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I RAQ ’ S H ISTORY TO 1990 51

including the radio station. When they controlled the radio and government buildings, the Free Officers announced that they had overthrown the monarchy and were forming a republic. Nuri al- Said, King Faisal II, Abdulillah, and other government leaders and members of the royal family were taken from their homes and executed. Qasim became prime minister, minister of defense, and com- mander-in-chief of the military, while another officer, Colonel Abd al-Salam Arif, took over other important leadership positions. It wasn’t long, however, before the two disagreed on the direction the new government should take. Arif wanted the Arab people to be united in a single country, and he was willing to join with Egypt’s Nasser to make that happen. Qasim, on the other hand, wanted to see Iraq become a strong Arab power, and he did not want to be subordinate to Nasser. Qasim repressed all opposition, and soon he imprisoned Arif and

Prince Abdulillah, the Iraqi regent, hands over power to Faisal II in a ceremony on the latter’s 18th birthday, May 2, 1953. Despite the end of his official role, Abdulillah continued to exert considerable influence on the new Iraqi king.