ELEMENTS OF A CASE STUDY: IRAQ, THE SOVIET UNION, AND THE UNITED STATES, 1945-90 2

·         While the Shah was alive, it was thought he could contain the Iraqi regime and act as US policeman in the Gulf

·         Until the 70s Iraq was thought of as socialists. After the oil price rise that followed the arab Israeli war of 1973iraqs income from oil tripled within two years and went up almost ten fold between 1973-1982.

·         After Iran disappears from the scene in 79-80 Iraq become the second largest market in the middle east after Saudi Arabia for European, American, and Japanese goods.

·         With the US looking for a policeman to replace the Shah, the US encourages for Iraq to invade Iran hoping that the new Islamic republic would fall with ease. When it became clear it was not going to fall the US supplied Iraq with the latest military technology and even gave them the capacity to create chemical weapons.

·         Soviet Iraqi relations had been under strain since 1978 Ba’th turned on the soviets and moved closer to the US. Iraqi leaders ban the tudeh(communist party) and canceled a number of agreements with the soviets. Especially after Iran begins to get foothold within Iraq in 1982-83 is when soviets begin to support Iraq again only though the duration of the war, after the war the soviet union is dismantled.

·         One of the more tragic consequewnces of the cold war: the obsession with persecuting and reducing the influence of the left had two results:the maintenance in power of a series of unattractive, unrepresentative, and generally dictorial regimes of whatever political hue and second the rise of the religious right. The religious right claim to believe only in islam and refuse to ponder on other rational political programmes claiming islam is the only solution.

ELEMENTS OF A CASE STUDY: IRAQ, THE SOVIET UNION, AND THE UNITED STATES, 1945-90

ELEMENTS OF A CASE STUDY: IRAQ, THE SOVIET UNION, AND THE UNITED STATES, 1945-90

·         Nasser Sukarno and Tito sign the positive neutralism doctorine claiming to be neutral and neither east nor west. April-may 1955

·         In early 1955 israel attacks Gaza, and Egypt asks US for arms, the US denies Egypt

·         In September, Czechoslovakia, acting on behalf of the soviet union announced it would sell arms to Egypt(and later to Syria).

·         Greatly enhanced soviet union image in both countries as well in iraq.

·         At this stage the main objective of the Iraqi opposition was to become truly independent from Britain and set up a national government.no mistaking US hand behind Bagdad pact the anti American feeling was secondary to an anti british feeling because of the british presence, military bases and regimes obvious dependence on Britain were daily realities.

·         Hostility towards Britain increased during the tripartite invasion of Egypt in 1956, which transformed Nasser from an Egyptian arab to a political figure with irrestible appeal.

·         Iraqi revolution in 1958

·         Eisenhower administration responds to suez by trying to build up king Saud of Saudi Arabia as a counterweight to Nasser, and the pledge to come to the aid of nationsthreatendby international communism had little immediate impact on Iraq.

·         Eisenhower doctrine- says US will come to aid any country being threatened by international communism

·         Iraqi public imagination had been captured by the announcement of setting up the UAR(United Arab republic)egypt and Syria in spring 1958

·         Washinton worried about UAR

·         UAR in 1958 threateen Lebanon, Lebanese USA friends alleges.

·         UAR Syrian ba’th’s idea not nassers

·         Middle east countries although set up in military fashion were not communist or socialist

·         Iraqi were largely anti American which meant anti imperialists and anti Zionists while full of praise for soviets the socialists friends

·         1972 iraq nationalizes Iraqi oil with the help of soviets. Most of the profits went into the pockets of saddam Hussein and his cronies which enabled him to stay in power for so long

·         US overthrows Qasim in 1963 from Iraq and the massacre of the left was regarded as positive developments, akin to overthrow of musaddiq ten years earlier, and the overthrow of Allende ten years later.

OIL IN THE MIDDLE EAST

OIL IN THE MIDDLE EAST

·         After WW2 the future oil needs of the west were going to come from arab world and iran.

·         Oil becomes strategic factor in the region

·         In 50s 60s and 70s the middle east becomes principal source for oil exportation to western Europe and japan

·         If a anti-west leader comes into power in a major oil exporting middle east country, chances are the country is going to continue to export oil to the west since such a large portion of the country’s economy comes from oil exports.

·         After a country nationalizes  oil most of the time the profits go into the pockets of the leaders or high members of gov and not to masses.

·         May 1951 iran nationalizes oil, the Iranian government was a little democracy, and of course Britain refuses to buy oil from iran.

A CLASH OF IDEOLOGIES

·         United states promoting ideas of capitalism to people in the middle east and would like to train them effectively to enter the free world and be productive countries.

·         Russia promotes a government caring for the people from birth to death and destroying social classes creating one social class for everyone.

·         WW2 destroyed European will and ability to keep middle east colonies.

·         Palestine’s labour cabinet wants te create a binational state but sees that the US would not support it, it then takes its case o the UN.

·         When European countries would withdraw from their colonial possesions a pwower vacuum was created in which the US or soviet union would step in.

·         Soviet union recognizes Israel as independent jewish state in may 1948. Soviets believed Israel was founded on socialists principals, provided a last chance to destabilize the middle east from within.

·         This became one of the favorite arguments soviet rivals would use to beat middle eastern communist parties.

·         Stalins main concern, before his death in 1953, was the internal reconstruction of the soviet state-the doctorine of socialism in one country-and soviet forein policy.

·         1955 the US creates the Bagdad pact which brings Britain, iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and turkey into an anti-soviet alliance.

·         During cold war, middle eastern states had ability to play one superpower against the other. This mean relations were often competitive, expecially in terms of the provision of goods and services. EX: the soviet union financing the Aswan Dam in Egypt after the US wouldn’t support the project, because Egypt had ordered arms from the Soviet Union. The US would not supply any arab state with the arms giving the state the potential to defeat Israel.it took some times to make it clear the Soviet union would not sell to arab states to enable them to defeat Israel and that time of uncertainty was the heyday of arab-soviet friendship.

IMMEDIATE ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR

THE IMMEDIATE ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR

·         AMONG IMPORTANT AREAS OF CONCERN BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UNITED STATES: 1. Desires of superpowers to gain a strategic advantage in the region. 2. The fact the region contained some 2/3s of the worlds oil reserves in a context where oil was becoming increasingly vital to the economy of the western world. 3. In a novel way, that made it different from previous pwer struggles, the cold war represented an ideological conflict between two very different political, social, and economic systems. 

·         Stalion: “ this war(WW2) is not as in the past, whoever occupies a territory also imposes on it his own social system.

·         The US was allies with Iran and turkey and soviets did not have allies from which to launch attack from any western hemisphere country close to the US.

·         Soviets instead would train and supply nearby countries to set up perimeter of defensearound actual soviet union. For example train and supply greek furillas from Bulgaria and Yugoslavia.

·         Greece was becoming communists. Greeks opposed American plan to reinstate their exiled king and so did the british.

·         By end of 1944 soviets occupied Bulgaria and Romania at the same time soviets pput pressure on Tehran for oil concession in northwestern iran.

·         Due to an armed leftist movement with powerful external support, and a parallel movement occurring in turkey the US announces the Truman doctorine.

·         Truman Doctorine- march/feb 1947. “we shall not realize our objectives, however, unless we are willing to help free peoples to maintain their free institutions and their national integrity against aggressive movements that seek to impose upon them totalitarian regimes. This is no more than a frank recognition that totalitarian regimes imposed on free peoples, by direct or indirect aggression, undermine the foundations of international peace and hence the security of the US.

·         In august 1941, after Germany invades Russia, british and Russian forces enter and occupy Iran. The british were in the south while the Russians were in the north.

·         December 1943 was the joint aliied declaration regarding iran(signed by Churchill, Roosevelt, and stalin, which guaranteed interalia, irans future sovereignty and territorial integrity.

·         Russians wanted oil in northern iran and prolonged their withdrawal as much as possible because the soviet union wanted to take whatever fairly limited measures it could to assure the safety of its frontiers.

·         The US found itself equally obliged to defend ‘free-peoples’ wherever it judged that freedom was being threatened.

EGYPT AND SUDAN

EGYPT AND SUDAN

·         1922 treaty between Britain and Egypt assured egypts independence but Britain would control 4 areas: the security of imperial communications in Egypt(primarily the suez canal), the defence of Egypt against outside aggression(ensuring base rights for its military), the protection of forein interests and minorities(as enshrined in the extraterritorial rights of the capitulations), and the sudan.

·         Most poplar political party in Egypt was the wafd. Founded by Sa’d zaghlul.

·         August 26 1936 a new anglo-egyptian treaty was signed-the twenty year treaty. Recognized egypts soveinty and paved the way for entrance in the league of nations in 1937.

·         Egypt and Britain would rule sudan jointly.. sudan gained independence in 1956.

THE MANDATES

·         BRITAIN AND FRANCE WERE TO SUBMIT REPORTS TO THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS OUTLINING THEIR PROGRESS ESTABLISHING THE PREREQUISITES FOR STATEHOOD FOR THE COUNTRIES INDEPENDENCE.

·         NOT SUPPOSED TO BE COLONIES, MORE OF A TUTORIAL ON HOW TO RUN A COUNTRY.

IRAQ AND TRANSJORDAN

·         A revolt broke out in Iraq in 1920

·         An initial treaty of alliance was drafted in October 1922 which imposed sort of limits on iraqs soverinty and precluded admission to the league of nations.

·         Treaty of 1930 terminated the mandate between Iraq and Britain.

·         Ini 1932 iraqs sovereignty was recognized at the league of nations. Britain retained base rights in Iraq, transit facilities for military, and preferential relations in diplomatic and military spheres.

·         Transjordan was only other arab state to negotiate its way out of a mandate.

·         Abdullah ruled over Transjordan. Tried to negotiate its way out of mandate in 1946 but US didn’t recognize the nation and denied entry into the UN. Not until 1948 when Transjordan and Britain signed treaty  that Transjordan gained American recognitionbut was not admitted to UN until 1955.

PALESTINE

·         Most difficult to dissolve mandate because of contradictions of balfour declaration.

·         Indigineous Palestinian arabs at a disadvantage because of new jewish home.

·         Jews worked in accordance with british and Palestinians  tried to force changes in british policy only though confrontation.

·         1936-39 armed Palestinian revolt against Britain

·         Britain drafted the white paper claiming to reduce jewish immigration and return the Palestine within a decade.

·         Jews refused to accept the white paper and between 1945-47 radical jewish groups engaged in terror campaigns against british authorities.

·         Britain defeated in 1947 and forwarded problem to UN for resolution.

·         The UN voted for partition of Palestine into jewish and arab areas setting off a war that raged though the spring of 1948.

·         When Britain withdrawals in may 14 the area exploded into the first arab-israeli war.

THE ARAB STATES AND PALESTINE CRISIS

·         After ww2  britain could not bear economically the burden of Palestine. Forwarded the problem to UN for resolution.

·         In November 1947 the UN divided Palestine into 2 states.

·         6 arab nations all opposed partition ( Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria all founding UN members, Iraq joined in December 1945, and yemen in 1947). These countries had no impact on the debate.

·         Arab countries were interlocked in feuds.

·         An arab army was brought into Israel, Israel declared statehood in may 1948, to establish order. 10000 soldiers from around the middle east were defeated by Israeli forces.

·          These countries were Egypt, Iraq, Syria,Lebanon, and transjorda. Command was given to king Abdullah but each country’s army operated independently with little coordination.