The Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War-41

By Mujtaba Al-Husseini
Translated From Arabic by: Muhammad Hussein Zavar-Kaaba
Machine Translation edited by Mandana Karimi

2026-8-9

The Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War-41

By Mujtaba Al-Husseini

Translated From Arabic by: Muhammad Hussein Zavar-Kaaba

Machine Translation edited by Mandana Karimi

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Encouragement and Temptation

Any government that wants to drag its people and army into battle must prepare the ground by finding ideological and spiritual justifications for entering the war. A few months before the war began, the Baath regime sought to find justifications to send the Iraqi people to the battlefield and to create a spirit of epic and resistance in the hearts of Iraqi citizens against anything of an Iranian nature. In the meantime, the Ministry of Intelligence and its affiliated institutions played an active role in fanning the flames of sedition. The Baath regime persistently tried to present Iran, not Israel and America, as the enemy of the Arab nation, while Iraqi citizens considered Iran a Muslim country and a neighbor.

Before the war began, there was a preparatory phase that included measures to entice the military, such as increasing salaries and giving them material and moral privileges. The Baathists succeeded in provoking the army to participate in this battle largely, but after some time had passed since the war began and many losses and calamities had occurred, many of the behind-the-scenes truths became clear to the military, and the main motivation for participating in the war became weaker and weaker. This was where the regime needed other effective factors in addition to its justifications for starting the war. The army and government commanders felt that as the burden of the war became heavier in favor of the Iranians, they needed to create a balance between the Iraqi and Iranian armies so that they could defend their goals and existence. In this regard, many material, moral, and propaganda measures were devised to breathe the spirit of struggle into the Iraqi army once again. Here are some examples of these measures.

1- Equipping the army:

Before the war, the equipment of the Iraqi army, including uniforms and personal items, was manufactured in Iraq with very poor quality, but after the war, expensive foreign clothes and personal items - especially those made in Romania - were made available to the army personnel. In 1981, the personal items of the Iraqi army personnel, including hats and shoes, which were previously manufactured domestically, were purchased from abroad and made available to the military. This gave new dignity to the Iraqi military, and they were encouraged by the feeling that they were respected and cared for by the government and turned to the battlefield with greater enthusiasm. In addition, many of the items consumed in the army stores - which are considered the main market for Iraqi army personnel - were made available to the needy.

2- Cars and residential land:

Every human being naturally desires to have a house, a car and a comfortable life. The Iraqi government decided to sell fancy cars at the lowest price and in small installments to officers and non-commissioned officers. It is true that the government had made these promises to the soldiers before the war began, but in the middle of 1981, it gradually fulfilled its promises. Soldiers stationed on the front lines and those in permanent garrisons benefited from these gifts and donations.

Since obtaining a car is considered an important privilege and achievement in third world countries, the distribution of cars occupied the minds of the Iraqi soldiers. In parallel with the distribution of cars, residential land was also distributed among the soldiers. In addition, they were provided with material facilities to build houses and prepare them for residence. Granting these privileges during the war accelerated the war. For this reason, the Baathists referred to them as “Saddam’s blessings of Qadisiyyah.” The regime wanted to tell Iraqis that if it were not for the war, they would not have this car and house. These things distracted people from worldly affairs and caused them to forget about war, death, the afterlife, and future generations.

3- Exemption from queues:

Before and during the war, citizens would stand in long lines for hours in front of government buildings to receive rations and construction materials. Saddam Hussein issued a law exempting soldiers from standing in such lines. As a result, their needs were met quickly and with special respect. The military, who considered this an achievement for themselves, forced the people to encourage their children not to run away from the army and the front, so as not to lose these privileges.

4- Fuels:

After the war, fuels, especially kerosene and gas, became scarce and the government was forced to ration their distribution. Gas was only distributed in the centers of large cities, and small amounts of kerosene were sent to small towns. Each family received 18 liters of oil after paying for water and electricity. However, each soldier was given 20 liters of oil and a gas cylinder without a turn in return for presenting a leave card. Of course, if the government had distributed fuels fairly, there would have been no shortage, but the unfair distribution created a false crisis that the government exploited to give false privileges to the soldiers. Before the war, the price of a gas cylinder was 400 fils, which increased to one dinar (1,000 fils) with the outbreak of the war. Usually, the cylinders were not filled completely.

5- A gift for the wounded and the dead:

Early in the war, in 1980, the army paid 100 dinars to each wounded officer and 50 dinars to each wounded non-commissioned officer as a gift. In 1981, each wounded officer was given 500 dinars along with a handgun, but non-commissioned officers and soldiers were paid 300 dinars. This turned the battlefield into a lucrative trading market. The families of the dead were also given 10,000 dinars, a Toyota car, and a plot of land. The news indicated that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia paid these sums. Thousands of poor families, having lost a child in Saddam's Qadisiyah, became the owners of luxurious houses and expensive cars within a day and night. I must say with shame that some families wished that their children would be killed on the front so that they could own houses and cars. These generous gifts caused many problems among the family members of the killed - due to their conflicts over inheritance. In addition, due to the lack of familiarity of the soldiers and the families of the killed with the principles of driving, the number of accidents increased, and through this, car repair people made a lot of profit. Therefore, those car owners paid 5 dinars for a hammer blow. The repair people, taking these amounts, said that these were blessings from Saddam's Qadisiyah.

To be continued…