Review Imagining The Nation, Nationalism, Sectarianism and Socio-Political Conflict in Iraq

Al-Qarawee, Harith, Imagining The Nation, Nationalism, Sectarianism and Socio-Political Conflict in Iraq, Lanchashire: Rossendale Books, 2012

Imagining The Nation, Nationalism, Sectarianism and Socio-Political Conflict in Iraq is an academic book by Harith Al-Qarawee who now goes by Harith Hasan, about how Iraq’s Arab population has struggled to form a national identity from the foundation of the country to the present. The book is organized like a thesis with an introduction where the main argument is laid out, followed by a review of the literature on the topic, and then two broad sections. The first covers the Ottomans to Saddam Hussein, and the second is about Iraq post-2003. The book was largely shaped in response to Western commentators that argued Iraq has been beset by sectarian divisions since its origins. Hasan believes that is mistaking current political struggles as historical ones. The thesis is that Iraq’s identities have been shaped by socio-political conflicts over power and resources, which have changed over time.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 23

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

Secretary Curzon overturned decision

1920 UK Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon decided Turkish Petroleum Company would keep its oil

rights signed with Ottomans

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

1948 More protests against Anglo-Iraq Treaty leading to fights between Communist and

Independence party

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

(Musings On Iraq Interview with Prof Johan Franzen on the history of the Iraqi Communist Party)

1970 33 conspirators in coup against Pres Bakr executed

1987 Ali Khamenei said Iran would not negotiate with Iraq as long was Saddam in power

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Tom Cooper on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War)

1991 Iraq dumped 400 mil gallons of oil into Persian Gulf to try to prevent US retaking Kuwait

1999 NSC counterterrorism dir Clarke said US was right to bomb factory in Sudan because

connected to Al Qaeda and Iraq WMD experts

2003 Iraq Defense Ministry ordered that if Baghdad were to fall all govt buildings were to be looted

and burned

2003 Mukhabarat document called for looting and destruction of property if Saddam were

overthrown

2003 Natl Sec Adv Rice wrote NY Times OpEd Iraq hiding its WMD programs from UN inspectors and

tried to buy uranium for its nuke program Reference to Iraq-Niger deal

(Musings On Iraq article on Iraq-Niger uranium story)

(Musings On Iraq article on how poor US intel work led to claim Iraq rebuilt its nuclear weapons program)

2003 Sec Def Rumsfeld said that Iraq had WMD and ties to terrorism were one threat

2003 Under Sec of Def Wolfowitz said Iraq had tons of WMD and time running out for it Said Iraq

didn’t make truthful weapons declaration to UN Said Iraqi defectors told about Iraq having mobile WMD labs Said Iraqi govt threatening scientists not to talk to UN inspectors

(Musings On Iraq article on mobile labs story)

2003 White House released document saying Iraq hiding its WMD and tried to buy uranium for its

nuke program Reference to Iraq-Niger deal

(Musings On Iraq article Iraq, One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)

2004 Iraq Survey Group head Kay resigned saying didn’t think Iraq had any WMD stocks or large

programs since 1980s Said Iraq destroyed its WMD after Gulf War due to inspections and unilateral actions Kay resigned because group was going to be diverted from finding WMD to fighting insurgency

2004 In response to Iraq Survey Group head Kay resigning and saying there were no WMD White

House said it believed Iraq had WMD and it would be found

(Musings On Iraq article Iraq, One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)

2006 Report Iraqis going to Jordan jumped from 200-250/day from 2004-05 to 1,100/day in Jan 06

as people were fleeing violence

2006 Al Qaeda in Iraq bombed Sheikh Kharbite’s house in Ramadi of Albu Khalifa tribe and

member of Anbar security council

(Musings On Iraq book review Illusions of Victory, The Anbar Awakening And The Rise Of The Islamic State)

2007 Bush State of Union outlined the Surge

(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Mansoor on the Surge)

(Musings On Iraq interview with New America Foundation’s Ollivant On Reassessing the Surge)

2008 ISF Ninewa campaign began to secure Mosul

2008 20,000 pound bomb went off in Mosul Killed 15 wounded 132

2010 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq kidnapped US contractor Issa Salomi which it swapped for 4 of its

members held in prison

(Musings On Iraq article on history of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq)

2010 Report Diyala Sahwa told to abandon posts by commanders due to Maliki govt crackdown

Sahwa sheikh claimed 425 Sahwa and 25 senior leaders had been arrested by govt on charges they belonged to ISI

(Musings On Iraq More Sons of Iraq Integrated While Others Walk Off The Job In Diyala)

2011 Report found prison at Camp Honor Baghdad Prisoners held incommunicado No lawyers

Torture Facility was under direct command of PM Maliki

(Musings On Iraq article on Camp Honor prison)

2015 Hashd destroyed four mosques in Muqtadiya Diyala after operation there

View the Iraq History Timelines

Iraq’s Oil Exports Finish On A High Note In Dec Due To Iran War Fears

(AFP/Getty Images)

Iraq saw diminishing returns from its oil exports in the second half of 2019 as oil prices dropped due to a glut in the market. Due to war fears over Iran however, profits were back up in December. At the end of the year however, Iraq finished with higher export figures, but lower revenues.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 22

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

convince Kurds to vote for Feisal as king in referendum They didn’t

(Musings On Iraq book review of Gertrude Bell And Iraq)

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

1970 3 coup plotters executed by Pres Bakr govt

1970 Iraq expelled Iranian ambassador accusing Tehran of backing 1970 failed coup

1991 Iraqi SCUD missile and 2 U.S. Patriot missiles landed on Israeli city of Ramat Gan

1991 Iraqi forces set fire to 700 Kuwaiti oil wells

2002 Dep Def Sec Wolfowitz memo to Undersec Def Feith that Pentagon was not finding intel on Iraq-Al

Qaeda links and said Sec Def Rumsfeld should get some analysis on issue

(Musings On Iraq book review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy

Tragedy)

2003 2^nd meeting of US UK Australia on postwar Iraq Little came of meeting

2003 CIA sent its report on Iraq WMD to White House to help make case for war

2003 CIA analyst told IAEA aluminum tubes Iraq tried to buy were for centrifuges IAEA said they

were for rockets IAEA proved right

(Musings On Iraq article on the aluminum tubes story)

2004 VP Cheney said Iraq had mobile labs and WMD programs Inspections found no mobile labs

(Musings On Iraq article on mobile labs story)

(Musings On Iraq article Iraq, One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)

2004 VP Cheney said overwhelming evidence Saddam linked to Al Qaeda Said Iraq behind 1993 World

Trade Center bombing Based upon Laurie Mylroie conspiracy theories

(Musings On Iraq article on Mylroie’s Iraq conspiracy theories)

2005 Report $300 mil for arms deal for Iraqi army went missing after put on plane for Lebanon

(Musings On Iraq interview with Special Inspector Gen for Iraq Reconstruction Bowen on corruption in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq interview with fmr anti-graft official Vincent Foulk on corruption in Iraq)

2005 INC’s Chalabi accused Defense Min Shaalan of stealing the $300 mil Shaalan threatened to

arrest Chalabi for the charge

2006 Report 34,131 attacks in 2005 up from 26,496 in 2004 Car bombs went from 420 in 2004 to

873 in 2005 IEDs went from 5,607 in 2004 to 10,953 in 2005

2007 PM Maliki announced he would no longer protect the Mahdi Army from US raids Didn’t happen

(Musings On Iraq A Divided Sadr Trend)

2007 Mayor of Sadr City Daraji had 2^nd of 2 meetings with UK Gen Lamb on working out

understanding with militias to prevent confrontations in district Militias were afraid of major US operation in Sadr City as part of Surge Sadrists backed Daraji’s effort

2008 Mahdi Army tried to kidnap PM Maliki’s national security adviser Mowafaq Rubaie in Baghdad

2008 Oil Min blacklisted companies that signed oil deals with Kurdistan

2011 Kirkuk made deal with Electricity Min that province would get larger power quota Would

still not meet demand Governor had cut off power line to Baghdad and kept electricity for province

(Musings On Iraq article on Kirkuk-Electricity Min deal)

(Musings On Iraq article on power problems in Kirkuk)

2012 Iraq voted in Arab League for a transition of power in Syria away from Assad

2015 Coalition air strike killed Abu Ans Samarraie IS’s governor for Anbar He was responsible for

            executing hundreds of members of the Albu Nimr tribe

(Musings On Iraq article on death of IS leaders)

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Renewed Civil Disobedience As Govt Misses Protest Deadline For Reforms

(AP)

The Iraqi government’s failure to meet a deadline set by the protest movement to carry out reforms such as holding new elections has led to renew demonstrations and violence across central and southern Iraq.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 21

1916 Ottomans retreated up Tigris after defeat at Battle of Wadi only to lose again to

British at Battle of Hanna

1948 Communist led demonstrators against Anglo-Iraq Treaty fired upon again Led Regent to repudiate

treaty

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

(Musings On Iraq Interview with Prof Johan Franzen on the history of the Iraqi Communist Party)

1970 Pres Bakr announced failed coup by ex-army officers and special tribunal to try plotters

Accused Iran of backing coup

1970 Imam Khomeini started lectures in Najaf outlining his concept of vilayat al-faqih

1987 Saddam sent letter to Iran Said he didn’t claim any Iranian territory and wanted peace deal

Asked Iranians to challenge Khomeini’s right to rule

1987 Iran captured Duaija east of Basra city Iraq launched 2 counterattacks but repulsed 1500 Iraqi

casualties

1987 Iraq suffered 10,000 casualties in Basra during Iran Op Karbala 5 leading Saddam to call for

volunteers

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Tom Cooper on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War Volume 3: Iraq’s Triumph)

1993 Iraq declared ceasefire with Coalition over not allowing UN weapons inspectors into country

Demanded US review no fly zones

(Musings On Iraq article UN Inspectors Were Right Iraq Was Not A Threat)

(Musings On Iraq article Iraq’s Rejection of UN Inspectors Led To Mistrust Over WMD and 2003 Invasion)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Saddam Tapes)

1999 SCIRI rejected any US aid

2002 Weekly Standard OpEd by Robert Kagan and William Kristol called for Iraq to be attacked as

next step in war on terror

(Musings On Iraq book review Wanting War: Why the Bush Administration Invaded Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Road to Iraq, The Making of a Neoconservative War)

(Musings On Iraq book review America at the Crossroads, Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy)

2003 Bush said that Saddam was not interested in disarming and that time was running out on Iraq

(Musings On Iraq Review Hubris, The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, And The Selling Of The Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Bush Administrations and Saddam Hussein, Deciding on Conflict)

2003 PM Blair said 2^nd UN resolution not necessary for use of force against Iraq

(Musings On Iraq Book Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)

2003 DeptSecState Armitage spoke at US Inst of Peace saying US tried to avoid war but Iraq not

accounted for its WMD

2004 VP Cheney said there was overwhelming evidence Iraq and Al Qaeda connected

2005 Knight Ridder analysis Violence in Iraq increased after every US benchmark such as capture

of Saddam handing over sovereignty etc

(Musings On Iraq article on pre-Surge US Iraq strategy)

2007 2 officials claimed that US had convinced PM Maliki to stop protecting Sadr and Mahdi

Army Wasn’t true

2008 Fighting continued in Basra Nasiriya Diwniya for 3^rd day between ISF and Soldiers of Heaven 200

casualties in Basra alone

2009 1^st NSC meeting in Obama admin President said he wanted to withdraw from Iraq but

preserve successes Wanted 3 options for Iraq policy

2010 Report Iraq reconciliation committee holding talks with insurgents and Baathists in Jordan

UAE Syria Before PM Maliki had criticized US for similar talks

(Musings On Iraq article on US-Iraq talks with Baathists and insurgents)

2011 3 bombs hit Shiite pilgrims during Arbayeen

2014 NGO warned that 5,000 had been forced from their homes in Baghdad Diyala Ninewa Basra

Reports gunmen threatened and forced Shammar tribe to flee Baquba Diyala ISIS forced 300 families out of province Shabaks in Ninewa targeted in Mosul Sunnis threatened and attacked in Basra in retaliation for terrorist attacks in rest of Iraq

(Musings On Iraq article on forced displacement in Iraq)

2018 Federal Court ruled election date could not be changed Would happen 5/12/18

(Musings On Iraq article on Federal Court decision that 2018 elections would happen on time)

(Musings On Iraq interview with IRIS-Chatham House’s Mansour on 2018 elections)

View the Iraq History Timelines 

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 20

1943 Fmr PM Gaylani in exile in Germany made radio broadcast claiming Iraq still in state

of war with England

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

1948 March by railway workers and students against Anglo-Iraq treaty fired upon by police killing

some Organized by Communists

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

(Musings On Iraq Interview with Prof Johan Franzen on the history of the Iraqi Communist Party)

1970 failed military coup against Pres Bakr led by ex-Gen Rawi and Col Samarraie backed by Iran

1970 Iran expelled Iraq’s ambassador military attache and four embassy staff over failed coup

1970 Shah of Iran opposed to Baathism’s Pan-Arabism and socialism Moved troops to border after

coup leading to war scare

1988 Iraqi air raid on Lavan oil refinery led to fuel shortages in Iran Trapped majority of Iranian

Revolutionary Guard units in north and couldn’t move for rest of war

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Tom Cooper on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraqi Mirages, The Dassault Mirage Family In Service With The Iraqi Air Force, 1981-1988)

1991 Saddam said Iraq’s army hadn’t started fighting but when it did Coalition would suffer heavy

casualties and leave

2003 Bush and VP Cheney met with Joint Chiefs Bush asked if anyone had any concerns about the

invasion No objections made

(Musings On Iraq book review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy

Tragedy)

2003 Military Industrialization Commission ordered its director generals to come forward with any

info on WMD

2003 White House gave report to Congress on Iraq’s noncompliance with UN inspectors Included

Iraq not mentioning trying to buy uranium from Africa

(Musings On Iraq article on Iraq-Niger uranium story)

(Musings On Iraq article UN Inspectors Were Right Iraq Was Not A Threat)

(Musings On Iraq article Iraq’s Rejection of UN Inspectors Led To Mistrust Over WMD and 2003 Invasion)

2003 National Sec Presidential Dir 24 gave Pentagon control of postwar Iraq

(Musings On Iraq review Losing Iraq, Inside The Post War Reconstruction Fiasco by David Phillips)

2003 Pentagon would dismiss previous NSC planning for postwar Iraq and kick out State Dept

officials

2003 Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) created to run post-war Iraq

2 months before invasion

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraq and Back, Inside The War To Win The Peace)

(Musings On Iraq Only 3 of 13 Reconstruction Contracts Were Signed Before War)

(Musings On Iraq article on Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Chapter 3 The Department of Defense Takes Charge)

2003 UK announced it deployed ground forces for Iraq War

2003 France’s For Min deVillepin said there was no justification for war against Iraq

2003 Sec State Powell furious at French statement because took threat of war off table at UN and

strengthened Saddam

2004 Bush’s State of the Union said US was committed to spreading democracy to Iraq Said Iraq

Survey Group found Iraq’s WMD programs and if US hadn’t invaded Iraq would still have them

(Musings On Iraq article Iraq, One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)

(Musings On Iraq How The Administration Reversed Itself On Finding Iraq’s WMD)

(Musings On Iraq review Hoodwinked, The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraq’s Future The aftermath of regime change)

(Musings On Iraq book review Wanting War: Why the Bush Administration Invaded Iraq)

2004 CENTCOM emailed dir Joint Chiefs Adm Keating Def Sec Rumsfeld’s military aide Gen Craddock

US Iraq Cmdr Gen Sanchez that abuse happened at Abu Ghraib and were photos of it

2006 Dec 05 election results announced United Iraqi Alliance 128 seats Kurds 53 Accordinace Front 44

Iraqiya 25 National Dialogue Front 11

2006 Al Qaeda in Iraq said Abdullah Rashid al-Baghdadi had become emir of new Mujahedeen

Shura Council

2006 Amb Khalizad met with Iyad Allawi and Fadhila head Jabiri Jabiri promised PM spot if he

broke with United Iraqi Alliance and backed Allawi Sunnis and Kurds

2006 Iyad Allawi told his followers he would get Fadhila head Jabiri to back him as PM after he

broke with United Iraqi Alliance

2007 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq in an Iranian Revolutionary Guard planned op attacked Karbala Center and

kidnapped and killed 5 US soldiers Was retaliation for US arrests of Iranian operatives in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq article background to Asaib Ahl Al-Haq raid on Karbala Center)

(Musings On Iraq article on history of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Naval Postgraduate School’s Ostovar on history of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard)

(Musings On Iraq book review Vanguard of the Imam, Religion, Politics, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard)

(Musings On Iraq article on Hezbollah presence in Iraq)

2008 US general said number of EFP attacks down but Iran showed no sign of ending supplies and

training to militias

(Musings On Iraq interview with Galen Wright of Arkenstone blog on Iranian arms shipments to Iraqi militias) 

2009 Iraq Election Comm announced autonomy plan in Basra failed to gain enough signatures to

hold referendum on issue

(Musings On Iraq article on failed Basra autonomy plan)

2015 IS suicide car bomb and assault on Nikhaib Suicide truck bomb in Albu Ghanim Suicide car

bomb and assault upon Abu Risha 7 suicide car bombs in Ramadi

(Musings On Iraq article on violence in Anbar)

2015 60 members of the ISF were executed in Mosul by IS

View the Iraq History Timelines