Middle East History Study Guide Answer Key

1. What was the Fertile Crescent? rich soil and abundant water, especially in the Tigris-Euphrates
Valley made it a center of early civilization.*
2. What event brought about the breakup of the Ottoman Empire? World War I *
3. What was the Zionist movement? immigration of European Jews to Palestine. *
4. What was the major result of the growth of Zionism in the late 1800s?
5. What was the long-term effect of the Balfour Declaration on the Middle East? conflict between
the Palestinians and the Israelis. *
6. What is the main goal of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)? create an independent
Palestinian state.*
7. What is the main goal of Islamic fundamentalist governments in the Middle East? protect
Islamic culture from becoming westernized. *
8. Why do many Arab nations have conflicts with the nation of Israel? Israel occupied territory
that was formerly held by the Arabs. *
9. During the 20th century, the governments of Afghanistan and Iran were similar in that both
were linked to incidents of international terrorism.
10. What was the major goal of the Iranian Revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini? create an
Islamic Republic. *
11. In Operation Desert Storm, American forces freed Kuwait from occupation by IRAQ.
12. One purpose of the UN sanctions after the Gulf War was to force Saddam Hussein to destroy
Chemical Weapons or Weapons of Mass Destruction.
13. Why did the United States become involved in the Persian Gulf War? protect the flow of oil
to the West and the rest of the world.*
14. A major result of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait was a show of international cooperation under a
show of international cooperation under the appearance of the United Nations. *
15. In Iran under Ayatollah Khomeini and in Afghanistan throughout the 1990s, what has the
effect of the Islamic fundamentalist government been on womens rights? limit rights for
women.*

16. What British officer was best known for his role in helping convince the Arabs to rise up
against the Ottoman Empire and fought alongside the Arabs during World War I? T.E. Lawrence
*
17. Who was the leader of Iraq during the Persian Gulf War and the Iraq War? Saddam Hussein*
18. Signed in 1979, the Camp David Accords was an agreement brokered by President Jimmy
Carter between Israel and
Egypt. What was the result of the Accords? Israel agreed to return the Sinai Peninsula
to Egypt*
19. Why did the United States bomb and invade Afghanistan in 2001? They believed the
government was offering safety to al-Qaeda, the organization that attacked the
United States on September 11, 2001.*
20. Armed conflicts between Jews and Arabs in 1948, 1967, and 1973 were called Arab-Israeli
Wars.
21. The Palestine Liberation Organization was created to do what? The organization was
organized to create a Palestine homeland and led by Yasser Arafat.
22. At the end of the Iran/Iraq War, Iraq owed money to which country? Kuwait *
23. What was the difference between Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm?
Operation Desert Shield was the movement of troops to the region; Operation Desert
Storm was the actual military campaign against Iraq.*

24. In April, 2003 the United States and a coalition invaded Iraq. They did not have the support of
the United Nations
because the UN Thought that they should keep trying to get the weapons inspectors
into Iraq*
28. On September 11, 2001, the United States witnessed the worst terrorist attack to occur on
its own soil when the
Twin Towers in New York, a field in Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon * was attacked
29. The extreme Muslim government that governs Afghanistan is called the Taliban *.
30. The terrorist group that was headed by Osama bin Laden and responsible for the September
11 attacks is called
Al Qaeda *.
Iran/Iraq

Persian Gulf

War On Terror
2001

Use the words above to answer the questions below.

Iraq 2003

31. Saddam Hussein, Weapons of Mass Destruction, United States, UN inspection are all phrases
associated with the
Iraq 2003 War.
32. War debt, prevention of Shia uprising, oil rich territory are all phrases associated with the
Iran/Iraq War.
33. Osama Bin Laden, 9/11, George H. W. Bush, Afghanistan are all phrases associated with the
War on Terror (Afghanistan) War.
34. Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Kuwait, Saddam Hussein, United States are all phrases
associated with the
Persian Gulf War.