60 years on, Iraqis reflect on the coup that killed King Faisal II

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Iraq’s King Faisal II in 1952, a year before taking the throne. (AFP)
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Faisal takes the oath in Parliament in 1953, watched over by his uncle, Crown Prince Abdallah. (AFP)
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Faisal takes the oath in Parliament in 1953. (AFP)
Updated 15 July 2018
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60 years on, Iraqis reflect on the coup that killed King Faisal II

  • Iraq's monarchy came to a bloody end on July 14, 1958
  • Many look back at the era with a sense of nostalgia

BAGHDAD/LONDON: With Iraq facing its latest security challenge amid growing protests over unemployment, Iraqis could be forgiven for harking back nostalgically to an era of rising prosperity when the country appeared to be on the cusp of a gilded age.

Sixty years ago, Iraq’s monarchy came to an end with a bloody coup that killed the young King Faisal II. Many Iraqis still believe it was the start of a catastrophic slide downhill.

While it lasted less than four decades, the constitutional monarchy is viewed by many as a golden period in the country’s history. That the king’s execution gave way to a tumultuous republic and, ultimately, the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, only adds to the sense of nostalgia.

On the anniversary of the July 14 revolution, Iraqis on Saturday reflected on what might have been had the king managed to survive the swirling and explosive political forces tearing through the Middle East at the time. 

But some also said the era of the monarchy is too often seen through rose-tinted spectacles, and that the reality was a deeply polarized country divided between the elites and the mostly rural poor.

Sadaih Khalid, 45, a Baghdad businessman, described Brig. Abdul Karim Qassim, the nationalist Iraqi army officer who led the coup, as a “crazy man” who killed the king and other royal family members in “cold blood.”

Qassim “opened the gates of blood and released the killing, torturing and looting, since the dawn of that black July 14 until now,” Khalid told Arab News.

“We wouldn’t have passed through all these tragedies if the royal family was still here.”




The king’s tomb in Baghdad. (AFP)

This sentiment is common in Baghdad, even among those born decades after the dynasty ended. It is not only that the demise of the monarchy was the start of the country’s descent toward dictatorship and years of war, but also that the coup — with no mercy shown toward the royal family — set a precedent for how the country’s most powerful figures would come to deal with political opponents. 

That precedent came back to haunt Qassim less than five years later when he, too, was killed during a 1963 coup by the Baath party during Ramadan.

The kingdom of Iraq was founded in 1932 under Faisal I after the fall of the Ottoman empire. Faisal, who was born in Saudi Arabia, was a member of the Hashemite dynasty and fought alongside T.E. Lawrence during World War I.

Faisal ruled for 12 years under a constitutional monarchy imposed by the British until his death from a heart attack, aged 48.

Faisal’s son, King Ghazi, took the throne, but died six years later in a car crash in Baghdad. The title of king fell to Faisal II, who was just 3 years old, and his reign began under the regency of his uncle Crown Prince Abdallah. 

Faisal II was educated in Britain at Harrow, along with his cousin, King Hussein of Jordan.

Highly intelligent, and leading a country blessed with a wealth of natural resources, Faisal seemed destined to build on his father and grandfather’s foundations when he took the throne, aged 18, in 1953.

Iraq at the time was prospering. Oil revenues were flowing in and the country was undergoing rapid industrialization. 

The kingdom was also gaining prominence on the world stage.

Iraq then was “more democratic and cleaner than today,” Saad Mohsen, a professor of modern history at the University of Baghdad, told AFP recently.

“We were far from the blood and fighting that we have come to know,” he said.

But it was also a country of social polarization. While the wealthy and well-connected enjoyed the good life in a thriving capital, resentment was building among the country’s poor, who were more conservative and receptive to complaints that the monarchy was too compliant to the needs of the West.

“The royal system was not as good as people think,” Abdallah Jawad, 53, told Arab News in Baghdad on Sunday. “People are just tired (of insecurity) and because of this they are willing to go back and live under the royal system. 

“They don’t know that most policies adopted by the royal family at that time were sectarian and discriminatory.”

The tide would soon start to turn against the kingdom. Iraq’s close relationship with Britain — a policy Faisal II continued from his grandfather — became the source of increasing hostility that was exacerbated by the Suez crisis in 1956.

On July 13, 1958, when two army brigades were ordered to go to Jordan to help quell a crisis in Lebanon, Qassim, a disaffected officer leading one of the units, saw his chance and sent troops to the Qasr Al Rihab palace. By early the following morning, they had surrounded the palace with tanks and opened fire. 

Shortly after 8 a.m., King Faisal II, his uncle the crown prince, and other members of the royal family and their staff were ordered from the rear entrance and killed.

The 23-year-old king was engaged to marry.

Saddam Hussein, who became president in 1979, setting the country on its calamitous course of foreign wars and brutal dictatorship, was fascinated by the young king.

He even restored the royal mausoleum where Faisal II’s marble tomb is located next to his father’s.

Their resting place has survived some of the darkest episodes of the nation’s history. But as Iraq looks to recover from its latest calamity — Daesh’s occupation of large parts of the country — many Iraqis will quietly mourn the 60 years since the monarchy’s downfall.




 An Iraqi banknote issued in 1947 and bearing the image of King Faisal II. (AFP)

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Born to rule against a backdrop of turmoil

Faisal II was born as the world prepared for a devastating war, lived through an era of Middle East turmoil and growing pan-Arab nationalism, and died in a revolution that also ended Iraq’s monarchy. 

He became king of Iraq when he was only 3 years old, in April 1939, after his father, King Ghazi, died in a car crash. Faisal’s lineage crossed borders — his mother, Queen Aliya, was the daughter of Ali bin Hussein, King of the Hijaz and Grand Sharif of Makkah, who had fled to Iraq when he was deposed by Ibn Saud in 1925.

During World War II, when Iraq was allied with Britain and the US, the young Faisal lived with his mother in Berkshire. Later, as a teenager, he was educated at Harrow school, along with the future King Hussein of Jordan, his cousin. The two became close friends, and may have considered merging their kingdoms. Before he became king, Faisal also visited the US in 1952, and met President Harry Truman.  

Until Faisal reached the age of 18 in 1953, Iraq was ruled by a regent — his uncle, Abd Al-Ilah. Faisal was an inexperienced boy, plagued by poor health — he suffered from asthma — and his uncle continued to advise him from the sidelines. His advice was that Iraq should continue to have a close relationship with the UK, which resulted in the Baghdad Pact of 1955 — an ill-fated military alliance of Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and the UK, which the US joined in 1958. 

Faisal’s turbulent life came to an end on July 14, 1958, during the revolution that deposed the monarchy. He and other members of his family were rounded up in the palace courtyard in Baghdad, and ordered to face a wall as a machinegun opened fire. The king died on the way to hospital and his body was strung from a lamppost. 

As if that were not undignified enough, Faisal attained an immortality of sorts; he was the model for Prince Abdullah of Khemed, a character in “The Adventures of Tintin” by the Belgian comic writer Herge.  


Israel says it will re-open crossing into Gaza as pressure builds to get more aid in

Updated 57 min 41 sec ago
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Israel says it will re-open crossing into Gaza as pressure builds to get more aid in

  • Aid agencies have warned of a gathering humanitarian crisis in the north of the enclave

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said on Friday it was planning to reopen the Kissufim crossing into central Gaza to increase the flow of aid into the southern end of the Gaza Strip.
The move comes amid growing international pressure on Israel to get more aid into Gaza, where aid agencies have warned of a gathering humanitarian crisis in the north of the enclave, where Israeli troops have been conducting a major operation for more than a month.
The new crossing would be opened following engineering work over recent weeks by army engineers to build inspection points and paved roads, the army said.
Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote to Israeli officials demanding concrete measures to address the worsening situation in the Palestinian enclave.
The letter, which was posted to the Internet by a reporter from Axios, gave the Israeli government 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Among the demands included in the letter was for the opening of a fifth crossing into Gaza.


Sudan army govt accuses paramilitaries of causing 120 civilian deaths in 2 days

Updated 08 November 2024
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Sudan army govt accuses paramilitaries of causing 120 civilian deaths in 2 days

  • The Janjaweed militia (paramilitaries) committed a new massacre in the town of Hilaliya

PORT SUDAN: The Sudanese foreign ministry accused paramilitaries late Thursday of causing at least 120 civilian deaths over two days in Al-Jazira state, reportedly in attacks involving gunfire, food poisoning and lack of medical care.
“The Janjaweed militia (paramilitaries) committed a new massacre in the town of Hilaliya in Al-Jazira state over the past two days, resulting in 120 martyrs so far, killed either by gunfire or due to food poisoning and lack of medical care affecting hundreds of civilians,” the ministry of the army-backed government said in a statement obtained by AFP.


Yemen’s Houthi militants shoot down what they say was a US drone as American military investigates

Updated 08 November 2024
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Yemen’s Houthi militants shoot down what they say was a US drone as American military investigates

  • The US military acknowledged the videos circulating online showing what appeared to be a flaming aircraft dropping out of the sky
  • The Houthis claimed to have downed an American MQ-9 Reaper drone

DUBAI: Yemen’s Houthi militants shot down what they described as an American drone early Friday, potentially the latest downing of a US spy drone as the militants continue their attacks on the Red Sea corridor.
The US military acknowledged the videos circulating online showing what appeared to be a flaming aircraft dropping out of the sky and a field of burning debris in what those off-camera described as an area of Yemen’s Al-Jawf province. The military said it was investigating the incident, declining to elaborate further.
It wasn’t immediately clear what kind of aircraft was shot down in the low-quality night video. The Houthis, in a later statement, claimed to have downed an American MQ-9 Reaper drone.
The Houthis have surface-to-air missiles — such as the Iranian missile known as the 358 — capable of downing aircraft. Iran denies arming the militants, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in sea shipments heading to Yemen for the Shiite Houthi militants despite a United Nations arms embargo.
The Houthis have been a key component of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” during the Mideast wars that includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas and other militant groups.
Since Houthis seized the country’s north and its capital of Sanaa in 2014, the militants have shot down MQ-9 Reaper drones in Yemen in 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2024. The US military has declined to offer a total figure for the number of drones it has lost during that time.
Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land. The aircraft have been flown by both the US military and the CIA over Yemen for years.
The Houthis have targeted more than 90 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.
The militants maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran. The tempo of the Houthi sea attacks also has waxed and waned over the months.
In October, the US military unleashed B-2 stealth bombers to target underground bunkers used by the Houthis.


Israeli defense minister officially steps down

Updated 08 November 2024
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Israeli defense minister officially steps down

  • Israel has been rocked by Gallant’s dismissal, with the news setting off mass protests across the country
  • Israel Katz, his replacement, currently serves as foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister
Israel has been rocked by Gallant’s dismissal, with the news setting off mass protests across the country
Israel Katz, his replacement, currently serves as foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister

TEL AVIV: Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant officially stepped down Friday in a ceremony that replaced him with Israel Katz, the former foreign minister, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Gallant earlier this week.
Israel has been rocked by Gallant’s dismissal, with the news setting off mass protests across the country. Many in Israel view Gallant as the sole moderate voice in a far-right government, and see his removal as a sign that the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu has lost interest in returning hostages still held in Gaza.
Israel Katz, his replacement, currently serves as foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister.
Also Friday, the Israeli military body handling aid to Gaza, COGAT, said it is preparing to open a new aid crossing into Gaza as the deadline for a US deadline to increase desperately-needed aid into the war-ravaged territory approaches. But the body did not say when the crossing will open nor if aid will be delivered to north of Gaza, where the UN and aid groups say the humanitarian situation is most dire.
The United Nations humanitarian office says Israel’s monthlong offensive in northern Gaza is preventing the estimated 75,000 to 95,000 Palestinians in the north from receiving essential items for their survival.
On Thursday, the Israeli military says it will allow 300 truckloads of humanitarian aid supplied by the United Arab Emirates to enter the Gaza Strip in the coming days. That’s less than the 350 trucks per day that the United States said it wants to see enter the war-ravaged territory.
The Israel-Hamas war began after militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others. Israel’s military response in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. They do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children.
Hezbollah began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the conflict erupted, more than 3,100 people have been killed and some 13,800 wounded in Lebanon, the health ministry reported.

Greece and Turkiye press ahead with talks in effort to smooth often volatile relations

Updated 49 min 26 sec ago
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Greece and Turkiye press ahead with talks in effort to smooth often volatile relations

  • Issues between NATO allies Turkiye and Greece are not limited to disagreements over maritime boundaries and jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean

ATHENS: Recent efforts to smooth the frequently volatile ties between neighbors and regional rivals Greece and Turkiye are bearing fruit, their foreign ministers said Friday, although significant differences remain between the two countries as they seek ways to prevent spats from escalating dangerously.
Despite both being members of NATO, Greece and Turkiye have been at loggerheads for decades over a long series of issues, including complex maritime boundary disputes that led them to the brink of war in 1987 and in 1996. In 2020, tension over drilling rights led to Greek and Turkish warships shadowing each other in the eastern Mediterranean.
Over the past 16 months, the two sides have made concerted efforts to reduce tensions, with the Greek and Turkish leaders meeting six times. Last December, the two countries signed more than a dozen cooperation deals during a meeting in Athens between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
“I am not claiming that through the dialogue we have developed, all the problems in the two countries’ relations have been magically resolved,” Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said in statements to the media after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, in Athens. The ministers didn’t take any questions.
“There were indeed difficult moments during the past year,” Gerapetritis said. “But in all cases, there was an immediate and honest channel that prevented escalation.”
With two brutal conflicts raging in the wider region, in Ukraine and in the Middle East, mending ties and preventing flare-ups in tension between the two neighbors has become all the more essential.
“We are working to understand each other better on critical issues. The region we are in has many problems,” Fidan said. “Turkiye and Greece need to be able to act with mutual trust in this difficult geography. Through a win-win approach, we can contribute to the prosperity and peace of our people.”
Despite the positive climate, the two sides remain far apart on some of the thornier issues, notably on territorial rights in the Aegean Sea. The two disagree on the delineation of the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone, which determines exploitation rights for resources, as well as on the extent of territorial waters.
Turkiye has said that any move by Greece to extend its territorial waters around its islands in the Aegean Sea from six nautical miles to 12 nautical miles, which Greece insists it has the right to do at any time, would be a cause for war.
Turkiye also doesn’t recognize that Greek islands off its borders have a continental shelf, while Greece insists that position is in contravention of international law.
Athens insists the issue of the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone is the only dispute it has with Turkiye and is willing to bring it to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Friday’s talks “included the evaluation of the conditions for the start of a fundamental discussion for the delineation of the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean,” Gerapetritis said. “It is an initial, honest approach of a difficult but also crucial issue.”
Fidan stressed that all areas of disagreement connected to the Aegean, the sea that lies between the two countries, must be tackled.
“There are many problems that are interconnected in the Aegean. These disputes cannot be reduced to the issues of the continent shelf and exclusive economic zones,” Fidan said. “We must address all issues that have the potential to create tensions and crises on the basis of mutual respect and cooperation.”
“As Turkiye, we continue to defend the principle of equitable sharing in the eastern Mediterranean,” he added.
Migration has been a source of tension between the two countries for years. Tens of thousands of people make their way each year from Turkiye to nearby Greek islands, using European Union-member Greece as a gateway to more prosperous countries in the 27-nation bloc.
While thousands of migrants continue to arrive in Greece, risking sometimes fatal sea crossings, the two ministers stressed the need to crack down on illegal migration and smuggling networks.
The two “emphasized the importance of acting together to combat irregular migration,” Fidan said.