Tanker+War,+1987-1988

Home Small War Project Assignment Small Wars Topics

The Tanker War 1987-1988 Bella Mayrer, and Blaine Furey


 * [[image:buchholtzsidoramericanstudies/iraq.gif]] || [[image:buchholtzsidoramericanstudies/Screen_shot_2011-11-17_at_3.00.45_PM.png]] ||
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Tasks I: Explain the nature and scope of the conflict.-- Due Friday, November 18th
 * •When** did the conflict begin and end?
 * •Who** were the belligerents?
 * •What** was the problem or issue?
 * •Why** was military action necessary?
 * •Why** was the United States’ interested in the conflict?
 * •How** was the problem resolved?

The Tanker War began during the year of 1987, and ended in 1988. The belligerents of this war were The United States of America, Iran, and Iraq. This war was started when Iraq attacked Iran, because Iraq felt that Iran was spying on them and trying to start a revolution in their country. This military action was not needed because Iraq had little proof that the Iranians were an actual threat. The U.S. joined in because Iran was our main oil supply and we didn't want a supply like that being threatened. In the end the problem was resolved when Iran and Iraq agreed to except the terms of the Untied Nations cease-fire resolution.

Karsh, Efraim. "Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988)." //Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa//. Ed. Philip Mattar. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 1127-1129. //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

Draw your information from a minimum of **two** LC e-books and databases. Organize your response in an extended power paragraph. In an appositive phrase, establish the credibility of each source the first time you reference it. Internally cite sources and place the works cited at below the last paragraph for Task I.

Task II: Analyze the U.S.’s involvement in the conflict.- Due Tuesday, November 22nd •In which one of Max Boot's categories, does this small war fit--punitive, protective, pacification, or profiteering? Justify the reasons that you selected one category over another. •Who were the most important decision-makers or leaders for belligerents and justify your choices with expert opinion? How did these leaders influence the progress and outcome of the war? •Who was the U.S. president and what were his reasons for involving the military in this conflict? •Was there precedent for the U.S. to participate in small wars of this nature? •Which presidential doctrine best fits the aim or goals of this small war?

The ruler of Iraq and the rebels that had over thrown the king of Iran at the time were the leaders in this war and they decided the fate of their nations.On World Book I found that Iraq's president, Saddam Hussein, was responsible for the control of his country at the time and he began the Iran-Iraq war on Sep. 22. 1980 by invading Iran. The Iranian rebels, the Shi'ites, and specifically the political party al-Da, fought back with violent attacks. This is what led up to Hussein's goal of controlling the Persian oil region. This is when the U.S entered the conflict because of our dependence on oil from the middle east and Hussein was a potential threat to our access of it. The fact that the president of Iran was over thrown at the beginning of this war, it caused more chaos to ensue due to the instability of the nation and the fight for power. The wealth-seeking goals of Saddam Hussein is what made this war a concern to America's well being, which is why we intervened. This decision was made by our president at the time, George H. W. Bush. The presidential Doctrine we believed best fit the goals of this small war was the Carter Doctrine. We believe this because in this doctrine it states that "the United States would use military force if necessary to defend its national interests". This fits this small war because the main reason we went into this war was to defend our oil supply, so we were defending one of our national interests.

Harb, Imad. "Iran-Iraq War." //World Book Advanced//. World Book, 2011. Web. 22 Nov. 2011.

Draw your information from a minimum of **three** LC e-books and databases--at least one primary source and one expert opinion. Organize your response in one or two extended power paragraphs. In an appositive phrase, establish the credibility of the source the first time you reference it. Internally cite sources and place the works cited at below the last paragraph for Task II.

TASK III: How did United States' Public view this conflict? Due Tuesday, Noevmber 29th •Explain why the conflict was controversial among Americans? •Describe at least two non-governmental perspectives on this conflict and identify which one was dominant. •Evaluate the importance of the publics' opinion on the duration and outcome of this small war.

This conflict was controversial among Americans because we were never attacked, we became involved so that we could maintain our economic status. From the //Criteria for Just War// handout we were given in class under the Right Intention it says that, "Force may be used only in a truly just cause and solely for that purpose --- correcting a suffered wrong is considered a right intention, while material gain or maintaining economies is not". Since we only became involved to protect economic goods, such as oil, many people believed that it was not a Just War and thought it was not a necessary act to step in. Ronald Reagan's opinion, the U.S president at the time, was that he, "condemned the Iranians for their atttacks on Gulf shipping..." (Rubin). He was in support of Iraq, even though they initiated this war, because Iran went far beyond necessary means to defend themselves, and they began initiating attacks on Iraq. It is important to know the publics opinion on small wars like this because our government needs to know whether or not our country supports them on these kind of missions so that the country is happy and peaceful. For this event the government did not care much for the peoples opinions because the reason we went into this "war" was to maintain our countries oil supply so that the people would be happy and our country would be able to function.

//Criteria for a Just War//, "War", Stanford University Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 07/28/05, http://plato/stanford.edu

www.ciaonet.org/olj/meria/meria_dec03/meria03_rua01.pdf Draw your information from a minimum of **three** LC e-books and databases--at least **one** primary source and **one** expert opinion. Organize your response in one or two extended power paragraphs. In an appositive phrase, establish the credibility of the source the first time you reference it. Internally cite sources and place the works cited at below the last paragraph for Task III.

Task IV: Did the U.S. achieve its goals? -- Due Friday, December 2nd •How did the conflict end and how was success measured? •How did the outcome affect the U.S. standing with the American public, its allies, belligerents, and enemies? •Were the U.S. decision makers and military leaders praised or vilified? The tanker war's purpose was to bring an end to the Iraq Iran war that had been going on for several years. As the U.S was involved in the midst of the battling, the U.N created the cease-fire resolution which gave neither Iraq nor Iran a lead, their power was balanced. Iran first resisted this resolution, but due to, "Iraq's extensive use of chemical weapons in battles during early 1988; a renewed wave of Iraqi missile strikes on Iranian cities, including the capital, Tehran; an increasing war -weariness among the general population; and uncertainty about the intentions of the United States and other countries that had intervened to suppress the tanker war" (Karsh) they decided it would be wise to comply. The end result of this war was successful, we accomplished our goal of peace between Iran and Iraq. However, the uncertainty of American intension is still affecting our present relationship with Iran, especially pertaining to international safety and stability. They are weary of the U.S due to past trauma, which Alon Ben- Meir, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Affairs, points out,"They cite the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran War that claimed the lives of more than a half-million Iranians and they accuse the United States of seeking regime change. Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is prompted partly by its genuine security concerns and partly by its ambition to become the region’s dominant force" (Ben- Meir). It wasn't just Iranians who had suspicions about America's incentive to get involved in the Middle East. Many American citizens as well as congressmen were upset by the tanker war and claimed America was fighting for the wrong reasons, imports and power.

. Ed. Philip Mattar. Vol. 2. 2nd ed. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. p1127-1129. From //Gale Virtual Reference Library//.

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Draw your information from a minimum of **three** LC e-books and databases--at least **one** primary source and **two** expert opinions. Organize your response in one or two extended power paragraphs. In an appositive phrase, establish the credibility of the source the first time you reference it. Internally cite sources and place the works cited at below the last paragraph for Task III.

** Rubric for Small War Wiki: **•Answers to project questions are accurate and complete. •Information and expert opinion are selected from the **required** LC resources and are cited accurately with the credibility precisely stated. ·Maps, banners and photos are caption and cited. •Project questions are answered fully in extended power paragraphs.spelling •Writing is edited for spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors. *Works cited follow each task