Iraq Since 1958

"This is a political as opposed to a social economic history of Iraq in the wake of the fall of the monarchy and the overthrow of the old parliamentary system established by the British in the 1920s. The leading force of the overthrow is the army. They are the third institution created by the British who then overthrew the other two and took control of the new republic that replaced the monarchy in 1958. The army would go on to waltz in and out of power in a variety of coups and counter-coups but it is the force shaping politics between 1958 to 1968 – until the Ba’aths come to power in 1968 for the second time. Then they worked hard at depoliticising the army, and turning Iraq into a classic police state. The authors tell that story and the story of the brutality of the new Ba’ath regime and the manner in which it went about destroying the power of the Communist Party."