Iraq 1968-1990
Ioana Antone
Cristina Feraru
Polkowice, Poland
2013
Abstract
O Iraq, known in classical antiquity as Mesopotamia, was home
to the oldest civilizations in the world, with a cultural history of
over 10,000 years,hence its common epithet, the Cradle of
Civilization. After a series of invasions and conquest by the
Mongols and Turks, Iraq fell under Ottoman rule in the 16th
century, intermittently falling under Mamluk and Safavid
control.
O Ottoman rule ended with World War I, and Iraq came to be
administered by the British Empire until the establishment of
the Kingdom of Iraq in 1932. The Republic of Iraq was
established in 1958. The Republic was controlled by Saddam
Hussein from 1979 to 2003, into which period falls the IranIraq war and the Gulf War. Saddam Hussein was deposed
following the 2003 US-led invasion of the country.
1968-1990 period
O 1968 - Baathist Party comes to power for good in Iraq
O 1972-Iraq announces the nationalization of oil. Pres.
Nixon plots with Shah to arm Iraqui Kurds. Iraq
placed on list of nations supporting terrorism
O 1975-Iraq Vice-president Saddam Hussein and Shah
reach agreement ceding control of Shatt-al-Arab
waterway to Iran. Kurdish aid abruptly stopped.
Concerning the Kurds who were left in the lurch,
Henry Kissinger said , " Covert operations should not
be confused with missionary work".
O 1979-Shah is overthrown. National Security adviser
Brzezinski publicly encouraged Iraq to attack Iran to
take back the Shatt-al-Arab waterway - which the U.S
had forced Iraq to cede to Iran four years earlier.
O 1980-"Carter Doctrine" states U.S. will intervene
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militarily to protect U.S. access to oil. Iraq invades
Iran at U.S. urging.
1982-Iraq removed from terrorist nation list
1984-U.S restores full diplomatic relations with Iraq.
Pres. Reagan authorizes intelligence sharing with
Iraq. At same time U.S. begins sharing intelligence
and selling weapons to Iran.
1985-Oliver North tells Iran that U.S. will help Iran
overthrow Saddam Hussein
1986-U.S increases aid to Iraq
1987-Norman Schwartzkopf Jr. Named head of CENTCOM. U.S bombs Iranian oil platforms.
O 1988-Cease fire signed between Iran and Iraq. Center for
Strategic and International Studies begins 2 year study
predicting outcome of war between U.S and Iraq. Saddam
Hussein announces $40 billion plan to peacefully rebuild Iraq.
O 1989-War Plan 1002 originally conceived to counter Soviet
threat is adjusted to name Iraq as main threat in region. Plan
renamed 1002-90.
O January 1990 - CENT-COM stages computer games testing
1002-90. U.S. War College report states that "Baghdad should
not be expected to deliberately provoke military confrontations
with anyone. Its best interests now and in immediate future are
served by peace".
O February 1990-Schwartzkopf tells congress of need to
increase U.S. military presence in Gulf region
Ba'athist Iraq covers the history of the
Republic of Iraq from 1968 to 2003, during
the period of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party's
rule. This period began with high economic
growth and soaring prosperity, but ended with
Iraq facing social, political, and economic
stagnation. The average annual income
decreased because of several external factors,
and several internal policies of the regime.
Hussein became President of Iraq, Chairman
of the Revolutionary Command Council, Prime
Minister and General Secretary of the Regional
Command of the Ba'ath Party in 1979, during
a wave of anti-regime protests in Iraq led by
the Shia community. The Ba'ath Party, which
was secular in nature, harshly repressed the
protests. Another policy change was Iraq's
foreign policy towards Iran, a Shia Muslim
country. Deteriorating relations eventually led
to the Iran–Iraq War, which started in 1980
when Iraq launched a full-scale invasion of
Iran.
O Once he assumed the presidency, a cult of
personality was created around Hussein. 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 was a nationwide organisation, and
became a propaganda center for proHussein literature.
O 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 Muslim
fundamentalists, while the Iraqi Ba'athists were
secular. Another major obstacle in their relations
was the Iraqi government's continued repression
of (and discrimination against) the Shi'ites. At
the beginning of 1980, several border clashes
took place between the two countries. The Iraqi
regime 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.
O The Iran–Iraq War was, in theory, going to be a
quick Iraqi victory. Hussein's plan was to
strengthen Iraq's position in the Persian Gulf
and on the Arab-world stage. Hussein believed
that the Iranian regime 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 regime saw the
invasion as a test of the revolution itself and all
its achievements. 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 both Hussein and the Ba'ath
regime.
O 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 Hussein 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 regime. If the proposal had been
accepted Hussein would have not have
survived politically,
Carter doctrine
O The Carter Doctrine was a policy proclaimed by
President of the United States Jimmy Carter in
his State of the Union Address on January 23,
1980, which stated that the U.S. would use
military force if necessary to defend its national
interests in the Persian Gulf region. The doctrine
was a response to the Soviet Union's invasion of
Afghanistan in 1979, and was intended to deter
the Soviet Union—the U.S.' Cold War adversary—
from seeking hegemony in the Gulf. After stating
that Soviet troops in Afghanistan posed "a grave
threat to the free movement of Middle East oil“.
United States support for Iraq
during the Iran–Iraq war
O United States support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War, against
post-revolutionary Iran, included several billion dollars worth of
economic aid, the sale of dual-use technology, non-U.S. origin
weaponry, military intelligence, Special Operations training,
and direct involvement in warfare against Iran.
O Support from the U.S. for Iraq was not a secret and was
frequently discussed in open session of the Senate and House
of Representatives. On June 9, 1992, Ted Koppel reported on
ABC's Nightline, "It is becoming increasingly clear that George
Bush, operating largely behind the scenes throughout the
1980s, initiated and supported much of the financing,
intelligence, and military help that built Saddam's Iraq into the
power it became",and "Reagan/Bush administrations
permitted—and frequently encouraged—the flow of money,
agricultural credits, dual-use technology, chemicals, and
weapons to Iraq."
Iraq nowadays
O It is nine years since the war to liberate Iraq from its
evil dictatorship. We had hoped that by now Iraq
would be on an upward spiral regarding democracy,
human rights and religious freedom. Sadly this is not
the case – there is increasing sectarianism,
diminishing human rights, no religious freedom and a
political system that is mayhem to say the least.
O The sad reality is that the world has forgotten Iraq.
The lack of international attention has resulted in it’s
continued rapid demise. Whilst even under Saddam
there was a police force with total control and some
order, now that has all gone.