The Baathist Party and Saddam Hussein's rule of Iraq

When did the Baathist Party seize power?

1968

What was the main religion of the Baathist Party?

Most were Sunni Muslims

Why were many Shiites brought into govt?

To show unity in Iraq

What did the Baathist Party nationalise in 1972?

The oil industry

What did Iraq join in 1973?

The oil embargo

What did the oil embargo manage to do for Iraq?

It drove prices up by 400%

How much did Iraq’s govt receive from their oil revenue in 1972 and in 1980?

• $575 million in 1972

• $26,500 million in 1980

What did the money from oil help Iraq do?

It helped them improve standards of living by extending electricity to rural areas and by increasing the number of schools, hospitals and Dams

What did the Baathist Party control?

Iraqi society, education and the govt

What was the Baathist Party’s main aims?

• To protect the youth from being influenced by foreign countries

• To promote Arab unity and love of order

Who was the government minister responsible for extending govt control over the army and secret police?

Saddam Hussein

How was control over the army maintained?

High spending and regular indoctrination by rotating officers so opposition could not form and imprisonment and executions to those who were disloyal

What began to be common in Iraq?

The repression began to spread in Iraq with increasing reports of torture and rape in prisons

Whose support was the govt reliant on?

Rural Sunni people even through the majority of people were Shiites in the south and centre of Iraq

When did Saddam Hussein become President of Iraq?

1979

How did Hussein’s presidency begin?

He televised trials of disloyal men in the govt - 21 were executed

What tactics did Hussein use to consolidate his power?

Fear tactics like the death penalty and torture against his political opponents

How long did Hussein rule for?

25 years

What did Hussein claim to be?

He was the ‘leader of the Arabs’ since he was anti-Israel and opposed Egypt’s sue for peace

Under Hussein, how did the Shiite community suffer?

In 1980-81 Hussein deported 200,000 Shiites for being disloyal - most of them were wealthy business owners whose land went to Hussein’s supporters

Who were the Kurds and what percentage of Iraq’s population did they make up?

• They are an ethnic minority group who are Muslim but do not speak Arabic but Kurdish

• 20% of the population

Where were the Kurds situated in Iraq?

They were in the north between the border of Iraq, Syria and Turkey

Where else were the Kurdish communities found?

Across most neighbouring Arab countries

How did the Iraqi Kurds have a level of independence?

They had leaders who were determined to have their own state, Kurdistan

Why was there conflict between the Kurd nationalists and the Iraqis?

Iraq got their own state but Kurds did not even though they were both promised one by the British

Under Hussein, what happened to the Kurdish leaders?

They were executed or forced into exile

Who supported the Kurds during the Iran-Iraq war?

Iran to try and weaken the Iraqi state

What area of Iraq did the Kurds manage to gain during the Iran-Iraq war?

The north

When did the Iraqi forces bomb Halabja with chemical weapons? How many died due to this?

1988 - 5000 died immediately and 12,000 died after due to the consequences

In 1988, what did Saddam do to the Kurds and how?

He set out to depopulate the Kurds by bulldozing villages and towns and he dropped chemical weapons which killed 180,000 people

What percentage of Kurdish towns were bulldozed and how many refugees fled to Turkey?

• 90% of Kurdish towns

• 100,000 refugees