The Iraqi army was created in 1921 during the British mandate of Iraq, and by the early 1930s the Iraqi Military Academy had opened its doors to the sons of the lower middle class. From that point on, the army was the best opportunity for these youths to be educated and climb the ladder of power. Officers played a political role from those early times, and many of Iraq's different political ideologies were expressed within the army's ranks. A revolt by nationalist officers in 1941 left a deep impression on Iraq's future leader, Saddam Hussein, and its heroes became for him symbols of nationalism and bravery. Although there was no coup between 1941 and 1958, political activities never entirely ceased. The toppling of the monarchy in 1958 was followed by other coups d’état in the 1960s, and all were engineered by army officers. Thus, when the Baʿth Party returned to power in July 1968, Saddam Hussein understood the task facing his party, and coup-proofing became a top priority. In 1971, he told a British journalist that “with party methods, there is no chance for anyone who disagrees with us to jump on a couple of tanks and overthrow the government.”

Thus, at an early stage, Saddam Hussein began orchestrating how to coup-proof his regime. Throughout its first decade in power, many purges were carried out to get rid of the regime's enemies. By the early 1980s, at the ninth regional congress, this mission was clearly stated: