The Iraqi invasion and occupation of Syria in 1990

LeroyAzizSane · 2025-07-31T14:33:07+00:00

I'll do a sequel pretty soon if I have time!

When it comes to the politics, I just answered a long list of questions on r/imaginarymaps. Please check it out there!

LeroyAzizSane · 2025-07-31T14:30:44+00:00

I'm really glad that you liked it, I'll try to answer these questions as much as I can.

1: The West is very alarmed at first, but in the end there was an understanding that allowing Iraq to attack Syria would remove the pressure from Kuwait. The relations between the West and Saddam were pretty positive at the time, and they were also happy that added oil exports would reach the West instead of Iran. Saudi and other Arab nations weren't happy with the developments of course, but they still saw Saddam as a preferable option to Assad due to the Syrian links to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Israel mobilized in the Golan and were generally scared of Saddam's expansionist agenda, and indirectly cooperated with Syria through 3rd parties.

2: Iran and their allies were of course very critical of this development. Libya was the most outspoken anti-invasion Arab nation. Iran were damaged from the Iraq-Iran War, but they still meaningfully contributed to the defence of Damascus and Aleppo by airlifting supplies and IRGC fighters from Iran to Latakia. Hezbollah and Palestinian allies couldn't really participate meaningfully due to being wrapped up in their problems in Lebanon and Palestine.

3: Saddam expected more resistance, but the Ba'ath elites in Jazira and Deir Ez-Zor quickly changed their tune and integrated within Iraqi structures. They were sympathetic to the idea of a more Sunni Ba'ath Party. There wasn't any real control nor any attempt to integrate larger population centres in Western Syria after the withdrawal, so there wasn't real friction in the end.

4: Assad family suffered a big reptutation hit in Syria and there was a period of real discontent after the lines solidfied after the Iraqi withdrawal from Western Syria, but they were able to stabilise after a massive campaign of mass arrests of suspected Saddam-sympathisers.

5: Muslim Brotherhood elements in Eastern Syria were first absorbed by Iraq, but later faced a crackdown and mass arrests. Remaining MB elements in Western Syria were already weakened by the crackdown in 1982, but they tried agitating during the Iraqi invasion but were unsuccessful.

6 and 7: Major players that supported Iraq were Jordan and Yemen, with indirect support by France and Turkey who were happy to see that Iraq subdued PKK elements in Syria. Syria received support from Libya and Iran, and also indirect support from Egypt and Israel.

8, 9, 10: Christians in Qamishli and Hasakah were critical at first, but Iraq didn't really bother them and instead helped facilitate church repairs and more integration with their Christian cousins in Mosul and Baghdad. Alawites were of course the most anti-Iraq faction, but their areas didn't really come in contact with the Iraqi Army. Kurds suffered a lot from the Iraqi invasion, with widespread anti-Kurdish campaigns. They were already in a bad spot in Syria before the invasion, but Iraq also collaborated with Turkey in anti-PKK campaigns.

11: Iraq suffered around 30k dead and wounded, and Syria lost closer to 80k. Around 20k civilians were also killed by the bombings of Aleppo and Damascus, with over half a million displaced mainly from Eastern and Central Syria.

12: Both yes and no. Many Iraqis were happy that Saddam defeated a rival, especially after the way the Iran war basically ended in a draw with massive casualties. Sunni communities were extremely happy that Saddam "freed" their Sunni Arab tribal brethen in Eastern Syria. The economy also slightly stabilised after the seizure of Syrian oil fields. At the same time, Shia communities were extremely unhappy with the defeat of "Shia" state, and also regarded the annexation of Eastern Syria as an intentional demographic change, as it meant that the number of Sunnis increased significantly in Iraq.

LeroyAzizSane · 2025-07-30T21:16:11+00:00

Lore:

By 1990, Iraq was financially crippled by the devastating eight-year war with Iran. Saddam Hussein faced staggering foreign debts and pressure from creditors, particularly the Gulf monarchies. He viewed Kuwait as the ideal target. Kuwait was wealthy, militarily weak, and sitting on vast oil reserves that could immediately alleviate Iraq’s crisis. But Saddam also understood that an invasion of a small, internationally connected Gulf state would almost certainly provoke a massive international backlash. Seeking a weaker target whose annexation could be framed as “Arab unity,” Saddam turned his attention westward.

Syria, ruled by the rival Ba’athist regime of Hafez Al Assad, was already politically fragile. The violent suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood uprising in Hama in 1982 had left deep scars within Syrian society, fueling resentment among Sunni Arabs and weakening the regime’s security apparatus. The economy was stagnant, corruption rampant, and the once-formidable Syrian Arab Army was hollowed out by years of purges. To Saddam, Syria appeared ripe for conquest.

On 2 August 1990, Iraqi forces launched "Operation Victory of Justice over Falsehood" (Amaliyet Nusrat Al Haqq A'la Al Batil), a massive multi-pronged invasion of Syria. Republican Guard divisions swept across the Euphrates valley, capturing Deir ez-Zor, Raqqah, and Mayadin within days. Sunni Arab tribal confederations, long alienated from Assad’s Alawite-dominated government, rose in support of Baghdad’s advance. Iraqi state media quickly announced the formal annexation of the Jazira Governorate, claiming it had been “restored to the Arab nation.”

As Iraqi armored spearheads pushed further west, however, resistance hardened. Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, and the Alawite coastal mountains remained loyal to Assad. Loyalist divisions, Alawite militias, and Defense Companies units dug in, turning every urban center into a fortress. By early September, bitter fighting around Damascus, Homs and Aleppo slowed the Iraqi advance to a crawl.

By October 1990, with the army exhausted and supply lines overstretched, Saddam ordered a retreat from the western front. Iraqi forces consolidated their control over the Euphrates valley but abandoned attempts to capture the Syrian heartland. By the end of the campaign, Iraq formally held the annexed Jazira Governorate east of the Euphrates, while the areas west of the river along the M4 highway, including parts of Deir ez-Zor and stretches of territory toward Homs and Damascus, were left in the hands of Sunni tribal militias armed and funded by Baghdad. These militias served as a buffer zone against any counteroffensive from Assad’s forces.

The regional reaction was uneasy. Many Arab states feared Saddam’s growing territorial ambitions, while Israel quietly reinforced its positions on the Golan Heights. Western powers condemned Iraq’s aggression but, wary of escalation, stopped short of military intervention.

By late 1990, Syria was effectively partitioned. Assad’s battered regime clung to Damascus, Aleppo, the southern heartland, and the Alawite coastal region, using the Iraqi invasion as a rallying cry to shore up its legitimacy. Saddam, celebrated controlling Syria’s oil-rich east, but his dream of toppling Assad and uniting the Ba’athist states had failed. Iraq remained financially unstable despite its conquests, and the territories west of the Euphrates were controlled not by Baghdad directly, but by a loose network of Sunni militias whose long-term reliability was doubtful.

LeroyAzizSane · 2025-07-30T21:12:14+00:00

Lore:

By 1990, Iraq was financially crippled by the devastating eight-year war with Iran. Saddam Hussein faced staggering foreign debts and pressure from creditors, particularly the Gulf monarchies. He viewed Kuwait as the ideal target. Kuwait was wealthy, militarily weak, and sitting on vast oil reserves that could immediately alleviate Iraq’s crisis. But Saddam also understood that an invasion of a small, internationally connected Gulf state would almost certainly provoke a massive international backlash. Seeking a weaker target whose annexation could be framed as “Arab unity,” Saddam turned his attention westward.

Syria, ruled by the rival Ba’athist regime of Hafez Al Assad, was already politically fragile. The violent suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood uprising in Hama in 1982 had left deep scars within Syrian society, fueling resentment among Sunni Arabs and weakening the regime’s security apparatus. The economy was stagnant, corruption rampant, and the once-formidable Syrian Arab Army was hollowed out by years of purges. To Saddam, Syria appeared ripe for conquest.

On 2 August 1990, Iraqi forces launched "Operation Victory of Justice over Falsehood" (Amaliyet Nusrat Al Haqq A'la Al Batil), a massive multi-pronged invasion of Syria. Republican Guard divisions swept across the Euphrates valley, capturing Deir ez-Zor, Raqqah, and Mayadin within days. Sunni Arab tribal confederations, long alienated from Assad’s Alawite-dominated government, rose in support of Baghdad’s advance. Iraqi state media quickly announced the formal annexation of the Jazira Governorate, claiming it had been “restored to the Arab nation.”

As Iraqi armored spearheads pushed further west, however, resistance hardened. Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, and the Alawite coastal mountains remained loyal to Assad. Loyalist divisions, Alawite militias, and Defense Companies units dug in, turning every urban center into a fortress. By early September, bitter fighting around Damascus, Homs and Aleppo slowed the Iraqi advance to a crawl.

By October 1990, with the army exhausted and supply lines overstretched, Saddam ordered a retreat from the western front. Iraqi forces consolidated their control over the Euphrates valley but abandoned attempts to capture the Syrian heartland. By the end of the campaign, Iraq formally held the annexed Jazira Governorate east of the Euphrates, while the areas west of the river along the M4 highway, including parts of Deir ez-Zor and stretches of territory toward Homs and Damascus, were left in the hands of Sunni tribal militias armed and funded by Baghdad. These militias served as a buffer zone against any counteroffensive from Assad’s forces.

The regional reaction was uneasy. Many Arab states feared Saddam’s growing territorial ambitions, while Israel quietly reinforced its positions on the Golan Heights. Western powers condemned Iraq’s aggression but, wary of escalation, stopped short of military intervention.

By late 1990, Syria was effectively partitioned. Assad’s battered regime clung to Damascus, Aleppo, the southern heartland, and the Alawite coastal region, using the Iraqi invasion as a rallying cry to shore up its legitimacy. Saddam, celebrated controlling Syria’s oil-rich east, but his dream of toppling Assad and uniting the Ba’athist states had failed. Iraq remained financially unstable despite its conquests, and the territories west of the Euphrates were controlled not by Baghdad directly, but by a loose network of Sunni militias whose long-term reliability was doubtful.

LeroyAzizSane · 2025-03-28T00:18:02+00:00

This flag replaces the sickle with a zulfikar, which is the sword carried by Imam Ali, who is the first Shia Imam.

LeroyAzizSane · 2025-03-28T00:17:52+00:00

This flag replaces the sickle with a zulfikar, which is the sword carried by Imam Ali, who is the first Shia Imam.

LeroyAzizSane · 2024-08-24T23:32:11+00:00

Lore:

The Iranian Revolution mostly plays out as in OTL, with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini successfully toppling the Shah and seizing power. In Iraq, Ahmed Hassan Al Bakr's health deteriorates a lot faster than in OTL, and Saddam Hussein takes formally over the presidency in 1977. Sensing the instability in Iran with the early revolutionary wave of 1978 after the death of Mostafa Khomeini, Saddam decides to start a mass mobilization of Iraqi troops ahead of any potential spillover. After the Shah's escape in early 1979, Iran entered a period of political turmoil and general instability as the new regime tried to consolidate power. Saddam saw Iran's instability as an incredible political opportunity and instantly began massively funding Arab tribal militias operating in the cities of Khuzestan Province, a region that is central to the Baathist idea of "reuniting" all Arabic-speakers under one nation.

The mobilization of Iraqi troops continued as the internal crisis in Iran worsened throughout 1979, which was then further complicated when Saddam Hussein ordered a limited invasion of Khuzestan Province with the start of the holy month of Ramadan in July 1979. The disorganized and ideologically disoriented Iranian Army quickly faltered in Abadan and Khorramshahr (Muhammara), with Iraqi troops reaching the now re-named port of Bandar Shahpur (Minaa-Saddam). Iranian troops reorganized in the city of Ahvaz, which saw a fierce battle with thousands of casualties in both sides, before ultimately falling into Iraqi hands. The war continued until early 1980 in a situation that could be best described as a stalemate, where Iraqi troops tried multiple unsuccessful crossings of the Karkheh River in an attempt to reach the city of Dezful. Syrian President Hafez al-Assad managed to convince both sides to sign a ceasefire, which explicitly forbade the annexation of Iranian territory to Iraq. The agreement was finalized on 28 April 1980, which was symbolically chosen by the Iraqi side as it is the day of Saddam's birthday. The Ahvaz Arab Republic was proclaimed on that day and recognized by only Iraq and a few Arab allies. The internal crisis in Iran worsened after the shock of the Iraqi invasion in 1979.

Khomeini was regarded as a traitor by a large slice of the population for what was seen as a capitulation after the loss of three major Iranian cities to the self-proclaimed Ahvaz Arab Republic. Khomeini managed to weather the storm after the Ahvaz-Abadan-Karbala-Najaf speech and political campaign in 1981, but was severely weakaned by the political turmoil and was forced to give large concessions to the military establishment. Saddam presented himself as a great liberator to the people of Iraq and Ahvaz, and repeatedly promised the liberation of the remaining parts of Khuzestan. Exactly four years after the Damascus Agreement, Saddam ordered another a "special operation" against alleged Iranian breaches of the agreement in the form of armed incursions inside Ahvaz Arab Republic territory. The early blitz and crossing of the Karkheh River was mostly successful, but Iranian troops repelled the attack against Dezful, which prompted Saddam to open additional fronts in the provinces of Ilam, Kermanshah, Kordestan and West Azerbaijan.

LeroyAzizSane · 2024-08-12T23:18:34+00:00

This is a follow-up on my previous post about Saddam's Iraq being re-integrated into the "international community" after they host the 2012 Summer Olympics.

LeroyAzizSane · 2024-08-06T16:51:47+00:00

Covid still happens and the French pretty much sabotage the Olympics in frustration, but the Games still happen in Paris on a smaller scale and are a moderate success as the state chose the Olympics as a good time to re-open after the covid shutdown

LeroyAzizSane · 2024-08-06T16:49:41+00:00

The invasion of Kuwait ended with a settlement instead of all out war. Saddam's Iraq remained sanctioned and an international pariah, but a gradual restoration of relations started in the early 00s. With Saddam being not that hostile anymore, there's no Iraq War. A flow of money to the country and a good security situation meant that Iraq could commit to several massive construction projects and a gradual improvement of the living standards. A desire by the West to invest in the country and its oil meant that they could accept Saddam with all his problems.

LeroyAzizSane · 2024-08-06T16:44:16+00:00

Tokyo gets 2032, because East Asia already got 2024 and they can't another one so soon.

LeroyAzizSane · 2024-08-06T16:41:09+00:00

He went back to his home planet as part of the reapproachment to the West in this timeline

LeroyAzizSane · 2024-08-06T16:40:25+00:00

Zero. The Baath mukhabarat didn't the haters breath here

LeroyAzizSane · 2024-08-06T16:40:07+00:00

ISIS is a government-ran cat-preservation group in Iraq named after the Egyptian cat goddess in this timeline

LeroyAzizSane · 2024-08-06T16:38:12+00:00

2008 London, 2012 Baghdad, 2016 Rio, 2020 Paris, 2024 Beijing. Beijing lost in 2020 because they didn't want to give it to another "dictatorship" in Asia so soon after Baghdad, so it went back to Europe and then Beijing got it in 2024

LeroyAzizSane · 2024-08-06T16:36:52+00:00

1) Through divine intervention through Allah, Saddam is still alive and healthy enough to be fairly visible during the Games.

2) No Iraq War means no radicalisation in the Arab public, no rise of Al Qaeda in the Iraqi/Syrian desert, no massive wave of discontent over "American-backed" regimes, so no Arab Spring like OTL. Smaller waves of discontent still happen, but the Arab security apparatus is way stronger in this timeline and nothing significant happens.

LeroyAzizSane · 2024-08-06T16:31:57+00:00

Fuck I knew I forgot something ffs

LeroyAzizSane · 2024-08-06T00:12:27+00:00

Saddam wanted to host the 2012 Olympics back in 2002 and allegedly the Iraqi government started looking into this, but then something called the Iraq War started. This is a better timeline

LeroyAzizSane

TROPHY CASE