Iraq, officially known as Republic of Iraq, is a country in Western Asia and is part of the Middle East. With a population of 34 million, it is 30th most populous country in the world. It consists of 18 governorates. Iraq is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south, Kuwait and the Persian Gulf to the east, Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Jordan to the southwest and Syrian to the west. Baghdad is the country's capital and largest city. Most of the Iraqis are Muslims, with minority religions are Christianity, Yazidism, Zoroastrianism, Mandaeism, Yarsanism and Judaism. Iraqi people are diverse; mostly Arabs, as well as Kurds, Turkmen, Yazidis, Assyrians, Armenians, Mandaeans, Persians and Shabakis with similarly diverse geography and wildlife.
History
editEarly Modern Iraq: Mandate and Kingdom
editDuring the Ottoman Empire until the partition of the Ottoman Empire in the 20th century, Iraq was made up of three provinces, called vilayets in the Ottoman language: Mosul Vilayet, Baghdad Vilayet, and Basra Vilayet. These three provinces were joined into one kingdom by the British after the region became a League of Nations mandate, administered under British control, with the name "State of Iraq". A fourth province (Zor Sanjak), which Iraqi nationalists considered part of Upper Mesopotamia was ultimately added to Syria. In line with their "Sharifian Solution" policy, the British established the Hashemite king on 23 August 1921, Faisal I of Iraq, who had been forced out of Syria by the French, as their client ruler. The official English name of the country simultaneously changed from Mesopotamia to the endonymic Iraq. Likewise, British authorities selected Sunni Arab elites from the region for appointments to government and ministry offices.[specify][page needed]
Faced with spiralling costs and influenced by the public protestations of the war hero T. E. Lawrence, Britain replaced Arnold Wilson in October 1920 with a new Civil Commissioner, Sir Percy Cox. Cox managed to quell a rebellion, yet was also responsible for implementing the fateful policy of close co-operation with Iraq's Sunni minority. Slavery was abolished in the 1920s. Britain granted independence to the Kingdom of Iraq in 1932, on the urging of King Faisal, though the British retained military bases and local militia in the form of Assyrian Levies. King Ghazi ruled as a figurehead after King Faisal's death in 1933, while undermined by attempted military coups, until his death in 1939. Ghazi was followed by his underage son, Faisal II, with 'Abd al-Ilah as Regent.[citation needed] On 1 April 1941, Rashid Ali al-Gaylani and members of the Golden Square staged a coup d'état. During the subsequent Anglo-Iraqi War, the United Kingdom invaded Iraq for fear that the government might cut oil supplies to Western nations because of his links to the Axis powers.
The war started on 2 May, and the British, together with loyal Assyrian Levies, defeated the forces of Al-Gaylani, forcing an armistice on 31 May.[citation needed] Nuri Said served as the prime minister during the Kingdom of Iraq. In 1930, during his first term, he signed the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty, which, as a step toward greater independence, granted Britain the unlimited right to station its armed forces in and transit military units through Iraq and also gave legitimacy to British control of the country's oil industry. In addition, Said contributed to the establishment of the Kingdom of Iraq and the Iraqi army.[citation needed] A military occupation followed the restoration of the pre-coup government of the Hashemite monarchy. The occupation ended on 26 October 1947, although Britain was to retain military bases in Iraq until 1954, after which the Assyrian militias were disbanded. The rulers during the occupation and the remainder of the Hashemite monarchy were Nuri as-Said, the autocratic Prime Minister, who also ruled from 1930 to 1932, and 'Abd al-Ilah, the former Regent who now served as an adviser to King Faisal II.[citation needed]
Prior to the 1940s, Iraq had one of the oldest Jewish communities in the Middle East. Iraq's first finance minister was Sassoon Eskell, an Iraqi Jewish. Anti–Jewish riots took place in Baghdad, known as Farhud in 1941. Hundreds of Iraqi Jews were killed the riots, as well as the rioters. It resulted mass expulsion of the Jews. Few of the Jews were also executed, suspected over ties with Israel and promoting Zionist activities. Baghdad was also subjected of bombings at Jewish areas. According to Israeli historian Avi Shlaim, Israel was behind these attacks to retreat Iraqi Jews from the Iraq. Iraq's royal family were the Hashemites, who were also monarch of Jordan. King Faysal II established Arab Federation with Jordan, which was ruled by his cousin Hussein bin Talal. It was a counterpart to Gamal Abdel Nasser's political union between Egypt and Syria, known as the United Arab Republic
Republican and Ba'athist rule
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In 1958, a coup d'état known as the 14 July Revolution was led by the Brigadier General and nationalist Abd al-Karim Qasim. This revolt was strongly anti-imperial and anti-monarchical in nature and had strong socialist elements. Numerous people were killed in the coup, including King Faysal II, Prince Abd al-Ilah, and Nuri al-Sa'id and members of the royal family, which is known as "the Royal family massacre". Qasim controlled Iraq through military rule and in 1958 he began a process of forcibly reducing surplus land owned by a few citizens and having the state redistribute the land. Iraq state emblem under nationalist Qasim was mostly based on Mesopotamian symbol of Shamash, and avoided pan-Arab symbolism by incorporating elements of Socialist heraldry. In 1959, Colonel Abd al-Wahab al-Shawaf led an uprising in Mosul to overthrew Qassim and aimed to join the United Arab Republic, but was repressed by the government. Iraq withdrew from the Baghdad Pact in 1959 leading to strained relations with the West.
In 1961, Kurdish nationalist movements, led by Mustafa Barzani's the Kurdistan Democratic Party, launch an armed rebellion against the Iraqi government, seeking autonomy for the Kurdish region. The government faces challenges in quelling the Kurdish uprising, leading to intermittent clashes between Kurdish forces and the Iraqi military. The rebellion took shape in a war, which lasted till 1970. Qassim was killed and overthrown by Colonel Abdul Salam Arif in 1963 coup. The Ba'ath Party assumes power, but internal divisions within the party lead to political instability and a series of unsuccessful coups. A revolt at in Baghdad was crushed by government. After the Abdul Salam Arif's death in airplane accident in 1966, he was succeeded by his brother, Abdul Rahman Arif. Iraq also sided with the Arab coalition in support for the Palestine in the Six Day War against Israel.
A coup d'état led by Ba'ath Party established one party state, led by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as president. Saddam Hussein became vice-president, who had de facto control over the government and would dominate Iraq's political history for next decades. The government's socio-economic reforms turned Iraq into one of the most prosperous countries of the world. The First Iraqi–Kurdish war ended in 1970. An agreement was signed between the Iraqi government and Mustafa Barzani following the end of the war, which granted autonomy to Kurds. Disputes over revenue sharing and government's Arabization program in Kirkuk resulted another rebellion by the Kurds, which was supported by Imperial Iran. Iran and Iraq were in a territorial dispute over Shatt al-Arab river. The 1975 agreement between Saddam and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi solved the dispute and Iran withdrew its support for Kurdish rebels, resulting their defeat by the government forces in the Second Iraqi–Kurdish War.
Following months of cross-border raids with Iran, Saddam declared war on Iran in September 1980, initiating the Iran–Iraq War (or First Persian Gulf War). Taking advantage of the post-Iranian Revolution chaos in Iran, Iraq captured some territories in southwest Iran, but Iran recaptured all of the lost territories within two years, and for the next six years Iran was on the offensive.[page needed] The war, which ended in stalemate in 1988, killed between half a million and 1.5 million people. During the war, Saddam Hussein extensively used chemical weapons against Iranians. In 1981, Israel attacked and destroyed a nuclear reactor. During the final stages of war, the government led a campaign in Kurdish region with intentions to eliminate Kurdish rebel forces. But the campaign ended resulting death of 50,000 to 100,000 Kurdish civilians.
Due to Iraq's inability to pay Kuwait more than $14 billion that it had borrowed to finance the Iran–Iraq War and Kuwait's surge in petroleum production levels which kept revenues down, Iraq interpreted Kuwait's refusal to decrease its oil production as an act of aggression. In August 1990 Iraq invaded and annexed Kuwait. This led to military intervention by United States-led coalition forces in the First Gulf War. The coalition forces proceeded with a bombing campaign targeting military targets and then launched a 100-hour-long ground assault against Iraqi forces in Southern Iraq and Kuwait. Iraq also launched attacks on Saudi Arabia and Israel, by scud missiles. Iraq's armed forces were devastated during the war. Shortly after it ended in 1991, Kurdish Iraqis led several uprisings against Saddam Hussein's regime, but these were repressed. It is estimated that as many as 100,000 people, including many civilians were killed. During the uprisings the US, UK, France and Turkey, claiming authority under UNSCR 688, established the Iraqi no-fly zones to protect Kurdish population from attacks.
Iraq was ordered to destroy its chemical and biological weapons and the UN attempted to compel Saddam's government to disarm and agree to a ceasefire by imposing additional sanctions on the country in addition to the initial sanctions imposed following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. The Iraqi Government's failure to disarm and agree to a ceasefire resulted in sanctions which remained in place until 2003. The effects of the sanctions on the civilian population of Iraq have been disputed. Whereas it was widely believed that the sanctions caused a major rise in child mortality, recent research has shown that commonly cited data were fabricated and that "there was no major rise in child mortality in Iraq". An oil for food program was established in 1996 to ease the effects of sanctions.
U.S invasion and post-war Iraq (!)
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In March 2003, the United States–led coalition forces invaded Iraq, under the pretext of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction program and connection with terrorist groups. The invasion started the Iraq War. Within weeks of invasion, the coalition forces occupied much of Iraq. Following the fall of Baghdad on 9 April 2003, Saddam completely lost control over the country. The coalition forces established a transitional government, later followed by an interim government in 2004, which de-Ba'athification policies to expel Ba'athists. Saddam's sons and grandsons were killed by the coalition forces in Mosul. Saddam was captured by the coalition forces in late 2003 and was executed in 2006. An insurgency against the coalition forces and between different groups by Iraqis began after fall of the Iraqi government. Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse came in light. The Mahdi Army led by Muqtada al-Sadr began fighting the coalition forces in 2004.
During 2006, fighting continued and reached its highest levels of violence, more war crimes scandals by the coalition forces such as Haditha massacre were made public. Between 2006 and 2008, a sectarian civil war took place between Shia and Sunni. In 2008, fighting continued and Iraq's newly trained armed forces launched attacks against militants. Terrorist attacks continued in Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Najaf and Karbala. While the Kurdistan region was safe, due to their friendly relations with the United States and Israel. Iran opposed the invasion of Iraq by the United States, but later took advantage of post-invasion chaos and started increasing its influence, primarily due to Shi'ite majority of Iraq. A large number of Iranian–backed armed groups established in Iraq, which would trigger post-war conflicts in Iraq
The U.S troops began withdrawing in 2008. In 2011, the occupation and war officially ended and last group of U.S troops withdrew the country. The war resulted between 100,000 to 1.1 million Iraqis being killed. Islamic extremists of both Sunni and Shi'ite sect gained power in the country, which began persecuting non–Muslim minorities. As a result of the war Iraq's minorities, including the Jews, Assyrians and Mandaens faced persecution. The claim on Ba'athist Government's program on weapons of mass destruction was based on the documents provided by the CIA and the British government, which were later founded to be unreliable and allegations on Saddam Hussein having links with Al–Qaeda was false. Post-war Iraq suffered with political instability, which was almost non-existent during the Ba'athist period. This increased positive legacy of Saddam and most Iraqis today prefer Saddam's government over current regime.
Nouri al-Maliki became first full-term prime minister after the fall of Saddam's regime in 2006, belonging to Shi'ite Islamic Dawa Party. He continued to serve as prime minister after the war and implement sectarian policies, which favored Shi'ite over Sunnis. A coalition of Ba'athists and Sunni took arms in Anbar Governorate and led an armed campaign. The ISIS began expanding its territorial government and seized control of Mosul. Non-Muslim minorities including Christians and Yazidis were persecuted by the ISIS. The government lost control of its borders with Syria and Jordan. Al–Maliki declared state of emergency. Escalating civil war in Syria by 2014, paved way for the ISIS to intervene
U.S invasion and post-war conflict
editFollowing the September 11 attacks, George W. Bush began planning of overthrowing Saddam's government. He included Iraq in axis of evil, along with Iran and North Korea. In October 2002, the US Congress passed the Joint Resolution to authorize the use of U.S. Armed Forces against Iraq. The UN Security Council passed UNSCR 1441 and in March 2003 the United States and its allies invaded Iraq. On 20 March 2003, a US-organised coalition invaded Iraq, under the pretext that Iraq had failed to abandon its weapons of mass destruction program. The coalition forces occupied much of Iraq and the government lost its control. A transitional government was established by the U.S, which followed de-Ba'athification policies and expelled Ba'athist members. The Mahdi Army—a Shia militia created in the summer of 2003 by Muqtada al-Sadr—began to fight Coalition forces in April 2004. 2004 saw Sunni and Shia militants fighting against each other and against the new Iraqi Interim Government installed in June 2004, and against Coalition forces, as well as the First Battle of Fallujah in April and Second Battle of Fallujah in November. Insurgent attacks increased to 34,131 in 2005 from 26,496 in 2004. During 2006, fighting continued and reached its highest levels of violence, more war crimes scandals such as Hadhita massacre were made public. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq was killed by US forces. Iraq's former dictator and deposed president Saddam Hussein was hanged for crimes against humanity – his involvement in the 1982 massacre.
In 2008, fighting continued and Iraq's newly trained armed forces launched attacks against militants. The Iraqi government signed the US–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement, which required US forces to withdraw from Iraqi cities by 30 June 2009 and to withdraw completely from Iraq by 31 December 2011. US troops handed over security duties to Iraqi forces in June 2009, though they continued to work with Iraqi forces after the pullout. On the morning of 18 December 2011, the final contingent of US troops to be withdrawn ceremonially exited over the border to Kuwait. Crime and violence initially spiked in the months following the US withdrawal from cities in mid-2009 but despite the initial increase in violence, in November 2009, Iraqi Interior Ministry officials reported that the civilian death toll in Iraq fell to its lowest level since the 2003 invasion. Following the withdrawal of US troops in 2011, the insurgency continued and Iraq suffered from political instability. Claim of possessing weapons of mass destruction was based on documents provided by the CIA and the British government that were later found to be unreliable and allegation on Saddam Hussein having links with Al Qaeda during the September 11 attacks came out be a false. Future political instability and insurgency remained as an effect of the war. This increased positive legacy of Saddam Hussein. According to a survey, 67% of Iraqis viewed the government of Saddam Hussein better than current one. It has been argued though that the U.S. actually were pursuing national objectives to expand their spheres of power. The war in Iraq has resulted in between 151,000 and 1.2 million Iraqis being killed.
Sectarian violence continued in the first half of 2013 with at least 56 people killed in April when a Sunni protest in Hawija was interrupted by a government-supported helicopter raid. On 20 May 2013, at least 95 people died in a wave of car bomb attacks that was preceded by a car bombing on 15 May that led to 33 deaths; also, on 18 May, 76 people were killed in the Sunni areas of Baghdad. On 22 July 2013, at least five hundred convicts, most of whom were senior members of al-Qaida who had received death sentences, broke out of Iraq's Abu Ghraib Jail when comrades launched a military-style assault to free them. The attack began when a suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into prison gates. James F. Jeffrey, the United States ambassador in Baghdad when the last American troops exited, said the assault and resulting escape "will provide seasoned leadership and a morale boost to Al Qaeda and its allies in both Iraq and Syria ... it is likely to have an electrifying impact on the Sunni population in Iraq, which has been sitting on the fence." By late June, the Iraqi government had lost control of its borders with both Jordan and Syria. al-Maliki called for a national state of emergency on 10 June following the attack on Mosul. However, despite the security crisis, Iraq's parliament did not allow Maliki to declare a state of emergency; many legislators boycotted the session because they opposed expanding the prime minister's powers. After an inconclusive election in April 2014, Nouri al-Maliki served as caretaker-Prime-Minister. On 11 August, Iraq's highest court ruled that PM Maliki's bloc was the largest in parliament, meaning Maliki could stay Prime Minister.
By 13 August, however, the Iraqi president had tasked Haider al-Abadi with forming a new government, and the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and some Iraqi politicians expressed their wish for a new leadership in Iraq. On 14 August, Maliki stepped down as PM. On 8 September 2014, Haider al-Abadi became prime minister. Abadi promised to stamp out corruption and ease sectarian tensions. Intermittent conflict between Sunni, Shia and Kurdish factions has led to increasing debate about the splitting of Iraq into three autonomous regions: Kurdistan in the northeast, a Sunni state in the west and a Shia state in the southeast.
Protests over deteriorating economic conditions and state corruption started in July 2018 in Baghdad and other major Iraqi cities, mainly in the central and southern provinces. The latest nationwide protests, erupting in October 2019, had a death toll of at least 93 people, including police. On 3 January 2020, a U.S. drone strike killed Qasem Soleimani, leader of Iran's Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces, as their convoy left Baghdad International Airport. In November 2021, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi survived a failed assassination attempt. In response to rapid territorial gains made by the Islamic State in early 2014, and its universally-condemned executions and reported human rights abuses, many states began to intervene against it in the 2013–2017 war. ISIL began losing ground in both Iraq and Syria. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in Iraq in ISIL-linked violence. The genocide of Yazidis by ISIL has led to the expulsion, flight and effective exile of the Yazidis. The 2016 Karrada bombing killed nearly 400 civilians and injured hundreds more. On 17 March 2017, a US-led coalition airstrike in Mosul killed more than 200 civilians. By December 2017, ISIL had no remaining territory in Iraq, following the 2017 Western Iraq campaign. On 9 December 2017, then-Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over ISIL and announced full liberation of borders with Syria from Islamic State militants.
The country's electrical grid faces systemic pressures due to climate change, fuel shortages, and an increase in demand. Corruption remains endemic throughout all levels of Iraqi governance while the US-endorsed sectarian political system has driven increased levels of violent terrorism and sectarian conflicts within the country. Climate change is driving wide-scale droughts across the country while water reserves are rapidly depleting. The country has been in a prolonged drought since 2020 and experienced its second-driest season in the past four decades in 2021. Water flows in the Tigris and Euphrates are down between 30 and 40%. Half of the country's farmland is at risk of desertification. Nearly 40% of Iraq "has been overtaken by blowing desert sands that claim tens of thousands of acres of arable land every year".
Politics
editMilitary
editIraq has one of the most complex military history in the world. Prior to the Gulf War, Iraq had one of the most powerful armed forces in the world. Under the leadership of Saddam, defense industry used to receive huge investments. Saddam also led other armed groups such as Fedayeen Saddam, Republican Guard and Jerusalem Army, which were abolished after his overthrew in 2003. Iranian intervention in the country have resulted formation of several guerrilla groups, backed by Iran.
Foreign relations
editDuring the monarchical rule, Iraq followed pro-Western policy. The country also hosted Baghdad Pact, which was military alliance during the Cold War and included Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and the United Kingdom. King Faysal II formed a political union with his cousin King Hussein's Jordan, known as Arab Federation. Under Qasim's leadership, Iraq withdrew from the Baghdad Pact and established friendly relations with pro-Soviet countries. Iraq had also sided with Arab coalition in their wars against Israel.
During the Iran–Iraq War, the United States supported Iraq. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait also openly provided financial support to Saddam. However Iraq's relations with numerous Arab countries deteriorated during the Gulf War. Since the war, tensions between the Ba'athist Iraq and the United States increased.