With Iraq’s political system in tatters, is Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party making a comeback, or is it just a tool in the designs of the now dreaded Islamic State in Iraq and Syria [ISIS]? This news item from the Sotal Iraq reports that the last remaining member of Saddam’s regime yet to be apprehended, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, has been seen in Mosul amid posters of Saddam, and is claiming the Iraqi presidency for himself and his party. Other sources tell the newspaper that this is all part of a scheme on the part of ISIS to win over popular Sunni support in what used to be a major Baath stronghold.

The Sotal Iraq news item begins this way:

After an 11 year absence imposed as a result of the American occupation, which banned the party under a new constitution, the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party, which ruled over Iraq from 1968 to 2003, is making a comeback in Mosul.

 

On Tuesday June 10, what many in Mosul are calling “Liberation Day,” pictures of the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein appeared in some areas, accompanied by rumors that former Vice President Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri had appeared at the Ninawa Provincial Headquarters near Mosul. Rumor had it that afterwards, he headed to the Mosque of the Prophet Yunus on the other side of the city. Yet unlike other recent events, not a single photo appeared on social or mass media platforms to confirm the news.

 

That evening, masked gunman armed with Kalashnikovs asked people to attend a speech in the city square to be given by Al Duri on the occasion of the so-called victory of the people’s revolution. Hundreds gathered, many with cameras and mobile phones at the ready, to capture a scene they haven’t seen for over a decade. After an hour’s wait, an unknown man with a long beard appeared on stage and to everyone’s astonishment, began a religious sermon. He then departed, leaving behind a disappointed audience who never even heard a mention of Al Duri’s name.

 

Walid Mohammad Salam, a former Baathist, confirms that the raising of posters of Saddam as well as leaks about the presence of Al Duri in Mosul and his leadership of operations against Iraqi security forces are all attempts to revive memories of the party among its supporters in Mosul, a major base for the party for over four decades.

READ IN IN ENGLISH OR ARABIC, OR READ MORE GLOBAL COVERAGE OF THE IRAQ-SYRIA CRISIS AT WORLDMEETS.US, your most trusted translator and aggregator of foreign news and views about our nation.

WILLIAM KERN (Worldmeets.US)

Founder and Managing Editor of Worldmeets.US

worldmeets.us