Iraq

Correctly:- al Iraq (pronounced al 'Iraaq' - not 'aye-rack'). Formerly a metropolitan jewel of the Middle East with vast natural resources and ancient heritage, Saddam Hussein's ambition, ethnic cleansing and megalomania collapsed the economy, largely due to wars with Iran, Kuwait, and subsequently most of the western world. Not the battleground for the free world, or the subject of a humanitarian regime change, more a former quasi-ally that grew to be a pain in the arse. Also proof that democracy doesn't work too well in a Middle-Eastern country with border drawn by westerners with a ruler and a sense of humour.