Editing Gulf War (section)

===Draining of the Qurna Marshes===
{{Main|Draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes}}
The draining of the [[Qurna Marshes]] was an irrigation project in Iraq during and immediately after the war, to drain a large area of [[marshes]] in the [[Tigris–Euphrates river system]]. Formerly covering an area of around {{Convert|3000|km2|abbr=on}}, the large complex of [[wetlands]] were nearly emptied of water, and the local Shi'ite population relocated, following the war and 1991 uprisings. By 2000, the [[United Nations Environment Programme]] estimated that 90% of the marshlands had disappeared, causing [[desertification]] of over {{convert|7500|sqmi|km2}}.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}}

The draining occurred in Iraq and to a smaller degree in Iran between the 1950s and 1990s to clear large areas of the marshes. Formerly covering an area of around {{Convert|20000|km2|abbr=on}}, the large complex of wetlands was 90% drained before the [[2003 Invasion of Iraq]]. The marshes are typically divided into three main sub-marshes, the [[Hawizeh Marshes|Hawizeh]], Central, and [[Hammar Marshes]] and all three were drained at different times for different reasons. Initial draining of the Central Marshes was intended to reclaim land for agriculture but later all three marshes would become a tool of war and revenge.<ref name="American University School of International Service" />

Many international organizations such as the [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights|UN Human Rights Commission]], the [[Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq]], the [[Wetlands International]], and Middle East Watch have described the project as a political attempt to force the [[Marsh Arabs]] out of the area through water diversion tactics.<ref name="American University School of International Service">{{cite web |url=http://www1.american.edu/ted/marsh.htm |title=Marsh Arabs |access-date=1 August 2010 |publisher=[[American University School of International Service]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627142037/http://www1.american.edu/ted/marsh.htm |archive-date=27 June 2010}}</ref>