Review Britain’s Informal Empire In The Middle East, A Case Study of Iraq 1929-1941

 Silverfarb, Daniel, Britain’s Informal Empire In The Middle East, A Case Study of Iraq 1929-1941, New York Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986

 

Daniel Silverfarb’s Britain’s Informal Empire In The Middle East, A Case Study of Iraq 1929-1941 is about how England tried indirect rule in Iraq from the 1920s-30s and failed which led to the 1941 Anglo-Iraq War. Britain agreed to Iraqi independence in 1932 hoping that it could preserve its interests. Instead several issues such as air bases, minorities, Arab nationalism, Kuwait, and the economy caused increasing tensions. Silverfarb presents a very detailed argument mostly based upon British government documents about how the UK's measures actually divided the two countries and led to war.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 31 Upon invitation of Barzani Saddam invaded Irbil to attack the PUK

 

(Rudaw)

1922 Gertrude Bell wrote King Faisal telling him he was vain and weak

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell And Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell, Explorer of the Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq movie review Letters from Baghdad)

(Musings On Iraq review Desert Queen, The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia)

Security In Iraq Aug 22-28, 2023

Security in Iraq remained stable during the third week of August. There were just two security incidents, the same figure as the previous two weeks. That was the 29^th straight week that incidents were in single digits and the 31^st of 32 weeks during the year.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 30 US govt report PM Maliki govt full of corruption and human rights abuses

(Wikipedia)

 1919 War Min Churchill wrote that half the British forces in Mesopotamia should be sent home

(Musings On Iraq Churchill In His Own Words On Mesopotamia/Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Churchill’s Folly, How Winston Churchill Created Modern Iraq)

Iraq Signs Aspirational Deal To Import Natural Gas From Turkmenistan Sometime In The Future

(Wikimedia)

In August Iraq announced that it signed a preliminary deal to import natural gas from Turkmenistan. This is supposed to lesson dependency upon Iranian gas which is used to fuel Iraq’s power plants. The problem is there is no infrastructure connecting the two countries and Tehran will likely be opposed.

This Day In Iraqi History – Aug 29 SCIRI head Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim killed by Zarqawi in Najaf bombing 125 dead 500 wounded

 

(CBS)

1922 Turkish troops testing border with Iraq attacked Rania in Sulaymaniya

Sudani Govt Wants To Make Iraq More Oil Dependent

(Essam  Al-Sudani)

Every Iraqi government since 2003 has followed the same script when it comes to the economy. They give lip service to wanting to diversify the economy and promote the private sector. No real effort is ever put into those goals. All Baghdad really does is continue its plans to develop the petroleum sector so that the most oil dependent country in the world becomes even more reliant.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 28 Iraq annexed Kuwait as 19th province

(Britannica)

 

1920 UK supply ships arrived at UK garrison in Samawa that had been devastated by rebel attacks

during 1920 Revolt

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 27 Iraq denied Assyrian massacre which killed 600 people and destroyed 60 villages

 

1920 British forced to withdraw from Shatra during 1920 Revolt British were able to retake

Baquba from tribes

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 26 Saddam ordered shelling of Iranian border looking for excuse to invade

(Biography)

 

1920 War Min Churchill wrote PM George that he thought reinforcements would lead to victory

in 1920 Revolt

(Musings On Iraq Churchill In His Own Words On Mesopotamia/Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Churchill’s Folly, How Winston Churchill Created Modern Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

Review My Memoirs, Half a Century of the History of Iraq and the Arab Cause

Al-Suwaydi, Tawfiq, My Memoirs, Half a Century of the History of Iraq and the Arab Cause, Boulder, London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2013

 

Tawfiq al-Suwaidi was one of Iraq’s first politicians agitating for Iraqi independence during the Ottoman period and then serving in the government under the British and monarchy. He was prime minister three times and advisor and foreign minister under other administrations. My Memoirs, Half a Century of the History of Iraq and the Arab Cause was his autobiography. Its main themes were the belief in British hegemony over Iraq, pan-Arabism, opposition to militarism, Communism, and Zionism, and how a small group of politicians ran the country. His book is important because it explains the views of the Iraqi elite who formed the country.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 25 British invaded Iran from Iraq after Shah refused to expel Germans

(WikiMedia)

1914 British admiralty ordered 2 ships to be sent to Shatt al-Arab to block Ottoman

supplies and ground forces and to protect oil interests in Persia

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq In World War I, From Ottoman Rule to British Conquest)

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 24 Ayatollah Khomeini said Iran would fight until Saddam deposed

(Wikipedia)

 

1922 On anniversary of King Faisal’s coronation opposition gave him a petition calling for an

assembly to draft a constitution, elections for a parliament, and independence for Iraq

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 23 UK High Commissioner for Iraq Cox led crackdown against anti-UK forces in Baghdad exiling and deporting opposition leaders

(Wikipedia)

1922 Iraqi National Party and Iraqi Awakening declaration called for protests against British and a

Shiite premier Mohammed al-Sadr

Security In Iraq Aug 15-21, 2023

 

Today, the Islamic State is largely dormant in Iraq. During the third week of August there were only two incidents and one of them wasn’t an attack.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 22 Saddam’s son-in-law Hussein Kamil told UN Iraq ended all its WMD programs after Gulf War US and UN didn’t believe him Was telling the truth

(CNN)

 

1920 TE Lawrence wrote OpEd in Sunday Times Said UK led into trap in Mesopotamia Blamed UK

High Commissioner Wilson for bad administration that disgraced the British empire Said it was worse than Ottomans Said UK was wasting money Asked when problems would end

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 21 Faisal coronated as 1st king of Iraq

(Wikimedia)

 

1916 UK parliamentary inquiry began into defeat at Kut

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 20 Iran-Iraq War ended

(Getty Images)

 

1924 Umma Party formed Mostly made up of lawyers

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 19 Al Qaeda in Iraq bombed UN HQ in Baghdad 23 killed including UN Rep de Mello

(International Crisis Group)

 

1921 UK cabinet decided Faisal would be coronated king and then Anglo-Iraq treaty drafted

(Musings On Iraq review Supremacy And Oil, Iraq, Turkey, and the Anglo-American World Order, 1918-1930)

(Musings On Iraq review Imagining The Nation, Nationalism, Sectarianism and Socio-Political Conflict in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Empires of the Sand, The Struggle For Mastery In The Middle East 1789-1923)

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 18 Army held victory parade for massacring Assyrians Made Gen Sidqi national hero

(Wikipedia)

 

1933 Iraqi army held victory parade and given award by Prince Ghazi for massacring Assyrians

in north Total 60 villages looted and destroyed Around 600 killed

(Musings On Iraq review The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Imagining The Nation, Nationalism, Sectarianism and Socio-Political Conflict in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review The Chatham House Version and other Middle-Eastern Studies)

Review Flowers Of Flame, Unheard Voices of Iraq

Mohammed, Sadek, Najm, Soheil, Al-Kabi, Haider, Veach, Dan, Edited by, Flowers Of Flame, Unheard Voices of Iraq, East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2008

 

Flowers Of Flame, Unheard Voices of Iraq is a collection of poems by Iraqis from the 1990s-2000s. As the editors noted they deal with “injustice, war, isolation, alienation, exile, poverty, the will to live in the face of death, and the yearning for beauty.” At first the pieces focus upon the violence during the U.S. occupation but then expand to other topics such as love, dreams, the desire for freedom, and more. It’s a very short read that showed war and deprivation couldn’t stop art.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 17 PM Sulaiman resigned over threat of military revolt by Pan-Arab officers

(Wikipedia)

 

1920 Ex-Ottoman Iraqi officers asked Shiite clergy for money Were rejected by Sayid Tabikh who

called the officers mercenaries

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 16 KDP founded as alliance between urban intellectuals led by Hamza Abdullah and tribal forces of Mulla Mustafa Barzani

 

1915 Aziz Ali al-Misri leader of secret Arab society al-Ahd met with UK military intel

officer in Cairo Talked about his idea of Arab revolt in Iraq and Syria that he wanted UK to back Officer turned him down

Security In Iraq Aug 8-14, 2023

In 2023 the Islamic State is barely operating in Iraq anymore. The second week of August was another example with barely any violence.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 15 King Faisal demanded full power from British

(Bettmann)

 1920 UK PM George wrote that French objected to Faisal becoming king of Iraq George and

French both thought he was weak leader

(Musings On Iraq review Empires of the Sand, The Struggle For Mastery In The Middle East 1789-1923)

Comparing Surveys of Iraqi Deaths During The War

2023 marked the twenty year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Some articles mentioned the possible Iraqi death toll using sources such as the 2007 Opinion Research Business survey that estimated over one million killed. Professor Michael Spagat of the Royal Holloway College has been a longtime observer of surveys on Iraqi casualties and released a paper comparing the major reports on the topic. Out of six surveys and the Iraq Body Count he found that four of them closely followed each other while three were outliers and not credible.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 14 Referendum on Faisal approved him as king of Iraq

(Wikipedia)

 

1921 Referendum finished that picked Faisal as king British fixed results

(Musings On Iraq review Empires of the Sand, The Struggle For Mastery In The Middle East 1789-1923)

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 13 UK Foreign Min Balfour said one goal of WWI in Mesopotamia was to gain oil

(Al Jazeera)

 

1918 UK Foreign Min Balfour said 1 war aim was to secure agreement over Mesopotamia to secure

            oil there

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 12 1920 Revolt spread to Fallujah During Saddam era claimed this was start of revolt

 

1919 Churchill wrote PM Lloyd George saying were too many troops in Mesopotamia that

could crush its finances

(Musings On Iraq Churchill In His Own Words On Mesopotamia/Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Inventing Iraq: The Failure of Nation Building and a History Denied)

(Musings On Iraq review Churchill’s Folly, How Winston Churchill Created Modern Iraq)

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 11 Iraqi army led by Gen Sidqi attacked Assyrians in 2 villages 315 Assyrians killed

(Wikipedia)

1918 UK Foreign Sec Balfour War in Mespotamia should be justified by securing water that would

also give it control of oil Balfour’s statement prompted PM Lloyd George to call for UK to seize Ottoman Mosul province

(Musings On Iraq How The Ottoman Province Of Mosul Became Part Of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review The Chatham House Version and other Middle-Eastern Studies)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

Review Debriefing the President: The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein

Nixon, John, Debriefing the President: The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein, New York: Blue Rider Press, 2016

 

John Nixon was part of a CIA team that was the first to debrief Saddam Hussein after his capture in December 2003. In Debriefing the President: The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein Nixon writes about what kind of person Saddam was, the issues he had with interviewing him, the range of topics they covered and then his criticism of how the Agency and the Bush administration dealt with the Iraq War. Nixon has a very easy writing style allowing the reader to quickly go through and digest the book. His main thesis was that the United States completely misunderstood Saddam which was part of a larger problem of never comprehending Iraq.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 10 Treaty of Sevres Began break-up of Ottoman Empire Mesopotamia went to UK

 

1920 Treaty of Sevres started break-up of Ottoman Empire after WW I Ceded Mesopotamia to UK

Included call for Kurdish state Full protection for Assyrians Turkey rejected treaty and claimed Mosul province citing Madrid armistice

(Musings On Iraq interview with Princeton’s Sara Pursley on Sykes-Picot and creation of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review The Creation of Iraq 1914-1921)

(Musings On Iraq review Supremacy And Oil, Iraq, Turkey, and the Anglo-American World Order, 1918-1930)

(Musings On Iraq review The Great Betrayal, How America Abandoned The Kurds And Lost The Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)

(Musings On Iraq review The Chatham House Version and other Middle-Eastern Studies)

(Musings On Iraq review Turkey, the US and Iraq)

Security In Iraq Aug 1-7, 2023

The Islamic State remained barely active in Iraq during the start of August. There were just four security incidents reported from August 1-7. That was the 26^th straight week in 2023 with single digit security incidents. Only one week during the year has there been double digit attacks.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 9 Iraq held victory celebration for end of Iran-Iraq War

(National Interest)

 

1914 US consulate report Martial law declared in Baghdad Vilayet would provide 15,000

recruits for war Ottomans called on all Muslims to serve

World Bank Warns Iraq’s Economy Inherently Unstable

Most international reports on Iraq’s economy follow a similar pattern. They lay out the current situation, have something rosy to say about the future and then adds a suggestion for change which has no connection to the country’s political realities. The World Bank issued a paper which is decidedly pessimistic in outlook and warns that the nation’s lack of reform and oil dependency will have long term negative consequences.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 8 Iraqi army executed captured Assyrians Looted villages along with Kurds

 

1920 TE Lawrence wrote piece for Observer newspaper criticizing UK for trying to block self govt

in Iraq Said UK wasting money and solution was to get rid of chief political officer Wilson and set up a more efficient administration

New U.S. Report Says Islamic State Only Concerned With Surviving

The latest quarterly report on Operation Inherent Resolve to the United States Congress has just been released. It says that the Islamic State is degraded in both Iraq and Syria and its sole focus is upon survival.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 7 US sent troops to Saudi Arabia after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait

(Britannica)

 

1933 Kurds began attacking and killing Assyrians in Dohuk and Zakho

(Musings On Iraq review The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 6 Captured Assyrians were executed by Iraqi army

 

1920 UK Cabinet decided to send Sir Percy Cox to Baghdad to help deal with 1920 Revolt

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 5 Pres Bush said Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait would not stand

 

1933 Iraqi army swept through Jebel Behkair executed any Assyrians found

(Musings On Iraq review The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

Review Iraqi Jews, A History of Mass Exodus

Shiblak, Abbas, Iraqi Jews, A History of Mass Exodus, London: SAQI, 2005

 

Abbas Shibak’s Iraqi Jews, A History of Mass Exodus is a short history of the Jewish migration from Iraq to Israel in the 1950s. The author believes the creation of Israel in 1948 and the Iraqi government’s wish to suppress forces pushing for democratic change created an environment of instability for Iraqi Jews that led them to leave their country. By 1953 almost the entire community was gone.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 4 French deported Assyrians from Syria who then attacked Iraqi army believing they were sent to kill them Captured Assyrians executed

(Assyrian Policy Institute)

 

1914 US consulate report Ottomans ordered mobilization and draft in Baghdad

Iraq Sees Highest Oil Revenue Of 2023 In July

Iraq benefited from a jump in oil prices in July. That led to the highest petroleum revenue of the year.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 3 IS took Sinjar starting Yazidi genocide

(Fikra Forum)

 

1922 New cabinet formed under PM Abd al-Rahman al-Gaylani

Violence In Iraq Continues To Decline For 3rd Month

July was the third month that activity by the Islamic State declined in Iraq. The group is barely operating in the country anymore. On the other hand, the consensus amongst the factions within the ruling Coordination Framework broke down and there were two attacks on U.S. targets during the month.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 2 Iraq invaded Kuwait

(BBC)

 

1914 Ottomans signed alliance with Germany that would bring Mesopotamia into WW1

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 1 Iraq walked out on talks with Kuwait which would lead to invasion

(Britannica)

 

1921 Gertrude Bell wrote US diplomat that England carried King Faisal on its shoulders into power

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell And Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell, Explorer of the Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq movie review Letters from Baghdad)

(Musings On Iraq review Desert Queen, The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia)