STUDENT NUMBER: 24423326

Modern History
Year 11 2021
RESEARCH
Historical Investigation – Research
Research Questions
Who was Saddam Hussein? (Background)

- Saddam Hussein was born 28 April 1937 near the town of Tikrit, to a peasant
family. Saddam’s father died when he was young, so he moved to Baghdad with
his uncle.
- Saddam’s political views were heavily influenced by his uncle which resulted
from an early age, Saddam had anti-British and Arab Nationalist ideas.
- In 1957, he joined the Ba’ath party, a socialist political party (means renaissance
or resurrection). He plotted to kill the Iraqi Prime Minister, but it failed so he fled
to Egypt. After education in Cairo and returning to Baghdad, the Ba’ath party
successfully overthrew the Prime Minister, Abdel-Karim Qassem in 1963.
- Saddam’s relative Hassan Al-Bakr became the new Iraqi President and during his
time in power, Saddam rose to Vice-President. At this role, Saddam began
“purifying” the government, which meant that all enemies against the government
were tortured, imprisoned, or executed.
- After a decade of the parties’ control, Saddam forced the President to retire due to
his poor health in 1979. After becoming the President, Saddam ordered the
execution of top-ranking soldiers.

Sources

Biographics, 2018, Saddam Hussein: The Butcher of Baghdad [Online Video]

Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaKkZJAoqCA> [Accessed
19/05/2021]

History., 2021, Saddam Hussein, AETN, accessed 19/05/2021,

<https://www.history.co.uk/biographies/saddam-hussein>
 STUDENT NUMBER: 24423326

Describe Saddam Hussein’s regime and the implementations that they made?

- Just after Saddam Hussein became president, he sat with about 100 of his
Ba’athist party members. He uncovered a plot against him then brought in a
tortured man, Muhyi Adbek Hussein, a senior officer who confessed and named
co-conspirators. One by one they were escorted from the room and were executed.
The remaining members pledged their allegiance to Saddam. The survivors were
the people who executed the conspirators. This act is comparable to the Hitler’s,
Night of the Long Knives.
- A year after Saddam took control of Iraq, he declared war on Iran. Saddam
thought the war was going to be quick and easy, but it ended up in a stalemate and
ended after eight years of conflict. Almost a million people died due to the
conflict.
- Saddam Hussein claimed Kuwait in 1990 in a 2-day conflict and claimed it based
on historical claims. A US-led coalition forced Iraq out of Kuwait after four
months of occupation in a campaign called Desert Storm.
- After this, Saddam remained in power and his regime continued.
- Iraqi Shia and Kurdish people rebelled against Saddam’s regime, but this resulted
in massacres by Saddam’s regime called the Al-Anfal campaign or the Anfal
genocide. The most known massacre in the Anfal genocide is the attack on the
Kurdish population in the town of Halabja. Thousands of people were killed and
permanently injured from chemical weapons during this attack. (More
information later).
During Saddam Hussein’s regime, he frequently suppressed his opposers using
different methods. Some of these methods included executions, chemical attacks
against military and civilian targets, imprisonment, and forced interrogation.
People were not allowed to leave Iraq unless they were authorised by the
government and conscription to the military was mandatory.
- The UN imposed sanctions of Iraq and prevented them from growing within the
Middle East. The US had significant intelligence on Iraqi nuclear, chemical, and
biological weapon programs (More information later), and the UN failed to
force Saddam to comply to destroy his weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
- Saddam and his regime continued to defy the UN and after the 9/11 attacks,
Saddam applauded the attacks. The UN charged Iraq of violating the UN security
 STUDENT NUMBER: 24423326

council resolutions revolving around the WMD and warned that Iraq, “will face
serious consequences as a result of its continued violation of its obligations”.
- As the regime kept defying the west, the US invaded Iraq with a coalition that
toppled his government.

Sources

History., 2021, Saddam Hussein, AETN, accessed 19/05/2021,

<https://www.history.co.uk/biographies/saddam-hussein>

United States Federal Government, 2002, NIE 2002-16HC, National Intelligence

Estimate (United States of America), [Accessed 02/06/2021] Available at:
<https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB129/nie.pdf>

Yusuf, A, 2019, Saddam Hussein: how a deadly purge of opponents set up his
ruthless dictatorship, The Conversation, accessed 12/06/2021,
<https://theconversation.com/saddam-hussein-how-a-deadly-purge-of-opponents-set-
up-his-ruthless-dictatorship-120748>

How did life of Iraqi people change during Saddam Hussein’s reign?

- Propaganda spread rapidly throughout Iraq. In school textbooks, the first page had
Saddam’s face and every 10 to 15 pages included a quote from Saddam Hussein.
The media was supressed to only include approved media.
- Religion traditions changed during the rule of Hussein. Saddam Hussein was a
Sunni Muslim, so he suppressed the ‘rival’ Shia group. Other religions such as
Christianity, Judaism were supressed. Freedom of religion was gone. Quote
“Saddam Hussein didn’t allow anyone to touch a person who was Christian.”
However, compared to other radical dictators, Saddam’s hatred towards other
religions were minor and his only real hate towards any other religion were Shia
Muslims after the Iran-Iraq War.
- Life for minority ethnic groups were troublesome during Saddam’s rule.
Saddam’s regime committed a genocide against Shia Muslim and Kurdish
populations. This resulted in the death of thousands of people.
- Due to Saddam’s militaristic and nuclear ambitions, Iraq fought through many
wars and years of economic sanctions imposed by the UN and USA which
 STUDENT NUMBER: 24423326

crippled the economy of Iraq. This led to civilians struggle to survive. However,
before the Gulf War (Invasion of Kuwait), Iraq was economically strong and
dependent so economic prosperity was common. Through the wars, Iraq’s
infrastructure crippled due to the bombing by the USA.
- From a personal experience, a family of a working teacher and a ex-government
employee and Ph.D student was 11000 Dinars or $6 a month.
- Towards the end of the 90’s, life began to improve with Saddam sensing that he
needed to improve, however by the time most of these changes were implemented,
the USA invaded Iraq.
- Before the US intervention, Iraq was a safer and wealthier country and after the
intervention, it made Iraq a terrible place to live.
- Common amongst stories of civilians during Saddam’s rule, life was good and
pleasing if you followed the orders of the government and kept on the
governments “good” side.

Sources

Al-Sallami, W, 2014, I Spent My Early Years In Iraq During Saddam’s Worst Days –
Heres’s What Life Was Like, Business Insider Australia, accessed 12/06/2021,
<https://www.businessinsider.com.au/heres-what-life-in-iraq-was-like-under-saddam-
hussein-2014-7?r=US&IR=T>

Mackintosh, E & Atassi, B, 2016, ‘I was shocked’: Iraqis remember day Saddam
Hussein was hanged, CNN, accessed 19/05/2021,
<https://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/29/middleeast/iraqi-voices-saddam-
execution/index.html>

United States Federal Government, 1988, Summary of Intelligence Reporting on CW

Use at Halabja, Iraq, 16 March 1988, Central Intelligence Agency (United States of
America), [Accessed 10/06/2021] Available at:
<https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0001115797.pdf?
fbclid=IwAR1u45haXmxzdCj_-
NYCOKxm8RfladHcmAgwB3b0dpp35BuKsYZNRt1IHJw>
 STUDENT NUMBER: 24423326

How did Saddam Hussein’s regime end?

- Due to:
the economic sanctions imposed by the USA and UN,
the crippling of the military due to wars such as the Iran-Iraq War and Gulf
War,
the bombing of Iraq infrastructure during various US operations,
US intelligence information revolved around the WMA program of Iraq

The USA and a coalition force of the UK, Australia and Poland, invaded Iraq on
20th March 2003 in a conflict that lasted just over a month, seeing coalition forces
driving into Baghdad with little resistance. Due to the weakness of the military, it
was defeated quickly and on April 9th Baghdad was occupied. Saddam Hussein
went into hiding and on May 1st, the president George W. Bush declared an end to
combat operations and began the occupation period.

- The capture of Saddam Hussein occurred on 13th December 2003, in Operation

Red Dawn, which saw the capture of Saddam Hussein, who was found in a deep
hole, 9 miles outside of his hometown After a trial, he was executed for his human
rights violations on December 30, 2006.

Sources

Garrison, C., “I Punched Saddam in the Mouth,” Riverfront Times, accessed

02/06/2021, <https://www.riverfronttimes.com/stlouis/i-punched-saddam-in-the-
mouth/Content?oid=2483821>
 STUDENT NUMBER: 24423326

History., Saddam Hussein Captured, AETN, accessed 19/05/2021,

<https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/saddam-hussein-captured>

PennLive.com, 2018, The capture of Saddam Hussein in 2003 [Online Video]

Available at: <https://youtu.be/IuGRBFtkztE> [Accessed 28/05/2021]

The Times of India, 2020, Saddam Hussein: How US forces captured him on
December 13, 2003 [Online Video] Available at:
<https://youtu.be/mX8oEGQUWc0> [Accessed 28/05/2021]

Unknown, c. 2003, Iraqi-American, Samir, pinning deposed Iraqi leader, Saddam

Hussein during his capture in Tikrit on Saturday, December 13, 2003, United States
Army, United States of America

How successful was the coalition intervention in Iraq?

- The US Intervened in Iraq multiple times throughout the 90’s and 00’s. The US
invaded Iraq with a coalition force during the Gulf War to liberate Kuwait (which
was annexed by Iraq). The US invaded Iraq in 2003 with another coalition force to
overthrow Saddam Hussein due to his purse to obtain WMD.
- The first US intervention was successful at crippling the Iraqi armed forces and
liberating Kuwait. Before the US could reach Baghdad, a peace agreement formed
so Saddam Hussein was able to stay in power.
- The second US invasion was successful at overthrowing Saddam Hussein in a
quick and fluent way before he could deploy his weapons of mass destruction.
However, the US occupation of Iraq is questionable. Before the first coalition
intervention (Gulf War), Iraq was a rich and safe country for most people. Due to
the sanctions imposed, the Iraqi economy was hindered significantly.
- After the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Iraq collapsed in chaos. Different
factions rose in violence in an attempt to gain power. The government that the US
deployed were weak and over the 21st Century, Iraq saw civil wars and occupation
by terror groups such as IS. Non-Arab ethnic groups saw persecution by Arabs
and the economy collapsed. As many Iraqis stated in the CNN interviews, the US
intervention disrupted Iraqi nationalism and made the country an overall worse
 STUDENT NUMBER: 24423326

place. They say that Saddam Hussein was going out of power was a better of
situation for Iraq but from a foreign nation was worse.
- Thus, the US interventions were successful at stopping Saddam Hussein and the
peruse for WMD, but it made life for the civilians within Iraq much worse and
resulted in instability within the nation in the future years.

Describe the reactions of Saddam Hussein’s execution from Iraqi and global perspectives?

- The US intervention disrupted Iraqi national pride and made the country an
overall worse place. They say that Saddam Hussein was going out of power was a
better of situation for Iraq but from a foreign nation was worse.
- Quote from Amina Ahmad: “I was young. I had no interest in politics. I surely felt
very sad. I started crying because it wasn't about Saddam himself but I felt they
executed Iraq. I know that Saddam Hussein was a dictator to be honest, but he
represented Iraq, he was the president of Iraq. When other countries come in and
take [Saddam] down and then they execute him, you feel like that's it, Iraq is
done. They executed the president, he represents your country and they kind of
humiliated your country.
It was the same feeling [I got] when the US army came to Baghdad. There was big
statue of Saddam. One of the US soldiers wiped Saddam's face with the American
flag and took it down. All of us were like ' who is this person to take the statue
down? This is our country, this is our own business.' Because we didn't ask for
any of this. I know we were living under a dictator, but we didn't ask anyone to
come and do this damage to our country.”
- Quote from Zaid Ridha: “I remember I woke up and found my dad having the TV
on the Al Arabiya channel, and there were live scenes of Saddam Hussein's
execution. I said, 'What!? The day has finally come.' Nobody could ever believe
that [it would come].
As I remember, it was a very special day, especially for my father and my family.
We suffered a lot. I don't know how to describe, but the joy was overwhelming
everybody.
So everybody was in the street, and everybody was firing [gunshots in the air] in
celebration. And everybody was smiling... so it was like a special day.
 STUDENT NUMBER: 24423326

- Quote from Nivene: Saddam Hussein never hurt me or my family. He was the best
thing that ever happened in Iraq, and he will be the best thing that ever will
happen to Iraq ... he did some horrible things that he shouldn't have done, and I
don't agree about that, but at the same time, the Iraqi people need someone like
Saddam Hussein to rule them. Because as you can see right now -- there is no one
in charge in Iraq and you can see what's happening in Iraq.
My family and I are not Muslim, we are Catholic, Christian Catholic. And
Saddam Hussein didn't allow anyone to touch anyone who was Christian or
Catholic ... right now all they're trying to do is basically to kill Christian Catholic
people, to kick them out, treating them like ... basically they're not treating us like
humans, they're killing us, they're kicking us out from our houses. That didn't
happen when Saddam Hussein was in charge, so of course I'm going to get upset.

Sources

Mackintosh, E & Atassi, B, 2016, ‘I was shocked’: Iraqis remember day Saddam
Hussein was hanged, CNN, accessed 19/05/2021,
<https://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/29/middleeast/iraqi-voices-saddam-
execution/index.html>

What changed for the people of Iraq after Hussein was removed from power?

- After Hussein was removed from power, Iraq had no real leader which led to
many different groups attempting to rise to power. The US occupation helped
slightly to calm these opponents but was relatively useless. Iraq’s economy went
into a slum and the people suffered. Cities became battlegrounds. Iraq went on to
fight wars against terror groups like Al-Qaeda and IS. The Islamic State of Iraq
went to fight a war with Iraq which saw mass casualties. Iraq is still an unstable
region within the Middle East.

Sources

Hamaseed, S. & Nada, G., Iraq Timeline: Since the 2003 War, United States Institute
of Peace, accessed 10/06/2021, <https://www.usip.org/iraq-timeline-2003-
war#textonly>
 STUDENT NUMBER: 24423326

Halabja Chemical Attack

"It was like the Day of Judgment; you stand before God."
-- survivor of the poison gas attack on Halabja, March 16, 1988.

- Halabja was a Kurdish city in North Iraq that was close to the Iran border. Halabja
was targeted during the Al-Anfal campaign to eliminate the Kurdish civilians
inside the city, that had been uprising against Iraq (most inside the city were
women and children who did not physically fight against Iraq and Hussein).
- Iran launched an offensive towards Halabja in order to gain territory in Iraq. The
Iraqi army launched a counterattack and both attacks saw heavy bombing of the
town with windows and buildings being destroyed. The civilians made air raid
shelters that would ultimately kill them in the coming days. On March 16, Iraq
launched air-strikes over the city with napalm and phosphorous which burned the
people. At around 3pm, the Iraqi’s launched gas attacks on the civilians. The
attacks were far away from any military installations. Witnesses claim that it smelt
of apples. Iranian soldiers wore protective equipment, but the Kurdish people had
no protection. The chemical used was lighter than air so it sank into the bunkers.
- Iran prepared for the casualties and many survivors were brought into Iran for
medical treatment. The people of Halabja were transferred to refugee camps until
after the Anfal campaign, but the houses and buildings were destroyed by Iraq
after they had retaken the city.

March 19 communique (after Halabja):

In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate.

Like all covetous invaders, the Zionist Khomeinyite forces relied on some of those
who betrayed the homeland and people in the northern area of Iraq--those who our
good Kurdish people expelled from their ranks. Those elements performed shameful
services for foreigners. Among their shameful acts was facilitating the missions of the
invading forces in entering in the Halabja border villages in the Suleimaniyeh
Governorate.
 STUDENT NUMBER: 24423326

As an expression of the will of the great Iraqi people, the brave Armed Forces, and the
good honorable nationalists from our Kurdish people; and in response to the treason
of this stray clique; the brave Badr forces, the brave Al-Qa'qa forces, the brave Al-
Mu'tasim forces, and the forces affiliated with them from our Armed Forces and the
National Defense Battalions [jahsh], carried out the Anfal operation under the
supervision of Staff Lt. Gen. Sultan Hashem, who is temporarily assigned to this
mission in addition to his regular duties. Our forces attacked the headquarters of the
rebellion led by traitor Jalal Talabani, the agent to the Iranian regime, the enemy of
the Arabs and Kurds, in the Sergalou, Bergalou and Zewa areas and in the rough
mountainous areas in Suleimaniyeh. At 1300 today, after a brave and avenging battle
with the traitors, the headquarters of the rebellion was occupied. The commander of
the force guarding the rebellion headquarters, and a number of traitors and misguided
elements, were captured with God's help and with the determination of the zealous
men of Iraq--Arabs and Kurds. Many were killed and others escaped in shame.

This is unique bravery and faithfulness. This is a struggle admired by the entire world,
the struggle of leader Saddam Hussein's people, Arabs and Kurds, who placed
themselves in the service of the homeland and gave their love and faithfulness to their
great leader, the symbol of their victory and title of their prosperity. Our people have
rejected from their ranks all traitors who sold themselves cheaply to the covetous
foreign enemy.

Praise be to God for His victory. Shame to the ignominious.

[signed] The Armed Forces General Command, 19 March 1988"

Sources

Mackintosh, E & Atassi, B, 2016, ‘I was shocked’: Iraqis remember day Saddam
Hussein was hanged, CNN, accessed 19/05/2021,
<https://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/29/middleeast/iraqi-voices-saddam-
execution/index.html>

Human Rights Watch, First Anfal – The Siege of Serglou and Bergalou, February 23
—March 19, 1988, accessed 12/08/21,
<https://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/iraqanfal/ANFAL3.htm#P101_33229/>
 STUDENT NUMBER: 24423326

US Intelligence Information

- The US Government raised many points from their intelligence estimates of Iraq.
The US knew that Iraq had facilities creating WMD, either chemical or biological
weapons. The nuclear capabilities of Iraq were unknown but evidence linking the
purchasing of centrifuge material link to a possible nuclear weapons program by
Iraq.
- Iraq held UAV devices that could deliver WMD and had missiles larger than the
UN’s designated range.
- The US had intelligence that Iraq had been using chemical weapons against
Iranians and Kurdish people in many incidents as listed below:

- Iraq have declared nuclear, chemical, and biological weapon sites to the UN and
have admitted to producing BW agents. However, Iraq persisted to not destroy
any of these weapons, a direct defiance to UN resolutions.

Sources

United States Federal Government, 1982, Iran-Iraq: Situation Report Number 27,
Central Intelligence Agency (United States of America), [Accessed 04/06/2021]
Available at: <https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-
rdp84b00049r001604000007-9>
 STUDENT NUMBER: 24423326

United States Federal Government, 1988, Summary of Intelligence Reporting on

CW Use at Halabja, Iraq, 16 March 1988, Central Intelligence Agency (United
States of America), [Accessed 10/06/2021] Available at:
<https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0001115797.pdf?
fbclid=IwAR1u45haXmxzdCj_-
NYCOKxm8RfladHcmAgwB3b0dpp35BuKsYZNRt1IHJw>

United States Federal Government, 2002, NIE 2002-16HC, National Intelligence

Estimate (United States of America), [Accessed 02/06/2021] Available at:
<https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB129/nie.pdf>