The Ba’th party is based on ideas of Arab unity, and the belief that Arabs have a special mission to end western colonialism. The party is by its nature revolutionary. It also does not allow free speech. Unfortunately, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat’s reconciliation with Israel in 1978 rocks the foundation of this unity among neighboring Arab states. This strains relations between Syria and Iraq.
By 1979, Saddam was playing a very important role in Iraqi political life. President Bakr, whose health was deteriorating, had come to depend on Saddam for much of the administrative business of the government. Saddam was angered when Bakr attempted to improve relations with Syria. With Saddam at the helm, Bakr was forced into early retirement, resigning due to “health problems.” This act propelled Saddam to the presidency, a power that he would wield forcefully and often against his own people and supporters.
In 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, the home of the Ayatollah Khomeini and Shiite fundamentalists Muslims, and started a war that lasted for the next 8 years. Saddam Hussein was nervous about the revolution in Iran. Saddam had a secular balance between the Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Iraq, and was worried that it might be disturbed by his religious Shiite neighbors. Saddam also wanted to establish Iraq as the dominant Persian Gulf state.
Saddam waged a brutal war. Many Kurds, an Iraqi minority, were sprayed with poison gas for helping the Iranians. He also used chemical weapons on the Iranians. In 1988, after millions were killed, Iran and Iraq agreed to a cease-fire, and ended the war.
Even the war against Iran didn’t end the peoples’ support of Hussein. By 1984, almost 1.5 million Iraqis were supporters of Hussein and the Ba’thists party. Hussein kept enlarging his army and security. His government created new agencies to control and manipulate the citizens of Iraq. Today, Iraq remains one of the tightest police states in the world.
Throughout the 1980’s, Iraq was very dependent on Kuwait and many other Arab nations for financial support. The war with Iran had left Iraq’s economy in ruins. Iraq still had limited geographical access to the Persian Gulf, and the war left Iraq’s oil shipping capacity severely diminished. However, relations between Iraq and Kuwait deteriorated with the reawaking of old issues with the border and Kuwaiti sovereignty. Historically, Iraq had thought that Kuwait had been a part of Iraq.
In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. In a matter of hours Iraq had seized nearly a quarter of the world’s oil supplies. Saddam Hussein, sensing growing opposition to the invasion, tried to rally Arab support. He told his country to prepare for war, ordering Iraqi women to cut their families’ food consumption in half. He was betting ordinary Iraqi citizens’ safety on the dream of a greater Arab glory. But not all Arab states were convinced.
Fearing it would be next, Saudi Arabia requested protection from the United States, which began amassing forces there. After 3 months of failed negotiations and careful planning, the U.N. Security Council issued a deadline for Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait. When the deadline, passed a worldwide coalition (including the United States) under U.N. authority lunched Operation Desert Storm to liberate the tiny country from its aggressive neighbor.
In 1991, a cease-fire was announced. By this time the U.N. had imposed sweeping trade sanctions on Iraq. The U.N. Security Council laid down conditions, including elimination of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, which must be met before those sanctions are lifted. Although the sanctions have had devastating effects on the Iraqis, they are still in place because Saddam Hussein has not cooperated.
Today, the United States could possibly go to war with Iraq. Iraq has still not agreed to let the U.N. weapon inspectors do their work. The U.S. is strategizing about how to replace Saddam Hussein, and try to help Iraq.
- Concerns the administration has with Iraq.
The first concern with Iraq is that the U.S. thinks he is harboring many weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The administration, since the cold war, has developed a strategy to rid rouge states from amassing WMD.
The second concern is that Iraq did not let U.N. weapon inspectors back into Iraq to check for biological weapons. Despite almost a decade of economic embargo, and his economy in ruin, Saddam refuses to cooperate with sanctions that could allow his country to recover financially.
The third concern is that Saddam Hussein is a dictator who uses violence to maintain his grip on power, often against his own people. When he took office in 1979, he held a meeting with members of his party, at which he ordered some of the members to be executed on the spot.
And finally, members of the Bush administration are also worried that Saddam might assist Islamic extremists in launching an attack against the United States. Although there is no evidence that Saddam is linked to Al-Qade, some believe that he could retaliate against the U.S. by helping other groups or terrorists target Americans and our interests.
3. Why should we go to war with Iraq?
Saddam Hussein poses an imminent threat to the United States by developing weapons of mass destructions. Eliminating him as a dictator could make Iraq a more stable country in the region. If successful, a war could bring about a regime change. A more democratic government could enable Iraq to comply with the United Nations to disarm, and to recover from its struggling economy. Iraq is an oil rich country and our economy and life style depends largely on oil, it's in our best interests to defend our investments in that oil-rich region.
4. Why should we refrain from going to war with Iraq?
Going to war with Iraq would continue the great human tragedy the country has been experiencing since its war with Iran decades ago. A war with Iraq doesn’t guarantee a regime change. We don’t know what could happen if we remove Saddam Hussein from power. An even meaner dictator could come to power.
Saddam could be tempted to use his WMD against an American attack. Critics also believe that Saddam could or would launch missiles into Israel even widening the war, killing more people.
We should refrain from an attack until we have the support of the United Nations, our Allies, and the international community and a clear objective.
5. Do you think a war with Iraq is justifiable? Explain.
I think a war with Iraq is not justifiable. Who’s to say that a regime change would not bring about anarchy, or worse, leaving the country in the hands of the Islamic fundamentalists? This war could come at great monetary expense to the United States. It could be very risky for the U.S. to go to war with Iraq without help from our Allies and the U.N. Given that the United Nations is the governing body that imposed the current sanctions, it seems smart for the United States to ask for its support, and not go it alone. If we were to go to war without help, and be successful in the end, we would be the only ones rebuilding Iraq. The expense alone is not justifiable as well as the loss of human life on both sides.
6. What would ease the tensions between America and Iraq?
A way to ease the tensions between the two countries would be for Saddam Hussein to allow U.N. weapons inspectors back in the country, under new U.N. resolutions. Also, if the United States, working with the U.N., would lift the current trade embargo and sanctions against Iraq, a trust from the Iraqi government and people could be established, ending years of hardship. Talking openly is always the best solution in conflict. With trust, the U.S., with the U.N., and Iraq could try to find a solution or resolution without all the bloodshed, without war. This would save many peoples’ lives, and ease worldwide tension. Give diplomacy a chance.
