The Ba'th Party in Iraq: from Its Beginning Through Today
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Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 1993-12 The Ba'th Party in Iraq: from its beginning through today Cabana, Joel L. Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/39665 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA AD-A276 153 ~TC T'-7'CTE S•,AR 0 11994 S"'•THESIS THE BA'TH PARTY IN IRAQ: FROM ITS BEGINNING THROUGH TODAY by Joel L. Cabana December 1993 Thesis Advisor: Ralph H. Magnus Second Reader: Kanil T. Said Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 94-06643 - 2• R 068 REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE form Approved ,~or~aI OMB NO 0704-0ie8 PNX ow i~ngDW,•aeA for this colloc'uoo of ml/oenatiort ,s "i,ritlgdlq 1o ever&"l~ i hour per respo)nse. inc4ludin t"• tirrf/ ltO reviewing instructios, searching eqwvfing dat|al 10.rc Silow:;• and mai4ntaiin the data needed. and coring tin and reviewing the ci'linoft of *focqlOna- Send commients re~rtdig th~tslovitat"q estionte or &nv olne, #%we(t Of lZi ,~ont~o of nfm4( , *•llh! v•t~n ~ N ,Wc this for~e o oh•O , ur*.trs rtv Clit, 0'rectOrate vof infoitnotO O,rotno era , tiona I l Dnd ,. ii is iteltrTion 04..S "h.y. Suite 14. 47lo n. 9Vr•i , PO214 the OUf O ie f Management and Budgt I'iaPrwoki d01 .on Project (004-014) Washington. OC 20503 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 12. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED 11993 December Masters Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE S. FUNDING NUMBERS The Ba'th Party in Iraq: From Its Beginning Through Today 16. (U)AUTHOR(S) Cabana, Joel L. 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER Naval Postrgraduate School Monterey, CA 93943-5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) The conventional wisdom concerning the future of Iraq after the Gulf War of 1990-1991 centers on the prospect of Saddam Hussein and the Ba'th Party being ousted from power. Should this happen, critics argue, peace, security, and predictability will return to Iraq in particular and the Middle East in general. This view of the situation is wrong. This thesis examines the political history of Iraq since the end of World War One, the formation of the Ba'th Party, and the Ba'th Party since its ascent to power in Iraq. Leadership, Institutionalization, Policies, and Legitimacy form the core of the Ba'thist hold on power in Iraq. In its 25 years of power the Ba'th Party has improved the standard of living in Iraq and penetrated society such that any change of regime will result in only marginal and superficial change. The resulting leadership may call itself by other names, but the majority of people in positions of power will be holdovers from the Ba'th regime. 14. SUBJECT TERMS IS. NUMBER OF PAGES Iraq, Ba'th, Ba'th Party, Saddam Hussein, Middle Eastern Politic 130 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION II. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION As. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT OF REPORT OF TIS PA1 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED UNCTAIT 'tffb UL NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev 2 89) pre-Arlbed by ANSI Sid Z9. TO Aprroved for Public Release; Distribution is Unlimited. The Ba'th Party in Iraq: From Its Beginning Through Today by Joel L. Cabana Lieutenant, United States Navy B.S., San Diego State University, 1985 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL December 1993/ Author: Approved by:y Ralph H. Magnus, Kamil T. Said, Second Reader Thomas C. Bruneau, Chairman Department of National Security Affairs ii ABSTRACT The conventional wisdom concerning the future of Iraq after the Gulf War of 1990-1991 centers on the prospect of Saddam Hussein and the Ba'th Party being ousted from power. Should this happen, critics argue, peace, security, and predictability will return to Iraq in particular and the Middle East in general. This view of the situation is wrong. This thesis examines the political history of Iraq since the end of World War One, the formation of the Ba'th Party, and the Ba'th Party since its ascent to power in Iraq. Leadership, Institutionalization, Policies, and Legitimacy form the core of the Ba'thist hold on power in Iraq. In its 25 years of power the Ba'th Party has improved the standard of living in Iraq and penetrated society such that any change of regime will result in only marginal and superficial change. The resulting leadership may call itself by other names, but the majority of people in positions of power will be holdovers from the Ba'th regime. Accesion for NTIS C,3A"J DTI- " .' 2 By D:i-i i. ................ Dist TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ................... ee..........*.... ....... 1 II. POLITICAL HISTORY SINCE THE MANDATE ................. 4 A. COLONIAL PERIOD: (1919-1932) .................... 4 B. MONARCHICAL PERIOD: (1932-1958) .................. 8 C. AUTOCRACY PERIOD: (1958-1968) .................. 16 III. THE BA'TH PARTY TO 1968 ................... .... .21 A. FORMATION AND STRUCTURE OF THE PARTY ............ 22 1. Formation in Syria . ...... o.o..o..o. ...o . 23 2. Formation in Iraq ............. ... ...... ... .26 3. Structure of the Ba'th ...................... 29 B. IDEOLOGY OF THE PARTY ..... o .......... ..... 31 1. Unity, Freedom, and Socialism ....... o....... 32 2. Changes in Ideology .......................... 36 C. LEADERSHIP OF THE PARTY IN IRAQ ................ 39 1. Early Iraqi Ba'th Leadership: (1949-1958) .... 39 2. Iraqi Ba'th Leadership Under Qasim: (1958-1963) ................................... 41 3. Rebuilding Iraqi Ba'th Leadership: (1963-1968) ............................. *.... 44 IV. THE BA'TH PARTY AFTER 1968 ......................... 47 A. LEADERSHIP .. ....................... ....... ..... .49 1. Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr: (1968-1979) ............. 51 iv 2. Saddam Hussein: (1979-present) ............... 55 B. INSTITUTIONALIZATION ................ ...... ...... .65 3.Political .............................. 66 2. Bureaucratic................................ 71 3. Civil ....................................... 74 4. Military ..................................... 77 C. POLICIES ..........................O. .... .... 79 1. Economic ................................... 81 2. Social ......... o.......o........o............o...88 D. LEGITIMACY ........................ .. *............ 94 V. CONCLUSION .... o........o....................*........ 104 A. THE AFTERM4ATH OF THE GULF WAR AND THE FUTURE ... 108 1. The Aftermath of the War .................... 109 2. The Future .......... o...............o......... 111 LIST OF REFERENCES ...... o ......... ... ..... ..... o.117 INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST ............................... 120 V EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991 has raised serious questions as to the desirability of the leadership in Iraq of the Ba'th Party in general and Saddam Hussein in particular. To most outside observers, the problem in Iraq is Saddam Hussein and the Ba'th Party. They suggest that if he and his party were eliminated that the problems with Iraq would be ended. This line of thinking ignores what has happened in Iraq since it became a nation and the events of the last 25 years. Iraq became a country in 1919 under a British mandate. The British installed a king and created a constitutional monarchy which would lead Iraq to independence in 1932. The monarchy overcame several challenges to its rule and lasted until 1958 when the army rebelled and the royal family was killed. Iraq became a republic, and the next ten years would see the reins of power shift four times. This was the decade in which the Ba'th Party came to prominence and was nearly eliminated at the hands of the Iraqi leadership. The party survived and in July 1968 came to power after it first seized the government and then eliminated its rivals. In 1939 the party was born in Syria. It was started by three nationalist schoolteachers upset with the mandate vi system in Syria. The movement grew and spread to Iraq in 1952. It was a small movement in Iraq, with only about 50 members in 1952. It was a highly disciplined and structured organization. The ideology of "unity, freedom, socialism" was, and still is, the guiding principle of the Ba'th Party. The leadership of the party has been solid and ruthless from the beginning. There have been four leaders of consequence with the two most important being Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr and Saddam Hussein. It is under the direction of these two men that the Ba'th Party came to power in 1968 and has remained in power through the present day. The leadership has been very disciplined and has used propaganda, oppression, and the reliance on close tribal or family relations to maintain its grip on power. The party has also sought to institutionalize its rule in every sector of society. Through the use of its highly developed political organization the party has penetrated virtually every bureaucratic, civil, and military organization in Iraq. The party has grown from 50 members in 1952 to over 50,000 in 1984 with well over 1.5 million active supporters. The government and party payrolls have grown to about 30 percent of the population of 18 million. The party has implemented economic policies that have raised the standard of living in Iraq. It nationalized the oil industry in 1972 and proceeded to follow several vii industrialization and modernization programs designed to make Iraq an economic power in the region. The successful social programs started by the Ba'th Party have included free education and healthcare as well as a determined effort to re-educate the people on their "Iraqi" history.