Changes

The US-backed Iraqi monarchy was overthrown in 1958, an event which shocked President Eisenhower.  Worse, the new regime was led by a de facto [[Communist]] dictator, General Abdel Karrim Qassem.  Qassem was far bloodier than his predecessor.  Further, he withdrew from the Baghdad Pact, an agreement between Iraq, [[Iran]], [[Pakistan]] and other countries in the Middle East intended to deter the Soviets from intruding in the affairs of the region.  Openly admiring of the USSR, Qassem repeatedly threatened his neighbors, including Iran, where a CIA-sponsored counter-coup had saved the Shah's regime from collapse in 1953.  He publicly declared that Khuzestan province in northern Iran was really a part of Iraq, and allegedly armed secessionist revolts from the Arabs who lived there.  He amassed troops to invade Kuwait, a move that nearly led to war between Iraq and [[England]] (which was committed by treaty to defend Kuwait).   

The US-backed Iraqi monarchy was overthrown in 1958, an event which shocked President Eisenhower.  Worse, the new regime was led by a de facto [[Communist]] dictator, General Abdel Karrim Qassem.  Qassem was far bloodier than his predecessor.  Further, he withdrew from the Baghdad Pact, an agreement between Iraq, [[Iran]], [[Pakistan]] and other countries in the Middle East intended to deter the Soviets from intruding in the affairs of the region.  Openly admiring of the USSR, Qassem repeatedly threatened his neighbors, including Iran, where a CIA-sponsored counter-coup had saved the Shah's regime from collapse in 1953.  He publicly declared that Khuzestan province in northern Iran was really a part of Iraq, and allegedly armed secessionist revolts from the Arabs who lived there.  He amassed troops to invade Kuwait, a move that nearly led to war between Iraq and [[England]] (which was committed by treaty to defend Kuwait).   

Qassem was overthrown in a 1963 coup orchestrated significantly by the Ba'ath Party.  The Ba'ath Party gained limited power in the new government, though it lacked control of the Presidency.  It struggled with the military men who had assisted the coup for absolute power. The Ba'ath was purged a few months later, and would have to work to regain political influence.  A series of coups and power struggles plagued Iraq until 1968, when the Ba'ath Party gained long-term power.  During this time, Saddam gained increasing prominence in the Ba'ath Party.  He consolidated more control as a result of the 1963 and 1966 purges within the party that removed the "moderates" and dissidents from within.  Remembering the internal squabbles that cost the Ba'ath the limited power that it had gained in 1963; Saddam promoted party loyalty and would later design the security apparatus that enabled the creation of an effective police state.

Qassem was overthrown in a 1963 coup orchestrated significantly by the Ba'ath Party.  The Ba'ath Party gained limited power in the new government, though it lacked control of the Presidency.  It struggled with the military men who had assisted the coup for absolute power. The Ba'ath was purged a few months later, and would have to work to regain political influence.  A series of coups and power struggles plagued Iraq until 1968, when the Ba'ath Party gained long-term power.   

In July 1968, a bloodless coup led by General Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr, Saddam Hussein and Salah Omar Al-Ali besieged the Iraqi presidential palace and forced Iraqi President Abdul Rahman Arif to resign.  The new regime immediately freed all of the Communist and [[leftist]] political prisoners of the regime, and heightened tensions with Iran.  The [[Lyndon Johnson]] administration was vociferously opposed to the new regime, viewing it as a "radical" government brought to power in a "counter-coup" that strengthened the Soviet Union.<ref>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saddam/interviews/critchfield.html</ref> As a result, diplomatic relations with Iraq, cut off due to the 1967 Six Day War with Israel, remained completely severed for the next 16 years.  The Iraqi government promptly seized all foreign oil fields for the purposes of "combating imperialism."  The US made all arms sales to Iraq under this new regime formally illegal in a law passed by the US [[Congress]].

In July 1968, a bloodless coup led by General Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr, Saddam Hussein and Salah Omar Al-Ali besieged the Iraqi presidential palace and forced Iraqi President Abdul Rahman Arif to resign.  The new regime immediately freed all of the Communist and [[leftist]] political prisoners of the regime, and heightened tensions with Iran.  The [[Lyndon Johnson]] administration was vociferously opposed to the new regime, viewing it as a "radical" government brought to power in a "counter-coup" that strengthened the Soviet Union.<ref>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saddam/interviews/critchfield.html</ref> As a result, diplomatic relations with Iraq, cut off due to the 1967 Six Day War with Israel, remained completely severed for the next 16 years.  The Iraqi government promptly seized all foreign oil fields for the purposes of "combating imperialism."  The US made all arms sales to Iraq under this new regime formally illegal in a law passed by the US [[Congress]].