Iraq Sees Surge In Voting Across Most Of The Country (REVISED)

 

Iraq’s Election Commission released partial early results for voter turnout in the provinces. It showed a surge of voting across the country compared to the last parliamentary elections in 2021.

Iraq’s Political Parties Prepping to Cheat In November Election

Iraq’s parliamentary elections are a month away and already the media is full of stories of the political parties cheating as happens every time votes are cast.

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.

Pro-Iran Factions Carried Out Limited Attacks In Iraq During Israel-Iran Conflict

June saw the return of pro-Iran factions which carried out a limited series of attacks in Iraq in support of Tehran during the Israel-Iran conflict.

Security In Iraq Jun 14-21, 2025

In the middle of June there were two security incidents in Anbar province likely related to the on going Israel-Iran conflict.

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.

Review Nicholas Schlosser, U.S. Marines in Battle, Al-Qaim, September 2005-March 2006, Marine Corps University, 2014

Schlosser, Nicholas, U.S. Marines in Battle, Al-Qaim, September 2005-March 2006, Marine Corps University, 2014

 

U.S. Marines in Battle, Al-Qaim, September 2005-March 2006 is one of the better volumes in the Marine history of the Iraq War series. That’s because it includes both background and the aftermath to the Marine deployment to western Iraq. It’s main argument is that how the Marines stayed in cities while working with the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and local tribes starting in 2005 created a new dynamic that would dramatically change the security situation in Anbar province in the following years.

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 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.

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.

Review Scott Huesing, Echo In Ramadi, The Firsthand Story Of U.S. Marines In Iraq’s Deadliest City, Regnery History, 2018

Huesing, Scott, Echo In Ramadi, The Firsthand Story Of U.S. Marines In Iraq’s Deadliest City, Regnery History, 2018

 

Echo In Ramadi by Scott Huesing who was the commander of Echo Company of the 4^th Marine Regiment in Anbar from 2006-07 provides what was probably a common view of Iraq by many American troops. He thought their main job was hunting down insurgents and killing them. Anything else was largely a distraction. He didn’t believe in working with Iraqis and had general contempt for the Iraqi government. Most of his book is committed to explaining what it was like to lead Marines.

Americans Dominate Casualties In Iraq In Aug 2024

More than half of the casualties in Iraq in August 2024 were Americans. This resulted from an attack by pro-Iran groups and a joint Iraq-U.S. raid on an Islamic State camp. This was a decided change from previous months.

US Withdrawal Date From Iraq Postponed

On August 15 the Sudani government announced that a date for an American withdrawal from Iraq would not be made because of recent attacks by pro-Iran groups. This was a convenient excuse to delay talks which the administration has not been enthusiastic about.

Security In Iraq, Aug 8-14, 2024

During the second week of August there were two incidents in Iraq by the Islamic State.

Security In Iraq, Aug 1-7, 2024

Both the Islamic State and the Iraqi Islamic Resistance were active in Iraq during the first week of August.

Security In Iraq July 22-28, 2024

The Islamic State was absent from Iraq for another week while pro-Iran groups focused back upon the United States.

Security In Iraq July 15-21, 2024

After being silent the week before Iraq’s Islamic Resistance returned during the 3^rd week of July. The Islamic State on the other hand was not active again.

Review Meltdown in Haditha, The Killing of 24 Iraqi Civilians by U.S. Marines and the Failure of Military Justice

Englade, Kenneth, Meltdown in Haditha, The Killing of 24 Iraqi Civilians by U.S. Marines and the Failure of Military Justice, McFarland & Company, 2015

 

Meltdown in Haditha, The Killing of 24 Iraqi Civilians by U.S. Marines and the Failure of Military Justice by Kenneth Englade deals with a deadly incident in November 2005 in the Iraqi town of Haditha in Anbar province. This eventually led to 8 Marines being charged with various crimes. The author claims there was a failure by the Marines to prosecute the cases because it was more interested in protecting its image. That’s not quite supported by the evidence presented. Instead it appears that Haditha was badly handled by Marine commanders leading to years of missteps that probably should’ve never happened. Most importantly Meltdown in Haditha is not an enjoyable read because it gets bogged down in the court proceedings.

US Army In The Iraq War Volume 2 Ch 4 “The Awakening Gathers Momentum”

Chapter 4 of the second volume in the U.S. army’s history of the Iraq War is about how the Anbar Awakening expanded in the province. That eventually led to other tribes and insurgent groups to turn against the Islamic State of Iraq across central Iraq in what became known as the sahwa.