Regional Differences

Move away from pan-Arabism

Iraq turned to Sunnism as most Arab states supported the US against Iraq; Saddam framed the sanctions as a combined effort by Western imperialists and Zionists to gain Iraqi oil

National Faith campaign

1993 - Islamisation of the regime: encouraged mosque building, sponsored clerics, and sent Ba'ath cadets to mosques and seminaries

Religious symbolism

Added Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest) to the Iraqi flag and tasked Muslim scholars with uncovering Saddam's lineage from Mohammed

Sectarian makeup of the leadership

By 1998 the RCC and Ba'ath leaders were about 28% Shia Arab and 61% Sunni Arab - Saddam restructured his regime around a narrow ethnic and sectarian base of support

Himaya (Protection) Force

Made up of 30-40 men drawn from tribes loyal to Saddam in the northwest Sunni centre; loyal tribes were armed from state armouries and given money and land in return for support

Ba'ath party decline

Lost 70% of its membership by 2003, evidencing that Saddam had shifted the method by which his regime gained and held power

Military decline

Armed forces declined to only 400,000 - the elite portion was the 60,000-70,000 Republican Guard

Containment of Shia opposition

Despite discontent in the south, the regime contained Shia opposition movements - most SCIRI and Dawa Party members were out of the country; fundamentalist Shia clerics had dwindling appeal to secular young Shia

Repression in the southern marshes

Some groups continued attacks in the marshes, but the state responded by resettling 250,000 people away

SCIRI and Dawa's return

Only resumed playing important political roles in Iraq after the destruction of the Ba'ath regime in 2003

Appeasement of Shia Iraqis

The government allowed pilgrimages to the Shia holy city to resume after a 1997 agreement with Iran

Grand Ayatollah Sadiq al-Sadr

Saddam supported him as head of the Shia due to his Arab tendencies and hatred of the US and Israel