Ar-Rashid revolt

Date	3 July 1963
Location	ar-Rashid army camp, Baghdad, Republic of Iraq
Result	Coup attempt defeated

Belligerents

Iraqi Government

Iraqi Communist Party

Iraqi Army

Commanders and leaders

Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
Prime Minister of Iraq

Hazim Jawad
Secretary of the Ba'ath Party Regional Command

Muhammad Habib
Leader of Baghdad Communist Cell

Hasan Sari
Leader of Army Communist Cell

Strength

34,000 (Ba'ath National Guard Milita)

300-2,000

Casualties and losses

The ar-Rashid revolt refers to a 1963 failed uprising against the Baathist government in Iraq. The revolt was plotted by followers of the Iraqi Communist Party in junction with military officers. The revolt did however, not succeed to spread outside Baghdad and was crushed by the Baathist forces.

Background

On February 8, 1963, an army coup had been staged, overthrowing the government of Qassem. The coup followed one and a half month of Baathist agitations and protests against Qassem. After the coup the new regime moved swiftly to eliminate its opponents, primarily the Iraqi Communist Party and followers of Qassem. Thousands of leaders and key cadres of the Communist Party were detained, tortured and often killed, leaving the party in organizational disarray.^[1]

Preparations of the revolt

Whilst the Baathists had crushed most of the Communist Party organization, there were some Communist Party cells in the labour movement and the army that had remained intact. The Baghdad organizations of the Communist Party had been one of the most militant sectors of the party prior to the crackdown. The party cells inside the military began contacting cells belonging to the Baghdad Workers Committee, which organized party activities inside trade unions in the capital, to plan an overthrow of the Baathists a few weeks after the Baathist take-over.^[2]

Ibrahim Muhammad Ali was a member of the Workers Central Committee of the Communist Party, and led a Workers Committee in Baghdad. He had tried in vain to seek direction from a group of Central Committee members of the party, only to discover that they had been executed. Ali then proceeded on his own initiative to reorganize the civilian party cells in Baghdad. Ali directed Muhammad Habib (Abu Salam), a coffee-shop worker, to reorganize the party cells in the army. Habib was able to establish communications with Corporal Hasan Sari. Sari was in charge of one of the Communist Party cells inside the army.^[2]

Ali was captured by the intelligence services, after Communist Party members turned government informers had revealed his identity. He was tortured to death. Habib then had to take over Ali's leadership of the civilian cells as well as continuing the work with the army cells. Habib and Sari formed a 'Revolutionary Committee', preparing for a revolt. Sari would mobilize soldiers in an uprising, whilst Habib would mobilize civilians to provide aid to the soldiers. Two other Communist Party corporals and a tailor named Hafiz Latfah, took part in the planning.^[2]

The plotters presented their plan to the few remaining Central Committee members of the Communist Party. The Central Committee members rejected the plan, and labelled it as a violation of party discipline. Habib ignored their directions and did not inform Sari of the ruling by the party leadership. On the contrary, evidence suggested that Habib had conveyed to Sari that they had the full backing of the entire Communist Party. Together, Habib and Sari continued the preparations.^[3]

The revolt

On July 3, 1963 the revolt was staged. Rebel soldiers as well as the Baghdad and Middle Euphrates sections of the Communist Party, together amassing 2,000 fighters, took control over the ar-Rashid army camp in Baghdad. They were able to detain the camp commanders, the entire leadership of the Baathist National Guard militia, the Interior minister and the Foreign minister of Iraq.^[4]

Habib and Sari had selected the ar-Rashid camp as the scene of the revolt, since around 1,000 pro-Qassem officers and communists were in detention there. The rationale was that once the detaineed officers had been freed, they would provide leadership for other army units around the country to join the rebellion.^[4]

However, even though the rebels had been able to seize the army camp they could not free the detainees as they might unexpected resistance from prison guards. The revolt never spread to other army units. Baathist forces were able to encircle the camp and crushed the revolt.^[4]

Death train and aftermath

Within the Baath Party, the military sector demanded that all captured officers be executed. Civilians in the Baathist leadership opposed mass executions of officers, arguing that executions should be limited to 30 core leaders of the revolt. In the end, it was decided that all captured officers would be sent on a cattle train to the Nuqrat as-Salman desert prison. The train-ride (later nicknamed the 'Death Train') was supposed to take six hours, during which it was calculated that many would die in the scorching heat. The train driver, realising that his cargo consisted of humans, speeded up the ride to just two hours. Arriving at their destination, only one of the captured officers had died. The train driver's initiative combined with the fact that several of the officers had medical training, were decisive factors to limit the number of casualties.^[5]

After the ar-Rashid revolt, the Baathists stepped up their campaign against the Communist Party. Only the Middle Euphrates and Kurdish sections of the party remained intact.^[5]

Soviet involvement

The revolt caused a rift in Iraqi-Soviet relations, with the Iraqi government claiming that it had evidence that Soviet instructors had helped plan the revolt and Radio Baghdad accusing the Soviet Union of "a plot against our national independence." There had been issues between Iraq and the Soviet Union before the revolt, with the Soviet Union suspending military shipments to Iraq and indicating support for Iraqi Kurdish rebels. Iraqi television had then retaliated by attacking the Soviet Union, particularly the Soviet policy in Hungary.^[6] Declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) files state "there is strong evidence to suggest [Soviet] bloc involvement in the 3 July uprising at Camp Rashid," including "confessions" from "members of a Soviet bloc intelligence net in Baghdad ... the net was organized and directed by [redacted] and have implicated local Soviets with ... staging the 3 July 1963 coup attempt." The CIA also believed "the USSR will work both through propaganda media and covertly to bring about the overthrow of the Ba'ath in Iraq, calculating that any successor regime would be more favorable to Communist interests."^[7]

References

↑ Ismael, Tareq Y. The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Iraq. Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. pp. 107-109
1 2 3 Ismael, Tareq Y. The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Iraq. Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 110
↑ Ismael, Tareq Y. The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Iraq. Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. pp. 110-111
1 2 3 Ismael, Tareq Y. The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Iraq. Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 111
1 2 Ismael, Tareq Y. The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Iraq. Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 112
↑ Central Intelligence Bulletin - 5 July 1963
↑ Gibson, Bryan R. (2015). Sold Out? US Foreign Policy, Iraq, the Kurds, and the Cold War. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 70–71. ISBN 978-1-137-48711-7.

List of modern conflicts in the Middle East

1910s	World War I Middle Eastern theatre Arab Revolt Armenian Genocide Assyrian genocide Unification of Saudi Arabia Simko Shikak revolt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Turkish War of Independence Greco-Turkish War Turkish–Armenian War Franco-Turkish War Revolts Mahmud Barzanji revolts

1920s	Franco-Syrian War Iraqi revolt against the British Sectarian conflict in Mandatory Palestine Adwan Rebellion Arab separatism in Khuzestan Great Syrian Revolt Sheikh Said rebellion

1930s	Ararat rebellion Ahmed Barzani revolt Simele massacre Saudi–Yemeni War (1934) Goharshad Mosque rebellion 1935–36 Iraqi Shia revolts 1935 Yazidi revolt Dersim rebellion

1940s	World War II Italian bombing of Palestine Anglo-Iraqi War Syria–Lebanon Campaign Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran 1943 Barzani revolt Alwaziri coup Al-Wathbah uprising Kurdish separatism in Iran Iran crisis of 1946 Arab–Israeli conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict

1950s	Egyptian revolution of 1952 1953 Iranian coup d'état Jebel Akhdar War Cypriot ethnic crisis Yemeni–Adenese clan violence 1958 Lebanon crisis 1958 Iraqi revolution 1959 Mosul uprising

1960s	Iraqi–Kurdish conflict Dhofar Rebellion North Yemen Civil War Feb. 1963 Iraqi coup 8th March Syrian Revolution Nov. 1963 Iraqi coup Aden Emergency 1964 Hama riot 1966 Syrian coup d'état

1970s	Black September in Jordan 1972 North Yemen–South Yemen war Turkish invasion of Cyprus Lebanese Civil War Political violence in Turkey (1976–80) Libyan–Egyptian War Islamist uprising in Syria NDF Rebellion Iranian Revolution Consolidation of the Iranian Revolution Khuzestan conflict 1979 Qatif Uprising Grand Mosque seizure

1980s	Sadr uprising (1980) Iran–Iraq War 1980 Turkish coup d'état Kurdish separatism in Turkey Turkey-PKK conflict South Yemen Civil War 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot 1986 Damascus bombings Mecca massacre Abu Nidal's executions

1990s	Gulf War (1990–1991) 1991 uprisings in Iraq Terror campaign in Egypt (1990s) Yemeni Civil War (1994) Islamic insurgency in Saudi Arabia (2000–present) Operation Desert Fox al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen 1999 Shia uprising in Iraq

2000s	Iraq War Balochi insurgency in Iran 2004 al-Qamishli riots Houthi insurgency in Yemen Iran–Israel proxy conflict Fatah–Hamas conflict Nahr al-Bared fighting 2008 conflict in Lebanon South Yemen insurgency 2009–10 Iranian election protests

2010s	Arab Spring Yemeni Revolution Bahraini uprising Egyptian Crisis Arab Winter Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon American-led intervention Sinai insurgency Iraqi insurgency (2011–13) Iraqi Civil War (2014–present) American-led intervention Military intervention against ISIL Yemeni Crisis Yemeni Civil War

This list includes post-Ottoman conflicts (after 1918) of at least 100 fatalities each Prolonged conflicts are listed in the decade when initiated; ongoing conflicts are marked italic and conflict with +100,000 killed with bold.

Cold War

USA USSR ANZUS NATO Non-Aligned Movement SEATO Warsaw Pact

1940s	Hukbalahap Rebellion Dekemvriana Yalta Conference Guerrilla war in the Baltic states Forest Brothers Operation Priboi Operation Jungle Occupation of the Baltic states Cursed Soldiers Operation Unthinkable Potsdam Conference Gouzenko Affair Operation Masterdom Operation Beleaguer Operation Blacklist Forty Iran crisis of 1946 Greek Civil War Corfu Channel incident Turkish Straits crisis Restatement of Policy on Germany First Indochina War Truman Doctrine Asian Relations Conference Marshall Plan 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état Tito–Stalin Split Berlin Blockade Western betrayal Iron Curtain Eastern Bloc Western Bloc Chinese Civil War (Second round) Malayan Emergency Albanian Subversion

1950s	Bamboo Curtain Korean War 1953 Iranian coup d'état Uprising of 1953 in East Germany 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état Partition of Vietnam First Taiwan Strait Crisis Geneva Summit (1955) Poznań 1956 protests Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Suez Crisis Syrian Crisis of 1957 Sputnik crisis Second Taiwan Strait Crisis Cuban Revolution Kitchen Debate Bandung Conference Bricker Amendment McCarthyism Operation Gladio Iraqi July Revolution "We will bury you"

1960s	Congo Crisis Sino-Soviet split 1960 U-2 incident Bay of Pigs Invasion 1960 Turkish coup d'état Soviet–Albanian split Berlin Wall Portuguese Colonial War Angolan War of Independence Guinea-Bissau War of Independence Mozambican War of Independence Cuban Missile Crisis Sino-Indian War Communist insurgency in Sarawak Iraqi Ramadan Revolution 1963 Syrian coup d'état Vietnam War 1964 Brazilian coup d'état United States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1965–66) South African Border War Transition to the New Order Domino theory ASEAN Declaration Laotian Civil War 1966 Syrian coup d'état Argentine Revolution Korean DMZ Conflict Greek military junta of 1967–74 USS Pueblo incident Six-Day War War of Attrition Cultural Revolution Prague Spring Communist insurgency in Malaysia Invasion of Czechoslovakia Iraqi Ba'athist Revolution Goulash Communism Sino-Soviet border conflict CPP-NPA-NDF rebellion Corrective Move

1970s	Détente Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Black September in Jordan Corrective Movement (Syria) Cambodian Civil War Realpolitik Ping-pong diplomacy 1971 Turkish military memorandum Corrective Revolution (Egypt) Four Power Agreement on Berlin Bangladesh Liberation War 1972 Nixon visit to China North Yemen-South Yemen Border Conflict 1973 Chilean coup d'état Yom Kippur War Carnation Revolution Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Rhodesian Bush War Angolan Civil War Mozambican Civil War Ogaden War Ethiopian Civil War Lebanese Civil War Sino-Albanian split Cambodian–Vietnamese War Sino-Vietnamese War Iranian Revolution Operation Condor Dirty War Korean Air Lines Flight 902 Saur Revolution New Jewel Movement 1979 Herat uprising Seven Days to the River Rhine Struggle against political abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union

1980s	Soviet–Afghan War 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics boycotts 1980 Turkish coup d'état Invasion of Grenada 1986 Black Sea incident 1988 Black Sea bumping incident Solidarity Soviet reaction Contras Central American crisis RYAN Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Able Archer 83 Star Wars People Power Revolution Nagorno-Karabakh War Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall Revolutions of 1989 Glasnost Perestroika

1990s	Mongolian Revolution of 1990 Yemeni unification Fall of Communism in Albania Breakup of Yugoslavia Dissolution of the Soviet Union Dissolution of Czechoslovakia

Frozen conflicts	Abkhazia China Korea Nagorno-Karabakh South Ossetia Transnistria Sino-Indian border dispute

Foreign policy	Truman Doctrine Marshall Plan Containment Eisenhower Doctrine Domino theory Hallstein Doctrine Kennedy Doctrine Peaceful coexistence Ostpolitik Johnson Doctrine Brezhnev Doctrine Nixon Doctrine Ulbricht Doctrine Carter Doctrine Reagan Doctrine Rollback Sovereignty of Puerto Rico during the Cold War

Ideologies	Capitalism Chicago school Keynesianism Monetarism Neoclassical economics Reaganomics Supply-side economics Thatcherism Communism Marxism–Leninism Castroism Eurocommunism Guevarism Hoxhaism Juche Maoism Naxalism Stalinism Titoism Liberal democracy Social democracy

Organizations	ASEAN CIA Comecon EEC KGB Non-Aligned Movement SAARC Safari Club MI6 Stasi

Propaganda	Active measures Izvestia Pravda Crusade for Freedom Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Red Scare TASS Voice of America Voice of Russia

Races	Arms race Nuclear arms race Space Race

See also	Brinkmanship NATO–Russia relations Soviet espionage in the United States Russian espionage in the United States American espionage in the Soviet Union Soviet Union–United States relations US–Soviet summits

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