Review Black Hearts and Painted Guns, A Battalion’s Journey Into Iraq’s Triangle Of Death

Eads, Kelly and Morgan, Retired Colonel Daniel, Black Hearts and Painted Guns, A Battalion’s Journey Into Iraq’s Triangle Of Death, Philadelphia and Oxford: Casemate, 2023

 

Black Hearts and Painted Guns, A Battalion’s Journey Into Iraq’s Triangle Of Death was written by two soldiers from the 101^st Airborne Division Kelly Eads and Daniel Morgan. Both of them relished combat so that’s what most of the book is about. There are also interludes about training. The most striking part however is the conclusion when the troops came home and found it hard to adjust to civilian life.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 1 Mulla Mustafa Barzani died in exile in U.S.

(Getty Images)

 

1917 Gen Maude started campaign to take Baghdad without adequate supplies

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

Coordination Framework Wants To Change Iraq’s Voting System To Better Its Chances in Next Election

(Kurd Press)

Most of the parties included within the Coordination Framework did badly in the last election due to a new voting system which broke up Iraq’s provinces into multiple voting districts. That led them to introduce a bill to revert back to the old way when each governorate was a single district. This is facing opposition from Moqtada al-Sadr and the remnants of the protest movement.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 28 Pres Bush announced Kuwait liberated Iraq defeated Saddam claimed he beat the United States in Gulf War

(Conflict Archive)

1915 Gen Hardinge telegraph said taking Nasiriya and Amara were necessary to secure

Basra vilayet

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

Over 1 Mil Displaced In Iraq And Unlikely To Go Home

(Middle East Institute)

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the premier group that works with the Iraqi government to help the displaced (IDPs). Its latest report which covers the winter of 2022 shows that returns of Iraq’s internal refugees has almost ceased. This is a repeat of the civil war period in Iraq when around one million IDPs never went home.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 27 Iran’s 1st major victory on Iraqi territory during Iran-Iraq War Seized Majnoon Island in south

(Iran Front Page)

1923 UK High Comm Cox wrote London that Faisal complained Anglo-Iraq treaty was only

new phase of mandate instead of ending it

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 26 Saddam announced Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait Said it was a victory because Iraq stood up to the multi-national Coalition

(Information Clearinghouse)

 

1917 3 British gunboats fired upon by 4 Ottoman ships at Nahr-al-Kalek, Wasit 3 Turkish

ships sunk and 4^th captured Turned Ottoman retreat from Kut into a route Losses convinced Turks couldn’t hold Baghdad

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 25 1000s protested in Day of Rage against political system across Iraq 23 killed by police

(AP)

 

1917 British attacked retreating Ottoman forces from Kut at Husaini bend British suffered

556 casualties

Review Degrade And Destroy, The Inside Story Of The War Against the Islamic State, From Barack Obama To Donald Trump

Gordon, Michael, Degrade And Destroy, The Inside Story Of The War Against the Islamic State, From Barack Obama To Donald Trump, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022

 

Journalist Michael Gordon’s Degrade And Destroy, The Inside Story Of The War Against the Islamic State, From Barak Obama To Donald Trump can be read as a comparison between how the Obama administration differed from the Trump White House in fighting the Islamic State. President Obama was very cautious in his approach to returning to Iraq and then Syria not wanting American troops to be involved in fighting again. He slowly but surely expanded the U.S. role in the conflict. Trump on the other hand wanted the U.S. to get paid for fighting the war and was easily swayed by others so he flipped flopped several times. What both of them shared however was a general unwillingness to get involved in the Middle East again.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 24 US led Coalition began expelling Iraq from Kuwait

(AP)

 

865 Samarra organized army under Abu Ahmad son of assassinated Caliph Mutawwakil and brother of

Abbasid Caliph Mutasim to seize power and put Mutazz upon throne

Security In Iraq Feb 15-22, 2023

The Islamic State remained an insignificant force in Iraq during the third week of February. There were four security incidents from February 15-21 compared to just 1 the week before. 6 of the 7 weeks in 2023 have seen IS incidents in single digits.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 23 1st Anfal Campaign began against PUK in Sulaymaniya

(Rights Maps)

 

1917 British seized Sannaiyat outside Kut after 6 days of fighting British had 1,996

casualties

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 22 Zarqawi bombed Askari shrine in Samarra Militias carried out retaliatory attacks against Sunnis across Iraq

(AP)

 

1917 British attacked Sannaiyat outside Kut 2^nd time Also crossed Tigris River at Shumran

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 21 Govt killed 20 protesting assassination of Ayatollah Sadiq al-Sadr 3000 followers would be arrested and 450 executed

(Wikiwand)

 

1916 UK made 2^nd attack on Hanna Surprise attack worked but no reinforcements to exploit gains

Security In Iraq Feb 8-14, 2023

The Islamic State has been on a steady decline since its defeat in 2017. Today it is barely able to operate in Iraq. That was shown in the second week of February when there was only once incident which wasn’t even an attack.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 20 Saddam convinced his sons in law Hussein and Saddam Kamil who were in Jordan after they defected to return to Iraq where they were later killed

(JB Russell images)

 

1937 Elections finished for new parliament after 1936 coup

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 19 King Ghazi ordered invasion of Kuwait PM Said stopped it

(Wikipedia)

 

1934 King Ghazi accepted PM Midfai’s resignation after disagreements within cabinet made continuation

of govt impossible

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 18 Ayatollah Sadiq al-Sadr assassinated by Saddam

(Jihad Intel)

 

1921 Colonial Sec Churchill drafted outline of agenda for Cairo Conference Included Faisal being

made king of Iraq

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

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 17 PM Maliki claimed most of the 511 candidates banned from 2010 election were fmr Saddam era intel officers who were trying to infiltrate the govt

 

(AFP)

1915 UK forced to retreat from Muzaira, Basra due to bad weather and flooding

Review The Regime Change Consensus, Iraq In American Politics 1990-2003

Stieb, Joseph, The Regime Change Consensus, Iraq In American Politics 1990-2003, Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, New Deli, Singapore: Cambridge University Press, 2021

 

The majority of books on the Iraq invasion focus upon the early days of the Bush administration and then how 9/11 changed its perceptions and led to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Few have analysis and most just recite the history. Joseph Stieb in The Regime Change Consensus, Iraq In American Politics 1990-2003 is one of those rare releases which focuses upon the ideas that led the conflict with Iraq. It discusses how the first Bush administration created a containment policy around Iraq after the Gulf War and how that broke down in the 1990s so that by the time 9/11 happened the only real debate within the American political establishment was not whether to invade Iraq but how.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 16 Report 1972 Nixon and Shah agreed to arm and fund Barzani’s revolt vs Bakr govt but didn’t want him to win just drain Iraq

(Wikipedia)

 

1917 British suffered 10,204 casualties since offensive began to recapture Kut in Dec 1916

Sudani Latest PM To Claim He Will End Iraq’s Displaced Problem

(AFP)

At the end of January the Labor Ministry said that Prime Minister Sudani wanted to end the displacement issue by the middle of the year. Previous governments have made similar announcements and failed.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 15 US led Coalition began ground operations to expel Iraq from Kuwait

(War On The Rocks)

 

1917 British launched 3^rd attack and captured Ottoman positions in Dahra bend outside Kut

Iraq’s Oil Exports Dip In Jan Leading To Drop In Revenue

In January Iraq exported an average of 3.266 million barrels of oil per day. That was the lowest amount since March 2022 when the country exported 3.244 million barrels. Last year Iraq averaged between 3.2-3.3 million barrels so January’s figure was within that range.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 14 PM Said hanged chairman of Communist Party Farhad to put down protests

(Wikipedia)

1949 Communist Chairman Farhad hanged by PM Said to try to squash opposition protests

(Musings On Iraq review Independent Iraq 1932-1958, A Study in Iraqi Politics)

(Musings On Iraq review The Modern History of Iraq)

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

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Democratic Moment)

(Musings On Iraq review A History of Iraq)

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

(Musings On Iraq Is Iraq’s Prime Minister Maliki More Like Premier Nuri al-Sa’id Than Saddam? An Interview With Historian Phebe Marr)

(Musings On Iraq Revolutionary Times, Gen. Qasim And Iraq’s 1958 Coup, Interview With Western Kentucky’s Prof. Juan Romero)

Security In Iraq Feb 1-7, 2023

The Islamic State continued to be insignificant in Iraq the first week of February. Its incidents were in single digits again. There were two more attacks by pro-Iran groups showing that they are trying to re-activate.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 13 Iran scored 2nd major victory on Iraqi territory during Iran-Iraq War seizing Faw peninsula in Basra

(Wikipedia)

 

1940 PM Said proposed to High Defense Council declaring war on Germany Send 2 Iraqi divisions to

Libya or Balkans Was rejected

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 12 Cleric Hakim issued fatwa against joining Communists Clergy afraid youth becoming secular and joining Communists

(Wikipedia)

 

1915 Lord Hardinge wrote India Office Said taking Baghdad was likely ultimate objective of

British occupation of Mesopotamia

(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 - Feb 11 Executive Comm of Shias manifesto said monarchy discriminated against Shiites Called on UK to remove King Faisal and empower Shiites

(Wikimedia Commons)

 

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

(Wikipedia)

 

1258 Abbasid Caliph Mustasim surrendered Baghdad to Mongols beginning sacking of city and massacre

of population

Review Between Muslims, Religious Differences In Iraqi Kurdistan

Bush, J. Andrew, Between Muslims, Religious Differences In Iraqi Kurdistan, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2020

 

Between Muslims, Religious Differences In Iraqi Kurdistan by Andrew Bush is an interesting and unusual book about religion in Kurdistan. The author looked at collections of Kurdish poetry to see how intellectuals dealt with Islam and their lives in the past as well as three people who were not pious but still considered themselves Muslims and one that was and how that affected relationships. This microlevel approach was a new one. Most people who are not pious are no longer considered Muslims but Bush saw that was not always true and sought to explore what that meant for everyday life.

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

(Wikipedia)

 

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

Basra

Iraq’s Position On Corruption Index Unchanged

(Reuters)

Every year Transparency International releases its Corruption Perceptions Index which uses several factors to rank countries around the world. The new 2022 Index was just released and Iraq had the same rank and position as it did in 2021.

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

(Wikipedia)

 

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

Violence Drops In Iraq In January 2023

 

Violence dropped in Iraq from December 2022 to January 2023. The Islamic State has been quiet since a short summer offensive. However, there was a small uptick in activity by pro-Iran groups during the month.

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

(AFP)

 

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

1,000

How Did America Move From Containing Saddam To Removing Him? Interview With Joseph Stieb Asst Prof at the US Naval War College

The Regime Change Consensus, Iraq In American Politics 1990-2003 by Joseph Stieb is one of the rare books that attempts to breakdown the ideas that led to the invasion of Iraq. Stieb’s thesis is that the containment policy created by President George H.W. Bush lost support in the 1990s so much so that by the 2000s the American political establishment almost all agreed that Saddam must go. This is an interview with Stieb about his ideas on what led to the Iraq War. 

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

(Wikipedia)

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 Desert Queen, The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia)

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 5 Sec State Powell gave UN speech claiming Iraq had WMD and ties to Al Qaeda

(Getty Images)

 

1914 Lord Hardinge visited Basra Assured locals that British would protect their interests

Met by anti-UK protests in Qurna and Shaiba

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

(WBEZ)

 

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)

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

(Wikipedia)

 

1917 British attacked Hai River salient 3^rd time outside Kut Ottomans withdrew afterward

Since start of campaign to retake Kut in Dec 1916 British lost 8,524 casualties Ottomans 10,000 casualties and prisoners

Review The Political Economy of Iraq, Restoring Balance in a Post-Conflict Society

Gunter, Frank, The Political Economy of Iraq, Restoring Balance in a Post-Conflict Society, Cheltenham, Northhampton: Edward Elgar, 2013

 

Books about Iraq’s economy are very rare and those that exist tend to talk about the past instead of the present. That’s what makes Professor Frank Gunter’s The Political Economy of Iraq, Restoring Balance in a Post-Conflict Society such a rarity. Even though it was published in 2013 its insight into nearly every bit of Iraq’s economy should make it a reference book for anyone interested in the topic.

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

(Wikipedia)

 

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

London

Iraq’s New Govt Pushes For Huge Increase In Govt Jobs For Patronage

(Reuters)

Since the Sudani government took office in November 2022 one of its main priorities has been drafting a 2023 budget that includes thousands of new government jobs. This is important for the ruling coalition because these positions are dished out to followers for support and also to pillage the state. The problem is that this process is unsustainable.

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

(Al Jazeera)

 

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