Iraq was ruled by the Ottoman empire until Arab fighters assisted by the British expelled the Ottomans in 1918. Upon the establishment of the country under British mandate, its oil resources were swiftly divided between Britain (biggest stake holder), France and Holland. Unhappy with British rule over their country , Iraqis revolted time and again and finally gained independence from Britain in 1932. After gaining its independence Iraq became a monarchy headed by King Faisal. The King was from the Hashemite family. The Hashemites are one of the most noble Arab families as they are the descendants of the Sharif of Mecca who ruled Islam's holiest sites of Mecca and Medina until they were expelled by Saudi Arabia's king Abdl Aziz. Upon Iraq's independence, there were two countries in the world which were run by the Hashemite family, first was Iraq and second was Jordan.

In fact Jordan at that time was being run by King Faisal's brother King Abdullah. After King Faisal's death Iraq was run by his nephew King Ghazi, this is because king Faisal's own son was only three at the time and was too young to run the country. Despite the fact that Iraq had gained its independence from Britain, its rulers still had pro British tendencies. The British at that time were becoming concerned about the rise of Nasser's Pan Arab socialist ideas which were anti western. As a result the British government set up a defence pact called “the Baghdad pact” which consisted of Iraq, Iran, turkey and Jordan. Iraq's inclusion in the pact, plus the corruption in the royal family angered many nationalist elements in Iraq's military. As a result a Nasser inspired military coup D'etat ensued in 1958 during which King Faisal II was killed and his body displayed in Baghdad for all to see.

The reign of the new military rulers of Iraq lasted no more than five years before their brutal oppression of the public produced another military inspired change of government. This time the new rulers of Iraq came from the Baath party who followed socialism, secularism and pan Arab nationalism from the teachings of Al Aflaq and Al Biter who were famous Arab nationalists. This party to which Saddam Hussein was a senior member lasted only nine months before it was overthrown by yet another military coup in 1963 by another pan Arab Nasserite inspired group in the military. However after the end of the 1967 Six days war which had weakened the Iraqi economy, the Baathist felt empowered to try to regain power which they successfully did in 1968. Upon regaining power the Baathist started to address the Kurdish question and Iraq's leader Al Bakr placed Saddam in charge of this matter. The Kurds who had started an uprising with the goal of gaining independence as far back as early 1950s were receiving military assistance from the Shah of Iran. Realising that the Kurds could not be defeated militarily, Saddam Hussein grudgingly agreed to allow Kurdish representatives to participate in Iraq's political circles. He also allowed Kurdish to be recognised as an official language in Iraq.

Dispute with Iran regarding sovereignty over Shat Al Arab and Iraq's claims for sovereignty over Iran's Khuzestan region also preoccupied the government of Al Bakr. The dispute continued until both countries signed the Algiers agreement in 1975.

After the resignation of Al Bakr Saddam Hussein became the new leader of Iraq in 1979. Saddam Hussein continued to rule Iraq with an iron fist during which opposition to the regime was brutally suppressed. In 1980 one year after the Iranian revolution Saddam Hussein declared the Algiers agreement null and void and attacked Iran. The war lasted eight years, cost more than one million lives and hundreds of billions of dollars for both sides. However the war provided an opportunity for Saddam to brutally suppress the Kurdish claims for independence. As Saddam had the backing of the West during the war against Iran, he decided to use the favourable western atmosphere towards him as a cover to launch chemical attacks against Iraq's Kurdish population. The attack which lasted a few minutes caused 3000 deaths, but went unpunished internationally despite Saddam use of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

After the end of the Iran war, Saddam plunged Iraq into another war, this time against Kuwait. The dispute centred around Kuwaiti extraction of oil from Rumayla oil fields on the disputed part of the Iraq- Kuwait territory. Saddam also accused Kuwait of flooding the international oil market with oil which Saddam claimed was aimed at damaging Iraq's economy. After seizing Kuwait he refused to leave, despite repeated requests from the UN and the US. Saddam's forces were later militarily expelled from Kuwait after coalition forces headed by the US attacked. Facing an uprising by the Shiite and Kurdish population of Iraq after the Kuwait war, Saddam launched a brutal military campaign during which thousands of Shiites and Kurds were murdered or driven away from their homes. Meanwhile Saddam also continued to oppress any sign of opposition in Iraq.

Meanwhile as means of improving his standing Saddam decided to produce an image of popularity abroad through a leadership referendum in Iraq. Unsurprisingly Saddam Hussein won the popularity vote as he was the only candidate who was allowed to stand. Saddam's reign over Iraq continued through the assistance of his strong intelligence apparatus (called the Mukhaberat) and support and loyalty given to him by members of his clan and extended family from the city of Tikrit which is situated in the Sunni triangle. However years of oppression had created a covert wave of resentment against him by the local population. Therefore upon the entry of the coalition forces many Iraqis welcomed his overthrow with the hope that a change of government will improve their political and economic rights and status. Since the overthrow of Saddam so far the economic and security conditions for many ordinary Iraqis have worsened. However the coalition's promises to allow democracy and political choice in Iraq have proved correct. This was confirmed by the actions taken by the provisional government of Iraq which set out the following schedule for transition to democracy.

The successful election of a provisional parliament – this was completed prior to its deadline of 31 January 2005. The task of the interim government is to draw up a definitive constitution by 15 August. It must be noted that the cabinet of the interim government can only enact legislation with the unanimous consent of the interim president and his vice-presidents. No long-term binding decisions can be taken by the cabinet. Other key provisions of the transitional law are: detailed catalogue of basic rights, women's rights, independent judiciary, commission on human rights, Islam being one (not the sole) main source of legislation. Furthermore Iraqi republic will be based on a federal system with Kurdish autonomy. Its official languages are Arabic and Kurdish.

The parliamentary elections are to be followed by a referendum on the draft constitution which is to be completed by 15 October 2005. Subsequently Parliamentary election on the basis of the constitution are to be held by 15 December 2005 and the new democratically chosen government of Iraq is to be in office by 31 December 2005.

The parliamentary elections was to be followed by a referendum on the draft constitution which was to be completed by 15 October 2005. Subsequently Parliamentary election on the basis of the constitution were to be held by 15 December 2005 and the new democratically chosen government of Iraq was to be in office by 31 December 2005. While the Shia led united Iraqi alliance did win the majority of the votes, it failed to secure an absolute majority. By the end of April 2006 newly re-elected president Talabani asked to find a compromise to this deadlock.

All throughout, the UN has continued to extend the Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) - Every August since 2003, with resolutions 1619, 1557 and 1700. In doing so, the International community continues in its pursuit for a just conclusion of the allied intervention in Iraq .

Some have recently argued that a partition of Iraq into three – Sunni, Shia and Kurd – would be the only lasting solution. Some have argued that the Iraqi project was only held together through iron fists or capable leaders. Sectarian politics in Iraq has shown how difficult it is to install a democracy. In addition, the sectarian nature of this country is evident not only in the governmental affairs but also in the public projects and inner military disputes.

However, critics remain skeptic of the idea of partition, since it would not necessarily lead to stability. It may instead lead to more violence over resources and prove a tempting site to regional powers to intervene.

By: Meir Javedanfar and Tal Gurevich

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