Revolutionary Command Council (Iraq)
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| Revolutionary Command Council (Iraq) | |
|---|---|
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| Name | Revolutionary Command Council (Iraq) |
| Formation | 1968 |
| Dissolved | 2003 |
| Founder | Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr |
| Headquarters | Baghdad |
| Leader title | Chairman |
| Leader name | Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, Saddam Hussein |
| Type | Revolutionary council |
Revolutionary Command Council (Iraq) The Revolutionary Command Council acted as the supreme executive authority after the 17 July Revolution and during the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region era, directing national policy through centralized decrees and emergency directives. It sat at the center of political struggles involving figures such as Saddam Hussein, Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, and intersected with institutions like the Iraqi Armed Forces, the Iraqi Intelligence Service, the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party and the National Assembly (Iraq).
History and Establishment
The council was formed following the 17 July 1968 coup that brought the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region to power, in the same period as the consolidation of authority by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, Salah Omar al-Ali, and Hafiz al-Assad-era allies, amid tensions with rivals including Nasserism, Iraqi Communist Party, Kurdish Democratic Party, and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Early meetings addressed conflict with Iran–Iraq border disputes, alignment within the Non-Aligned Movement, and responses to regional crises like the Six-Day War aftermath, the Yom Kippur War, and the Iranian Revolution. The council replaced earlier revolutionary bodies such as those after the 1958 Iraqi coup d'état and the 1963 Ramadan Revolution, institutionalizing the Emergency Law No. 1 of 1968 style powers used by leaders like Abdul Salam Arif and Abd al-Karim Qasim.
Composition and Membership
Membership combined top Ba'ath Party leaders, senior military officers from the Iraqi Army, and security chiefs from the Iraqi Security Services including the Mukhabarat. Prominent members included Saddam Hussein, Taha Yassin Ramadan, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Ali Hassan al-Majid, Fahd Jassim al-Freij, Ibrahim al-Jaafari (later), and military figures like General Hamid Raja Shalah. The council worked alongside the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, the National Command (Ba'ath Party), and government cabinets such as those led by Abd ar-Razzaq an-Naif and Nuri al-Said historically in earlier eras. Its membership intersected with tribal networks like Al-Tikriti and regional actors including Kurdish peshmerga leaders such as Jalal Talabani and Masoud Barzani in negotiations.
Powers and Functions
The council exercised emergency legislative, executive, and judicial prerogatives similar to prerogatives wielded by bodies in Syria under Hafez al-Assad and by revolutionary councils elsewhere. It issued decrees that superseded acts of the Iraqi Interim Government (2003) predecessor institutions and controlled appointments to posts in the Iraqi Intelligence Service, the Republican Guard, the Ministry of Defence (Iraq), and ministries such as the Ministry of Oil (Iraq), the Ministry of Interior (Iraq), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Iraq). The council directed foreign policy toward actors like United States, Soviet Union, France, United Kingdom, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iran and authorized military operations against opponents including Iran–Iraq War campaigns, the suppression of uprisings by Marsh Arabs and Shi'a Muslim populations, and counterinsurgency against groups associated with Iraqi Kurdish rebellions.
Role under Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein used the council to centralize power by appointing loyalists such as Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Ali Hassan al-Majid, Tariq Aziz, and Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, marginalizing rivals like Michel Aflaq and exiled Ba'athists. The council legitimized domestic measures including nationalizations overseen by officials linked to Iraqi National Oil Company and security crackdowns by the Special Security Organization. It coordinated international strategy during the Iran–Iraq War with generals like Hussein Kamel al-Majid and diplomats like Saadoun Hammadi, and authorized internal purges exemplified by actions against figures tied to the Dujail massacre and the Anfal campaign against Kurdish civilians. The council collaborated with intelligence counterparts such as the Mukhabarat and regional proxies tied to events like the 1980s Arab Cold War.
Major Decisions and Actions
Key decisions included declaration of wartime directives during the Iran–Iraq War, authorization of chemical weapons programs linked to advisers and scientific teams that intersected with agencies in Al-Muthanna and sites later inspected by United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), and issuance of decrees nationalizing sectors influenced by Iraq National Oil Company administration. It ordered campaigns such as the Anfal campaign, suppression of the 1991 uprisings in Iraq after the Gulf War (1991), and sanctions-era domestic austerity measures implemented after United Nations Security Council resolutions including Resolution 661 (1990). The council also ratified treaties and accords negotiated with Soviet Union entities, engaged with France on procurement, and managed relations with United States interlocutors prior to 1990 through envoys like Tariq Aziz.
Decline and Dissolution
The council's authority eroded after the 1991 uprisings in Iraq, amid fracturing within the Ba'ath Party, defections by figures such as Ibrahim al-Jaafari-era opponents, and pressure from United Nations sanctions and Operation Desert Storm. The 2003 Iraq War invasion led by United States and United Kingdom forces culminated in coalition directives that dismantled Ba'athist institutions and the council ceased functioning with the fall of Baghdad and the capture of Saddam Hussein. Subsequent processes under the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraqi Governing Council removed legal foundations, and transitional measures by entities like the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq formalized the council's dissolution.