History of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region Soon after, the Ba'ath Party established itself as a critic of the perceived ideological inefficiencies of old Syrian nationalism. Pan-Arabism became popular among Arabs after World War II. Aflaq, the main originator of Ba'athist ideology, drew heavily from Islam and its values. He wrote that the time of Muhammad represented the ideal Arab community and that the Arabs had fallen under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and the Europeans. "Ba'ath" means "restoration", and the party's programme called for Arab restoration through modernisation. The most important influence upon Alfaq and al-Bitar was European socialism, which became the basis of their
History of the Arab–Israeli conflict into the confrontation and thereby make it difficult for Arab regimes to remain in the coalition. During the war, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and King Hussein of Jordan supported Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, while PLO chairman Yasser Arafat had allegedly received $100 million from Saddam Hussein. However, under strong pressure from the US, which feared direct Israeli involvement would threaten the unity of the coalition, Israel did not retaliate against Iraq and the multinational coalition ousted Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The defeat of Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War "was a devastating blow to ... the Palestinians." After the