Review Brennan Morton, Valhalla Boys, Marine Recon Sniper in Iraq, Casemate, 2025

Morton, Brennan, Valhalla Boys, Marine Recon Sniper in Iraq, Casemate, 2025

 

Valhalla Boys by Brennan Morton is unique for a firsthand account by U.S. troops serving in Iraq. That’s because the author has a real literary flair and most of his writing focuses upon him reflecting upon his experiences instead of just explaining his day to day routine. In fact it starts with Morton talking about how he read what people like Hemmingway, Heller and Vonnegut said about war and ends with him responding to them. They warned that war could darken a person’s soul and that’s what happened to the author.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 31 Badr and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq blamed for retaliatory attacks in Diyala after bombing Killed civilians destroyed Sunni mosques and shops Told Sunnis they had to leave

 

1937 Jewish Agency sent 2 emissaries to Iraq Met with leading officials who criticized pan-

Arabism

Iraq Continues To Suffer From Drought Into 2025

Iraq’s Agriculture Ministry reported that drought continued in the country.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 30 Iraq held elections for parliament to write new post-Saddam constitution

 

1927 1^st student strike in Iraq over Lebanese teacher writing book which attacked Shiites

Teacher fired and book banned Students called for freedom of speech and teacher be reinstated Broken up by fire dept and police Al-Ahali leaders arrested

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Democratic Moment)

(Musings On Iraq review The Modern History of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Red Star Over Iraq, Iraqi Communism Before Saddam)

(Musings On Iraq A History Of The Iraqi Communist Party Interview With Univ of East Anglia’s Johan Franzen)

Iraq Presents 2023 Changes In Poverty/Unemployment As New Progress

On January 27 Iraq’s Planning Ministry reported progress in fighting inequality in the country. It said that unemployment dropped from 16% to 14% and poverty went down from 23% to 17%. It claimed this was the result of the government promoting the private sector, new laws to help workers and the expansion of social security. 

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 29 Ex-Iraq Survey Group head Kay told Bush Saddam wanted Iraqis to believe Iraq still had WMD to prevent revolts by Kurds and Shiites

 

1917 British captured Ottoman fort at Khadairi Bend in campaign to recapture Kut

Iraq Still Discussing Future Of Iraqi Resistance Factions

What to do about the pro-Iran Iraqi Islamic Resistance is still a hot topic in Baghdad. This discussion is motivated by fears of what the new Trump administration will do to Iraq for its ties to Iran.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 28 UK claimed Mosul province which it took after WWI ended

 

1918 Cpt Marshall made UK governor of Najaf Cut off all stipends to city to punish it for attacks on UK

            troops Fired entire police force Demanded weapons be turned in

Iraq Gives Amnesty For Those Involved In $2.5 Bil Theft Of The Century

Every Iraqi administration claims that it is fighting corruption and yet nothing of substance is ever done. The latest example of this occurred in January when parliament passed a new amnesty law which exempted some of the most prominent figures in the Theft of the Century.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 27 300-400 killed by police protesting against Anglo-Iraq Treaty

 

1925 League of Nations Commission on Mosul arrived in province to protests Was to

determine who would get Mosul Iraq or Turkey Commission interviewed hundreds of locals and mapped economy land trade routes ethnicities

(Musings On Iraq review The Modern History of Iraq)

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

Musings On Iraq In The News

I was quoted in this article “Iraq is a key test of Trump’s willingness to counter Iran” by Paul Iddon in Business Insider.

 

For all of Musings On Iraq’s citations click here.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 26 Saddam ordered most of Iraqi Air Force to fly to Iran to save it from Gulf War Never got planes back

 

1941 Cabinet met and decided to force PM Gaylani to resign He refused PM asked Golden Square

officers to resolve dispute Regent said he would pick PM Told military to stay out of politics

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 25 Sadrists began attacks on protesters after Sadr withdrew his support for them

 

866 Battle of Baghdad ended Mutazz announced as new Abbasid caliph Rival Mustain exiled to Hijaz but

later executed

Review Charles Townshend, Desert Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2011

Townshend, Charles, Desert Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2011

 

Charles Townshend’s Desert Hell is one of the better books about the British campaign in Mesopotamia during World War I. It not only covers the military side but the politics as well up to the creation of the British Mandate in Iraq after the war. His main thesis is that the war and the formation of Iraq were dysfunctional from the start because there was no political or military strategy behind them.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 24 Report Iraq bought fake bomb detectors for around $40,000 each Govt investigation claimed they worked when they didn’t

 

1969 Former MP Bajari during spy trial claimed opposition leaders were trying to overthrow Pres Bakr’s

govt

Campaign Against Protesters In Dhi Qar

Al Mada reported that authorities in Dhi Qar continue to persecute activists over the 2019 protest movement. Dozens have been arrested and others are facing lawsuits over their activities.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 23 Iraq Survey Group head Kay resigned Said didn’t think Iraq had any WMD

 

1920 British cabinet decided Iraqi oil would be developed by a public company Foreign Secretary Curzon

overturned decision

(Musings On Iraq review The Modern History of Iraq)

Security In Iraq Jan 15-21, 2025

The Islamic State remains dormant in Iraq during the new year. Some old ordinance exploded leading to casualties and there was a clash with the security forces during a security sweep in January.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 22 Iraq set fire to 700 Kuwaiti oil wells during Gulf War

 

1921 Gertrude Bell wrote that British officers in Mosul province thought they could convince Kurds to

vote for Faisal as king in referendum They didn’t

(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)

(Musings On Iraq review A Quest in the Middle East, Gertrude Bell and the Making of Modern Iraq)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 21 Trump said if US had taken Iraq’s oil IS might not have been created Said US still had chance to take Iraq’s oil

 

1916 Battle of Hanna Defile British attacked Ottomans but failed 2,741 British casualties

Was defeat in British effort to relieve siege at Kut

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 20 Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance created to run Iraq 2 months before war

 

1915 UK troops and ships attacked Turks and Arabs in Ruta Creek, Basra Turned back Did wound Ottoman

commander in Basra who was sent to Baghdad

(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 - Jan 19 Mulla Mustafa Barzani met with Iraqi and Iranian Kurds in USSR to discuss pan-Kurdish movement

 

1915 Ottoman governor of Baghdad wrote US consulate that British were distributing money to clerics in

Najaf and Karbala

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 18 UN inspectors said no WMD found at sites listed by US

 

1915 US consulate report UK forces in Basra under constant harassment by tribes

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 17 Saddam ordered missile strikes on Israel during Gulf War

 

1913 US consul in Baghdad wrote if British took Mesopotamia there would be little resistance because

public so apathetic

Review Lisa Blaydes, State Of Repression, Iraq Under Saddam Hussein, Princeton University Press, 2018

Blaydes, Lisa, State Of Repression, Iraq Under Saddam Hussein, Princeton University Press, 2018

 

Lisa Blaydes’ State Of Repression, Iraq Under Saddam Hussein takes new approaches to analyzing the rule of the Baath Party and Saddam Hussein. Like recent books it argues that the Baath and Saddam ruled through a combination of carrots and sticks. What the author focuses upon is how those two approaches formed political identities in the country. She argues that those parts of Iraqi society that were easily penetrated by the state faced more nuanced acts of repression while those that were more difficult suffered collective punishment which led to new political communities being formed.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 16 Op Desert Storm to expel Iraq from Kuwait started

 

1943 Iraq declared war on Axis

(Musings On Iraq review Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 15 1948 Anglo-Iraq Treaty signed Led to major protests in Iraq

 

1915 Sir Percy Cox reported some Arab sheikhs had given up ties with UK and joined Turks following

calls for jihad

Future Of Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi?

The fall of the Assad regime in Syria along with the incoming Trump administration is leading the Iraqi political class and Iran to question the future of the Hashd al-Shaabi.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 14 Election Comm approved banning 511 candidates from 2010 election for Baathist ties Accountability & Justice Comm said more candidates and lists should be banned

 

1928 Abdul Sadoun became PM for 3^rd of 4 times Replaced Askari who was forced to resign over

opposition to his conscription plan for army Sadoun compromise between King and England to try to get Anglo-Iraq Treaty passed

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

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq Between the Two World Wars, The Militarist Origins of Tyranny)

What Happened With Iraq’s Axis of Resistance And The Fall Of The Syrian Regime?

The fall of the Assad government in December 2024 has sent shockwaves through Iraq. It was a major loss for the pro-Iran Hashd known as the Islamic Resistance who’d gone there in 2011 at the direction of Iran to support Damascus and used the country to launch attacks upon American forces stationed there and Israel. That raises the question of why the Resistance didn’t put up a major fight to try to preserve the regime.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 13 Sec State Powell told Bush if he invaded Iraq would have to run the country

 

1843 Baghdad Gov Najib attacked Karbala to take it from gangs that ran town aligned with merchants and

clerics Slaughtered large number of inhabitants

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 12 Churchill said Faisal might be best man to be king of Iraq

 

866 Papers of Abbasid Caliph Mutasin’s resignation signed

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 11 Mongol siege of Baghdad began Would kill entire population of city

 

1258 Mongols began siege of Baghdad Would eventually kill the entire population of the

city

Review Imad Khadduri, Iraq’s Nuclear Mirage, Memoirs And Delusions, Springhead Publishers, 2003

Khadduri, Imad, Iraq’s Nuclear Mirage, Memoirs And Delusions, Springhead Publishers, 2003

 

Imad Khadduri worked on Iraq’s nuclear program amongst other government duties. His Iraq’s Nuclear Mirage is a memoir of his life in Iraq and eventual escape to Canada.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 10 3 Iraqi exiles told Bush US forces would be greeted with sweets and flowers if they invaded Iraq

 

1917 British failed at 2^nd attack upon Ottomans at Khadairi Bend outside Kut

5 Month Decline In Iraq's Oil Exports

Iraq saw the paradox of declining oil exports but an increase in revenue in December.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 9 Qasim refused to legalize Communist Party even though it was his biggest supporter

 

1916 British took Shaikh Saad after Ottomans retreated but not before inflicting heavy

British casualties

Review Of Security In Iraq 2024

2024 saw the further decline of the Islamic State into obscurity in Iraq while the pro-Iran Iraqi Islamic Resistance launched a campaign against Israel for its war in Gaza but stopped operations in December due to foreign pressure.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 8 Churchill said Arab govt should be formed in Iraq because too expensive for UK to maintain control of Mesopotamia

 

866 Abbasid Caliph Mutasin deposed by his adviser Ibn Tahir

Iran Cuts Natural Gas Exports To Iraq For A Month

In Late November Iran cut its natural gas exports to Iraq due to maintenance work. The later depends upon the gas to fuel many of its power plants. It was only supposed to last 15 days but the outage is going to continue into early January costing the country a huge amount of electricity as a result.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 7 Iran fired missiles at Anbar and Irbil in retaliation for deaths of Gen Suleimani and Abu Muhandis

 

866 Ibn Tahir negotiated deal to split revenues of Baghdad with Samarra and depose Abbasid Caliph

Mutasin in return

Dec Sees Insurgent Violence In Iraq But No Actual Attacks By The Islamic State

There were several violent incidents in Iraq involving the Islamic State during December but none of them were actual attacks by the organization.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 6 Accountability and Justice Comm banned 511 candidates from election for Baathist ties Part of Shiite parties effort to make election about Baathists

 

1909 Riots in Mosul killed Sheikh Said Sufi leader in Sulaymaniya Led his followers to

revolt cutting off trade in northern Mosul province

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 5 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq’s Khazali released from prison in US-UK-Iraq deal to get release of British worker AAH kidnapped

 

1909 Riot in Mosul after Kirkuk soldier insulted a woman Organized by elites opposed to

Ottoman reforms 60 killed

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 4 Gen Qasim gave up claims to Kuwait

 

1916 British attacked Shaikh Saad in campaign to relieve troops trapped at Kut Turned back

by Ottomans 600 British casualties

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 3 US killed Hashd leader Abu Muhandis and Iran’s Quds Force cmdr Gen Suleimani in Baghdad for rocket attacks on US personnel in Iraq

 

1916 Sykes and Picot drafted deal on dividing Ottoman Empire Baghdad and Basra vilayets

would go to UK Mosul to France Would also include independent Arab state for Sharif Hussein

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

(Musings On Iraq review U.S. Policy In Post-Saddam Iraq)

Review Scott Huesing, Echo In Ramadi, The Firsthand Story Of U.S. Marines In Iraq’s Deadliest City, Regnery History, 2018

Huesing, Scott, Echo In Ramadi, The Firsthand Story Of U.S. Marines In Iraq’s Deadliest City, Regnery History, 2018

 

Echo In Ramadi by Scott Huesing who was the commander of Echo Company of the 4^th Marine Regiment in Anbar from 2006-07 provides what was probably a common view of Iraq by many American troops. He thought their main job was hunting down insurgents and killing them. Anything else was largely a distraction. He didn’t believe in working with Iraqis and had general contempt for the Iraqi government. Most of his book is committed to explaining what it was like to lead Marines.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 2 ISIS seized control of Fallujah in aftermath of PM Maliki shutting down Anbar protests

 

1915 Suleiman Bey took over Iraq Command for Ottomans Called on Arab sheikhs to join war against

British and planned on retaking Basra

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 1 After PM Maliki shut down Anbar protest sites ISI destroyed police stations in Ramadi and Fallujah as insurgency made its return

 

1914 UK set out from Qurna, Basra north Found Tigris River had been blocked Gunboats

couldn’t follow Forced UK to retreat back to Qurna

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