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US Central Command Area of Responsibility
• Area of Responsibility• Religion• Language• Political Systems• US Interests
Overview
• Hotbed of activity in recent history– Iran Hostage Crisis– Attacks on Marines in Beirut– Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait– OEF and OIF
Area of Responsibility
• USCENTCOM established 1 Jan 83• Focus on potential Soviet invasion of
Iran gave way to concern over Saddam Hussein– Desert Shield/Storm
• Humanitarian crisis in Somalia—Operation Provide Hope
• Khobar towers attack
Area of Responsibility
• Territory– Establishment of USAFRICOM on 1 Oct 2008
pulled six countries from USCENTCOM– USCENTCOM
currently responsible for twenty countries in Asia and Africa
Area of Responsibility
Area of Responsibility
• History of the Region– The Crusades– Rise and Fall of Soviet Union– Establishment of Israel– Fundamentalist Islam and Militant
Islamic Terrorism
• Home of three of world’s major religions– Judaism– Christianity– Islam
• Commonalities– Abraham– Sacred texts– Jerusalem
Religion
• Dominance of Islam–Majority of USCENTCOM nations are Muslim– Except for five countries, 90% of countries’
population is Muslim
• Five Pillars of Islam– Recitation of Creed– Daily Prayer– Almsgiving– Fasting– Pilgrimage to Mecca
Religion
• Sunni-Shi’a Split– Sunnis• 85-90% of Muslims• Abu Bakr succeeded Mohammed• Current imams not inspired
– Shi’as• 10-15% of Muslims• Ali ibn Abi Talib succeeded
Mohammed• Current imams are infallible
manifestations of God
Religion
• USCENTCOM AOR is linguistically diverse–Most common languages are Arabic and Persian• Great variety in regional and country dialects, e.g.,
Afghanistan has two official languages, Dari and Pashto
– Arabic language somewhat standardized in Middle Eastern countries
– Turkic languages—Kyrgyz and Kazak—are common in Central Asian nations
Language
• Majority of countries are republican or democratic; however, some are only nominal representatives of democracies
• Fallacy to assume all USCENTCOM nations are authoritarian or anti-Western
Political Systems
Political Systems
Afghanistan—Islamic Republic Oman—Monarchy
Bahrain—Constitutional Monarchy Pakistan—Federal Republic
Egypt—Islamic Republic Qatar—Emirate
Iran—Theocratic Republic Saudi Arabia—Monarchy
Iraq—Parliamentary Democracy Syria—Authoritarian Republic
Jordan—Constitutional Monarchy Tajikistan—Republic
Kazakhstan—Republic Turkmenistan—Presidential Republic
Kuwait—Constitutional Emirate United Arab Emirates—Federation
Kyrgyzstan—Republic Uzbekistan—Republic
Lebanon—Republic Yemen—Islamic Republic
• Continued focus of Global War on Terror– Afghanistan and Iraq– Usama bin Laden killed in Pakistan– 200,000+ US military members
serving in USCENTCOM AOR
• USCENTCOM Mission– Respond to crises– Promote cooperation among nations– Deter/defeat state and nonstate aggression– Support development/reconstruction to establish the
conditions for regional security, stability, & prosperity
US Interests
• Area of Responsibility• Religion• Language• Political Systems• US Interests
Summary