Iraq Reportedly Sidelined In Trump Administration Leads To Rote Policy Decisions

  

Al Mada reported that Iraq has slipped into the background for the Trump administration. That has led the U.S. to rely upon its usual mix of sanctions and threats against Baghdad as its only means to influence the country.

This Day In Iraqi History - Sep 22 Iraq invaded Iran starting Iran-Iraq War

1961 After Barzani’s forces overran army and police outposts and pushed back pro-govt Kurdish

tribes Qasim ordered counterattack Iraqi air force bombed 500 villages destroying 270 of them

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Kurds, A Modern History)

(Musings On Iraq review The Kurdish Revolt 1961-1970)

(Musings On Iraq review Journey Among Brave Men, Travels in Kurdistan)

(Musings On Iraq Explaining Kurdish Nationalism Interview With Teen Tech Univ Prof Michael Gunter)

This Day In Iraqi History - Sep 21 Coup plot by PM Razzaq vs Pres Arif discovered Led to Baathist purge from govt

1941 PM Midfai resigned over argument with Finance Min Kamal

This Day In Iraqi History - Sep 20 Bush talked with Blair about seizing Iraq’s southern oil fields

1917 Sir Percy Cox made civil commissioner in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq review Desert Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia)

This Day In Iraqi History - Sep 19 Bush again asked for report on Iraq-Al Qaeda ties after already told none existed

 

1914 UK sent 3 gunboats to Shatt al-Arab to protect Persian oil fields

(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 - Sep 18 PM Said threatened to expel Jews from Iraq over Israel

1916 British leaders told troops to continue advance in Mesopotamia vs Ottomans after huge loss

at Kut One of biggest British defeats in WWI

Review Edited by Lisa Blaydes and Samuel Helfont, Ba’thist Iraq Through Archives, Reflections, Explorations and Opportunities, Stanford University Press, 2026

  

Ba’thist Iraq Through Archives, Reflections, Explorations and Opportunities was the result of a 2023 conference at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University in California where academics and researchers met to discuss the Baathist archives that were captured after the Gulf War and 2003 invasion. Like most anthologies the chapters are a bit varied but there are some very interesting findings given the talent that was assembled.