Review George Tenet, At the Center of the Storm, My Years at the CIA, Harper Collins, 2007

  

George Tenet was the director of the Central Intelligence Agency under Presidents Clinton and Bush. He eventually resigned because of the controversy over Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. His book At The Center of the Storm is very interesting because it shows that he was very sensitive about his time at the Agency with several chapters responding to criticisms of his tenure.

Islamic State Shows Some Activity In Iraq In Sep 2025

 

The Islamic State showed a little bit of life in Iraq in September 2025. After just 1 incident in August there were 3 in September. One was an old explosive and another was a bomb going off which meant there were only 2 actual attacks during the month. That is about all the insurgency is capable of as it has collapsed.

Islamic State Makes A Rare Appearance In Iraq In August

 

The Islamic State has largely disappeared from Iraq. In August it made a rare appearance.

Review Richard Engel, A Fist In The Hornet’s Nest, On The Ground In Baghdad Before, During & After The War, Hyperion, 2004

Engel, Richard, A Fist In The Hornet’s Nest, On The Ground In Baghdad Before, During & After The War, Hyperion, 2004

 

Richard Engel was an American journalist who decided to go to Iraq before the 2003 invasion and try to get a job with a U.S. media outlet. A Fist In The Hornet’s Nest, On The Ground In Baghdad Before, During & After The War is a collection of his experiences in the Iraqi capital during those tumultuous months. While it’s emphasis is obviously on what it was like being a journalist at that time it includes enough stories about everyday Iraqis to make it a well-rounded story.

Pro-Iran Groups Escalate Attacks Upon Kurds In July 2025

 

Iraq’s pro-Iran Resistance escalated its campaign against the Kurds in July with two dozen incidents. The Islamic State also made a rare appearance during the month.

2nd Month In A Row With No Islamic State Attacks In Iraq

May was the second month when there was no attacks by the Islamic State. This is another sign that the insurgency is over in Iraq.

Security In Iraq May 8-14, 2025

After a long hiatus there were two incidents involving the Islamic State in May.

March 2025 Only 1 Insurgent Incident In Iraq

The Islamic State continued its slow death in Iraq in March 2025. There was only one incident during the month by the militants.

Review Chief Warrant Officer 4 Timothy McWilliams, with Schlosser, Nicholas, U.S. Marines in Battle, Fallujah, November-December 2004, Marine Corps University, 2014

McWilliams, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Timothy, with Schlosser, Nicholas, U.S. Marines in Battle, Fallujah, November-December 2004, Marine Corps University, 2014

 

U.S. Marines in Battle, Fallujah, November-December 2004 was part of a series of books released by the Marine Corps to document its involvement in the Iraq War. It is a detailed military history covering the fighting by Marines and soldiers during Operation Phantom Fury the 2^nd Battle of Fallujah. That is also its drawback as there is nothing on the politics or impact of the battle.

Security In Iraq Mar 1-7, 2025

There was another incident by the Islamic State in Iraq during the 1^st week of March.

Review Fawaz Gerges, ISIS, A History, Princeton University Press, 2016

Gerges, Fawaz, ISIS, A History, Princeton University Press, 2016

 

The fall of Mosul to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in 2014 led to a wave of books attempting to explain the rise of the extremist group. ISIS, A History by London School of Economics International Relatives Professor Fawas Gerges is one of the better ones. He looks at four main factors to explain the emergence of ISIS: The fragmentation of the Iraqi state after the 2003 U.S. invasion, how ISIS grew out of Al Qaeda in Iraq, the Syrian Civil War and the 2011 Arab Spring. His thesis is that the organization created a revolutionary Salafi-Jihadist movement that played upon themes of Sunni victimization and which was opposed to the Shiite and Alawite dominated governments in Iraq and Syria.

Security In Iraq Feb 15-21, 2025

The Islamic State was dormant in Iraq for three months. Then in February there has been two weeks of activity by the insurgents.

Security In Iraq Feb 8-14, 2025

The Islamic State returned to Iraq during the second week of February. This was the first time the group had been active in the country for three months.

U.S. Army in The Iraq War Volume 2 Chapter 14 From New Dawn To Zero August 2010-December 2011

The 14^th chapter in the U.S. Army’s second volume on the Iraq war covers the American withdrawal from the country in 2011. Iraq was still facing major problems with its security forces, militias, the insurgency and the struggle for political power. The Obama administration thought it could keep a stay behind force in the nation to help with stability but failed to do so.

No Islamic State Attacks In Iraq In Jan 2025

 

The Insurgency for all intense and purposes has died in Iraq. At the start of the year there were no attacks by the Islamic State in the country.

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.

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.

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.

Security In Iraq Dec 22-28, 2024

There were two IED explosions in Iraq during the last full week of December but both were old ordinance that civilians stumbled upon.

Security In Iraq Dec 15-21, 2024

There was no political violence in Iraq for another week in December.