**Ba'athist Iraq** or the **Iraqi Republic** was...complicated. It was
the state that governed Iraq from 1968 to 2003, and is either seen as a
shining example of [anti-imperialism](Anti-Colonialism "wikilink"),
[feminism](feminism "wikilink"),
[pan-arabism](Arab_Nationalism "wikilink") and
[socialism](socialism "wikilink")...or an authoritarian dictatorship
that violently tore apart its environment and own people in the pursuit
of further power.

## Negatives

  - It has been estimated that 250,000 people were executed by the
    government for speaking out against authoritarianism and secular
    ideas.\[1\]
  - The famous Mesopotamian Marshes (a historical refuge for escaped
    serfs and slaves) were drained to deny its use as a base for
    anti-government insurgents (including groups as diverse as far-right
    Islamists and far-left communists). Considered one of the [worst
    environmental
    disasters](List_of_Major_Environmental_Disasters "wikilink") of the
    20th century (desertifying 19,000km2 of land), on par with the
    [deforestation of the
    Amazon](deforestation_of_the_Amazon "wikilink") and an estimated
    275,000 people starved to death as a result of declining
    agricultural yields and the loss, between 80,000 and 120,000 fled to
    [Iran](Iran "wikilink") and the Marsh Arab culture had been
    annihilated in a [genocidal](Crimes_Against_Humanity "wikilink") and
    [ecocidal](Ecocide "wikilink") action to increase government
    power.\[2\]

## References

<references />

1.  <https://www.hrw.org/news/2004/01/25/war-iraq-not-humanitarian-intervention>
2.  [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
    <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draining_of_the_Mesopotamian_Marshes>