A Political Biography Chapter 1 SADDAM HUSSEIN

HISTORY POST WWI After WWI Iraq was established as a new country out of the defunct Ottoman Empire Ruled by non-Iraqi dynasty under a British Mandate Iraq gained independence in 1932, but had 12 different cabinets (Executive Officials) b/w 193239 And 7 coups b/w 1936 -41 Major Political Weaknesses as a new state, also impact of war

DURING WWII Iraq bound by bi-lateral treaty with G. Britain 1930 (preferential political status & Military bases) Nationalists in Iraq during WWII resented British influence, so were pro-Nazi G. B. requested landing and transfer of British troops on Iraqi land during WWII (1941) Pro-Nazi P. M. of Iraq granted the request

WWII CONTINUED… PM took the opportunity to attack the British forces landing in Iraq, but Iraqis were beaten back, and the British restored the power to a pro-British leader The PM forced to flee More weakness of political system b/c of British influence but also impact of war

BAGHDAD PACT 1955 Iraq signed a pact with G. B. , Trukey, Iran, and Pakistan It formed a regional defense system similar to NATO The idea was the containment of the Soviet Union The reason for this was to show the population that they are working to reject imperialist ambitions of the Soviet Union by allying with regional countries and maintaining British support

BAGHDAD PACT CONT… But at this time Egypt was able to show that they could resist British influence (Suez Crisis) Iraqis saw that Egypt could remove western imperialists while Iraq was seen as a servile follower of the British Led to social division: Left didn’t like aggression towards USSR, Nationalists didn’t like looking submissive and weak and also saw it as a betrayal of Pan-Arabism

RISE OF THE BA’TH Ba’thi Doctrine: Mixture of Pan-Arabism and Socialism Eliminate forces of colonialism Creation of Arab nation Elimination of Israel Saddam joins in 1957 Difficult for Ba’th to gain traction because of existing deep social division in religion, ethnicity, and politics

RISE OF BA’TH CONT… Social Divisons Kurds in the north were not Arab, and did not consider themselves Iraqi Shiites(majority in Iraq)were majority and had long standing disagreement with Sunni (minority) ideology Most Ba’thists were Sunni Leftists consisted of a Socialist message that was in direct competition with the Communist vision There were also right wing militants and centrists

MILITARY LEADERS General Abd al-Karim Qassem led a group of free officers (Military) to overthrow the Hashemite monarchy in 1958; was a bloody coup The Ba’th supported Qassem in the takeover, and they began participating in the new gov’t But a divide would happen between the military leaders and the Ba’th over the issue of joining the newly formed United Arab Republic (UAR)

UAR Began as a union b/w Syria and Egypt, and then included Yemen and was renamed United Arab States (UAS) Qassem wanted nothing to do with an Egyptiandominated union, but the Ba’thists supported the union The Ba’th subsequently lost support of military and political institutions Qassem chose to rely on Communist support b/c of their growing popularity

BA’THISTS RISE UP Ba’thists first start an uprising in Mosul He gave communist militias the go ahead to attack the Ba’thists in rebellion The result was a lot of rape, murders, looting, and summary trials and executions in the streets in front of cheering mobs Most of those killed were Arab Nationalists and Ba’thists

BA’THISTS STAGE A COUP 1959 Ba’thists ambush Qassem’s car and shot him at close range; was only wounded From his hospital bed he ordered that those responsible be rounded up and face public trial The public trials put the spotlight on the Ba’th party which actually garnered them a lot of respect from the Iraqi public Saddam was able to flee to Syria and then Egypt

BA’THISTS RETURN FOR QASSEM Ba’th party along with sympathetic military officers take out Qassem in 1963 The takeover was bloody Qassem and close associates were immediately assassinated Communists for Qassem battled the Ba’thi National Guard on the streets for several days Between 1, 500 and 5, 000 die The Ba’thists then arrested and tortured leftists and executed hundreds All of this happened b/c of a social divide over whether or not to join the UAR/UAS

BITTER DIVIDE ENSUES Ba’thists show weakness b/c they cannot agree on ideology The left led by then Sec. Gen. Ali Salih al Sa’di preached rapid transformation to socialism Right wing believed in a gradual evolution to socialism and proposed collaboration with non. Ba’thist military officers Bakr and Saddam struck a middle course b/w the two extremes

DIVISION LEADS TO CHAOS The Regional command of the party later in 1963 forces the left out of the party and its leaders were exiled This leads Baghdad to the verge of civil war; the National Guard who backed the exiled leaders raged in the streets killing and looting Michael Aflaq from the National Command of the party comes into Iraq and purges both extreme factions out of the party This allows Aref to take over b/c Iraqi’s lose faith in the party because of the foreign intervention by the National Command from Syria

BA’THISTS FALL AND RISE AGAIN Pres. Abd al-Salam Aref starts removes Ba’thists from the party over the first 9 months Bakr and Saddam overtime work there way to lead the Ba’th party and plot a coup in 1964 The plot was uncovered and Saddam was eventually captured and put in jail Saddam escapes jail in 1966 A few moths later Aref dies in a helicopter crash and his brother replaces him

SIX DAY WAR (1967) Israel managed to defeat Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq in six days; this was a humiliation for these Arab countries Strikes and demonstrations ensued that called for the regimes replacement Group of leading military officers wrote a letter demanding a new government be formed This allowed for the Ba’th to seize the opportunity to create the new government w/military help What we get is the Ba’th takeover in 1968 (Beginning of Ch. 2) Impact of War