“In July [16] 1968, the Ba’ath, in alliance with a few dissident army officers, launched a successful coup against the regime of [Iraqi President] Abd el-Rahman ‘Aref. Using both state and party platforms, and working under the wing of his kinsman, [coup leader] Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr, now the president of Iraq, Saddam [Hussein] was able to consolidate his position in the faction-riven Ba’ath Party.”
– Ali A. Allawi, The Occupation of Iraq, Page 29