Africa and Southwest Asia - AP World History: Modern

Haile Selassie was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He is notable for his defense of Ethiopia against Mussolini's Italian invasion and for modernizing Ethiopia into the twentieth century.

For much of the Cold War, Afghanistan had been under the Soviet sphere of influence. In the 1980s, the growing strength of the rebel Mujahideen led to direct Soviet invasion and a decade-long conflict. At this time, the United States deemed Islamic fundamentalism to be a much less serious threat than the spread of communism and so provided financial and military assistance to the guerrilla forces fighting against the Soviet Union.

The United States-led coalition invasion of Afghanistan began in October 2001 and only ended recently in December of 2014. The war began in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on American soil less than a month earlier. The publicly stated goals of the American forces were to defeat and dismantle Al-Qaeda and to remove the Taliban government from power.

The "Axis of Evil" was a term created by the government of George W. Bush to try and provide support for American military involvement in Iraq and other countries. Iran, Iraq, and North Korea were identified as "evil" countries that sponsored terrorism and were trying to pursue the ownership of nuclear weapons.

During and immediately after the Gulf War, the Kurdish people (along with a loose coalition of other groups) rebelled against the forces of Saddam Hussein and the Sunni-led government. Although they achieved many initial victories, the government reprisal was swift and brutal. Chemical weapons were used, and mass genocide was encouraged. Almost two million Kurds fled Iraq during this time period.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was one of the last conflicts of the Cold War. The United States funded the Mujahadeen resistance fighters who were resisting Soviet occupation. This decision would have long-lasting consequences for the United States, as the weapons were used against the country in later conflicts.

Saddam Hussein was a Sunni Muslim in a country (Iraq) where the population distribution of Shia and Sunni Muslims is roughly even. Sectarian differences between Sunni and Shia have been the cause of much conflict in the Middle East for hundreds of years and are especially relevant today.

The Second Boer War was fought between the British Empire and Afrikaner settlers of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic. It ended in victory for the British Empire, but did little to change the social, political, or economic situation in South Africa.

The Union of South Africa was a direct result of the conclusion of the Second Boer War, in which the British Empire defeated the Afrikaner settlers of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic. The Union of South Africa would later become the Republic of South Africa and would be dominated by apartheid policies and racial disorder until the early 1990s.

Leader Dr Kwame Nkrumah eventually named himself President for Life in Ghana a few years after independence. Ghana was a former-British colony, and European powers had mixed feelings about their imperial holdings and were not often eager to let them go (see, for instance: Algeria and Kenya). America played less of a role in Ghanan independence, but they did send congratulations to Ghana once they achieved it.

Ghana was the first of the European African colonies to gain independence in the era of decolonization that began after World War II.

In 1990, tensions between Iraq and Kuwait had reached their highest point in history. The Iraqi government lamented the loss of revenue to Iraq as a result of the extensive oil reserves in Kuwait. So, Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi government invaded and occupied the country of Kuwait in what is known as the Iraq-Kuwait War. This led to widespread condemnation from the international community and, eventually, to a United States-led invasion and liberation of Kuwait in what is now known as the first Gulf War.

The Iran-Iraq War was fought between the Shia government of Iran, led by Ayotollah Khomeni and the Sunni government of Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein. The war was essentially fought over Iraqi government fears that the Shia popular rebellion of Iran would spread to Iraq.

The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait took place over two days in August of 1990. The Iraqi army quickly overran their counterparts in Kuwait and the government of Saddam Hussein announced that Kuwait had been annexed by Iraq. The aggressive action was universally condemned by the world powers, including Russia, France, China, and India, and shortly thereafter, the United States issued an ultimatum that Iraq withdraw from Kuwait or face war. The Gulf War between the United States-led coalition and Iraq followed.

The Gulf War between an international coalition led by the United States and Iraq was fought in 1990 and 1991. The American President at the time was George Bush Sr.

Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm were the two major "operations" undertaken by the coalition forces against Iraq during the Gulf War. Operation Desert Storm was intended to retake Kuwait and remove Iraqi forces from the country, and Operation Desert Shield was meant to protect Saudi Arabia from Iraqi invasion.

Yitzhak Rabin was assasinated in Tel Aviv, Israel, on November 4, 1995, after a rally to celebrate the signing of the Oslo Accords, which were the first agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. The attempt by the Rabin government to establish a peace with the PLO and help establish a Palestinian state was immensely unpopular among the far-right elements of Israeli society. Rabin's assassin Yigal Amir was associated with various groups and has to this day expressed no regret for the assasination.

The Balfour Declaration of 1917 was a letter written by a member of the British government to a wealthy leader of the British-Jewish community. It promised to create, or help create, a Jewish homeland in Palestinian territory. It was the first official step on the path to the creation of Israel.

India gained its independence from Britain in 1947. The first Prime Minister was Jawaharlal Nehru, who ruled for fifteen years. Nehru led India in the direction of a planned economy and leaned more towards communism than capitalism, although his commitment was never absolute.

The Lahore Conference of 1940 advocated for the creation of a separate Muslim state within the Indian subcontinent, what would later come to be Pakistan and Bangladesh. The partition of India into India and Pakistan resulted in the deaths of countless Indian people and the forced migration of millions.

For much of the Cold War, Afghanistan had been under the Soviet sphere of influence. In the 1980s, the growing strength of the rebel Mujahideen led to direct Soviet invasion and a decade-long conflict. At this time, the United States deemed Islamic fundamentalism to be a much less serious threat than the spread of communism and so provided financial and military assistance to the guerrilla forces fighting against the Soviet Union.