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F OREIGN R ELATIONS

ernment to visit Iraq since the imposition of the sanctions. Syria, Iraq’s neighbor to the northeast, has had uneven relations with Baghdad over the years. Although Syria’s government is a Baath Party–controlled dictatorship, like Iraq’s before the fall of Saddam Hussein, the governments of the two countries have often disagreed. Syria is also an ally of Iran, the enemy of Iraq during Saddam’s rule. During the 1991 Gulf War, Syria was a member of the international coalition that ousted Iraq from Kuwait, and rela- tions remained strained throughout the 1990s. Relations between Syria and Iraq improved after the death of Syrian dictator Hafiz al Assad in the summer of 2000.

Text-Dependent Questions

1. What city is the capital of Iraq? When was it built? 2. In what Iraqi city was the Medieval military leader Saladin born? 3. What are the most important religious cities in Iraq?

Research Project The Battle of Karbala in 680 was a major event in the division of Muslim into Sunni and Shia sects. To understand why the city is revered today by Shiites, read the online article “Karbala: History’s Long Shadow,” from the BBC. It can be found at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-22657029.