Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

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"Remember we didn't put Saddam in power- he overthrew "our" guy- the shah- not a good guy by any stretch- only when compared to SH."

I'd stick to cut & paste. That way you can blame someone else for errors. The Shah was Iran, lol.

In 1958, the pro-West government was overthrown by ‘Abd al-Karim Qasim. Qasim survived a Ba'athist coup that included participation of Saddam Hussein in 1959. Kuwait and other neighboring protectorates became independent of Britain beginning in 1961, and Iraq laid claims on them owing to oil resources and the need for outlets to the sea. Qasim was overthrown in 1963 by Abd al-Salam ‘Arif, apparently with the help of the CIA. Arif's government was overthrown by a Baathist coup in 1968 with the aid of the US Central Intelligence Agency, which had supposedly been encouraging the Baath and Saddam Hussein for many years. By 1979, Saddam Hussein had become Prime Minister and began consolidating a dictatorial regime. Saddam appointed most high officials from among members of his family and natives of his home town village of Tikriti.