Iraq: A Geography

Accused of harboring and supporting terrorists, Saddam Hussein's country of Iraq sits at the top of a short list of targets in United States war on terrorism. Iraq is a country about twice the size of the state of Idaho with a population of over 22 million. The country relies on oil for its economic well-being and controls what some estimate to be the second largest reserve in the world. The 5000-year history of the land between the rivers (Mesopotamia), has shown that armies conquer, are conquered, governments rise and fall, and there is no reason to predict that the future will not follow the same script. This collection of articles, written by the geography faculty of the U.S. Military Academy (West Point, New York), is meant to educate military and governmental leaders as they consider diplomatic and military solutions to deal with Iraq's threat to the region and to the world. Chapters in the collection are: (1) "Introduction" (Wendell C. King; Eugene J. Palka); (2) "Location" (Wiley C. Thompson); (3) "Geomorpholgy" (Matthew R. Sampson); (4) "Climate" (Richard P. Pannell); (5) "Vegetation and Soils" (Peter G. Anderson); (6) "Historical Geography" (James B. Dalton); (7) "Cultural Geography" (Jon C. Malinowski); (8) "Political Geography" (Andrew D. Lohman); (9) "Economic Geography" (Albert A. Lahood); (10) "Population and Urban Geography" (Dennis D. Cowher and Brandon K. Herl); (11) "Medical Geography" (Patrick E. Mangin); (12) "Conclusion" (Jon C. Malinowski); and "Bibliography" (Jeffery S. W. Gloede). (BT)