Iraqi Ba'Thists in America's Cold War: Covert Action, Paramilitarism and Violence

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Weldon C. Matthews

Iraqi Ba'Thists in America's Cold War

Covert Action, Paramilitarism and Violence

Weldon C. Matthews

$200

Hardback

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English

Edinburgh University Press
30 June 2025

Military history; Political science & theory; Political leaders & leadership; Military intelligence

Series: Intelligence, Surveillance and Secret Warfare

This book reveals the covert relationship of the United States with the Iraqi Ba'th Party in the 1960s. The book traces this relationship from the party's underground activities, through its first seizure of power, to the party's return to clandestine organising after its overthrow by a military coup. The administration of President John F. Kennedy armed the Ba'thist regime, provided content for its media, and trained its personnel. A state-private network sponsored by the Central Intelligence Agency supported Ba'th Party labour and student organizations. Simultaneously, the regime detained, tortured, and murdered thousands of Iraqi communists. It also waged a genocidal war against Iraqi Kurds.

Bringing Iraqi women into the story, the book explores how both Americans and Ba'thists imagined a democratic future for Iraq and rationalized their resort to insurgent and counterinsurgent violence.

By: Weldon C. Matthews
Imprint: Edinburgh University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781399547574
ISBN 10: 1399547577
Series: Intelligence, Surveillance and Secret Warfare
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 30 June 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Weldon C. Matthews is Associate Professor in the Department of History at Oakland University

Reviews for Iraqi Ba'Thists in America's Cold War: Covert Action, Paramilitarism and Violence

Decades after the US toppled Saddam Hussein, Matthews illuminates the 1960s origins of Ba'thist rule. Using new Arabic and CIA sources, he shows how para-state militias intensified a Ba'thist-Communist struggle to mobilize Iraqis and define postcolonial liberation. This long-awaited study confronts Iraq's experience with American imperialism, anticolonialism, and political violence.--Nathan Citino, Rice University