The Road to Iraq: Part 1
The modern nation of Iraq grew out of World War I when, in 1916, the French and British drew a line in the sand, through the Ottoman Empire, from the Jordan Heights to Iran. After the war, the League of Nations granted the area to the south of that line to the United Kingdom as a mandate. Iraq as we know it today began in 1921, formed from the two former Ottoman regions of Baghdad and Basra. A third region, Mosul, was added in 1926 after the League of Nations denied Turkey's claim for the region.
The British selected elite Sunni Arabs for appointments to government and military offices and ran Iraq until 1932 when it granted Iraq independence, establishing the Heshemite King Faisal I, a Sunni, as the monarch. This monarchy lasted (with a brief takeover by the United Kingdom during World War II to protect the British oil supply) until 1958.
The monarchy was overthrown by the Iraqi army in 1958 and the country was run by the military until 1968 when it was, in turn, overthrown by the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party, a left of center, secular Arab nationalist political party. General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, who served as President of Iraq from 1968 until 1979, quickly nationalized the Iraq Petroleum Company and Iraq enjoyed a massive increase in oil revenues starting in late 1973 when international petroleum prices began a steep rise.
His cousin, Saddam Hussein al-Majid al-Tikriti, who served as his Vice President, steadily increased his powers in the government and took control from Ahmed Hassan in 1979.
Hussein, who had managed the nationalization of the Iraq Petroleum Company, lead Iraq throughout the Iraq-Iran War from 1980 to 1988. The predominately Shi'ite Iranians, who had given support to the Sunni Turks in Iraq, disliked Hussein who had expelled Ayatollah Khomeini from Iraq in 1978, the secular Ba'ath Party and the nation of Iraq over border disputes. Hussein disliked Iran over fears that radical Islamic ideas — hostile to his secular rule — were rapidly spreading inside his country among the majority Shi'ite population. It was during the ensuing war that Hussein used chemical weapons against Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists. The war ended in a stalemate.
In addition to using the $40B given to Iraq by the US government, Iraq had borrowed money from other Arab nations to fight the war. Hussein pushed Kuwait to forgive its debt on the basis that the war had kept Iran from invading their oil fields. Further, Hussein pushed OPEC to cut production and raise prices to help raise money for repayment and Kuwait spearheaded the opposition to this plan. Finally, Hussein accused Kuwait of slant drilling for oil across a disputed border between the two countries. The situation deteriorated and Iraq invaded Kuwait. Despite it's former economic support of Iraq, the strong opposition of Kuwait to the State of Israel, and the friendly relationship between Kuwait and the USSR, the US entered the fray on Kuwait's side and the rest, as they say, is history.
The British selected elite Sunni Arabs for appointments to government and military offices and ran Iraq until 1932 when it granted Iraq independence, establishing the Heshemite King Faisal I, a Sunni, as the monarch. This monarchy lasted (with a brief takeover by the United Kingdom during World War II to protect the British oil supply) until 1958.
The monarchy was overthrown by the Iraqi army in 1958 and the country was run by the military until 1968 when it was, in turn, overthrown by the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party, a left of center, secular Arab nationalist political party. General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, who served as President of Iraq from 1968 until 1979, quickly nationalized the Iraq Petroleum Company and Iraq enjoyed a massive increase in oil revenues starting in late 1973 when international petroleum prices began a steep rise.
His cousin, Saddam Hussein al-Majid al-Tikriti, who served as his Vice President, steadily increased his powers in the government and took control from Ahmed Hassan in 1979.
Hussein, who had managed the nationalization of the Iraq Petroleum Company, lead Iraq throughout the Iraq-Iran War from 1980 to 1988. The predominately Shi'ite Iranians, who had given support to the Sunni Turks in Iraq, disliked Hussein who had expelled Ayatollah Khomeini from Iraq in 1978, the secular Ba'ath Party and the nation of Iraq over border disputes. Hussein disliked Iran over fears that radical Islamic ideas — hostile to his secular rule — were rapidly spreading inside his country among the majority Shi'ite population. It was during the ensuing war that Hussein used chemical weapons against Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists. The war ended in a stalemate.
In addition to using the $40B given to Iraq by the US government, Iraq had borrowed money from other Arab nations to fight the war. Hussein pushed Kuwait to forgive its debt on the basis that the war had kept Iran from invading their oil fields. Further, Hussein pushed OPEC to cut production and raise prices to help raise money for repayment and Kuwait spearheaded the opposition to this plan. Finally, Hussein accused Kuwait of slant drilling for oil across a disputed border between the two countries. The situation deteriorated and Iraq invaded Kuwait. Despite it's former economic support of Iraq, the strong opposition of Kuwait to the State of Israel, and the friendly relationship between Kuwait and the USSR, the US entered the fray on Kuwait's side and the rest, as they say, is history.
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