The government of Baghdad is divided into a hierarchy of governments that both aid governance and provide bottom-up representation. The city constitutes a new “capital territory” whose structure differs from other parts of the country.
199-487: Much of the structure predates the 2003 invasion of Iraq , but officials' powers were originally limited to managing the top-down distribution of governmental services. The Coalition Provisional Authority 's Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) – specifically CPA Order 71 – and the Provincial Powers Law have since changed their responsibilities remarkably, creating a degree of federalism that didn't exist during
398-740: 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. 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
597-539: A joint session of Congress (simulcast live to the world), and announced his new " War on Terror ". This announcement was accompanied by the doctrine of "pre-emptive" military action, later termed the Bush Doctrine . Allegations of a connection between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda were regularly made by several senior officials in the Bush administration , who asserted that a highly secretive relationship existed between Saddam and
796-515: A revolution " and claimed that "[Saddam] will 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 successfully established a no-fly zone to halt
995-407: 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
1194-551: A 48-hour deadline. The UK House of Commons held a debate on going to war on 18 March 2003 where the government motion was approved 412 to 149 . The vote was a key moment in the history of the Blair administration , as the number of government MPs who rebelled against the vote was the greatest since the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. Three government ministers resigned in protest at the war, John Denham , Lord Hunt of Kings Heath , and
1393-427: A January 2003 CBS poll, 64% of Americans had approved of military action against Iraq; however, 63% wanted Bush to find a diplomatic solution rather than go to war, and 62% believed the threat of terrorism directed against the U.S. would increase due to war. The invasion was strongly opposed by some long-standing U.S. allies, including the governments of France, Germany, and New Zealand. Their leaders argued that there
1592-505: A chairperson to head the council. The councils have next to no money and must ask – not order – the Governorate Council, beladiyas or Amanat to embark on any project that they want. The councils were once called “district advisory councils” and are still called “DACs” by many soldiers and American officials. However, their powers now extend beyond mere advisory power. The council's responsibilities include: Neighborhood councils are
1791-580: A combination of external and internal factors. UNSC sanctions against Iraq , in particular, were widely criticized for negatively impacting the country's quality of life, prompting the establishment of the Oil-for-Food Programme . The Ba'athist period formally came to an end with the 2003 invasion of Iraq , and the Ba'ath Party has since been indefinitely banned across the country. The Ba'ath Party, led by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr , came to power in Iraq through
1990-418: A county. A “nahiya” is similar to a hayy. The deputy governor for rural services oversees these outlying areas, which surround the city from Taji in the north to Mahmudiyah in the south. Baghdad's governments can be divided into three categories with different – although sometimes overlapping – responsibilities: Political subdivisions, political entities and service entities. The cooperation of all governments
2189-537: A decade. With the success of the Iranian revolution , 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
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#17328476935692388-792: A design that Iraq stated did not exceed the permitted 150 km range, but which had traveled up to 183 km in tests. Shortly before the invasion, UNMOVIC stated that it would take "months" to verify Iraqi compliance with resolution 1441. In October 2002, the U.S. Congress passed the Iraq Resolution , which authorized the President to "use any means necessary" against Iraq. Americans polled in January 2003 widely favored further diplomacy over an invasion. Later that year, however, Americans began to agree with Bush's plan. The U.S. government engaged in an elaborate domestic public relations campaign to market
2587-527: A hateful epithet normally used by ultraconservative Salafis only. The Ba'ath Party policy towards the Soviet Union 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
2786-418: A large city. Many of Baghdad's 94 hays have evolved different boundaries from government and service bodies on the same level. Both American and Iraqi officials tend to work around the boundaries of the neighborhorhood or kati’ councils instead – making hays an often overlooked, although no less official, tier of government. Muhallas, the smallest administrative units, are neighborhoods. The name of each muhalla
2985-462: A man who kills a woman in defense of the honour of his family. 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
3184-568: A marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August." Bush began formally making his case to the international community for an invasion of Iraq in his 12 September 2002 address to the United Nations General Assembly . The United Kingdom agreed with the U.S. actions, while France and Germany were critical of plans to invade Iraq, arguing instead for continued diplomacy and weapons inspections. After considerable debate,
3383-514: A message to the U.S. State Department that the Iraqis wanted to discuss the accusations that the country had weapons of mass destruction and ties with Al-Qaeda. Iraq also attempted to reach the U.S. through the Syrian, French, German, and Russian intelligence services. In January 2003, Lebanese-American Imad Hage met with Michael Maloof of the U.S. Department of Defense 's Office of Special Plans . Hage,
3582-552: 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 , first knew of
3781-447: A parliamentary question, that "Regime change in Iraq would be a wonderful thing. That is not the purpose of our action; our purpose is to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction..." In November of that year, Blair further stated that, "So far as our objective, it is disarmament, not regime change – that is our objective. Now I happen to believe the regime of Saddam is a very brutal and repressive regime, I think it does enormous damage to
3980-520: A resident of Beirut , had been recruited by the department to assist in the war on terror . He reported that Mohammed Nassif, a close aide to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad , had expressed frustrations about the difficulties of Syria contacting the United States, and had attempted to use him as an intermediary. Maloof arranged for Hage to meet with civilian Richard Perle , then head of the Defense Policy Board . In January 2003, Hage met with
4179-400: A series of Iraqi military 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 to view their country as the cradle of civilization in justification for war with Iran. In the aftermath of
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#17328476935694378-601: 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 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 of
4577-592: A threat to the U.S. and the world community. George W. Bush, speaking in October 2002, said that "The stated policy of the United States is regime change. ... However, if Saddam were to meet all the conditions of the United Nations, the conditions that I have described very clearly in terms that everybody can understand, that in itself will signal the regime has changed." Citing reports from certain intelligence sources, Bush stated on 6 March 2003 that he believed that Saddam
4776-523: A tour to Jordan to inspect the Iraqi troops located there following the Six-Day War 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,
4975-417: 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
5174-448: Is Baghdad's public works department or city hall with a concentration in infrastructure. It is responsible for improving Baghdad's infrastructure and overseeing the city's essential services. Money for large-scale, Iraqi-funded projects typically originates at the Amanat. It has no responsibility for electricity, which is overseen by the federal government's Ministry of Electricity. The Amanat
5373-643: Is a three-digit number. The first number indicates its kati’. The last indicates which side of the kati’ the muhalla is in, depending on whether it is even or odd. The Governorate Council, more commonly called the Provincial Council, is similar to a state legislature or the London Assembly . It took over administration of the province from the Baghdad City Council, which the CPA created in 2004. It oversees
5572-461: Is appointed by the Governorate Council. The governor is the equivalent to a deputy minister in terms of rights and career service. His responsibilities include: The actual City of Baghdad, overseen by a mayor. A kati', often called a district , is similar to a borough of a metropolis like New York. Baghdad has nine kati': Rusafa , Adhamiyah , Thawra (Sadr City) , 7 Nissan , Karadah , Karkh , Kadhimiyah , Mansour , and Al Rashid . Each kati'
5771-399: Is headed by a qa'im makam elected by the kati' council. The qa'im makam's rank is equivalent to a director general in the federal government. However, Baghdad qa’im makams have significantly fewer restrictions than those in qa'das because they are not constrained by CPA Order 71. Their duties include: A hayy is an administrative territorial entity of the Amanat that is similar to a district in
5970-511: Is headed by an “amin” chosen by the Governorate Council. Baghdad's 13 beladiyas can be considered the administering arm of the Amanat. They maintain the city's distribution systems and perform other administrative tasks such as governing water, sewage, roads, public lands and zoning. Beladiyas have significantly less money than the Amanat. This typically limits them to maintaining existing infrastructure and performing low-level improvements such as landscaping or street cleaning. Beladiyas must turn to
6169-524: 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. The Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), the largest oil company in Iraq,
Government of Baghdad - Misplaced Pages Continue
6368-533: 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
6567-579: Is usually required for the successful completion of major projects. Political entities must provide the necessary approval, while service entities must execute the proposal. One or both must provide the funding or access to the funding. This can limit the efficacy of any one government official. Political entities may collect revenue and retain revenue only with the Governorate Council's authorization. Kati’ and neighborhood councils may not have surpluses. In practice, local governments collect taxes and fees only on an extremely limited basis. Neighborhood councils in
6766-529: 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
6965-535: The 173rd Airborne Brigade was airdropped near the northern city of Kirkuk , where they joined forces with Kurdish rebels and fought several actions against the Iraqi Army , to secure the northern part of the country. The main body of coalition forces continued their drive into the heart of Iraq and were met with little resistance. Most of the Iraqi military was quickly defeated and the coalition occupied Baghdad on 9 April. Other operations occurred against pockets of
7164-453: The 1982 Dujail massacre , in which the Iraqi government killed Shiite rebels. After sentencing Saddam to death, the Iraqi tribunal executed him for crimes against humanity. 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
7363-530: The 32nd Parallel (extended to the 33rd Parallel in 1996) as well as using economic sanctions. It was revealed that a biological weapons (BW) program in Iraq had begun in the early 1980s with help from the U.S. and Europe who were unaware of Iraq's intentions, in violation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) of 1972. Details of the BW program—along with a chemical weapons program—surfaced after
7562-531: The Arab world increased significantly. As land reforms were introduced, the country's wealth was distributed more equally. However, several internal factors were imminently threatening Iraq's stability; the Sunni -dominated Ba'athist government was drawn into an escalating conflict with the religious separatism among Shia Muslims and the ethnic separatism among Kurds . The then-ongoing Second Iraqi–Kurdish War , in particular,
7761-660: The Council of Ministers , 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 Eastern Bloc trading organisation) as an observer in 1975. During
7960-547: The Damascus-based Ba'ath Party . Once he assumed the presidency, a cult of personality 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 ) 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
8159-672: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Saddam accepted the resolution on 13 November and inspectors returned to Iraq under the direction of UNMOVIC chairman Hans Blix and IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei . As of February 2003, the IAEA "found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq"; the IAEA concluded that certain items which could have been used in nuclear enrichment centrifuges, such as aluminum tubes, were in fact intended for other uses. UNMOVIC "did not find evidence of
Government of Baghdad - Misplaced Pages Continue
8358-410: The International Atomic Energy Agency . These documents were dismissed by the IAEA as forgeries, with the concurrence in that judgment of outside experts. At the time, a US official stated that the evidence was submitted to the IAEA without knowledge of its provenance and characterized any mistakes as "more likely due to incompetence not malice". Ba%27athist Iraq Ba'athist Iraq , officially
8557-508: The Iran–Iraq War , 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 , 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
8756-749: The Iraqi Army or the country's paramilitary forces , such as the Popular Army and Fedayeen Saddam . The largest opposition forces were headquartered in Iraqi Kurdistan , 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 ) and
8955-575: The Iraqi Republic (1968–1992) and later the Republic of Iraq (1992–2003), was the Iraqi one party state between 1968 and 2003 under the rule of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party . This period began with high economic growth, but ended with the country facing severe levels of socio-political isolation and economic stagnation. By the late 1990s, the average annual income had decreased drastically due to
9154-540: The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, triggering the Gulf War . Iraq occupied Kuwait until February 1991, when a 42-country UNSC military coalition forced all Iraqi troops out of Kuwait. The international community sanctioned Iraq, cutting it off from all global markets. Consequently, the Iraqi economy worsened for the remainder of the 1990s, but began to gradually rebound by the early 2000s, primarily because many countries started ignoring sanctions enforcement. Following
9353-609: The National Military Command Center on that day, Rumsfeld asked for: "best info fast. Judge whether good enough hit Saddam Hussein at same time. Not only Osama bin Laden ." A memo written by Rumsfeld in November 2001 considers an Iraq war. The rationale for invading Iraq as a response to 9/11 has been widely questioned, as there was no cooperation between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda . On 20 September 2001, Bush addressed
9552-500: The Peshmerga in Iraqi Kurdistan . According to U.S. President George W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair , the coalition aimed "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction [WMDs], to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism , and to free the Iraqi people", even though the UN inspection team led by Hans Blix had declared it had found no evidence of the existence of WMDs just before
9751-575: The Saudi Arabia -based radio station Voice of Free Iraq (funded and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency ) 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
9950-505: The September 11 attacks , the United States' Bush administration began building a case for invading Iraq and overthrowing Saddam's regime. They falsely asserted that Iraq still possessed weapons of mass destruction and that Saddam had links with al-Qaeda . 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 concerning
10149-540: 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 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 and the United States . Liberty, in
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#173284769356910348-538: The toppling of his statue at Firdos Square by Iraqi civilians, ending almost 35 years of Ba'athist rule. The Ba'ath Party was banned by the Coalition Provisional Authority following Iraq's invasion on 1 May. Saddam was captured later that year , and was executed in 2006 . The 1970 Iraqi Constitution stated that Iraq was in a transitional phase of development; in Ba'athist ideology , the transitional stage
10547-489: The 101st Airborne Division, started with a seminar on military operations in urban terrain, because that was viewed as the decisive event in the takedown of the regime in Iraq — that and finding and destroying the weapons of mass destruction." While there had been some earlier talk of action against Iraq, the Bush administration waited until September 2002 to call for action, with White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card saying, "From
10746-541: 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,
10945-580: 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 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
11144-607: The Amanat or Governorate Council for the creation of any significant new infrastructure. Beladiyas also control any money collected by the kati’ councils. The deputy amin for beladiyas appoints a deputy mayor to head each beladiya, but most of the remaining employees are workers hired for specific jobs, such as engineers or street cleaners. 2003 invasion of Iraq [REDACTED] Republic of Iraq Invasion (2003) Post-invasion insurgency (2003–2006) Civil war (2006–2008) Insurgency (2008–2011) Main phase Later phase The 2003 invasion of Iraq
11343-478: The Amanat. Iraqi law set the boundaries between Amanat and governorate in 1971, but they’ve been adjusted more recently. The governorate and Amanat are linked at several levels, and the Governorate Council still provides funding for many of Baghdad's projects. The governorate's structure is similar to the City of Baghdad, but the units have different names. A “qa’da” is similar to a kati’, although it may also be compared to
11542-403: 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. The Ba'ath Party
11741-746: The Arab world but not a system (as generally considered in the West) which opposes private property or supports economic equality . 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
11940-531: The Arab-world stage for the first time under the banner of Nasserism and Gamal Abdel Nasser by criticising the Camp David Accords between Anwar Sadat of Egypt and the state of Israel . 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
12139-655: The Azores to discuss the invasion of Iraq and Spain's potential involvement in the war, as well as the beginning of the invasion. This encounter was extremely controversial in Spain, even now remaining a very sensitive point for the Aznar government. Almost a year later, Madrid suffered the worst terrorist attack in Europe since the Lockerbie bombing , motivated by Spain's decision to participate in
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#173284769356912338-478: The Ba'ath Party's Regional Command. Saddam Hussein , as President 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 , the cabinet, was established on the orders of the RCC to execute RCC orders submitted to it. A National Assembly existed, which
12537-469: 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
12736-414: The Ba'athist sense of the word, does not mean political liberty for the individual . Instead, when Ba'athists use the term "liberty" they refer to national independence from imperialism . Socialism in Ba'athist parlance means Arab socialism . Arab socialism is distinct from the international socialist movement, opposing Marx's rejection of nationalism. According to Aflaq, socialism is a means to modernise
12935-531: The Bush administration said attempts by Iraq to acquire thousands of high-strength aluminum tubes pointed to a clandestine program to make enriched uranium for nuclear bombs. Powell, in his address to the UN Security Council just before the war, referred to the aluminum tubes. A report released by the Institute for Science and International Security in 2002, however, reported that it was highly unlikely that
13134-474: 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 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
13333-421: The Gulf War (1990–91) following investigations conducted by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) which had been charged with the post-war disarmament of Saddam's Iraq. The investigation concluded that the program had not continued after the war. The U.S. and its allies then maintained a policy of " containment " towards Iraq. This policy involved numerous economic sanctions by the UN Security Council ;
13532-409: 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
13731-495: 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 Leonid Brezhnev , General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , called the war "absolutely senseless" because the conflict only benefited imperialism . However, Soviet-Iranian relations deteriorated during
13930-422: 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
14129-431: The Iraq war, prompting some Spaniards to accuse the Prime Minister of being responsible. In March 2003, the United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Australia, Spain, Denmark, and Italy began preparing for the invasion of Iraq , with a host of public relations and military moves. In his 17 March 2003 address to the nation, Bush demanded that Saddam and his two sons, Uday and Qusay , surrender and leave Iraq, giving them
14328-497: The Iraqi Army, including the capture and occupation of Kirkuk on 10 April, and the attack on and capture of Tikrit on 15 April. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and the central leadership went into hiding as the coalition forces completed the occupation of the country. On 1 May, President George W. Bush declared an end to major combat operations: this ended the invasion period and began the period of military occupation . Saddam Hussein
14527-467: 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 ,
14726-463: The Iraqi people ... so I have got no doubt Saddam is very bad for Iraq, but on the other hand I have got no doubt either that the purpose of our challenge from the United Nations is the disarmament of weapons of mass destruction, it is not regime change." At a press conference on 31 January 2003, Bush again reiterated that the single trigger for the invasion would be Iraq's failure to disarm, "Saddam Hussein must understand that if he does not disarm, for
14925-609: The Iraqi-Kuwaiti border. While special forces launched an amphibious assault from the Persian Gulf to secure Basra and the surrounding petroleum fields, the main invasion army moved into southern Iraq, occupying the region and engaging in the Battle of Nasiriyah on 23 March. Massive air strikes across the country and against Iraqi command and control threw the defending army into chaos and prevented an effective resistance. On 26 March,
15124-453: 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
15323-633: The Kurds. With the Kurdish rebellion subsequently disadvantaged, the Iraqi military reasserted the federal government's control over Iraqi Kurdistan . In 1979, al-Bakr resigned from the presidency and was succeeded by Saddam. The Ba'ath Party suppressed a surge of Shia-led anti-government protests. Alarmed by the Iranian Revolution , Saddam adopted an aggressive foreign policy stance towards Iran's new theocratic leader Ruhollah Khomeini , who had begun calling for
15522-460: The Rusafa kati’, for example, oversee generators and charge residents for the electricity they provide. The lack of local funding results in an extremely centralized funding mechanism. Governorates, commonly called provinces, are the Iraqi equivalent of states. Baghdad is the smallest but most populous of Iraq's 18 governorates. A governor heads the governorate. Unlike in the United States, the governor
15721-479: The Saddam Hussein era. The Constitution alone does not determine Baghdad's government because it is vague and contains gaps and does not lay out the structures in detail. Pre-constitution legislation dating back to 1964 and ad hoc measures that have become custom also determine this structure. The province's outlying areas are structured the same as other areas in Iraq but are administered by the governorate instead
15920-462: The Soviet Union's relations with Iran further deteriorated as the Soviet leadership began to criticise Islamic fundamentalism . In 1986, under Mikhail Gorbachev , 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 , the Soviet Union
16119-512: The U.S. moved towards a more aggressive policy toward Iraq. The Republican Party's campaign platform in the 2000 election called for "full implementation" of the Iraq Liberation Act as "a starting point" in a plan to "remove" Saddam. After leaving the George W. Bush administration , Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said that an attack on Iraq had been planned since Bush's inauguration and that
16318-615: The UK ambassador, Jeremy Greenstock , publicly confirmed this reading of the resolution, assuring that Resolution 1441 provided no "automaticity" or "hidden triggers" for an invasion without further consultation of the Security Council. Resolution 1441 gave Iraq "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" and set up inspections by the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and
16517-466: The UN Security Council contained a computer-generated image of a "mobile biological weapons laboratory". However, this information was based on claims of Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, codenamed "Curveball" , an Iraqi emigrant living in Germany who later admitted that his claims had been false. Powell also presented false assertions alleging Iraq had ties to al-Qaeda . As a follow-up to Powell's presentation,
16716-429: The UN Security Council adopted a compromise resolution, UN Security Council Resolution 1441 , which authorized the resumption of weapons inspections and promised "serious consequences" for non-compliance. Security Council members France and Russia made clear that they did not consider these consequences to include the use of force to overthrow the Iraqi government. Both the U.S. ambassador to the UN, John Negroponte , and
16915-576: The Umma Party (based in London ). One problem with the Iraqi opposition was the lack of alliances between opposition groups (although some alliances did exist – for 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
17114-529: The United Nations, United States and the United Kingdom condemned the invasion and introduced sanctions against Iraq, and the Soviet Union and several Arab states also condemned the invasion. George H. W. Bush , President of the United States , 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
17313-472: The United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, Australia, Denmark, Japan, and Spain proposed a resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq, but Canada, France, and Germany, together with Russia, strongly urged continued diplomacy. Facing a losing vote as well as a likely veto from France and Russia, the US, UK, Poland, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Japan, and Australia eventually withdrew their resolution. Opposition to
17512-507: The administration prepared Operation Desert Badger to respond aggressively if any Air Force pilot was shot down while flying over Iraq, but this did not happen. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld dismissed National Security Agency (NSA) intercept data available by midday of the 11th that pointed to al-Qaeda 's culpability, and by mid-afternoon ordered the Pentagon to prepare plans for attacking Iraq. According to aides who were with him in
17711-768: The advance of Saddam's forces. Instead of occupying Iraqi Kurdistan , 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 Security Council adopted Resolution 688 , which stated that Iraq had to allow access for international humanitarian organisations and report openly about government repression. In
17910-477: The aftermath of the September 11 attacks , U.S. president George W. Bush 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
18109-520: The aftermath of the Gulf War, Iraq became a target by a series of U.S. cruise missile strikes, in 1993 , 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
18308-505: 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 . 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
18507-534: 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 of the Council of Ministers ) 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
18706-408: The beginning, most American observers believed the sanctions would lead to Saddam's downfall. U.S. President George H. W. Bush said, "Economic sanctions in this instance if fully enforced can be very, very effective, [...] There are some indications that that he's [Saddam] already beginning to feel the pinch and nobody can stand up forever to total economic deprivation." In theory (and practice), Iraq
18905-418: The bloodless 17 July 1968 Revolution , which overthrew president Abdul Rahman Arif and prime minister Tahir Yahya . By the mid-1970s, Saddam Hussein , through his post as chief of the party's intelligence services, became the country's de facto leader, despite al-Bakr's de jure presidency. Under Saddam's new policies, the Iraqi economy and citizens' living standards grew, and Iraq's standing within
19104-419: 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
19303-514: 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
19502-586: The chief of Iraqi intelligence's foreign operations, Hassan al-Obeidi. Obeidi told Hage that Baghdad did not understand why they were targeted and that they had no WMDs. He then made the offer for Washington to send in 2000 FBI agents to confirm this. He additionally offered petroleum concessions but stopped short of having Saddam give up power, instead suggesting that elections could be held in two years. Later, Obeidi suggested that Hage travel to Baghdad for talks; he accepted. Later that month, Hage met with General Habbush and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz . He
19701-501: The closest elected officials to the people. The councils are similar to representatives of a city ward. The number of members is based on population. They have no spending money. Like kati’ councils, neighborhood councils are often incorrectly called neighborhood advisory councils. These councils primarily handle lower-level administration functions such as initial approval of fuel or food rations and initial verification of residents returning home after fleeing sectarian fighting. The Amanat
19900-399: The continuation or resumption of programs of weapons of mass destruction" or significant quantities of proscribed items. UNMOVIC did supervise the destruction of a small number of empty chemical rocket warheads, 50 liters of mustard gas that had been declared by Iraq and sealed by UNSCOM in 1998, and laboratory quantities of a mustard gas precursor, along with about 50 Al-Samoud missiles of
20099-539: The conversation to senior levels of the state department and I was told to stand aside and they would handle it." Cannistraro stated that the offers made were all "killed" by the George W. Bush administration because they allowed Saddam to remain in power, an outcome viewed as unacceptable. It has been suggested that Saddam Hussein was prepared to go into exile if allowed to keep US$ 1 billion. Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak 's national security advisor, Osama El-Baz , sent
20298-406: The country's state religion (although freedom of religion was tolerated). Some studies support the claim that Ba'athist Iraq was a totalitarian state. Natural resources and the principal means of production 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
20497-463: 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
20696-450: 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
20895-435: 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,
21094-524: 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
21293-511: The developing U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism 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
21492-663: The displaced and to many needy Iraqi citizens. Seventh, to secure Iraq's oil fields and resources, which belong to the Iraqi people. And last, to help the Iraqi people create conditions for a transition to a representative self-government." Throughout 2002, the Bush administration insisted that removing Saddam from power to restore international peace and security was a major goal. The principal stated justifications for this policy of "regime change" were that Iraq's continuing production of weapons of mass destruction and known ties to terrorist organizations , as well as Iraq's continued violations of UN Security Council resolutions, amounted to
21691-439: The duration of the conflict, Iraq's economy deteriorated and became dependent on foreign loans to fund the war effort. The Iran–Iraq War ended in a stalemate in 1988, when both sides accepted UNSC Resolution 598 . Iraq emerged from the conflict under a steep economic depression while owing millions of dollars to foreign countries. Kuwait , which had loaned money to Iraq during the conflict, began demanding repayment, although Iraq
21890-427: 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
22089-400: 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 destroyed the Iraqi regime had no choice but to export oil over land, which was far more expensive. Other problems were
22288-602: The enforcement of Iraqi no-fly zones declared by the U.S. and the UK to protect the Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan and Shias in the south from aerial attacks by the Iraqi government; and ongoing inspections. Iraqi military helicopters and planes regularly contested the no-fly zones. In October 1998, removing the Iraqi government became official U.S. foreign policy with enactment of the Iraq Liberation Act . Enacted following
22487-474: The entire governorate, not just the City of Baghdad. The council is composed of 57 directly elected representatives in contrast to the 41 members in Iraq's other governorates. The Provincial Powers Law spells out the council's responsibilities, which include: Kati’ councils are the Iraqi equivalent of a city council. Members are chosen from among neighborhood council representatives. The number of members on each council varies based on population. The members choose
22686-567: The establishment of a similar Shia theocracy in Saddam's secular Iraq ; the Iraqi leadership feared that the Iranians would leverage the religious zeal among Iraq's Shia-majority population to destabilize the country. Believing Iran had been militarily weakened by internal post-revolutionary chaos , Saddam and his government invaded Iran in September 1980, triggering the eight-year-long Iran–Iraq War . For
22885-558: The expulsion of UN weapons inspectors the preceding August (after some had been accused of spying for the U.S.), the act provided $ 97 million for Iraqi "democratic opposition organizations" to "establish a program to support a transition to democracy in Iraq." This legislation contrasted with the terms set out in United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 , which focused on weapons and weapons programs and made no mention of regime change. One month after
23084-456: The fighting started. NATO member Turkey refused to allow the U.S. forces across its territory into northern Iraq . Therefore, joint SAD and Army Special forces teams and the Peshmerga constituted the entire Northern force against the Iraqi army. They managed to keep the northern divisions in place rather than allowing them to aid their colleagues against the U.S.-led coalition force coming from
23283-471: The first United States National Security Council meeting involved discussion of an invasion. O'Neill later backtracked, saying that these discussions were part of a continuation of foreign policy first put into place by the Clinton administration . Despite the Bush administration's stated interest in invading Iraq, little formal movement towards an invasion occurred until the 11 September attacks . For example,
23482-404: 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 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
23681-407: 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
23880-634: The government's invasion rationale. In September 2004, Kofi Annan , United Nations Secretary-General at the time, called the invasion illegal under international law and said it was a breach of the UN Charter . On 15 February 2003, a month before the invasion, there were worldwide protests against the Iraq War , including a rally of three million people in Rome, which the Guinness World Records listed as
24079-442: 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;
24278-441: The gradual erosion of the government's hard currency and its steadily increasing foreign debt . 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
24477-426: 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 ) 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 schism (which split the Ba'ath movement into an Iraqi-led branch and
24676-471: The initial air strikes against Saddam and his generals. Although the strike against Saddam was unsuccessful in killing him, it effectively ended his ability to command and control his forces. Strikes against Iraq's generals were more successful and significantly degraded the Iraqi command's ability to react to, and maneuver against, the U.S.-led invasion force. SAD operations officers successfully convinced key Iraqi Army officers to surrender their units once
24875-581: The invasion coalesced in the worldwide 15 February 2003 anti-war protest that attracted between six and ten million people in more than 800 cities, the largest such protest in human history according to the Guinness Book of World Records . On 16 March 2003, Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar , UK Prime Minister Tony Blair , President of the United States George W. Bush , and Prime Minister of Portugal José Manuel Durão Barroso as host met in
25074-588: The invasion of Iraq was presented in detail by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to the United Nations Security Council on 5 February 2003. In summary, he stated, We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction; he's determined to make more. Given Saddam Hussein's history of aggression ... given what we know of his terrorist associations and given his determination to exact revenge on those who oppose him, should we take
25273-460: 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 invasion led to an international outcry;
25472-536: The largest-ever anti-war rally. According to the French academic Dominique Reynié , between 3 January and 12 April 2003, 36 million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000 protests against the Iraq war. The invasion was preceded by an airstrike on the Presidential Palace in Baghdad on 20 March 2003. The following day, coalition forces launched an incursion into Basra Governorate from their massing point close to
25671-605: 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). Iraq, under the rule of the Iraqi-led Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party , was a one-party state . 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
25870-469: The matter further with people in Washington (both have acknowledged the meeting). A few days later, he informed Hage that Washington refused to let him meet with Habbush to discuss the offer (Hage stated that Perle's response was "that the consensus in Washington was it was a no-go"). Perle told The Times , "The message was 'Tell them that we will see them in Baghdad.′" According to General Tommy Franks ,
26069-502: 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 and the United Arab Emirates (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
26268-436: 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
26467-638: 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 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
26666-473: 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
26865-507: The objectives of the invasion were, "First, end the regime of Saddam Hussein. Second, to identify, isolate and eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Third, to search for, to capture, and to drive out terrorists from that country. Fourth, to collect such intelligence as we can related to terrorist networks. Fifth, to collect such intelligence as we can related to the global network of illicit weapons of mass destruction. Sixth, to end sanctions and to immediately deliver humanitarian support to
27064-440: 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. The Iraqi opposition manifested itself in three forms: guerilla warfare against the regime; acts of sabotage or terrorism ; and desertion from
27263-415: The option of invading without it. General David Petraeus recalled in an interview his experience during the time before the invasion, stating that "When we were getting ready for what became the invasion of Iraq, the prevailing wisdom was that we were going to have a long, hard fight to Baghdad, and it was really going to be hard to take Baghdad. The road to deployment, which was a very compressed road for
27462-635: The paramilitary operations officers and 10th Special Forces Group soldiers, were the first U.S. forces to enter Iraq, in July 2002, before the main invasion. Once on the ground, they prepared for the subsequent arrival of U.S. Army Special Forces to organize the Kurdish Peshmerga . This joint team (called the Northern Iraq Liaison Element (NILE)) combined to defeat Ansar al-Islam , a group with ties to al-Qaeda, in Iraqi Kurdistan. This battle
27661-579: 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 ,
27860-409: 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 communists 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 plot against
28059-565: 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,
28258-416: The passage of the Iraq Liberation Act, the U.S. and UK launched a bombardment campaign of Iraq called Operation Desert Fox . The campaign's express rationale was to hamper Saddam Hussein's government's ability to produce chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, but U.S. intelligence personnel also hoped it would help weaken Saddam's grip on power. With the election of George W. Bush as president in 2000 ,
28457-597: 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 ,
28656-429: 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 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
28855-440: 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
29054-479: The radical Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda from 1992 to 2003, specifically through a series of meetings reportedly involving the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS). Some Bush advisers favored an immediate invasion of Iraq, while others advocated building an international coalition and obtaining United Nations authorization. Bush eventually decided to seek UN authorization, while still reserving
29253-406: 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
29452-512: The risk that he will not some day use these weapons at a time and the place and in the manner of his choosing at a time when the world is in a much weaker position to respond? The United States will not and cannot run that risk to the American people. Leaving Saddam Hussein in possession of weapons of mass destruction for a few more months or years is not an option, not in a post–September 11 world. In September 2002, Tony Blair stated, in an answer to
29651-494: The sake of peace, we, along with others, will go disarm Saddam Hussein." As late as 25 February 2003, it was still the official line that the only cause of invasion would be a failure to disarm. As Blair made clear in a statement to the House of Commons, "I detest his regime. But even now he can save it by complying with the UN's demand. Even now, we are prepared to go the extra step to achieve disarmament peacefully." In September 2002,
29850-416: 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: 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
30049-400: The situation in Iraqi Kurdistan, with the exception of an interregnum between the end of the Iran–Iraq War 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
30248-465: The six-day-long Battle of Baghdad . This early stage of the war formally ended on 1 May when U.S. President George W. Bush declared the "end of major combat operations" in his Mission Accomplished speech , after which the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was established as the first of several successive transitional governments leading up to the first Iraqi parliamentary election in January 2005. U.S. military forces later remained in Iraq until
30447-547: The south. Four of these CIA officers were awarded the Intelligence Star for their actions. In the 2003 State of the Union address , President Bush said "we know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several mobile biological weapons labs". On 5 February 2003, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations General Assembly , continuing U.S. efforts to gain UN authorization for an invasion. His presentation to
30646-461: The start of the invasion. Others place a much greater emphasis on the impact of the September 11 attacks , on the role this played in changing U.S. strategic calculations, and the rise of the freedom agenda. According to Blair, the trigger was Iraq's failure to take a "final opportunity" to disarm itself of alleged nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that U.S. and British officials called an immediate and intolerable threat to world peace. In
30845-493: 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 ,
31044-402: 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
31243-414: 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
31442-501: 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 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
31641-524: The then Leader of the House of Commons Robin Cook . In a passionate speech to the House of Commons after his resignation, he said, "What has come to trouble me is the suspicion that if the 'hanging chads' of Florida had gone the other way and Al Gore had been elected, we would not now be about to commit British troops to action in Iraq." During the debate, it was stated that the Attorney General had advised that
31840-514: The trip. Maloof reports having brought the proposal to Jaymie Duran. The Pentagon denies that either Wolfowitz or Rumsfeld, Duran's bosses, were aware of the plan. On 21 February, Maloof informed Duran in an email that Richard Perle wished to meet with Hage and the Iraqis if the Pentagon would clear it. Duran responded "Mike, working this. Keep this close hold." On 7 March, Perle met with Hage in Knightsbridge, and stated that he wanted to pursue
32039-414: The tubes could be used to enrich uranium. Powell later admitted he had presented an inaccurate case to the United Nations on Iraqi weapons, based on sourcing that was wrong and in some cases "deliberately misleading." The Bush administration asserted that the Saddam government had sought to purchase yellowcake uranium from Niger . On 7 March 2003, the U.S. submitted intelligence documents as evidence to
32238-400: 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 decreased. During
32437-649: The war due to Iran's support for anti-communist forces in the Afghan Democratic Republic . During Yuri Andropov '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 ,
32636-499: The war to its citizens. Americans overwhelmingly believed Saddam did have weapons of mass destruction: 85% said so, even though the inspectors had not uncovered those weapons. Of those who thought Iraq had weapons sequestered somewhere, about half responded that said weapons would not be found in combat. By February 2003, 64% of Americans supported taking military action to remove Saddam from power. The Central Intelligence Agency 's Special Activities Division (SAD) teams, consisting of
32835-562: The war was legal under previous UN Resolutions. In December 2002, a representative of the head of Iraqi Intelligence, the General Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti , contacted former Central Intelligence Agency Counterterrorism Department head Vincent Cannistraro stating that Saddam "knew there was a campaign to link him to 11 September and prove he had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)." Cannistraro further added that "the Iraqis were prepared to satisfy these concerns. I reported
33034-506: The war. Minister of Foreign Affairs 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
33233-418: 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 , 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
33432-556: The withdrawal in 2011. The coalition sent 160,000 troops into Iraq during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from 19 March to 1 May. About 73% or 130,000 soldiers were American, with about 45,000 British soldiers (25%), 2,000 Australian soldiers (1%), and ~200 Polish JW GROM commandos (0.1%). Thirty-six other countries were involved in its aftermath. In preparation for the invasion, 100,000 U.S. troops assembled in Kuwait by 18 February. The coalition forces also received support from
33631-420: Was captured by U.S. forces on 13 December. Hostilities of the Gulf War were suspended on 28 February 1991, with a cease-fire negotiated between the UN coalition and Iraq. The U.S. and its allies tried to keep Saddam in check with military actions such as Operation Southern Watch , which was conducted by Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) with the mission of monitoring and controlling airspace south of
33830-471: 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 was proclaimed
34029-657: 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 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
34228-432: 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 and commended Lenin for giving Russian Marxism a uniquely Russian specificity which Marx alone
34427-479: 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
34626-434: 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 worked, in the meantime, to establish the party's security and intelligence organisation to combat its enemies. On 29 July, Daud left for
34825-400: Was also an avid reader of topics on moral and material forces in international politics . His government was critical of orthodox Marxism , opposing the orthodox Marxist concepts of class conflict , the dictatorship of the proletariat and atheism ; it opposed Marxism–Leninism 's claim that non-Marxist–Leninist parties are automatically bourgeois in nature, claiming that the Ba'ath Party
35024-458: Was based on the ideology of Ba'athism , a Syrian ideology conceived by Zaki al-Arsuzi , Michel Aflaq 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 [the process of] realising an Arab national renaissance and of building socialism will not be attained except by revolution and struggle". Revolution
35223-472: 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 [the Iraqis'] continued involvement in terrorism . ... The real reason was to help them succeed in the war against Iran." 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
35422-564: Was composed of Shia Khomeinists , while the Iraqi Ba'athists were secular . 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 , and the Iranian leaders had purged thousands of officers and soldiers because of their political views. It
35621-516: Was exiled to Morocco . 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 . 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 strengthened his position in
35820-440: 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
36019-507: Was for control of the territory that was occupied by Ansar al-Islam. It was carried out by Paramilitary Operations Officers from SAD and the Army's 10th Special Forces Group. This battle resulted in the defeat of Ansar and the capture of a chemical weapons facility at Sargat. Sargat was the only facility of its type discovered in the Iraq war. SAD teams also conducted missions behind enemy lines to identify leadership targets. These missions led to
36218-461: Was incapable of doing. He also expressed admiration for other communist leaders (such as Fidel Castro , Ho Chi Minh and Josip Broz Tito ) for their spirit of asserting national independence, rather than for their communism. 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
36417-455: Was increasingly becoming a concern for the government, because Kurdish rebels were receiving extensive support from Iran , Israel , and the United States . After the Iraqis suffered a major defeat to the Iranians in the 1974–1975 Shatt al-Arab clashes , Saddam met with Iranian monarch Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and, with the ratification of the 1975 Algiers Agreement , ceded parts of Iraqi territory in exchange for Iran's termination of support for
36616-507: 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 ,
36815-486: Was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that invading that country was not justified in the context of UNMOVIC 's 12 February 2003 report. About 5,000 largely unusable chemical warheads , shells or aviation bombs were discovered during the Iraq War, but these had been built and abandoned earlier in Saddam Hussein 's rule before the 1991 Gulf War . The discoveries of these chemical weapons did not support
37014-562: Was not complying with UN Resolution 1441 . The main allegations were: that Saddam possessed or was attempting to produce weapons of mass destruction , which Saddam Hussein had used in places such as Halabja , possessed, and made efforts to acquire, particularly considering two previous attacks on Baghdad nuclear weapons production facilities by both Iran and Israel which were alleged to have postponed weapons development progress; and, further, that he had ties to terrorists, specifically al-Qaeda. The Bush administration's overall rationale for
37213-607: Was not in a position to do so. The Kuwaiti government subsequently increased the country's oil output, greatly reducing international oil prices and further weakening the Iraqi economy, while continuing to pressure the Iraqi leadership to repay the loans. Iraq demanded that the Kuwaitis reduce their oil output, as did OPEC . In 1989, Iraq accused Kuwait of slant drilling across the Iraq–Kuwait border to steal Iraqi petroleum, and demanded compensation. Failed bilateral negotiations resulted in
37412-433: Was not the key aspect of Ba'ath Party ideology; it was its clear ideological platform. Ba'athism was by nature secular , even if its ideological founders had borrowed elements from Islam . 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
37611-482: 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 . Following Iraq's defeat in the Gulf War , the United Nations Security Council introduced Resolution 661 , which imposed sanctions against Iraq . At
37810-444: Was offered top priority to U.S. firms in oil and mining rights, UN-supervised elections, U.S. inspections (with up to 5,000 inspectors), to have al-Qaeda agent Abdul Rahman Yasin (in Iraqi custody since 1994) handed over as a sign of good faith, and to give "full support for any U.S. plan" in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process . They also wished to meet with high-ranking U.S. officials. On 19 February, Hage faxed Maloof his report of
38009-419: Was officially neutral. Shortly after, on 26 December 1991, the Soviet Union was officially dissolved . Throughout the Cold War , Iraq had been an ally of the Soviet Union , 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
38208-478: 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
38407-403: Was popular with the Iraqi people. The government anticipated a loss of revenue, and therefore sent Saddam Hussein to the Soviet Union 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
38606-407: Was presumed that the Iran–Iraq War would result in a quick Iraqi victory. Saddam's plan was to strengthen Iraq's position in the Persian Gulf 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
38805-439: Was the first stage of the Iraq War . The invasion began on 20 March 2003 and lasted just over one month, including 26 days of major combat operations, in which a United States-led combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded the Republic of Iraq . Twenty-two days after the first day of the invasion, the capital city of Baghdad was captured by coalition forces on 9 April after
39004-429: 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
39203-440: 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 takbīr added on to it. The Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs appointed clergy, approved
39402-617: 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
39601-495: 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
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