Iraq

History

Main article: History of Iraq

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Modern Iraq became a British mandate (the British League of Nations Trust Territory of Iraq) at the end of World War I and was granted independence from British control in 1932. It was formed out of three former Ottoman Willayats (regions): Mosul, Baghdad and Basra. The British-installed Hashemite monarchy lasted until 1958, when it was overthrown through a coup détat by the Iraqi army, known as the 14 July Revolution. It brought Brigadier General Abdul Karim Qassim's leftist government to power (which withdrew from the Baghdad Pact and established friendly relations with the Soviet Union), from 1958 till 1963, when he was overthrown by Colonel Abdul Salam Arif. Salam Arif died in 1966 and his brother, Abdul Rahman Arif, assumed the presidency. In 1968, Rahman Arif was overthrown by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. The Ba'ath's key figure became Saddam Hussein who acceded to the presidency and control of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), Iraq's supreme executive decision making body, in July 1979, killing off many of his opponents in the process. Saddam's absolute and particularly bloody rule lasted throughout the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), which ended in stalemate; the al-Anfal campaign of the late 1980s, which led to the alleged gassing of thousands of Kurds in northern Iraq; Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 resulting in the Gulf War; and the United Nations-imposed economic sanctions and no-fly zones which followed. The American-led 2003 invasion of Iraq removed Saddam Hussein's Government from power, replacing it with an interim American-backed Provisional Authority, and then an interim government. On January 30, 2005, Iraq held new legislative elections, changing the political face of Iraq, which had previously been a lay state with minimal religious conflict (this being due to the fact Saddam brutally oppressed the Shia whilst co-opting the wealthiest Shia landowners into supporting the Baath leadership). The country is currently divided over religious and ethnic differences that were held in check by Saddam's brutal repression. The current situation remains volatile while the new government attempts to re-establish security in the country.

Related Topics:
World War I - 1932 - Ottoman - Mosul - Baghdad - Basra - Hashemite - 1958 - Brigadier General - Abdul Karim Qassim - Baghdad Pact - Soviet Union - 1963 - Colonel - Abdul Salam Arif - 1966 - Abdul Rahman Arif - 1968 - Ba'ath - Saddam Hussein - 1979 - Iran-Iraq War - 1980 - 1988 - Al-Anfal campaign - Kurds - Kuwait - 1990 - Gulf War - United Nations - Economic sanctions - No-fly zones - American - 2003 invasion of Iraq - Interim government - January 30 - 2005 - Legislative elections - Volatile - Security

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