Iraq

Iraq's only outlet to the sea is a short stretch of coast on the northwestern end of the Persian Gulf, including the Shatt al Arab waterway.
Iraq is a veritable treasure house of antiquities, and recent archaeological excavations have greatly expanded the knowledge of ancient history.
Iraq continued to insist on an end to all sanctions, but in May, 2002, the UN Security Council agreed on revised sanctions that focused on military goods and goods with potential military applications, greatly expanding the range of consumer goods that could be readily imported into Iraq.
Iraq was invaded by the United Kingdom in 1941, for fears that the government of Rashid Ali might cut oil supplies to Western nations and because of his strong leanings to Nazi Germany.
Iraq was invaded in March 2003 by the United States and allies with the stated reasons that Iraq had not abandoned its nuclear and chemical weapons development program according to United Nations resolutions, that it had links to Al Qaeda, and that it had known, effective Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Iraq is known primarily for an instrument called the oud (similar to a lute) and a rebab (similar to a fiddle); its stars include Ahmed Mukhtar and the Assyrian Munir Bashir.
Trade with Iraq was forbidden until the country was certified as being free of ABC weapons.
Late in 2002, Iraq submitted a 12,000-page declaration claiming it had no banned weapons and agreed to open the country to another round of weapons inspections under the direction of chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix.
Iraq's interim government council agreed on a temporary constitution that limited the role of Islamic law in the country, allowed some autonomy for Kurds and set aside 25 per cent of the seats in the legislature for women.
Iraq’s exchange rate peg to the dollar has to date been kept relatively stable, but the authorities need to adjust monetary policy to maintain the monetary framework that the peg provides.