Hussein joined the military, and graduated from the Iraqi Military Academy in 1962 with a Bachelor's in military science. He graduated from the Iraqi Joint Staff College in 1968 with a master's degree in military science. He also later received a PhD in the same field.
Iran–Iraq War In September 1980, Iraqi forces launched an invasion of southern
Iran. Though initially successful, in 1981 Iran launched a counteroffensive, and by 1982 had regained most of the territory lost. In July 1982, Iran invaded southern Iraq, targeting the city of
Basra. Rashid was authorized to expand the Republican Guard to the size of an armored division. During his early years of command, the Guard would be expanded to 16 brigades of 30,000 men, and by 1988 the Republican Guard had reached the size of 25 brigades and a total manpower of 103,000 men. Although Saddam Hussein was the nominal commander, Rashid was the actual commander on the ground, albeit reporting directly to Saddam. Rashid was later in charge of the successful counter-offensives in 1988. Regarding operations within
Kurdistan, Rashid desired a greater emphasis on this part of the campaign, and noted that the Iranians held an advantage in small covert units due to the northern region being "ideal for this type of operation". However, Saddam wished to focus on the southern front of the country, in order to convey to the Iranians that their goal of taking Basra was an impossibility. It was during the
Anfal Campaign between 1987 and 1988 that Rashid was accused, along with many other generals, for crimes against humanity against the Kurdish populations, with over 182,000 Kurdish men, women, and children murdered, partially with chemical weapons. In July 1988, with Iraq continually making territorial gains, Iran and Iraq agreed to accept a United Nations-brokered ceasefire under Security Council Resolution 598. The war ended formally on 20 August 1988.
Gulf War Iraq invaded
Kuwait in August 1990, and tensions mounted through 1991. Shortly after the invasion, Rashid was appointed by Saddam Hussein as the new
Iraqi Army Chief of Staff, after Hussein had fired the previous one. By 26 February, Iraqi forces had fled
Kuwait City. The performance by Rashid and his staff during the war was seen by analyst Pollack as a "very creditable performance given what they had to work with", but that the error fell on Hussein and his insistence to fight the coalition rather than negotiate a way out of Kuwait.
Post Gulf War period After the war, Rashid was removed from his position as Chief of Staff, afterward once again made commander of the Republican Guard, and served as a special military advisor to Saddam Hussein. Rashid was involved in the suppression of the
1991 Shi'i uprising, for which he would later be accused of war crimes.
2003 invasion of Iraq By 2003, Rashid was secretary-general of the Armed Forces Command, and part of Saddam Hussein's "inner circle" that planned a defense in the face of a potential attack from the United States and her allies. ==Iraqi Special Tribunal==