ABSTRACT
Saddam Hussein was forced to flee Iraq in 1961 after helping in a failed assassination attempt on Iraq's leader, Abd al-Karim Qasim. Saddam Hussein returned to Iraq when the B'ath Party took power, but was arrested in 1964 when the military took over the country. The B'ath took power again in 1968, and Hussein was made head of Iraq's security services, where he gained a reputation as an effective behind-the-scenes player. The negative popular opinion of the military and government, generated by their failure to squelch rebellions in Iraq, made it easier for violent “replacements” to occur without inspiring protest. The Allied Coalition quickly destroyed much of Iraq's military and infrastructure. Saddam Hussein's misguided attempt to annex Kuwait and reap economic benefit from its oil wealth led to disaster for Iraq, resulting in a severe weakening of the Iraqi economy.
