Iraq is an Arab country in the Middle East, located at the north-west end of the Persian Gulf. In 1957, at age 20, Saddam joined the Baath Party. He started out as a low-ranking member of the Party responsible for leading his schoolmates in rioting. However, in 1959, he was chosen to be a member of an assassination squad. On October 7, 1959, Saddam and others attempted, but failed, to assassinate the prime minister. Wanted by the Iraqi government, Saddam was forced to flee. He lived in exile in Syria for three months and then moved to Egypt where he lived for three years. In 1963, the Baath Party successfully overthrew the government and took power which allowed Saddam to return to Iraq from exile. However, the Baath Party was overthrown after only nine months in power and Saddam was arrested in 1964 after another coup attempt. He spent 18 months in prison, where he was tortured, before he escaped in July 1966. The Baath Party promoted the pan-Arabism, an ideology in which Arab nations join to create a single entity. Conflict in Iraq arouse because those who were not of the Arab descent opposed the pan- Arabism ideology.

Both governments rejected the values of liberalism to a great extent. Both government oppressed their populations and did not allow freedom of speech, equality, and the freedom of religion and ethnicity. The government goes as far as to controlling the thoughts of individuals. Both governments defied their people any form of a proper ballot and in