The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq: A Study of Iraq's Old Landed and Commercial Classes and of its Communists, Ba`thists and Free Officers

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This comparative study analyses the traditional elite of Iraq and their sucessors - the Communists, the Bathists and Free Officers - in terms of social and economic relationships in each area of the country. The author draws on secret government documents and interviews with key figures, both in power and in prison, to produce an engrossing story of political struggle and change. 'A landmark in Middle Eastern historical study' Roger Owen, International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 'By far the best book written on the social and political history of modern Iraq' Ahmad Dallal, Professor of Middle Eastern History, Stanford University

The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq: A Study of Iraq's Old Landed and Commercial Classes and of its Communists, Ba`thists and Free Officers Review

I first came across the title of this book in another `review' (of sorts) so compelling that I sought the book for my own. In Cullen Murphy's "Are We Rome?" [ ISBN 0-618-74222-0] there is a passage comparing the attitudes of ancient Roman generals and current American military leadership in wartime. (I now summarize and paraphrase:)
The Romans were renowned, evidently, for being arrogant, smug, complacent, ignorant, contemptuous of their enemies (always called `barbarians'), and utterly assured of victory no matter who their opponents were. Indeed, they were often successful, but sometimes they were crushingly defeated because they paid so little attention to the capabilities or characteristics of those arrayed against them. Murphy then fast-forwards to the newly-established Green Zone in Baghdad in the early days of America's conquest of Iraq (near the time of the "Mission Accomplished" speech.) An Arab translator sits in a cubicle studying a textbook. An American general comes in and asks what he's reading. "The bible" answers the Arab. "You don't read the Bible, you're a Muslim," the officer challenges. The man holds up his book: "The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq" by Hanna Batatu, which he considers absolutely essential to understand Iraq, its people, its conflicts, its likely responses to events going forward. The general reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a tatty paperback of a tourist's guide to Iraq and proclaims "Everything I need to know is in this."

The stunning connection between this American soldier and Quintilius Varus, the officer whose name is attached to one of the worst military fiascos in Roman history (Clades Variana - The Disaster of Varus) put pins and needles in my hands and neck. Because of that debacle, the nature of Europe was given part of its qualities. Our leaders may choose to nurture their ignorance, but I want to read the book the translator had.

The copy I obtained is a paperback 2004 reprint of the original published in the 1970s. It is enormous, dense, packed with facts, statistics, graphs, charts, lists, footnotes, some maps, and needing study with a highlighter rather than a simple read. The more I absorb of Batatu's opus the less fuzzy the lens through which I look at what our president calls our national "frustration." Today is September 11, 2007. General Petraeus speaks to Congress with reassurance that though things are bad in Baghdad they are improving in the edges of the provinces. Last night Batatu's details revealed the enduring strength of the smaller communities held at arms' length from the capital city (nicknamed "the devourer of men".) Batatu's words can take scrutiny, which is more than I can say for the policy papers our government is presently using for reference.

I give the book four stars - the same as Petraeus wears on his uniform.

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