Iraq 1968-1990

1. Iraq 1968-1990 IoanaAntone Cristina Feraru Polkowice, Poland 2013

2. Abstract • 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,henceits 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. • 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 Iran-Iraq war and the Gulf War. Saddam Hussein was deposed following the 2003 US-led invasion of the country.

3. 1968-1990 period • 1968 - Baathist Party comes to power for good in Iraq • 1972-Iraq announces the nationalization of oil. Pres. Nixon plots with Shah to arm Iraqui Kurds. Iraq placed on list of nations supporting terrorism • 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". • 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.

4. 1980-"Carter Doctrine" states U.S. will intervene 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 CENT-COM. U.S bombs Iranian oil platforms.

5. 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. • 1989-War Plan 1002 originally conceived to counter Soviet threat is adjusted to name Iraq as main threat in region. Plan renamed 1002-90. • 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". • February 1990-Schwartzkopf tells congress of need to increase U.S. military presence in Gulf region

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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 pro-Hussein literature.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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,

12. Carter doctrine • 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“.

13. United States support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war • 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. • 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."

14. Iraq nowadays • 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. • 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.