page_title: Mustafa Barzani
section_title: Return from exile and Qasim
hierarchical_section_title: Mustafa Barzani / Iraq and revolutions / Return from exile and Qasim
caption_attribution_description: Mustafa Barzani and Abd al-Karim Qasim.
context_page_description: Mustafa Barzani also known as Mala Mustafa, was a Kurdish leader, and one of the most prominent political figures in modern Kurdish politics. In 1946, he was chosen as the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party to lead the Kurdish revolution against Iraqi regimes, although at times he also allied himself to the Iranian government. Barzani was the primary political and military leader of the Kurdish revolution until his death in March 1979. He led campaigns of armed struggle against both the Iraqi and Iranian governments.
context_section_description: Following the Republican coup against the Hashemite monarchy, Barzani was invited to return to Iraq by the new prime minister Abdul Karim Qasim. On October 1958, Barzani and his followers returned from the Soviet Union, and Barzani quickly established warm ties with Qasim. Qasim hoped to use Barzani as a potential ally in the power struggles in Iraq, as Qasim faced considerable resistance from more nationalist minded Arab officers and intellectuals in the country. Mustafa Barzani faced similar challenges within the KDP, with divisions rising over land reform, political position, and alliances with other parties in Iraq such as the Iraqi Communist Party. Barzani quickly asserted control over the KDP, ousting the General-Secretary Ibrahim Ahmad and replacing him with the pro-Communist Hamza Abdullah in January 1959 and cementing ties with the ICP.
  Along with the Communists, Barzani and the KDP sided with Qasim during an uprising of Ba'athists and other Arab Nationalists in Mosul in March 1959, entering into the city to fight off the insurrection. Following a riot instigated by leftists in Kirkuk in July 1959, Qasim denounced the ICP and Barzani followed suit, seeing the ICP as a rival in northern Iraq. Barzani severed ties with the party and restored Ibrahim Ahmad to his original position and elevated Jalal Talabani to the politburo during the KDP's fourth Congress in October 1959, ending the KDP's cooperation with the ICP. While welcoming towards the break with the ICP, Ahmad however still held suspicions of Barzani and his policy for the party and remained critical of his leadership.
  Qasim in time became suspicious of Barzani, worried that his increasing power in Iraqi Kurdistan could allow him to become a potential source of opposition to his power in Iraq and possibly where foreign intelligence could instigate instability in Iraq. Qasim began to capitalize on tribal divisions in the Kurdish region, focusing on those with long-time rivalries with the Barzanis such as the Zebaris and the Harki, creating tribal disputes in the autumn of 1960. Other figures within the KDP such as Ahmad and Talabani began to voice more opposition to Qasim through party publications, displeased with the lack of progress towards any autonomy for the Kurds. Qasim severed the government stipend and privileges to Barzani by early 1961, and for much of the year tensions between Barzani and Qasim grew. Qasim suspected Barzani of being a potential avenue for the British to frustrate his take over of Kuwait and increased arms to pro-government tribes to keep Barzani from becoming any stronger. On 11 September 1961, Iraqi planes began bombardments on the Kurdish region following an ambush on a military convoy, and on 24 September Qasim ordered the closure of KDP. The following December, Barzani and the KDP severed its agreements with Baghdad and entered into hostilities with the government.
  Barzani attempted to gain support from the United States, alienating many Iraqi progressives and the ICP, who felt that such a move was a betrayal for everything the KDP stood for. Barzani however managed to lead the peshmerga effectively, inflicting casualties on the military to the point that Qasim offered peace twice in November 1961 and in March 1962, both times rejected by Barzani who raised autonomy requests. Such demands were unfeasible for Qasim who knew that such a concession would damage his image, and the military campaign waged on against Barzani's rebellion.
  Through the rest of 1962, Barzani's campaign proved to cause Qasim's position in Baghdad to become increasingly unstable, and he directed the KDP into talks with the Ba'athists and Nasserists, the two factions most likely to succeed Qasim.
caption: Mustafa Barzani with Abd al-Karim Qasim
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