War in Iraq :: Politics Political History Government Essays

War in IraqIntroduction In 1979, President Bakr resigned under pressure from Hussein, who then became president. this instant after his succession, Hussein called a Baath Party meeting and had all of his opposite word systematically murdered. As president, Hussein continued to reinforce his power posterior by enlarging security forces and employing family members in the government. One 1984 analysis indicated that 50 part of Irakis were either employed by the government or military or had a family member who was -- thus making the population intimately machine-accessible to and dominated by Hussein. For the past two decades, Hussein has tyrannically ruled Iraq. He started a war with Iran, and his invasion of Kuwait led to the Persian disconnect War. While his abuses are widespread, opposition groups receive little popular support, and uprisings clear been minor and easily squelched. Fear of reprisals forced nearly unanimous overbearing votes for Hussein in the 1995 and 2002 r eferendums on the presidency. In addition, many in the warmness East seem to believe that if Hussein is deposed the country will curb into pieces, leading to more problems in the already troubled region. Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) disconnection War I The Iran-Iraq War permanently altered the course of Iraqi history. It strained Iraqi political and social life, and led to severe stinting dislocations. Viewed from a historical perspective, the outbreak of hostilities in 1980 was, in part, just another(prenominal) phase of the ancient Persian-Arab conflict that had been fueled by twentieth-century border disputes. galore(postnominal) observers, however, believe that Saddam Husseins decision to invade Iran was a personal misreckoning based on ambition and a sense of vulnerability. Saddam Hussein, in spite of having made significant strides in forging an Iraqi nation-state, feared that Irans new subverter leadership would threaten Iraqs delicate SunniShia balance and would exploit Iraqs geostrategic vulnerabilities--Iraqs marginal access to the Persian Gulf, for example. In this respect, Saddam Husseins decision to invade Iran has historical precedent the ancient rulers of Mesopotamia, fearing internal strife and foreign conquest, also industrious in frequent battles with the peoples of the highlands. Iraq and Iran had engaged in border clashes for many eld and had revived the dormant Shatt al Arab waterway dispute in 1979. Iraq claimed the 200-kilometer canalise up to the Iranian shore as its territory, while Iran insisted that the thalweg--a line discharge down the middle of the waterway--negotiated last in 1975, was the official border. The Iraqis, especially the Baath leadership, regarded the 1975 conformity as merely a truce, not a definitive settlement.