User:Kharbaan Ghaltaan/Presidency of Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein 1979–2003
President	Saddam Hussein
President‑elect	1979
Vice President	Taha Yassin Ramadan Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri
Premier	*Himself Sa'adun Hammadi
Party	Ba'ath Party (Iraqi-dominated faction)

Saddam Hussein officially assumed presidency on 19 July 1979, after the resignation of Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr. A leading member of the Ba'ath Party, he was in power for 24 years until his overthrow in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, during the Iraq War.

The Economist explains: "During the 1970s, a relatively peaceful interlude when he exercised real control as second-in-command to a weak president, dozens of ambitious projects swiftly created a first-class infrastructure of expressways, power lines and social services. In neighboring countries, the oil boom generated garish consumption and commission billionaires. Iraqis could fairly claim that their national wealth had been used instead to create a broad, home-owning middle class."

His position as president remained until he was overthrown in 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States.

Inauguration

Main article: 1979 Ba'ath Party Purge

Shortly after assuming the Presidency of Iraq in July 1979, Saddam convened a gathering of his Ba'ath Party leaders and publicly had 68 of them removed for alleged treason. Twenty-two of them were subsequently sentenced to death by firing squad.

Appointments

Party-affiliated appointments

Office	Name	Term
President	Saddam Hussein	1979 — 2003
Vice President	Taha Muhie-eldin Marouf	1974 — 2003
	Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri	1979 — 2003
Taha Yassin Ramadan	1991 — 2003
Prime Minister	Saddam Hussein	1979 — 1991
	Sa'dun Hammadi	1991 — 1991
Mohammed Hamza Zubeidi	1991 — 1993
Ahmad Husayn Khudayir as-Samarrai	1993 — 1994
Deputy Prime Minister	Tariq Aziz (sole)	1979 — 2003
	Saadoun Ghaidan	1979 — 1982
	Sa'dun Hammadi	1991 — 1991
Mohammed Hamza Zubeidi	1991 — 1993
Hikmat Mizban Ibrahim	1999 — 2001
Abd al-Tawab Mullah Huwaysh	2001 — 2003
Minister of Defence	Adnan Khairallah	1977 — 1989
	Abdul Jabbar Khalil Shanshal	1989 — 1990
	Saadi Toma	1990 — 1991
Ali Hassan al-Majid	1991 — 1995
Sultan Hashim	1995 — 2003
Minister of Finance	Thamir Razzuqi	1979 — 1983 ...
	Hisham Hassan Tawfiq	1983 — 1987
	Hikmat Omar Mukhaylif	1987 — 1989
	Muhammad Mahdi Salih	1989 — 1991
Majid Abd Jafar	1991 — 1992
Ahmad Husayn Khudayir as-Samarrai	1992 — 1994
Hikmat Mizban Ibrahim al-Azzawi	1994 — 2003
Minister of Justice	Mundhir al-Shawi	1974 — 1988
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research	Jassim Mohammed Khalaf Al-Rikabi	1979—1981
Trade Commissioner	Salim Ashir	1979 — 2003

Key figures and party affiliated appointments

Name		Position(s)
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri (1930–2017)		Secretary General of the National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party Regional Secretary of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party Deputy Secretary of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch Member of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch
Uday Saddam Hussein (1964–2003)		Member of the National Assembly Commander of the Fedayeen Saddam Head of the Iraqi Olympic Commission Head of the Iraq Football Association Head of the Iraqi Students Union
Qusay Hussein		Head of the Special Security Organization Head of the Special Republican Guard Supervisor of Republican Guard Commander of the Fedayeen Saddam
Adil Abdullah Mahdi Al-Douri		Member of the Iraqi National Council. Secretary of the leadership of the Fallujah Branch
Ghazi Hamoud Al-Obaidi		Member of the Regional Leadership Governor of Basra Governor of Mayasan
Hussein Al-Awadi		Governor of Al Anbar Governorate Governor of Najaf
Mizban Khadr al-Hadi		Advisor on Shi'ite affairs Governor of Najaf Commander of the Central Euphrates Region
Naji Eli		Liaison to the government Jewish Representative

Members of the Regional Command

• Yahya Abdullah al-Abudi
• Uqlah Abd Saqar
• Rashid Ta'an Kazim
• Fadhil Mahmud Gharib
• Muhsin Khudayr al-Khafaji
• Abd al-Fattah al-Yasin
• Tahir al-Ani
• Ja'far Qasim Hammudi
• Hikmat Ibrahim al-Azzawi
• Burhan Mustafa
• Muhyi Abdul-Hussein Mashhadi

Members of the Revolutionary Command Council

• Muhyi Abdul-Hussein Mashhadi

Non ministerial appointments

Saddam Hussein
Cabinet of Iraq
Date formed	16 July 1979
Date dissolved	9 April 2003
People and organisations
President	Saddam Hussein
Vice President	Taha Marouf, 1974—2003 Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, 1979—2003 Taha Yassin Ramadan, 1991—2003
Prime Minister	Himself (1979–1991) Sa'dun Hammadi (1991) Mohammed Hamza Zubeidi (1991–1993) Ahmad Husayn Khudayir as-Samarrai (1993–1994) Himself (1994–2003)
Deputy Prime Minister	Tariq Aziz
Ministers removed	68 dismissed
Member party	Ba'ath Party

• Vice President
  • Taha Muhie-eldin Marouf, 1974—2003
  • Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, 1979—2003
  • Taha Yassin Ramadan, 1991—2003
• Prime Minister
  • Himself (1979–1991)
  • Sa'dun Hammadi (1991)
  • Mohammed Hamza Zubeidi (1991–1993)
  • Ahmad Husayn Khudayir as-Samarrai (1993–1994)
  • Himself (1994–2003)

Council of Ministers

The {{{Name}}} cabinet
Office	Name	Term
President	Kharbaan Ghaltaan/Presidency of Saddam Hussein	{{{President start}}}–
Vice President	{{{Vice President}}}	{{{Vice President start}}}–

Kharbaan Ghaltaan/Presidency of Saddam Hussein

Jurisdiction	Iraq

• Minister of Finance
  • Thamir Razzuqi, July 1979 - August 1983[5]
  • Hisham Hassan Tawfiq, August 1983 - September 1987[5]
  • Hikmat Omar Mukhaylif, September 1987 - October 1989[5]
  • Muhammad Mahdi Salih, October 1989 - March 1991[5]
  • Majid Abd Jafar, March 1991 - July 1992[5]
  • Ahmad Husayn Khudayir as-Samarrai, July 1992 - May 1994[5]
  • Hikmat Mizban Ibrahim al-Azzawi, May 1994 - April 2003[5]
• Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Sa'dun Hammadi, 1974–1983
  • Tariq Aziz, 1983–1991
  • Ahmad Husayn Khudayir as-Samarrai, 1991–1992
  • Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf, 1992–2001
  • Tariq Aziz (acting), 2001
  • Naji Sabri, 2001–2003
• Minister of Defense
  • Adnan Khairallah, 1977–1989
  • Abdul Jabbar Khalil Shanshal , 1989–1990
  • Saadi Toma, 1990–1991
  • Ali Hassan al-Majid, 1991–1995
  • Sultan Hashim, 1995–2003
• Minister of Justice
  • Mundhir al-Shawi, 1974–1988
  • Akram 'Abd al-Qadir 'Ali, 1988-1992
  • Shabib Lazim al-Maliki, 1993-2000
  • Mundhir al-Shawi, 2000-2003
• Ministry of Planning
  • Taha Ibrahim Al-Abdullah (1979-1981)
  • Thamer Razuqi Al-Shaykhali (1981-1982)
  • Samal Majeed Faraj (1982-1993)
  • Hassan Abdul Munim Khattab (1993-2003)

Key-figures

Office	Name	Term
President	Kharbaan Ghaltaan/Presidency of Saddam Hussein	{{{President start}}}–
Vice President	{{{Vice President}}}	{{{Vice President start}}}–

Name	Portfilo	Name	Portfilo

History

Office	Name	Term

During his presidency, Saddam initiated and fought various wars. This includes the major Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s and the Gulf War from 1990 to 1991, which began when Iraq invaded Kuwait. Other minor conflicts includes repression of uprisings against the government by Shi'ite Muslims and Iraqi Kurds in 1991 and 1999 and intervention in the Iraqi-Kurdish Civil War and 2001–2003 Kurdish–Islamist conflict.

Iran–Iraq War

In early 1979, Iran's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's Pahlavi dynasty were overthrown by the Islamic Revolution, thus giving way to an Islamic republic led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The influence of revolutionary Shi'ite Islam grew apace in the region, particularly in countries with large Shi'ite populations, especially Iraq. Saddam feared that radical Islamic ideas—hostile to his secular rule—were rapidly spreading inside his country among the majority Shi'ite population. Despite Saddam's fears of massive unrest, Iran's attempts to export its Islamic Revolution were largely unsuccessful in rallying support from Shi'ites in Iraq and the Gulf states. Most Iraqi Shi'ites, who comprised the majority of the Iraqi Armed Forces, chose their own country over their Shi'ite Iranian coreligionists during the war that ensued. There had also been bitter enmity between Saddam and Khomeini since the 1970s. Khomeini, having been exiled from Iran in 1964, took up residence in Iraq, at the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf. There he involved himself with Iraqi Shi'ites and developed a strong religious and political following against the Iranian Government, which Saddam tolerated. When Khomeini began to urge the Shi'ites there to overthrow Saddam and under pressure from the Shah, who had agreed to a rapprochement between Iraq and Iran in 1975, Saddam agreed to expel Khomeini in 1978 to France. Here, Khomeini gained media connections and collaborated with a much larger Iranian community, to his advantage. After Khomeini gained power, skirmishes between Iraq and revolutionary Iran occurred for ten months over the sovereignty of the disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway, which divides the two countries. During this period, Saddam publicly maintained that it was in Iraq's interest not to engage with Iran, and that it was in the interests of both nations to maintain peaceful relations.

Iraq invaded Iran on 22 September 1980, first launching airstrikes on numerous targets in Iran, including the Mehrabad Airport of Tehran, before occupying the oil-rich Iranian province of Khuzestan, which also has a sizable Arab minority. The invasion was initially successful, as Iraq captured more than 25,900 km² of Iranian territory by 5 December 1980. With the support of other Arab states, the United States, and Europe, and heavily financed by the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Saddam Hussein had become "the defender of the Arab world" against a revolutionary, fundamentalist and Shia Islamist Iran. The only exception was the Soviet Union, which initially refused to supply Iraq on the basis of neutrality in the conflict, although in his memoirs, Mikhail Gorbachev claimed that Leonid Brezhnev refused to aid Saddam over infuriation of Saddam's treatment of Iraqi communists. Consequently, many viewed Iraq as "an agent of the civilized world." The blatant disregard of international law and violations of international borders were ignored. Instead Iraq received economic and military support from its allies, who overlooked Saddam's use of chemical warfare against the Kurds and the Iranians, in addition to Iraq's efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

In the first days of the war, there was heavy ground fighting around strategic ports as Iraq launched an attack on Khuzestan. After making some initial gains, Iraq's troops began to suffer losses from human wave attacks by Iran. By 1982, Iraq was on the defensive and looking for ways to end the war. Middle East special envoy Donald Rumsfeld met Saddam Hussein on 19–20 December 1983. Iraq quickly found itself bogged down in one of the longest and most destructive wars of attrition of the 20th century. During the war, Iraq used chemical weapons against Iranian forces fighting on the southern front and Kurdish separatists who were attempting to open up a northern front in Iraq with the help of Iran. Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz later acknowledged Iraq's use of chemical weapons against Iran, but said that Iran had used them against Iraq first. These chemical weapons were developed by Iraq from materials and technology supplied primarily by West German companies as well as using dual-use technology imported following the Reagan administration's lifting of export restrictions. The United States government also supplied Iraq with "satellite photos showing Iranian deployments." This satellite imagery may have played a crucial role in blocking the Iranian invasion of Iraq in 1982. However, Saddam's government later blamed the Iraqi defeat in the First Battle of al-Faw in February 1986 on "misinformation from the U.S."

In a US bid to open full diplomatic relations with Iraq, the country was removed from the US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism in February 1982. Ostensibly, this was because of improvement in the regime's record, although former US Assistant Secretary of Defense Noel Koch later stated, "No one had any doubts about [the Iraqis'] continued involvement in terrorism ... The real reason was to help them succeed in the war against Iran." The Soviet Union, France, and China together accounted for over 90% of the value of Iraq's arms imports between 1980 and 1988. While the United States supplied Iraq with arms, dual-use technology and economic aid, it was also involved in a covert and illegal arms deal, providing sanctioned Iran with weaponry. This political scandal became known as the Iran–Contra affair. Saddam reached out to other Arab governments for cash and political support during the war, particularly after Iraq's oil industry severely suffered at the hands of the Iranian navy in the Persian Gulf. Iraq successfully gained some military and financial aid, as well as diplomatic and moral support, from the Soviet Union, China, France, and the United States, which together feared the prospects of the expansion of revolutionary Iran's influence in the region.

The Iranians, demanding that the international community should force Iraq to pay war reparations to Iran, refused any suggestions for a cease-fire. Despite several calls for a ceasefire by the United Nations Security Council, hostilities continued until 20 August 1988. The bloody eight-year war ended in a stalemate. Encyclopædia Britannica states: "Estimates of total casualties range from 1,000,000 to twice that number. The number killed on both sides was perhaps 500,000, with Iran suffering the greatest losses." Neither side had achieved what they had originally desired and the borders were left nearly unchanged. The southern, oil rich and prosperous Khuzestan and Basra area (the main focus of the war, and the primary source of their economies) were almost completely destroyed and were left at the pre-1979 border, while Iran managed to make some small gains on its borders in the Northern Kurdish area. Both economies, previously healthy and expanding, were left in ruins. Saddam borrowed tens of billions of dollars from other Arab states and a few billions from elsewhere during the 1980s to fight Iran, mainly to prevent the expansion of Shi'a radicalism. This backfired on Iraq and the Arab states, for Khomeini was widely perceived as a hero for managing to defend Iran and maintain the war with little foreign support against the heavily backed Iraq and only managed to boost Islamic radicalism not only within the Arab states, but within Iraq itself, creating new tensions between the Sunni Ba'ath Party and the majority Shi'a population. Faced with rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure and internal resistance, Saddam desperately re-sought cash, this time for postwar reconstruction.

Tensions with Kuwait

The end of the war with Iran served to deepen latent tensions between Iraq and its wealthy neighbor Kuwait. Saddam urged the Kuwaitis to waive the Iraqi debt accumulated in the war, some $30 billion, but they refused. He pushed oil-exporting countries to raise oil prices by cutting back production; Kuwait refused, then led the opposition in OPEC to the cuts that Saddam had requested. Kuwait was pumping large amounts of oil, and thus keeping prices low, when Iraq needed to sell high-priced oil from its wells to pay off its huge debt.

Saddam had consistently argued that Kuwait had historically been an integral part of Iraq, and had only come into being as a result of interference from the British government; echoing a belief that Iraqi nationalists had supported for the past fifty years. This belief was one of the few articles of faith uniting the political scene in a nation rife with sharp social, ethnic, religious, and ideological divides. The extent of Kuwaiti oil reserves also intensified tensions in the region. The oil reserves of Kuwait (with a population of 2 million next to Iraq's 25) were roughly equal to those of Iraq. Taken together, Iraq and Kuwait sat on top of some 20 percent of the world's known oil reserves; Saudi Arabia held another 25 percent. Saddam still had an experienced and well-equipped army, which he used to influence regional affairs. He later ordered troops to the Iraq–Kuwait border.

As Iraq–Kuwait relations rapidly deteriorated, Saddam was receiving conflicting information about how the US would respond to the prospects of an invasion. For one, Washington had been taking measures to cultivate a constructive relationship with Iraq for roughly a decade. The Reagan administration gave Iraq roughly $4 billion in agricultural credits to bolster it against Iran. Iraq became "the third-largest recipient of US assistance."

Reacting to Western criticism in April 1990, Saddam threatened to destroy half of Israel with chemical weapons if it moved against Iraq. In May 1990 he criticized American support for Israel warning that "the US cannot maintain such a policy while professing friendship towards the Arabs." In July 1990 he threatened force against Kuwait and the UAE saying "The policies of some Arab rulers are American ... They are inspired by America to undermine Arab interests and security." The US sent warplanes and combat ships to the Persian Gulf in response to these threats.

The US ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie, met with Saddam in an emergency meeting on 25 July 1990, where the Iraqi leader attacked American policy with regards to Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE):

So what can it mean when America says it will now protect its friends? It can only mean prejudice against Iraq. This stance plus maneuvers and statements which have been made has encouraged the UAE and Kuwait to disregard Iraqi rights. If you use pressure, we will deploy pressure and force. We know that you can harm us although we do not threaten you. But we too can harm you. Everyone can cause harm according to their ability and their size. We cannot come all the way to you in the US, but individual Arabs may reach you. We do not place America among the enemies. We place it where we want our friends to be and we try to be friends. But repeated American statements last year made it apparent that America did not regard us as friends.

Glaspie replied:

I know you need funds. We understand that and our opinion is that you should have the opportunity to rebuild your country. But we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait. ... Frankly, we can only see that you have deployed massive troops in the south. Normally that would not be any of our business. But when this happens in the context of what you said on your national day, then when we read the details in the two letters of the Foreign Minister, then when we see the Iraqi point of view that the measures taken by the UAE and Kuwait is, in the final analysis, parallel to military aggression against Iraq, then it would be reasonable for me to be concerned. — 

Saddam stated that he would attempt last-ditch negotiations with the Kuwaitis but Iraq "would not accept death." US officials attempted to maintain a conciliatory line with Iraq, indicating that while George H. W. Bush and James Baker did not want force used, they would not take any position on the Iraq–Kuwait boundary dispute and did not want to become involved. Later, Iraq and Kuwait met for a final negotiation session, which failed. Saddam then sent his troops into Kuwait. As tensions between Washington and Saddam began to escalate, the Soviet Union, under Mikhail Gorbachev, strengthened its military relationship with the Iraqi leader, providing him military advisers, arms and aid.

Gulf War: 1990–1991

On 2 August 1990, the Iraqi Army invaded Kuwait, initially claiming assistance to "Kuwaiti revolutionaries", thus sparking an international crisis. On 4 August an Iraqi-backed "Provisional Government of Free Kuwait" was proclaimed, but a total lack of legitimacy and support for it led to an 8 August announcement of a "merger" of the two countries. On 28 August Kuwait formally became the 19th Governorate of Iraq. Just two years after the 1988 Iraq and Iran truce, "Saddam did what his Gulf patrons had earlier paid him to prevent." Having removed the threat of Iranian fundamentalism he "overran Kuwait and confronted his Gulf neighbors in the name of Arab nationalism and Islam." Saddam justified the invasion of Kuwait in 1990 by claiming that Kuwait had always been an integral part of Iraq and only became an independent nation due to the interference of the British Empire.

When later asked why he invaded Kuwait, Saddam first claimed that it was because Kuwait was rightfully Iraq's 19th province and then said "When I get something into my head I act. That's just the way I am." Saddam Hussein could pursue such military aggression with a "military machine paid for in large part by the tens of billions of dollars Kuwait and the Gulf states had poured into Iraq and the weapons and technology provided by the Soviet Union, Germany, and France." It was revealed during his 2003–2004 interrogation that in addition to economic disputes, an insulting exchange between the Kuwaiti Emir Al Sabah and the Iraqi foreign minister – during which Saddam claimed that the emir stated his intention to turn "every Iraqi woman into a $10 prostitute" by ruining Iraq financially – was a decisive factor in triggering the Iraqi invasion. Shortly before he invaded Kuwait, he shipped 100 new Mercedes 200 Series cars to top editors in Egypt and Jordan. Two days before the first attacks, Saddam reportedly offered Egypt's Hosni Mubarak 50 million dollars in cash, "ostensibly for grain."

George H. W. Bush responded cautiously for the first several days. On one hand, Kuwait, prior to this point, had been a virulent enemy of Israel and was the Persian Gulf monarchy that had the most friendly relations with the Soviets. On the other hand, Washington foreign policymakers, along with Middle East experts, military critics, and firms heavily invested in the region, were extremely concerned with stability in this region. The invasion immediately triggered fears that the world's price of oil, and therefore control of the world economy, was at stake. Britain profited heavily from billions of dollars of Kuwaiti investments and bank deposits. Bush was perhaps swayed while meeting with British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who happened to be in the US at the time.

Cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union made possible the passage of resolutions in the United Nations Security Council giving Iraq a deadline to leave Kuwait and approving the use of force if Saddam did not comply with the timetable. The United States officials feared Iraqi retaliation against oil-rich Saudi Arabia, since the 1940s a close ally of Washington, for the Saudis' opposition to the invasion of Kuwait. Accordingly, the United States and a group of allies, including countries as diverse as Egypt, Syria and Czechoslovakia, deployed a massive number of troops along the Saudi border with Kuwait and Iraq in order to encircle the Iraqi army, the largest in the Middle East. Saddam's officers looted Kuwait, stripping even the marble from its palaces to move it to Saddam's own palace.

During the period of negotiations and threats following the invasion, Saddam focused renewed attention on the Palestinian problem by promising to withdraw his forces from Kuwait if Israel would relinquish the occupied territories in the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and the Gaza Strip. Saddam's proposal further split the Arab world, pitting US- and Western-supported Arab states against the Palestinians. The allies ultimately rejected any linkage between the Kuwait crisis and Palestinian issues.

Saddam ignored the Security Council deadline. Backed by the Security Council, a US-led coalition launched round-the-clock missile and aerial attacks on Iraq, beginning 16 January 1991. Israel, though subjected to attack by Iraqi missiles, refrained from retaliating in order not to provoke Arab states into leaving the coalition. A ground force consisting largely of US and British armored and infantry divisions ejected Saddam's army from Kuwait in February 1991 and occupied the southern portion of Iraq as far as the Euphrates. On 6 March 1991, Bush announced "What is at stake is more than one small country, it is a big idea—a new world order, where diverse nations are drawn together in common cause to achieve the universal aspirations of mankind: peace and security, freedom, and the rule of law." In the end, the Iraqi army proved unable to compete on the battlefield with the highly mobile coalition land forces and their overpowering air support. Some 175,000 Iraqis were taken prisoner and casualties were estimated at over 85,000. As part of the cease-fire agreement, Iraq agreed to scrap all poison gas and germ weapons and allow UN observers to inspect the sites. UN trade sanctions would remain in effect until Iraq complied with all terms. Saddam publicly claimed victory at the end of the war.

1991 Uprisings

Shortly after the end of the Gulf War in 1991, Shi'ite Muslims and Iraqi Kurds in southern and northern Iraq led several uprisings against the government of Saddam. These were repressed and an estimated 100,000 people were killed. Qusay Hussein, Saddam's younger son led the Republican Guard that confronted the rebels in Baghdad. After the uprisings were repressed, Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei was forced to meet Saddam and was placed in house arrest.

Domestic Policies

Economy of Iraq

Baghdad in 2003

At the start of his presidency, Iraq was one of the most highly developed countries in the Middle East. It is often said that Iraq had never experienced such rapid development before or since. However, this began long before the beginning of his presidency, when he was the vice president. Saddam nationalized oil industry in 1972 and began diversifying the economy. In 1980, Iraq was considered one of the most advance economies of the Middle East. It was considered one of the highly developed countries in the 1970s and the 1980s. The currency of Iraq—Iraqi Dinar was strong and valuable.

By the late 1970s, Iraq experienced significant economic growth, with a budget reserve surpassing US$35 billion. The value of 1 Iraqi dinar was worth more than 3 dollars, making it one of the most notable economic expansions in the region. Saddam Hussein's regime aimed to diversify the Iraqi economy beyond oil. The government invested in various industries, including petrochemicals, fertilizer production, and textile manufacturing, to reduce dependence on oil revenues and promote economic self-sufficiency. By the 1970s, women employment rate also increased.

Saddam implemented some agricultural policies to support farmers and enhance food production in Iraq. While Feudalism was prohibited in 1958 years before the Ba'ath party took charge, farmers were very much empowered by the government. They were given pieces of land, loans, modern machinery, discounted seeds and water supplies, and every other resource necessary for them to thrive and succeed.[11] This also included the biggest land reclamation project in the history of Iraq, [12] since large areas of land became inarable in the beginning of the century. Saddam's river, also known as the third river, among other projects, was constructed to fight the issue, although that river was mainly constructed for the draining of the Hawizeh marshes to gain a tactical advantage over the Iranis during the Iran-Iraq war.[13]

Saddam had numerous achievements in this area. Iraqis, and especially government employees, were given small pieces of land for them to build houses on, which was complimented by loans specifically tailored for that purpose. Houses and apartments were also given to some government employees. That either came in the form of living on government property without paying rent for college professors for example, but also manifested in building housing units that were given for free for people to own. Another way to give out housing units was by encouraging communities to collaboratively build housing complexes on government-owned land for those in need. I was unable to find any citations for this, feel free to post what you find in the comments and I'll update the answer accordingly.

Regionally, Saddam also had a number of achievements. An example is providing work opportunities for Egyptian and Moroccan famers. In 1980, the number of Egyptian workers grew to 1.5 million in Iraq. Saddam provided them with free health insurance and social security coverage as well. [12] This and other gestures towards neighboring Arab countries explain the outrage in the Arab world when Saddam was removed from power and later executed. Arabs viewed Iraqis as traitors since they only experienced the bright side of Saddam, and were spared the horrors that we suffered as his people.

The situation began to change during war with Iran. In the first year of the war, oil production fell from 3.4 million barrels per day to just under a million. Oil revenues continued to drop off for the duration of the conflict—totaling $11 billion, less than half the pre-war amount, in 1988—while military spending remained high. The result was the increase of foreign debt to over $80 billion by 1988, the draining of foreign reserves and the abandonment of development projects. It also led to an increase in military industry. When the war ended, more than 20% of the labor force—over one million people—were employed in Iraq’s armed forces.

Following the invasion of Kuwait, the international community placed sanctions on Iraq. As a result of sanctions, Iraq's oil sector crippled. General Motors was in process of establishing a factory. However, the plan was ceased when sanctions were imposed. By 1995, GDP of Iraq dropped to US$9 billion from US$44.36 billion in 1990. Iraq had lost around US$170 billion of oil revenues. In 1995, Bill Clinton introduced Oil-for-Food Programme. It's objective was to allow Iraq sell oil in exchange for humanitarian needs for ordinary Iraqi citizens without allowing Iraqi government to boost its military capabilities.

After accepting the Oil-for-Food Programme in 1996, Iraq resumed exporting oil to other countries in exchange of humanitarian supplies for normal citizens. By the end of the 1990s, Saddam tried to make a few improvements in income and infrastructure. He even tried to introduce a controlled version of satellite TV and wireless cellphones. By 2000, the economy of Iraq began improving. Trade relations with countries such as China and Syria resumed. Syria even ignored the sanctions and imported oil from Iraq. Its GDP increased to U$23.73 billion by 2000.

Role in Development of Iraq

The government spent revenue generated from the sale of oil in construction of infrastructure. In the 1970s and 1980s, Iraq

Water and Electricity were made available to nearly every city and village in Iraq. "Model Villages" were built to provide farmers with better services and overall living standards. At least one school and clinic were built in every village. Roads were paved and modern highways were constructed all over the country. Bridges and recreational villages were built in numerous locations.

Beautification

Al-Faw Palace in Baghdad was built by Saddam to commemorate soliders in retaking the Al-Faw Peninsula

Saddam pursued to beautify Iraq. He sponsored architectural competitions, attracted some of the world’s most celebrated architects. His plan was to reestablish Baghdad as one of the world’s great architectural capitals. Baghdad emerged as a center for architecture. According to Shirin Sherzat, a local architect who participated in various competitions during Saddam’s reign. “Baghdad,” he said, “was a great laboratory for architecture.”

Megaprojects

Baghdad International Airport

Baghdad Metro

Work on the Mosul Dam, the fourth largest dam in the middle east, was started in 1980, a year after he became president and was finished 6 years later. A number of other modern dams were built during the '70s and '80s, giving Iraq more control over its water resources, and providing them with electricity. [14]

Education

Since Saddam came from a poor background and had difficulties in attaining proper education and good healthcare in his youth , he implemented , when he became vice president (then president ) , an ambitious project in providing universal free schooling up to the highest education levels and creating one of the most modernized public-health systems in the Middle East during the 1970s and 1980s..

Saddam made efforts to expand education, particularly at the primary and secondary levels. Education was made more widely accessible, leading to increased literacy rates in the country. According to the Human Rights Watch, "The government passed a compulsory education law mandating that both sexes attend school through the primary level. Although middle and upper class Iraqi women had been attending university since the 1920s, rural women and girls were largely uneducated until this time."

Education was made free to everyone in Iraq. This not only includes grade school, but also covers college and graduate level education.[2] It started in the early '70s and resulted, by the mid '80s, in an unprecedented 100% enrollment rates, and of course helped build a better educated middle class. Those years were called "The Golden Years" for the Iraqi Education System. [2][3] Furthermore, government scholarships were given every years for hundreds, if not thousands, of Iraqis to study abroad. This resulted in a solid education system that enjoyed a reputation that made it the destination for many Arab students in the area, whom were also given free education.[4]

Refusing to send your child to school at the age of six was a crime punished by law, usually by prison time, under Saddam's regime starting from the late '70s and up until he was removed from power, and yes, that did include girls. Saddam was actually very supportive of women in that regard. In 1976, Iraq hosted the "Baghdad Conference for the Eradication of Illiteracy". Shortly after, he initiated the "National Campaign for Eradication of Illiteracy". The results were very positive, so much that Iraq was awarded The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) prize for eradicating illiteracy in 1982, just three years after Saddam became president.[1]

Out of all the universities in Iraq, only about four were established before Saddam. The University of Baghdad, found in 1908 and the second largest Arab university after the University of Cairo, was only followed by ones in Mosul and Basrah, Iraq's other major cities, roughly 60 years later. Today every province in Iraq has a university of its own, if not more than one. Furthermore, a number of schools were built in every city, and at least one was built in every village in the country. Also, a pair of gifted schools were built and named after Saddam in every province, one for males, the other for females.

Women's Rights

Saddam implemented policies aimed at advancing the rights and status of women in Iraq, such as increasing access to education and employment opportunities. He gave women's their basic rights By the end of the 1970s women in Iraq formed 46 per cent of all teachers, 29 per cent of all doctors, 46 per cent of all dentists and 70 per cent of all pharmacists. Iraq was fairly progressive concerning women's rights.

Healthcare

Basic healthcare was free for everyone, and generally dirt cheap for anything that requires more than a simple visit to the doctor. Medicine prices were heavily discounted by the government. Things like birth control pills were made available, usually for free, for Iraqi women. Kids were vaccinated door-to-door by the government. Medical care reached 97% of the urban population and 71% of the rural population. Mortality rate was 50/1000 LB, infant mortality was 40/1000 LB. Hospitals were built in every city and the Iraqi healthcare system was known to be of very high quality, Iraq was actually about to gain developed country status, versus being a developing country.[16]

Additionally, a committee that answers to Saddam himself was initiated to evaluate cases that needed medical attention outside the country, and patients were flown to destination countries and treated all on the government's expense.

Religion, sect and ethnicity

Saddam praying at Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran in 1976

With an Arab–Muslim majority, Iraq is home to a diverse ethnic, religious, and sectarian population. Contrary to popular belief, Saddam was not inherently sectarian. It can be seen as a consequence of his overthrow, where Iraq's religious and ethnic groups faced hardships. He did place people from his own Sunni community on key positions. Despite this, people from other religion, sect or ethnicity held post in the government.

Saddam with Michel Aflaq in Baghdad, 1979

During Saddam's rule, more than 1 million Christians lived in Iraq. Iraqi Christians are predominantly native Assyrians in Northern Iraq while others are Armenians and Arab Christians. Saddam had close connections with Assyrians and many were highly ranked. Tariq Aziz, an Iraqi Assyrian and Chaldean Christian, was appointed by Saddam as the Deputy Prime Minister and a member of the Revolutionary Command Council. He was the sole Christian to hold such a high post in the government. He also offered an Assyrian overseeing his entire personal security at the palace, while another was offered a mayoral position. The Armenian community in Iraq flourished as a result of Saddam's modernization efforts. When Kurds fled Zakho to avoid military service, Armenians fought for Saddam. They also fought in the Gulf War for Iraq. Saddam's security personnel, homemakers and secretaries were Armenians.

During the time of Saddam, many Afro-Iraqis lived in the south of Iraq, principally in Basra. During his time the rights of the Afro-Iraqi people had greatly increased, with Saddam allowing Afro-Iraqis into government jobs. This was the only time in Iraq's history Afro-Iraqis had any form of representation, with many Afro-Iraqis reporting they feel greatly unrepresented in the post-2003 Iraq. Saddam also granted equal rights to Palestinians in Iraq, by providing them civil jobs.

During the Iran–Iraq War, Saddam sought to gain from Shi'ite Muslims. Shi'ite Muslims constitute 40% of the National Assembly and 80% of the Iraqi Armed Forces. They chosen Iraq over Iran and fought for Saddam. Saadun Hammadi, a Shi'ite Muslim from Karbala, was appointed as prime minister in 1991 and later he became Speaker for the National Assembly in 1996 and remained in position till 2003. He was also foreign minister since Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr's presidency. Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf was Saddam's foreign minister from 1991 to 2001 and then as Minister of Information from 2001 to 2003, when the ministry was abolished. Taha Yassin Ramadan, the Kurdish vice-president of Iraq, was from Shabak community— a quasi Shi'ite sect.

Until 2003, Iraq retained a substantial Jewish community. At that time around 15,000 Jews remained in Iraq. The Jews were protected and treated well by Saddam. He also gave opportunities to the remaining Jews of Iraq. The Jews held posts as civil servants such as lawyers, worked in government hospitals and public universities and served in the army as doctors and engineers, as well as solider. Salim Asheer, a Jewish chemist from Basra was sent by Saddam on a trade mission to China in 1988 and was an important diplomat and attaché. Saddam also helped in preservation and protection of Jewish sites, including the Meir Taweig Synagogue and Baghdad Jewish Cemetery.

Mandaeans.

Kurds

Saddam and Mostafa Barzani on 10 March 1970

Although his position on Kurdish politics has been debated, Saddam has allowed autonomy for Kurds to an extent. Kurds were allowed to speak Kurdish in schools, on television, and in newspapers, with textbooks being translated for the Kurdish regions. Kurds in Iraq were also able to elect a Kurdish representative to Baghdad with the KDP being legitimized as a legal, progressive party in Iraq. During the Kurdish Civil War, Saddam supported KDP.

He had already signed a deal in 1970 to grant the Kurds autonomy, but Mustafa Barzani eventually disagreed with the deal, which incited the Second Iraqi–Kurdish War. In Iraq, especially compared to other middle-eastern countries such as Iran, Turkey, and Syria, Iraqi Kurds were treated well under the regime of Saddam when compared to their conditions in the neighboring countries, with the Kurdish language being tolerated under Saddam's regime in education, and media, and spoken as a official language.

Saddam also had multiple Kurdish ministers and generals, with the highest ranking one being Taha Yassin Ramadan, an Iraqi Kurd —was appointed by Saddam, largely due to his loyalty, as one of Iraq's three Vice Presidents. He was also made Deputy Secretary of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Branch of the Ba'ath Party and commander of the People's Army. Taha Muhie-eldin Marouf, another Kurd, was one of the three vice presidents from 1974 to 2003 and served as ambassador to Italy, Malta, and Albania. He was also Minister of State and Acting Minister of Public Works. During the Gulf War, many Kurds served fought for Saddam and were stationed in Baghdad. Saddam himself personally enjoyed Kurdish culture, often wearing traditional Kurdish clothing in state visits to northern Iraq.

Faith Campaign

In the 1990s, Saddam started talking more about religions. It is deeply rooted since the death of Michel Aflaq. Saddam claimed that Aflaq converted to Islam on his deathbed.

Saddam University for Islamic Studies was opened in 1995.

Foreign Affairs

Saddam promoted his own doctrine, which is the Arab Charter.

Arab–Israeli conflict

Main article: Iraq–Israel relations

Saddam was widely known for his pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli stance. He even threatened to burn Israel. However, his official position was that the relations of Iraq with Israel will determined by the solutions accepted by the Palestinians. During the Iran–Iraq War, Saddam reduced his hostile stance against Israel, since it was supporting Iran during the war. He said in to a visiting U.S congressman that a future state is needed for both Israelis and Palestinians. Iraq's relationship with Egypt deteriorated when it signed a peace treaty with Israel. Baghdad hosted an Arab League summit in 1978, that condemned Egypt.

In 1981, Israel destroyed the nuclear reactor of Iraq under the orders of Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin. Saddam plotted to kidnap Begin and bring him to Baghdad. However, the plan was dropped.

In May 2000, Saddam held secret meetings with the Israeli government, regarding the issues of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Iraq.

The Second Intifada began in September 2000. Following to October riots, a summit was held in Cairo and Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri was sent as representative by Saddam. In 2002, Arab League summit was held in Beirut and again al-Douri was representative from Iraq. Arab Peace Initiative was proposed. Al-Douri did not opposed the plan. In the summit also rejected any attack on Iraq. Saddam supported the Palestinian uprisings against the Israeli occupation. He also sent a remarkable amount of oil revenues to support Palestinian uprising and victims affected by Israeli aggression.

He formed a volunteer force in support of Palestinians, known as the Jerusalem Army. On every occasion, it used to organize rallies across Baghdad and other cities. Saddam provided financial aid to the victims and families of Palestinian militants during the Second Intifada. Around 20% of Iraq's oil revenue, by the oil-for-food program was for donating Palestinians. Contrary to the claims of the United States and the Israelis, not all the money was sent to support suicide bombing. Saddam donated €1 billion to Palestinians, supporting them in the uprisings. He also stopped supplying oil to the western countries, to force Israel, abandoning its offensive in the Palestinian territories, a move supported by Iran and Libya.

Tensions with the United States

After the Gulf War, hostilities increased between Saddam and the United States. It is alleged that the Iraqi Intelligence attempted to assassinate George H.W Bush, during his visit to Kuwait in 1994.