The long Iran-Iraq war from 1980-88 saw terrible losses on both sides. But when it ended the regime of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad still had powerful forces at its disposal, the most important being the eight divisions of the Republican Guard.
Two years on, in August 1990, these elite divisions were held back during Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait, which brought the regime into confrontation with a strong United States-led coalition of states. Saddam's calculation was that the Republican Guard would be needed to defend Baghdad if the Americans decided to extend the war and terminate the regime. In the event the bombardment launched in January 1991 expelled the Iraqis from Kuwait but allowed the regime enough leeway to survive. This was followed by years of economic sanctions and pressures, as well as United Nations inspections of its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programmes.
During the 1990s, the core elements of Iraq's army were reorganised. The most loyal members of the Republican Guard were consolidated into a much smaller elite force, the Special Republican Guard, comprising four brigades - around 12,000 troops overall, compared with the original 80,000 strength of the Republican Guard. They were also known as the Golden Brigades, and drawn primarily from Iraq's Sunni minority, including many from Anbar province west of Baghdad.
