In the Middle Ages Iraq was the centre of the Islamic Empire, with Baghdad the cultural and political capital of an area extending from Morocco to the Indian subcontinent. Mongol invasions in the 13th century saw its influence wane, and it played a minor role in the region until independence from British control in 1932.

Following the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958 and a coup in 1968, Iraq became one of the centres of Arab nationalism under the control of the ruling Ba'th (Renaissance) party. Oil made the country rich, and when Saddam Hussein became president in 1979 petroleum made up 95% of its foreign exchange earnings.

But the war with Iran from 1980 to 1988 and the Gulf War in 1991 following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, together with the subsequent imposition of international sanctions, had a devastating effect on its economy and society. In 1991 the UN said Iraq had been reduced to a pre-industrial state, while later reports described living standards as being at subsistence level.

In the years since the Gulf War (1990 -1991), the United States and Iraq have engaged in a state of continued hostility. Under the terms of the armistice, which ended the war over Kuwait in 1991, Iraq agreed to allow United Nations weapons, inspectors to search for and destroy suspected weapons of mass destruction, (WOMDs). Nuclear, biological and chemical weapons are included in this category, and Iraq is known to have previously used chemical weapons in warfare with Iran and with Kurdish rebels. In 1981, Israel launched an air attack on the Iraqi nuclear weapons research site of Osirak, thereby publicizing the early stages of Baghdad's nuclear program.

United States, British and allied planes launched a massive campaign of bombing and missile strikes on targets across Iraq at 2330 GMT on 16 January 1991.

The oil reserves of the three countries from the Middle East, viz. Iraq, Kuwait and UAE, are likely to last longer than the oil reserves of any other country. These reserves can, therefore, become great strategic assets in the near future, and getting control of them can become crucial for a global hegemon like the USA. It is also notable that, apart from Iraq, the USA has friendly regimes in the other two Middle Eastern countries. Therefore, a regime more friendly than the current one in Iraq is definitely of strategic significance to the USA in the medium and long run.

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Approximate Word count = 1635
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)