Arab Federation - Background

Background

During the post-colonial years in the Arab world many forces argued for the creation of a single Arab state. Popular under the name of Arab nationalism, this tenet became increasingly popular among young intellectuals throughout the Middle East and in Iraq during the 1950s. Many different versions of Arab Nationalism arose, and developed into an Arab Cold War. These movements were led by many different leaders, the most famous being that espoused by Gamal Abd Al-Nasser, the President of Egypt. Nasser's vision of a Pan-Arab state was one free of foreign and specifically European interference, land reform, socialist sympathies and dissolution of the ruling, active monarchies. For Royalist and European aligned Iraq and Jordan, Nasser's vision was incompatible with their existence. Led by Prime Minister Nuri as-Said under King Faisal II, Iraq like Jordan were Hashemite monarchies since their establishment in 1922 at the bequest of the British. The basis of rule in Iraq was diametrically opposite the type of legitimate rule espoused by Nasser, who had overthrown Egypt's own monarchy in 1952 when the Free Officers Movement forced King Farouk into exile. Further complicating the relationship with pan-Arabism was Iraq's relationship with the West and its Anti-Soviet containment policy. In 1955, Iraq entered the short-lived Baghdad Pact at the urging of the United Kingdom and the United States. This pact sought to block the Soviet Union from Southward expansion by preventing the USSR's access to the petroleum resources of the Middle East and aimed to prevent them from establishing a foothold in the region - especially among the populace. The Baghdad pact aligned Iraq with Turkey, Pakistan, Iran and the United Kingdom. While as-Said saw the treaty as a guarantee to the security of the Iraqi state, his government and Hashemite monarchy Nasser openly and loudly criticized the treaty as a capitulation to foreign powers.

In early 1958, the formation the United Arab Republic (UAR) between Syria and Egypt brought Nasser's pan-Arab ideals that threatened the existence of both Hashemite regimes, to the Western borders of Iraq. In order to counter Nasser's pan-Arabism, as-Said approached the Hashemite government of Jordan, to discuss the formation of a union while also appeasing Arab nationalists within Iraq. Officially formed on 14 February 1958, the Arab Union or Arab Federation united the foreign policy and defense functions of each country but left the vast majority of other domestic programs under national jurisdiction. Nuri as-Said became the Premier of the Arab Union. Nuri as-Said mistakenly believed the Iraqi military command would keep the King on his throne and his government in power, but he neglected to see the growing opposition in the Sunni officer corps against the regime; it overthrew him, the Iraqi government and ended the Arab Union during the summer of 1958.