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