Iraq is a nation in search of cultural identity, a modern state that is attempting to accommodate the traditions of a very old society while coping with the rapid political and economic changes of the twentieth century. In this up-to-date study, Dr. Marr examines the political, economic, and social transformations that have created modern Iraq, beginning with its inception in 1920 and continuing through the 1958 revolution to today’s Ba'th regime. Her sympathetic but not uncritical look at Iraq’s problems and prospects, its political life, and its changing social and economic structure affords a clear picture of the country’s current political dynamics and its distinctive character as an Arab state in transition.
Phebe Marr is associate professor in the Department of History at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She lived in Iraq for several years while studying the national movement there and has conducted extensive interviews with Iraqi politicians, educators, and scholars. In addition to Iraqi publications and British archives, Dr. Marr has drawn upon information obtained from these interviews as source material for this book and other studies on Iraq.
Contents
List of Illustrations / xi Preface / xiii Note on Transliteration / xvii
1 The Legacy of the Past / 1 The Land / 1 The People / 5 Arab Sht‘ah / 5 Arab Sunnis / 7 The Kurds / 8 Other Minorities / 9 Town and Tribe / 12 Civilizations of the Past / 13 Ancient Mesopotamia / 13 The Islamic Empires / 16 The Ottoman Empire / 18
2 The British Mandate, 1920-1932 / 29 The British Occupation / 30 The 1920 Revolt / 32 Britain’s Indirect Rule / 34 Mosul, the Kurdish Problem, and Oil / 40 Emergence of the Nationalist Movement / 43 Political Dynamics under the Mandate / 46 The 1930 Treaty and the End of the Mandate / 50 The New Nationalist Opposition / 51
3 An Era of Instability, 1932-1945 / 55 Erosion of National Unity, 1932-1936 / 57 Struggle for Power / 60 The Bakr Sidqi Coup / 68 The Army in Politics, 1937-1941 / 76 The Rashid ‘All Coup / 82 The Second British Occupation, 1941-1945 / 86
4 The Old Regime, 1946-1958 / 95 Early Attempts at Liberalization / 96 The Demise of Liberalization / 100 The Portsmouth Treaty and the Wathbah / 101 War in Palestine / 106 The Struggle for Syria / 108 Economic Development / 110 The Riots of 1952 / 112 Faysal II / 113 The Baghdad Pact / 116 The Suez Crisis / 119 The UAR and the Federation / 121 Opposition and the Establishment / 122
5 Economic and Social Change Under the Old Regime / 127 Economic Development / 128 The Changing Social Structure / 135 Ethnic and Sectarian Integration / 143 Intellectual and Cultural Change / 147
6 The Revolution Begins: The Qasim Era, 1958-1963 / 153 The Free Officers / 153 The 14 July Coup / 155 Struggle for Power / 159 Social and Economic Revolution / 169 The Kurdish War / 176 Foreign Policy Failures / 179
7 The Arab Nationalists in Power, 1963-1968 / 183 The Iraqi Ba‘th in 1963 / 184 The First ‘Arif Regime / 190 The Regime of ‘Arif the Second / 197 The Coup of 17 July 1968 / 204
8 The Ba‘th in Power / 211 Emergence of a New Political Order / 212 Consolidation of Power, 1968-1973 / 213 Ba‘th Foreign Policy: The Radical Phase, 1969-1973 / 220 The One-Party State / 225 Opposition to the Regime / 232 Economic and Social Development / 240 Iraq’s Foreign Policy / 244
9 Economic and Social Change Under Revolutionary Regimes / 247 The Direction of Economic Development / 248 The Changing Social Structure / 270 Ethnic and Sectarian Integration / 281 Cultural Change / 286
10 The Iran-Iraq War / 291 Causes of the War / 292 The Course of the War / 294 Effects of the War / 299 Iraq’s Future / 309 Notes / 313
Bibliography / 343 Glossary / 355 Name Index / 361 Subject Index / 367
PREFACE
Although Iraq is a comparatively new state and a relatively small country, it has had a remarkably rich and varied history. I cannot hope to do justice to the full complexity of Iraq’s modern history, even for the short time span of 1920 to 1984. Indeed, the most difficult task in writing this book was deciding what to include and what to leave out. It seems relevant, therefore, to state my purpose in writing the book and the criteria I used in selecting which areas to cover.
This book is not meant to be an exhaustive and detailed history of modern Iraq; rather my aim has been to present a clear, readable, one-volume account of the emergence of modern Iraq and the forces that created it. I have drawn extensively on the many good monographs that have recently appeared on modern Iraq, and on the standard works of ‘Abd al-Razzaq al-Hasam on the pre-1958 period and Hanna Batatu, Majid Khadduri, and Edith Penrose and E. F. Penrose on the post-1958 period. It is my hope that the book will be of use both to the lay reader and to students of the Middle East. I have tried to include enough general interpretation of events to make the country and its people understandable, and enough detail to give depth and color to the events described. Above all I have tried to be evenhanded in depicting the course of events and to avoid oversimplifying complex situations. Although the book is directed at the general reader, I hope that scholars of the Middle East will also find it useful, both in providing a synthesis of a critical period of Iraqi history and in shedding new light on aspects of the subject not already covered elsewhere.
The material has been grouped around two main themes that, in my view, have dominated Iraq’s history from 1920 to the present day. The first theme is the creation and construction of a modern state within the boundaries bequeathed to Iraq by the British in 1920 and the search by its leaders for a cultural and national identity capable of knitting together its various ethnic and religious groups within the context of the broader Arab world. The second is the process of economic and social development, a process that began at the end of the nineteenth century but that reached breathtaking proportions since the mid-1970s. It is too soon to draw conclusions about these two processes because both are ongoing; I have tried to indicate the direction they are taking and the achievements made thus far.
I gathered the source material for this book over a period of many years of study and work in the Middle East, including several years spent in Iraq both before and after the revolution of 1958. I have drawn whenever possible on works written by Iraqis, and I have also used statistical data published by the Iraqi government and by various international organizations. Although such data are more available and accurate in recent years, readers should treat all statistics with some caution. Census taking in a developing country like Iraq is difficult, and accurate figures are rare. Often data are based on estimates. Nevertheless, the figures used in this book do illustrate economic and social realities; the reader should concentrate on the broad trends that the figures indicate, and not on specific numbers.
I have made extensive use of interviews with Iraqi educators, writers, political figures, and ordinary men and women in various walks of life. I would like to acknowledge the help of these Iraqis, who gave so generously of their time in answering my questions, in reminiscing about their experiences, and in criticizing and clarifying my ideas. The book could not have been written without their help and unfailing courtesy, and they bear a large responsibility for my continuing fascination with their country and its development. Most of these men and women have preferred to remain anonymous and I have respected their requests for privacy. Hence, the names mentioned below in no way exhaust the list of those to whom I am indebted.
I would, however, like to thank Yahya Qasim, whose help on the politics of the old regime was invaluable; Khaldun al-Husri, whose continuing criticism of the ongoing work was essential; Khayr al-Dln Haslb, who read and criticized the chapters on the Qasim and ‘Arif periods; and above all ‘Abd al-Razzaq al-Hasani, who kindly made his library and his vast store of knowledge available to me while I was working on my thesis in Iraq. I would also like to thank Edith Penrose and E. F. Penrose for clarifying many of my thoughts on Iraqi history and politics in a number of stimulating conversations. I am indebted to Joseph Chamie for providing access to a wealth of material in the Beirut offices of the UN Economic Commission for Western Asia (ECWA) and to Reeva Simon for unfailing help in ferreting out new source material. For encouraging my interests in the Middle East, for seeing me through my initial research on Iraq, and for sustaining me through the vicissitudes of my career, I owe more than I can express here to Sir Hamilton Gibb. I am also indebted to the Harvard Middle East Center and in particular to its former director, Derwood Lockard, for providing funds for residence and research in Iraq on several occasions and for a grant as research fellow at Harvard to work on Iraq. Finally, I would like to thank the history department of the University of Tennessee— particularly LeRoy Graf, its former head—and Robert Landen, dean of liberal arts, for providing funding and time off to write the manuscript. The interpretations as well as any errors in the manuscript are of course my own.
Phebe Marr
The Legacy of the Past
The Land
The state of Iraq has existed only since 1920, when it was created under British aegis as a mandate; however, the area now incorporated within its borders has been the home of several of humankind’s earliest civilizations.1 With a land area of 170,000 square miles (440,300 sq km) and a population of over 14 million in 1984, Iraq is the largest of the Fertile Crescent countries rimming the northern edge of the Arabian peninsula.2 Lying between the plateau of northern Arabia and the mountain ridge of southwest Iran and Turkey, Iraq forms a lowland corridor between Syria and the Persian / Arabian Gulf.3 From its earliest history Iraq has been a passageway between East and West. Its borders are for the most part artificial, reflecting the interests of the great powers during the First World War rather than the wishes of the local population. As a result, Iraq’s present borders have been continuously challenged by peoples living inside and outside of the country. Much of the eastern border is still in dispute, as illustrated by the Iran-Iraq war that began in 1980.
The southeastern portion of the country lies at the head of the Gulf. Iraq controls a 26-mile (42-km) strip of Gulf territory, just sufficient to provide it with an outlet to the sea. From the Gulf, Iraq’s border with Iran follows the Shatt al-Arab north, then skirts the Persian foothills as far north as the valley of the Diyala River, the first major tributary of the Tigris north of Baghdad. From here, the frontier thrusts deep into the high Kurdish mountain ranges following the Diyala River valley. Near Flalabjah it turns northward along the high mountain watersheds— incorporating within Iraq most of the headwaters of the major Tigris tributaries—until it reaches the Turkish border west of Lake Urmiya. The mountainous boundary with Turkey ends at the Syrian border just west of Zakhu, Iraq’s northernmost town. This north eastern region incorporates difficult and unmanageable mountain terrain and a substantial Kurdish population.
In the northwest, the frontier separates Iraq from Syria, meandering south across the Syrian desert from the Turkish border until it reaches the Euphrates near al-Qa’im. Here the borders make little pretense of…
Phebe Marr
The Modern History of Iraq
Westview Press
Westview Press, Inc. The Modern History of Iraq Phebe Marr
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in 1985 in the United States of America by Westview Press, Inc., 5500 Central Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80301; Frederick A. Praeger, Publisher
Published in 1985 in Great Britain by Longman Group Ltd, Longman House, Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex CM20 2JE England
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Marr, Phebe. The modern history of Iraq. Bibliography: p. Includes indexes. 1. Iraq—History—1921- I. Title. DS79.65.M33 - 1985 - 956.7'04 - 83-51519 ISBN 0-86531-119-6
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Marr, Phebe The Modern History of Iraq 1. Iraq—History—1921- I. Title 956 7'04 D579 ISBN 0-582-78344-5
Printed and bound in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Westview Press Boulder, Colorado Longman London, England
ISBN (U.S.): 0-86531-119-6 ISBN (U.K.): 0-582-78344-5
Westview Press, Inc. 5500 Central Avenue Boulder, Colorado 80301
Longman Group Longman House Burnt Mill Harlow Essex CM20 2JE England
