Among all the rulers who came to power
in the modern state of Iraq stands Qassim as the most popular figure. The
masses liked his common origin. He was a very regular citizin like them and
he didn't decend from the Iraqi aristochracy. Qassim attended the Iraqi
military academy and advanced steadily through the ranks until by 1955 he
had become a high-ranking officer. Like many Iraqis, he disliked the
socially conservative and pro-Western policies of the monarchy. By 1957
Qassim had assumed leadership of the several opposition groups that had
formed in the army. On July 14, 1958, Qassim and his followers used troop
movements planned by the government as an opportunity to seize military
control of Baghdad and overthrew the monarchy. This movement was widely
supported by the people and it still refered to as the revolution of the
14th of july.
Qassim assumed the post of the prime
minister of the newly formed republic. He had the very diffecult mission of
stearing Iraq through that era when pro-Arab nationalism was in it's peak of
power in the Arab world, specially after the formation of U.A.R between
Egypt and Syria under the leadership of Jamal abdul-Nassir of Egypt.
Though the pan-Arabs had established a
very strong position in Iraq, Qassim chose not to be involved in any kind of
federation and prefered to concentrate on the development of Iraq itself.
This policy brought him the resentment of Nassir and his Pan-Arab allies in
Iraq and the region.
He tried to maintain the political
balance by using the traditional opponents of pan-Arabs the left wing and
the communists. He was able to maintain the loyality of the army however
that had changed after the war with the Kurdish factions in the north broke
out.
He started a very serious attempts to
develop the country and to improve it's infrastructers. He was killed after
a phony trial by those who made the bloody coup of February 8th, 1963.
