CURRENT

ISSUES IN N
AFRICA / SW
ASIA TODAY
1 March 2017
 Egypt
Has a developing economy
Though 1/3 of Egyptians work in agriculture, only
2% of the land is use
Where is that land going to be? Around the Nile
Many of these fellahin (peasant farmers) still use
basic farming tools (lack of technology)
Aswan High Dam controls the floodwaters of the
Nile
Flooding more than once a year allows Egyptians
to have more than one harvest season
Egypt
Egypt also has oil and phosphates
Remind me what phosphates are?
Minerals used in fertilizers
Near the Suez Canal, which gives them
access to materials coming from all over
the world
Israel and Palestine
After WWII, a world-wide Zionist movement
supported by the United Nations led to the
formation of Israel as a Jewish republic in
what was Palestine, a primarily Arab country.
On-going conflict has come not only from the
presence of Israel in what was previously
Palestinian land, but that Palestine ended up
with less land than they were originally
planned to retain.
Israel has continued to press outward to take
more Palestinian-controlled land.
Currently, Israel is controversially building
settlements on the West Bank, in regions that
are supposed to be under Palestinian control.
Israel and Palestine
Afghanistan
Mostly pastoral (often cattle herding) on the steppes
70% of people herd livestock or grow crops for a living
On September 11, 2001, a terrorist group called al-
Qaeda attacked the United States.
Al-Qaeda was being supported by Afghanistans
Taliban government.
After the September 11th attack, the US invaded
Afghanistan to remove the Taliban government and
help the country to build a democracy.
In 2006, Afghanistan held a democratic elections for a
president, though it has been difficult for the
government to maintain control.
Iraq
In 2003, The United States and other countries
invaded Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein due to
ties to al-Qaeda, to free the people of Iraq from
a harsh dictator, and to disarm the country of
WMDs (weapons of mass destruction)
Later intelligence threw the existence of WMDs
into doubt
There also did not seem to be any alliance
between Hussein and al-Qaeda
In December 2003, Hussein was finally
captured by American forces
He was charged by the Iraqi Special Tribunal
with crimes against humanity (illegal arrest,
torture, and murder of citizens)
He was found guilty, sentenced to death and
executed (2006)
Libya

Another developing economy

Though most of it is desert, it has many aquifers
Water is transported by pipelines toward the coast
to the big cities Tripoli and Benghazi
In 2012, militant Islamic groups attacked the US
diplomatic and CIA compounds in Benghazi, which
resulted in the death of four Americans
The US State Department was later criticized for
not increasing security in the area after concerns
were voiced previous to the attack
Syria
In 2011, Syria began peacefully protesting
their lack of freedom and economic
problems.
This is part of the Arab Spring
movement, which is a number of revolts in
N Africa / SW Asia against their political
leaders.
The peaceful protests swiftly became
violent when the Syrian government
(Assad government) killed and imprisoned
hundreds of protesters.
Syria
In July 2011, defectors from the Syrian
military formed the Free Syrian Army
(rebels)
Religious affiliations:
minority religious groups support the
Assad government
most of the rebels are Sunni
ISIS (The Islamic State, a non-country-
based government imposing Islamic law)
came into the region and has been trying
to take over in the region.
Syria

Red = Syria
Blue = Countries supporting Syrian government
Green = Countries supporting the Syrian rebels

Yellow = divided support

Syria

The United States, Saudi Arabia, and Libya

have all supported the rebels.
Russia, China, Iraq, and Iran have all
supported the Assad government.
Syria

In 2016 alone, the United Nations

identified 13.5 million Syrians that needed
humanitarian assistance.
6 million of those are displaced within
Syria
4.8 million are refugees outside of Syria