Wo00 JUN Assad's Syria and Saddam's Iraq

The National
  • Saddam Hussein and Hafez Al Assad with Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in Baghdad, in November 1978. Getty
    Saddam Hussein and Hafez Al Assad with Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in Baghdad, in November 1978. Getty
  • Iraqi refugees living in Syria vote at a polling station set up by the United Nations in Damascus on March 5, 2010. Reuters
    Iraqi refugees living in Syria vote at a polling station set up by the United Nations in Damascus on March 5, 2010. Reuters
  • Bashar Al Assad at a Baath Party meeting in Damascus on June 20, 2000. Reuters
    Bashar Al Assad at a Baath Party meeting in Damascus on June 20, 2000. Reuters
  • Bashar Al Assad with a Czech Democratic Social Party delegation in Damascus on February 28, 2008. AP
    Bashar Al Assad with a Czech Democratic Social Party delegation in Damascus on February 28, 2008. AP
  • Michel Aflaq, founder of the Baath party, in the 1940s. Aflaq, who was born in Damascus in 1910, died in Iraq in the mid 1990s. AFP
    Michel Aflaq, founder of the Baath party, in the 1940s. Aflaq, who was born in Damascus in 1910, died in Iraq in the mid 1990s. AFP
  • Saddam Hussein chairs an Iraqi Baath Command meeting in January 1997. Reuters
    Saddam Hussein chairs an Iraqi Baath Command meeting in January 1997. Reuters
  • Statues representing Iraqi military heroes in the southern city of Basra during Saddam Hussein's rule, May 13, 1999 . AFP
    Statues representing Iraqi military heroes in the southern city of Basra during Saddam Hussein's rule, May 13, 1999 . AFP
  • The Euphrates River near A Qaem in Iraq, opposite the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor, on November 13, 2018. AFP
    The Euphrates River near A Qaem in Iraq, opposite the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor, on November 13, 2018. AFP
  • The late Iraqi Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani. Reuters
    The late Iraqi Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani. Reuters
  • Massud Barzani, on May 25, 2019. AFP
    Massud Barzani, on May 25, 2019. AFP
  • Damascus, on June 26, 2013. AFP
    Damascus, on June 26, 2013. AFP
  • Bashar Al Assad and Jalal Talabani in Damascus on January 14, 2007. AFP
    Bashar Al Assad and Jalal Talabani in Damascus on January 14, 2007. AFP
  • Baghdad in August 2002. Getty
    Baghdad in August 2002. Getty
  • The Tigris River on the borders of Syria, Iraq and Turkey on November 1, 2017. Getty
    The Tigris River on the borders of Syria, Iraq and Turkey on November 1, 2017. Getty