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This chapter examines the emergence of sectarianism in Iraq. Sectarian identities have long persisted in Iraq. And although they tend to cause violence, sectarian violence did not persist as a social constant; rather, outbreaks of sectarian violence only happened on specific occasions. For some observers, Iraq is divided into three distinct ethno-sectarian regions: the Shi’i Arab in southern Iraq, the Sunni Arab in central Iraq, and the Sunni Kurdish in northern Iraq. These geographic divisions are seen within the tripartite ‘no-fly zone’ borders of 1991 to 2003. While this portrayal does bear some resemblance to reality, it is insufficient in defining Iraqi society. However in the wake of the 2003 Anglo-American invasion, the occupation authorities formed policies which encouraged gradual, progressive and incessant increases in social chaos and a sectarianism that eventually led to the violent geographic consolidation of Iraq’s ethno-sectarianism mapping.

This chapter examines issues related to the Iran–Iraq War from 1980 to 1988. This conflict was led by Ayatullah Ruhullah Khumayni of Iran and Saddam Hussein al Tikriti of Iraq, which eventually led to a stalemate when both parties accepted a United Nations resolution to cease fighting. Saddam survived this war and two others, the American-led attack of 1991, and the American-led invasion of 2003, before being caught in December 2003.

This chapter studies the nature and degree of Japan's defense preparedness in Kyushu in the summer of 1945. Scholars claim that Japan dramatically expanded its defense forces on Kyushu to anticipate the American invasion. Others argue that the Japanese preparations were far from complete. An entry in the top secret journal of the Imperial General Headquarters Army War Operations Plans Division states, “Overall, there is no determination for the final battle against the United States or in the continent [against the Soviet Union].” The only focus is on protracted withdrawal (jikyu kotai). Far from being only determined to fight the final battle against the United States or the Soviet Union or both, the Imperial General Headquarters attempted “to look beyond” the collapse of Japan's colonial empire.

This chapter describes the U.S. assault on Guam and its eventual recapture of the Marianas from Japanese control. It goes into further detail regarding the military advances of the U.S. forces even as it describes the conditions for the Chamorros during this period, both for those supporting the U.S. military activities and for those simply caught in the crossfire between U.S. and Japanese forces. This chapter also emphasizes the military value of Guam. In the eyes of American military strategists, the atomic bombing of Japan confirmed the immense strategic value of the Mariana Islands to U.S. national security. From the military viewpoint, this strategic value not only justified all past sacrifices to seize the Marianas but also impelled the permanent retention of the islands and the occupation of huge tracts of Guam’s land by the United States to meet potential new threats.

This chapter discusses the aftermath of the Spanish–American War and its implications for Guam. The American clash with Spain grew largely out of the expansionist ambitions of highly aggressive and mostly Republican party leaders in the United States. Men such as Theodore Roosevelt, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, and the influential naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan wanted to make the United States a world naval power. Yet the war was an epochal turning point in the history of the Mariana Islands. Until World War II, the island would be administered as if it were a warship, the “USS Guam,” with the governor as captain, American military personnel as crew, and the Chamorros as mess attendants.

This chapter details the last century of Spanish rule in the Marianas. It highlights a succession of governors and international events which further weakened Spain’s grasp on Guam and its other colonies. At the same time the chapter also recounts a surge in Russian and French scientific expeditions into the Pacific, as well as various other foreign encounters within the Marianas and out—particularly its close ties with its sister colony in the Philippines. Other incidents further eroded Spanish control of the Marianas—such as the loss of its colonies in Latin America, natural disasters, and a smallpox epidemic, to name a few. These events, along with the impending tide of American imperialism, would herald the arrival of a second wave of invaders onto Guam’s shores.