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The Gulf nation of Qurac runs along the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula from Oman and the Rub' al Khali on the south, Saudi Arabia and the Summan on the west, and Iraq, the Karrocan Emirate, and the Wadi al Batin on the north. Also Qurac borders on Kyran, another persis

Qurac is a rogue nation in the Middle East. It was led by President Marlo for most of his life.

History

The Gulf nation of Qurac runs along the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula from Oman and the Rub' al Khali on the south, Saudi Arabia and the Summan on the west, and Iraq, the Karrocan Emirate,[1] and the Wadi al Batin on the north. Also Qurac borders on Kyran, another persistent source of conflict. Qurac is considered to be an outlaw nation by most nations due to its strong anti-U.S. policy, and for several decades it was a major sponsor of terrorism directed against the West.

Qurac was originally under the rule of the Ottoman Empire until World War I, when it was overthrown by Arab and English forces. After the war, the area was held as a British mandate until World War II. At that time, Premier Al-Gailiani of Iraq, an ardent Arab nationalist, replaced the moderate Iraqi government with a pro-Axis one, leading to the British invasion of Basra in May 1941. One of Al-Gailiani's chief supporters, Hassan al-Sadr, fled south and galvanized Arab tribesmen into an army. Taking the name of Sulieman and aided by German war materials and funds, he established the nation of Qurac. In return, he let the Germans build the fortress Jotunheim, from which their Arab ally could bedevil Allied shipping in the Persian and Oman Gulfs. Sulieman's regime was defeated with the end of the war and a republic was declared which lasted until the 1970's when a military coup, led by General Hurrambi Marlo, overthrew the civilian regime and declared a military dictatorship.[2]

Some time later, the majority of Qurac's oil reserves were contaminated with a nuclear device, which rendered the nation's foremost natural resource unavailable. Marlo blamed the disaster on western operatives trying to overthrow his regime, but most observers believe it was caused by the Quracis themselves, testing a nuclear device without proper care or shielding. Since then Marlo used the disaster as justification to embark on a course of international terrorism.[2]

Qurac soon attracted the wrath of Superman after a series of terrorist attacks were committed against Metropolis, and the Man of Steel destroyed much of Qurac's military capability.[3] However, this did not dissuade Marlo's regime from creating a meta-human terrorist-for-hire group called the Jihad, until their base and service was destroyed by the covert U.S. Suicide Squad. Marlo was eventually kidnapped by western special forces and brought to the U.S. to stand trial.

The small country suffered its greatest disaster when the terrorist Cheshire detonated a stolen Russian nuclear missile over Qurac. She wanted to show she was willing to use the weapons she had stolen, but chose a country she knew the world powers cared little for.[4] Because of the radiation, aid workers have had difficulty getting help to the survivors.

Alternate Realities

Earth-16

Qurac is a democratic nation ruled by President Rumaan Harjavti and a rival of its neighboring country, Bialya. Bialya's ruler, Queen Bee, plotted to conquer Qurac by using Psimon to mind-control Harjavti and making him sign over his country to Bialyan rule. This move infuriated Qurac's people and caused massive civil unrest. Harjavti "invited" Bialyan military forces to Qurac to restore order. Queen Bee's plot was foiled by The Team and Harjavti publicly denounced her attempt to subvert his nation.

Points of Interest

Residents

Notes

  • When it was introduced, it was obvious that Qurac was meant to stand in for the real-world country Iraq and the physical resemblance of Marlo to Iraq's leader Saddam Hussein was just as obvious. After Iraq was changed (and Hussein was removed from power) by the 2003-2011 Iraq war, Qurac became more of a generic middle-eastern rogue state. See also, for example, Kirai or Bialya.
  • Who's Who: Update '87 #4 describes the country as being on the eastern edge of the Sinai Peninsula, while the accompanying map shows it on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. The map shows the country overlapping with the territories of Kuwait, Qatar and (part of the) United Arab Emirates, including real cities like Kuwait City, Abu Dhabi and Doha. Several of these countries and cities were portrayed matching their real world borders both before and after the publication of that map, and apparently survived the nuclear explosion.

See Also

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