Backgrounder: Iraq remains defiant

(CNN) -- Labeled a part of an "axis of evil" by President Bush in his State of the Union address, Iraq has long been considered a foe of the United States. Bush accuses Iraq, along with Iran and North Korea, of trying to develop weapons of mass destruction and harboring terrorists. His stark comments drew withering rebuttals from all three nations.

Iraq's Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan roundly denounced Bush's comments, saying the statement was "stupid" and "does not befit the leader of the biggest state in the world."

The reaction from Iraq, a nation squeezed between Iran and Kuwait, and with a small window on the Persian Gulf, is not unexpected given the antagonistic history between the two nations.

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Most recently, Iraq and the United States faced off in the Gulf War.

Gulf War

In August of 1990, Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, invaded neighboring nation Kuwait, massing troops along the border with Saudi Arabia. The United Nations Security Council convened an emergency session at the request of Kuwait and the United States and voted to condemn the invasion and demanded Iraq withdraw immediately.

Iraq's invasion is "naked aggression," said then U.S. President George Bush. On January 17, 1991, Bush launched, in cooperation with the United Nations, Operation Desert Storm. Airstrikes battered the Iraqi capital of Baghdad in the middle of the night.

After months of fighting, Iraq capitulated to the blunt force of Operation Desert Storm in April.

But even after the battles ceased, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein continued to oppress opposition groups in his own nation, notably the country's Kurd and Shiite Muslim populations. The United States and its allies imposed a "no-fly" zone banning all Iraqi civilian and military flights over southern Iraq, where the country's Shiite Muslims are concentrated.

In early 1992, it looked as if Hussein had been buried politically, His nation had been devastated by the six-week-long Gulf War; roads were impassable, sewage systems were in ruins and electrical grids were hobbled.

Perhaps most damaging to Iraq were the intense international sanctions levied against the bruised nation. Iraq was on the brink of atrophy as few nations would trade goods, and Hussein's military forces were reduced to skeleton ranks.

But Hussein had survived worse in his rise to power. The ruthless leader, who used chemical weapons to crush a Kurdish rebellion in the early 1980s, would not be defeated in this conflict.

The sanctions, meant to punish Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, really targeted the nation's citizens, critics say. The lack of imported food and medicine set in motion a humanitarian crisis inside Iraq.

Despite all efforts to stifle his leadership, Hussein remains in power 10 years after economic sanctions were first levied.

History of Hussein

Saddam Hussein

He fled the country, hiding in Syria and Egypt, before returning to Iraq in 1968 to help lead a revolt against the government. This second effort was successful, and Hussein was made a vice president under General Ahmed Hassan Bakr. During his tenure, Hussein built a carefully planned secret police unit created to root out and punish dissidents.

In 1979, Hussein overthrew Bakr, and set about purging the existing government of anyone he suspected of disloyalty. Dozens of government officials lost their lives.

In 1980, Hussein invaded neighboring Iran, instigating an eight-year war that depleted both nations and ended in a draw.