Brutal Force Of The Iraqi Military example essay topic

The 'Sovereign' Iraqi Monarchy and British Colonialism In 1932, the League of Nations admitted Iraq as a sovereign state fully aware that British influence continued in Iraqi political, economic and military areas through a new 25-year treaty. Britain's aim was for indirect control of Iraq through advisors, military bases and access to Iraq's tax collections. In this way, it avoided the high cost of large troop deployment on foreign soil. Yet, the fiction of indirect control failed to convince Iraqis. As boundaries became fixed for this new nation, internal power struggles flared up between the different religious factions, pitting one ethnic group against another.

Further, the new borders resulted in frequent border disputes with Iraq's mainly new neighbors in addition to widespread ethnic and economic dislocation. While trying to strike a balance between nationalist and British influences, King Faisal's Hashemite monarchy struggled to mold a political community under these overwhelming pressures. Rebellion among the ethnic groups was a constant problem, particularly from the Kurds and Assyrians. Although previously bestowing favor on one or the other, Britain now employed the brutal force of the Iraqi military to suppress dissent. These actions forebode future patterns for Iraq where dissent provoked heavy handed military repression. Into this arena came General Bakr Sidqi, an ambitious and powerful Kurdish commander, who had not only military but growing political aspirations.

In September 1933, when King Faisal died, Iraq lost the main stabilizing force in Iraqi politics. Despite the challenges to the monarchy's legitimacy, the King alone was able to unite the various political personalities in support of Iraqi nationalism. His 21-year old son, Ghazi, was western educated and knew little of Iraqi tribal society when he became monarch. During his reign, Iraqi politics degenerated into strife between urban elites and tribal sheikhs that further undermined the newly established political institutions and constitution. General Bakr Sidqi led a coup d'etat in 1936, the first military coup that the modern Arab world was to experience. The British did not intervene as their policy of indirect control was yielding results and the coup threatened only the parliament.

However, Sidqi was to last only one year. There was yet a second coup in 1937 by other military officers, called 'the Circle of Seven', who managed to rule Iraq with King Ghazi as figurehead until 1941. This group dealt with dissent harshly, imposing martial law, press censorship and establishing a detention camp. Provincial and nationalist groups went underground in their resistance to the government. As the Second World War unfolded, Britain again began to intervene in Iraqi politics with heavy demands for Iraq to side with Allied powers, to grant unimpeded access to air bases and supplies, and to allow troop transfers across Iraqi soil. These demands reopened festering resentment of British colonial control and ultimately sparked a third coup in 1941, this time against the monarchy.

Although the new government assured Britain that all treaty rights would be upheld, the British landed forces in Iraq and marched to Baghdad with surprisingly little resistance. Britain reestablished its military occupation to ensure the regent's return to Iraq. With this presence, Britain put an end to the series of military coups that had plagued the country. Yet, with each successive coup, establishing political control by armed force was becoming ingrained in Iraqi society. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Sa " id emerged as the nation's preeminent political figure and strongman in exercising military might to suppress his opposition.

In early 1948, the Iraqi government attempted to renegotiate in secrecy a treaty with Britain, concerned that any overt discussion could inflame those who bitterly resented any British influence in the region. Word leaked, however, resulting in immediate demonstrations and marches through the streets of Baghdad, and ending in violent confrontations and casualties. Political resistance was so vehement and unrelenting that the Iraqi government ultimately abandoned the treaty 1. Around this time the war in Palestine unfolded disastrously for the Arab world. Iraqis viewed the influx of European Jews into Palestine as a further colonial invasion of Arab lands. Iraq sent 18,000 troops to the area to join Egyptian and other Arab forces trying to reclaim the land for Palestinian Arabs.

In facing defeat, Egypt accused Iraqi troops of inaction in battle. This created a furor in Iraq. Iraqis believed its soldiers were ill-equipped and poorly trained due to military budget cuts enforced by the British who wanted to lessen the threat of military coups. This criticism ultimately brought down the ruling Iraqi parliament.

With the Suez Crisis in 1956 and the ensuing popularity of Egypt's General Nasser in the Arab world, Iraqi army officers began to organize under the 'Free Officers' movement. They wisely organized in secret with the aim of overthrowing the monarchy and occupying all senior government posts with military officials. Opposition parties began to form, including the Ba " th Party (Renaissance Party), an offshoot of established as a branch of its Syrian predecessor. When the military coup of 1958 finally occurred, it was swift, ruthless and instantly successful.

It put a sudden end to the Hashemite monarchy 2 and Great Britain's colonial control of Iraq. In its place was an Iraqi Republic led by a military dictatorship wielding more power than any politician had before. The era of Iraq's colonial period under British control left behind a legacy of two entrenched patterns of governance: the use of patronage to guarantee economic power; and the swift application of armed force to overcome any form of Iraqi resistance. While this worked in the short-term, it did not solve Iraq's long-term problems brought on by the competing needs of a society that was becoming more complex, diverse and sophisticated in its ability to advance its interests. To continue with Iraq's history, please move on to the next section dealing with Iraq's Decades of Dictators. 1 The Treaty of Portsmouth, initially accepted in late 1947, but later abandoned.

2 The Hashemite monarchy continues today through King Abdullah of Jordan.