Iraq’s destabilization became prominent after American intervention removed Saddam Hussein from power. Since Hussein’s termination, the region of Iraq has been unable to piece together a government strong enough to maintain control over civilian behavior, social infrastructure, or the co-related increase in the influence of sectarian militias and terrorist groups in the region. Regardless of what was gained or lost by removing Hussein from power, the greater problems with the U.S.’s intervention arose from the proceedings of our continued occupation. Through removing many of the government functions that had existed under Hussein in a massive purge of individuals who had once associated themselves with Hussein’s Ba’athist party (a process …show more content…
The political movements that Ba’athism has inspired have resulted in the creation of secular one-party states, characterized by socialist economics, and hierarchical government organization. In 1951, Ba’athism was brought to Iraq by Fuad al-Rikabi, who established the Iraqi Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party (Polk, 2006). After Iraq’s 1968 revolution, Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr and his cousin Saddam Hussein became president and vice president, respectively. Both of them were active members of the Ba’athist Party, and thus, Iraq’s new government was shaped to embody Ba’athist political ideals (Associated Press, 2006). Through their placement of Ba’athist ideology at the center of Iraqi government, Iraq’s new leaders effectively established a hierarchical structure of authority and an internal security apparatus that permeated all corners of Iraqi society. In 1979, Saddam Hussein became the president of Iraq, and through abuse of the dictatorial power provided to him by the hierarchical system of Iraq’s Ba’athist government, ultimately committed countless atrocities, ranging from the selective kidnapping and killing of political rivals to using chemical weapons against his own citizens (Kirby, …show more content…
To reach its effective goals, de-Ba’athification should have taken the form of a pragmatic vetting of Iraqi leaders, rather than a purge of the experienced officials whose expertise held together the fabric of Iraq’s inherently unstable society. Unfortunately, instead of de-Ba’athification’s proposed actions being drawn from a culturally knowledgeable prospective goal of shaping a successful new government, based on maintaining the already-present occupational roles that served to maintain stability and functionality within Iraqi society, its course of action was modeled based upon the post- World War II proceedings of de-Nazification. While being interviewed for a documentary by PBS Frontline, Paul Bremer explained that because Saddam Hussein had modeled the authoritarian nature of his regime after Adolf Hitler’s model of Nazi Germany, in their efforts to reconstruct an Iraqi government, the Coalition of Provisional Authority should naturally model de-Ba’athification’s operations based on the proceedings of de-Nazification in post WWII Germany (Bremer). However, when viewing such proceedings in hindsight, many see de-Nazification as having been
In September 1980, a very destructive war with Iran was started by Saddam Hussein. This was a result of an invasion in Iran. This invasion spurred an eight year war. Saddam used c...
Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion alongside Judaism and Christianity. It is currently the second largest religion in the world today. Its beliefs come from the Qur'an which literally means "the recitation" which is believed to be a literal transcription of the word of God. Its main prophet is named Muhammad who began Islam by speaking with the angel Gabriel in a cave during his meditation and then acting as an instrument of God to help write the Qur’an. Muhammad then spread Islam to the scattered tribes of Arabia by becoming the leader of Yathrib and using his wonderful leadership abilities to then grow his influence over virtually all of Arabia. Muhammad is known by Muslims to be the seal of the profits because no profits after Muhammad should be considered legitimate. Muhammad also left behind the Hadith or “tradition” which is a collection of writings compiled of reports of Muhammad’s actions as leader of Yathrib. These reports are used as a more specific code of ethics in day to day life and from these reports the 5 Pillars of Islam are derived (Smith 160). Although Islam shares many similarities to Judaism and Christianity it is often viewed in the US with hate derived from preconceived notions following the attack on September 11th 2001. This paper seeks to provide an overview of Islam’s history as well as its two major sects and 5 main pillars to remove preconceived notions and provide a glance into the minds of the Islamic people.
Ever the shrewd leader, Hussein realized that the primary way to ensure stability was to increase the standard of living. The fi...
There are two declarations of faith in Islam: That there is only one God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. In Memories of Muhammad, Omid Safi explores the ways in which Muhammad – both the historical and spiritual Muhammad – is remembered, commemorated, and contested by Muslims throughout the centuries. Safi focuses on the movements and moments in Muhammad’s life and after his death that for many Muslims best exemplify the teachings of Islam. He succeeds in opening up the dialogue to correct the negative portrayals of Muhammad and the religion of Islam, calling it a “Muhammad problem” in his introduction. Furthermore, he provides a book that is accessible and intelligible to both Muslims and non-Muslims, drawing from historical and spiritual sources, and addresses relevant issues contested between Muslims in relation to other religions, presenting Muhammad as a historical figure and one who is beloved by the Umma.
He ordered a poisonous gas attack on March 16, 1988 against his own people in Halabja in northern Iraq because the Kurds wanted to separate from Iraq and his rule. More than 5,000 Iraqi citizens died in Hussein’s attack (“Saddam Hussein Fast Facts”). Moreover, the two revolutions were also hindered by high-ranking officials and citizens not wanting to relinquish their
Rivkin, David B., Jr., and Lee A. Casey. "The New Iraqi Constitution." The Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation, 16 Sept. 2005. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
In his 176-page volume, the leading German Islamist, Heinz Halm is able to trace the roots of the Iranian Revolution back throughout the history of the Shi’ism. Contrary to many western thinkers and Iranian militants, Halm feels as though Shi’i Islam’s character was not inherently revolutionary, but that the transition to revolution marked a milestone and a watershed in the history of Shi’i thought and history. The title of his book, “Shi’a Islam: From Religion to Revolution” really synopsizes Halm’s point quite adequately. Heinz Halm is currently a professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Tubingen and is the author of numerous other works on Sunni Islam, Shi’ism and Isma’ilism. Some of his works include: “The Empire of the Mahdi”, “The Rise of the Fatimids”, and “Shi’ism”.
The Mughal empire of India has gone through a long line of leaders, though one of the many stands out with his tolerance towards religion and art. This ruler's name is Akbar, the "greatest one. " Akbar, despite some minor mistakes, was a great emperor who helped bring an age of art, architecture, and religion to the Mughal Empire. A large part of Akbar's legacy was architecture, as he built many different buildings and monuments, creating a Mughal architectural style.
In the year 2003, President George Bush and Saddam Hussein both addressed the people of their country of the upcoming war in Iraq. Each spoke of their procedure of attach their specific country will make. Although George Bush and Saddam Hussein both delivered effective speeches, each portraying their theme well, Hussein’s speech was more effective in doing so with its word choice, appeal to emotion, and tone. Hussein’s word choice in his speech was more effective in portraying his theme by using many descriptive words that tap into the audience's emotions to make them feel as if it is under the grace of God that they will win. A quote from Hussein’s speech states, “...the Iraqi people are doing exceptionally well for which they deserve victory
Thomas W. Lippman gives an introduction to the Muslim world in the book Understanding Islam. He has traveled throughout the Islamic world as Washington Post bureau chief for the Middle East, and as a correspondent in Indochina. This gave him, in his own words, "sharp insight into the complexities of that turbulent region." However, the purpose of the book is not to produce a critical or controversial interpretation of Islamic scripture. It is instead to give the American layman an broad understanding of a religion that is highly misunderstood by many Americans. In this way he dispels many myths about "Muslim militants," and the otherwise untrue perception of Islamic violence. In this way the American reader will become more knowledgeable about an otherwise unfamiliar topic. However, the most significant element of Lippman’s book is that it presents Islam in a simple way that makes the reader feels his awareness rise after each chapter. This encourages him to continue learning about the world’s youngest major religion. Understanding Islam dispels many misconceptions about the Muslim world, and presents the subject in a way that urges his reader to further his understanding of Islam through continued study.
Woods and Stout found that Saddam worked to project a well-defined, if multi-headed, public persona: the object of a cult of personality at home, modern deliverer of the ‘Arab Nation’ to the region, and regional hegemonic to the international community. As a result, many Western observers often saw him as the ‘Madman of the Middle East (Wood and Stout 2010). The American-Japanese crisis in 1940 gives an illustration of this also. For instance, national leaders may not have choices because of structural or systemic constraints, or because of their own cognitive processes. But if they see themselves as having only a single course of action, then their assessment...
“Iraq's economy has been grossly mismanaged for 40 years, and its people desperately need an alternative strategy to supplant the failed policies of its dictator. Sound economics are needed to help them rebuild their lives and their country after two decades of wars and four decades of repression under the current regime” (Cohen). Iraqis have shown to have much better lifestyles after the fall of Saddam Hussein; it’s like life was once pumped again to Iraqi neighborhoods after years of oppression and poor economy. Saddam Hussein's regime has succeeded in bankrupting the country even though it boasts 112 billion barrels of oil in reserves--the world's second largest after Saudi Arabia's (Cohen) by forcing Iraqis to go on pointless wars on Kuwait, Iran and purchasing weapons, it not only shed billions of dollars; it also shed more than a million lives .The current era has brought economic improvements to Iraqi citizens that made their lives better.
The abrupt end of decade long dominating regime in three weeks had created a political vacuum, that is evident in shifting coalitions and divisions among religious groups, ethnic groups, regional groups and even classes (Barnett et al. 2003, 25). US did not realize, moreover, the depth of the hostility between Kurds and Arabs, Sunnis and Shiites, and the members of different tribes and local religious groups. Furthermore, to deal with destruction in Iraq new plan was decided by the US. The plan was to pull out all troops and hand over the responsi...
military withdrawal, a period that then again matched with the ascendance of ISIS: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's distrustfulness that Sunnis were out to decimate his questionable administration and his merciless endeavor to suppress their restriction to Shia control; the war-fatigued United States' negligence of how Syria's considerate war exhibited an overpowering open door for the fragmented and for the most part barren al Qaeda in Iraq to rise again on both sides of the Syrian outskirt; the Obama organization's hesitance to apply discretionary compel even as the Maliki government ridiculed U.S. wishes for a more comprehensive collusion in Iraq; and inaction and inactivity with respect to the United States and its associates as ISIS cleared over region fundamental to the national character of Iraq and
Growing up Saddam Hussein was always trying to gain power and rule. Even before his presidency he was always fighting his way up. In 1958 after the monarchy was overthrown Hussein and others tried to assassinate the Prime Minister Qasim (Butt). The Prime Minister was soon aware of the fact and consequently Hussein had to flee Iraq. In 1963, Qasim was murdered, and Hussein returned to Iraq. Thus Hussein began his rise to power once more. He soon found a position in the Ba’ath party and was named assistant secretary general. Within a few months the Ba’ath party was overthrown, and Hussein was sent to prison. He was released two years later in 1968 after the Ba’ath party regained power in a coup that Hussein helped lead. Hussein was named the vice chairman of the ruling Revolutionary Command Council and vice president under General Ahmed Hassan Bakr. In 1979 Hussein became president. As the President he began doing many more harsh things, he executed hundreds of high ranking party members and army officers who he thought were disloyal. As a result of his cruel and brutal ways some refer to Hussein as the moniker, Butcher of Baghdad. (Andrews).