Ba'th Party flag

The Arab Socialist Ba'th Party (also spelled Baath or Ba'ath; Arabic: حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي) was founded in Damascus in the 1940s as the original secular Arab nationalist movement, to combat Western colonial rule. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language In Arabic, baath means renaissance or resurrection. It functioned as a pan-Arab party with branches in different Arab countries, but was strongest in Syria and Iraq, coming to power in both countries in 1963. Pan-Arabism is a movement for Unification among the peoples and countries of the Arab World, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. In 1966 the Syrian and Iraqi parties split into rival organizations mainly for ideological reasons – the Qotri (or Regionalist) Syria-based party being aligned with the Soviet Union while the Qawmi (or Nationalist) Iraq-based party adopted a generally more centrist stance. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 ^[1] Both Ba'ath parties retained the same name and maintain parallel structures in the Arab world.

The Ba'ath Party came to power in Syria on 8 March 1963 and has held a monopoly on political power since. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Events 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion. Later that same year, the Ba'athists gained control of Iraq and ran the country on two separate occasions, briefly in 1963 and then for a longer period lasting from July 1968 until 2003. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. After the de facto deposition of President Saddam Hussein’s Ba'thist regime in the course of the 2003 Iraq War, the invading US army banned the Iraqi Ba'ath Party in June 2003. Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti ( Arabic: ar صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي --> April 28 1937 &ndash December 30 The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia

The Arabic word Ba'ath means "renaissance" or "resurrection" as in the party’s founder Michel Aflaq’s published works "On The Way Of Resurrection". Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Michel Aflaq ( Arabic: ميشيل عفلق Mīšīl ʿAflaq, born Damascus 1910 died Paris June 23, 1989) was the Ba'thist beliefs combine Arab Socialism, nationalism, and Pan-Arabism. Arab Socialism (الاشتراكية العربية al-ishtirākīya al-‘arabīya) is a political ideology based on an amalgamation of Pan-Arabism and The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation Pan-Arabism is a movement for Unification among the peoples and countries of the Arab World, from the Atlantic Ocean to the The mostly secular ideology often contrasts with that of other Arab governments in the Middle East, which sometimes tend to have leanings towards Islamism and theocracy. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. Islamism ( Islam + ism; Arabic: al-'islāmiyya) a set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only Theocracy is a form of government in which a god or deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler

Inspired by a German social democrat slogan ^[2], the motto of the Party is "Unity, Freedom, Socialism" (in Arabic wahda, hurriya, ishtirakiya). Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Unity refers to Arab unity, freedom emphasizes freedom from foreign control and interference in particular, and socialism refers to what has been termed Arab Socialism rather than to Marxism. Arab Socialism (الاشتراكية العربية al-ishtirākīya al-‘arabīya) is a political ideology based on an amalgamation of Pan-Arabism and Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

Underlying Political Philosophy

The Baath party and the Arabian national movement have been influenced by 19th century Mainland European thinkers, notably conservative German philosophers such as Johann Gottlieb Fichte of the Königsberg University Kantian school ^[3] and center-left French “Positivists” such as Auguste Comte and, more importantly, professor Ernest Renan of the Sorbonne University in Paris ^[4]. Tellingly, Baath party co-founders Michel Aflaq and Salah al Bitar both studied at the Sorbonne in the early 1930s, at a time when center-left Positivism was still the dominant ideology amongst France’s academic elite. Michel Aflaq ( Arabic: ميشيل عفلق Mīšīl ʿAflaq, born Damascus 1910 died Paris June 23, 1989) was the

The “Kulturnation” concept of Johann Gottfried Herder and the Grimm Brothers had a certain impact. Johann Gottfried von Herder ( August 25, 1744 December 18, 1803) was a German philosopher, Poet, and Literary The Brothers Grimm ( German: Die Gebrüder Grimm) Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Kulturnation defines a nationality more by a common cultural tradition and popular folklore than by national, political or religious boundaries and was considered by some as being more suitable for the German, Arab or Ottoman and Turkic countries.

Germany was seen as an anti-colonial power and friend of the Islamic world; cultural and economic exchange and infrastructure projects as the Baghdad Railway supported that impression. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the Ottoman Empire planned to construct a Baghdad Railway under German control According to Paul Berman, one of the early Arab nationalist thinkers Satia al-Husri was influenced by Fichte, a German philosopher famous for his nation state socialism economic concepts, his antisemitic stance and his important influence on the German unification movement. Paul Berman is an American author and journalist who writes on politics and literature Johann Gottlieb Fichte ( May 19, 1762 – January 27, 1814) was a German philosopher

The Baath party also had a significant amount of Arabic-speaking Christians among its founding members. For them, most prominently Michel Aflaq, a resolutely nationalist and secular political framework was a suitable way to evade faith-based minority status and to get full acknowledgement as citizens. Michel Aflaq ( Arabic: ميشيل عفلق Mīšīl ʿAflaq, born Damascus 1910 died Paris June 23, 1989) was the Also, during General Rashid Ali al-Gaylani short-lived anti British military coup in 1941, Iraq-based Arab nationalists (Sunni Muslims as well as Chaldean Christians) asked the German government to support them against British colonial rule. Rashid Ali al-Gaylani (رشيد عالي الكيلاني also spelled Sayyad Rashid Ali al-Gillani or Sayyad Rashid Ali al-Gailani, son of Sayyad Abdul

After 1945 the traditional Arab Muslim elite, had failed to prevent the foundation of Israel and was not able to provide welfare and administrative standards comparable to the western world. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. The secular and highly disciplined Baath movement was seen as less corrupt and better organized. In multiethnic, multi-faith and highly divergent countries like Iraq and Syria, the Baath concept allowed non-Muslims, as well as secular-minded Sunni and Shia Muslims to work under one common roof^[5]. The mentioning of a socialist stance allowed as well for a closer cooperation with the Soviet Union after 1945. Starting with the 60's, the GDA had a stronger military involvement in Syria as well.

Structure

The Ba'ath Party was created as a cell-based organization, with an emphasis on withstanding government repression and infiltration. Hierarchical lines of command ran from top to bottom, and members were forbidden to initiate contacts between groups on the same level of organization; all contacts had to pass through a higher command level. This made the party somewhat unwieldy, but helped prevent the formation of factions and cordoned off members from each other, making the party very difficult to infiltrate, as even members would not know the identity of many other Ba'thists. As the U. S. and its allies discovered in Iraq in 2003, the cell structure has also made the Party highly resilient as an armed resistance organization.

A peculiarity stemming from its Arab unity ideology is the fact that it has always been intended to operate on a pan-Arab level, joined together by a supreme National Command, which is to serve as a party leadership for branches throughout the Arab world.

From its lowest organizational level, the cell, to the highest, the National Command, the party is structured thus:

• The Party Cell or Circle, composed of three to seven members, constitutes the basic organisational unit of the Ba'th Party. There are two sorts of Cells: Member Cells and Supporter Cells. The latter consist of candidate members, who are being gradually introduced into Party work without being allowed membership privileges or knowledge of the party apparatus; at the same time, they are expected to follow all orders passed down to them by the full member that acts as the contact for their Cell. This serves both to prevent infiltration and to train and screen Party cadres. Cells functioned at the neighborhood, workplace or village level, where members would meet to discuss and execute party directives introduced from above.

• A Party Division comprises two to seven Cells, controlled by a Division Commander. Such Ba'thist groups occur throughout the bureaucracy and the military, where they function as the Party’s watchdog, an effective form of covert surveillance within a public administration.

• A Party Section, which comprises two to five Divisions, functions at the level of a large city quarter, a town, or a rural district.

• The Branch comes above the Sections; it comprises at least two sections, and operates at the provincial level and also, at least in Syria, with one Branch each in the country's four universities.

• The Regional Congress, which combines all the branches, was set up to elect the Regional Command as the core of the Party leadership and top decision-making mechanism, even if this later changed to an appointive procedure in Syria. A "Region" (quṭr), in Ba'thist parlance, is an Arab state, such as Syria or Iraq or Lebanon, reflecting the Party's refusal to acknowledge them as nation-states.

• The National Command of the Ba'th Party ranked over the Regional Commands. Until the 1960s, it formed the highest policy-making and coordinating council for the Ba'th movement throughout the Arab world at large in both theory and practice. However, from 1966, there has existed two rival National Commands for the Ba'th Party, both largely ceremonial, after the Iraqi and Syrian Regional Commands entered into conflict and set up puppet National Commands in order to further their rival claims to represent the original party.

The Ba'th in Syria, 1954–1963

Syrian politics took a dramatic turn in 1954 when the military regime of Adib al-Shishakli was overthrown and a democratic system restored. Adib ibn Hasan Shishakli born 1909 in Hamah Syria died Sept 27 1964 in Ceres Brazil assassinated The Ba'th, now a large and popular organisation, gained representation in the parliamentary elections that year. Ideologically-based organisations appealing to the intelligentsia, the petty bourgeoisie and the working class were gaining ground in Syria, threatening to displace the old parties that represented the notables and bourgeoisie. For the coffee shop company often called Intelligentsia for short see Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea. Petit-bourgeoisie (or petty bourgeois through Folk etymology) is a French term that originally referred to the members of the lower middle social-classes The Ba'th was one of these new formations, but faced considerable competition from ideological enemies, notably the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), which was intrinsically opposed to Arab nationalism and was seen as pro-Western, and the Syrian Communist Party (SCP), whose support for class struggle and internationalism was also anathema to the Ba'th. The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (or SSNP ( Arabic: الحزب السوري القومي الاجتماعي al-Hizb as-Sūrī al-Qawmī al-Ijtimā`ī) often referred The Syrian Communist Party ( Arabic: الحزب الشيوعي السوري transliterated as Al-hizb ash-shuyū'ī as-sūrī In addition to the parliamentary level, all these parties as well as Islamists competed in street-level activity and sought to recruit support among the military. Islamism ( Islam + ism; Arabic: al-'islāmiyya) a set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only

The assassination of Ba'thist colonel Adnan al-Malki by a member of the SSNP allowed the Ba'th and its allies to launch a crackdown on that party, thus eliminating one rival, but by the late 1950s the Ba'th itself was facing considerable problems, riven by factionalism and faced with ideological confusion among its base. The growth of the Communist Party was also a major threat. These considerations undoubtedly contributed to the party’s decision to support unification with Nasser’s Egypt in 1958, an extremely popular position in any case. Gamal Abdel Nasser (جمال عبد الناصر Gamāl ‘Abd an-Nāṣir; - January 15 1918 September 28 1970) was the second President This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. In 1958 Syria merged with Egypt in the United Arab Republic. The United Arab Republic ( الجمهورية العربية المتحدة al-Jumhūrīyah al-‘Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah / al-Jumhūrīyah al-‘Arabīyah As political parties other than Nasser’s Arab Socialist Union were not permitted to operate, the Ba'th along with Syria’s other parties faced the choice of dissolution or suppression. The Arab Socialist Union (الاتّحاد الاشتراكى العربى al-Ittiḥād al-Ištirākī 'l-ʿArabī; French: L'Union Socialiste Arabe)

In August 1959 the Ba'th Party held a congress which, in line with Aflaq’s views, approved of its liquidation into the Arab Socialist Union. This decision was not universally accepted in party ranks, however, and the following year a fourth party congress was convened which reversed it.

Meanwhile, a small group of Syrian Ba'thist officers stationed in Egypt were observing with alarm the party’s poor position and the increasing fragility of the union. They decided to form a secret military committee: its initial members were Lieutenant-Colonel Muhammad 'Umran, majors Salah Jadid and Ahmad al-Mir, and captains Hafiz al-Asad and 'Abd al-Karim al-Jundi

The merger was not a happy experience for Syria, and in 1961 a military coup in Damascus brought it to an end. Salah Jadid (1926? &mdash August 19, 1993, Arabic: صلاح جديد was a Syrian General and Political figure in the Hafez al-Assad (حافظ الأسد) ( October 6, 1930 &ndash June 10, 2000) was president of Syria, for three Damascus ( دمشق,, also commonly known as الشام ash-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria. Sixteen prominent politicians signed a statement supporting the coup, among them al-Hurani and al-Bitar (although the latter soon retracted his signature). The party was in crisis: the secession was extremely controversial among Syrians in general and most unpopular among the radical nationalists who formed the Ba'th membership. A large section of the membership left in protest, setting up the Socialist Unity Vanguard and gaining considerable support. The Socialist Unionists (الوحدويون الاشتراكيون - al-Wahdawiyyun al-Ishtirakiyyun) is a Nasserist Political party in Syria The leadership around Aflaq was bitterly contested for its timidity in opposing the separation. Al-Hawrani, now a determined opponent of reunification, left the Ba'th and re-established his Arab Socialist Party.

Aflaq sought to reactivate the splintered party by calling a Fifth National Congress held in Homs in May 1962, from which both al-Hawrani’s supporters and the Socialist Unity Vanguard were excluded. For military actions near the city see Battle of Homs. Homs ( حمص,, anciently called Emesa (ἡ Ἔμεσα or "La Chamelle" A compromise was reached between the pro-Nasser elements and the more cautious leadership. The leadership line was reflected in the position the congress adopted in favour of "considered unity" as opposed to the demands for "immediate unity" launched by the Socialist Unity Vanguard (later the Socialist Unity Movement), the Nasserists and the Arab Nationalist Movement. The Arab Nationalist Movement ( Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab) also known as the Movement of Arab Nationalists and the Harakiyyin, was a Pan-Arab Meanwhile the Syrian party’s secret Military Committee was also planning how to take power, having been granted considerable freedom of action by the civilian leadership in recognition of its need for secrecy.

The Ba'th takes power in Syria and Iraq, 1963

In February 1963, the Iraqi Ba'th took power after violently overthrowing Abd al-Karim Qasim and quashing communist-led resistance. Abd al-Karim Qasim (عبد الكريم قاسم) (1914 – February 9 1963 was a nationalist Iraqi Military officer who seized power in a 1958

That same year, the Syrian party’s military committee succeeded in persuading Nasserist and independent officers to make common cause with it, and they successfully carried out a military coup on 8 March. Events 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion. A National Revolutionary Command Council took control and assigned itself legislative power; it appointed Salah al-Din al-Bitar as head of a "national front" government. The Ba'th participated in this government along with the Arab Nationalist Movement, the United Arab Front and the Socialist Unity Movement.

As historian Hanna Batatu notes, this took place without the fundamental disagreement over immediate or "considered" reunification having been resolved. Hanna Batatu ( حنّا بطاطو,) (1926 Jerusalem – 24 June 2000, Winsted Connecticut) was an American historian The Ba'th moved to consolidate its power within the new regime, purging Nasserist officers in April. Subsequent disturbances led to the fall of the al-Bitar government, and in the aftermath of Jasim Alwan’s failed Nasserist coup in July, the Ba'th monopolized power.

Ideological transformation and division, 1963–1968

The challenges of building a Ba'thist state led to considerable ideological discussion and internal struggle in the party. The Iraqi party was increasingly dominated by Ali Salih al-Sa'di, an unsophisticated thinker according to Batatu, who took a hardline leftist approach, declaring himself a Marxist. He gained support in this from Syrian regional secretary Mahmud al-Shufi and from Yasin al-Hafiz, one of the party’s few ideological theorists. Some members of the secret military committee also sympathized with this line.

The far-left tendency gained control at the party’s Sixth National Congress of 1963, where hardliners from the dominant Syrian and Iraqi regional parties joined forces to impose a hard left line, calling for "socialist planning", "collective farms run by peasants", "workers' democratic control of the means of production", a party based on workers and peasants, and other demands reflecting a certain emulation of Soviet-style socialism. In a coded attack on Aflaq, the congress also condemned "ideological notability" within the party (Batatu, p. 1020). Aflaq, bitterly angry at this transformation of his party, retained a nominal leadership role, but the National Command as a whole came under the control of the radicals.

The volte-face was received with anger by elements in the Iraqi party, which suffered considerable internal division. The Nationalist Guard, a paramilitary unit which had been extremely effective, and extremely brutal, in suppressing opposition to the new regime, supported al-Sa'di, as did the B'athist Federation of Students, the Union of Workers, and most party members. Most of its members among the military officer corps was opposed, as was President Abd al-Salam 'Arif. Abdul Salam Arif (1921 Baghdad - April 13 1966 ( Arabic: عبد السلام عارف) was president of Iraq from 1963 to 1966 Coup and counter-coup ensued within the party, whose factions did not shrink from employing the military in settling their internal differences. This eventually allowed 'Arif to take control and eliminate Ba'thist power in Iraq for the time being.

Ba'thist power in Syria After disposing of its Nasserist rivals in 1963, the Ba'th functioned as the only officially recognized Syrian political party, but factionalism and splintering within the party led to a succession of governments and new constitutions. On 23 February 1966 a military junta led by Salah Jadid took power, and set out on a more radical line. Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable A military junta is a government ruled by a committee of military leaders Salah Jadid (1926? &mdash August 19, 1993, Arabic: صلاح جديد was a Syrian General and Political figure in the Although they had not been supporters of the victorious far-left line at the Sixth Party Congress, they had now moved to adopt its positions and displaced the more moderate wing in power, purging from the party its original founders, Aflaq and al-Bitar.

The Syrian Ba'ath and the Iraqi Ba'ath were by now two separate parties, each maintaining that it was the genuine party and electing a National Command to take charge of the party across the Arab world. However, in Syria the Regional Command was the real centre of party power, and the membership of the National Command was a largely honorary position, often the destination of figures being eased out of the leadership.

At this juncture the Syrian Ba'th party split into two factions: the 'progressive' faction, led by President and Regional Secretary Nureddin al-Atassi gave priority to the radical Marxist-influenced line the Ba'th was pursuing, but was closely linked to the security forces of Deputy Secretary Salah Jadid, the country's strongman from 1966. Noureddin Mustafa al- Atassi (1930&mdash December 3, 1992) ( Arabic: نور الدين مصطفى الأتاسي Nūr ad-Dīn Muṣṭafā Salah Jadid (1926? &mdash August 19, 1993, Arabic: صلاح جديد was a Syrian General and Political figure in the This faction was strongly preoccupied with what it termed the "Socialist transformation" in Syria, ordering large-scale nationalization of economic assets and agrarian reform. It favored an equally radical approach in external affairs, and condemned "reactionary" Arab regimes while preaching "people's war" against Israel; this led to Syria's virtual isolation even within the Arab world. The other faction, which came to dominate the armed forces, was headed by Defense Minister Hafez al-Asad. Hafez al-Assad (حافظ الأسد) ( October 6, 1930 &ndash June 10, 2000) was president of Syria, for three He took a more pragmatic political line, viewing reconciliation with the conservative Arab states, notably Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as essential for Syria’s strategic position regardless of their political color. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA ( المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) or Suudi He also called for reversing some of the socialist economic measures and for allowing a limited role for non-Baathist political parties in state and society.

Despite constant maneuvering and government changes, the two factions remained in an uneasy coalition of power. After the 1967 Six-Day War tensions increased, and Asad's faction strengthened its hold on the military; from late 1968, it began dismantling Salah Jadid's support networks, facing ineffectual resistance from the civilian branch of the party that remained under his control. This duality of power persisted until November 1970, when, in another coup, Asad succeeded in ousting Atassi as prime minister and imprisoned both him and Jadid. He then set upon a project of rapid institution-building, reopening parliament and adopting a permanent constitution for the country, which had been ruled by military fiat or provisional constitutional documents since 1963. The Ba'th Party was turned into a patronage network closely intertwined with the bureaucracy, and soon became virtually indistinguishable from the state, while membership numbers were increased to well over one million (reflecting both a conscious desire to turn the previous vanguard party into a regime-supporting mass organization, and the fact that party membership was now vital to advancement in many sectors). The party simultaneously lost its independence from the state, and was turned into a tool of the Asad regime, which remained based essentially in the security forces. Other socialist parties that accepted the basic orientation of the regime were permitted to operate again, and in 1972 the National Progressive Front was established as a coalition of these legal parties; however, they were only permitted to act as junior partners to the Ba'th, with very little room for independent organization. The National Progressive Front (الجبهة الوطنية التقدمية al-Jabha al-Wataniyyah at-Taqaddumiyyah, NPF established in 1972 is a coalition of political

During the factional struggles of the 1960s, three breakout factions from the party had emerged. A pro-Nasser group split from the party at the breakup of union with Egypt in 1961, and later became the Socialist Unionists' party. This group later splintered several times, but one branch of the movement was coopted by the Ba'th into the National Progressive Front, and remains in existence as a very minor pro-regime organization. The National Progressive Front (الجبهة الوطنية التقدمية al-Jabha al-Wataniyyah at-Taqaddumiyyah, NPF established in 1972 is a coalition of political The far-left line of Yasin al-Hafiz, which had impressed Marxist influences on the party in 1963, broke off the following year to form what later became the Revolutionary Workers' Party, while Jadid's and Atassi's wing of the organization reunited as the clandestine Arab Socialist Democratic Baath Party. Both the latter organizations in 1979 joined an opposition coalition called the National Democratic Gathering. The National Democratic Rally or National Democratic Gathering ( Arabic, at-tajammuʕ al-waţanī ad-dīmūqrāţī) is a banned opposition alliance

Hafez al-Asad, one of the longest-ruling leaders of the modern Middle East, remained as president of Syria until his death in 2000, when his son Bashar al Assad succeeded him as President and as Regional and National Secretary of the party. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. Dr Bashar al-Assad (بشار الأسد) (born 11 September, 1965) is the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Regional Secretary Since then, the party has experienced an important generational shift, and a discreet ideological reorientation decreasing the emphasis on socialist planning in the economy, but no significant changes have taken place in its relation to the state and state power. It remains essentially a patronage and supervisory tool of the regime elite.

The Ba'th today holds 134 of the 250 seats in the Syrian Parliament, a figure which is dictated by election regulations rather than by voting patterns, and the Syrian Constitution stipulates that it is "the leading party of society and state", granting it a legally enforced monopoly on real political power.

The party outside Syria

Through its Damascus-based National Command, the Syrian Ba'th Party has branches in Lebanon, Yemen, Jordan, Sudan, Iraq (currently split into two factions), etc. Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. , although none of the non-Syrian branches have any major strength. Among the Palestinians, as-Sa'iqa, a member organization of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, is the Syrian Ba'th party branch. As-Sa'iqa (also transliterated as al-Saika, Saeqa, etc from Arabic: الصاعقة meaning storm or thunderbolt; also The Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO) (منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية or Munazzamat al-Tahrir al-Filastiniyyah) is a political and paramilitary

The Iraq-based Ba'ath Party

History

Saddam Hussein and the Ba'ath Party student cell, Cairo, in the period 1959-63.

In Iraq the Ba'th party remained a civilian group and lacked strong support within the military. The party had little impact, and the movement split into several factions after 1958 and again in 1966. The movement was reported to have lacked strong popular support,^[6] but through the construction of a strong party apparatus the party succeeded in gaining power.

The Ba'thists first came to power in the coup of February, 1963, when Abd al-Salam 'Arif became president. Interference from the historic leadership around Aflaq and disputes between the moderates and extremists, culminating in an attempted coup by the latter in November, 1963, served to discredit the party. After Arif’s takeover in November 1963, the moderate military Ba'thist officers initially retained some influence but were gradually eased out of power over the following months.

In July, 1968, a bloodless coup brought to power the Ba'athist general Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr. General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr ( Arabic أحمد حسن البكر) ( July 1, 1914 – October 4, 1982) was Wranglings within the party continued, and the government periodically purged its dissident members. In History and Political science, to purge is to remove people considered by the group in power to be "undesirable" from a Government, Political Emerging as a party strongman, Saddam Hussein eventually used his growing power to push al-Bakr aside in 1979 and ruled Iraq until 2003. Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti ( Arabic: ar صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي --> April 28 1937 &ndash December 30 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Although almost all the Ba'thist leadership had no military background, under Hussein the party changed dramatically and became heavily militarized, with its leading members frequently appearing in uniform.

Post-Saddam

In June 2003, the US-led occupation forces in Iraq banned the Ba'ath party. Iraq War|2007 in Iraq|2008 in IraqThe post-invasion period in Iraq Some criticize the additional step the US took — of banning all members of the Ba'th party from the new government, as well as from public schools and colleges — as blocking too many experienced people from participation in the new government. The term public school has two distinct (and virtually opposite meanings depending on the location of usage in the United States, Australia and College ( Latin collegium) is a term most often used today to denote an Educational Institution. Several teachers have lost their jobs, causing protests and demonstrations at schools and universities. A school (from Greek σχολεῖον - scholeion) is an Institution designed to allow and encourage Students (or "pupils" A university is an institution of Higher education and Research, which grants Academic degrees in a variety of subjects Under the previous rule of the Ba'ath party, one could not reach high positions in the government or in the schools without becoming a party member. This ban was partially revoked in January, 2008. ^[7][8]

The party outside Iraq

The Iraq-based Ba'th Party had branches in various Arab countries, such as Lebanon, Mauritania and Jordan. Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية Mauritania (موريتانيا Mūrītāniyā officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern After the fall of the Saddam government, some branches have distanced themselves from the central party, such as the branches in Yemen and Sudan. The Arab Socialist Rebirth Party ( Hizb al Baath al'Arabi al Ishtiraki) is a Political party in Yemen. Sudanese Ba'ath Party (in Arabic: Hizb al-Ba'ath as-Sudani) an underground Political party in Sudan.

In Lebanon, the party is led by former Sunni MP for Tripoli Abdul-Majeed Al-Rafei and Nicola Y. Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic Firzli, Beirut-based real estate entrepreneur and scion of a prominent Greek Orthodox Christian family that fought against Ottoman Turkish rule. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world The Ottoman Turks were the subdivision of the Ottoman Muslim Millet that dominated the ruling class of the Ottoman Empire.

In Yemen, the 'Qawmi'/pro-Saddam branch of the Baath party is led by Dr Qasim Sallam (former MP for the district of Ta'izz), a US-educated philosopher author of "The Baath and the Arab homeland" (1980). Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya

The party works amongst the Palestinians directly through the Arab Liberation Front (known as ALF or Jabhat al-Tahrir al-'Arabiyah) founded by Zeid Heidar, and indirectly through the relatively small pro-Iraqi wing of Fatah formerly led by Khaled Yashruti. Arab Liberation Front ( Arabic: جبهة التحرير العربية jabha at-tahrir al-arabiya) is a minor Palestinian political faction of the Zeid Heidar ( زيد حيدر) belongs to the tiny Shiite community of Damascus. Fatah (فتح literally opening, is a reverse Acronym from the Arabic name Harakat al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Filastini (حركة التحرير Khaled Yashruti (born 1937 in Akko, Palestine - died 1970 in Beirut, Lebanon) was a Palestinian political activist and a leading ALF formed the major Palestinian political faction in Iraq during the Saddam years. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. It is numerically small, but gained some prominence due to the support given to it by the Iraqi government. It is a member organization of PLO. The Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO) (منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية or Munazzamat al-Tahrir al-Filastiniyyah) is a political and paramilitary

In Bahrain, Rasul al-Jeshy leads the local pro-Saddam faction of the Ba'th Party, the secular Nationalist Democratic Rally Society (Jami'at al-Tajammu' al-Qawmi al-Dimuqrati), which in an alliance with Shiite Islamists opposes the Bahrain government’s economic policies. The Kingdom of Bahrain (in مملكة البحرين,, literally Kingdom of the Two Seas) is an Island country in the Persian Gulf Secularity ( adjective form secular) is the state of being separate from Religion. Nationalist Democratic Rally Society ( a political group attached to the Iraqi based Ba'ath Party in Bahrain. Islamism ( Islam + ism; Arabic: al-'islāmiyya) a set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only

An Iraq-oriented Ba'th Party branch led by exiled Ba'th party co-founder Salah ad-Din al-Bitar and Gen. Amin Hafiz formerly existed in Syria, which the Syrian government severely repressed. Salah ad-Din al-Bitar ( صلاح الدين البيطار) (born Damascus 1912 died Paris 21 July 1980) was a Syrian Gen Amin al-Hafiz (or Hafez; born 1911 (أمين الحافظ was a Syrian politician military officer and a member of the Ba'th Party. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية

References

Bibliography

• The Old Social Classes and New Revolutionary Movements of Iraq, Hanna Batatu, London, al-Saqi Books, 2000. ISBN 0863565204
• Al-Baath wa-Lubnân [Arabic only] ("The Baath and Lebanon"), NY Firzli, Beirut, Dar-al-Tali'a Books, 1973
• The Iraq-Iran Conflict, NY Firzli, Paris, EMA, 1981. ISBN 2-86584-002-6
• Al-Baath wal Watan Al-Arabi [Arabic, with French translation] ("The Baath and the Arab Homeland"), Qasim Sallam, Paris, EMA, 1980. ISBN 2-86584-003-4
• The Struggle for Power in Syria: Sectarianism, Regionalism and Tribalism in Politics, Nikolaos van Dam, London I B Tauris, 1979.
• History of Syria Including Lebanon and Palestine, Vol. 2 Hitti Philip K. (2002) (ISBN 1-931956-61-8)

Endnotes

• Yemeni govt. sues Baath party Chairman Qasim Sallam for article critical of Saudi Arabia (US Department of State Report on Human Rights Practices/Feb 2001)

External links

• The five volumes of Michel Aflaq’s "On The Way Of Resurrection" (Fi Sabil al Ba'th) (Arabic)
• The (Iraqi) Baath party web site. It also include a section about the defence committee of Saddam Hussain (Arabic)
• Brief Syrian-focused official description
• Death of the dragon - from a bitter opponent of the Ba'ath
• The Constitution of the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party
• Syrian wing of the Ba'th Party (Arabic)
• Syrian wing of the Ba'th Party (English)
• Sudanese Ba'th Party (Arabic)