Thursday, Feb. 14, 1963
University Daily Kansan
Page 5
Soviet Technicians Pose Iraqi Dilemma
BAGHDAD, Iraq — (UPI)— Hundreds of Soviet military technicians brought in by deposed Premier Abdel Karim Kassem posed a serious dilemma today for the anti-Communist leaders of the new rebel regime of Iraq.
Rebel Forces and heavily armed civilian "national guards" appeared to have succeeded in wiping out resistance by Iraqi Communists in Baghdad and other major cities.
But there was the question of what to do about the reported 1,500 Soviet military men sent to Iraq by the Kremlin at the request of Kasssem to instruct Iraqi armed forces in the use of Russian-made weapons and equipment.
The Soviet Union already has recognized the new regime headed by President Col. Abdel Salam Aref.
Kassem's armed forces were equipped almost entirely with Soviet-made equipment, including tanks, artillery and planes. The Kremlin also was reported to have provided Kassem with short-range missiles although this had not been confirmed.
The rebels turned the Soviet-
made weapons against Kassem and
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Western experts pointed out that withdrawal or expulsion of the Soviet technicians would leave the regime with the major problem of maintenance of the Russian-made equipment.
his supporters last Friday. Waves of MIG jet fighters pounded into ruins Kassem's Defense Ministry stronghold, leading to his capture and execution.
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Communist bloc economic and technical missions also came to Iraq at Kassem's request. They were believed to have taken shelter
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in their embassies during the fight-in.
But not even Aref's picture has been displayed around Baghdad. Neither has President Gamal Abdel Nasser's, even though the new regime is friendly toward the U.A.R. leader.
the future of the Soviet technicians, however, was only one of two matters which has caused widespread speculation.
The leaders, said to be all junior grade officers up to the grade of captain, named Aref as provisional president.
Western diplomats said they were puzzled by the mystery about the leaders of the revolt.
It is still unclear who led the actual coup that toppled Kassim after $4^{1 / 2}$ years in power. No pictures of the top secret "national revolutionary council" have been circulated.
"The leadership is virtually unknown and no embassies here have biographical details," one western diplomat said.
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