Arif was one of the officers that overthrown the monarchy in the 14th of
July 1958. He was known to be a very faithful pan-Arab and an admirer of the
Egyptian president Nassir. He disliked the position of Qassim who rejected
the pan-Arabs' projects of wide unplanned series of federations among Arab
countries. He was trailed and imprisoned in the time of Qassim , but Qassim
issued a special pardon for him.
Eventually he and other officers and the right-wing forces specially the
Ba'th party planed to overthrow Qassim by military coup, the matter they
successfully managed to execute on the 8th of July 1963.
Arif assumed the presidency directly and a very bloody wave of political
revenge swept the entire country in which speachless crimes were committed
by the infamous National-Guard. The first victim was Qassim and many members
of his cabinet who were subjected to a phoney trial then shot at the spot.
After turning his back to his Ba'thiest allies in November 1963, Arif
ruled in a one man state in which no clear ideology was prevailing. At his
last days he was planing to merge Iraq with the U.A.R of Egypt and Syria.
He died on the 14th of July 1966 in a helicopter accident.
