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Iraq: Saddam Iraq
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Political life in Iraq in 2006 was influenced by the results of the Dec. 15, 2005, general elections, in which the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) of Shi'ite religious parties captured 128 of 278 seats in the parliament. This fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to rule without a coalition of partners.... The Sunni and Kurdish blocs finished second and third. The UIA bloc nominated Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the interim prime minister, to serve as Iraq's first full-term prime minister in the post-Saddam era. Jaafari faced opposition from the Sunni Arab and Kurdish blocs, however, and he was unable to secure the votes needed for confirmation in the National Assembly because both Sunni and Kurds considered him a divisive figure unable to form a government of national unity. Finally, after four months of stalemate, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki (see Biographies) of the Islamic Da'wah (Shi'ite) Party, emerged as a compromise candidate.
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The phrase New Iraq is ... being used as an adjective to differentiate current or anticipated government entitities, institutions, and organizations from earlier forms. For example, the Iraqi army is now being identified as the new Iraqi army. Although it is not being called the "New Iraq army" or "New Iraqi army," the differentiation is implied and clear. The former military consisted of special units, such as Saddam's Republican Guards and Fedayeen, which no longer nor, most likely, will exist again. Hence, there is a "new Iraqi army."
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Set up as a monarchy, Iraq became a republic in 1958. It became a dictatorship dominated by a single party in 1968. That dictatorship came under the control of Saddam Hussein in 1979. Under his leadership, Iraq’s regional and foreign policies were ambitious, often involving great risk. In the late 20th century Iraq attained a high international profile, unprecedented in the modern history of the Middle East, but at an exorbitant political price. The dictatorship failed in various attempts to topple Arab regimes and to achieve leadership status in the Arab world or even in the Persian Gulf region.
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Repeated coups in Iraq bring Ba‘thists under Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr to power, first in alliance with non-Ba‘thist elements and then (30Jul) in Ba‘thist power monopoly, led by the 15-member Revolutionary Command Council (RCC). Public ownership of land is encouraged; agricultural cooperatives and collective farms are established. Saddam Hussein (b.1937), who had been imprisoned by ‘Arif from 1963-8 for Ba‘thist activism in organising the party militia, becomes a member of the RCC (Nov69) and its deputy chair.
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In April 2004, Walden Bello, head of the International Parliamentary and Civil Society Mission to Investigate the Political Transition in Iraq, notes that "Bush and Bremer constantly talk about their dream of a "new Iraq." Ironically, the new post-Saddam Iraq is being forged in a common struggle against a hated occupation." [1]
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Up until 2003, Iraq was a dictatorship with all power completely in the hands of the repressive Ba'ath Party, under the leadership of President Saddam Hussein. The regime claimed it was democratic, but during the last presidential election, Saddam received 100% of the votes, with 100% voter turnout. The unicameral Iraqi parliament, the National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani, had 250 seats and its members were elected for 4-year terms. Like in presidential elections, no non-Ba'ath candidates were allowed to run.
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Saddam Iraq