As with Iraq’s 1963 “Ramadan Revolution,” which preceded and helped to inspire the event we’re here to discuss today, Syria’s “8 March Revolution” is a military coup that got rebranded by the successful coup plotters. However, just as the “Ramadan Revolution” had a fair amount of civilian support—mostly from middle class Iraqis who were displeased … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the 8 March Revolution (1963)
Tag: baathism
Today in Middle Eastern history: Iraq’s Ramadan Revolution (1963)
The Ramadan Revolution—don’t let the name fool you, it’s really a coup that got good branding—is the middle chapter in a trilogy of coups, from 1958 to 1968, that collectively transitioned Iraq from a Hashemite-run monarchy to a Baathist-run republic. Obviously the third one is beyond the scope of this essay since it hadn’t happened … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: Iraq’s Ramadan Revolution (1963)
Did Saddam Hussein Create the Islamic State?
Middle East analyst Kyle Orton has an op-ed in The New York Times today, called "How Saddam Hussein Gave Us ISIS," that, as you might imagine, is raising some eyebrows on the internets. I have to say, though, as somebody who has read Orton's work (the growth of ISIS out of the wreckage of Saddam's … Continue reading Did Saddam Hussein Create the Islamic State?
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 