Water, the next war; the Tigris-Euphrates Basin is losing water faster than any other place in the world except for northern India. From 2003 through 2009 due to dwindling rainfall and poor water management policies an amount equal to the contents of the Dead Sea has disappeared.
As scientists watch dropping water levels political experts have observed rising tensions. In Iraq, the absence of a strong government, drought and shrinking aquifers have led to a number of assassinations of irrigation department officials and a re-emergence of clashes among clans which, are feared, could escalate into full scale armed conflicts.
In Syria, drought beginning in 2006 forced may farmers to leave their fields and migrate to urban centers. Some political experts believe the migration instigated the civil war. With the migration resulting in angry, unemployed men helping to trigger a revolution in which 80,000 people have died.
Since 1975, Turkey's dam and hydropower construction has reduced water flow to Iraq by 80 percent and to Syria by 50 percent.
Wars over water may replace wars over oil.
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