Constraints and Adjustments in the U.S.-Iraq Relations

Tension in U.S.-Iraqi relations emerged for the first time when American companies sought to enter the oil market after the Great War. However, these early disputes did not lead to a major crisis in bilateral relations. Iraq’s independence in 1932 and the coronation of the Hashemite King Faisal who adopted a constitution and maintained cordial relations with Britain were well received in Washington. Generally, the U.S.-Iraqi relations were cordial until 1958, when General Abd al-Karim Qasim staged his coup. Qasim’s courtship of the Soviet Union aroused suspicion in Washington and brought it to support his opponents in Iraq and outside. When the Cold War reached one of its crescendos in the late 1950s, U.S. policy was aimed at containing Soviet influence and eliminating the Communists from their positions. Saddam Hussein’s rise to power in Iraq was welcomed in Washington and he was regarded as capable of containing both the Soviet Union and the Islamic Republic of Iran, which came to power in 1979. Despite Saddam’s violation of human rights, the U.S.-Iraqi cooperation lasted until 1988 when the Iran-Iraq War ended, and the Soviet Union collapsed. This chapter demonstrates how the CIA was instrumental in expanding the cooperation between the two countries and the author demonstrates how Iraq maintained a large measure of independence, and was far less vulnerable to Soviet penetration than officials in Washington believed.