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.

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.

Kazemi Latest Iraqi PM To Order The Close Of All Displaced Camps

(AP)

Prime Minister Mustafa Kazemi has decided that he will end the displacement crisis in Iraq by closing down all the camps and declaring the problem solved. This has been the wish of all the previous premiers since Nouri al-Maliki. None of them seemed to actually care about the displaced and none of them succeeded either, something Kazemi doesn’t appear to have taken to heart.

Review The Rise of Islamic State, ISIS and the New Sunni Revolution

Cockburn, Patrick, The Rise of Islamic State, ISIS and the New Sunni Revolution, London, New York: Verso, 2015

 

The Rise of Islamic State, ISIS and the New Sunni Revolution was written by reporter Patrick Cockburn. He said he wanted to explain what led to the 2014 fall of Mosul and its aftermath, but that was misleading. What he wrote instead was a series of personal reflections upon the Mideast. Each chapter was like its own short essay and unrelated to the others. That meant there wasn’t a coherent story to the book. Not only that but as it progressed each chapter got more off track.

US Supreme Court Oks Deportation Of Iraqis

(Supremcourt.gov)

At the start of July the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal to stop the deportation of Iraqis convicted of crimes. This will affect around 1,400 Iraqis currently living in America. This is the result of a deal made between the government of Prime Minister Haidar Abadi and President Trump to keep Iraq off of the Muslim ban list.

PM Mahdi Fails 1st Test Of New Hashd Order In Iraq

Protests staged by 30th Brigade in August against PM Mahdi's order to have it withdraw from Mosul and the Ninewa Plains (Al Mada)

In July 2019 Prime Minister Adil Mahdi issued an executive order that the Hashd would be further integrated into the state. That included following the commander in chief, no longer being linked to political parties, giving up their individual names, only being known by their brigade numbers, etc. Immediately the premier’s authority was challenged by the 30^th Brigade in Ninewa, and he caved in providing another example of how the central government has resigned itself to allow the Hashd to do what they want in Iraq.

Iraq’s Former PM Abadi Claimed Only 8 Civilians Killed In Mosul Battle

Fmr PM Abadi talking with journalist Jane Arraf at 2019 Sulamani Forum (Twitter)

At the recent Sulamani Forum held in March 2019 former Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi claimed that there were only 8 civilian casualties in the Battle of Mosul. He told journalist Jane Arraf only eight women and children lost their lives during the fighting. Arraf challenged him on that and Abadi replied that he went to Mosul and checked the figures. He said, “Yes… Less than ten. Eight … Probably the number eight has increased a bit, and that was at one stage. … I was there! Looking in the streets, looking who is going where, who is going around, I made sure that there were no civilians, only combatants.” He went on to claim that he had gone to multiple sources and they confirmed his figures.

Iraq Has Another Year With Poor Human Rights Record According to Amnesty International

Amnesty International recently released its annual review of human rights in the Middle Est for 2018. The section on Iraq could have been taken from any of the previous reports from the last fourteen years. The government’s forces continue to use torture. There is no rule of law nor due process for those that go through the justice system. The government also went after protesters in southern and northern Iraq. People associated with the Islamic State face group punishment. This is the underside of Iraq. Not only does it have a poor human rights record it also lacks some of the basics necessary for it to develop into a full democracy.

PM Mahdi Launches Latest Anti-Corruption Initiative In Iraq

(Iraqi Parliament)

At the end of January 2019 Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi announced his new anti-graft campaign. That focused around a new Supreme Anti-Corruption Council. Every Iraqi administration since 2005 has said that it would stand up to theft and stealing, but they have done little to actually combat it. Mahdi’s effort is likely to go the same way.

Why Did Trump Ask Iraq For Its Oil?

(AFP)

In November 2018, Axios reported that President Trump twice asked Iraq’s Prime Minister Haidar Abadi for Iraq’s oil. This was an embarrassment to the president’s staff, but the question of why Trump would make such a ridiculous request not once, but twice was never answered. It stems from his world view, which is shaped by money and leads him to believes that the U.S. should use its military to make a profit.

Iraq’s PM Abadi Acknowledges Defeat For 2nd Term

(AIN)

In what appeared to be a concession speech Prime Minister Haidar Abadi said that he would not hold onto power. Since May, all of the premier’s plans have gone awry. He was hoping for an easy victory in the elections and came in third. He believed that aligning with Moqtada al-Sadr and his Sairoon would assure him of a second term. Instead, Sadr abandoned him for an alliance with the pro-Iran Hashd Fatah list led by Badr’s Hadi Amiri after the protests and riots in Basra. His remarks just confirmed what was already a fait accompli.

Abadi Abandoned, Sadr-Amiri New Alliance

Sadr and Amiri the new power brokers in forming the next Iraqi govt (Reuters)

Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has had a rough going since the May 2018 parliamentary elections. He thought he was assured a second term after leading the victory against the Islamic State. Instead, he ran a poor campaign and came in third behind the Moqtada al-Sadr-Communist Sairoon list and the pro-Iran Hashd Fatah led by Badr’s Hadi Amiri. The summer protests across the south for services, better governance and jobs culminating in the riots in Basra have seemingly sealed his fate. Sairoon and Fatah made a new deal and came out against Abadi as well as Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Iraq Failed To Prepare For Water Crisis

Turkey's Ilisu Dam (Global Water Blog)

Basra is currently facing a growing water crisis. 17,000 people have been hit by colic and diarrhea, and there are warnings that cholera might break out. The cause of this problems are two-fold. One is increasingly salinity moving north up the Shatt al-Arab waterway from the Persian Gulf. Second is the reduction of water coming down the Tigris River from the north due to a new Turkish dam. The dam project started over a decade ago yet the Iraqi government failed to make adequate preparations for it, and is now paying the price.

Iraq Says It Will Only Follow Partial Sanctions On Iran

(Iraqi News)

The Trump administration just re-imposed sanctions on Iraq for its nuclear program. Prime Minister Haidar Abadi announced that Iraq would follow the U.S. lead, only to have his media office backtrack a few days later. Following sanctions is extremely difficult for Iraq. Iran is not only a major trade partner, but provides essentials such as electricity. Iraq also is a major source of U.S. dollars for Tehran. Iraq didn’t follow Obama era sanctions on Iran, and will likely do the same under Trump.  

Silencing Protests In Iraq

(Reuters) 

Prime Minister Haidar Abadi finds himself in a precarious situation. Starting July 5 protests started in Basra and then spread throughout the entire south and then Baghdad. Right now he is heading a caretaker government until the election results are certified and a new administration takes over. That means he has little authority to meet the demands of the demonstrations, especially because many of them require structural changes that would be a challenge to any premier. While he has pledged to meet as many of the protesters’ wants as possible, he has also attacked their integrity, tried to block their organizing and broken up their gatherings.

2 Killed As Protests Hit 10 Provinces In Iraq

Water cannons fired at protesters in Baghdad's Tahrir Square

July 20 protests were organized across 10 provinces, the most since they started fifteen days ago. This was after a week of declining marches due to a government crackdown. The security forces (ISF) responded by breaking up almost all the gatherings, and two people were killed as well.

Abadi Govt’s Carrot And Stick Approach Working With Iraq’s Protest Movement

Protest in Basra (AIN)

There were protests in three provinces on July 18, and three on July 19. Those occurred in Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Basra city and Mashreh in Maysan. Activists are trying to organize widespread protests in ten provinces for Friday, which is the day off in the Muslim world. At its peak, there were demonstrations in 9 of Iraq’s 18 governorates.

Demonstrations Dwindling Amidst Govt Crackdown In Iraq

On the thirteenth day of activism in Iraq there were protests in just 3 provinces. Babil, the Shula neighborhood of Baghdad, and Basra all had demonstrations. There were also ongoing talks with the authorities. In Basra, activists gave the government three days to meet their demands. A committee in Basra’s Zubayr met with the local officials. There was talk about organizing new protests in Muthanna, and a large national gathering on Friday. At its height, people came out into the streets in 9 provinces. Since then there have been fewer and fewer because of Baghdad’s on going crackdown.

Government Crackdown Shuts Down Many Protests In Iraq

The Iraqi government crackdown on the country’s demonstrations was in its second day. It had a noticeable affect as there were fewer protests, and public accusations against the activists grew in the media.

Iraq Government Starts Crackdown On Protests

Night protest in Baghdad's Shula (Iraq Newspaper) 

As Iraq reached its 11^th day of protests there were events in six provinces. The real news of the day however was with the Abadi government, which promised new programs to meet the demands of the demonstrators, while starting a crackdown on activists.