Ba'ath Party

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The BaÃÂath Party (also spelled Baath or BaÃÂth; Arabic: اﻟﺒﻌﺚ) is the name of both the former ruling party of Iraq and of the current ruling party of Syria. After Saddam Hussein's regime was deposed in the 2003 Iraq war, the party was banned by American occupation forces in Iraq in June 2003.

BaÃÂath is Arabic for 'rebirth'. Ba'athist beliefs are a mixture of socialism, Stalinism, militarism, nationalism, and Pan-Arabism. Its mostly secular ideology is often contrasted against that of other Arab governments in the Middle East, which tend to have leanings towards Islamism and theocracy. The Party's motto is "Wahdah, Hurriyah, Ishtirrakiyah" (Unity, Freedom, Socialism). By 'Unity,' pan-Arab unity is understood, and by 'Freedom,' freedom from Western interests.

Origins

Both parties originate in the BaÃÂath movement, an Arab political movement which started in the early 20th century. It was founded by Syrian thinkers most notably Michel ÃÂAflaq. Two other major proponents of early BaÃÂathist ideology, Zaki al-Arsuzi and Salah al-Din al-Bitar, like Michel Aflaq, were middle-class educators, whose political thought had been influenced by Western education many early Ba'athists were also Christians. The movement also found support among the more republican wing of Iraqi soldiers in the British, and later Hashemite services.

The BaÃÂath Arab Socialist Party was officially founded at its first party congress, held in Damascus, April 7, 1947.

It was formed in opposition to both French colonial rule and the older generation of Syrian Arab nationalists. Advocating instead Pan-Arab unity and Arab nationalism. Its constitution is a blend of neo-Marxist socialism and nationalism. They opposed the influence of Europe in their country's affairs, and used nationalism and the notion of unifying the Arab world as a platform. Ba'athists always claimed to be speaking for the entire Arab nation and the progress of the masses, though the party was extremely small, factional and often relied on nationalist radicals in the militaries. Its influence quickly spread to other Arab countries 1954-58, and branches were established in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Ba'ath Party in Syria

The Ba'ath party was from the beginning set on winning power through peaceful means. The first success was in Syria where the party became an important force, but dissolved itself upon the formation of the United Arab Republic in support of the new government. After the break up of the UAR the party and its ideology was adopted by a group of military figures who overthrew the government and used some BaÃÂathist ideology to justify their military rule.

In 1963 a military coup brought the Ba'ath Party to power in Syria. The new government which promptly began a course of large-scale nationalization. From 1963 the Ba'ath was the only legal Syrian political party, but factionalism and splintering within the party led to a succession of governments and new constitutions. In 1966 a military junta representing the more radical elements in the party displaced the more moderate wing in power, purging from the party its original founders, Michel Aflaq and Bitar.

After that, it split into two factions; the "progressive" faction, led by Nureddin Atassi, which gave priority to the firm establishment of a one-party state and to neo-Marxist economic reform, and the so-called nationalist group, led by General Hafez al-Assad. Assad's following was less doctrinaire about socialism, favoring a militant posture on the Arab union and hostility toward Israel. Despite constant maneuvering and government changes, the two factions remained in an uneasy coalition of power until 1970, when, in another coup, Assad succeeded in ousting Atassi as prime minister. Assad, one of the longest-ruling leaders of the contemporary Middle East, remained at Syria's political helm until 2000, when he was succeeded by Bashar al Assad, his son.

Today the Ba'ath Party in Syria has little to do with its founding ideology. No efforts towards Arab unity have been made and the commitment to socialism all but abandoned. For decades Ba'athism has served merely as a justification for the military dictatorship in that country.

BaÃÂath Party in Iraq

Iraqi and Syrian BaÃÂathism today are widely different and partially opposing, though they didn't split until later. But under Saddam Hussein Iraq also moved away from BaÃÂathist principles.

In Iraq the Ba'ath party remained a civilian group and was not strong in the military. The party was quite weak and the movement split into several factions after 1958 and again in 1966. Support was never strong, but through the construction of a strong party apparatus the party succeeded in gaining power.

The BaÃÂathists first came to power in the coup of February, 1963, when Abdul Salam Arif became president. Interference from the Syrian BaÃÂathists and disputes between the moderates and extremists, culminating in an attempted coup by the latter in November, 1963, served to discredit the extremists. However, the moderates continued to play a major role in the succeeding non-BaÃÂathist governments.

In July, 1968, a bloodless coup brought to power the BaÃÂathist general Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr. Wranglings within the party continued, and the government periodically purged its dissident members. Saddam Hussein eventually succeeded al-Bakr, ruling Iraq for several decades. Despite the leadership of the Ba'athist almost all being civilians under Hussein the party changed dramatically and became heavily militarized, with its leadership frequently in uniform.

Structure

The party cell or circle, composed of three to seven members, which constitutes the basic organisational unit of the party. Cells functioned at the neighborhood or village level, where members would meet to discuss and execute party directives introduced from above. Since individual cells had little contact with one another, party loyalties could be vigorously enforced from the top down. As the U.S. and its allies discovered in Iraq in 2003, cell organization also made the party highly resilient.

A party division comprised two to seven cells, controlled by a division commander. Such BaÃÂathist cells were spread throughout the bureaucracy and the military, where they functioned as the partyÃÂs watchdog, an effective form of covert surveillance within a public administration.

A party section, which comprised of two to five divisions, functioned at the level of a large city quarter, a town, or a rural district.

The branch came at the top of the section, and was composed of at least two sections which operated at the provincial level.

The party congress, which combined all the branches, was responsible for electing the regional command as the core of the party leadership and top decision-making mechanism.

The national command of the BaÃÂath Party, ranked on top of the regional command. It was the highest policy-making and coordinating council for the BaÃÂath movement throughout the Arab world at large.

Post-Saddam

In June 2003, the US-led Occupation forces of Iraq banned the BaÃÂath party. Some criticize the additional step the US took, of banning all members of the BaÃÂath party from the new government, as well as from public schools and colleges, as blocking too many people from participation in the new government. Scores of teachers have been dismissed, causing widespread but unreported protests and demonstrations at schools and universities. Under the previous rulership of the BaÃÂath party, one could not reach high positions in the government or the schools without becoming a party member.