Review A Stranger in Your Own City, Travels in the Middle East’s Long War

Abdul-Ahad, Ghaith, A Stranger in Your Own City, Travels in the Middle East’s Long War, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2023

 

A Stranger in Your Own City, Travels in the Middle East’s Long War by journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad is an engaging story about him growing up in Baghdad and then experiencing the aftermath of the U.S. invasion. It’s a tale of a nation beset by problems from the 1990s sanctions that impoverished most to the exiles that created a new ethnosectarian political system that was then used it to justify violence. The new elite ended up killing its youth in the street for protesting against corruption. It’s an important addition to the cannon because it not only includes his own recollections of this period but also many Iraqi civilians, soldiers and officials when most books are by and about Westerners.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 30 Start of 1920 Revolt vs British Mandate in Iraq

(Shia Waves)

 

1915 UK committee wrote paper advocating for break up of Ottoman Empire and creation of

Iraq to control its oil and agriculture Cabinet didn’t agree

(Musings On Iraq review The Chatham House Version and other Middle-Eastern Studies)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

Security In Iraq Jun 22-28, 2023

The Islamic State remained largely dormant in Iraq during the fourth week of June. There were just four incidents from June 22-28. There were two incidents the week before. This was the 21^st straight week incidents were in single digits.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 29 Nouri mosque in Mosul liberated where IS’s Baghdadi declared the caliphate Iraqi forces claimed Mosul freed but fighting continued

 

1915 US consulate report on anti-Turk riot in Karbala

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 28 CPA disbanded and sovereignty returned to Iraq

(NBC News)

 

1914 Ottomans agreed to oil concessions for British and Germans in Mosul and Baghdad

provinces Never happened because WWI

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 27 Iraq’s Revolutionary Command Council approved invasion of Kuwait

 

1916 UK report on defeat at Kut published Led to Secretary of State for India Chamberlain to resign

Blamed India for mismanaging and never adequately funding war in Mesopotamia

Over 1.1 Mil Still Displaced As Returns Largely End In Iraq

(IOM)

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the pre-eminent group working on displacement with the Iraqi government. It released its latest report for the first four months of 2023 and found barely any change in the number of internal refugees from the end of 2022.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 26 Iraqi intel rounded up Iraqi National Accord coup plotters backed by US Called CIA and told them to go home

 

1923 Leading cleric Khalisi 2 of his sons and his nephew were deported to Iran for opposing

parliamentary elections

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 25 Gen Qasim ordered the military to come up with a Kuwait invasion plan

 

(Wikipedia)

1915 British troops took Nasiriya Ottomans had 200 casualties British 500

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 24 Dozens killed 3000 arrested over house arrest of Ayatollah Sadiq al-Sadr

(Jihad Intel)

 

1933 Interior Minister would not let Assyrian leader Mar Shimun leave Baghdad after being

in capital for nearly a month

(Musings On Iraq review The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

Review First Fights In Fallujah, Marines During Operation Vigilant Resolve, in Iraq, April 2004

Kelly, Lieutenant Colonel David, Ret., First Fights In Fallujah, Marines During Operation Vigilant Resolve, in Iraq, April 2004, Philadelphia and Oxford, Casemate, 2023

 

First Fights In Fallujah, Marines During Operation Vigilant Resolve by Retired Lieutenant Colonel David Kelly was part of the Marine history project that sent researchers throughout the Iraq War to interview the troops about their experiences. This one focused upon the First Battle of Fallujah. Like other books in the series this one is up and down with some vary harrowing tales of combat mixed in with other ones that are not half as interesting.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 23 Faisal arrived in Iraq to become its first king

(The Economist)

 

1921 Faisal arrived in Basra and then went to Najaf and Karbala as gesture towards Shiite

clergy as preparation to be crowned king Clerics opposed him

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

Security In Iraq Jun 15-21, 2023

The Islamic State remains barely active in Iraq. There were just two security incidents from June 15-21. There were 4 the week before and no incidents the first week of June. This was the 20^th straight week incidents were in single digits.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 22 Gertrude Bell said that Shiites were under the pay of leading cleric Khalisi who was a Persian

(Getty Images)

1915 British troops began attack upon Nasiriya

(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 - Jun 21 Ayatollah Khomeini announced Iran would invade Iraq in Iran-Iraq War

 

1920 Foreign Min Lord Curzon wrote that head political officer in Iraq Wilson’s ideas were

backwards and him leading Mandate was a problem Wilson rejected self-rule

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

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

Iraq’s 2023 Budget Ends KRG’s Independent Oil Exports While Threatening The Economic Future Of the Country

(AP)

In June Iraq’s parliament passed the 2023 budget. It is the largest in history with the largest deficit as well. It includes Baghdad’s control of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) oil exports. It also adds hundreds of thousands of new government jobs which are impossible to sustain and will drain the state’s coffers for years. The Iraqi government is unconcerned because the budget is a political not an economic document.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 20 General Qasim claimed Kuwait as part of Iraq

(eKurd)

870 Abbasid Caliph Muhtadi killed in capital Samarra in revolt by Turkish soldiers over not being

paid

(Musings On Iraq review when baghdad ruled the muslim world, the rise and fall of islam’s greatest dynasty)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 19 Trying to play down the security situation in Iraq Sec Def Rumsfeld said the murder rate in Wash DC was worse than violence in Baghdad

(Dept of Defense)

 

1914 Germany and Britain asked Ottomans for oil concessions in Mosul and Baghdad provinces

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 18 Assyrian leader Mar Shimun petitioned League of Nations asking for autonomy for his people

(Wikipedia)

 

1932 Assyrian religious leader Mar Shimun presented petition to League of Nations Mandate

Commission demanding autonomy for his people

(Musings On Iraq review The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

15 Year Anniversary Of Musings On Iraq

 

On 9/11 I was watching TV and former CIA Director James Woolsey was being interviewed and he said no matter what, whether Iraq was involved in the incident or not the U.S. should attack Iraq. I couldn’t understand why he was bringing up Saddam Hussein when everyone was saying Al Qaeda was behind 9/11. In 2002 the Bush administration began its public relations campaign to convince the country to invade Iraq. I wanted to know what was the motivation for this upcoming war and that led me to start researching Iraq. I started writing pieces that I posted on message boards and in 2008 I started Musings On Iraq. Since then I’ve gone in all kinds of directions with interviewing people about Iraq, writing book reviews, and doing a timeline. I've also gone to Japan and Austria to present about Iraq. Lots of people have helped me out and I’ve had over 12 million page views over the last 15 years. I’d like to thank my girlfriend most of all because she is literally jealous about how much time I spend on my computer on Iraq. Thank you all for your continued support and reading Musings On Iraq.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 17 London approved Arab govt with UK advisers to run Iraq under British Mandate

(World-ology)

 

1919 British force defeated Sheikh Barzinji near Chamchamal

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

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 16 Iraq protested border treaty with Iran by sending troops into Khuzistan province Led to 88 Iraqi soldiers being killed

(The Iran Primer)

 

1920 UK govt decided to cancel proposed UK run provisional govt in Iraq for an Arab govt under

British influence

Security In Iraq Jun 8-14, 2023

After carrying out no attacks during the first week of June the Islamic State was back at work in Iraq the next week. From June 8-14 the group carried out 4 security incidents. That was the 19^th straight week there were less than 10 incidents in a week. During the year the insurgents have only been able to carry out double digit incidents one week. These are all signs of how far IS has fallen from controlling large swaths of Iraq and Syria to barely being active.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 15 PM Nuri al-Said made cover of Time magazine Was Prime Minister of Iraq 9 times

 

1920 War Min Churchill wrote UK Cabinet that he was ready to give up Mosul province to save

costs

(Musings On Iraq How The Ottoman Province Of Mosul Became Part Of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq Churchill In His Own Words On Mesopotamia/Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Churchill’s Folly, How Winston Churchill Created Modern Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Inventing Iraq: The Failure of Nation Building and a History Denied)

(Musings On Iraq review Supremacy And Oil, Iraq, Turkey, and the Anglo-American World Order, 1918-1930)

Review The Twilight War, The Secret History Of America’s Thirty-Year Conflict With Iran

Crist, David, The Twilight War, The Secret History Of America’s Thirty-Year Conflict With Iran, New York: Penguin Books, 2013

 

David Crist wrote a very thorough history of U.S.-Iran relations since the 1979 revolution. The book is broken up into four main sections. The first is about the Carter administration and the revolution. The second is on the Iran-Iraq War. The third is on the Bush-Clinton era and the last is on the second Bush and Obama. Crist’s theory is that the U.S. has consistently failed at creating a realistic policy towards the Islamic Republic shifting back and forth between outreach and subversion.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 14 Ayatollah Sistani said his call for Iraqis to defend country meant joining ISF not militias that became Hashd al-Shaabi Was too late

(Encyclopedia Britannica)

 

1920 UK military governor in Basra reported political agitation from Baghdad trying to raise

support for Iraqi independence in Basra

Development Road Project Another Unrealistic Plan By Iraq

Iraq announced it wants to build a road and railway from Turkey to Basra's Al Faw Port which is still under construction 13 years after it was started (Iraqi News Agency)

The Sudani government has been announcing a series of major projects one of which is the Development Road which seeks to build a road and railway from Basra in the Persian Gulf to Turkey. There are political and financial barriers to moving ahead with this idea plus the Iraqi government simply lacks the capacity to complete such a large proposal.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 13 Ayatollah Sistani called for men to defend Iraq after fall of Mosul to ISIS Led to Hashd al-Shaabi

 

1920 War Min Churchill wrote PM George that British army overextended in Mesopotamia

and asked whether UK should give up Mosul province because of costs

(Musings On Iraq How The Ottoman Province Of Mosul Became Part Of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq Churchill In His Own Words On Mesopotamia/Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Churchill’s Folly, How Winston Churchill Created Modern Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Inventing Iraq: The Failure of Nation Building and a History Denied)

(Musings On Iraq review Supremacy And Oil, Iraq, Turkey, and the Anglo-American World Order, 1918-1930)

Security In Iraq Jun 1-7, 2023

June 1-7, 2023 was the first time since the 2003 invasion of Iraq that there were no insurgent attacks. Security incidents by the Islamic State have been on a steady decline since the group’s defeat in 2017. In 2022 there was an average of 40 incidents per month. This year that has dropped to 16 incidents a month. The first week of June however marks a new low.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 12 ISIS massacred around 1200 cadets at Camp Speicher

 

(AP)

1920 Protest in Karbala mosque calling for revolt vs British

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 11 ISIS seized Tikrit without a fight

(Reuters)

 

1925 Head of League of Nations Mosul Commission called King Faisal a “poor creature”

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 10 Mosul fell to the Islamic State

(ISIS)

 

1915 US consulate report Ottomans might have lost control of Najaf and Karbala and UK

money behind it

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 9 1st UN weapons inspection began in Iraq

(AP)

 

1920 British forces retook Tal Afar after bombing broke Iraqi rebels British carried out collective

punishment destroying and looting homes Large number of people forced out into desert

Review A People’s History Of Iraq, The Iraqi Communist Party, Workers’ Movements, and the Left 1924-2004

Salucci, Ilario, A People’s History Of Iraq, The Iraqi Communist Party, Workers’ Movements, and the Left 1924-2004, Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2005

 

Ilario Salucci wrote a very short and concise history of the Communists in Iraq. The Iraqi Communist Party (ICP) used to be the largest in the country, leading protests and being one of the main opposition groups. However it consistently undermined itself following Soviet doctrine and policy. The author documents how the Communists constantly subordinated themselves to other groups believing that a nationalist bourgeoise and capitalism had to develop before socialism could be established. The party therefore faced defeat after defeat at its own hands.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 8 Iraqi commanders said they were retreating during ISIS attack on Mosul leading to mass desertions

(Rudaw)

 

1920 Ex-Ottoman officer and nationalist al-Ahd member Jamil al-Midfai’s forces attacked Mosul

but turned back Tried to start revolt vs UK Mandate in Iraq

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 7 Al Qaeda In Iraq leader Zarqawi killed in US air strike

(Wikipedia)

 

1920 Ex-Ottoman officer and nationalist al-Ahd member Jamil al-Midfai’s forces reached Mosul

hoping to start revolt against British

Iraq Saw 5 Month High In Oil Exports In May But Revenues Dipped

In May Iraq saw its highest oil exports in five months but because of a dip in prices its revenues were down.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 6 ISIS attacked Mosul eventually taking city

(AP)

 

1920 Sir Percy Cox was reassigned to run Iraq from his posting in Persia

Islamic State Continues Its Decline In Iraq In April 2023

The security situation in Iraq was largely unchanged from April to May 2023. There were nearly the same number of incidents during each month.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 5 Ali and Faisal sons of Sharif of Mecca announced Arab Revolt against Ottomans Many Iraqis joined

(Wikipedia)

 

1916 Ali and Faisal sons of Sharif Hussein announced Arab Revolt against Ottomans Many

Iraqi Ottoman officers would join revolt UK promised Sharif empire after war

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

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

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 4 Jamil al-Midfai led nationalist group seized Tal Afar in attempt to start revolt vs UK Mandate in Iraq

(Wikipedia)

 

1915 Ottomans counterattacked trying to retake Amara Failed

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 3 Ali Hassan al-Majid ordered 1,000 Kurdish villages be destroyed

(Alamy)

 

1915 British took Amara after Ottomans withdrew

(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 - Jun 2 UK political officer in Iraq Sir Wilson told Iraqi nationalists an Arab govt would have to wait UK mandate would rule Iraq

(Wikipedia)

 

1915 British troops from Persia crossed Tigris and attacked Amara after convincing Ottoman garrison

commander to surrender 

Review Impossible Victory, How Iraq Defeated ISIS

Al-Abadi, Haider, Impossible Victory, How Iraq Defeated ISIS, Croydon: Biteback Publishing, 2022

 

Impossible Victory, How Iraq Defeated ISIS is an autobiography written by former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. It was probably ghost written and starts off like a personalized version of government press releases. Abadi paints himself as an underdog who always had to fight against the odds from becoming the leader of Iraq to the war against the Islamic State. That’s all to be expected, but when the war begins the book becomes a re-writing of history as he omits and glosses over all the problems and abuses that occurred during the conflict.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 1 Farhud anti-Jewish pogrom started in Baghdad

(Yad Ben Zvi and Beit Hatfutsot)

 

1932 Most Assyrian Levies resigned over treatment of their community Worried about what new

Iraqi govt would do with them

(Musings On Iraq review The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)