Exam 21: The Consolidation of the Authoritarian Rule in Syria and Iraq: the Regimes of Hafiz Al-Asad and Saddam Husayn

What were the motivations of the Islamic opposition to al-Asad-were they primarily concerned with foreign policy decisions or domestic issues?

Syrians felt the loss of __________________ more keenly than more distant Arab states because, during the late Ottoman period, the territory was regarded as part of southern Syria.

Which state "broke ranks" with the Arab world by siding with non-Arab, Shi'a Iran during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s?

Why did al-Asad choose to intervene in Lebanon on the side of the Maronite Christians?

Which of the following best explains Ba‛thist foreign policy in Iraq regarding the Soviet Union?

Prior to 1967, both Iraq and Syria had notoriously unstable regimes.

Briefly describe the effects of the Iran-Iraq war on Saddam Husayn's foreign policy.

Which of the following was NOT a major source of similarity between the regimes of al-Asad and Saddam?

Which of the following does NOT accurately describe the educational achievements under al-Asad?

All of the following efforts of the al-Asad regime improved the living conditions of the peasantry EXCEPT __________________.

In Iraq, the rise of the Takriti villagers into positions of power was comparable to the rise of the Alawites in Syria.

Describe the differences between the original Ba'th Party of Aflaq and the Ba‛th Party of al-Asad.

Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr and Saddam Husayn, in stocking regime positions within the Revolutionary Command Council, favored those from their shared hometown, __________________.

Which of the following does NOT accurately describe agricultural policies under the regimes of al-Asad and Saddam Husayn?

Which opposition group in Syria was most powerful during the 1980s?

In 1963, who carried out a coup d'état in Syria to bring the Ba'th into power?

Should the Iran-Iraq war be categorized as one driven more by changing internal factors within one or both of these states on the one hand, or external threats between these two rivals on the other?

Briefly describe the effects that Saddam Husayn's social welfare policies had on Iraqi women.

In 1970, what title(s) did al-Asad of Syria obtain?

Which of the following best characterizes the Iraqi political transformation in 1977, in which all ruling Ba‛thist council members became members of the RCC?