Word: baathist
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...inside Iraq. Frequently accused of violating the trade embargo against Baghdad in the run-up to the war, Iran last week announced openly that it would be sending food and medicine to Iraqi noncombatants, as is permitted under U.N. guidelines. Both countries have Shi'ite Muslim majorities, though the Baathist government of Saddam Hussein is dominated by Sunni Muslims. Tehran's ultimate goal, some analysts say, is to foment a takeover by Baghdad's Shi'ites. If the day ever comes that friendly Shi'ites do control Iraq, Iran might offer the new government a generous gift...
...long-range guns. They also have Soviet antiaircraft missiles, and can fill the skies with ! antiaircraft flak when attacked. Six of the Guard's nine core divisions are spread in an arc along Kuwait's northern border with Iraq, while one remains in Baghdad to protect Saddam's Baathist government. Their importance to Pentagon planners has been apparent since the second day of the war, when they began absorbing massive air strikes...
...becomes more chaotic, so does its international position. The surprise Iranian offensive against Iraq that began on July 13 has been repulsed, creating an unprecedented crisis of morale on the home front. Iranian army officers blame the failure of the military thrust, which was designed to bring down the Baathist regime of Iraqi
...plan discussed in Damascus and elsewhere calls for Saddam Hussein's replacement within about 90 days by someone who has both military and Baathist party credentials. Among the candidates: Ahmed Hassan Bakr, former President of Iraq (1968-79), who shared power with Saddam Hussein for several years and was finally replaced by him in July 1979. Thus power would remain in the hands of the politically dominant Sunni Muslims. But as a gesture to Shi'ite Muslims, who make up 60% of the Iraqi population, as well as to Ayatullah Khomeini, the Muslim world's ranking...
...only regional Arab state to support Iran was Syria. Relations between the two Baathist regimes in Baghdad and Damascus have long been antagonistic; Syrian President Hafez Assad is known to believe that dissident elements within his country are backed by Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq. Like Iran, Syria views the gulf war as an American-backed plot that could lead to its encirclement by conservative Arab forces. Thus the war has intensified Syria's already nearly paranoiac feeling of isolation. Assad, who in the past has rejected any formal treaty links with the Soviet Union, is scheduled to visit...