Böcker av Tareq Y. Ismael

This comprehensive work examines the complex transformation of the Iraqi Communist Party from vanguard actor under Iraq's conservative monarchy to rearguard lackey under US occupation. Born in the interlude between two world wars, the Communist Party of Iraq was fostered by Iraq's embryonic intelligentsia as an approach to national liberation during the period of British domination. Driven underground or into exile by successive waves of Baathist repression beginning in 1963, the party's leadership became progressively dependent on and subservient to the Soviet Union. Dissatisfied with the party's irrelevance to Iraq's sociopolitical dynamics, reform efforts were thwarted by the old-guard leadership, and in the mid-1970s the party fragmented. With the fall of the Hussein regime and the US occupation of Iraq in 2003, the remnants of the party's old guard connected with the US-installed government and became part of the US project in Iraq.

On February 15, 2003, over 6 million people around the world marched in protest against a threatened war on Iraq. In the light of these remarkable events, and the conflict that followed, it is now more important than ever to properly assess Iraq's role in world politics.*BR**BR*This book provides a history of Iraq, an assessment of its position in the broader political landscape, and a moving account of the day-to-day reality experienced by the Iraqi people. The authors look at Iraq's -- and Saddam Hussein's -- relations and influence in the region of the greater Middle East. They examine the role of the UN, sanctions and warfare, explaining the impact this has had on Iraq's civil population and related humanitarian questions. *BR**BR*They assess American policy towards Iraq and how this has changed since September 11, setting it within the broader context of America's involvement in the Middle East. Finally, they look at social policy within Iraq, explaining how the internal welfare system has collapsed since the Gulf War, and examining the continuing effects of depleted uranium.