Saddam Hussein

Oil corruption in Iraqi Kurdistan arose from US/UK and Turkish patronage systems and clientalism. This investigative paper examines how IOCs and other businesses began preparing the ground in northern Iraq to benefit themselves long before Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003. The people of the region have not benefited from the wealth generated by their own natural resources. The swindling has created 5000 new millionaires in Erbil and bolstered the pockets of US and UK politicians, ex-military and SAS personnel and corporate criminals.

IPBD (Iraq Projects Business Development) was set up in the UK in September 2002 by Hareth Zahawi and his son, Nadhim along with  Mahmoud Yousuf in preparation for the invasion of Iraq. They had two other companies called Cupola. IPBD was initially set up to launder American and British military personnel uniforms.

IPBD had $30 million paid into it in January 2003, and $300 million in 2005. It was a major US Contractor under George W.Bush, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, and Zalmay Khalilzad. IPBD was the first UK company to get into Iraq in April 2003, and they had access to DFI funds and stolen Iraqi gold and oil - just like Erik Prince's Blackwater mercenaries for hire... favoured by Washington and the Bush administration for protecting US interests over those of Iraqis.

The formation of the «Arabian Axis» in the number of state coalition opposing the aggression of Saddam Hussein in Kuwait (1990-1991) is regarded in the article. Research methodology is based on the principles of four types of scientific knowledge: general scientific, historical, socio-scientific and problematic. The historical method, which is fundamental for the author, was used as a basis research approach to the phenomena formation and development, as well as the organic coherence of these facts and the conditions causing them. In the frame of this article author analyzes the causes, conditions of formation of “anti-Iraqi triangle” of Saudi Arabia - Egypt - Syria. The author concludes that the three members of the “Arab Axis” had many reasons to fear a dominant role and aggression of Iraq. In particular, in Syria S. Hussein confronted H. Assad, and Assad’s participation in the anti-Saddam coalition was completely predictable. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak believed that the interests of his country will be threatened if Iraq starts to dominate the Middle East arena. Saddam Hussein was also potentially dangerous for the Saudi kingdom, because he considered himself the winner in the war with Iran.

The 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States yielded no evidence to Saddam's possession of weapons of mass destruction. This paper aims to analyze the intelligence utilized by the U.S. Bush Administration to justify the invasion of Iraq, and whether this intelligence collection process was biased.

Scholarly literature highlights the systematic actions taken in the modern Middle East to destroy the Kurdish language. With a primary focus on Turkey, scholars have described this process as a policy of linguicide, or language genocide, which is “the extermination of languages, an analogous concept to (physical) genocide.”2 In contrast, similar processes at work in southern Kurdistan (Kurdistan of northern Iraq) have often been described as “linguistic suppression.”3 This paper argues that linguistic suppression does not adequately describe the Iraqi Kurds’ experiences. Rather, linguicide better captures the practices of cultural genocide that have targeted this group. This paper focuses on how the Kurds in modern-day Iraq were subjected to linguicide under the Language Education Policy (LEP) from 1932 to 1991. This policy was established during the monarchy (1921–1958), and advanced through the time of Saddam Hussein’s regime (1979–1991).4 While much scholarly work has associated the process of linguicide with the birth of a nation-state,5 this article further argues that linguicide in the Iraqi Kurdish case predates the formation of the Iraqi nation-state.

Since June 2014 the Chaldean Catholic Church has faced an existential crisis. The recent attacks of the terrorist forces of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have resulted in increasing levels of persecution and forced displacement. This essay reflects on a more secure period in Chaldean history, during which the community made a strong contribution to the development of the modern state of Iraq. Although it was proportionally small in size, the essay will show that the Chaldeans contributed in ways which far outweighed their numbers, especially in the sphere of inter-communal relations.

Publisher: BBC News
Date: 2004

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/3032147.stm

Bush Doctrine, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Fascism, George W. Bush, Iraq War, National Security State, Neo-Conservatives, Osama Bin Laden, Paul Wolfowitz, Pre-emptive War, Project for the New American Century, PNAC, Regime Change, Saddam Hussein, September 11th Attacks, Terrorism, U.S. Empire, U.S. Foreign Policy, War On Terror

Discuss the causes and consequences of "Operation Desert Storm" in 1990/91. "Operation Desert Storm" was one of the few modern wars with a high degree of systemic legitimation-backed by the UN, NATO, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and even tacit support from the Soviet Union-in which Bush's administration hoped to achieve more than just a regime change in Iraq. Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, in August 1990, gave the US an opportunity to make an example out of him-to show the world the "price that must be paid by any regime that violates the terms of its alliance with the United States. The 1991 Gulf War was literally a punishment." (Mamdani, 2004, P. 146).

Since its inception as a modern nation state, Iraq has experienced a variety of more or less autocratic rulers who impeded the evolution of democratic institutions. This article joins other works that aim at recovering a legacy of democratic traditions in Iraqi society and try to evaluate future perspectives for participatory and inclusive forms of  government. It widens this search into seemingly improbable terrain by focussing on the Baʿthist era. Despite the large-scale destruction of relevant archives during and after the invasion of 2003, formerly  inaccessible sources from within Saddam Hussein’s ruling apparatus, a growing number of autobiographical sources and testimonies have broadened the empirical base for the historiography of Baʿthist Iraq. This study contributes to that endeavour by offering a fresh reading into open sources that have long been used by scholars. It draws on Iraqi print media published during the late 1980s and during the embargo years. This study traces evidence for a more flexible handling of domestic dissent on the part of the regime than has been commonly acknowledged in existing scholarship on Ba'thist Iraq.

"A three-volume encyclopedia, the first of its kind, including more than 300 entries on methods, debates, processes and concepts of transitional justice and country studies.

This huge encyclopedia, with more than 300 entries by distinguished experts from around the world on all relevant topics, is a superb resource for scholars, students, and others interested in questions of historical memory, transitional justice, and archival openness in former dictatorships. The editors, Lavinia Stan and Nadya Nedelsky, who are among the world's foremost authorities on these topics, deserve immense credit for compiling such a wide-ranging, fascinating set of volumes. It is a truly remarkable accomplishment and will be of enduring value. Mark Kramer, Director, Cold War Studies Program, Harvard University

The phenomenon described as ”the third wave of democratization” has posed for scores of societies and states the problem of crime, punishment and conciliation in the wake of the downfall of dictatorial regimes from the Philippines to Poland and Chile. The pursuit and trials of World War Two criminals together with their collaborators as well as those who in recent decades carried out ethnic purges in the Balkans and Africa are being continued. The conception of an Encyclopaedia of Transitional Justice has arrived, therefore, at a suitable moment and its realisation, achieved thanks to the initiative, energy and ingenuity of Lavinia Stan and Nadya Nedelsky, is an unquestionable success. More than 165 authors from the whole world present in over 300 entries the theoretical, methodological and practical aspects of settling accounts in scores of countries on all continents. The publication predominantly recapitulates heretofore research while simultaneously assisting in the creation of a catalogue of still unresolved issues. An important, valuable and fascinating undertaking. Andrzej Paczkowski, Chairman of the Council, Institute of National Remembrance, Warsaw"

Saddam Hussein practiced many of the principles of Machiavelli, including ruthlessness, manipulation of his citizens, expansionism, militarism, and crushing his enemies.  This paper explores those themes in light of Saddam's historical record.

From the formation of the Iraqi modern state by the British in the 1920s, the US-backed overthrow of the revolutionary regime in 1963, the Gulf war, and the sanctions in the 1990s to the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, western imperialist interferences have shaped the social, political, and economic trajectory of Iraq and have impacted and shaped Iraqi women’s rights, their political activisms, and their feminisms.

Sadece coğrafya olarak değil, siyasi olarak da genişliği olan, pek çok bilinemezlerin, karmaşık ilişkilerin, sorunların ve çatışmaların, ihanetlerin ve dostlukların, birleşme adına yapılan ayrışmaların, homojen zannedilen heterojenliğin, tam olarak kavranamadığı için bazılarınca kaynayan kazan, bazılarınca bataklık olarak tanımlanan, bazılarına göre istikrarsızlığın ve geri kalmışlığın bazılarına göre petrolün ve zenginliğin merkezi olan Orta Doğu, üzerine çok şey söylenen ama çok az bilinen bir coğrafyadır. İnsanlık tarihi burada başlayıp burada devam etmiştir. Tarihsel olaylara yön veren gelişmeler burada yaşanmış, geleneksel ve modern imparatorluklar için üzerinde mücadele edilmeye değer bulunmuş, her şeye rağmen vaz geçilememiştir. Böylesine tarihsel, kültürel ve toplumsal birikimi zengin ve böylesine ekonomik, stratejik ve siyasal açıdan önemli bir bölge hakkın-da söz söylemek kolay gibi gözükse de üzerine yazı yazmak gerçekten oldukça zor. Aslında zor olduğu detaylara inildikçe anlaşılıyor.

Daniel chapter 11 gives characteristics of the world leaders mostly during the Greek empire, and transitions to the Roman empire, as two rival powers:  the king of the north, and the king of the south.  The last king of the north is described in detail in verses 21-45.  Biblical historians have had difficulty in identifying this last king of the north in either Greek or Roman history, and many Bible scholars have agreed this is describing a ruler in the future.  In this talk, we look at each of the verses about the last king of the north, and compare it with three modern leaders:  Pope Francis, Donald Trump, and Vladimir Putin.  By showing the actions of these leaders and their predecessors, the assignment can be made to one of these leaders, as ruler over a specific territory.  Since the verses span the rule of more than one of these leaders, the prophecy can be understood to show that it is the leader of a specific territory who is the last power before the great time of trouble starts, and Jesus' return happens, as described in Daniel chapter 12.  A review of Psalm 91 is also given as comfort at the end of the presentation.

This paper examines the systematic efforts to dismantle or destroy the symbolic dimension of the Baathist regime in Iraq since 2003. It argues that while the Baath were undeniably cruel and oppressive, they did undertake one of the twentieth century’s most robust attempts to utilise the political power of historical memory to create a unified Iraqi national identity. However, while many have examined the militaristic or bureaucratic dimensions of de-Baathification, no such attempts have been made to examine the destruction of the symbols and monuments of the Baathist state and the consequences it has had for Iraqi national identity. This paper addresses this paucity and concludes that with the symbolic destruction of the Baathist state has come a near complete erosion of the Iraqi brand of nationalism that the Baath had managed to promulgate to varying degrees of success since the late 1960s.

Long before dragons were busy being the best things in Game of Thrones, the world has been telling tales about them. And guess what: they don't all end in monsters being slain and maidens being rescued.

In Iran, for instance, a dragon is chained up to this day, waiting to break free and bring the apocalypse. In Japan, another one's busy ruling the sea. The Chinese would ask why you'd even consider trying to kill such an auspicious creature, and the Vietnamese call a dragon dad. In India, a dragon stole the rains, and in Australia, one gives them back.

Almost anywhere in the world you look, in fact, there be dragons. Here's the proof.

GreeceIt's thanks to the Ancient Greeks that dragons are dragons: it was their word drakon ("serpent") that gave us the name we use today. And their specimens certainly lived up to it. They were pretty much everything you'd want from a good dragon, i.e., horrifying and nigh impossible to slay — unless you just happen to be a hero with the gods on your side.

Take Hydra, for instance, the gigantic sea serpent that breathed and bled poison, and would grow two more heads for each one cut off. (Hercules worked out he could stop the heads sprouting by sealing each stump with fire.) Or Cetus, the sea monster that Poseidon sent to eat the princess Andromeda after her mother boasted that she was more beautiful than any sea nymph. (Perseus swooped in with his flying sandals and killed it, and the gods memorialized the story in the stars.)

Or the Ismenian dragon, son of the god of war, who guarded a sacred spring. (Cadmus killed it and planted its teeth in the ground, where they turned into fearsome warriors who would help him found the city of Thebes.) Then there was the dragon at Colchis that watched over the magical Golden Fleece. The creature never slept or even closed its eyes, but the sorceress Medea helped Jason to steal the treasure by bewitching the dragon unconscious. Incidentally, some legends say that on his way back to Greece, Jason ran into and slew another dragon, in what's now Slovenia. That's why the capital Ljubljana has a dragon on its coat of arms.

Ishtar Gate of Babylon; nowadays Iraq and Syrian history.
The Dragon of Ishtar (gate)

Irak Türkmenleri denildiği zaman hafızamızda ilk olarak Kerkük ve Musul canlanır. Fakat Osmanlı İmparatorluğunun dağılmasından sonra maalesef Türkler için hüznün ve acının adeta merkezi haline gelmiştir. Bu acılar dokunaklı bir şekilde halk edebiyatına ve o bölgenin türkülerine de yansımıştır;

“Yıktılar kal’amızı
Sürdüler balamızı
Daha can boğazdayken
Çektiler sâlamızı
Ah Kerkük yüz ah Kerkük
Her zaman yüz ak Kerkük
Ölseydim düşmeseydim
Men senden uzak Kerkük...”
 
Türkünün dizelerinden de anlaşılacağı gibi Türkmenler maalesef kaderine terkedilmiş ve geçen yıllar boyunca adeta bir mum gibi yavaş yavaş bölgede asimile politikaları ile erimektedirler. Bu konuya değinmeden önce bölgedeki Türk varlığını incelemekte fayda vardır. Türklerin Irak’a ilk girişleri H. 54 / M. 674 tarihlerine kadar uzanmaktadır. Emevi Halifesi Muaviye tarafından Horasan’a gönderilen Ubeydullah bin Ziyad ile Buhara prensesi Hatun emrindeki Türk kuvvetleri arasında yapılan çarpışmadan sonra bir barış yapılmıştır. Bu barıştan sonra Ubeydullah yanına aldığı Türk askerlerini Irak’a götürüp, Basra’ya yerleştirmiştir. Türklerin Irak’a gelişleri Abbasi döneminde, Halife Memun ve Halife Mutasım’ın iktidarı sırasında meydana gelen siyasi gelişmelerden dolayı daha da sıklaşmıştır. Emevi ordularında olduğu gibi Abbasi ordularında da yer alan Türkler, üstün savaşçı yetenekleri ile maharetlerinden dolayı üst mevkilere getirilmişlerdir. Ayrıca H. 211 / M. 836 ’da Halife Mutasım’ın emriyle Türk kumandanı Türk hassa askeri için Somerna şehri kurulmuştu. 25 Aralık 1055’te Bağdat’a giren Selçuklu hükümdarı Tuğrul Bey Büveyhoğulları’nın Irak’taki hakimiyetine son verilmiştir. Tuğrul Bey Bağdat ve Oğuzların yayıldığı Irak’ı Selçuklu Ülkesine katmıştır. Bu tarihten sonra Oğuz boylarına mensup birçok Türk, bu bölgeye yerleştirilmiştir. Böylece bölgede Büyük Selçuklular ile Türk hakimiyeti başlamıştır. Türklere daha önce yalnızca Etrak (Türkler) diyen Araplar, “Etrak-u Bağdat” (Bağdat Türkleri) demeye başlamışlardır.  1258 Moğol istilası ile Abbasi hilafeti son bulmuş, bölge Moğolların eline geçmiştir. Ayrıca bu bölgede Moğollarla birlikte çok sayıda Türk askeri gelmiştir. 1258 – 1336 İlhanlılar, 1338 – 1360 Celayirliler, 1360 – 1469 Karakoyunlular ve 1470 tarihinden itibaren de Akkoyunlular hakimiyetinde kalan bölge 1508 yılında Safevilerin eline geçmiştir. Safeviler’in Çaldıran’da (1515) Yavuz Sultan Selim Han’a yenilmesi ve Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Han’ın da 1534’te Bağdat’ı almasıyla bugün Irak olarak anılan bölge Osmanlı hakimiyetine geçmiştir. Osmanlılar Irak’ı, Bağdat, Basra, Musul, Şehrizor ve el-Ahsa olmak üzere beş bölgeye ayırarak idare ettirmişlerdir. 1623’te bölge tekrar Safeviler’in eline geçmiş ve Safeviler binlerce kişiyi katletmişlerdir. Sultan IV. Murad Han’ın 1638’de Bağdat’ı tekrar geri almasıyla Kasr-ı Şirin Antlaşması yapılmış ve kesin sınır çizilmişti. Böylece Musul-Kerkük bölgesi de dahil olarak I. Dünya Savaşı sonuna kadar bölge Osmanlı hakimiyetinde kalmıştır. Sonuç olarak Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Han ve Sultan IV. Murad Han zamanında Anadolu’dan getirilen çok sayıda Türk de bölgeye yerleştirilmiştir. I. Dünya Savaşından itibaren Irak’ın işgal edilmesi ve 1926 Musul Meselesi görüşmeleri sonucu Musul ve Kerkük’ün Irak’a bırakılmasıyla Musul ve Kerkük Irak’la birlikte İngiliz sömürgesi haline gelmiştir. 1920 – 1932 yılları arasında Irak’ın İngiliz Mandası altında bulunduğu dönemde Türkler baskı ve zulüm dolu bir devre yaşamışlardır. Irak’ın 1932 ’de Milletler Cemiyeti’ne kabul edilip bağımsızlığına kavuşmasından sonra da Irak Türkleri rahat yüzü görmemiş, baskı ve şiddet daha da artmıştır. Bütün bu baskı ve sindirme politikalarının Irak’ta bulunan Türk varlığını yok edemediği 1937 Sadâbâd Paktı’yla ortaya çıkmıştır. 27 Haziran 1937’de imzalanan Sadâbâd Paktı için bölgedeki Türkler büyük bir sevinç yaşasalar da pakttan sonra polis tarafından yapılan işkence ve zulme maruz kalmışlardır. II. Dünya Savaşı’nın sıkıntıları sebebiyle savaşı sakin geçiren Türkler savaştan sonra yeni bir katliamla karşılaştılar. 1946 yılında Gavurbağı’nda Kerküklü işçiler polis kuvvetleri tarafından yaylım ateşine tutulmuşlardır. Yine Bağdat Paktı’nın imzalanacağını duyan Türkler, bölgelerinde büyük bir sevinç yaşamışlardır. Fakat yine paktın imzalanmasından sonra Türklere yapılan baskılar artmıştır. Irak’ta 14 Temmuz 1959 Cumhuriyet’in birinci yılı kutlamalarında sokağa dökülen Kerkük Türkleri komünistler tarafından katliama uğramışlardır. 3 gün süren bu katliamda soydaşlarımız inanılmaz derecede zulüm ve işkenceye maruz kalmışlardır. Yaklaşık 1500 yıl kadar bu topraklarda varlığını gösteren Türkler I. Dünya Savaşı’ndan sonra batılı devletlerin bölgedeki çıkarlarından dolayı sistematik olarak çeşitli haksızlık, baskı ve katliama uğramışlardır. Emperyalist güçlerin özellikle yer altı bakımından zengin olan kuzey Irak’taki emellerinden dolayı bölgede yaşayan Türkler birçok zorlukla karşılaştıysa da bunlar karşısında Türk hükümeti ise maalesef hiç bir etkinlik göstermemiştir.

Since the Middle Ages, Saladin has been one of the most influential figures of historical memory in Eurasia. He was used as a symbol of the noble enemy, of war with the West and Israel, and of peace. In various incarnations he was also a national hero. According to Assmann, any collective memory of a symbol or figure creates orientation within a group and identity for the individual. Cultural memory is reconstructive,
as knowledge of the past is aligned anew with contemporary
needs.

A dieci anni dall’inizio della guerra in Iraq, ripensando allo sterminato repertorio iconografico che essa ha prodotto, si può affermare che le immagini non ufficiali, anzi censurate e non autorizzate nate all’interno della prigione di Abu Ghraib potranno restare come vere icone dell’operazione Iraqi Freedom. Dopo la loro diffusione pubblica nel maggio del 2004, infatti, quelle fotografie si sono subito rivelate visualmente fertili, capaci di prestarsi ad alimentare il ricorso, dimostrandosi riproponibili in un insieme eterogeneo di pratiche sociali di appropriazione e re-framing creativo.
Il mio lavoro, dunque, verte, da un lato, proprio sul processo di riappropriazione del senso di quelle immagini e sul loro incessante riutilizzo, dall’altro, sul loro stesso modo inedito di produzione, circolazione e diffusione capillare, usando tali fotografie come occasione per indagare il modo in cui la cultura visuale influenza l’agenda dei media, la politica e l’opinione pubblica. (...)

A top model 4WD Land Cruiser speeds down an unmade road past low-level, breeze block houses and crumbling baked clay hovels. It pulls up with a screech of brakes in front of a new house constructed of marble cladding. The house is set back from the street behind a pair of ornate metal gates. High walls branch off from each side of the gates and surround the three storey 'palace'. Its balconies look out over the street and towards the distant Behkair mountain range. The dwelling with its ostentatious ornamentation is unlike anything in the neighbourhood. Another car pulls up sharply behind the first-a heavy-bodied old Mercedes with black tinted windows. Middle aged men with Kalashnikovs slung about them from long years of intimacy, gesture and laugh as they disembark for the lunch banquet being hosted by the head Mustashar, dressed in a costly Kurdish linen costume.2 Another of the company is dressed in the green military uniform and black beret of the Ba'ath Party elite, his belt bulging with a pistol.

This paper focuses on the impact of the war and subsequent occupation (2003–2011) on Iraq’s heritage, documenting the most significant and devastating instances of heritage damage and destruction that occurred. Moving forward, this chapter continues with a discussion of the grave challenges facing Iraqi heritage beyond the withdrawal of US military forces in the form of various groups - from jihadist networks such as the 'Islamic State' through to various sectarian actors. It also discusses the threat to heritage sites from development, neglect, and inexpert and haphazard excavation, preservation, protection, and restoration. Despite this troubling scenario, this chapter also examines the extent to which the Iraq conflict was a turning point for major Western military operations and the development of CPP programs which aim to better prepare military personnel for protecting cultural property in future conflicts.

This article explores the nationalist ideologies in Iraq from the end of the Ottoman era to the fall of the Ba’ath regime in 2003, with emphasis on how Iraq’s past, especially ancient Mesopotamia, was used by various Iraqi regimes to promote their political agendas. The article particularly focuses on the developments of Pan-Arabism in Iraq and the formation of an Iraqi nationalist ideology under the Republic and the Ba’ath regime. It also considers the cult of personality
that developed around Saddam Hussein by selecting elements from the ancient past and projecting a whimsical image of Saddam Hussein as the latest manifestation of a great line of Mesopotamian leader-heroes. The article explores how archaeology and archaeological discoveries fit into these broader social, cultural, political, and ideological developments.

Irak'ın Kuveyt'e müdahalesiyle başlayan süreç Abd öncülüğünde koalisyon güçlerinin Irak savunma ve stratejik hedeflerini askeri yöntemlerle tasfiyesine sebep olmuştu. Bu evrenin bir uzantısı olan Irak Kürtleri ile Irak Merkezi yönetimi arasındaki sıcak çatışma Irak'lı Kürtlerin mağdur olduğu bir tabloyu ortaya çıkarmış ve güvenli bir bölge oluşturabilme stratejisi Çekiç Güç öncülüğünde oluşturulmaya başlanmıştı. Çekiç Gücün görev süresince Türkiye'nin terör konusuyla ilgili karşılaştığı sorunların katsayı derecesine bağlı olarak bu yapılanma tartışılmaya başlanmış ve en sonunda Türkiye'nin birincil üvenlik faktörlerine aykırı olarak tanımlanmıştır. Bu çalışma Çekiç Gücün kurulma evresi, Çekiç Gücün faaliyetleri, Çekiç Güç-terör, Çekiç Güç-NGO bağlantıları gibi hususları inceleyip Türkiye açısından tehdit/risk parametresinin belirlenmesini amaçlamıştır.

Now that Saddam Husayn’s rule over Iraq has ended, there is time
to revisit the dominant scholarly paradigms for interpreting this particular period within the broader history of Iraq in the twentieth century. How do we make sense of the Ba’thist era? Was this calamity the result of structural deficiencies at the root of the Iraqi nation-building project, or were state and society merely highjacked by a gang of ruthless criminals driven by a totalitarian ideology? What made the regime last so long, and how did it function? Coming to terms with the history of a dictatorship also entails a comparative look at similar regimes and at the ways in
which these have been conceptualized by scholars. To a degree, this serves to deprovincialize research on Iraq, and insert it into a wider comparative framework of research on authoritarian or dictatorial systems in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Identity in the focus of proclaimed politics: Yesterday Nebuchadnezzar, today Saddam Hussein (‘Nebuchadnasar al-ams Saddam Hussein al-yawm’)


The politics of Ba’ath Party and Saddam Hussein both strongly insisted on the Mesopotamian cultural heritage while trying to create the new identity of modern Iraq. Consequently, archaeology and history became of supreme importance, and the budget for the Iraqi Department of Antiquities increased by more than 80%. The excavations (and heavy reconstructions!) were launched at numerous archaeological sites (such as Nineveh, Hatra, Nimrud, and Ashur), but Saddam’s main focus was on Babylon. At the same time, new museums were established all around the country. In 1981, Babylon was the stage for commemorating the first anniversary of the Iraqi invasion of Iran, with officials using the slogan, Nebuchadnasar al-ams Saddam Hussein al-yawm (Yesterday Nebuchadnezzar, today Saddam Hussein).
The Ba’ath Party maintained the idea that Iraq is the first among the Arab countries and that the history of Iraq dates back to the very beginnings of civilization. This created the impression of Iraqi supremacy in the Arab world and gave additional impetus to both the attack on Kuwait and the war with Iran. Archaeology and history were used to the extreme limits in political manipulations (with an enormous budget for archaeological excavations, devastating reconstructions on archaeological sites, foundations of new museums). Saddam Hussein's ideological matrix, that is, an attempt to equalize Mesopotamian cultural heritage with the identity of modern Iraq and use it for the legitimacy of his own regime, further burdened or even severed Iraqi links with the history of the country in which they lived. By constructing the country’s identity, the regime deconstructed the idea of continuity, however fictitious it may be, with past cultures.

The Legacy of Iraq critically reflects on the abject failure of the 2003 intervention to turn Iraq into a liberal democracy, underpinned by free-market capitalism, its citizens free to live in peace and prosperity. It argues that mistakes made by the coalition and the Iraqi political elite set a sequence of events in motion that have had devastating consequences for Iraq, the Middle East and for the rest of the world.

Today, as the nation faces perhaps its greatest challenge in the wake of the devastating advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and another US-led coalition undertakes renewed military action in Iraq, understanding the complex and difficult legacies of the 2003 war could not be more urgent. Ignoring the legacies of the Iraq war and denying their connection to contemporary events could means that vital lessons are ignored and the same mistakes made again.

Karya ini telah diterbitkan di Jurnal Bestari Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, periode Januari-April 2008.

Pada tanggal 9 April 2003, Amerika menggulingkan pemerintahan Saddam Hussein. Pasca Saddam, proses politik tidak dapat menciptakan stabilitas politik dan keamanan, justru menyebabkan pergolakan antar kekuatan-kekuatan politik di Irak. Pergolakan berawal dari penolakan masyarakat atas intervensi Amerika dalam proses politik Irak kemudian berubah menjadi konflik etnik dan sektarian. Kondisi tersebut merupakan respon kelompok milisi dan kekuatan politik informal lainnya terhadap proses politik yang terjadi di parlemen. Sehingga pergolakan di Irak terjadi dalam dua bentuk. Pertama, kebanyakan pergolakan berlangsung di wilayah Sunni dan Syiah dan daerah campuran. Kedua, Pergolakan kekuatan-kekuatan politik Irak cenderung meningkat pada momen proses politik strategis.
Pergolakan di wilayah Sunni dan Syiah merupakan konflik antara pemerintah Irak, yang didukung oleh tentara Amerika dengan milisi Sunni dan Syiah. Konflik di daerah campuran seperti di Baghdad, Mosul, dan Kirkuk adalah konflik etnis dan sektarian. Konflik meningkat pada momen proses politik strategis karena proses politik Irak menguntungkan Kurdi dan Syiah, tetapi merugikan Sunni.
Proses politik yang berlangsung di tengah konflik antara kekuatan politik formal dan informal di Irak menghasilkan pemerintahan yang tidak legitimate dan meningkatkan jumlah korban jiwa serta pengungsi. Kelompok etnik dan sekte yang mempunyai wakil dalam pemerintahan cenderung melanjutkan perlawanan. Kondisi ini mengindikasikan bahwa stabilitas keamanan masih sulit diciptakan di Irak. Konflik etnik dan sektarian akan terus berlangsung sampai semua kekuatan politik Irak tergabung dalam pemerintahan dan Amerika segera meninggalkan Irak.

Today, no sense of legitimacy sustains Iraq as a state; no sovereignty controls the people within the country. This study introduces and develops the concept of “sociocide” in order to account for why the current social system in Iraq cannot establish social order. Sociocide is the killing of the social encompassing all matters pertaining to society, e.g., group solidarity, ethnic, racial, and gender identity, state institutions, and the self-consciousness of the individual when taking the role of another or the generalized other. Since sociocide may not describe something that empirically exists in history, this study develops the notion as a Weberian ideal type. Has the society of Iraq been fatally wounded? While we are skeptical as to whether sociocide has truly taken place, we use the concept to describe the war in Iraq and analyze the sociological significance of its character.

Scholarship on Iraq under the Ba’th regime has traditionally focused on the rule of Saddam Hussein and his narrow inner circle. The centrality of the former president in Iraqi politics until spring 2003 and the tyranny of his regime were evident, and available sources concerning developments inside Iraqi society during that period were scarce. This book explores whether traditional paradigms of totalitarian rule can be applied to Ba’thist Iraq, closely examining state-society relations and uncovering the nature of the regime and how Iraqis lived with it. The study creates a conceptual framework for understanding the inner dynamics of a dictatorship that encompasses a variety of disciplines - comparative historiography, political science, literary and art criticism, and gender studies. Drawing on a comparative reading of the historiography of other regimes commonly perceived as totalitarian dictatorships, particularly Nazi Germany, the author looks beyond the spheres of state politics, economy and jurisdiction to also include the so called ‘soft issues’ of social norms, cultural and ideological production. By interpreting recent Iraqi history along such lines, the author demonstrates how cross-regional comparative perspectives and an interdisciplinary approach can contribute to the study of Iraq.

La guerra in Iraq portò a dei chiari e concreti risultati militari, mettendo in moto una serie di eventi che hanno reso e rendono tutt’ora incerto il futuro del Medioriente e delle genti che lo popolano.

Analizzando tali eventi ritengo sia possibile ottenere una migliore comprensione sul come e sul perché la vittoria della democrazia non portò al New World Order auspicato dal George W. Bush senior, ma fece piuttosto precipitare la situazione mediorientale, ponendo le basi per il palesarsi di nuovi antagonisti e nuove sfide, più difficilmente identificabili e affrontabili.

Saddam Hüseyin daha iktidara gelmeden istihbarat ve güvenlik örgütlerine önem vermeye başladı. Özellikle Sünni Araplardan oluşturduğu geniş güvenlik ve istihbarat ağı, rejimin herhangi bir iç müdahaleye maruz kalmadan 2003’e kadar ayakta kalmasını sağladı. Ancak 2003’te başlayan müdahale süreci, sadece Saddam ve yakın çevresinin devrilmesine değil; bu rejimde önemli görevlerde bulunan Sünni Arapların da sistemden dışlanmasına neden oldu. Bu nedenle farklı amaçları olsa da Amerikan işgaline karşı olma noktasında birleşen Sünni Araplar, gösterdikleri silahlı direnişte geçmişteki tecrübelerinden faydalanma yoluna gitmektedir. Bu bağlamda çalışma, Irak’taki direniş
hareketini bütüncül olarak ele almak yerine sadece Sünni direniş üzerinde
yoğunlaşarak, Saddam dönemi istihbarat ve güvenlik örgütlerinin Irak’taki
Sünni direnişe etkisini, söz konusu örgütlerin yapısını ve Sünni direnişin doğasını dikkate alarak incelemektedir.