Hussein Rashid
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = Colonel General
| name = Hussein Rashid Mohammed al-Tikriti
| honorific_suffix =
| native_name = حسين رشيد محمد التكريتي
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| image = حسين رشيد محمد.jpg
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1940|1|1}}
| death_date =
| birth_place = Khezamia, Tikrit, Kingdom of Iraq
{{Infobox criminal | child = yes | conviction = War crimes
Crimes against humanity | criminal_penalty = Death; commuted to life imprisonment}}
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| allegiance = {{flagdeco|Iraq|1959}}{{flag icon|Iraq|1963}} Iraqi Republic (1962–1968)
{{Flagicon|Iraq|1991}} Ba'athist Iraq
(1968–2003)
| branch = {{army|Iraq}}
| serviceyears = 1962–2003
| rank = 20px Colonel General
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| battles = *Six-Day War
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Hussein Rashid Mohammed al-Tikriti ({{Langx|ar|حسين رشيد محمد التكريتي}}; 1 January 1940) is an Iraqi former military officer who formerly served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Iraqi Armed Forces under the rule of Saddam Hussein.
A fierce loyalist to Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, Rashid was also a tough and competent general.{{cite book |last1=Jerrold |first1=M. Post |title=Leaders and Their Followers in a Dangerous World: The Psychology of Political Behavior |date=2004 |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca |isbn=9780801441691 |page=220 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6O1jsrzFnm8C |access-date=5 May 2022}} Middle Eastern military and political affairs analyst Kenneth M. Pollack listed Rashid as an example of Arab generals in recent decades who had proven to be "first-rate generals", listing him alongside Syria's Ali Aslan and Jordan's Zaid ibn Shaker.{{cite book |last1=Pollack |first1=Kenneth M. |title=Armies of Sand: The Past, Present, and Future of Arab Military Effectiveness |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=9780190906962 |page=30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dB2DwAAQBAJ |access-date=25 April 2022}}
Early life
Hussein is a Arabized KurdMichael Eisenstadt, Like a Phoenix from the Ashes?: The Future of Iraqi Military Power. Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 1993. p. 86: “...succeeded Husayn Rashid Muhammad al-Tikriti, an Arabized Kurd.”[https://books.google.com/books?id=PL8hAQAAIAAJ&q=Michael+Eisenstadt] and was born in the town of Khezamia, near Tikrit, in 1940. He received his primary and secondary education in Tikrit.
Military career
Hussein joined the military, and graduated from the Iraqi Military Academy in 1962 with a Bachelor's in military science. He graduated from the Iraqi Joint Staff College in 1968 with a master's degree in military science. He also later received a PhD in the same field.
= Iran–Iraq War =
{{Main|Iran–Iraq War}}
In September 1980, Iraqi forces launched an invasion of southern Iran. Though initially successful, in 1981 Iran launched a counteroffensive, and by 1982 had regained most of the territory lost. In July 1982, Iran invaded southern Iraq, targeting the city of Basra.
During the first two years of the war with Iran, Saddam Hussein began to promote competent commanders over and against those who merely served as political cronies. Among these included Rashid.{{cite book |last1=Pollack |first1=Kenneth M. |title=Armies of Sand: The Past, Present, and Future of Arab Military Effectiveness |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=9780190906962 |page=149 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dB2DwAAQBAJ |access-date=25 April 2022}} Rashid was authorized to expand the Republican Guard to the size of an armored division.{{cite book |last1=Satloff |first1=Robert B. |title=The Politics Of Change In The Middle East |date=2019 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location=United Kingdom |isbn=9781000304664 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRmvDwAAQBAJ |access-date=4 May 2022}} During his early years of command, the Guard would be expanded to 16 brigades of 30,000 men,{{cite journal |last1=Antal |first1=John F. |title=The Sword of Saddam: An Overview of the Iraqi Armed Forces |journal=Armor |date=1990 |volume=99 |issue=6 |page=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iMoni2yfss4C |access-date=4 May 2022}} and by 1988 the Republican Guard had reached the size of 25 brigades and a total manpower of 103,000 men. Although Saddam Hussein was the nominal commander, Rashid was the actual commander on the ground, albeit reporting directly to Saddam.{{cite book |last1=McNab |first1=Chris |title=Armies of the Iran–Iraq War 1980–88 |date=2022 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |location=United Kingdom |isbn=9781472845559 |page=46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NMlQEAAAQBAJ |access-date=5 May 2022}}
Rashid was later in charge of the successful counter-offensives in 1988.{{cite book |last1=Leitner |first1=Peter M. |title=Unheeded Warnings: The Lost Reports of The Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, Volume 2: The Perpetrators and the Middle East |date=2007 |publisher=Crossbow Books |location=Washington |isbn=9780979223679 |page=227 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=65Gbj2CQWl4C |access-date=4 May 2022}}{{cite book |last1=Pollack |first1=Kenneth M. |title=Armies of Sand: The Past, Present, and Future of Arab Military Effectiveness |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=9780190906962 |page=158 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dB2DwAAQBAJ |access-date=25 April 2022}} Regarding operations within Kurdistan, Rashid desired a greater emphasis on this part of the campaign, and noted that the Iranians held an advantage in small covert units due to the northern region being "ideal for this type of operation". However, Saddam wished to focus on the southern front of the country, in order to convey to the Iranians that their goal of taking Basra was an impossibility.{{cite book |last1=Woods |first1=Kevin M. |last2=Murray |first2=Williamson |title=The Iran-Iraq War: A Military and Strategic History |date=2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=United Kingdom |isbn=9781107062290 |page=325 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WVBCBAAAQBAJ |access-date=4 May 2022}}
It was during the Anfal Campaign between 1987 and 1988 that Rashid was accused, along with many other generals, for crimes against humanity against the Kurdish populations, with over 182,000 Kurdish men, women, and children murdered, partially with chemical weapons.{{cite book |last1=Woods |first1=Kevin M. |last2=Murray |first2=Williamson |last3=Elkhamri |first3=Mounir |last4=Holaday |first4=Thomas |title=Saddam's War: An Iraqi Military Perspective of the Iran-Iraq War |date=2009 |publisher=NDU Press |page=140}}{{cite book |title=Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2008 Vol.1 |date=December 2010 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=Washington |isbn=9780160875151 |page=1894 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qHolsCdgvFsC |access-date=5 May 2022}}
In July 1988, with Iraq continually making territorial gains, Iran and Iraq agreed to accept a United Nations-brokered ceasefire under Security Council Resolution 598. The war ended formally on 20 August 1988.{{cite web |title=Iran-Iraq War |url=https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/iran-iraq-war |website=History.com |date=13 July 2021 |publisher=The Arena Group |access-date=5 May 2022}}
=Gulf War=
{{Main|Gulf War}}
Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, and tensions mounted through 1991. Shortly after the invasion, Rashid was appointed by Saddam Hussein as the new Iraqi Army Chief of Staff, after Hussein had fired the previous one.{{cite book |editor1-last=Palkki |editor1-first=David D. |editor2-last=Woods |editor2-first=Kevin M. |editor3-last=Stout |editor3-first=Mark E. |title=The Saddam Tapes: The Inner Workings of a Tyrant's Regime, 1978–2001 |date=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=United States |isbn=978-1139505468 |page=xvi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rvyYA2WX6hMC |access-date=4 May 2022}}
On 24 February, the ground attack of the Coalition began. At 8:30 PM on 25 February, Rashid received a phone call from Saddam ordering the army to retreat from Kuwait. Saddam told Rashid, "I don't want our Army to panic. Our soldiers do not like humiliation; they like to uphold their pride."{{cite book |last1=Fontenot |first1=Gregory |title=The 1st Infantry Division and the U.S. Army transformed : road to victory in Desert Storm 1970–1991 |date=2017 |publisher=University of Missouri Press |location=Baltimore, Maryland |isbn=9780826273765 |page=306 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zgSUDgAAQBAJ |access-date=4 May 2022}} By 26 February, Iraqi forces had fled Kuwait City.
The performance by Rashid and his staff during the war was seen by analyst Pollack as a "very creditable performance given what they had to work with", but that the error fell on Hussein and his insistence to fight the coalition rather than negotiate a way out of Kuwait.{{cite book |last1=Pollack |first1=Kenneth M. |title=Armies of Sand: The Past, Present, and Future of Arab Military Effectiveness |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=9780190906962 |page=163 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dB2DwAAQBAJ |access-date=25 April 2022}}
=Post Gulf War period=
After the war, Rashid was removed from his position as Chief of Staff,{{cite book |last1=Karsh |first1=Efraim |last2=Rautsi |first2=Inari |title=Saddam Hussein: A Political Biography |date=2002 |publisher=Grove Press |location=United States |isbn=9780802139788 |page=273 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pJcu5L72coUC |access-date=4 May 2022}} afterward once again made commander of the Republican Guard,{{cite book |last1=Cordesman |first1=Anthony H. |title=Iraq: Sanctions And Beyond |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0429968181 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cwDFDwAAQBAJ |access-date=4 May 2022}} and served as a special military advisor to Saddam Hussein.{{cite book |title=The Situation in Iraq Hearing Before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourth Congress, Second Session, September 12, 1996 · Volume 4 |date=1996 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=United States |page=46 |isbn=9780160541711 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gNsH9XtbhtQC |access-date=4 May 2022}}
Rashid was involved in the suppression of the 1991 Shi'i uprising, for which he would later be accused of war crimes.{{cite book |last1=Dougherty |first1=Beth |title=Historical Dictionary of Iraq |date=2019 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |location=United States |isbn=9781538120057 |page=614 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-mUDwAAQBAJ |access-date=5 May 2022}}
=2003 invasion of Iraq=
Iraqi Special Tribunal
Following the invasion, Hussein was one of several individuals indicted by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for war crimes. Specifically Hussein was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to possible war crimes carried out against the Kurds during the al-Anfal campaign in 1988.{{cite web |url=http://www.trial-ch.org/en/resources/trial-watch/trial-watch/profiles/profile/578/action/show/controller/Profile/tab/legal-procedure.html |title=TRIAL : Profiles |accessdate=24 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407210630/http://www.trial-ch.org/en/resources/trial-watch/trial-watch/profiles/profile/578/action/show/controller/Profile/tab/legal-procedure.html |archivedate=7 April 2016 }} At the time of the campaign Hussein was serving as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Armed Forces.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/25/world/middleeast/25verdict.html|title=Hussein Cousin Sentenced to Die for Kurd Attacks|first=John F.|last=Burns|date=25 June 2007|accessdate=19 April 2017|website=The New York Times}}
The trial began on 21 August 2006 and concluded on 24 June 2007, with Hussein, alongside several others, being found guilty and sentenced to death for war crimes and crimes against humanity. In total Hussein was sentenced to three death sentences. After his sentence was read out Hussein, alongside fellow former General Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai, spoke out. As a result, the chief judge, Mohammed Ureibi al-Khalifa, ordered that they should be quickly removed from the court. Hussein reportedly shouted "Thanks be to God, we are being executed because we defended our country against thieves and criminals. We defended Iraq."
On 3 October 2007 the Iraqi authorities decided to postpone the date of Rashid's execution. On 28 February 2008 a three-member Iraqi Presidential Council agreed to the execution of Ali Hassan al-Majid, however did not approve of the execution of either Hussein or Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai. The Council reportedly argued that Tai and Hussein should not be executed as, being military personnel at the time, they were merely following orders.{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/search/?contentType=2561|title=Turkmenistan|website=Amnesty.org|accessdate=19 April 2017}}
On 2 December 2008 Hussein was given a further life sentence for his role in the 1991 uprising in Iraq.
On 14 July 2011 Hussein, along with numerous other former high-ranking officials, were transferred from US to Iraqi custody. Hussein had been being detained at Camp Cropper near Baghdad International Airport. Following the transfer several Iraqi lawmakers renewed their calls on the Presidency to not approve the executions. President Talabani had authorized his Shi'ite Vice President Khudair al-Khuzaie to sign the verdict.{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-07/16/c_13989694.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720202520/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-07/16/c_13989694.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 July 2011|title=Iraqi lawmakers against execution of top officials in Saddam regime|website=News.xinhuanet.com|accessdate=19 April 2017}}
Personal life
Hussein is married, and has three children.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rashid al-Tikriti, Hussein}}
Category:Iraqi Military Academy alumni
Category:Iraqi military personnel of the Iran–Iraq War
Category:Iraqi people convicted of war crimes
Category:Iraqi people convicted of crimes against humanity
Category:Iraqi prisoners sentenced to death
Category:Kurdish genocide perpetrators
Category:Military leaders of the Iraq War