ANTI-COMMUNIST ELEMENTS IN IRAQ

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-02771R000300520002-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 22
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 30, 1998
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: February 6, 1959
• Content Type: REPORT

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0061110ENT NO.
NO CHANGE IN CLASS.
o DECLASSIFIED ? 1?F
CLASS. CHANGED TO;
KEXT MFAWN DATE:
AUTH1 71.2
REVHAIERL.W3Ti4
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25X1C10b
25X1A9a
25X1A8a
25X1A2g
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:i0U5, social
tv0rte35
up.
on is
bl
One feet stands out. In Iraq today there
definitely be termed pro-West, with
Jot small colonies of foreign nationals
no available evidence which would permit us to conclude
-Communist nationalists in Iraq can be equated with a
rn attitude.
foremost, atLonai1att,
this nsttonai tarn in
are also *aeitrn and Arab.
the West (see Tab V)
ties (see Tab III),
and relatively unimpor
Iraq is strictly a
Each group mentioned
ludes some individuals
t. The identitz,
determtned here.
A.
fact that mesh
shopkeeper, for
a member of an
political party
ing he identifie
teal opinion*.
ve at
delicacy of their
ifestation of
likirg for
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Other
e are
tern
Versish.
ith the West
b y strong enough to warran
syrtan minority, for exampi
h? both of an seonomic and religious
Itual leader now resides in the U.S.
Rite Catholic groups have religious
o be pointed out that these groups,
ti -Communist aa a whole, 1nC1Uce
if not actual Party members
Lb
d the v
rters
and comm.
to wish to mainta
a
0
ei
urban and rural, a10 ar ac4tzatte
a But among these groove also the
diluted by other factors such as
A and ISIIt* (see Tab V)p
in Iraq are somewhat euier to tdentify,
to calculate theirinfluence.
Balth and Istiqlal
the Baith Party or
'Arif, a faction of t
llectuals and students
ese two groups is cant
Some Bedouin tribes also p
ee Tab I). Finally, there are
tian nationals in Iraq- -teachers
can be considered as agents
Tab VI)
Ce at19n41114 nestnts,
Other groups, while they may be anti
?
pro-Wast nor pro-UAR but Iraqi nationalists ox' conce
with their own self interests* desiring primarily to be
to live with a minimum of outside interference.
The&Ards* for examples have no love for the Wes
ely hostile to the idea of Iraq's union with the UR, and,
aNINIMISP
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are not conspicuously pro -
Communists). Essentially
ve Kurdish nationalists
; others identify their
t with local autonomy
and more participation
the
actively
neither pre
3bammar, wore
Lu late 1958
determine the
tive tribe* are
positions and veste
or interferenee In
(see Tab 1)
lid leo as regards
be are reported to be
but this makes them
tribes, notably the
'VAR coup att ted
ribal shayldls? who
tions or their respec
tecting their own
dins any control or,
tral government
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adliniM?
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Mal
A.
on is composed or
lam. Poor, uneducateil
entrated along the
tes south of
ble from the Arabs
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the up
economic and aocia
bute both to the pre -
They are not eOhe ve
/eaders enjoy the
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from Rutba
believed
Ile to the
former
5Terffffsso
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/00000 end 12
who live
tar district
ntain close,
ed 4.0e:el1-Worshippers" of Iraq, he 320437
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Iraq,
distr
Li which they
town f Tall
The districts
7 cenue showed ruhii 150,000 Crtattaa in
000 lived in Mosul ul
incipal Christiandttrtt
iso 50 percent ot he po
self ts almost exclusive,
o and diyya, north of
about 25 percent Christian, 1arety rural
percentage also holda for ahaykhan distric huk
district Christians comprise about 10 percent f the
population
There are roughly 7,700 Chris Ian in :44k and
000 in al?Cosh. They form seven percent te popula
ion of Arbil district (half of them In the tn itself)
and but three percent of sra district. Baghdad baa
about 28,000 ve part ot and Ramadt district ,f Dulsym
Liwa about 9, (12 pe en
Atiayriena
Numbering between 20,000 a'ic 25,000, the AEzyrtanE
estorians) have long been in conflict with t
nt which rejects their claim to betnig: a selyarate
nd sharply recants their habit f appealing for
Bupprt to foreign nations or international organizations.
They hac oOked to the British especially f-)r protection.
During the era in which the British maintained bases
they employed up to 6,000 Assyrians at members
Iraqi Levi'," which were used as a Protective
these bases. Mani f these now lira in a nev
t at Daurah, where some are employed at the
About 1,000 work in the Kirkuk lds;
near Mosul and another 5,700 in nc, oring
iIiispecially in the vicinity 'Ayn a, north
aisidIMPT
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The Amayrians also have religioue ties with the
British. Since the last century the Archbishee of Canter-
Unry has maintained a missien among the Aaayrians to edu-
cate their priesthood, at az a result the Aseyriana are
closely identified with the Anglican community. Another
religious tie with the West ie the residence In the US
of their hereditary religieus leader - -the Mar 3hamun, er
Patriarch of the Bast --who waz exiled from Iraq in 1932.
reseal leaders appear te be Archbishop Thimoleteus
Shalita and TUauf Khushaba, Tn January 195'') the twe men
reportedly pledged the community's support te .'!aetm0 rhn,
in return, was said to have told theta that he uas cen-
sidering the aemieg of as many as 5,000 Ansyrtans in cane
of need.
C. ChaAde,41,11
Numberieg about 980000, the Chaldeans speak Arable
and are of Arab racial stock. Their spiritual leader is
the Patriarch of Babylon0 whese seat t t Mosul. Western
Catholic missienarice have been active amene them for 100
years.
..Syrian Catholics,
Subject to the Patriarch ef Antioch in Beirut, this
sect numbers an estimated 25,000 ef whom 20,000 are in the
north and 20500 in Bachdad.
E. Syrian Orth)dox
About 12,000 Syrian Orthedex Christinne, else knawn
as Jaeobites, live in Iraq. Meet live in Meeul, the Jabal
Maqlub district te the north, an injar dieteicti There
are also 11 numbere of them in Baghdad, vtzra and Kirkuk.
They we religious obedience te the Patriarcl, of Antiech?
whese seat is in Home., Syria.
A
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p. Afltaas
The small o1Qn1 about40000 M*iertan8 eoneists
almost entirely or pe Bann who arrived aftev 17.nr1d War Z.
--Lxclusively urban residentn, they are profetstnnals, artt
sans and skilled ehanics. They art inaetIvr
although a few are repnrtedly Communists.
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IV. Po
Groups
A. Istiglal Party
Mainly Sunni but including few Shias, the I tiqlal
was founded in 1946 by politicians who had support.d the
Rashid Ali coup of 1941. Rightist and atrongI nation-
alistic, but supporting a program of social retor, the
Istiglal draws its adherents mainly from the cities
(Bagtidad* Mosul and Basra especially). It enjoys very
limited support in rural and tribal areas. The Istiqlal
champions the ideal of Arab unity and strongly advocates
union with the UAB.
**ad or the party is Milhammad MthdI Kubbas now a mem-
ber of Iraq's Presidential Council. The principal other
leaders are raliq al-Samarrali* now AMbassador to Cairo*
end addict Shanghai Minister of Guidance.
y of Iraq (BPI) is a branch of the over
all Ea whose major element is the Arab Social
Resurre on in Syria. Strongly attracted by the
idoa of Arab unity* the BPI is the most vigorous advocate
in Iraq of union with the UAR. It appeals to the younger
educated nationalists and has a considerable following
among junior army officers.
The principal OP: leadera are 'tad Rikab
ter of State; Dr. Saidun Hamadi* editor of aljurnhuri
and Paysal Habib Khayzaran. The party is cleattly
filed with the cause of former Deputy Premier 'Abd
lArif.
tIc PartZ
the National ratio Party (NDP)
y which advocates socia]. reform* state
public utilities and nationalization of oil.
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MIPink
Its adherent5 come from the large cities and towns, with
on n tribal and rural areas. Although it cur-
rts some Sort of tie with the UAR (though not
s believed to have been widely penetrated by
partyCc
leader is Komi' al-Chedirchl and is repre-
sented In the cabinet by Finance Minister MUhammad Redid,
Foreign Minister 'Abd-al-Jabbar Jumard, and Agriculture
Minister Redid Radji Mahmud,
herhood
branch of the reactionaryMuslim oran1za.
in Egypt has ve been popular or widely
aq. Such members as it has are almost ex-
veiy Sunni, Shies regard it with suspicion.
dition it suffers from internal splits. It is hostile
both to the USSR and to the West; and because of Nasir's
Persecution of the Brotherhood in Egypt, it is also op-
posed to the idea of union with the JAR.
The Brotherhood's leaders in Iraq are MUhammad Mahmud
Sawwaf and MUhsin Nimr Khatib. Oen. )iajib Rubl'a, head
of Iraq's Presidential Council, has been reported to be
a leading member, although there is no confirmation of
this.
MiscellaneousOrou i a
he 14 July revolution the Istiqlal and
MDP reportedly combined into a National Congress to pro-
vide civilian support for the Qasim regime. No details
are available as to the actual existence of such a coa-
lition or, if it does exist, as to its method of operation.
In late October 1958, Adnan al-Rawi? a returned exile,
wa reported to be organizing independent nationalists into
a Kitbag al-Rabitah al-Qawmiyin (Charter of the National
Union), with the active assistance of Fadhil Mashhadani?
a former Istiqlal Party lawyer and now Chief of Administra
tion of the Iraqi State Railways. The Rawl group was said
to be cooperating with the Isti lal.
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In Novmber the BPI, Istiglal and Arab Nationalists
Namely n al-Arab) were reported to have formed a looae
wor1Un union under the name Tajama al-Qawnl (National-
ist Group). In DeceMber anti-Communist elements in-
cluding the BPI and former Nuri al-Said supporters wire
reported to have formed a Rabtat al-Qawmiyyah (National
Group).
If any of these groups actually exist --and there is
no confirmatory data on any of thew?they presumably
would be pro-UAR since all involve either the Istiglel
and/or the Ba'th Party, both or which are advocating
union with the UAR.
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SWIM.
titute a cohesive and powertul
s power. Drawn from the upper
has ties of kinship and economic
asses and, as a group,. can be con-
d both Communitst and anti-West. (There are,
home rip probab1vy both pro-Communist and pro-West offi-
cers :unior officers are believed to be strongly pro
imairs while the 'senior officers are primarily Iraqi
nationalists
believed to be
ral Ahmad Salih
n.Muhammad Shukri;
on Cammander; Brig.
der; and trig.
oned officers and ertliBted men a--
they can largely be discounted
rm control of their officers.
B. Ve0
d at 1
big buinessen, industrialists
up constitutes the elite of
furnished most government
both socially and through kin-
onservative, they are, as a group
sposed to Iraqi than to Arab
anti-
nationa
ements especially have atrong aeocta-
tionsbusiness and commercial interests and
therefore tend to be more friendly towards the West thxi
most other Iraqi groupings.
Among the business associations of thia group axe the
Iraqi Federation of Industries and the Baghdad Chamber of
Commerce (Muhammad :attar al-Shibibi, president). The
Iraqi Date Association can probably also be considered
linked to this group.
"leentra
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C.
RIR S.
re both urban are cohesive
k leadership. They are used to, and
ods and would probabl7 not favor any
ial relations with the West. However,
wer and tend to comply with constituted
moreover, easily influenced, and
reflect whatever propaganda reaches
eomments about this class also
D.
C
led Workers
t appear to be c1ose1knit.
As according to one report, split
between those taortng the AR, a saaller group prinariXy
concerned with eeonc1c inters5ts and opposing union with
the VAR and tending to fa the West, and a third group
which supported the Communists.
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MINONS?
A. a.P.1110. ara
According to 1947 census (the latest figures
lab's), there were 73,828 foreign nationals in Iraq.
these 3, 886 wexe residents of three cities: Baghdad,
Karbala, 21,670j and Basra, 13,012.
realm's*
re than 75 perc? (52,430) of al I fore
were Iranians. About 25,000 resided in Baghdadnear
the Shia shrine of Kaftimain on Baghdad's outskirts),
20,000 in the Shia holy cities or Karbala and Najaf, and
4,000 in Basra. The Iranian element is important because
many of Iraq's Shia ulama are Iranian.
In 1947 about 1,000 Afghans, who we closely identi
filed with the Iranian community, also re ded in Eadhimain
and Najaf.
C. Pekis anis
Of theabout
half resided near the three Shin shrines and the rest in
Basra. The figure may be 1arr today since a consider-
able number of Pakistanis were brought into Iraq in 1950-
195]. to replace emigrating Jews in the telegraph and rail
war administrations.
B.
D.
In 1947 there were approximately 3,400Saudis, of
whom 234 live KadlitmAin and near* 3,000 in Z
town in Basra district, which is a trading center for
desert to the south, These Saudis are generally identi-
fied with Bedouin interests.
R. gyro-Lebanese
Most of the roughly 2,800 Syrians live in districts
close to the Syrian border, especially in Haditha sub-
district on the Euphrates and Dohuk district of Mosul
Live. Same live in the city of Mosul. In 1947, there
were also about 200 Lebanese in the oil port of Pao.
IIIIMOMMOD
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of 1948, about 5,000
ved in Iraq. LLkeArab
stitute and antiWest.
ble to both Coun1st and
but
at
er,
n the Devel
nt. Each
nt, then at
I.
TUrkish control of Iraq, only 926
In the Maul area claimed Turkish
1947 census.
re about 3,000 British aub
racial origins, in Iraq.
in the Moly Cities and h
and Basra. About 300 were in
probably several hundred Britishers
s in Iraq, a large percentage or them
1 industry. As of 31 March 1958,
es in Iraq employed 648 non-Iraqis,
OS orini. As of October 1958 the
laying 69 Americans and 43 Britishe
BO figures sre available as to numbers of other Western
nationals (e.g., German) in Iraq.
.fisimerms?
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