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The warnings were particularly directed at its two largest neigh-
bors, Iran and Turkey.
I
RAQ
, I
RAN
,
AND
T
URKEY
Although Iraq shares borders with both Iran and Turkey, the peo-
ple of these three countries are separated by ethnicity, language,
and culture. Throughout history, the area of modern-day Iraq was
ruled by both Persian dynasties and by the Ottoman Empire. As a
result, there remains some resentment toward Iraq’s neighbors.
In 1979 strong-willed leaders came to power in both Iran and
Iraq. Saddam Hussein had been one of the most powerful members
of Iraq’s Baath Party for more than a decade, but he seized total
control of the government in a bloody purge. At the same time, in
Iran, the government of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was being
shaken. The shah, whose regime was supported by the United
States, could not stop demonstrations and protests held through-
out the country during much of 1978. When he fled Iran, a Shiite
religious leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, seized power and
established a theocratic state. The new Iranian government was
very hostile toward the United States, which Khomeini called “the
Great Satan.”
The Iranian revolution posed a threat for Saddam Hussein and
his secular dictatorship, particularly as Khomeini began to urge
Shiites in other countries of the Middle East to rise up against
their governments. Saddam feared that Iraq’s majority Shiite pop-
ulation would join forces with Iran if the new theocracy were able
to export its revolution.
There was a personal element as well. In 1964 Khomeini had
been forced into exile from Iran; he settled in the Iraqi city of An
Najaf, an important Shiite religious center. However, during the
1978 unrest in Iran, the shah asked the Iraqi government to expel
Khomeini, who was inciting the public uprisings. Saddam was
F
OREIGN
R
ELATIONS
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