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though, was Saddam’s desire to make Iraq the leading power in the
Middle East, which would require that it overcome its larger rival
Iran. The Islamic Revolution had caused great unrest in Iran, and
Saddam wanted to exploit what he perceived as a strategic moment
of Iranian weakness.
He used the long-running Shatt al Arab dispute as an excuse to
start a war. In September 1980, Saddam announced Iraq’s claim to
the entire waterway, and within a few days Iraqi troops had invaded
Iran and captured some territory.
The Iran-Iraq War lasted for eight years, during which time neither
side was able to make permanent or significant gains. Instead, the
war devastated both countries. Each bombed the other’s oil refiner-
ies; Iraq’s oil revenues fell from $26 billion in 1980 to $9 billion in
1982. To pay for the war, Saddam borrowed billions of dollars from
Arab countries, particularly Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
I
RAQ
’
S
H
ISTORY TO
1990 59
Saddam Hussein rose
through the ranks of the
Baath Party, finally seizing
absolute power in July 1979
with a chilling, videotaped
purge of party members.