The perpetually disappointing 'spring' in Iraq

The death of King Faisal I, whom many suspect was murdered, marked the first Iraqi "spring". This was followed by the death of his son King Ghazi in a mysterious traffic accident. Then there was the coup against the monarchy in which the young King Faisal II and his family were killed.

Those murders were never investigated, or rather, the perpetrators were allowed to escape trial though they were known to the revolutionary authorities. If the victim had been just the king who was the target of the coup, this would have been part of the nature of things in our region. But it is difficult to justify the immolation of an innocent family, similar to what the Bolsheviks did to the family of Russia's Tsar.

For two years the Baathists ruled securely after their coup, but this was soon followed by a river of blood after a series of failed coups.

These events were followed by a tumultuous period full of bloodshed, first at the hands of the communists, then against the communists at the hands of their enemies. And soon thereafter, Abdul Karim Kassem was murdered by his partners in the revolution.

Spring after spring

Another limited "spring" followed, when the helicopter carrying Field Marshal Abdel Salam Aref crashed, or was downed, in suspicious circumstances,. He was succeeded by his brother Abdel Rahman. Abdel Rahman Aref was a calm leader who, by the standards of those times, was unfit to rule, being averse to executions and bloodshed.

Abdel Rahman surprised everyone with his lenient nature, having been his bold brother's general, before he rose to take the helm in turbulent seas. It was expected that he would reign for a long time. However, the surprise came when his security aides helped topple him, namely, the commander of the Republican Guard and his intelligence chief. The second surprise was that they refrained from executing him, as had been the habit in Iraq and the region at the time, and exiled him instead.

The Baath Arab Socialist Party consolidated its power under the leadership of Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr and then Saddam Hussein. For two years, the Baathists ruled securely after their bloodless coup, but this was soon followed by a river of blood after a series of failed coups that culminated with the creation of revolutionary tribunals. These courts went on to issue hundreds of death sentences against coup leaders and their supporters, who included elements of the regime.

Iraq remained thereafter under the control of the Baathists. People thought they might rule the country forever. However, and unexpectedly, a foreign coup came and deposed them under cover of UN resolutions and a regional-international coalition. Many pretexts were gathered, and armies were brought into Iraq from all around the world following a 13-year siege that starved masses of Iraqis to death, as a result of shortages in food and medicine.

One of the pretexts was that world powers were attacking Iraq to bring a "spring" of freedom, justice, development, prosperity, and good relations with neighbouring countries and among the Iraqis themselves. It was said the Iraqis would soon spur a renaissance in their country and elevate it to one of the world's advanced countries, in culture, industry, agriculture and so on. It was a rosy spring dream envisaged by London and Washington, who wanted Iraq to become the envy of both governments and peoples alike.

Another bloody spring

The invaders appointed rulers who led Iraq into the bottom ranks in security, development, health, environment, and many other indexes.

The liberators brought their spring to Iraq, but it was not rosy; it was crimson red. Iraqi blood flowed as the invading armies used excessive force, shocking those happy dreams with mass murder and mass arrests, without regard for human dignity or basic human rights. They uprooted palm trees for security reasons, and razed cities in order to liberate them (as one American writer who bore witness to the US war in Fallujah put it).

The invaders appointed rulers led Iraq to the bottom ranks in security, development, health, environment and many other indexes. They promoted and perpetuated sectarianism and ethnic politics through devastating wars among compatriots of what was once the same homeland, and destroyed the country's relations with its Arab and Islamic surroundings (with the exception of Iran).

The invaders failed to keep the peace, and lost half of Iraq's territory to forces they labelled terrorist gangs. At the same time, they squandered more than $1 trillion they stand accused of pilfering, money that achieved nothing for the Iraqi people, of whom a quarter ultimately fled to escape the inferno of their country.

Those were the many chapters of the "revolutionary spring" in Iraq. Has there ever been a worse spring?

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the original author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of al-Araby al-Jadeed, its editorial board or staff.

This is an edited translation from our Arabic website.