Mashriq (Manifest Destiny)
Mashriq, officially the Ba'athist Republic of Mashriq, is a Middle Eastern nation which occupies the majority of Mesopotamia and northern Levant. It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Jabal Druze to the southeast, Arabia to the south, and Israel, Alawia, and Lebanon to the southwest. Cyprus lies to the west across the Mediterranean Sea. It is a unitary republic the # governorates. The modern day nation gains its roots following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War II, in which the British established a colonial presence in the area. Iraq became a republic in 1958 following the overthrow of the British-backed monarchy. Since 1979, the nation has been under rule of Saddam Hussein and the Ba'ath Party.
Using the nation's oil wealth, Hussein has developed one of the largest armed forces of the world. In the 1990s, Iraq used its wealth to expand its nuclear and space programs. With backing from the Soviet Union and neighboring Syria, Iraq established a settlement on Venus in 2003. Despite revolutions breaking out in the Arab World, Iraq remains under the control of Hussein.
In 1963, the Pan-Arab / socialist Ba'ath Party seized control of both Syria and Iraq. While in our timeline coups and political feuds prevented the two countries from accomplishing their aim of merging together, in this timeline the leaders of the Ba'ath movement, al-Bitar and Aflaq, make wise political decisions. A union gets off the ground and over the years grows closer a closer.
Saddam Hussein, an enforcer for the Ba'ath Party, eventually rises to power. Like Stalin to Lenin, Saddam builds upon the work of his predecessors by forging a totalitarian Ba'athist state with him at the head of a cult of personality. Using the nation's oil wealth, Hussein has developed one of the largest armed forces of the world. In the 1990s, Iraq used its wealth to expand its nuclear and space programs. Despite revolutions breaking out in the Arab World, Mashriq remains under the control of Hussein. He rules over Mashriq for 40 years before dying of old age in 2022.