For almost 13 centuries, from the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 to the overthrow of the last Ottoman caliph in 1924, the Islamic world was ruled by a caliph.
Translated from the Arabic ‘Khalifa’, the word ‘caliph’ means successor or deputy.
The caliph was considered the successor to the Prophet Muhammad.
It is a term that has, at times, been abused.
In June 2014, a militant group calling itself the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (known as ISIL or ISIS) declared the establishment of a caliphate and proclaimed its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a caliph. This proclamation was rejected by the overwhelming majority of the world’s Muslims.
ISIL had attempted to appropriate a title imbued with religious and political significance – and in doing so had cast a dark shadow over a rich history.
This is the story of the caliph, a title that originated 1,400 years ago and that spanned one of the greatest empires the world has ever known.
A British inquiry concludes the 2003 invasion went "badly wrong", and Iraqis are still living with the consequences.
A coalition of U.S. and British troops invaded Iraq on the 20th of March 2003.
They fought to overthrow then President Saddam Hussein based largely on a claim he possessed weapons of mass destruction.
Those weapons were never found.
The war that followed is estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, unleashed 13 years of sectarian violence and destroyed Iraq's institutions and infrastructure.
For the past seven years, a British inquiry has investigated the events that led to the invasion, and what lessons should be learnt.
The chairman of the inquiry, Sir John Chilcot, has delivered a damning indictment of British policy.
He says claims made about the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction were not substantiated.
And they were presented with a certainty that was unjustified.
Despite explicit warnings, Chilcot says the consequences of the invasion were underestimated by the government.
And that planning and preparation for a post-invasion Iraq were, in his words, "wholly inadequate".
Chilcot also questioned the legal basis for going to war, saying it was "far from satisfactory".
Tony Blair's government wasn't the only bad actor in this fiasco.
Following the first Gulf War American Neo-Con's became convinced that removing Saddam Hussein from power would reshape the Middle East to their world view. Tuning the region into something it never was. A bastion for egalitarian democratic rule. Iran the only country to ever have a freely elected government saw that dream end in a CIA sponsored coup at the behest of British Petroleum after Iran's Prime Minister nationalized all foreign oil companies operating in the country believing that Iran's oil profits should be retained by Iran. Iraq is a manufactured nation, following the Sykes -Picot agreement dividing the Ottoman empire in spheres of influence for France and the UK of which Iraq is a consequence. Having been divided into several provinces by its former ruler.
As border deal turns 100, will the map of the Middle East be redrawn? The European powers that drew up the Middle East's borders after World War One ignored religion, language and ethnicity. The Sykes-Picot agreement and the decisions that followed ushered in a century of political and military resistance from the people of the region. Colonial powers suppressed aspirations of statehood, particularly for Palestinians and Kurds, which remain key grievances today. As Sykes-Picot marks its 100th anniversary, one thing the Middle East’s warring parties agree on is that it doesn't work. Will their conflicts redefine regional borders, and how will this change the dynamic of frequent foreign intervention?
In 1914 what became known as the Great War began following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo. All the Europeans believed they understood each other without bothering to ask to relevant question. What were the national interests of their allies and enemies. Thus, began a war over an Archduke disliked not only by his own subjects, but by his own family.
Germany had an allie, the Ottoman empire which saw an opportunity to expand to its political and military influence. As history shows the leaders of the Ottoman chose unwisely. As victors Great Britain and France seized the opportunity to increase their spheres of political control over the former regions of the Ottoman empire in the Middle East.
Two gentlemen Sykes and Picot working together created what we know as the modern Middle East.
Without any consideration for ethnic or religious rivalries they simply drew lines on a map. Creating modern day Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon all former provinces of the now broken up Ottoman empire.
David Gergen a former advisor to Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton published an opinion piece for CNN on the current crisis in Iraq. While Mr. Gergen blames George W. Bush for creating the situation with America's invasion of Iraq in March of 2003 he lays most of the blame at the feet of President Obama because he wouldn't force Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki to allow America to keep a ground force of 16,000 personnel in country.
He even manages to give credit to Nouri Al Maliki for being corrupt, dictatorial, sideling the Kurds and Sunnis and completely partisan but still believes that the fault lies with President Obama.
David Gergen conveniently leaves out the historical context for the current conflict or the fact that it isn't just a partisan war but a religious one with 1,400 years of history behind it.
