Iraq's Pre-1950 History Revisited: Part 8

(See below for parts 1- 7)

Nearly 150,000 U.S. military troops and 200,000 private contractors are still in Iraq trying to exercise a special influence on Iraqi history, by waging an imperialist war on behalf of special U.S. corporate interests. Yet most people in the United States probably didn't learn very much about Iraqi history in their high school social studies courses. But some knowledge of pre-1950 Iraqi history may be of use to U.S. anti-war activists when arguing with U.S. opponents of immediate withdrawal from Iraq and U.S. supporters of the Democratic Obama Regime’s war in Iraq, during the next 16 months.

Following the use of machine guns by Iraqi police to kill or wound between 300 and 400 anti-imperialist Iraqi civilian demonstrators on January 27, 1948, the Iraqi monarchy’s premier, Salih Jabr, fled to England during the night and a new government was formed for the puppet monarchy by Muhammad as-Sadr. During as-Sadr’s term as premier, protests against the Iraqi puppet government continued. Iraqi railway workers, for example, staged strikes on March 18, 1948, on April 14, 1948 and on May 12, 1948. In addition, on April 4, 1948, on April 6, 1948, on May 2, 1948 and on May 8, 1948, Iraqi port workers staged strikes. And from April 23, 1948 to May 15, 1948, Iraqi oil workers also went out on strike.

But following the May 15, 1948 establishment of the undemocratic state of Israel by the Zionist movement, the puppet Iraqi government declared martial law and set up military courts for Iraqi civilian dissidents; while non-communist Iraqi nationalists withdrew their support for the Iraq Communist Party activist-led insurgency in Iraq.

Prior to May 15, 1948, Iraq Communist Party student activists were so popular on campus that they were actually democratically controlling and democratically running some Iraqi colleges. But after the Iraq Communist Party’s leadership—following the example of the Soviet Union’s government—announced on July 6, 1948 that it was backing the UN’s partition of Palestine plan, popular support for Iraq Communist Party activists by the anti-Zionist Arab masses in Iraq decreased. (end of part 8)