Class Notes 3/27

Both Iran and Iraq use religion to inspire soldiers

• Martyrdom is promised to all soldiers
• Iranian keys to heaven and "warriors of god" (red headbands)
• November of 1980- Saddam Hussein declares the war a jihad
• Kuwait loans Iraq $40 billion to prevent the spread of radical Islam
• The US sides with Iraq for (partly) similar reasons
• Iranians carry their own coffins to the front
• Iranians recruit teenagers to clear minefields (compare to Hitler Youth/Kamikaze pilots)

Naval Warfare

• The United States works indirectly with Iraq to blockade Iran and protect oil tankers in the Persian Gulf
• American flags were put on Kuwaiti oil tankers to protect them
• 1987- USS Stark is accidentally hit by a missile from an Iraqi aircraft
  
• 1988- US accidentally shot down an Iranian passenger jet (290 died)
• The Persian Gulf was mined

Iraqis use poison gas

• Basra in 1986 vs. Iranian army- Iraq lures Iran into a kill zone and releases mustard gas
• 1988 in Northern Iraq- Kurdish uprising, Hussein quells the rebellion with mustard gas, 5,000 civilians dead

Aerial Bombing

• Both sides bombed capital cities (Iran- Tehran, Iraq- Baghdad)