Atlas Map of Iraq

The Atlas Map of Iraq begins with Iraq as bordered by Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The country slopes from mountains over 10,000 feet above sea level along the border with Iran and Turkey to the remnants of sea-level marshes in the southeast.

Before we get too far, it is important to remember that it is hard to find an atlas map of Iraq with a lot detail due to the military situation.

However, Saddam had many of these marshes drained. In recent years, efforts have been made to reconstitute the marshes.

According to my atlas map of Iraq, much of the land in Iraq is desert. The mountains in the northeast are an extension of the Alpine system that runs eastward from the Balkans into southern Turkey, northern Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, terminating in the Himalayas.

Average temperatures range from higher than 130°F in July and August to below freezing in January and February. Most of the rainfall occurs from December through April and averages from four to seven inches annually. The atlas map of Iraq shows mountainous region of northern Iraq receives a whole lot more precipitation than do the central or southern desert regions.

In our Atlas Map of Iraq the landscape is dotted with lots of Palm Trees.

About 75% of Iraq's population live in the flat, alluvial plain stretching southeast from Baghdad and Basrah to the Persian Gulf. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers carry about 70 million cubic meters of silt annually to the delta. Known in ancient times as Mesopotamia, this popular region, referred to as the cradle of civilization is the legendary locale of the Garden of Eden. The ruins of Ur, Babylon, and other ancient cities are in Iraq.

Iraq's two largest ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds. Other distinct groups are Turcoman, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Persians, and Armenians. Arabic is the most commonly spoken language. Kurdish is spoken in the north, and English is the most commonly spoken Western language.

In our Atlas Map of Iraq the majority of Iraqi Muslims are members of the Shi'a sect, but there is a large Sunni population as well, made up of both Arabs and Kurds. Small communities of Christians, Jews, Bahais, Mandaeans, and Yezidis also exist. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslim but differ from their Arab neighbors in language, dress, and customs. Many Christian communities in the atlas map of Iraq have come under attack since the fall of Saddam.

At the end of World War I, Iraq became a British-mandated territory. When it was declared Independent in 1932, the Hashemite family, which also ruled Jordan, ruled as a constitutional monarchy.

In 1945, Iraq joined the United Nations and became a founding member of the Arab League. In 1956, the Baghdad Pact allied Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom, and established its headquarters in Baghdad as shown in an atlas map of Iraq and the Middle East from back then.

Gen. Abdul Karim Qasim took power in July 1958 coup, during which King Faysal II and Prime Minister Nuri as-Said were killed. Qasim ended Iraq's membership in the Baghdad Pact in 1959. Qasim was assassinated in February 1963, when the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party (Ba'ath Party) took power under the leadership of Gen. Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr as prime minister and Col. Abdul Salam Arif as president.

In the Atlas Map of Iraq 9 months later, Arif led a coup ousting the Ba'ath government. In April 1966, Arif was killed in a plane crash and was succeeded by his brother, Gen. Abdul Rahman Mohammad Arif. On July 17, 1968, a group of Ba'athists and military elements overthrew the Arif regime. Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr reemerged as the President of Iraq and Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council.

In July 1979, Bakr resigned, and Saddam Hussein assumed both offices. The Iran-Iraq war (1980-88) devastated the economy of Iraq. Iraq declared victory in 1988 but actually achieved a weary return to the status quo antebellum.

The war left Iraq with the largest military establishment in the Gulf region but with huge debts and an ongoing rebellion by Kurdish elements in the northern mountains. The government suppressed the rebellion by using weapons of mass destruction on civilian targets, including a mass chemical weapons attack on the city of Halabja that killed several thousand civilians. These chemicals were supplied by the Russian, French and the United States governments.

Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, but a U.S.-led coalition acting under United Nations resolutions expelled Iraq from Kuwait in February 1991. After the war, Kurds in the north and Shi'a Muslims in the south rebelled against the government of Saddam Hussein at the request of the United States, who stood by and did nothing to help them after encouraging them to rebel.

The government responded quickly and with crushing force, killing thousands. It also pursued damaging environmental and agricultural policy meant to drain the marshes of the south.

As a result, the United States, United Kingdom, and France established protective no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq. In addition, the UN Security Council required the regime to surrender its weapons of mass destruction and submit to UN inspections.

When the Ba'ath regime refused to fully cooperate with the UN inspections, the Security Council employed sanctions to prevent further WMD development and compel Iraqi adherence to international obligations.

On the atlas map of Iraq, Coalition forces enforced no-fly zones in southern and northern Iraq to protect Iraqi citizens from attack by the regime and a no-drive zone in southern Iraq to prevent the regime from massing forces to threaten or again invade Kuwait.

I suggest before you go to the Middle East that you buy an atlas map of Iraq and study Iraq and the surrounding countries so you can get a good feel for the land. An atlas map of Iraq and the entire Middle East will make you aware of where the bases are in relation to the cities in Iraq.

A U.S.-led coalition, not sanction by the United Nations and many other countries, removed the Ba'th regime in March-April 2003, bringing an end to more than 12 years of Iraqi defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.

This coalition was formed to be preemptive to any attack my terrorist using Iraq as a safe haven.

The coalition formed the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to provide for the administration of Iraq during the period of transitional administration, to restore conditions of security and stability, and to create conditions in which the Iraqi people could freely determine their own political future.

After the war, the UN Security Council acknowledged the authorities of the coalition and provided for a role for the UN and other parties to assist in fulfilling these objectives.

The CPA disbanded on June 28, 2004, transferring sovereign authority for governing Iraq to the Iraqi Interim Government (IIG). This was time of celebration by the Iraq people.

Based on the timetable laid out in the Transitional Administrative Law, the IIG governed Iraq until elections were held on January 30, 2005; thereafter the Iraqi Transitional Government assumed authority.

In May 2005, the Iraqi Transitional Government appointed a multi-ethnic committee to draft a new Iraqi Constitution. The new constitution was finalized in September 2005, and was ratified in a nationwide referendum on October 15, 2005.

On December 15, 2005, Iraqis again went to the polls to participate in the first legislative elections as laid out by the new constitution. The new four-year, constitutionally based government took office in March 2006, and the new cabinet was approved and installed in May 2006.

Historically, Iraq's economy was characterized by a heavy dependence on oil exports and an emphasis on development through central planning. Prior to the outbreak of the war with Iran in September 1980, Iraq's economic prospects were bright.

Oil production had reached a level of 3.5 million barrels per day, and oil revenues were $21 billion in 1979 and $27 billion in 1980. At the outbreak of the war, Iraq had amassed an estimated $35 billion in foreign exchange reserves.

Due to the wars, Iraq's oil infrastructure fell into ruins. With the low to zero output of oil, Iraq soon found itself in debt to the tune of billions of dollars.

Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. Current estimates show that oil production averages 2.0 million bbl/day,

The Iran-Iraq War ended with Iraq sustaining the largest military structure in the Middle East, with more than 70 divisions in its army and an air force of over 700 modern aircraft.

Losses during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait and subsequent expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991 by a UN coalition resulted in the reduction of Iraq's ground forces to 23 divisions and air force to less than 300 aircraft.

When major combat operations ended in April 2003, the Iraqi Army disintegrated, and its installations were destroyed by pilfering and looting. The Coalition Provisional Authority officially dissolved the Iraqi military and Ministry of Defense on May 23, 2003.

On August 7, 2003, the CPA established the New Iraqi Army as the first step toward the creation of the national self-defense force of post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. Support for the manning, training, and equipping of Iraq's security forces is led by the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I).

On your atlas map of Iraq, make sure you know where the US Embassy is located.U.S. Embassy--Baghdad Ambassador-- Ryan Clark CrockerEmbassy website: United States Embassy, Iraq.

The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Consular Information Sheets, Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings.

To keep current with the atlas map of Iraq, Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.

Public Announcements are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers.

Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at www.travel.state.gov where the current Worldwide Caution, Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings can be found.

Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at www.state.gov. The Department of State encourages all U.S citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.

Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

The National Passport Information Center is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778).

Customer service representatives and operators for TDD/TTY are available Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight, Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hot line at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site at www.cdc.gov/travel/index gives the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries.

A booklet entitled "Health Information for International Travel" (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.

The Overseas Security Advisory Council provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website www.osac.gov Information about atlas map of Iraq continues:

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

Most of the above information obtained from Info Please,

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