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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
I
RAQ
’
S
H
ISTORY TO
1990 51
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.