How did Iraq become a country?
Iraq (Click to see map) was created from territory which was part of the Ottoman Empire which was destroyed after World War I. The borders of Iraq were created without regard to ethnic, political or even geographic reality. The country is not entirely Arab. The northern mountain portion of the country is inhabited by Kurds, a mountainous tribal ethnic group that has its own language and distinct cultural heritage. The Arabs are divided by Sunni Muslims in the northern and central portions of the country and Shiite Muslims in the southern portion. The political divisions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Iraq have became less important starting in the 1980s when the country began developing under Baath party rule. On the southernmost portion of the country adjacent to the Persian gulf is the present country of Kuwait, a trade center which had a special relationship with Great Britain dating to the 18th century. Kuwait remained a British protectorate after Iraq was created. But Iraq ha
