Photographer : crispulo @ flickr
From the fall of Saddam Hussein to civil war: what’s happened in Iraq and how is Australia involved?
Clampdown: Saddam in Power
Saddam Hussein came to power in Iraq in 1979. He was a member of the nationalist-socialist Ba’ath party, and had assisted in the coup that brought them to power in 1968. Throughout Hussein’s rule there were reports of routine human rights abuses, including the use of chemical weapons on the Kurds in northern Iraq, the torture of political dissidents, and the disappearance of citizens.
In 1990, Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait, a small but oil-rich nation, over a conflict about who owned the oil reserves near the Iraq-Kuwait border. The United Nations (UN) tried to neutralise the conflict, however when Iraq invaded, the United States led a UN force to protect Kuwait’s sovereignty. Australia, as a member of the UN, sent in 1800 personnel to assist in this conflict known as Operation Desert Storm.
The UN placed Iraq under economic sanctions (prohibiting trade with Iraq), in 1990 to prevent further military action against Kuwait. In 1995 the UN established the Oil for Food Program, which allowed Iraq to sell its oil for food and medicine. Due to corruption in the program, the Iraqi people suffered even more intensely after it began.
The UN also passed resolutions forbidding Iraq to develop or possess Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). UN Weapons Inspectors were sent in; however, Saddam Hussein was uncooperative. This included an incident in October 1998 when Iraq ceased cooperation and the UN pulled all weapons inspectors, headed by Australian Richard Butler at the time, out of the country. The US and the UK bombed Baghdad for four days in December that year to get the inspectors reinstated. They were not successful: Iraq never allowed UN weapons inspectors back into the country.
Straight to Hell: the lead up to war in Iraq
Following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, the US led an international force in Afghanistan to remove the Taliban from power and search for al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden.
The search for Bin Laden failed. US President George W. Bush and his administration claimed Iraq had direct links with the Taliban and al-Qaeda. They claimed that Hussein had the ability to produce WMD and was an immediate threat to the national security of any western nation.
The US sought support from other western nations including Australia to invade Iraq and rid it of WMD. They first tried to get a UN resolution passed to allow military action in Iraq, but that failed.
I Fought the Law: The Domestic Debate
The Howard government and supporters of going to war with Iraq said that the ANZUS Treaty—which is an agreement between Australia, New Zealand and the US to come to the aid of the other when attacked—obligated Australia to assist the US.
The Australian Government supported the Bush administration’s claim that establishing a democratic government in Iraq would spread pro-Western democracies in the Middle East and prevent future terrorist attacks by eliminating Islamic radicalism.
The Australian Intelligence Security Organisation (AISO) confirmed in its 2002-2003 annual report that Australia was considered a potential target by al-Qaeda.
A report by the government read: ‘The prospect that Saddam Hussein might threaten to use WMD against his enemies in the region or supply WMD to terrorists reinforces the international community’s efforts to ensure Iraq is disarmed’.
The Opposition claimed there was no real proof that Iraq had or could produce WMDs; that the war could increase actually increase the risk of terrorism; and that thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians could be killed. There was no UN resolution supporting any military actions in Iraq.
In February 2003, anti-war protests occurred all over Australia, including one in Byron Bay, NSW, where 700 women used their naked bodies to form the message “No War”. A protest in Melbourne drew 150,000 people. Then in March 2003, two protesters were arrested for painting “No War” on the roof of the Sydney Opera House.
Rock the Casbah: Australian Military Involvement
When it became clear in 2002 that the US and the UK intended to send forces to Iraq, Prime Minister John Howard invoked the ANZUS Treaty for the first time in its 50 year existence.
By March 2003, there were 2000 Australian troops committed to action in Iraq. Howard gave the go-ahead for Australian armed forces to engage Iraqi forces on 18 March 2003. Australian Special Air Service (SAS) forces were in battle on the ground a day before the US began bombing Baghdad in one of the first battles of the war.
Official war operations ended in May 2003, and Australia scaled down their military commitment to 1000 troops. This has since been further reduced to 550 troops, although it’s been reported that Howard has pledged to send around 70 more in the near future.
Two Australians have been killed in action, in 2005 and 2006; both after the war had officially ended.
Hate and War: Civil War in Iraq
After Hussein’s fall, an interim government was set up by the coalition forces. However, a power struggle erupted between the three major religious and cultural factions in Iraq: the Shia, the Sunnis and the Kurds.
The Shia and Sunnis are two sects of Islam: both follow the teachings of the Koran, but believe that different people inherited the right to interpret the Koran after the death of Prophet Muhammad. The Shia (also known as Shiite) majority were persecuted under Hussein, who was a member of the Sunni minority. The Kurds in Iraq are an ethnic and linguistic minority in the north.
The government in Iraq is now struggling to control the insurgency. Insurgents have targeted foreign soldiers as well as Iraqi civilians and infrastructure.
Zaki Chebab, a journalist who has reported on the Middle East for 25 years, wrote, “Sunni-Shia civil war is intensifying. Shias, repressed under (the) rule of Saddam Hussein, are now settling scores. Iran supports Shia dominance and is using insurgents to undermine the US. Shia-on-Shia violence and a parallel war being fought by both Sunnis and Shias against coalition forces complicate the conflict.”
Train in Vain: Should we stay or should we go now?
Since the official end of the war in May 2003, in the anti-war movement has gained momentum as the situation in Iraq deteriorates.
Iraq has become a massive humanitarian crisis, with anywhere between 59,000 and 65,000 civilian deaths since March 2003. There is much criticism of the lack of a realistic plan to re-build post-Saddam Iraq and a viable exit strategy.
The UK has announced it will start withdrawing troops, but the US and Australia have not made such plans. US President Bush said he will veto any proposal to set a timetable for withdrawal. The Howard government has also ruled out withdrawing Australian troops from Iraq.
Those who believe in staying the course in Iraq say that the country is too unstable, that the bloodshed will increase, and the Sunni-Shia civil war in Iraq could escalate into a regional conflict. It would also give al-Qaeda a symbolic victory. Also, there is fear that without troops in Iraq, the country could become a breeding ground for terrorists.
Those who want to leave say that it is not Australia’s role to police a civil war. Also, a withdrawal of troops could motivate terrorists to stop targeting Iraqi civilians. Those in favour of leaving Iraq say that since Saddam Hussein is no longer a threat and that no evidence of an Iraqi WMD program has been found, Australia has no business continuing to be there. It is also augured that this could allow the Australian military to focus resources on security issues closer to home.
Author’s Note: The section titles are indebted to the Clash.
How do I know this?
Australian Intelligence Annual Report 2002-2003
http://www.asio.gov.au/Publications/Content/
AnnualReport02_03/pdf/Annual_report02_03.pdf
Chehab, Zaki. “Sunni v. Shia”
http://www.newstatesman.com/200702120009
Iraq Body Count
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/
The War in Iraq: ADF Operations in the Middle East in 2003
http://www.defence.gov.au/publications/lessons.pdf
Iraq: Systematic torture of political prisoners, Amnesty International, 15 August 2001
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engMDE140082001?OpenDocument&of=COUNTRIESIRAQ?OpenDocument&of=COUNTRIESIRAQ
SAS role in Iraq Revealed,
The Sydney Morning Herald, 9 May 2003
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/
2003/05/09/1052280430667.html
Richmond, Sheldon “Iraqi Sanctions: Were They Worth It?” January 2004.
http://ww.globalpolicy.org/security/sanction/iraq1/
2004/01sanctionsworth.htm
Robinson, Eugene, “US Halts Attacks on Iraq after Four Days,” The Washington Post, 20 December 1998.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/iraq/stories/end122098.htm
Silva, Mark “We stand together in 'decisive struggle,'” Cheney says in Australia, Chicago Tribune (IL), Feb 23, 2007.
War in Iraq 2003, Australian War Memorial
http://www.awm.gov.au/iraq/index.asp
Williams, Clive “Australia's continuing presence in Iraq remains unclear,” The Canberra Times 8 March 2007
http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=your%20say&subclass=general&story_id=563938&category=Opinion
United Nations Resolution 1205, adopted 5 November 1998.
http://www.casi.org.uk/info/undocs/scres/1998/sres1205.htm
