Ba'athist Iraq, officially the Iraqi Republic (1968–1992) and later the Republic of Iraq (1992–2003), was the
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
i state between 1968 and 2003 under the
one-party rule of the
Iraqi regional branch of the
Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. The regime emerged as a result of the
17 July Revolution which brought the Ba'athists to power, and lasted until the
U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. This period has been described as Iraq's longest period of internal stability since independence in 1932.
The Ba'ath Party, led by
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, came to power in Iraq through the bloodless
17 July 1968 Revolution, which overthrew president
Abdul Rahman Arif and prime minister
Tahir Yahya.
['' Saddam'', pronounced , is his personal name, and means ''the stubborn one'' or ''he who confronts'' in Arabic. ''Hussein'' (Sometimes also transliterated as ''Hussayn'' or ''Hussain'') is not a surname in the Western sense, but a ]patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, b ...
, his father's given personal name; ''Abid al-Majid'' his grandfather's; ''al-Tikriti'' means he was born and raised in (or near) Tikrit. He was commonly referred to as ''Saddam Hussein'', or ''Saddam'' for short. The observation that referring to the deposed Iraqi president as only ''Saddam'' is derogatory or inappropriate may be based on the assumption that Hussein is a family name: thus, ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' refers to him as "Mr. Hussein
, while Encyclopædia Britannica
The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...
uses just ''Saddam'
. A full discussion can be foun
(Blair Shewchuk, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC News Online). – Content originally at Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
By the mid-1970s, Saddam Hussein became the country's ''
de facto'' leader, despite al-Bakr's ''
de jure
In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...
'' presidency. Saddam's new policies boosted the Iraqi economy, improved living standards, and elevated Iraq's standing within the
Arab world
The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
. Land reforms aimed at wealth redistribution were introduced. However, several internal factors were imminently threatening Iraq's stability; the
Sunni
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
-dominated Ba'athist government faced
Shia religious separatism and
Kurdish ethnic separatism. The
Second Iraqi–Kurdish War was of great concern to the government as Kurdish rebels received extensive support from
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, and the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Following the
1974–1975 Shatt al-Arab clashes, Saddam met with Iranian monarch
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...
and signed the
1975 Algiers Agreement, ceding territory to Iran in exchange for an end to Kurdish support. With the Kurdish rebellion subsequently disadvantaged, the Iraqi military reasserted the federal government's control over
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...
.
In 1979, Saddam succeeded the ailing al-Bakr as president and
publicly purged the Ba'ath Party of his opponents. Alarmed by
Iranian attempts to export the revolution in Iraq, Saddam adopted an aggressive stance against
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
and its new theocratic leader,
Ruhollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...
, after his rejections of Iraqi goodwill offers. In September 1980,
Iraq invaded Iran, triggering the eight-year-long
Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
that ended in a stalemate in 1988. The conflict left Iraq economically devastated and dependent on foreign loans.
Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
, which had loaned money to Iraq, demanded repayment and increased oil production, lowering international oil prices and worsening the Iraqi economy, while pressuring the Iraqi leadership to repay the loans. Iraq demanded that the Kuwaitis reduce their oil output, as did
OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) is an organization enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing and oil-dependent countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximize Profit (eco ...
. In 1989, Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing Iraqi petroleum, and failed negotiations resulted in the
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, triggering the
Gulf War
, combatant2 =
, commander1 =
, commander2 =
, strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems
, page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
. Iraq occupied Kuwait until February 1991, when a
42-country UNSC military coalition expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Subsequent
international sanctions
International sanctions are political and economic decisions that are part of diplomatic efforts by countries, multilateral or regional organizations against states or organizations either to protect national security interests, or to protect i ...
cut Iraq off from all global markets and crippled the Iraqi economy throughout the 1990s, though it began recovering by the early 2000s as sanctions enforcement waned. The sanctions were widely criticized for its negative impact on quality of life in Iraq, prompting the establishment of the
Oil-for-Food Programme.
Following the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, the United States'
Bush administration began building a case for invading Iraq and overthrowing Saddam's regime, falsely claiming that
Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and
had links with al-Qaeda. On 20 March 2003, Iraq was invaded by a
U.S.-led coalition, which overthrew Saddam and captured much of Iraq by May. In December 2003,
American troops captured Saddam and turned him over to Iraq's new
Shia-led government. From 2005 to 2006, Saddam was
put on trial for
crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
concerning the
1982 Dujail massacre, in which the Iraqi government killed Shi'ite rebels. After sentencing Saddam to death, the
Iraqi Special Tribunal executed him for crimes against humanity on 30 December 2006.
History
1968 coup
In contrast to previous coups d'état in Iraq's history, the 1968 coup, referred to as the
17 July Revolution, was, according to
Con Coughlin, "a relatively civil affair". The coup started in the early hours of 17 July, when a number of military units and civilian Ba'athists seized several key government and military buildings; these included the
Ministry of Defence, the electricity station, radio stations, all the city's bridges and "a number of military bases". All telephone lines were cut at 03:00, by which time several tanks had been commanded to halt in front of the Presidential Palace.
Abdul Rahman Arif, the then-
President of Iraq
The President of the Republic of Iraq is the head of state of Iraq. Since the mid-2000s, the presidency is primarily a symbolic office, as the position does not possess significant power within the country according to the Constitution of Iraq, ...
, first knew of the coup when jubilant members of the
Republican Guard started shooting into the air in "a premature triumph".
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, the leader of the operation, told Arif about his situation through military communication hardware at the base of operations. Arif asked for more time, during which he contacted other military units to seek support. As he soon found out, the odds were against him, and he surrendered. Arif telephoned al-Bakr and told him that he was willing to resign; to show his gratitude, al-Bakr guaranteed his safety. al-Bakr's deputies,
Hardan al-Tikriti and
Salah Omar al-Ali, were ordered to give Arif this message in person. Arif and his wife and son were quickly sent on the first available flight to London. Later that morning, a Ba'athist broadcast announced that a new government had been established. The coup was carried out with such ease that there were no deaths.
The coup succeeded because of contributions made by the military; the
Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was not strong enough to take power by itself. The Ba'ath Party managed to make a deal with
Abd ar-Razzaq an-Naif, the deputy head of military intelligence, and Ibrahim Daud, the head of the Republican Guard. Both Naif and Daud knew that the long-term survival of Arif's and
Tahir Yahya's government looked bleak, but also knew that the Ba'athists needed them if the coup was to be successful. For his participation in the coup, Naif demanded to be given the post of Prime Minister after the coup as a reward, and a symbol for his strength. Daud was also "rewarded" with a post; he became Minister of Defence. However, not everything was going according to Naif's and Daud's plan; al-Bakr had told the Ba'ath leadership in a secret meeting that the two would be liquidated either "during, or after, the revolution".
al-Bakr, as the leader of the coup's military operation, retained his position as Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party, and was elected to the posts of Chairman of the
Revolutionary Command Council, President and Prime Minister. In the immediate aftermath of the coup, a power struggle developed between al-Bakr and Naif. In all practicality, Naif should have had the upper hand; he was a respected officer and was supported by the common soldiers. al-Bakr, however, proved to be more cunning, persuasive and organised than Naif, Daud and their supporters. One of al-Bakr's first decisions in office was to appoint over 100 new officers to the Republican Guard.
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
worked, in the meantime, to establish the party's security and intelligence organisation to combat its enemies. On 29 July, Daud left for a tour to Jordan to inspect the Iraqi troops located there following the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...
with Israel. The following day, Naif was invited to eat lunch at the Presidential Palace with al-Bakr, during which Saddam burst into the room with three accomplices and threatened Naif with death. Naif responded by crying out; "I have four children". Saddam ordered Naif to leave Iraq immediately if he wanted to live. Naif complied, was exiled to
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
. An assassination attempt in 1973 was unsuccessful, but he was assassinated in London on the orders of Saddam in 1978. Daud shared a similar fate, and was exiled to
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
. The Ba'athists were by no means ensured of victory; if any of Naif's supporters had known of the operation against him, Baghdad could have become the centre, in the words of journalist Con Coughlin, "of an ugly bloodbath".
Al-Bakr's rule and Saddam's rise to power (1968–1979)

al-Bakr strengthened his position in the party with the help of Saddam's newly established party security apparatus and the intelligence services. Most of 1968 was used to repress non-Ba'athist thought and groups; for instance, a campaign against
Nasserists and
communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
s was initiated under Saddam's command. Several spy plots were created by the government; spies who were "caught" were accused of being a part of a
Zionist
Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
plot against the state. The
Iraqi Communist Party (ICP) was skeptical of the new Ba'athist government, as many of its members remembered the anti-communist campaign launched against them by the Ba'athist government of 1963. After taking power, al-Bakr offered the ICP cabinet positions in the new government; the ICP rejected this offer. al-Bakr responded by initiating a systematic campaign against the ICP and communist sympathisers. However, as historian
Charles Tripp notes in ''A History of Iraq'', the campaign started "a curious game" whereby the government alternately persecuted and courted the party until 1972–1973, when the ICP was offered, and accepted, membership in the
National Progressive Front (NPF). The reason for this "curious game" was the Ba'ath Party's belief that the ICP was more dangerous than it really was. When Aziz al-Haji broke away from the ICP, established the Iraqi Communist Party (Central Command) and initiated a "popular revolutionary war" against the government, it was duly crushed. By April 1969 the "popular revolutionary" uprising had been crushed, and al-Haji recanted his beliefs publicly. Another reason for this anti-communist policy was that many Ba'ath Party members openly sympathised with communists or other socialist forces. However, at this stage, neither al-Bakr nor Saddam had enough support within the party to initiate a policy unpopular within it; at the Seventh Regional Congress of the Ba'ath Party, both al-Bakr and other leading Ba'athists expressed their support for "radical socialism".
During the 1970s, military officers unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow the Baathist regime on at least two occasions. In January 1970, an attempted coup led by two retired officers, Major General
Abd al Ghani ar Rawi and Colonel
Salih Mahdi as Samarrai, was thwarted as the conspirators entered the
Republican Palace. In June 1973, a plot by
Nazim Kazzar, a
Shia and the director of internal security, to assassinate al Bakr and Saddam Husayn was also thwarted. Both coup attempts were followed by summary trials, executions, and purges of the military.
By the mid-to-late 1970s, Saddam's power within the Ba'ath Party and the government grew; he became ''de facto'' leader of the country, although al-Bakr remained as president, Ba'ath Party leader and Revolutionary Command Council chairman. In 1977, following a wave of protests by
Shias against the government, al-Bakr relinquished his control over the Ministry of Defence;
Adnan Khairallah Tulfah, Saddam's brother-in-law, was appointed defence minister. This appointment underscored the clannish character of the Ba'ath Party and the government. In contrast to Saddam's fortunes, those of al-Bakr's were on the wane. Rumours of al-Bakr's bad health began to circulate in the country. By the end of 1977, al-Bakr had little control over the country through his office as president. The reason Saddam did not become president until 1979 may be explained by Saddam's own insecurity. Before making himself ''de jure'' head of state, Saddam initiated an anti-communist campaign; the ICP had no real power, and most of its leading officials had left the country or been imprisoned or executed by the Ba'ath government. The campaign was not centered on the ICP, but also Ba'athists who did not support Saddam. Saddam had initiated a similar campaign in 1978, that time to check where the loyalties of certain left-wingers were: Ba'athism or socialism. Following the campaign, Saddam entered the Arab-world stage for the first time under the banner of
Nasserism
Nasserism ( ) is an Arab nationalism, Arab nationalist and Arab socialism, Arab socialist List of political ideologies, political ideology based on the thinking of Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the two principal leaders of the Egyptian Revolution ...
and
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...
by criticising the
Camp David Accords between
Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until Assassination of Anwar Sadat, his assassination by fundame ...
of Egypt and the state of
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.
It was in this situation that Saddam took over the offices of president, Ba'ath Party leader and Revolutionary Command Council chairman.
Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri was promoted to the office of vice-chairman (equivalent to the post of vice-president in the West). There were also rumours within the top echelons of power that al-Bakr (with the assistance of Iraqi Ba'athists who opposed Saddam) was planning to designate
Hafez al-Assad
Hafez al-Assad (6 October 193010 June 2000) was a Syrian politician and military officer who was the president of Syria from 1971 until Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad, his death in 2000. He was previously the Prime Minister of Syria ...
as his successor. Immediately after Saddam seized power, over 60 members of the Ba'ath Party and the government leadership were charged with fomenting an anti-Iraqi Ba'athist plot in collaboration with al-Assad and the
Damascus-based Ba'ath Party.
Early years, Iran–Iraq War and aftermath (1979–1990)

Once he assumed the presidency, a
cult of personality
A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Cas Mudde, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create ...
was created around Saddam. He was represented as the
father of the nation and, by extension, of the Iraqi people. National institutions (such as the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
) were established to strengthen the image of him fostered by the Iraqi propaganda machine. The Ba'ath Party also contributed to the cult of personality; by 1979 it was a nationwide organisation, and became a propaganda center for pro-Saddam literature. The propaganda campaign (at least in the beginning) created a common sense of nationhood for many Iraqis. The Shia protests were not quelled by these propaganda campaigns, and the establishment of an
Islamic Republic
The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been used for a s ...
in Iran influenced many
Shia Islamists to stand up against the Sunni-dominated government. At first relations between Iran and Iraq were fairly good, but ideological differences could not remain concealed forever. The new Iranian leadership was composed of Shia
Khomeinists, while the Iraqi Ba'athists were
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...
. Iran had become concerned about the Iraqi government's continued repression against the Iraqi
Islamist Shias. At the beginning of 1980, several border clashes took place between the two countries. Iraq considered the newly established Iran to be "weak"; the country was in a state of continued
civil unrest
Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, civil strife, or turmoil, are situations when law enforcement and security forces struggle to maintain public order or tranquility.
Causes
Any number of things may cause civil di ...
, and the Iranian leaders had purged thousands of officers and soldiers because of their political views.
It was presumed that the
Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
would result in a quick Iraqi victory. Saddam's plan was to strengthen Iraq's position in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
and on the Arab-world stage. A quick victory would restore Iraq's control over all of
Shatt al-Arab, an area which Iraq had lost to Iran in 1975.
Saddam abrogated the treaty of 1975 in a meeting of the National Assembly on 17 September 1980. This abrogation was followed shortly afterwards by several preemptive strikes on Iran and by the invasion of Iran. Saddam believed that the Iranian government would have "to disengage in order to survive". Not only was this view faulty, but it overestimated the strength of the
Iraqi military; the Iranian government saw the invasion as a test of the revolution itself and all its achievements.
The military plan proved to be elusive; Iraq believed that the Iranian government would quickly disintegrate during the Iraqi invasion, this did not happen. Saddam, "in a rare moment of frankness,
..admitted as much". While the war was not going as planned, Iraq reasserted its view of the situation, and claimed that winning the war was a matter of "national honour". The majority of the Ba'athist leadership (and Saddam himself) still believed that Iran would collapse under the weight of Iraqi force.
On 17 July 1981, on the 13th anniversary of the bloodless 1968 coup, ''
Ardulfurataini'' was adopted as the official national anthem of Iraq, with its lyrics mentioned of prominent figures in Iraqi history, including
Saladin
Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...
,
Harun al-Rashid and
al-Muthanna ibn Haritha, along with the last verse extolled by Ba'athism.
In 1982, Iran counter-attacked and was successful in driving the Iraqis back into Iraq. That year alone, an estimated 40,000 Iraqis were taken prisoner. The defeats of 1982 were a blow to Iraq. With the economic situation worsening because of falling oil prices (and the rising military budget), the Iraqi standard of living worsened. The
Revolutionary Command Council and the Ba'ath Military Command, Regional Command and National Command met in an extraordinary session in 1982 (with Saddam absent), to discuss the possibility of a
ceasefire proposal to the Iranian government. The ceasefire proposal made at the meeting was rejected by the Iranian government. If the proposal had been accepted Saddam would have not have survived politically, since it was supported by all members of the Regional Command, National Command and the Revolutionary Command Council. It was at this time that rumours started circulating that Hussein would step down as president to make way for
al-Bakr, the former president. As events proved, this did not happen and al-Bakr died in 1982 under mysterious circumstances. Bloodshed during the conflict nearly led to a
mutiny
Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...
led by
Maher Abd al-Rashid, father-in-law of Saddam's second son. Rashid began public criticism, and claimed that loss of life could have been averted if not for Saddam's meddling into military affairs. This confrontation with the military led to the greater independence of military planning from Ba'athist-leadership interference. Shortly afterwards, the
Iraqi Air Force once again established air superiority. The turn of events caused the Iraqi government to focus on
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...
which had revolted. Saddam appointed his cousin
Ali Hasan al-Majid as military chief in Kurdistan. al-Majid initiated the
al-Anfal campaign; chemical weapons were used against civilians. In April 1988,
after a series of Iraqi victories, a ceasefire was agreed between Iraq and Iran; the war is commonly considered ''
status quo ante bellum''. In 1989, Saddam Hussein initiated a campaign to strengthen
Iraqi nationalism by rebuilding ancient temples and palaces, encouraging all
Iraqis
Iraqis ( ; ) are the citizens and nationals of the Republic of Iraq. The majority of Iraqis are Arabs, with Kurds accounting for the largest ethnic minority, followed by Turkmen. Other ethnic groups from the country include Yazidis, As ...
to view their country as the cradle of civilization in justification for war with Iran.
Gulf War, the 1990s, and the Iraq War (1990–2003)

In the aftermath of the
Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
, Kuwait intentionally increased the country's oil output; this led to an international price decrease in oil. Saddam reacted by threatening to invade Kuwait if it continued to increase its oil output (which Kuwait did nevertheless).
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
, frightened by Saddam's military strength, then persuaded Kuwait to lower its oil output. However, when Kuwait lowered its oil output Venezuela increased its output. Saddam then ordered the invasion of Kuwait to solve the country's economic problems, with the professed goal of uniting Iraq; Kuwait was considered by many Iraqis as part of Iraq. On 18 July 1990 Saddam demanded that Kuwait repay Iraq for the oil it had (according to Saddam) stolen, and nullified Iraq's debt to Kuwait. The Kuwaiti leadership failed to respond, and on 2 August 1990 the Iraqi military began the
invasion of Kuwait
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, codenamed Project 17, began on 2 August 1990 and marked the beginning of the Gulf War. After defeating the Kuwait, State of Kuwait on 4 August 1990, Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq went on to militarily occupy the country fo ...
. The invasion led to an international outcry; the United Nations, United States and the United Kingdom condemned the invasion and introduced sanctions against Iraq, and the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and several Arab states also condemned the invasion.
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
,
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
, demanded the immediate withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait and restoration of the Kuwaiti government; Saddam responded by making Kuwait an Iraqi province. The
Gulf War
, combatant2 =
, commander1 =
, commander2 =
, strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems
, page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
was initiated by a
United States-led coalition, which succeeded in winning the war in less than a year. On 13 January 1991, the Iraqi flag was modified, adopting its handscript the ''takbīr'' (the phrase Allahu akbar, meaning "God is the greatest" in Arabic), at the instigation of President Saddam Hussein.
On the evening of 24 February, several days before the Gulf War
ceasefire was signed in
Safwan, the
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
-based radio station
Voice of Free Iraq (funded and operated by the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
) broadcast a message to the Iraqis to rise up and overthrow Saddam. The speaker on the radio was
Salah Omar al-Ali, a former member of the Ba'ath Party and the ruling
Revolutionary Command Council. Al-Ali's message urged the Iraqis to overthrow the "criminal
tyrant of Iraq". Al-Ali's radio broadcast encouraged Iraqis to "stage a
revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
" and claimed that "
addamwill flee the battlefield when he becomes certain that the catastrophe has engulfed every street, every house and every family in Iraq". Believing that the United States was on its side, a
nationwide uprising against Saddam's rule began in March 1991 which was repressed by Saddam's loyalist forces. The
Coalition
A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces.
Formation
According to ''A G ...
successfully established a
no-fly zone to halt the advance of Saddam's forces. Instead of occupying
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...
, the Kurdish Autonomous Republic was established, with thousands of Iraqi troops stationed at the Iraqi-Kurdish border. The suppression of the rebellion led thousands of people to flee their homes, most to Turkey or Iran. On 2 and 3 April 1991 Turkey and Iran, respectively, raised the issue at the
UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
. The Security Council adopted
Resolution 688, which stated that Iraq had to allow access for international humanitarian organisations and report openly about government repression.
In the aftermath of the Gulf War, Iraq became a target by a series of U.S.
cruise missile
A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...
strikes, in
1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
,
1996 and
Operation Desert Fox in 1998.
In 1997, Iraq prohibited all weapons inspectors of
UNSCOM from sites declared to be sovereign palaces, which were compounds capable of storing
chemical weapons.
Iraq experienced another
period of unrest in early 1999 following the killing of
Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr by Iraqi security forces.
In the aftermath of the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, U.S. president
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
included Saddam in his ''
Axis of evil''. In 2002 the UN Security Council adopted
Resolution 1441, which stated that Iraq had failed to fulfill its obligations demanded by the UN. The United States and the United Kingdom would use Resolution 1441 as a pretext for war. The
2003 US-led invasion of the country forced the Ba'ath Party and Saddam to go underground. The
fall of Baghdad resulted in the
toppling of his statue at Firdos Square by Iraqi civilians, ending almost 35 years of Ba'athist rule. The
Ba'ath Party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party ( ' ), also known simply as Bath Party (), was a political party founded in Syria by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and associates of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party espoused Ba'athism, which is an ideology ...
was banned by the
Coalition Provisional Authority
The Coalition Provisional Authority (; , CPA) was a Provisional government, transitional government of Iraq established following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, invasion of the country on 19 March 2003 by Multi-National Force – Iraq, U.S.-led Co ...
following Iraq's invasion on 1 May. Saddam was
captured later that year, and was
executed in 2006.
Politics
Political system

The 1970 Iraqi Constitution stated that Iraq was in a transitional phase of development; in
Ba'athist ideology, the transitional stage is the time when the Arab people unite to establish one Arab nation. The end of the transitional era would be marked by a permanent constitution; the 1970 constitution was only temporary. The Ba'ath Party dominated all government institutions, and the top decision-making body in the country was the
Revolutionary Command Council (RCC). The RCC was controlled by the Ba'ath Party; RCC members had to be members of the Ba'ath Party's Regional Command.
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
, as
President of Iraq
The President of the Republic of Iraq is the head of state of Iraq. Since the mid-2000s, the presidency is primarily a symbolic office, as the position does not possess significant power within the country according to the Constitution of Iraq, ...
, was also RCC chairman and General Secretary of the Ba'ath Party's Regional (and National) Command. All decisions within the RCC had to be decided by vote; a proposition could only be enacted if two-thirds of RCC members voted in favour of it. A
Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
, the cabinet, was established on the orders of the RCC to execute RCC orders submitted to it. A
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
existed, which was (in theory) democratically elected by the Iraqi people; the problem was that the RCC had the authority to decide how much (or little) power the National Assembly should have.
The constitution of 1970 proclaimed Ba'athist Iraq as "a sovereign people's democratic republic" dedicated to the establishment of a Ba'athist
socialist society. Although the state was officially secular,
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
was proclaimed the country's state religion (although
freedom of religion
Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
was tolerated). Some studies support the claim that Ba'athist Iraq was a
totalitarian
Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public sph ...
state; some scholars have refuted the term "totalitarian" and instead defined the regime as
authoritarian
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
.
Natural resource
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...
s and the principal
means of production
In political philosophy, the means of production refers to the generally necessary assets and resources that enable a society to engage in production. While the exact resources encompassed in the term may vary, it is widely agreed to include the ...
were defined as belonging to the Iraqi people. The Iraqi government was responsible for directing and planning the national economy. If the RCC chairman died or was incapacitated, first in the line of succession was the RCC deputy chairman. There were only two RCC deputy chairmen under Ba'athist rule: Saddam (1968–1979) and
Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri (1979–2003).
Ba'ath Party

Iraq, under the rule of the Iraqi-led
Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, was a
one-party state
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...
.
The
Regional Command (RC, the leading organ of the Iraqi Regional Branch of the Ba'ath Party) was the party's top decision-making body; Regional Command members were elected for five-year terms at the party's regional congress. The Regional Secretary (commonly referred to as the General Secretary) was the head of the Regional Command, chaired its sessions and was leader of the Ba'ath Party Regional Branch in Iraq. In theory members of the Regional Command were responsible to the party congress, but in practice they controlled the congress, and the leadership often decided results beforehand. The party's National Command was, in theory, the highest decision-making body. It was responsible for coordinating the pan-Arab
Ba'ath movement. All National Command members came from their distinct regional (meaning "country" in Ba'athist
etymology
Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
) branch; for instance, there was always a member who represented the
Ba'ath Party's Jordanese Regional Branch. Because of the 1966
Ba'ath Party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party ( ' ), also known simply as Bath Party (), was a political party founded in Syria by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and associates of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party espoused Ba'athism, which is an ideology ...
schism (which split the Ba'ath movement into an Iraqi-led branch and a
Syrian-led branch), the National Command never controlled the whole Ba'ath movement; there was a National Command headquartered in Syria, which commanded another Ba'ath movement. Another problem was the fact that the National Commands in Iraq and Syria were under the control of the country's respective regional commands.
=National Progressive Front
=
The
National Progressive Front (NPF) was a
popular front led by the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, established on 17 July 1973 (the fifth anniversary of the
17 July Revolution). The NPF charter was signed by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (representing the Ba'ath Party) and Aziz Muhammad (First Secretary of the
Iraqi Communist Party, or ICP). In ''
Al-Thawrah'', a Ba'athist newspaper, the charter was hailed as a success for the revolution. The ICP was the most prominent party to join; however, it left the NPF in March 1979. While officially an independent organisation (and the only non-Ba'athist political forum), the NPF's leadership consisted entirely of Ba'athist members or Ba'athist loyalists. The organisation's purpose was to give the Ba'athist regime a semblance of popular support. Throughout the NPF's existence, Naim Haddad was its general secretary.
Opposition

The
Iraqi opposition manifested itself in three forms:
guerilla warfare against the regime; acts of sabotage or
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
; and desertion from the
Iraqi Army
The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), also referred to as the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was formerly known as the Royal Iraq ...
or the country's
paramilitary forces, such as the
Popular Army and
Fedayeen Saddam. The largest opposition forces were headquartered in
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...
, represented by the
Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Other organisations who opposed the regime were the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP), the
al-Da'wa Party (headquartered in
Tehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
) and the Umma Party (based in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
). One problem with the Iraqi opposition was the lack of alliances between opposition groups (although some alliances did existfor instance, that between the ICP and the KDP). This alliance led the ICP to move its headquarters to Iraqi Kurdistan, since their activities in other areas of Iraq were routinely repressed. The Ba'athist regime was never able to take full control of the situation in Iraqi Kurdistan, with the exception of an
interregnum
An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...
between the end of the
Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
and the
1991 uprising. Another problem was that the Iraqi opposition had frequent problems with internal strife; for instance, the ICP was forced to hold a party congress in 1985 to stabilise the party. A more immediate problem was the strength of Iraq's
secret services, renowned in the Arab world as the most efficient.
In contrast to the secular opposition, the religious opposition was better organised and stronger. Several religious opposition groups could appeal to Iraqis, because of the secular nature of the Ba'athist government. During the Iran–Iraq War the government allowed some degree of religious freedom, but only to win support from the populace.
State ideology
Party ideology
The Ba'ath Party was based on the ideology of
Ba'athism, a Syrian ideology conceived by
Zaki al-Arsuzi,
Michel Aflaq
Michel Aflaq (, ; 9 January 1910 – 23 June 1989) was a Syrian philosopher, sociology, sociologist and Arab nationalism, Arab nationalist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of Ba'athism and its political movement; he ...
and
Salah al-Din al-Bitar, but evolved into
neo-Ba'athism. Clause six of the Ba'ath Party's "Permanent Principles" stated "The Ba'ath is a revolutionary party. It believes that its principal aims in
he process ofrealising an Arab national renaissance and of building socialism will not be attained except by revolution and struggle". Revolution was not the key aspect of Ba'ath Party ideology; it was its clear ideological platform. Ba'athism was by nature
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...
, even if its ideological founders had borrowed elements from
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. The Ba'ath Party first began to talk openly of Islam during the 1990s. Considering that the term "ba'ath" comes from Islamic scriptures, the Ba'ath Party claimed that all Muslims were Ba'athists even if they were not party members. As with the
original Ba'ath Party, the Iraqi-led Ba'ath Party's key slogans were "A single Arab nation with an eternal message" and "Unity, freedom, socialism". The first slogan refers to
pan-Arabism
Pan-Arabism () is a Pan-nationalism, pan-nationalist ideology that espouses the unification of all Arabs, Arab people in a single Nation state, nation-state, consisting of all Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa from the Atlantic O ...
and
Arab nationalism. Al-Arsuzi believed that unity of the Arab people, and the establishment of an
Arab nation, would lead to its becoming as strong as (or stronger than) the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Liberty, in the Ba'athist sense of the word, does not mean political liberty for the
individual
An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or g ...
. Instead, when Ba'athists use the term "liberty" they refer to national independence from
imperialism
Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...
. Socialism in Ba'athist parlance means
Arab socialism
Arab socialism () is a political ideology based on the combination of pan-Arabism or Arab nationalism and socialism. The term "Arab socialism" was coined by Michel Aflaq, the principal founder of Ba'athism and the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Part ...
. Arab socialism is distinct from the international socialist movement, opposing Marx's rejection of nationalism. According to Aflaq, socialism is a means to
modernise the Arab world but not a system (as generally considered in the West) which opposes
private property
Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...
or supports
economic equality.
Saddamism
Saddamism (''Saddamiyya'') is a political ideology based on the politics related to (and pursued by) Saddam Hussein.
It has also been referred to by Iraqi politicians as Saddamist Ba'athism (''Al-Ba'athiyya Al-Saddamiyya'').
It is officially described as a distinct variation of Ba'athism.
It espouses
Iraqi nationalism and an Iraq-centred Arab world that calls upon Arab countries to adopt Saddamist Iraqi political discourse, and reject "the
Nasserite discourse" which it claims collapsed after 1967.
It is
militarist, viewing political disputes and conflict from a military standpoint as "battles" requiring "fighting", "mobilization", "battlefields", "bastions" and "trenches". Saddamism was officially supported by Saddam Hussein's government and promoted by the Iraqi daily newspaper ''Babil'', which was owned by Saddam's son
Uday Hussein.

Saddam Hussein and his ideologists sought to fuse a connection between the ancient Babylonian and Assyrian civilizations in Iraq to Arab nationalism by claiming that the Babylonians and ancient Assyrians are the ancestors of the
Arabs
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
. Thus, Saddam Hussein and his supporters claim that there is no conflict between Mesopotamian heritage and Arab nationalism.
Saddam Hussein based his political views and ideology upon the views of Aflaq, Ba'athism's key founder. Saddam was also an avid reader of topics on moral and material forces in
international politics.
[ His government was critical of ]orthodox Marxism
Orthodox Marxism is the body of Marxist thought which emerged after the deaths of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the late 19th century, expressed in its primary form by Karl Kautsky. Kautsky's views of Marxism dominated the European Marxis ...
, opposing the orthodox Marxist concepts of class conflict, the dictatorship of the proletariat and atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...
; it opposed Marxism–Leninism
Marxism–Leninism () is a communist ideology that became the largest faction of the History of communism, communist movement in the world in the years following the October Revolution. It was the predominant ideology of most communist gov ...
's claim that non-Marxist–Leninist parties are automatically bourgeois
The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...
in nature, claiming that the Ba'ath Party was a popular revolutionary movement and the people rejected '' petit bourgeois'' politics. Saddam claimed that the Arab nation did not have the class structure of other nations, and class division was more along national lines (between Arabs and non-Arabs) than within the Arab community. However, he spoke fondly of Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
and commended Lenin for giving Russian Marxism a uniquely Russian specificity which Marx alone was incapable of doing. He also expressed admiration for other communist leaders (such as Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
, Ho Chi Minh
(born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...
and Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
) for their spirit of asserting national independence, rather than for their communism.
The Return to Faith Campaign
In 1993, the Iraqi regime embarked on the Return to Faith Campaign (al-Hamlah al-Imaniyyah), under the supervision of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri. The ultimate aim of this new policy was to encourage popular devotion to Islam within Iraqi society.
Up until the invasion of Kuwait in 1991, the Iraqi regime had espoused the secular ideology of Ba'athism. This started to change when Saddam, who wished to bolster the Iraqi government's Islamic credentials, implemented a variety of reforms. The Iraqi flag had the ' added on to it. The Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs appointed clergy, approved the building and repair of mosques and approved the publication of Islamic literature. The Faith Campaign allowed Sunni mosques more freedom in practicing religious ceremonies and rites, which reduced substantially the opposition to the regime among Sunni Islamists.
Saddam coordinated the media and educational system to put heavy emphasis on Islamic identity. Religious academic institutions were opening up across the country, and Qu'ranic and Islamic studies were introduced into the curriculum at all school levels. A religious radio station, ''al-Qu'ran al-Karim Radio'' was set up to expand and promote Islam in Iraqi life. Aspects of the '' Shari'ah'' were adopted into the Iraqi judicial system. Judges were required to study courses on Islamic jurisprudence. The selling and consumption of alcohol was curtailed by the state. Establishments which involved the vices of gambling or alcohol were restricted or closed. Prostitution was deemed illegal and punishable by death. The Fedayeen Saddam, the paramilitary force loyal to the regime were well known for beheading suspected prostitutes. Thieves were punished with amputation. Saddam Hussein introduced in a new penal code article 111, exempting from punishment a man who kills a woman in defense of the honour of his family.[Nicolas Dessaux]
Les femmes dans le marasme irakien
Bulletin de l' Action des chrétiens pour l'abolition de la torture n° 273, 2007.
This new influx of religious involvement into the government had sectarian undertones. The government's attempt to cloak itself in Islamic conservatism saw it launch verbal attacks on Iran, which were perceived by Shia Iraqis as being veiled attacks on their community, due to the shared faith between them and Iran. Sunni rhetoric emitting from the Iraqi government sought to discredit Iran, with scathing criticism stating that they were subscribing to a " foreign and heretical form of religion". While daily newspaper ''Babil'', owned by Saddam's eldest son Uday Hussein, once was considered a staunch opponent of the campaign, arguing that it would undermine Iraq's religiously pluralistic society and encourage sectarian division, at another point it railed against Shias, referring to them as '' rafidah'', a hateful epithet normally used by ultraconservative Salafis only.
Foreign policy
Relations with the Soviet Union
The Ba'ath Party policy towards the Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
was, at first, one of neutrality and the party's seizure of power in 1968 was not considered an important event in Moscow. The Soviet Union (which remembered the Ba'ath Party's anti-communist purge during its 1963 stint in power) gradually improved its relations with Iraq; in 1969, it guaranteed Iraq a sizable amount of modern arms and technical aid. Relations improved during the nationalisation drive of the Iraqi Petroleum Company (IPC) (see "Economic growth" section). Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
visited the Soviet Union in the early 1970s, and the visit led to the signing of the Iraqi–Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation and the establishment of trade relations. In April 1972 Alexei Kosygin, Chairman
The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
of the Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
, visited Iraq and met with high-ranking officials. Kosygin's visit forced the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP) to improve its relations with the Ba'ath Party; two ICP members were given cabinet positions and repression of the ICP ended. Relations between Iraq and the Soviet Union were at its zenith during al-Bakr's rule. Iraq became a member of the Comecon
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, often abbreviated as Comecon ( ) or CMEA, was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under the leadership of the Soviet Union that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc#List of states, Easter ...
(the Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
trading organisation) as an observer in 1975.
During the early years of al-Bakr's rule, the Soviet Union became a strategic ally. However, with the increase in oil revenues relations between Iraq and the Soviet Union weakened. The Iraqi regime was given more freedom of choice, and lost its dependence on Soviet investments. The Soviet Union, during this period, retained its role as Iraq's largest arms supplier. With Iraq's foreign-policy priorities changing, repression against the ICP was reintroduced. The Soviet Union tried to act as a mediator between the two parties, but Soviet involvement was considered by the Ba'athist government as Soviet interference in Iraq's internal affairs. During the Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...
, General Secretary
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...
of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
, called the war "absolutely senseless" because the conflict only benefited imperialism
Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...
. However, Soviet-Iranian relations deteriorated during the war due to Iran's support for anti-communist forces in the Afghan Democratic Republic. During Yuri Andropov
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov ( – 9 February 1984) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from late 1982 until his death in 1984. He previously served as the List of Chairmen of t ...
's rule of the Soviet Union, there were rumors that the USSR was increasing its shipments of modern arms to Iraq during its war with Iran. This proved to be wrong, and Saddam openly complained that the Treaty of Friendship signed with the Soviet Union "has not worked." During the rule of Konstantin Chernenko
Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko ( – 10 March 1985) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1984 until his death a year later.
Born to a poor family in Siberia, Chernenko jo ...
, the Soviet Union's relations with Iran further deteriorated as the Soviet leadership began to criticise Islamic fundamentalism. In 1986, under Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
, the Soviet Union officially changed its position from neutral to that of "active containment" of Iran. This policy lasted until the war with Iran ended in 1988. During the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the following Gulf War
, combatant2 =
, commander1 =
, commander2 =
, strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems
, page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
, the Soviet Union was officially neutral. Shortly after, on 26 December 1991, the Soviet Union was officially dissolved.
Relations with the United States
Throughout the Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, Iraq had been an ally of the Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, and there was a history of friction between Iraq and the United States. According to historian Charles R. H. Tripp, the Iraqi–Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation upset "the U.S.-sponsored security system established as part of the Cold War in the Middle East. It appeared that any enemy of the Baghdad regime was a potential ally of the United States." In response, the U.S. covertly provided $16 million in aid to Kurdistan Democratic Party
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the ruling Political party, party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Government. It was founded in 1946 in Mahabad in Iranian Kurdistan. ...
rebels led by Mustafa Barzani during the Second Iraqi–Kurdish War. The U.S. was concerned with Iraq's position on Israeli– Palestinian politics. The U.S. also disliked Iraqi support for Palestinian militant groups, which led to Iraq's inclusion on the developing U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism
"State Sponsors of Terrorism" is a designation applied to countries that are alleged to have "repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism" per the United States Department of State. Inclusion on the list enables the United St ...
in December 1979. The U.S. remained officially neutral after Iraq's invasion of Iran in 1980. In March 1982, however, Iran began a successful counter-offensive, and the U.S. increased its support for Iraq to prevent Iran from forcing a surrender. In a U.S. bid to open full diplomatic relations with Iraq, the country was removed from the U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. Ostensibly this was because of improvement in the regime's record, although former U.S. Assistant Defense Secretary Noel Koch later stated, "No one had any doubts about he Iraqis'continued involvement in terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
. ... The real reason was to help them succeed in the war against Iran."
Economy
Planning system
Since it did not have an economic policy of its own, the Ba'ath Party, when it took power in 1968, allowed the Five-Year Plan set up by the previous regime in 1965 to continue until its end date in 1969. The Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) decided by the mid-1970s to alter the planning system; instead of creating stable Five-Year Plans (as had been done earlier), an annual investment plan was to be created. Every year, the RCC convened to create an investment for the year to come; for example, there were separate investment plans for 1976 and 1977. Another change is that the plan's final draft was not accepted by the highest economic elite but by the RCC, the political elite. In 1976 (as a break with the new trend) the RCC introduced the National Development Plan, which was set to last from 1976 to 1980. Unlike the previous plans, the sectoral investment-allocation figures were not made public.
Economic growth
The Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), the largest oil company in Iraq, was a private company. In March 1970, the IPC was forced to concede 20 percent of the company's share to the government. The full nationalisation of the IPC occurred after the company cut its oil production by half in March 1972; the decision would, in the short term, hamper Iraq's economic growth. The company was nationalised in June 1972. The nationalisation removed the last remaining element of foreign control over Iraq, and was popular with the Iraqi people. The government anticipated a loss of revenue, and therefore sent Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
to the Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
to negotiate a treaty. The visit was a success, and ended with the signing of the Iraqi–Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation and the establishment of a trade agreement. The trade agreement stated that the Soviet Union would buy some of Iraq's oil to soften the anticipated blow it would have on Iraq's oil exports. The signing of a treaty with the Soviet Union led to a visit by Alexei Kosygin (Chairman
The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
of the Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
) and the appointment of two cabinet ministers from the Iraqi Communist Party.
After the nationalisation of the IPC, Iraq's oil revenue increased from 219 million ID in 1972 to 1.7 billion ID in 1974, 3.7 billion ID in 1978 and 8.9 billion ID in 1980: by over 40 times in less than a decade. With the success of the Iranian revolution
The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
, Iraq became the second-largest oil exporter in the world. The increase in oil exports rejuvenated the country's economy; nearly all economic indices increased to unprecedented levels. From 1970 to 1980, Iraq's economy grew by 11.7 percent. During the Iran–Iraq War Iraq's oil-exporting capabilities decreased, and the price for oil decreased simultaneously. The growth of the 1970s was not sustainable. The economy was dependent on high oil prices and Iraq's oil-exporting capabilities; once oil was out of the picture, Iraq's growth would decrease dramatically (even more so during a war).
The National Development Plan (1976–1980) ended with an 11-percent increase in GNP. The Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
would halt Iraq's economic development and lead to the economic stagnation seen during Saddam's later rule. When Iraq implemented its plans to bomb Iran, Iran retaliated by bombing Iraq's oil facilities. By the end of the year, Iraq's oil exports had decreased by 72 percent because of Iran's bombing strategy. In terms of actual income, oil exports as government revenue decreased from $26.1 billion in 1980 to $10.4 billion in 1981. With oil facilities in the Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
destroyed the Iraqi regime had no choice but to export oil over land, which was far more expensive. Other problems were the gradual erosion of the government's hard currency and its steadily increasing foreign debt.[
]
Demise of development
At the beginning of the war the Iraqi government had a monetary reserve of $35 billion, and the annual growth rate was 27.9 percent. During the early war years, ambitious development plans were followed; because of high military spending (approaching 50 percent of GNP in 1982), the Iraqi economy began showing signs of bankruptcy in the mid-to-late 1980s. The war had cost the Iraqi government 226 billion dollars, which in turn had led to a staggering foreign debt of between 80 and 100 billion dollars. The rate of debt increase was estimated to be 10 billion a year. Another problem facing the regime was in agriculture; manpower had been depleted during the war years, and agricultural production plummeted. The situation became even bleaker after the war. Minister of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
Tariq Aziz acknowledged that the situation had become so bad that the Iraqi government could not afford to pay for the food it had imported. Former foreign creditors were reluctant to loan money to Iraq because of the economy's near-bankruptcy.
When the war started, Saddam was widely quoted as saying that Iraq faced the war with a two-year supply "of all key commodities."; this proved true. Beginning in October 1982, Iraq's foreign assets began to dwindle as the government failed to repay its loans. At the end of the war, Iraq's monetary reserve had been depleted and international oil prices were not as stable (high) as they had been during the 1970s. The economy was still healthy in late 1982, due to government expenditure on large development programmes. Before the war, Iraq's workforce stood at five million. During the war, one million were mobilised in the war against Iran. Of the million sent to war, 100,000 died. The labour shortage led to stagnation; to fill the gap, an increasing number of women were hired. There was a shift in industrial production during the war from consumer to military goods. Social programmes that had been established in the previous decade began to deteriorate, and the average standard of living
Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available to an individual, community or society. A contributing factor to an individual's quality of life, standard of living is generally concerned with objective metrics outsid ...
decreased.
During the mid-to-late 1980s, international oil prices collapsed. The Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) established a quota system in which the international oil price (for its members) was set at US$18 per barrel. This system did not work, as Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
and the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
(UAE) did not follow OPEC policy and continued to flood the market with their oil. The result was that international oil prices were still at the 1970s level. In October 1988, because of Kuwait and the UAE, international oil prices had fallen to US$12 per barrel. The policy which the UAE (and especially Kuwait) followed hampered Iraq's economic growth. In the Iran–Iraq War's aftermath, Iraq had grown more dependent on oil prices. The result of Kuwait and the UAE's oil policies could be felt in 1990, when international oil prices decreased to US$13.67 per barrel. This time, the sudden fall in oil prices triggered reactions in Iraq; in '' Al-Thawra'', the Ba'ath Party newspaper, Foreign Minister Aziz criticised Kuwait and the UAE's oil policies. Because of the sudden slump, Saddam claimed at an Arab League
The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...
conference that international oil prices could increase to US$25 per barrel without hurting exports. Saddam also claimed that the abrupt fall in oil prices decreased Iraq's oil revenue by one billion dollars. Iraq was not the only member criticising Kuwait and the UAE; several other members also criticised their oil-production policy.[ Kuwait would not budge, continuing its oil-production strategy even when threatened by Iraq. This, coupled with foreign loans Iraq owed to Kuwait, was the main reason for the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
]
UN sanctions
Following Iraq's defeat in the Gulf War
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, strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems
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, the United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
introduced Resolution 661, which imposed sanctions against Iraq. At the beginning, most American observers believed the sanctions would lead to Saddam's downfall. U.S. President George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
said, "Economic sanctions in this instance if fully enforced can be very, very effective, ..There are some indications that that he's addamalready beginning to feel the pinch and nobody can stand up forever to total economic deprivation." In theory (and practice), Iraq was very vulnerable to sanctions during this time. Thirty percent of its GNP before the Gulf War was used to import food, and 95 percent of Iraq's export earnings came from oil; oil production was 40 percent of GNP. The country was also reliant on foreign trade (35–50 percent of GNP for exported and imported goods). Iraq was also an easy country to blockade economically; its oil exports could be blockaded by closing its pipelines (which ran through Turkey, Jordan and Syria). While sanctions were successful from an economic point of view, politically they failed; Saddam would rule Iraq until 2003.
Throughout the Ba'ath Party's rule over Iraq, the agricultural sector had been under-performing. Those in the United States who supported sanctions believed that low agricultural production in Iraq (coupled with sanctions) would lead to "a hungry population", and "a hungry population was an unruly one". The Iraqi government, which understood the serious effects the sanctions could have on Iraq, were able to increase agricultural output by 24 percent from 1990 to 1991. During the sanction years, the agricultural sector witnessed "a boom of unprecedented proportions". The Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) introduced several decrees during this period to increase agricultural performance. These decrees may be separated into three categories:
*They introduced severe penalties on farmers (or landowners) unable to produce at full capacity on their land.
*Government programmes made it cheaper (and therefore more profitable for farmers and landowners) to produce.
*Programmes were initiated to increase the amount of arable land.
The RCC introduced Decree No. 367 in 1990, which stated that all lands which were not under production by their owners would be taken over by the state; if the owner could not use all the land he owned, he would lose it. However, the RCC's policy was not "all stick and no carrot". The government made it easier for farmers and landowners to receive credit. On 30 September 1990, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that it would increase loans to farmers by 100 percent, and would subsidise machinery and tools. In October 1990, the RCC stated it was planning to utilize and exploit "every inch of Iraqi arable land". While official statistics cannot be trusted entirely, they showed massive growth in arable land: from 16,446 donums in 1980 to 45,046 in 1990. The increase in agricultural output does not mean that hunger was not widespread; prices of foodstuffs increased dramatically during this period. However, overall the sanctions failed and (indirectly) led to an unprecedented improvement in agriculture.
While the agricultural sector improved, most other economic indicators deteriorated. Transport (which had been bombed during the Gulf War
, combatant2 =
, commander1 =
, commander2 =
, strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems
, page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
) further deteriorated due to the government's neglect. The economy suffered from chronic inflation and currency depreciation; the sanctions exacerbated the structural problems in Iraq's economic system. Iraq was, on balance, a planned economy with market-economy characteristics.
Modest growth
By the late 1990s, the Iraqi economy showed signs of modest growth. These would continue until 2003 when the government was toppled. The gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...
increased from US$10.8 billion in 1996 to US$30.8 billion in 2000. The major factor in this growth was the UN-initiated Oil-for-Food Programme (OFFP). Saddam was originally opposed to the OFFP. The OFFP led to the inflow of hard currency
In macroeconomics, hard currency, safe-haven currency, or strong currency is any globally traded currency that serves as a reliable and stable store of value. Factors contributing to a currency's ''hard'' status might include the stability and ...
, which helped reduce the country's chronic inflation and reopened old trade routes with foreign countries. It was around this time that many countries started to ignore the UN sanctions. While internal and external trade was revitalised, this did not lead to a significant increase in the standard of living for the majority of the population; on the contrary, the government tried to prevent benefits from flowing to Shi'ite areas to persuade more countries to oppose the sanctions. In 2000, the national income per capita was estimated to be US$1,000less than half of what it had been in 1990.
Military
Expenditure
The Ba'ath regime, like its predecessors, came to power by military force. From Abd al-Karim Qasim until the Ba'athist seizure of power in 1968, the Iraqi government had followed a policy of the militarisation of society. This led to the expansion of the old military elite, which had existed under the Hashemite monarchy. The military elite gradually also evolved into an economic elite, since Iraq was a planned economy
A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, ...
; for instance, the government appointed military personnel to senior positions in factories and companies. While the period from 1960 to 1980 was peaceful, expenditure on the military trebled and in 1981 it stood at US$4.3 billion. The government placed more importance on military development than on the civilian sector. In 1981, Iraq's military expenditure nearly equaled the national incomes of Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
and Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
combined. The military buildup was made possible because of Iraq's oil production and the high international price for oil. Per capita military spending in 1981 was 370 percent higher than that for education. During the Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
military expenditures increased dramatically (while economic growth was shrinking) and the number of people employed in the military increased fivefold, to one million.
Size
In 1967, the Iraqi army consisted of 50,000 men on two-year service; the Iraqi Air Force had 170 aircraft. In 1980, these numbers had increased to a standing army of 200,000, 250,000 reserves and 250,000 paramilitary troops in the Ba'ath Party-led Popular Army. The army had 2,500 tanks, 335 combat aircraft and 40 combat helicopters. In 1988, at the end of the Iran–Iraq War, Iraq fielded the fourth largest army in the world; the army consisted of 955,000 standing soldiers and 650,000 paramilitary forces in the Popular Army. The army could field 4,500 tanks, 484 combat aircraft and 232 combat helicopters. According to Michael Knights, the Iraqi army fielded one million men and 850,000 reservists; there were 53 divisions, 20 special-forces brigades, and several regional militias. The Iraqi military was able to field 5,500 tanks, 3,000 artillery pieces, the country had a strong air defence and could employ 700 combat aircraft and helicopters. By 1990 (according to Keith Shimko) the Iraqi army fielded nearly one million men, 5,700 tanks, 3,700 artillery pieces and 950 combat aircraft. During the Gulf War
, combatant2 =
, commander1 =
, commander2 =
, strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems
, page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
the most optimistic military analysis believed that, during an all-out war with the Iraqi military, the United States military would suffer between 17,000 and 30,000 casualties. In the aftermath of the Gulf War the size of the Iraqi military was reduced to an estimated 350,000 standing troops; it could deploy 2,300 main battle tanks, had about 260 combat aircraft and could deploy up to 120 combat helicopters. In 2002, one year before the 2003 invasion, the Iraqi army could deploy 375,000 men. According to the United States Central Command
The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilit ...
, Iraq's army (standing and reserves) stood at 700,000 men.
Despite this level of militarization, the amount of weapons and spending on the armed forces, the army of Ba'athist Iraq rarely showed itself on the good side. During the Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...
, Iraq sent an expeditionary force of the 3rd and 6th armored divisions to Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
: it consisted of 30,000 soldiers, 250-300 tanks, 700 armored personnel carriers and about 100 jet fighters. The sent divisions were described as the most combat-ready in the Iraqi army
The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), also referred to as the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was formerly known as the Royal Iraq ...
, but their effectiveness on the battlefield was terrible in almost every way: military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...
, initiative and independent actions of small units were virtually absent, and the Iraqi Air Force lost 26 aircraft without shooting down a single Israeli one. During the Iran-Iraq War, the Iraqi army also got bogged down in heavy fighting with an enemy that it planned to defeat in a short time. Even when Iraq invaded Kuwait, its army was able to occupy the small country only after 2 days. In the Gulf War in 1991 and in the American invasion of Iraq, the army also showed itself very poorly (incidentally, these are the only wars in which Baathist Iraq fought a much more modern enemy).
Culture
By the end of the 1970s women in Iraq formed 46 per cent of the teachers, 29 per cent of the doctors, 46 per cent of the dentists, 70 per cent of the pharmacists, 15 percent of the accountants, 14 percent of the factory workers and 16 percent of the civil servants.
The Ba'athist era was a period of secularisation
In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...
in Iraq. The government included people from multiple religious affiliations (including Sunni
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
Muslims, Shia Muslims, Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and Christians
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
). However, the period was marked (especially under Saddam Hussein) by sectarian, religious and political strife between the government and other groups: Shia Muslims (mainly drawn from Arabs, this religious group formed an absolute majority) who sought to create an Iraqi theocracy; ethnic Kurds
Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
, who sought independence for their region; Sunnis with an Islamist ideology, and non-Ba'athists (such as the Iraqi communists who were heavily suppressed in 1978). The Iraqi government promoted women's rights to a degree, allowing them education and service in the armed forces, butdespite the Ba'ath's avowed "radicalism"its changes to family law
Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations.
Overview
Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include:
* Marriag ...
were "considerably less radical than ... the Shah
Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...
's family reforms, to say nothing of Atatürk's radical break with Islamic family law in 1926." The government sought restoration of Iraqi cultural heritage, such as rebuilding replicas of parts of the ancient city of Babylon
Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...
. Under Saddam Hussein, the glorification of Saddam and the Ba'athist government was common in state-sponsored artwork. The Ba'ath Party dominated the political life of the country, although a National Progressive Front was proclaimed in 1974 to allow for the (mostly nominal) participation of non-Ba'athist figures and parties in Iraqi politics.
During the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein sought to gain support from the Muslim religious community for the government, adding the Takbir to the flag, coat of arms and motto of Iraq.
Space program
Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq maintained a domestic space program. Ba'athist Iraq began its space efforts in earnest around 1988. The program operated under several names, including the declared name of Al Abid (العابد) as well as alternate names such as Bird (الطائر) and Comet. Iraq began development of its indigenous space program after an effort to cooperate with another unnamed country failed. However, according to UNMOVIC, at least one other country provided assistance, and one or two additional countries were also sought for help, but did not provide it.
Flags and coats of arms
Flag of Iraq (1963–1991).svg, Flag (1963–1991)
Flag of Iraq (1991–2004).svg, Flag (1991–2004)
Coat of arms of Iraq (1965–1991).svg, Coat of arms (1965–1991)
Coat of arms of Iraq (1991–2004).svg, Coat of arms (1991–2004)
See also
* Ba'ath Party archives
* Ba'athist Syria
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*Baram, Amatzia (; University of Haifa
The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...
).
Neo-Tribalism in Iraq: Saddam Hussein's Tribal Policies 1991-96
" ''International Journal of Middle East Studies
The ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'' is a scholarly journal published by the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA), a learned society.
See also
* Middle East Research and Information Project
* Association for ...
''. Vol. 29, No. 1 (Feb. 1997), pp. 1–31. Available at JSTOR
JSTOR ( ; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources founded in 1994. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary source ...
.
*Baram, Amatzia.
From Militant Secularism to Islamism: The Iraqi Ba’th Regime 1968-2003
Archive
. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, History and Public Policy Program, Occasional Paper. October 2011.
*Blaydes, Lisa. 2018.
State of Repression: Iraq under Saddam Hussein
'. Princeton University Press.
*Helfont, Samuel.
" '' The Middle East Journal''. Volume 68, Number 3, Summer 2014. pp. 352–366. Available at Project MUSE.
{{Socialist states
1960s in Iraq
1970s in Iraq
1980s in Iraq
1990s in Iraq
2000s in Iraq
Ba'athist states
Articles containing video clips
*
One-party states
Former Arab republics
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
Socialism in Iraq
1968 establishments in Iraq
2003 disestablishments in Iraq
States and territories established in 1968
States and territories disestablished in 2003
Totalitarian states
1968-2003