Posted on 07/15/2009 1:07:40 AM PDT by forkinsocket
Memories of Abdul Kareem Qasim (right), Iraqs first leader after the monarchy, were alive today as Iraq celebrated the anniversary of the establishment of the modern Iraqi republic in 1958.
His supporters view him as a defender of the poor who fought for the states rights against the interests of the West. His detractors view him as the first in a series of disastrous would-be strongmen who led Iraq on to the path to instability that culminated in dictator Saddam Hussein.
Qasim was killed by the Baath party in a coup in 1963, bookending his own power grab five years earlier, which ended with his supporters killing King Faisal II. By 1963, Qasim had been undone by his poor relationship with the West, rivalry with Egypt, a Kurdish rebellion in the north and his own crackdowns against opponents.
But today, state television broadcast a documentary, entitled Supporter of the Poor, remembering him in a favorable light. The movie showed grainy footage of the tall, lanky army general in uniform, invoking nostalgia for the era before Iraq was plagued by successive wars and upheaval. The timing was interesting given the ongoing debate in Iraqi politics about whether the country needs a strong head of state or whether power should be decentralized and have a series of checks and balances to avoid the emergence of another autocratic ruler like Hussein.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
Not to quibble, does anyone know of a short "lanky" person?
1959 : (IRAQ SENDS 375 STUDENTS TO THE USSR TO STUDY NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY) Iraq sends 375 students to the Soviet Union to study nuclear technology."The Development of Iraq's Nuclear and Biochemical Weapons," Shijie Zhishi, 16 January 1999, No. 2, pp. 17-18. via "Iraq Nuclear Weapons ProgramAn Annotated Chronology"
1950s late : (TARIQ RAMADAN'S FATHER SAID RAMADAN FLEES EGYPT DURING A CRACKDOWN ON MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AND SETTLES IN GENEVA , SWITZERLAND-- SEE MALCOLM X, IRAQ) In the late 1950's, Mr. [Tariq] Ramadan's father, Said, settled in Geneva after fleeing Egypt during a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. * Said Ramadan set up an Islamic center that became a European outpost of the Brotherhood, drawing visitors like Malcolm X. --------Mystery of the Islamic Scholar Who Was Barred by the U.S. [Tariq Ramadan] New York Times ^ | WED October 6, 2004 | DEBORAH SONTAG
1961 : (IRAQ's QASIM THREATENS TO ANNEX KUWAIT) Kuwaiti independence from Britian; General Qasim of Iraq threatened to annex Kuwait; British made it clear that they would defend Kuwai; Qasim backed down.
1962 : (IRAQ : NUCLEAR PROGRAM : TUWAITHA SITE : CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON IRAQ'S FIRST NUCLEAR REACTOR - SUPPLIED BY USSR) Construction begins on Iraq's first research reactor, the 2 megawatt IRT-5000 supplied by the Soviet Union. The Tuwaitha Site, located about 30 kilometers south of Baghdad, becomes the Nuclear Research Center after it is chosen as the location of the Soviet-supplied reactor and its associated facilities. "Iraq's Nuclear Weapons Program: From Aflaq to Tammuz," ; David Albright, Corey Gay and Khidhir Hamza, "Development of the Al-Tuwaitha Site: What if the Public or the IAEA Had Overhead Imagery?," Institute for Science and International Security, .via "Iraq Nuclear Weapons ProgramAn Annotated Chronology"
JUNE 19, 1962 : (KHRUSHCHEV PREDICTS THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL WILLINGLY SUCCUMB TO COMMUNISM) Nikita Khrushchev predicted confidently in a speech in Bucharest, Romania that: "The United States will eventually fly the Communist Red Flag ... the American people will hoist it themselves." - "None Dare Call it Treason," by John A. Stormer
The Hashemite Royals were argueably British stooges, but I think the region would have been better off were the pro-Western, anti-socialist monarchies still in power. The “Arab radicalism” of the 1950’s paved the way for a lot of trouble. Not only Iraq, but same goes for Egypt.
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