Israel

For the final post on the history of the Middle East, and South West Asia I feel it is important to talk about Israel.  This country has occupied the news for the better part of the last 20 years with conflicts between Arabs in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, as well as conflicts between other major countries of the area.  I am only going to give a short history on the country, and not touch on too many of the developing conflicts, because they are ever changing, and very extensive.

Israel’s modern hardships begin shortly after World War II when the UN partitioned the area of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states.  This arrangement was rejected by the Arabs, which subsequently led to many wars and battles between them and the Jews.  In 1982, Israel withdrew from the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty leading to higher tensions between the Jews and Arabs of the region.  In 1991 peace negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestine to achieve a final settlement and signed into the Oslo Accords in 1993, giving the Palestine a short time of self-rule.  In 2003 President Bush led a committee to lay out the final accords between Israel and Palestine and to end the violence between the two sides.  In 2005 Israel completely disengaged from the Gaza Strip, later followed by the election of HAMAS to the Palestinian Legislative Council froze the relations between the two sides.  Over the next eight years talks between the two sides have been tried and failed.  With added tensions between Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iran, Israel’s future seems to be just as rocky as its past. 

 Of Israel’s 7,590,000 people, 76 % are Jewish, 16 % are Muslim, and 2 % Christian.  This is the only country of the region that is predominantly non-Muslim.  This leads to many of the conflicts and disagreements of the country and its surrounding countries.  The country’s $237 billion GDP is based off of high-technology products, such as aviation, communication, and computer products.  Recent findings of gas fields off shore have secured Israel’s energy security.  Israel has a very strong military 1.5 million strong.  All Jewish and Druzes males and females over the age of 18 are obligated to military service, whereas Christians, Muslims, and Circassians are voluntary. 

Although Israel has had a very rocky past, it is clear that they are a country that will not give up.  Through many battles, wars, and conflicts Israel has held on to its pride and land.  As a small Jewish country in the middle of one of the most violent areas of the world, Israel has stood up and maintained it’s stronghold in the region and the world.

 

References

CIA World Fact Book. Israel.  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ku.html

Hess, Darrel.  Physical Geography: a Landscape Appreciation. Tenth Addition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. 2011.

Rubenstein, James M. Contemporary Human Geography. 2^nd Ed. Glenview IL. 2013.

Kuwait

As I have mentioned before, I am currently stationed in Kuwait, therefore I feel it would be appropriate to give a bit of background history on the country I am currently living in.  I find Kuwait to be intriguing because it is one of the most prosperous countries I have been to in the Middle East.  The western feel of the country gives it a somewhat homey feel, with paved streets, nice cars and modern infrastructure.  It is easy to tell that Kuwait is doing something very right. 

Kuwait gained its independence in 1961 from Brittan, until it was attacked and overran by Iraq August 2^nd 1990.  After a four day battle led by US ground forces Kuwait was liberated from Iraq in 1991.  Kuwait’s ethnic groups include only 45% Kuwaiti and 55% other Arab and South Asian, meaning many of the people have immigrated to the country.  Kuwait has a staggering 98% urban population with a 2.1% annual urbanization rate.  Nearly all of the population of Kuwait lives in an urban area. 

Kuwait’s economic standing is quite interesting.  With a population of 2,650,000 people and a GDP of 158.4 billion, the GDP per capita is a staggering $41,700.  This is quite high as compared to some of the other countries that I have been deployed to.  Kuwait gets most of its revenue from selling oil to the rest of the world.  In fact oil makes up about 95% of Kuwait’s exports. Furthermore, according to the CIA World Fact Book Kuwait has “104 billion barrels- about 7% of the world’s reserve” in its own reserve. As Kuwait begins to become more powerful on the worldly economy field, the government plans to spend over $130 billion over the next five years to diversify the country’s exports and bring in new frontiers of business.

Kuwait is one of the strongholds in the Middle East.  The country has a strong economic standing in the world, and has overcome many obstacles in its short independence.     The Country maybe small, but it has a powerful standing in the world’s petroleum industries, making it a country to be reckoned with. 

 

References:

CIA World Fact Book. Kuwait.  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

Hess, Darrel.  Physical Geography: a Landscape Appreciation. Tenth Addition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. 2011.

Rubenstein, James M. Contemporary Human Geography. 2^nd Ed. Glenview IL. 2013.

Islam, Muslim, and Arab

I think it is important to take a minute to define what the difference between Arabs and Muslims, as well as other common misconceived ideals about a region we are so intimately involved with.  Many westerners often misconstrued or misuse terms about ethnic groupings, and religion when talking about people from the Middle East, and South West Asia.

Webster’s Dictionary defines Arab as “a member of a Semitic people originally from the Arabian peninsula and surrounding territories who speaks Arabic and who inhabits much of the Middle East and northern Africa”.

·         Therefore it is important to understand that being Arab only pertains to the area in which the person lives.

·         It is also important to understand that not all Arabs are Muslim.  There are many religions in the Arab region including a somewhat high number of Christians in some areas.

·         According to Geography.com the complete list of Arab nations is as follows:

List of Arab Countries:

• Algeria
• Bahrain
• Djibouti
• Egypt
• Iraq
• Jordan
• Kuwait
• Lebanon
• Libya
• Mauritania
• Morocco
• Oman
• Palestine
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• Sudan
• Syria
• Tunisia
• United Arab Emirates
• Western Sahara
• Yemen
• It is important to note that Afghanistan and Iran are not listed as Arab nations.  (This seems to be a very common misconception among people I know, including myself.)

So, now what is Muslim?

According to Denny a Muslim is one who “Surrenders to Islam”(404).  Islam means “submission [or] the name of the religion of the Qur’an”(404).  Thus, a Muslim is one who surrenders to the religion of Islam. 

Knowing this, I feel it is important to make sure that it is understood that not all Arabs are Muslim because many of the religions of the Arab region are not Islam.  Furthermore, not all Muslims are Arab.  Islam is a religion that has been defused around the world, making it a universalizing religion stretching across every country. 

 

Works Cited:

Denny, Frederick M. An Introduction to Islam. Fourth Edition. Upper Saddle river, NJ. 2011.

 

Rubenstein, James M. Contemporary Human Geography. 2^nd Ed. Glenview IL. 2013.

 

Geography.com. List of Arab Countries. Jan. 30, 2011. http://geography.about.com/od/lists/a/arab-countries.htm

Iraq

I have had the privilege to travel all over the Middle East and South West Asia.  None of the places that I have been have been as outstanding as my deployment to Iraq.  The History amazes me, knowing that the vast deserts once were the Fertile Crescent and the hearth of civilization.  The importance of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is invaluable, flowing to a point where the ancient city of Ur lies, giving rise to irrigation techniques still in use today.  The history of Iraq is without a doubt invaluable.

A part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq gained its independence in 1932 being declared a republic in 1958.  In 1980 an eight year conflict with Iran led economic turmoil. Two years after the end of the Iran-Iraq Contra Iraq invaded and seized Kuwait.  This was short lived as US led collation forces expelled Iraq out of Kuwait later that year.  In 2003 The US led the invasion to expel long time leader Saddam Husain for failure to comply with UN Security Council rules and regulations of Weapons of Mass Destruction and long range missiles. US military operations continued until December 2011.

Iraq has had success over the past few years concerning its economy.  With a GDP of $138.8 billion it ranks number 62 in the world.  Iraq has seen a growth rate of 8.9% in 2011, which is number 10 in the world, with a GDP per capita of $4,200.  Iraq’s main exports are petroleum, chemicals and textiles with 22.3% of the exports coming to the United States. 

The population of Iraq is 31,120,000 (2012 est.)  Iraq is an Arab nation with a 75% Arab ethnicity, followed by 15% Kurdish.  The official religion of Iraq is Muslim with 97% of the population following the teachings of the Holy Karan.

One very noticeable fact about Iraq is the very impressive cities and urban areas that have been built.  Iraq has an urban population of 66% and a urbanization rate of 2.6% each year.  Many of the people of Iraq are starting to move into the cities, and out of the fields.  As a flyer it is easy to see the layout of most of the cities.  Most cities seem to follow the concentric zone model, with the largest parts of the cities in the central business district, followed by a ring of transition with low class housing all the way out to the farming lands that surround the city. 

Iraq most certainly has been one of my most interesting deployments.  A land bathed in history, and infrastructure.  It is very interesting to incorporate what has been learned in Human Geography to the landscape and the people of Iraq.  The ever changing structure and face of Iraq is a valuable part of the human history. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photographs by Bryson Swank. Iraq, 2009.

 

References:

CIA World Fact Book. Iraq.  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ku.html

Rubenstein, James M. Contemporary Human Geography. 2^nd Ed. Glenview IL. 2013.

Afghanistan

Throughout most of my career my deployments have been to Afghanistan.  I find this country to be very intriguing, the topography, the politics, the cities, and the remote tribes.  The whole land is beautiful in its own right and mysterious… especially at night in the middle of the Erg and Hamada deserts.  I find the people to be very respectful at the bazaars, and helpful at some of the local businesses.  It is truly amazing how much the Afghan people respect and sometimes cherish the moments spent with UN forces.

Afghanistan has been a country of much focus from the rest of the world over the past 300 years or so.  The Pashtun tribes were unified by British colonies to serve as a buffer zone for Brittan from Russian Colonies in 1747.  It remained under British control until it gained its independence in 1919.  The country prospered temporarily until the Russian invasion of 1979.  With the help of the United States the Mujahedin pushed the Russian military out of Afghanistan in 1989, which only led to civil wars between the regions of the land.  In 1996 the Afghan government fell to the Taliban when they overran the capital, Kabul.  After the September 11^th terrorist attacks, the US and other anti-Taliban regimes invaded Afghanistan to topple the Taliban for harboring the Terrorist Osama BIN LADIN.     

Afghanistan is a land locked country in South West Asia with a population of 30,500,000 (2012 est.).  This Muslim nation consists of 80% Sunni Muslim and 19 % Shia.  Religious practices are very important to the people of Afghanistan, as they can be seen giving their daily prayers and having the Holy Koran in almost every building.  The Child Birth Rate (CBR) of Afghanistan is 39.3 and the Crude Death Rate (CDR) is 14.59 deaths.  This gives the country a natural increase rate (NIR) of 2.22%. 

Afghanistan has, without a doubt, a rocky past.  The economy has been in havoc due to multiple wars and conflicts.  But, some hope has been given to this country over the past couple of years.  Afghanistan has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $29.74 billion with a real growth rate of 5.8% in 2011.  This growth will hopefully give the people of Afghanistan some hope as the GDP per capita (PPP) to be $1,000.  The unemployment rate has fallen from 40% in 2003 to 35% in 2008.  The growth of the working force may be a sign of shifting powers and a promising future for the economy of Afghanistan.  But, the leading export as well as agricultural product is opium, which is also subsidized by the Taliban.    

Picture By: Bryson Swank, Kandahar Afghanistan, 2007. 

References:

CIA World Fact Book. Afghanistan.  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ku.html

Hess, Darrel.  Physical Geography: a Landscape Appreciation. Tenth Addition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. 2011.

Rubenstein, James M. Contemporary Human Geography. 2^nd Ed. Glenview IL. 2013.

Where I Have Been... and Information to Follow

Because of the years that I have spent in South West Asia and the Middle East, I would like to post some fact and report about some of the history that surrounds some of the countries that I have lived my life in.  First, will be the country that I have spent the most time in… Afghanistan, I will then follow up with Iraq, Kuwait, and Israel.

Music

Anybody that knows me knows that I am a huge music fan.  Music is one of my passions in life; I love how it can transform the soul by compounding sounds, and express emotions through sound.  I love folk rock, because it is poetry combined with emotional music.  Music expresses ideas and lessons to the listener by expression of sound.  Some music only lasts a short while, but some are timeless. 

I feel that music is transversal, it can span oceans and time if given the chance.  The lessons maybe timeless if applied to different situations.  Rubenstein defines folk music as songs with an “unknown origin derived from local environmental conditions” (82).  Folk music is truly timeless and limitless, because it can be passed down through generations and hearths and applied to different situations.  Folk culture does not have to stay within the confines of groups; it can be spread throughout the world and used to change lives and ideals and influence many generations to come, thus pushing into the popular music side.

Below I have included some music from the Middle East.  I find the Iraqi piece to be quite beautiful with many aspects of traditional stringed bands of western culture.  The other two are music videos of Popular Afghan super star Aryana Sayeed.  This is popular with everyone in Afghanistan.  What I Find interesting are the similarities to modern pop cultural music in the United States today.  I hope you enjoy.

Works Cited:

Rubenstein, James M. Contemporary Human Geography. Second Edition. 2013. Pearson Education, Inc. Glenview, IL.

Folk Song of Iraq:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMdNI3jQHrA

Popular Music of Afghanistan
http://youtu.be/oIu5saOfryE
http://youtu.be/qITsNPKgFMk