and maybe, a chance at greatness because shoulders were made for greatness. not dandruff. it s hard to believe sometimes standing here in iraq that this place was the cradle of civilization. there is little left in this sun-baked, war torn country to remind us of the glories of mesopotamia. that s because modern history has been particularly unkind to this country. if some of iraq s borders on this map seem ruler-straight, that s because they were drawn with one. even before world war i was over, the british foreign secretary mark sykes sat down with his french counterpart to carve up the middle east. the country they drew up, the one we call modern iraq, includes what were previously three separate provinces, a shia
secretary mark sykes sat down with his french counterpart to carve up the middle east. the country they drew up, the one we call modern iraq, includes what were previously three separate provinces, a shia arab one in the south, a sunni arab one in the middle, and ethnic kurds in the north. it was never a happy or stable union. it saw coup after coup until saddam hussein, a sunni muslim and a military dictator, came to power. he forced the sects to live together whether they liked it or not. and for years saddam had american support. washington was happy to let him keep the lid on iraq s fractured melting pot. but that all ended when saddam invaded kuwait in 1990. the first president bush crushed his army. and the second drove him from power and occupied iraq. for the first time in decades, iraqis got to participate in a free election, and the shiites, who are the majority sect, one
the country they drew up, the one we call modern iraq, includes what were previously three separate provinces, a shia arab one in the south, a sunni arab one in the middle, and ethnic kurds in the north. it was never a happy or stable union. it saw coup after coup until saddam hussein, a sunni muslim and a military dictator, came to power. he forced the sects to live together whether they liked it or not. and for years saddam had american support. washington was happy to let him keep the lid on iraq s fractured melting pot. but that all ended when saddam invaded kuwait in 1990. the first president bush crushed his army. and the second drove him from power and occupied iraq. for the first time in decades, iraqis got to participate in a free election, and the shiites,