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Ibrahim Ahmed

Ibrahim Ahmed

Ahmed Ibrahim is a brigadier general, and police chief, of the Iraqi police. He is also the Deputy Interior Minister. ---- Ibrahim Ahmed (b.1914) is an Iraqi-Kurdish author; who served as Secretary-General of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, from 1947-58. Ahmed now lives in Paris. ---- Ahmed Ibrahim (b. 1955) is a New York cab driver known for his matchmaking abilities. [http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/31/cabbie.matchmaker.ap/index.html] Ibrahim, Ahmed ---- Ahmed Ibrahim (b. 1983) is a Pakistan Software Programmer known for his development abilities :) [http://www.cnn.com]

General

General is a high military rank, used by nearly every country in the world. General may be a rank on its own, or can be used as a generic term for "general officers". In most nations, the various grades of General are at the top of the rank structure; but some countries have even higher ranks such as Field Marshal or Marshal. General Officer, often referred to less formally and imprecisely as "General", refers to a military officer who holds any rank grade of General. The exact rank of a general may be determined by combining a prefix (e.g. Major General) or suffix (e.g. General of the Army) with the word general. A General, without prefix or suffix (and sometimes referred to informally as a "full general"), is usually the most senior general officer rank, above Lieutenant General. In some armies, however, the rank of Captain General, General of the Army, Army General or Colonel General occupied or occupies this position. These ranks may be considered to be equivalent to a full General or to a Field Marshal, depending on the army in question. While historically an army rank, General is also used in most air forces, although those based on the British Royal Air Force use Air Marshal instead, with Air Officer being the generic title. In most navies of the world, the equivalent rank is Admiral and the generic term is Flag Officer; however a noteworthy historical exception was the Cromwellian naval rank General at sea. The rank of General began appearing around the time of the organization of professional armies in the 17th century. At first, it was added as an adjective to existing names of ranks, yielding Colonel General, Captain General, Lieutenant General and Sergeant Major General. These titles were used to distinguish the ruler's most important officers and usually involved a certain amount of negotiation over precedence.

General ranks by seniority

The following are the commoner modern grades of General, listed by seniority. Not all countries use all these ranks, although the lowest four are common to many. The highest rank is only used in the US. Grades of general are also not necessarily equal in all countries (for instance, in some countries Major General is the lowest general officer rank and may well be closer to Brigadier General in countries that have them). In some European and Commonwealth nations, the equivalent to Brigadier General is Brigadier, which is not considered to be a general officer rank, although it is generally considered to be equivalent to the rank of Brigadier General. During World War I and World War II, the German Navy maintained a rank known as General Admiral, but this was a naval position unconnected to the regular land forces rank of General. The rank of General may also be found commonly in fiction sources especially war dramas or science fiction settings.

General ranks by country

The following articles deal with the rank of General as it is employed in the militaries of various countries.
- Aluf (Israel)
- Général (France)
- General (Germany)
- General (Switzerland)
- General (United Kingdom)
- General (United States)
- Daejang (North Korea)
- Taejang (South Korea)

See also


- Generalissimo
- Shogun
- Comparative military ranks
- U.S. Army officer rank insignia
- British Army officer rank insignia
- Polish Armed Forces rank insignia

External links


- [http://www.generals.dk/ Generals of World War II]
- [http://schema-root.org/region/americas/north_america/usa/government/executive/departments/defense/personnel/generals/ Schema-root.org: US Generals] News feeds for US Generals in the news Category:Military ranks
- ja:将軍

Iraq

The Republic of Iraq (Arabic العراق; Kurdish Êraq) is a Middle Eastern country in southwestern Asia at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and also including southern Kurdistan. It shares borders with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the west, Syria to the north-west, Turkey to the north, and Iran (Persia) to the east. Iraq has a very narrow section of coastline at Umm Qasr on the Persian Gulf. The Republic of Iraq sits on land that is historically known as Mesopotamia, which means 'land between the rivers' in Greek. This land was home to some of the world's first and most distinguished civilizations. These included Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian and many other cultures, whose influence extended into neighbouring regions, certainly from around 5000 BCE. These civilizations produced some of the first writing, science, mathematics, law and philosophy known to man, making it the center of what is commonly called the "Cradle of Civilization". Ancient Mesopotamian civilization dominated other civilizations of its time. The modern state contains a mixture of various Arab, Muslim and Kurdish cultures, deeply influenced by Persian and Ottoman rule and societies. It also hosts three of the most important religious sites in Shia Islam - the Sacred Mosque of Imam Ali in Najaf and the mosques of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas in Karbala. Najaf and Karbala are cities in southern Iraq. A transitional government of Iraq was elected in January 2005, following the March 2003 occupation of Iraq, led by American and British military forces, which drove Saddam Hussein and his Ba'ath Party from power. American offensives on such cities as Fallujah and Tal Afar, the continued lack of such basic services as electricity and clean water, and deep political division in the country, have continued to contribute to disenchantment and disorder in the country. Supporters of the Iraqi insurgency blame the occupying forces for the disorder, but others blame the insurgency itself. In the meantime, the country is still struggling to form stable democratic institutions. On October 15, 2005, the people of Iraq approved a new Constitution of Iraq in a referendum. Though it received a 79% "yes" vote, it was opposed by a large majority of Sunni Arab Iraqis, and is considered to have "barely" passed (as a few more votes against it would have caused its defeat, due to three provinces rejecting it by more than 2/3).

Modern History

Main article: History of Iraq Modern Iraq became a British mandate (the British League of Nations Trust Territory of Iraq) at the end of World War I and was granted independence from British control in 1932. It was formed out of three former Ottoman Willayats (regions): Mosul, Baghdad and Basra. The British-installed Hashemite monarchy lasted until 1958, when it was overthrown through a coup d'etat by the Iraqi army, known as the 14 July Revolution. It brought Brigadier General Abdul Karim Qassim's leftist government to power (which withdrew from the Baghdad Pact and established friendly relations with the Soviet Union), from 1958 till 1963, when he was overthrown by Colonel Abdul Salam Arif. Salam Arif died in 1966 and his brother, Abdul Rahman Arif, assumed the presidency. In 1968, Rahman Arif was overthrown by the right wing Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. The Ba'ath's key figure became Saddam Hussein who acceded to the presidency and control of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), Iraq's supreme executive decision making body, in July 1979, killing off many of his opponents in the process. Saddam's absolute and particularly bloody rule lasted throughout the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), which ended in stalemate; the al-Anfal campaign of the late 1980s, which led to the alleged gassing of thousands of Kurds in northern Iraq; Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 resulting in the Gulf War; and the United Nations-imposed economic sanctions. The United States and Britain declared no-fly zones over Kurdish northern and Shiite southern Iraq.

Modern Politics

Main article: Politics of Iraq Iraq was under Ba'ath Party rule from 1968 to 2003, in 1979 Saddam Hussein took leadership and became president until 2003, when he was unseated by a US-led invasion. The unicameral Iraqi parliament, the National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani, had 250 seats and its members were elected for 4-year terms. No non-Ba'ath candidates were allowed to run. In November 2003, the US-managed Coalition Provisional Authority announced plans to turn over sovereignty to an Iraqi Interim Government by mid-2004. The actual transfer of sovereignty occurred on 28 June 2004. The interim president was Sheikh Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, and the interim prime minister Iyad Allawi. On January 30, 2005, a majority of the Iraqi people voted in an election conducted by their transitional government which elected a 275-member Transitional National Assembly. The election was seen by many as a victory for democracy in the Middle East, but that opinion is not shared by all. Seymour Hersh has reported that their was a effort by the United States Government to shift funds and other resources to Iyad Allawi and that there may have been similar under the table dealings by other parties. Although he did not get the most seats in the Iraqi Congress, Allawi's delegation jumped from a projected 3 to 4% of the vote to 14% of the vote giving him power in the writing of the Constitution. The Iraqi Assembly would:
- Serve as Iraq's national legislature. It has named a Presidency Council, consisting of a President and two Vice Presidents. (By unanimous agreement, the Presidency Council will appoint a Prime Minister and, on his recommendation, cabinet ministers.)
- Draft Iraq's new constitution. This constitution was presented to the Iraqi people for their approval in a national referendum in October 2005. Under the new constitution, Iraq would elect a permanent government in December 2005. Under the Iraqi transitional constitution, signed March 2004, the country's executive branch is now led by a three-person presidential council. The election system for the council effectively ensures that all three of Iraq's major ethnic groups are represented. The constitution also includes basic freedoms like freedom of religion, speech, and assembly, and is perceived by some to be more progressive than the U.S. Constitution.[http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/18267/] Controversially, however, it states that all laws that were in effect on the transfer date cannot be repealed. Furthermore, since the coalition forces are currently working to maintain order and create a stable society under the United Nations, coalition troops can remain in control of the country indefinitely despite the transfer of sovereignty. Since Iraqi forces are currently considered not fully trained and equipped to police and secure their country, it is expected that coalition troops will remain until Iraqi forces no longer require their support. However, these rules will be set aside once the Transitional National Assembly is seated. On 5 April 2005, the Iraqi National Assembly appointed Jalal Talabani, a prominent Kurdish leader, President. It also appointed Adel Abdul Mehdi, a Shiite Arab, and Ghazi al-Yawar, the former Interim President and a Sunni Arab, as Vice Presidents. Ibrahim al-Jaafari a Shiite, whose United Iraq Alliance Party won the largest share of the vote, has been appointed the new Prime Minister of Iraq. Most power is vested in him. The new government was faced with two major tasks. The first is to attempt to rein in a violent insurgency, which has blighted the country in recent months, killing many Iraqi civilians and officials as well as a number of U.S. troops. (As of mid-2005, approximately 135,000 American troops remain in Iraq.) The second major task was to re-engage in the writing of a new Iraqi constitution, as outlined above, to replace the Iraqi transitional constitution of 2004. In the meantime, the Iraqi government is considered by many international governments to be a legitimate government. According to the US administration, the judiciary in Iraq operates under the primacy of rule of law, so war criminals from the totalitarian regime of Saddam Hussein will get a fair and open trial, in which their rights will be subjected to due process and be protected by the scrutiny of a free press, the requirements of modern court proceedings. On October 15, 2005, more than 63% of eligible Iraqis came out across the country to vote on whether to accept or reject the new constitution. On October 25, the vote was certified and the constitution passed with a 78% majority. [http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1248677] The new constitution had overwhelming backing among the Shia and Kurdish communities, as well as among a sizeable minority of the Sunni Arabs of Western Iraq. Three provinces rejected it (Salah ad Din with 82% against, Ninawah with 55% against, and Al Anbar with 97% against), but the final vote against the constitution was not 67%, which would have defeated the constitution. Although fraud is widely believed in the Ninawah results, the results are unlikely to be overturned. Under the terms of the constitution, the country will conduct fresh nationwide parliamentary elections on December 15 to elect a new, permanent government.

Governorates

Main article: Governorates of Iraq Governorates of Iraq Iraq is divided into 18 governorates or provinces (Arabic: muhafadhat, singular - muhafadhah, Kurdish: پاریزگه Pârizgah). Particularly in Iraqi government documents the term governorate is preferred: #Baghdad Arab, Kurdish #Salah ad Din Arab, Kurdish #Diyala Kurdish, #Wasit Arab #Maysan Arab #Al Basrah Arab #Dhi Qar Arab #Al Muthanna Arab #Al Qadisyah Arab #Babil Arab #Al Karbala Arab #An Najaf Arab #Al Anbar Arab #Ninawa Kurdish #Dahuk Kurdish #Arbil Kurdish ( also called Hewlêr in Kurdish) #At Ta'mim Kurdish #As Sulaymaniyah Kurdish The constitutionally recognized Kurdish Autonomous Region includes parts of a number of northern governorates, and is largely self-governing in internal affairs.

Geography

Kurdish Autonomous Region Main article: Geography of Iraq Large parts of Iraq consist of desert, but the area between the two major rivers Euphrates and Tigris is fertile, with the rivers carrying about 60 million cubic meters of silt annually to the delta. The north of the country is largely mountainous, with the highest point being Haji Ibrahim at 3,600 m (11,811 ft). Iraq has a small coastline with the Persian Gulf. Close to the coast and along the Shatt al-Arab (known as arvandrūd: اروندرود among Iranians) there used to be marshlands, but many of these were drained in the 1990s. The local climate is mostly a desert clime with mild to cool winters and dry, hot, cloudless summers. The northern mountainous regions experience cold winters with occasional heavy snows, sometimes causing extensive flooding. The capital Baghdad is situated in the centre of the country, on the banks of the Tigris. Other major cities include Basra in the south and Mosul in the north. Iraq is considered to be the cradle of human civilization.

Economy

Mosul Mosul] Mosul Mosul Mosul Main article: Economy of Iraq Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. In the 1980s financial problems caused by massive expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran and damage to oil export facilities by Iran led the government to implement austerity measures, borrow heavily, and later reschedule foreign debt payments; Iraq suffered economic losses from the war of at least US$100 billion. After hostilities ended in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. A combination of low oil prices, onerous repayment of the war debts (at around US$3 billion a year) and the costs of reconstruction resulted in a serious financial crisis which was the main short term motivation for the invasion of Kuwait. Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic sanctions, and damage from military action by an international coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically reduced economic activity. Although government policies supporting large military and internal security forces and allocating resources to key supporters of the Ba`ath Party government have hurt the economy, implementation of the United Nations' oil-for-food program, started in December 1996, was to have improved conditions for the average Iraqi citizen. For the first six phases of the program (each phase lasting six months), Iraq was allowed to export limited amounts of oil in exchange for food, medicine, and some infrastructure spare parts. Subsequent investigation of the program has revealed significant corruption, with highly-placed U.N. officials being bribed, Ba'ath Party officials receiving lucrative kickbacks, and much of the money from oil sales being redirected into weapons research and acquisition by the Iraqi military. In December 1999, the UN Security Council authorised Iraq to export under the program as much oil as required to meet humanitarian needs. Iraq changed its oil reserve currency from US dollar to euro in 2000. Oil exports were more than three-quarters of the pre-war level. However, 28% of Iraq's export revenues under the program were deducted to meet UN Compensation Fund and UN administrative expenses. The drop in GDP in 2001 was largely the result of the global economic slowdown and lower oil prices. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the economy to a great extent shut down; attempts are underway to revive it from the damages of war and rampant crime. During his year as the chief executive of Iraq, Ambassador Paul Bremer issued a series of orders designed to restructure Iraq's broadly socialist economy in line with neo-liberal thinking. Order 39 laid out the framework for the privatization of everything in Iraq aside from the "primary extraction and initial processing" of the oil reserves themselves, and permitted 100% foreign ownership of Iraqi assets. Other orders established a flat tax of 15% and permitted foreign corporations to repatriate 100% of profits earned in Iraq. Opposition from senior Iraqi officials, together with the poor security situation meant that Bremer's privatization plan was not implemented during his tenure, though his orders remain in place. Privatization of the oil industry, in addition to around 200 other state-owned businesses, is currently scheduled to begin sometime in late 2005. [http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=15131] The second attempt to liberalize Iraq's economy is linked to the Iran-Iraq war debt. The creditors who financed the Iran-Iraq war had presented post-Saddam Iraq with a bill of nearly US$130 billion of debt and past-due-interest, which had not been serviced during the 13 years of sanctions. The Jubilee Iraq campaign argued that these debts were odious (or illegitimate) given that they came from loans to a dictator fighting a war which caused the Iraqi people a great deal of harm, and should therefore be written off unconditionally. The creditors, however, offered only a partial reduction and rescheduling of their claims in return for an Iraqi commitment to implement an International Monetary Fund economic program. This deal, with the Paris Club cartel of creditors including the U.S. and Britain, was signed on 20 November 2004. The following day the interim Iraqi National Assembly issued a strongly worded resolution rejecting the Paris Club's terms and declaring that the debt was odious.

Demographics

2004 Main article: Demographics of Iraq Seventy-five to eighty percent of Iraq's population (mainly Iraqi but some Hejazi) speaks Arabic; the other major ethnic groups are the Kurds (15–20%), Assyrians (4%), and Turkomans (3%), who mostly live in the north and north-east of the country. The Assyrians, Kurds, and Turkomans differ from Arabs in many ways, including culture, history, clothing, and language. Other distinct groups are Persians, Lurs, and Armenians (possible descendants of the ancient Mesopotamian culture). About 2,500 Jews and 20,000–50,000 Marsh Arabs live in Iraq. Arabic and Kurdish are official languages; English is the most commonly spoken Western language. Assyrian is also used by the country's Assyrian population. There are more Arab Iraqi Muslim members of the Shiite sect than there are Arab Iraqi Muslims of the Sunni sect; but there is a large Sunni population as well, made up of mostly Arabs and Kurds. (Shiite 60% of total population made up of mostly Arabs). Iraq's sizable Christian population numbers some 750,000, most of them of the Chaldean rite. Bahá'ís, Mandaeans, Shabaks, and Yezidis also exist. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims. Demographic information from the 2004 edition of the CIA's The World Factbook:
- Ethnic groups: Arab, 75–80%; Kurdish, 15–20%; Assyrian or other, 5%
- Religions: Muslim, 93–95% (Shi'ite, 60%; Sunni 40%); Christian, Yezidi, or other, 5–7%

Culture

Main article: Culture of Iraq
- Music of Iraq

Miscellaneous topics


- Economy: Iraq Stock Exchange, Iraqi Dinar, Economy of Iraq
- Events: 2005 in Iraq, 2004 in Iraq, 2003 Invasion of Iraq, Post-invasion Iraq, 2003-2005, Iraqi insurgency
- Geography: List of places in Iraq, Communications of Iraq, Transportation in Iraq, Arab Tribes in Iraq
- Politics: Politics of Iraq, New Iraqi Army, Foreign relations of Iraq, Human rights violations in Iraq, Iraqi insurgency, M. Ismail Marcinkowski, Religion and Politics in Iraq. Shiite Clerics between Quietism and Resistance, with a foreword by Professor Hamid Algar of the University of California at Berkeley. Singapore: Pustaka Nasional, 2004 (ISBN 9971775131)
- History: List of Kings of Iraq, List of Presidents of Iraq, List of Prime Ministers of Iraq, British Mandate of Iraq, History of the Jews in Iraq
- Others: Postage stamps and postal history of Iraq, Gay rights in Iraq

External links


-
- [http://www.activistmagazine.com/index.php?option=content&task=category§ionid=3&id=152&Itemid=56 ACTivist Magazine] Iraq Article Archive
- [http://www.mourningthevote.com/iraq.htm Mourningthevote.com] Information on US troops in Iraq
- [http://www.iraqigovernment.org/ Iraqi Interim Government] official government site
- [http://www.krg.org/ Kurdistan Regional Government]
- [http://www.al-bab.com/arab/countries/iraq.htm al-Bab - Iraq]
- [http://www.h-net.org/~museum/iraq.html / H-Museum Iraq site]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/791014.stm BBC News Country Profile - Iraq]
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iz.html CIA World Factbook - Iraq]
- [http://www.state.gov/p/nea/ci/c3212.htm US State Department - Iraq] includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
- [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Middle_East/Iraq/ Open Directory Project - Iraq] directory category
- [http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Iraq/ Yahoo! - Iraq] directory category
- [http://story.news.yahoo.com/fc?cid=34&tmpl=fc&in=World&cat=Iraq Yahoo! News Full Coverage - Iraq] news headline links
- [http://www.newsxs.com/en/preset/101 Iraq - News and Rss-feed by NewsXS]
- [http://www.newsxs.com/en/preset/396 News on the Iraq Constitution]
- [http://www.newsxs.com/en/preset/424 News on Saddam's Trial]
- [http://www.edinarfinancial.net/news Iraq News]
- [http://www.lawksalih.com Lawk Salih] News on Iraq, Iraqi Music, Kurdish News
- [http://schema-root.org/region/mideast/iraq/ Schema-root.org: Iraq] 300 Iraq related topics, each with its own current news feed
- [http://www.juancole.com/ Informed Comment] Commentary on war in Iraq from Middle East scholar Juan Cole
- [http://www.dahrjamailiraq.com/index.php Dahr Jamail Iraq Dispatches] News From Inside Iraq
- [http://www.indepthinfo.com/iraq/index.shtml Indepth Analysis of the Gulf War]
- International Freedom of Expression eXchange monitors [http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/222 attacks on journalists in Iraq]
- [http://fax.libs.uga.edu/DS49x2xM465D/ A DWELLER IN MESOPOTAMIA], being the adventures of an official artist in the garden of Eden, by Donald Maxwell, 1921. (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & [http://fax.libs.uga.edu/DS49x2xM465D/1f/dweller_in_mesopotamia.pdf layered PDF] format)
- [http://fax.libs.uga.edu/DS49x2xW684B/ BY DESERT WAYS TO BAGHDAD], by Louisa Jebb (Mrs. Roland Wilkins) With illustrations and a map, 1908 (1909 ed). (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & [http://fax.libs.uga.edu/DS49x2xW684B/1f/desert_ways_to_baghdad.pdf layered PDF] format)
- [http://home.developmentgateway.org/iraq Iraq: Relief and Recovery] Development Gateway's knowledge sharing community on Iraq's development needs and efforts.
- Sourcewatch on [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Reconstruction_of_Iraq_contractors reconstruction of Iraq contractors].
- [http://www.iraqwiki.com Iraq Wiki]
- [http://www.iraqanalysis.org/ Iraq Analysis] Information Source Listings and analysis on post-invasion Iraq
- [http://www.jubileeiraq.org Jubilee Iraq] Campaign to eliminate Iraq's pre-war debt and reparations
- [http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engMDE140082001?OpenDocument&of=COUNTRIESIRAQ Amnesty International Report on Iraq]
- [http://www.brucegourley.com/iraqtheocracy/ Iraq Theocracy Watch]
- [http://www.cpa-iraq.org/ Coalition Provisional Authority] Now-defunct occupation authority; site is archived
- [http://baghdad.usembassy.gov/ US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq]
- [http://www.ameinfo.com/iraq/ AME Info - Country Guide: Iraq]
- [http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/mesopotamia/ Pictures of Iraq (Mespotamia) during World War One, showing the peoples, Red Cross River Ambulances and British Army/Indian taken by Captain Weaver]

Video


- Category:Arab League Category:Southwest Asian countries Category:Middle Eastern countries Category:Near Eastern countries Category:Persian Gulf states Category:100 most endangered sites zh-min-nan:Iraq ko:이라크 ms:Iraq ja:イラク simple:Iraq th:ประเทศอิรัก



1914

1914 (MCMXIV) is a common year starting on Thursday. (see link for calendar)

Events

January-April


- January 4 - 77 seal hunters freeze to death on ice near Labrador.
- January 5 - Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage of $5 for a day's labor.
- January 10 - Mexican Revolution - Pancho Villa's troops take Ojinaga in the Mexican state of Chihuahua
- February 13 - Copyright: In New York City the ASCAP (for American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.
- March 1 - The Republic of China joins the Universal Postal Union.
- March 10 - Suffragette Mary Richardson damages Velasquez painting Rokeby Venus in London’s national gallery with a meat chopper.
- March 16 - Wife of French minister Joseph Caillaux shoots Gaston Calmet, the editor of Le Figaro because he threatened to publish Caillaux's love letters to her during his previous marriage. (She is later acquitted.)
- March 27 - Belgian surgeon A. Hustin makes the first successful blood transfusion, using anticoagulants.
- March 29 - Katherine Routledge and her husband arrive in Easter Island to make the first true study of it (departs August 1915)
- April 14 - The city of Irving, Texas is incorporated.
- April 20 - Colorado coalfield Massacre or Ludlow Massacre. Colorado National guard attacks 1200 tent colony of striking coal miners in Ludlow - 24 people dead.
- April 21 - 3000 US marines land in Vera Cruz, Mexico.
- The American Radio Relay League is founded.

May-July


- May 9 - J.T. Hearne becomes the first bowler to take 3000 first-class wickets.
- May 14 - Woodrow Wilson signs Mother's Day proclamation.
- May 14 - The Hellenic Holocaust begins in the Ottoman Empire.
- May 25 - The United Kingdom's House of Commons passes Irish Home Rule.
- May 29 - The ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sinks in Gulf of St. Lawrence; 1,024 lives lost. Gulf of St. Lawrence, World War I has now become inevitable]]
- June 1 - Woodrow Wilson's envoy Edward Mandell House meets with Kaiser Wilhelm II.
- June 18 - Constitutionals take San Luis Potos - Venustiano Carranza demands Victoriano Huerta's surrender
- June 23 - Kiel Canal reopened (owing to its having been deepened) by the Kaiser: Visit of the British Fleet under Sir G. Warrender: Kaiser inspects the Dreadnought H.M.S. "King George V".
- June 28 - The assassination in Sarajevo: Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and his wife, the Archduchess Sophie are killed by Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia.
- June 29 - Austria-Hungary: Secretary of the Legation at Belgrade sends despatch to Vienna suggesting Serbian complicity in the crime of Sarajevo.Anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo and throughout Bosnia generally.
- June 30-Great Britain: Addresses in Parliament on the murdered Archduke: Lords Crewe and Lansdowne in House of Lords; Messrs. Asquith and Law in House of Commons.
- July 2 -Announcement that the Kaiser will not attend the Archduke's funeral.
- July 4 - Austria-Hungary: Funeral of the Archduke at Artstetten (50 miles west of Vienna).
- July 5 - Council at Potsdam.
- July 6 - Kaiser leaves Kiel for a cruise in Northern waters.
- July 7 - Austria-Hungary: Council of Ministers, including Ministers for Foreign Affairs and War, Chief of General Staff and Naval Commander-in-Chief: Council lasts from 11.30 a.m. to 6.15 p.m.
- July 8 -Count Tisza makes grave statement in Hungarian Chamber concerning the murder of the Archduke.
- July 9 -The House of Lords completed the recasting of the Amendment Bill(Ireland).Among the Amendments adopted with one excluding the Unionists of the West and South (as well as Ulster )from the jurisdiction of the judiciary appointed by the Home Rule Government;and another withdrawing of the Land Purchase Acts from the conrol of the Irish Parliment. Austria-Hungary.-Emperor recieves report of Austro-Hungarian investigation into the Sarajevo crime.The London Times publishes account of Austro-Hungarian press campaign against Serbians (who are described as "pestilent rats").
- July 10 - Mr.Hartwig,Russian Minister to Serbia, dies suddenly at Austrian Legation in Belegrade.
- July 12 - Demonstrations in Ulster suggesting Civil War.
- July 13 - Reports of a projected Serbian attack upon the Austro-Hungarian Legation at Belegrade.
- July 15 - Victoriano Huerta resigns and leaves for Colón. July 17 he leaves for exile in Spain
- July 18 - The Signal Corps of the United States Army is formed, giving definite status to its air service for the first time.
- July 28 - World War I begins: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia after it fails to meet the conditions of an ultimatum it set on July 23 following the Sarajevo assassination.
- July 31 - French pacifist Jean Jaures is assassinated.

August


- August 1 - Germany declares war on Russia, following Russia's military mobilization in support of Serbia.
- August 2 - German troops occupy Luxembourg.
- August 2 - Secret treaty between Turkey and Germany to secure Turkish neutrality
- August 3 - Germany declares war on Russia's ally France.
- August 4 - German troops invade neutral Belgium. Britain declares war on Germany after the latter fails to respect Belgian neutrality. The United States declares neutrality.
- August 5 - USA and Panama sign the Panama Canal Treaty
- August 15 - The Panama Canal opens to traffic.
- August 15 - Venustiano Carranza's troops under general Alvaro Obregon enter Mexico City
- August 17-September 2 - World War I: Battle of Tannenberg
- August 20 - World War I: German forces occupy Brussels.
- August 23 - Japan declares war on Germany.
- August 26-27 - The Battle of Le Cateau.
- August 28 - The Battle of Helgoland - British cruisers under admiral Beatty sink three German cruisers Battle of Helgoland]]
- August 29-30 - The Battle of St. Quentin.

September-October


- September 1 - St. Petersburg, Russia changes its name to Petrograd.
- September 1 - The last known passenger pigeon dies in the Cincinnati Zoo.
- September 2 - Moronvilliers occupied by the Germans.
- September 3 - Giacomo della Chiesa is elected as the new pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He becomes pope Benedict XV.
- September 5 - London Agreement - no member of Triple Entente (Britain, France, or Russia) may seek a separate peace with Central Powers.
- September 5 - World War I: First Battle of the Marne begins - Northeast of Paris, the French 6th Army under General Michel-Joseph Maunoury attack German forces who are advancing on the capital. Over 2 million troops will fight in the battle and 100,000 will be killed or wounded in this significant Allied victory.
- September 6 - French and British counterattack at Marne ends German advance on Paris.
- September 13-28 - The First Battle of the Aisne.
- September 17 - Andrew Fisher becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.
- September 26 - The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) established by the Federal Trade Commission Act.
- September 30 - Flying Squadron established to promote temperance movement.
- October 9 - World War I: Siege of Antwerp - Antwerp, Belgium falls to German troops.
- October 13 - Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Athletics 3-1, to win baseball's World Series.
- October 29 - World War I: Ottoman warships shell Russian Black Sea ports: Russia, France, and Britain declare war on November 1-5.

November-December


- November 1 - World War I: Battle of Coronel fought - A Royal Navy squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock is met and defeated by the superior German forces led by Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee. This is the first British naval defeat of the war.
- November 4 - Britain and France declare war on Turkey.
- November 5 - The United Kingdom annexes Cyprus, and together with France declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
- November 16 - A year after being created by passage of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States officially opens for business.
- November 23 - US troops withdraw from Veracruz. Venustiano Carranza's troops take over and Carranza makes the town his headquarters
- November 28 - World War I: Following a war-induced closure in July, the New York Stock Exchange re-opens for bond trading.
- December 7 - Federation of Oriental Jews founds the Oriental Jewish Community of New York

Unknown dates


- Marcus Garvey in Jamaica founds Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).
- First everyday items made of stainless steel come into public circulation.
- French Buddhist Alexandra David-Neel is the first European woman to visit Tibet (in disguise).
- Jehovah's Witnesses claim October of this year to be the end of the Gentile Times and the beginning of Jesus Christ's rule in Heaven.
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returns to India from South Africa to spearhead the Indian independence movement.
- W. H. Carrier patents design of an air conditioner.
- The capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China is moved from Guilin to Nanning.

Ongoing events


- World War I (1914-1918)
- Assyrian Genocide (1914-(1922)
- Mexican Revolution

Births

January-February


- January 1 - Noor Inayat Khan, World War II heroine (d. 1944)
- January 4 - Jane Wyman, American actress
- January 5 - George Reeves, American actor (d. 1959)
- January 6 - Danny Thomas, American singer, actor, and comedian (d. 1991)
- January 14 - Harold Russell, Canadian actor (d. 2002)
- January 15 - Hugh Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, English historian (d. 2003)
- January 17 - William Stafford, Aerican poet and pacifist (d. 1993)
- January 18 - Arno Schmidt, German author (d. 1979)
- January 30 - John Ireland, Canadian-born actor (d. 1992)
- January 30 - David Wayne, American actor (d. 1995)
- January 31 - Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (d. 1994)
- February 4 - Alfred Andersch, German writer (d. 1980)
- February 4 - Ida Lupino, English actress, director, and writer (d. 1995)
- February 5 - William S. Burroughs, American author (d. 1997)
- February 5 - Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, British scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1998)
- February 6 - Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor (d. 2005)
- February 9 - Ernest Tubb, American singer (d. 1984)
- February 11 - Matt Dennis, American singer (d. 2002)
- February 12 - Tex Beneke, American musician and band leader (d. 2000)
- February 19 - Jacques Dufilho, French comedian and actor (d. 2005)
- February 22 - Renato Dulbecco, Italian-born virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- February 23 - Theofiel Middelkamp, Dutch cyclist (d. 2005)
- February 24 - Zachary Scott, American actor (d. 1965)

March-April


- March 1 - Ralph Ellison, American writer (d. 1994)
- March 2 - Martin Ritt, American director (d. 1990)
- March 6 - Kiril Kondrashin, Russian conductor (d. 1981)
- March 8 - Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Russian physicist (d.1987)
- March 13 - Edward O'Hare, American pilot (d. 1943)
- March 14 - Bill Owen, English actor (d. 1999)
- March 17 - Sammy Baugh, American football player
- March 19 - Jay Berwanger, American football player (d. 2002)
- March 25 - Norman Borlaug, American agricultural scientist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- March 26 - William Westmoreland, U.S. general (d. 2005)
- March 28 - Edmund Muskie, American politician (d. 1996)
- March 30 - Sonny Boy Williamson, American musician (d. 1948)
- March 31 - Octavio Paz, Mexican diplomat and writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
- April 2 - Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000)
- April 4 - Marguerite Duras, French author and director (d. 1996)
- April 4 - Frances Langford, American singer and actress (d. 2005)
- April 11 - Robert Stanfield, Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 2003)
- April 22 - Jan de Hartog, Dutch writer (d. 2002)
- April 25 - Ross Lockridge, Jr., American writer (d. 1948)
- April 26 - Bernard Malamud, American author (d. 1986)
- April 26 - Lilian Rolfe, French-born World War II heroine (d. 1945)

May-June


- May - Arnold Gerschwiler, Swiss figure skating trainer (d. 2003)
- May 8 - Romain Gary, Russian-born writer and diplomat (d. 1980)
- May 9 - Hank Snow, Canadian country musician (d. 1999)
- May 12 - Bertus Aafjes, Dutch poet (d. 1993)
- May 12 - Howard K. Smith, American journalist (d. 2002)
- May 13 - Joe Louis, American boxer (d. 1981)
- May 18 - Boris Christoff, Bulgarian opera singer (d. 1993)
- May 19 - Go Seigen, Japanese go player
- May 19 - Max Perutz, Austrian-born molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (d. 2002)
- May 22 - Vance Packard, American author (d. 1996)
- May 22 - Sun Ra, American musician (d. 1993)
- May 28 - W. G. G. Duncan Smith, British World War II pilot (d. 1996)
- June 3 - Roy Glenn, American actor (d. 1971)
- June 15 - Yuri Andropov, Soviet politician (d. 1984)
- June 19 - Alan Cranston, U.S. Senator (d. 2000)
- June 19 - Harry Lauter, American actor (d. 1990)
- June 21 - William Vickrey, Canadian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
- June 29 - Rafael Kubelik, Czech-born conductor (d. 1996)

July-September


- July 2 - Frederick Fennell, American conductor (d. 2004)
- July 8 - Sarah P. Harkness, American architect.
- July 15 - Hammond Innes, English author (d. 1998)
- July 19 - John Kenneth Macalister, Canadian World War II hero (d. 1944)
- July 19 - Marius Russo, baseball player (d. 2005)
- July 10 - Joe Shuster, Canadian-born comic book creator, Co-creator of Superman (d. 1992)
- July 30 - Lord Killanin, Irish president of the International Olympic Committee (d. 1999)
- August 2 - Beatrice Straight, American actress (d. 2001)
- August 9 - Tove Jansson, Finnish author (d. 2001)
- August 10 - Jeff Corey, American actor (d. 2002)
- August 15 - Paul Rand, American graphic designer (d. 1996)
- August 17 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1988)
- August 17 - Gabrielle Weidner, Belgian World War II heroine (d. 1945)
- August 26 - Julio Cortázar, Argentine writer (d. 1984)
- September 5 - Sor Isolina Ferré, Puerto Rican Catholic nun (d. 2000)
- September 10 - Robert Wise, American film producer (d. 2005)
- September 11 - Sidney Hart, British trade unionist and religious administrator (d. 2005)
- September 12 - Desmond Llewelyn, Welsh actor (d. 1999)
- September 12 - Janusz Zurakowski, Polish-born pilot (d. 2004)
- September 14 - Clayton Moore, American actor (d. 1999)
- September 15 - Creighton Williams Abrams, U.S. general (d. 1974)
- September 15 - Adolfo Bioy Casares, Argentinian writer (d. 1999)
- September 16 - Allen Funt, American television show host (d. 1999)
- September 23 - Bethsabée de Rothschild, English philanthropist and patron of dance (d. 1999)

October-December


- October 1 - Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian, writer, and Librarian of Congress (d. 2004)
- October 4 - Jim Cairns, Australian politician (d. 2003)
- October 6 - Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian explorer (d. 2002)
- October 10 - Tommy Fine, baseball player (d. 2005)
- October 14 - Raymond Davis Jr., American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- October 14 - Dick Durrance, American skier (d. 2004)
- October 16 - Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan
- October 17 - Jerry Siegel, American comic book creator, Co-creator of Superman (d. 1996)
- October 21 - Martin Gardner, American writer on mathematics and games
- October 27 - Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet and author (d. 1953)
- October 28 - Jonas Salk, American medical scientist (d. 1995)
- October 28 - Richard Laurence Millington Synge, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
- November 11 - Howard Fast, American novelist and television writer (d. 2003)
- November 13 - Alberto Lattuada, Italian film director (d. 2005)
- November 20 - Charles Berlitz, American author (d. 2003)
- November 25 - Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player (d. 1999)
- December 10 - Dorothy Lamour, American actress (d. 1996)
- December 12 - Patrick O'Brian, British writer (d. 2000)
- December 14 - Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichordist (d. 2003)
- December 24 - Herbert Reinecker, German writer
- December 26 - Richard Widmark, American actor
- December 29 - Billy Tipton, American musician (d. 1989)
- December 30 - Bert Parks, American singer and actor (d. 1992)

Deaths


- January 18 - Georges Picquart, French general and Minister of war (b. 1854)
- February 24 - Joshua Chamberlain, American Civil War general (b. 1828)
- March 1 - Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto (b. 1845)
- March 6 - George Washington Vanderbilt II, American businessman (b. 1862)
- March 16 - Charles Albert Gobat, Swiss politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1843)
- March 19 - Giuseppe Mercalli, Italian volcanologist (b. 1850)
- March 25 - Frédéric Mistral, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1830)
- April 1 - Rube Waddell, baseball player (b. 1876)
- April 2 - Paul von Heyse, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1830)
- April 7 - Ayub Khan, Afghan military leader (b. 1857)
- May 2 - John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, husband of Princess Louise of the United Kingdom (b. 1845)
- June 14 - Adlai E. Stevenson, Vice President of the United States (b. 1835)
- June 21 - Bertha von Suttner, Austrian writer and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1843)
- June 28 - Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria (assassinated) (b. 1873)
- June 28 - Archduchess Sophie Chotek, wife of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria (assassinated) (b. 1868)
- July 2 - Joseph Chamberlain, British politician (b. 1836)
- July 31 - Jean Jaurès, French pacifist (assassinated) (b. 1859)
- August 4 - Hubertine Auclert, French feminist (b. 1848)
- August 12 - John Philip Holland, Irish developer of the submarine (b. 1840)
- August 20 - Pope Pius X (b. 1835)
- August 30 - Aleksander Samsonov, Russian general (b. 1859)
- September 3 - Albéric Magnard, French composer (b. 1865)
- September 26 -August Macke, German painter (b. 1887)
- October 10 - King Carol I of Romania (b. 1839)
- November 3 - Georg Trakl, Austrian poet(b. 1887)
- November 11 - A. E. J. Collins, British cricketer and soldier (b. 1885)
- November 14 - Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts of Kandahar, British field marshal (b. 1832)
- December 24 - John Muir, American naturalist (b. 1838)

Nobel Prizes


- Physics - Max von Laue
- Chemistry- Theodore William Richards
- Medicine - Robert Bárány
- Literature - not awarded
- Peace - not awarded

Fictional references


- The 2001 animated film Atlantis: The Lost Empire takes place in late 1914. Category:1914 ko:1914년 ms:1914 ja:1914年 simple:1914 th:พ.ศ. 2457

Kurd

The Kurds are an Iranian people (a classification that is more linguistic than 'ethnic' in the case of many Kurds) inhabiting a mountainous area of Southwest Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Turkey, and Iran as well as smaller sections of Syria, Armenia and Lebanon. Kurds speak the mostly mutually intelligible dialects of the Kurdish language, which has Indo-European roots. Ranging anywhere from 25 to 27 million people, the Kurds comprise one of the largest ethnic groups without their own country in the world. For over a century, many Kurds have campaigned and fought for the right to 'self-determination' in an autonomous homeland known as "Kurdistan". The governments of those countries with sizable Kurdish populations are actively opposed to the possibility of a Kurdish state, believing such a development would require them to give up parts of their own national territories.

Historical Roots of the Kurdish People

The earliest evidence, thus far, of a unified and distinct culture and peoples inhabiting the Kurdish mountains dates back to the Halaf culture of 8,000-7,400 years ago. This was followed by the Hurrian period which lasted from 6,300 to about 2,600 years ago. The Hurrians spoke a language that was possibly part of the Northeast Caucasian family of languages (or Alarodian), akin to modern Chechen and Lezgian. The Hurrians spread out and eventually dominated significant territories outside their Zagros-Taurus mountainous base. Like their Kurdish descendents, they however did not expand too far from the mountains. The "Hurrian" name survives now most prominently in the dialect and district of Hawraman/Auraman in Kurdistan. They were divided into many clans and subgroups and settled in city-states, kingdoms and empires with eponymous clan names. These included the Gutis, Kurti, Khaldi, Mards, Mushku, Mannaeans (Mannai), Hatti, Urartu, Lullubi and the Kassites among others. All these tribes were part of the larger group of Hurrians, and together helped to shape the Hurrian phase of Kurdish history [http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/kurdish/htdocs/his/orig.html]. The region of Mahabad was the centre of the Mannaeans, who flourished in the early 1st millennium BC.[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9050086] Approximately 4,000 years ago, the first groups of Indo-European-speaking peoples started trickling into Kurdistan. These groups included the Medes, Mitanni, Scythians and Sagarthians and other Indo-European-speaking Aryans who settled in Kurdistan. Approximately 2,600 years ago, the Medes had already formed an empire that included much of what is today Kurdistan and beyond. There are numerous historical records that refer to the antecedents of the modern Kurds. The ancient Greek historian Xenophon referred to the Kurds in the Anabasis as "Khardukhi", a 'fierce and protective mountain-dwelling people' who attacked Greek armies in 400 BCE. The Lullubi people inhabited the "Sharazor" plain in Iraqi Kurdistan and are known for having fought wars with the Akkadians around 2300-2200 B.C. Today a Kurdish clan is known as Lullu and may be a possible derivation of the ancient Lullabi.[http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Lullubi.html] Moreover, the name Madai appears in the Book of Genesis as a Japhethic grandson of Noah in the Biblical tradition. Scholars have identified Madai with various nations, from the early Mitanni to the Medes who were contemporaries of the ancient Persians. The modern Kurds are the descendants of many invaders and migrants who settled the region including the aforementioned Hurrians, Guti, Lullubi, Kurti, Medes, Mards, Carduchi, Gordyene, Adiabene, Mushku, Mannai, Mitanni, Kassites, Zila, and Khaldi. In addition, the lands populated by the Kurds were also invaded by the Assyrians, Akkadians, Armenians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols, and Turks and these groups also made contributions to the modern Kurds both culturally and/or genetically. As a result of the vast parade of peoples who have come to Kurdistan, it is safe to say that the Kurds are a combination of indigenous peoples who were living in the Zagros Mountains, Aryan tribes, and numerous other invaders and migrants.[http://www.kurdistanica.com/english/history/origin-e.html] Recent genetic tests of random Kurdish populations show links to the Caucasus, various Iranian peoples, Europeans, northern Semites, and Anatolia.

Demographics

The exact number of Kurdish people living in the Middle East is unknown, due to both an absence of recent and extensive census analysis, and the reluctance of the various governments in Kurdish-inhabited regions to give accurate figures. The fact that some Kurds have mixed with other local ethnic groups has also contributed to the uncertainty as to who can be counted as a 'Kurd'. For example, many Kurds in Turkey have adopted Turkish, having moved to mainly Turkish regions of the country and assimilated to some extent, while most Kurds in Iraq have attempted to maintain their distinct identity. In addition, groups such as the Zaza and Dimli are often counted by some as Kurds, but are actually a closely- related Iranian people. Nonetheless, if estimated figures are accurate, comprising between 25 and 27 million people, the Kurds are, as Carole A. O’Leary (a professor at the American University) commented, the largest ethnic group without a separate state in the world. [http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2002/issue4/jv6n4a5.html]

Religion

The majority of the Kurds are Sunni Muslims, belonging to the Shafi and Hanafi Schools of Islam. There is also a significant minority of Kurds that are Shia Muslims, and they primarily live in the Kermanshah and Ilam provinces of Iran and Central Iraq ("Al-Fayliah" Kurds). Another religious minority among the Kurds are the Alevi Shia Muslims, who are mainly found in Turkey. The remaining Kurds are either Christians, Kurdish Jews or Yezidis. Before the spread of Islam in the 7th century CE, the majority of Kurds practiced Zoroastrianism, which is believed to be one of the oldest religions in the world. The Kurdish Kingdom of Adiabene converted to Judaism in the course of the 1st century BC, along with, a large number of Kurdish citizens in the kingdom [http://www.kurdistanica.com/english/religion/judaism/judaism.html]. Rabbi Asenath Barzani,who lived in Mosul, Kurdistan, from 1590 to 1670 was among the very first Jewish women to become a Rabbi (see Kurdish Jews). 'Yezidism' is an ancient Kurdish religion. The name of this religion in Kurdish language is Êzidî. Most Yezidis live in Iraqi Kurdistan, in the vicinity of Mosul, Sinjar, and Lalish. Large numbers of Yezidis are also found in Syria, Armenia and Turkey. The holy book of the Yezidis is "Mishefa Reş" (The Black Book)[http://kurdistanica.com/english/religion/yazdani/yezidi/yezidi.html]. There is also another native Kurdish religion in eastern parts of Kurdistan, called Yarsan or Ahl-e Haqq.

Language

The Kurdish language is part of the northwestern group of the Iranian section of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family. Even though Kurdish is an Iranian language, Kurds have been greatly-influenced by languages around them, especially Arabic, as well as Turkish and Persian. In addition, the Northern Kurdish dialects such as Kurmanji are written using the Roman alphabet, while the southern dialects tend to be written in the Arabic alphabet. The Kurdish languages form a dialect continuum, with comprehensibility diminishing as the distance from one's native dialect increases. The principal Kurdish languages are:
- Northern Kurdish including Kurmanji/Bahdinan
- Central Kurdish or Sorani
- The Southern Kurdish dialects
- Hewrami or Auramani

Kurds in Iraq

Under the former Iraqi Ba'athist regime, which ruled Iraq from 1968 until 2003, Kurds were initially granted limited autonomy (1970), and after the Barzani revolt in 1961, were given some high-level political representation in Baghdad. However, for various reasons, including the pro-Iranian sympathies of some Kurds during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980's, the regime implemented anti-Kurdish policies and a de facto civil war broke out. Iraq was widely-condemned by the international community, but was never seriously punished for oppressive measures, including the use of chemical weapons against the Kurds, which resulted in thousands of deaths. (See Halabja poison gas attack.)

Anfal Genocidal Campaign

Anfal--"the Spoils"(of War)--is the name of the eighth sura of the Koran. From March 29, 1987 until April 23, 1989, Ali Hassan Al-Majid was granted power that was equivalent, in Northern Iraq, to that of the President himself, with authority over all agencies of the state. Al-Majid, who is known to this day to Kurds as "Ali Anfal" or "Ali Chemical," was the overlord of the Kurdish genocide. The regime designated areas in which Peshmerga were active as "Prohibited Areas". Al-Majid ordered that, "All persons captured in those villages (in the prohibited area) shall be detained and interrogated by the security services and those between the ages of 15 and 70 shall be executed after any useful information has been obtained from them, of which we should be duly notified." Halabja poison gas attack was only a small part of the larger Anfal operation. The campaigns of 1987-199 were characterized by the following gross violations of human rights: a) mass summary executions and mass disappearance of many tens of thousands of non-combatants, including large numbers of women and children, and sometimes the entire population of villages; b) the widespread use of chemical weapons, including mustard gas and the nerve agent GB, or Sarin, against the town of Halabja as well as dozens of Kurdish villages, killing many thousands of people, mainly women and children; c) the wholesale destruction of some 2,000 villages, which are described in government documents as having been "burned," "destroyed," "demolished" and "purified," as well as at least a dozen larger towns and administrative centers (nahyas and qadhas); Since 1975, some 4,000 Kurdish villages have been destroyed by the Former Iraqi Regime. d) By the most conservative estimates, 50,000 rural Kurds died during Anfal. Middle East Watch has documented three cases of mass executions in late 1988; in one of them, 180 people were put to death. e) Army engineers even destroyed the large Kurdish town of Qala Dizeh (population 70,000) and declared its environs a "prohibited area," removing the last significant population center close to the Iranian border. ( For more details see [http://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/iraqanfal/] by the Human Rights Watch. Also see [http://www.jafi.org.il/education/actual/iraq/4.html]) During the 1990's, Kurdish regions gained some measure of autonomy with fully-functioning civil administrations; they were protected by the US-enforced Iraqi no-fly zone, which prevented air attacks by Iraqi government forces. During this period, armed clashes developed between three main political/military groups in the area (including the Kurdistan Democratic Party) over political authority. In the aftermath of the US invasion which unseated the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 2003, the 'Kurdistan issue' became a major concern. Iraqi Kurds were unwilling to accept a strong central government and many of them called for outright independence. However, neighboring Turkey made it clear that an independent Kurdistan would be unacceptable. President Jalal Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, distanced himself from the movement for independence. The Kurdish delegation to the Constitutional Committee succeeded in achieving a highly federal structure in exchange for certain Islamist conditions demanded by Shia delegates. The Kurdish provinces (governorates) will be allowed to unite into a largely autonomous region that can maintain its own armed forces, levy taxes and overrule federal laws. Also, Kurdish was made a national language alongside Arabic.

Kurds in Turkey

About half of all Kurds live in Turkey, numbering some 14 million. They comprise 20% of the total population of Turkey and are predominantly distributed in the southeastern corner of the country. Modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal (better known as Atatürk in Turkish--"father of the Turks"), enacted a constitution 70 years ago which denied the existence of distinct cultural sub-groups in Turkey. As a result, any expression by the Kurds (as well as other minorities in Turkey) of unique ethnic identity has been harshly repressed. For example, until 1991, the use of the Kurdish language--although widespread--was illegal. To this day, music, radio and TV broadcasts, and education in Kurdish are not allowed except under extremely limited circumstances. Teaching Kurdish in public schools is still banned. The Turkish government has consistently thwarted attempts by the Kurds to organize politically. Kurdish political parties are shut down one after another, and party members are harassed and imprisoned for "crimes of opinion."

Kurdish IDP's in Turkey

Security forces in Turkey forcibly displaced Kurdish rural communities during the 1980s and 1990s in order to combat the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) insurgency, which drew its membership and logistical support from the local peasant population. Turkish security forces did not distinguish the armed militants they were pursuing from the civilian population they were supposed to be protecting. By the mid-1990s, more than 3,000 villages had been virtually wiped from the map, and, according to official figures, 378,335 Kurdish villagers had been displaced and left homeless.(see [http://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/turkey0305/3.htm#_Toc97005223],[http://hrw.org/reports/2002/turkey/] and [http://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/turkey0305/]. Also see Report D612, October, 1994, "Forced Displacement of Ethnic Kurds"(A Human Rights Watch Publication)[http://store.yahoo.com/hrwpubs/tur.html] )

Leyla Zana

Most famously, in 1994 Leyla Zana--who, three years prior, had been the first Kurdish woman elected to the Turkish parliament--was sentenced to 15 years for "separatist speech". At her inauguration as an MP, she reportedly identified herself as a Kurd. Amnesty International reported "She took the oath of loyalty in Turkish, as required by law, then added in Kurdish, 'I shall struggle so that the Kurdish and Turkish peoples may live together in a democratic framework.' Parliament erupted with shouts of 'Separatist', 'Terrorist', and 'Arrest her'".

PKK Insurgency

The PKK is a formerly Marxist separatist group that until recently sought to create an independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey and parts of neighboring countries inhabited by Kurds. (It’s known as the PKK after its Kurdish name, Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan.) During a rebellion that began in the mid-1980s and claimed some 35,000 lives, the group used guerrilla warfare and terrorism, including kidnappings of foreign tourists in Turkey, suicide bombings, and attacks on Turkish diplomatic offices in Europe. The PKK has also repeatedly attacked civilians who refuse to assist it. The organization was founded in 1973 by Abdullah Ocalan. He ruled the party until his capture in 1999 by Turkish special forces in Kenya, after taking refuge in the Greek embassy in Kenya. Ocalan remains imprisoned on an island (Imrali) near Istanbul.(see [http://cfrterrorism.org/groups/kurdistan_print.html] and [http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/pkk-pr.cfm])

Kurds in Iran

For a detailed account of history of the Kurds in the Persian Empire and Iran see History of the Kurds and Iranian Kurdistan. In recent years, intense fighting occurred between Kurds and the Iranian state between 1979 and 1982. Since 1983 the Iranian government has had control over the area which the Kurds inhabit. This area encompasses Kurdistan Province and greater parts of West Azarbaijan, Kermanshah, Ilam Province and smaller parts of Lorestan that totally is called Iranian Kurdistan. In Iran Kurds, like other minorities, express their cultural identity with difficulties and they are denied the right of self-government or administration. Membership of any Kurdish 'separatist' party could be punishable by death. The Kurdish language is also banned from being taught in schools; which is a breach of the current constitution, and there are restrictions today on publishing Kurdish literature. In 2005, the Islamic government banned the two Kurdish magazines "Aso" and "Ashti" (following many Persian-language ones in other areas of Iran in recent years), and t