Question 1

Which of the following is NOT true about the 1987 Intifada?

Accepted Answer

The PLO was not in charge from the beginning of the 1987 Intifada. The uprising was largely grassroots-led by Palestinian civilians, although the PLO did eventually become involved in supporting and organizing some of the protests and resistance efforts.

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT true of Hamas?

Accepted Answer

Hamas actually does not favor the two-state solution, but rather seeks to establish a Palestinian state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, thus replacing Israel.

Question 3

Why did the British, when defining the Iraq-Kuwait border in 1923, give Kuwait more territory in the north than it traditionally controlled?

Accepted Answer

The British gave Kuwait more territory in the north to restrict Iraq's access to the Persian Gulf. By doing this, they were able to control the only outlet to the sea for Iraq, which made them more dependent on the British and more likely to follow British policies.

Question 4

The August 1990 invasion of Kuwait, according to Saddam Husayn, was justifiable because

Accepted Answer

All three reasons listed were cited by Saddam Husayn to justify the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

Question 5

How did President George H.W. Bush justify its change of policy from "Desert Shield" to "Desert Storm"?

Accepted Answer

The Bush administration justification for changing the policy from "Desert Shield" to "Desert Storm" included all three of these reasons - a desire to maintain the economic and political order in the Gulf for oil supply, a desire to deny Iraq the benefits of its aggression, and a moral responsibility to liberate Kuwait.

Question 6

Which of the following was NOT true of the Gulf War of 1991?

Accepted Answer

There is no evidence to suggest that the United States secretly encouraged Iraq to invade Kuwait in order to have a pretext to destroy Saddam Husayn and his weapons of mass destruction. This is a conspiracy theory that has been debunked.

Question 7

What incident occurred in November 1990 in Saudi Arabia concerning forty Saudi women, most of them teachers in women's schools?

Accepted Answer

The incident that occurred in November 1990 in Saudi Arabia involved forty Saudi women, most of them teachers in women's schools, protesting an existing convention that prohibited women from driving by forming a convoy of cars and driving them through Riyadh. This was a significant act of civil disobedience and sparked a national debate about women's rights in Saudi Arabia.

Question 8

The 1990 Gulf War was begun by

Accepted Answer

The 1990 Gulf War was begun by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and its annexation. On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded its oil-rich neighbor Kuwait, leading to an international coalition force that fought Iraq in both air and ground battles, leading to Iraq's defeat in February 1991.

Question 9

To which country did the United States send over 200,000 troops in 1990, upon receiving a formal invitation to station troops there?

Accepted Answer

The United States sent over 200,000 troops to Saudi Arabia in 1990 upon receiving a formal invitation in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

Question 10

Although Iraq's occupation of Kuwait was generally condemned throughout the Arab world, the US intervention was extremely unpopular. Why?

Accepted Answer

The Arab world saw the US intervention as revealing a double standard in the Middle East, where the US enforced UN resolutions against Iraq but did not compel Israel to obey UN resolutions pertaining to the occupied territories. This perceived hypocrisy eroded support for the US intervention, making it extremely unpopular in the region.

Question 11

Which of the following is true of the intifada?

Accepted Answer

The intifada began in Gaza with youths protesting the deaths of fellow Palestinians in a road accident with the Israeli military, and later broadened to the rest of Palestine.

Question 12

Who was the prime minister of Israel during the 1980s, who intensified the construction of settlements and adopted new measures designed to isolate and subjugate the Palestinian inhabitants?

Accepted Answer

Yitzhak Shamir was the prime minister of Israel during the 1980s who intensified the construction of settlements and adopted new measures designed to isolate and subjugate the Palestinian inhabitants.

Question 13

Which of the following most accurately characterizes the tactics supported by the intifada leaders of the UNL to achieve their goals at the outset of the intifada?

Accepted Answer

The intifada leaders of the UNL at the outset of the intifada employed tactics of boycotts and civil disobedience designed to make the continued occupation a financial burden for Israel. They did not support terrorist tactics or solely rely on negotiations by PLO leaders. While they were willing to use various tactics, they focused on making the Israeli occupation economically unsustainable through nonviolent means.

Question 14

Which of the following most significantly factored into US President George H.W. Bush's decision to cut off negotiations with Arafat and the PLO?

Accepted Answer

All three options played a role in the decision to cut off negotiations with Arafat and the PLO. Israel's supporters within the US put pressure on President Bush to take a hardline stance on negotiations, while the splinter group's raid cast doubt on the PLO's commitment to renouncing terrorism. Additionally, the failure to make progress on territorial concessions by Israel made negotiations unproductive. Therefore, all of these factors were significant in the decision to end negotiations with the PLO under George H.W. Bush's administration.

Question 15

How did the 1990-1991 Gulf War become linked with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Accepted Answer

During the Gulf War, many Arabs noted the double standard of the United States, as it pushed to enforce UN resolutions against Iraq but not against Israel, which had also violated UN resolutions. This heightened tensions and led to the link between the Gulf War and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Question 16

President George H.W. Bush's personalization of his dislike of Saddam Husayn during the 1990-91 Gulf War was most reminiscent of ___________________.

Accepted Answer

President George H.W. Bush's personalization of his dislike of Saddam Husayn during the Gulf War was most reminiscent of British Prime Minister Eden's fixation on Nasser during the Suez crisis. Both leaders had an intense personal dislike for the leaders they were confronting, and their foreign policies were heavily influenced by this personal animosity.

Question 17

Which of the following most accurately describes the rebellions within Iraq in 1991?

Accepted Answer

Shi‛a soldiers in the south who felt they had been abandoned by the regime during Operation Desert Storm rebelled against Saddam Husayn and the Ba‛th party. The other choices do not accurately describe the 1991 rebellions in Iraq. The Kurds did rebel against Saddam Husayn, but it was in 1975, not in 1991. The Iraqis did not rebel against high military spending, and the Shi‛a rebellion was not supported by the United States at the time.

Question 18

All of the following are true of the oil for food program in post-Gulf War Iraq EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

The Oil-for-Food Program, while criticized for mismanagement and corruption, did have international monitoring through the United Nations, though it was not entirely effective in preventing abuses.

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT an accurate description of the 1992 Saudi Basic Law of Government?

Accepted Answer

The 1992 Saudi Basic Law of Government did not specifically respond to the women's driving protest by expanding job opportunities for women in government. This law primarily focused on the structure and principles of governance, including succession rules and the role of Islam in the state, rather than directly addressing women's rights or employment opportunities.

Question 20

Which of the following accurately characterizes the challenges to Saudi rulers in the 1990s?

Accepted Answer

All three statements accurately describe challenges faced by Saudi rulers in the 1990s. Islamists outside of official ulama circles emphasized ties to the West and demanded greater adherence to shari'ah, while a liberal reformist group requested the establishment of a consultative council. These various groups with different demands presented challenges to the Saudi rulers during this time period.

Quiz 22: The Palestinian Intifada and the 1991 Gulf War