On this day, July 17 each year, Iraqis remember the fourth coup in the country, which is the latest coup that changed the regime in Iraq, after the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party overthrew the regime of President Abdel-Rahman Aref in 1968.
Many reasons set the stage for the Baath Party’s coup d'etat, or revolution as described by its supporters, and the overthrow of President Abd al-Rahman Aref, to take over at the time Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr and his deputy Saddam Hussein, with the help of officers from outside the party, most notably Ibrahim al-Dawud and Abd al-Razzaq al-Nayef.
Boot for the coup
The legal expert, historian Tariq Harb, in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, believes that the reason for the July 17 coup is the democracy that President Abd al-Rahman Aref applied.
Harb added that "Aref was lenient in everything until his reign did not witness the execution of the death sentence, even for one case. He encouraged that firstborn to carry out a coup that was taken by the leaders of the Baath Party and considered it their coup. The plan of the coup and its execution was Ahmed Hassan Al-Bakr, and the Baath members contributed to it a little ".
Harb pointed out that "the success of the coup lies in betraying the officers of the Republican Palace, especially Saadoun Ghaidan, and Tariq Hamad Al-Abdullah, who opened the doors for the coupists who are no more than fifty, and the aforementioned section of their names in the Order of the Revolution, which was granted to the participants in the coup."
In this context, the head of the Policy-making Center for International and Strategic Studies, Hossam Butani, in his talk to Al-Jazeera Net, details the most prominent factors of the coup, and says that "it came as a result of the instability that the Iraqi Republic was suffering from, as the army's coup against the monarchy in 1958 opened the way Faced with widespread interference by the army in Iraqi politics, therefore, all of those who took power were military, from the beginning of the founding of the republic until 1979. "
Another key factor that paved the way for the coup’s success and the overthrow of Abdul Rahman Aref’s rule is that Aref’s character is peaceful, and does not possess the true perception of state administration, which paved the opportunity for the Ba’ath Party to launch the zero hour and implement the coup and dominate the government altogether, says Botany.
White or black coup?
Historian Harb says that the Iraqis see this day as a black day, after the first black day when the republic was declared and the monarchy was overthrown.
Harb describes the beginning of the days of the rule of the Ba'ath Party with military days, despite the good intentions and actions of al-Bakr at the time, and what he had done in terms of giant projects, such as Baghdad's largest airport in the region at the time, hotels, highways and modern cities in Iraq, indicating that that period was the end of the democracy that the president spread Abdul Rahman Aref.
Despite the large number of military movements, revolutions and coups that Iraq witnessed during this period, what distinguishes the July 17 coup that took place without bloodshed, which led some researchers to call it the white coup.
In this regard, Bhutani says, "The personality of President Abdel-Rahman Aref is peaceful and beloved by everyone, as well as the ease of controlling the Republican Palace without resistance contributed to the lack of bloodshed, in addition to that the Ba'ath leaderships at that time were not inclined to violence, because they are aware that A bloody coup may cost the party a lot, unlike the leaders of the second line that tend to violence.
Achievements and wars
And the Iraqi political analyst Najm Al-Qassab believes in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net that "the Baath Party ruled Iraq in two stages, the first stage, which was a positive stage, a strong economy, and strong external relations, which are a temporary renaissance, until the coming of Saddam Hussein in 1979."
Al-Gassab notes that, during the period 1968-1978, Iraq witnessed many accomplishments and the rule of law, the employment of hundreds of thousands of workers and employees, and the launching of irrigation, agriculture and industry projects, indicating that Iraqi foreign relations were positive, and this is recorded for the state of institutions, but the conditions have deteriorated After 1979, when Saddam Hussein assumed power, the stage of a one-man regime began.
The renaissance that Iraq witnessed during the era of Al-Bakr during the seventies of the last century is considered the true Arab renaissance is unparalleled, as described by researcher Hussam Botani, pointing out that this rise was not only limited to urbanization, but also included the country's economic, industrial, agricultural and educational capabilities.
Butani notes that this era witnessed a major shift in development in the course of the Iraqi state, as the health, educational, industrial and military systems that were established in the seventies are still influential and ruling today, noting that the March agreement to resolve the Kurdish issue, nationalize Iraqi oil and literacy, is The most notable accomplishments of the 1970s.
The turning point . Al-Gassab considers that the period that followed the rule of Al-Bakr was a bad start for Iraq, as Saddam Hussein came to begin his stage by deporting the first line from the Baath Party and who opposed the al-Bakr’s abdication and Saddam’s assumption of power, which led to the rise of the second line from the party and the entry of Iraq into wars With Iran, the invasion of Kuwait, and the blockade imposed on the country after that (1990-2003).
Botany says that the most prominent repercussions that followed the coup in 1968 is the uniqueness of the single party in power and the rule of one individual, and the exclusion of others, until 2003, which caused the political closure in Iraq, and the blockage of the legitimacy of the regime, except from the revolutionary situation that the party has framed.
He added that neutralizing the army from politics is one of the most prominent results of the coup. From that time on to the present day, the Iraqi army became distant from politics, which put an end to the military coups and established for this stage the late President Saddam Hussein.
According to Bhutani, the coup of July 17, 1968 represents the most prominent turning point in the history of the Iraqi state since its foundation in the early 1920s, for many reasons, including that the Baath is the first revolutionary party to take power in the Republican era in Iraq.
Iraqi opinions
The pioneers of social networking sites interacted, especially those interested in modern political history of Iraq, offering some information and opinions about the coup and its consequences, and the events that took place at the time.
Where the encyclopedic researcher in the press, Ali Al-Badrawi considered that the 1968 coup is an event that changed the political map of Iraq and its effects on this country will remain for a future century.
Journalist and writer Ahmed Khadr described the coup’s anniversary as a “black day”, saying, “On this day ... the Baathists regain the power that they seized on February 8, 1963, bloody and lost it after 9 months after Abdul Salam Arif was excluded. They returned on this day Their rule will continue until April 9, 2003 ... ".
On the anniversary of the black July 17 coup in 1968, on this day the Baathists regained the power that they seized on the bloody February 8, 1963 and lost it after 9 months after Abdel Salam Aref was excluded them. They returned on this day to continue their rule until April 9, 2003 .. # Juma pic.twitter.com/CJpfODARe2
- Ahmed Al-Khader .A.Alkhder (@Ahmad_Alkhder_) July 17, 2020
For his part, lawyer Malik Hadi Al-Radam wrote, "It is a coup against people over their friends and partners in government, not for a certain principle but to compete for power and governance. This coup is characterized by being white because it is without bloodshed."
He pointed out that after two weeks of rule, he was overthrown on July 30 by Saddam Hussein and Saadoun Ghaidan, after which the Ba'athists took control of the state, government, and power, and then those who participated and assisted them in the coup were liquidated for fear that they would commit another coup, and some of them were executed and exiled. Others, and the military leaders were liquidated, either by referring to retirement or by exile to Morocco and other countries.
The Iraqi citizen Hamid Al-Suwaidi also considered in a Facebook post that the 1968 coup was part of a series of coups and chaos to which Iraq was subject, pointing out that it was a period that "included many arrests and assassinations that took place after the Ba'ath Party took power, both military and former politicians."
He pointed out that this coup is among the series of chaos and coups that Iraq witnessed after the July 14 revolution led by Abdul Karim Qasim and Abdul Salam Aref, which overthrew the monarchy in Iraq in 1958.
Previous coups
It is noteworthy that the July 17 coup was preceded by many coups and political moves. In 1936, General Bakr Sidqi led the first military coup in Iraq, at which time Al-Baghdadi heard explosions and intense flight overflows, and Sidqi asked King Ghazi to dismiss the government and instruct Hikmat Suleiman to form a new ministry. The king responded to his request, to be the first coup in Iraq and the Arab world.
During 1958, Abd al-Karim Qasim and his friend Abd al-Salam Aref, together with a group of other officers, led a military coup that overthrew the monarchy and led to the killing of King Faisal II, his family, Crown Prince Abd al-Ilah bin Ali, Prime Minister Nuri al-Said, and senior officials at the time, to begin the bloody exchange page of the authority in Iraq. .
# The black July coup,
62, and Iraq saw nothing but injustice
How can it be # 14_Musid Eid and we did not win the oppressive tyrants pic.twitter.com/7vw5te9aPp
- Raed Al-Muhammadi (@ 0PDSVV4EsQC4566) July 14, 2020
Qasim’s rule in 1963 was also subjected to a coup led by his ruling partners, who killed him and appointed Abd al-Salam Aref to the presidency of Iraq.
In 1966, Abd al-Salam Aref was mysteriously killed during the crash of his plane during an inspection visit to southern Iraq, and his brother Abd al-Rahman Aref came to power after him, before the Baath Party overthrew him and exiled him outside Iraq.