Baghdad Observer Digital Archive
Official English-language newspaper of the Iraqi government
Following the November coup of 1963, the pro-Nasserist Iraqi government consolidated its power by banning the Ba’ath Party, nationalizing major businesses, and shuttering newspapers—including popular English-language titles The Iraq Times (closed 1963) and Baghdad News (closed 1967). Shortly after, the Baghdad Observer was established as the official English-language newspaper of the Iraqi government.
In 1968, President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr rose to power and established Ba’athist Iraq. Instead of closing the Baghdad Observer, the new government continued publishing it—with a Ba’athist editorial stance. During this time, the Baghdad Observer covered important events in Middle East history, including the Iranian Revolution (1978-1979), the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), and the Gulf War (1990-1991). Perhaps most notably, the Baghdad Observer covered the presidency of Saddam Hussein (1979-2003). During this period, the Baghdad Observer helped maintain the cult of personality surrounding Hussein, while also functioning as a resource for English-speaking observers.
Under Hussein’s control, the Iraqi government embraced a form of Ba’athism that de-emphasized the ideologies of pan-Arabism, leftism, and anti-imperialism, in favor of hyper nationalism and militarism. During this era, the Iraqi government was notorious for its human rights abuses towards Kurdish ethnic minorities, as well as sectarian repression of the Shia majority by the ruling Sunni minority.
Speculation that the Hussein’s military had developed weapons of mass destruction led the United States to launch the Iraq War in 2003, at which point the Baghdad Observer ceased publication.
The Baghdad Observer Digital Archive is the only complete digital archive of the official English-language newspaper of Ba’athist Iraq and an important resource for scholars of history, politics, sociology, and military science. When paired with The Iraq Times and Baghdad News from our Middle Eastern and North African Newspapers collection, this archive completes the definitive English-language newspaper record of the history of Ba’athism in Iraq.
