Ba'athist Iraq or the Iraqi Republic was...complicated. It was the state that governed Iraq from 1968 to 2003, and is either seen as a shining example of anti-imperialism, feminism, pan-arabism and socialism...or an authoritarian dictatorship that violently tore apart its environment and own people in the pursuit of further power.
Negatives
- It has been estimated that 250,000 people were executed by the government for speaking out against authoritarianism and secular ideas.[1]
- The famous Mesopotamian Marshes (a historical refuge for escaped serfs and slaves) were drained to deny its use as a base for anti-government insurgents (including groups as diverse as far-right Islamists and far-left communists). Considered one of the worst environmental disasters of the 20th century (desertifying 19,000km2 of land), on par with the deforestation of the Amazon and an estimated 275,000 people starved to death as a result of declining agricultural yields and the loss, between 80,000 and 120,000 fled to Iran and the Marsh Arab culture had been annihilated in a genocidal and ecocidal action to increase government power.[2]