Iraq Improves Score On Corruption Index But Little Has Changed

  

Transparency International (TI) just released its Corruption Perceptions Index for 2025 and Iraq improved its score and standing. That was done for superficial reasons.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 11 Executive Comm of Shias manifesto said monarchy discriminated against Shiites Called on UK to remove King Faisal and empower Shiites

 

1917 British renewed attack upon Dahra bend outside Kut

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 10 Abbasids surrendered Baghdad to Mongols who then massacred population

 

1258 Abbasid Caliph Mustasim surrendered Baghdad to Mongols Residents taken to camps where they

were executed Christians and Jews spared Mongol leader Hulagu said he killed 200,000 City eventually burned

Where Is US Policy On Iraq Headed?

  

U.S. policy towards Iraq under the second Trump administration seems straight forward but it’s not. The main focus is to reduce Iran’s influence in Baghdad. Following that policy has been chaotic however as the U.S. government does not speak with one voice due to the lack of Trump’s leadership.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 9 General Qasim executed in 1963 coup

 

1915 UK fought skirmishes with Sehikh Ajaimi’s men from Montafiq Confederation in Basra

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 8 Baathist-military coup overthrew Gen Qasim

 

1922 UK Sec of War Evans wrote cabinet Iraqi army weak British military presence small

Iraq vulnerable to Turkey tribal unrest so UK should withdraw from Mosul

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 7 Report Trump said PM Abadi and Iraqis he met at White House were greatest group of thieves he’d ever met

 

1916 British withdrew from Butaniya and attacked by tribesmen British suffered 373 casualties Arabs

            1,000

Review Samuel Helfont, The Iraq Wars, A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2025

  

Samuel Helfont released his third book on Iraq entitled The Iraq Wars, A Very Short Introduction. It is a brief review of U.S.-Iraq relations from the 1990s to the 2014 war versus the Islamic State. He provides some new and interesting insights on how Iraq became a focus of American foreign policy.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 6 Bakr govt put down protests led by Dawa killing 16 Arrested 2000 including Ayatollah al-Hakim

 

1919 Gertrude Bell met with Naqib of Baghdad who said he wanted British rule in Iraq under Sir Percy Cox

Warned that Shiites should not be trusted Said didn’t want any of the Sharifan family to rule because were not from Iraq

(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 The Letters of Gertrude Bell Volumes I and II)

(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 - Feb 5 Sec State Powell gave UN speech claiming Iraq had WMD and ties to Al Qaeda

 

1914 Lord Hardinge visited Basra Assured locals that British would protect their interests Met by anti-UK

            protests in Qurna and Shaiba

Iraq Playing Chicken Over Maliki Nomination For Prime Minister

  

Iraq is currently trying to form a new government and is playing a high stakes game of chicken with the United States at the same time.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 4 Sykes-Picot Agreement approved Baghdad and Basra would’ve gone to UK Mosul to France Sharif Hussein would’ve gotten his own state

 

1916 Sykes-Picot agreement approved by UK Foreign Office Gave Baghdad and Basra vilayets to UK

            Mosul to France Included 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)

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 3 Blair govt issued report on Iraq’s deception campaign to hide its WMD Turned out it was plagiarized from a college student’s paper

 

1915 India Viceroy Lord Hardinge said UK should take Basra to control Persian Gulf and

make it second Egypt

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 2 PM Sadr said new Anglo-Iraq Treaty would not be ratified due to opposition Came after 1000s protested against it

 

1920 General Haldane made commander in Iraq Told to draw down troops to save money for London

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

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 1 Reagan envoy Rumsfeld met Saddam 2nd time to improve US-Iraq relations during Iran-Iraq War

 

1917 British attacked Hai River salient 2^nd time outside Kut Failed again