Review of Charles Tripp's A History of Iraq
by Graham Parsons

It has become reasonably clear that the focus of the next intense, sustained US military operation will be on Iraq and Saddam Hussein. In a recent article, New York Times correspondents Thom Shanker and David E. Sanger note that the Bush administration is "developing a potential approach for toppling President Saddam Hussein of Iraq." The article makes it clear that the administration's debate over policy towards Iraq is currently limited to practical questions like "when" and "how", having moved beyond broader questions like "if" or "should" we forcibly remove Hussein and his regime. For policy makers, the issue of a military intervention in Iraq seems to be settled, and a US-led invasion appears to be imminent. For those who are interested in forming an understanding of the significance of such an event, an examination of Iraq's distinctive political and social nature is certainly necessary. In this pursuit, Charles Tripp's book A History of Iraq is a valuable resource (Cambridge University Press, 2000).

This book provides a comprehensive account of the history of the Iraqi state from the collapse of the Ottoman empire and the British Mandate to the rule of Saddam Hussein in the post-Gulf war. It traces the ascendancy of a series of repressive, totalitarian regimes which have come in various political manifestations-first a monarchy, then a republic, and then Saddam Hussein himself-and in the process, informs us of the extraordinary violence that has shaped Iraq's political history. It is Tripp's accounting of the concerns that have motivated this violence, however, that reward the reader with a knowledge of the more prominent themes in the story of Iraq.

One such theme is the relevance of tribal and ethnic affiliations to Iraqi politics. This is exemplified by the conflict between the perpetually ruling Sunni and the majority Shi'a tribal groups. Despite relentless attempts to organize effective political opposition on the part of the Shi'a community, the Sunni elites have been successful at thwarting their efforts, often by means of ruthless violence. This relationship has made the hold on power of all of Iraq's Sunni dominated regimes precarious and largely unpopular. Nevertheless, throughout Iraq's history, and its numerous coup de'état's, successive governments have managed to maintain a Sunni character.

Another example of the significance of ethnicity in Iraq is the question of the Kurds. Historically, this question has been solved by Iraq's rulers with little less than brutal repression and marginalization. The horrific massacres that the armed forces have carried out on the Kurdish population are appalling. Both Shi'a and Sunni alike view the Kurds as ethnic outsiders and are unwilling to grant them even elementary rights of citizenship. The treatment of the Kurds, as well as the Sunni-Shi'a conflict, illustrate some of the real interests of power in Iraqi politics. To his credit, Tripp maintains a purely descriptive tone throughout, and tells of these upsetting relations with a steady objectivity.

There are, of course, other prominent themes in the story of Iraq. The systems of patronage on which the power of Iraq's political elites has traditionally been based has simply reinforced the ethnic and tribal lines that mark divisions of power. This has made it exceedingly difficult for those left outside these patrimonial mechanisms to enter the political arena and press their demands, and led to the further proliferation of violence as a means of effecting the policies of those in power. Tripp's insights into the increased importance of oil to the political economy are also interesting and illuminating. The dramatic increase in oil revenues which Iraq has experienced, has merely solidified the positions of those in power by making their systems of patronage more effective, and left the conventional use of violence unchallenged.

The final chapter on the rise of Saddam Hussein is where the above mentioned themes coalesce and find their most marked expression. Nepotism, patronage, oil, and violence are integral components of the narrative of Hussein in Iraq. Helped by the income from Iraq's healthy nationalized oil industry, which he made sure to have effective control over, Hussein established expansive networks of economic dependents which he has used selectively to pacify and ensure their complete reliance on his position as dictator. He has used these networks, as well as the use of violence, so efficiently that during the near thirty years of his ascendancy he has managed to contain repeated Kurdish and Shi'a revolts, survive eight years of war with Iran, a devastating war over Kuwait, and a decade of near total economic strangulation. Indeed, the generation that has come of age under Hussein's rule has seen Iraq's most troubled and bleak times.

Although clearly illustrating Hussein's culpability, Tripp does not believe Hussein is solely to blame for the plight of the Iraqi people. Specifically, he is critical of the sanctions imposed by outside powers, principally the United States and the United Kingdom, following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and maintained until today. He notes the "cruel paradox" that exists between the official justification of the use of sanctions as leading to a weakening of Hussein's hold on power and, in turn, allowing opposition to begin to operate and flourish, and their actual consequences which have been to strengthen his position and contribute significantly to the widespread suffering of the population. Tripp also brings to light the direct support Hussein received from the US prior to his invasion of Kuwait, and the virtual US-Iraq alliance that formed during the war with Iran. These points call into question the ostensibly benevolent intentions of United States policy towards Iraq, and raise deep concerns about the goals of the forthcoming invasion.

The dramatic nature of events such as these which comprise Iraq's history on their own make Tripp's book engaging, and their significance to currently unfolding events make the story terrifically compelling. Combining this with Tripp's intelligence and keen analytical style, A History of Iraq becomes required reading for those who want to understand America's next war.