraq becomes an independent nation with Baghdad as its capital, and is admitted to the League of Nations.
1943-1945 - Kurdish leader Mustafa Barzani leads an uprising, gaining control of areas of Irbil and Badinan. When the uprising is defeated, Barzani and his forces retreat to Kurdish areas in Iran and align with nationalist fighters under the leadership of Qazi Muhammad.
March 22, 1945 - Iraq becomes a founding member of the
Arab League.
December 21, 1945 - Iraq becomes a member of the
United Nations.
July 14, 1958 - King Faisal is killed in a coup led by Abdul Karim Kassem.
October 1959 - A group, including
Saddam Hussein, attacks the motorcade of Abdul Karim Kassem. The assassination attempt fails and most of the attackers are killed. Hussein escapes and flees to
Syria.
February 1963 - Kassem is overthrown and executed. The Baath Party assumes control of the government. Hussein returns from Cairo,
Egypt. The new Baath government is overthrown before the end of the year.
July 17, 1968 - In a coup, Major General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr of the Baath party becomes Iraq's new president. Saddam Hussein becomes the secretary and acting deputy chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council.
October 1973 - Iraq fights
Israel in the Yom Kippur war.
March 6, 1975 - Saddam Hussein and Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of
Iran meet to discuss a treaty. The Algiers Accord is signed by both countries later in the year.
October 1978 - At the Shah's insistence, Hussein expels Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from Iraq, where he has been in exile for 13 years.
February 1979 - The Ayatollah returns to Iran to lead the country, after the ouster of the Shah in January.
July 16, 1979 - Hussein takes over as president of Iraq.
1979 - In response to the Ayatollah's call for the overthrow of the Baathist regime, comprised mostly of Sunni Muslims, President Hussein expels 40,000 Shiite Muslims. Hussein also orders the execution of Ayatollah Mohammed al-Bakr Sadr, an ally of Ayatollah Khomeini.
September 22, 1980 - Iraq launches an air attack against Iran, beginning the Iran-Iraq war. In 1984 and 1986 Iraq is accused of using mustard gas and other chemical weapons against Iran. The war ends in a stalemate in 1988.
March 16, 1988 - Iraq uses poison gas against the
Kurdish people in Halabja in Northern Iraq.
Thousands of people are believed to have died in the attack.
August 2, 1990 - Iraq invades Kuwait.
January 17, 1991 - Operation Desert Storm begins.
February 28, 1991 - A ceasefire in the Gulf War takes effect.
March 1991 - After the coalition expels Iraq from Kuwait, the U.S. encourages the Kurds to rebel. However, Iraq crushes the rebellion and one million Kurds flee to Turkey.
April 3, 1991 - The U.N. passes Security Council Resolution 687. It establishes
UNSCOM.
April 6, 1991 - Iraq accepts SCR 687.
April 18, 1991 - Under the terms of SCR 687, Iraq gives a detailed account of its weapons inventory. It states that it has no biological weapons program.
April 14, 1995 - The
U.N. Security Council adopts Resolution 986 establishing the "oil-for-food" program, providing Iraq with the opportunity to sell oil to finance the purchase of humanitarian goods. Iraq does not accept the plan.
December 16, 1998 - Great Britain and the United States launch air strikes against Iraq. The attack, called Operation Desert Fox, is in response to Iraq's refusal to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors.
January 29, 2002 - U.S.
President George W. Bush says in his State of the Union address that Iraq, Iran and
North Korea constitute an "axis of evil'' that threatens the United States.
September 16, 2002 - Facing the threat of U.S. air strikes, Iraq unconditionally agrees to the return of United Nations inspectors.
September 19, 2002 - Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri sends a letter to the U.N. from Saddam Hussein stating that Iraq has no chemical, nuclear or biological weapons.
November 8, 2002 - The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 1441, outlining strict new weapons inspections and threatening "serious consequences" if Iraq fails to comply.
November 13, 2002 - Iraq agrees to comply with U.N. Resolution 1441.
November 27, 2002 - U.N. inspectors begin working in Iraq
.
December 7, 2002 - Iraq submits a 12,000 page declaration of former weapons programs and civilian industries with military applications to the United Nations.
January 27, 2003 - Chief inspectors
Mohammad ElBaradei and Hans Blix brief the U.N. Security Council on Iraqi compliance with inspections.
March 7, 2003 - Chief inspectors ElBaradei and Blix submit their final reports to the U.N. Security Council.
March 19, 2003 - President George W. Bush announces that U.S. and coalition forces have begun
military action against Iraq. (This means that military action began the morning of March 20 in Iraq.)