Random chart - military deaths

Source: Trends in Active-Duty Military Deaths Since 2006 (CRS Report)

Random charts - ISIS

 

 

Source: Operation Inherent Resolve And Other Overseas Contingency Operations (82-pg PDF, October 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018)

Random charts - ISIL

 

 

 

Source: Cultural Assessment of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) (74-pg PDF)

Random charts - Countering Da'esh

 

 

 

 

 

  

Source: Counter-Da'esh Influence Operations: Cognitive Space Narrative Simulation Insights (69-pg PDF)

Random picture - oil fires

Source: These Oil Wells in Iraq Have Been Burning For Months

Random charts - ISIS

 

 

 

Source: ISIL Influence and Resolve (71-page PDF)

Random charts - Iraqi opinion

 

Surveys of Iraqi public opinion over the years show that Sunni support for secular government "...has increased from 60% in 2004 to more than 81% in 2013..." while for the Shia it "... went up from 44% in2004 to 63% in 2011, and then dropped to 34% in 2013." However, both groups "...converge in defining selves as Iraqi, rather than Muslim or Arab, above all."

Iraqis apparently that keen on Iranians... or Americans for that matter.

 

 

Source: Is Iraq Falling Apart? Findings from Values Surveys (5-pg PDF)

Great quotes - caliphate

"... the shaykh (sheikh), the mujāhid, the scholar who practices what he preaches, the worshipper, the leader, the warrior, the reviver, descendent from the family of the Prophet, the slave of Allah, Ibrāhīm Ibn ‘Awwād Ibn Ibrāhīm Ibn ‘Alī Ibn Muhammad al-Badr i al-Hāshimī al-Husayn ī al-Qurashī by lineage, as-Sāmurrā’ī by birth and upbringing, al-Baghdādī by residence and scholarship. And he has accepted the bay’ah (pledge of allegiance). Thus, he is the imam and khalīfah for the Muslims everywhere..."

- ISIS, dropping the second 'IS' (Iraq and al-Sham) to proclaim themselves the Islamic state and the new caliphate, with Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Abdel Mu’min Ali Al Badri’ – Abu Da’a a.k.a. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the head honcho (to whom everyone else needs to swear allegiance...).  

And what is the caliphate? Well, in their own words:

"... Here the flag of the Islamic State, the flag of tawhīd (monotheism), rises and flutters. Its shade covers land from Aleppo to Diyala. Beneath it, the walls of the tawāghīt (rulers claiming the rights of Allah) have been demolished, their flags have fallen, and their borders have been destroyed. Their soldiers are either killed, imprisoned, or defeated. The Muslims are honored. The kuffār (infidels) are disgraced. Ahlus-Sunnah (the Sunnis) are masters and are esteemed. The people of bid’ah (heresy) are humiliated. The hudūd (Sharia penalties) are implemented – the hudūd of Allah – all of them. The frontlines are defended. Crosses and graves are demolished. Prisoners are released by the edge of the sword. The people in the lands of the State move about for their livelihood and journeys, feeling safe regarding their lives and wealth. Wulāt (plural of wālīor “governors”) and judges have been appointed. Jizyah (a tax imposed on kuffār) has been enforced. Fay’ (money taken from the kuffār without battle) and zakat (obligatory alms) have been collected. Courts have been established to resolve disputes and complaints. Evil has been removed. Lessons and classes have been held in the masājid (plural of masjid) and, by the grace of Allah, the religion has become completely for Allah. There only remained one matter, a wājib kifā’ī (collective obligation) that the ummah sins by abandoning. It is a forgotten obligation. The ummah has not tasted honor since they lost it. It is a dream that lives in the depths of every Muslim believer. It is a hope that flutters in the heart .."of every mujahid muwahhid (monotheist). It is the khilāfah (caliphate). It is the khilāfah – the abandoned obligation of the era.." 

And some poetry tossed in for good measure:

We took it forcibly at the point of a blade.

             We brought it back conquered and compelled.
We established it in defiance of many.
             And the people’s necks were violently struck,
With bombings, explosions, and destruction,
             And soldiers that do not see hardship as being difficult,
And lions that are thirsty in battle,
             Having greedily drunk the blood of kufr.
Our khilāfah has indeed returned with certainty
             And likewise our state, becoming a firm structure.
And the breasts of the believers have been healed,
             While the hearts of kufr have been filled with terror.

Random charts - ISIS

Source: Rebels Fast Strike in Iraq Was Years in the Making 

"... an examination of its history through its own documents indicates that the group has been far more ambitious and effective than United States officials judged as they were winding down the American involvement in the war.

The Sunni extremist group, while renowned for the mayhem it has inflicted, has set clear goals for carving out and governing a caliphate, an Islamic religious state, that spans Sunni-dominated sections of Iraq and Syria. It has published voluminously, even issuing annual reports, to document its progress in achieving its goals..."

Yet it was a surprise when it happened!?! Strange, was no one paying attention? Well actually, they were: "... In congressional testimony in February, a top army intelligence official, Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, said the group, “probably will attempt to take territory in Iraq and Syria to exhibit its strength in 2014....”

Random picture - Ashura

Click link for full picture

Source: Shrines in Iraq: 'Mako' Imam, 'Mako' Najaf

Random chart - Iraq, Afghan tribal differences

Source: U.S. Army Human Terrain Report: Afghan Tribal Structure Versus Iraqi Tribal Structure

"... Most US personnel that are serving in Afghanistan have already served a tour in Iraq and are accustomed to doing things “the Iraq way”. Many people are trying to apply the lessons learned in Iraq to Afghanistan, which in many cases is inappropriate. AF2 wants to provide a product to US units to compare and contrast Iraqi tribal structure and Pashtun tribal structure to prevent future missteps by US forces.

The notion of applying ideas that worked in Iraq to Afghanistan is fraught with problems. The “lessons don’t transfer directly,” according to John Nagl, one of the authors of the Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual (FM 3-24). William McCallister, an expert advisor to the Marine Corps on tribal dynamics in Iraq2 said he is “not a fan of taking the Anbar experience and creating TTPs” for a Pashtun context.

The reasons behind this are legion. For one, the historical experiences of Iraqi and Pashtun societies are so dissimilar as to make comparing them difficult, if not impossible. For another, the specific circumstances of each warzone—one a sectarian conflict, the other a fractured society handling an international insurgency—doesn’t allow for easy generalization between the two.

Furthermore, each society is fundamentally different on a structural level. In Iraq, leadership is in a sense “institutionalized,” or “codified” in the sense that there is a set and identifiable structure for community leadership to interact with each other and with the State. In Afghanistan, however, that system is neither “institutionalized” nor “codified” in any real sense; therefore, structures of community leadership and power relationships within and between tribal groups and the state are much more ad hoc and cannot be discussed in a general sense. Comparing these two societies side-by-side demonstrates this, and shows just how difficult it is to draw lessons from one to the other..."

Random charts - Iraq war costs

Source: The Iraq War Ledger: A Look at the War’s Human, Financial, and Strategic Costs

Great quotes

"... Afghanistan and other troubled lands today cry out for the sort of enlightened foreign administration once provided by self-confident Englishmen in jodhpurs and pith helmets...

... Once Afghanistan has been dealt with, America should turn its attention to Iraq. It will probably not be possible to remove Saddam quickly without a U.S. invasion and occupation--though it will hardly require half a million men, since Saddam's army is much diminished since the Gulf War, and we will probably have plenty of help from Iraqis, once they trust that we intend to finish the job this time. Once we have deposed Saddam, we can impose an American-led, international regency in Baghdad, to go along with the one in Kabul. With American seriousness and credibility thus restored, we will enjoy fruitful cooperation from the region's many opportunists, who will show a newfound eagerness to be helpful in our larger task of rolling up the international terror network that threatens us... "

- Max Boot, October 15th, 2011

Random charts

Source: Transforming Wartime Contracting: Controlling costs, reducing risks

Brief update II (Rinse and repeat)

A February 14th, 2010 blog entry, 'Just in time...', noted the periodic recycling of charges of an Iranian hand in attacks against the U.S. in Iraq. Each time the "proof" consisted of charges by U.S. sources, as well as allusions to the "sophistication" of weapons or attacks (apparently considered sufficient and prima facie evidence of Iranian meddling!).

Well, rinse and repeat, see Weapons prove Iranian role in Iraq, U.S. says and U.S. military sees Iran behind rising troop deaths in Iraq. Ah, quotes from U.S. officials, a liberal use of the words "sophisticated" and "well trained". The first article reports that U.S. ambassador to Iraq "Jeffrey provided details of the forensic testing" Strangely, the article then did not go on to share any of these "details". In the second article Maj. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, chief spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq is quoted as saying of those believed responsible for some of the recent attacks, "... all of them receive at least indirect support from elements in Iran..."

Well, clearly a (Tenet-style) "slam dunk."

Random chart

Source: The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11

Random picture

"Pacha" Bremer, Kirkuk, October 2003 at graduation ceremonies for newly-trained Iraqi soldiers.

Great quotes - corruption

BBC World Service asked what had happened to the $8.8bn (funds disbursed to Iraqi ministries, per the SIGIR "without assurance the monies were properly used or accounted for".)

Admiral David Oliver: "I have no idea. I can't tell you whether or not the money went to the right things or didn't - nor do I actually think it's important."

BBC: "But the fact is billions of dollars have disappeared without trace."

Oliver: "Of their money. Billions of dollars of their money, yeah I understand. I'm saying what difference does it make?"

How the US sent $12bn in cash to Iraq. And watched it vanish

Take a poor country, one with endemic low-level corruption, one where taking care of your own is a way of life.... Then pump in billions in cash ("... in the year after the invasion of Iraq in 2003 nearly 281 million notes, weighing 363 tonnes...") and start doling it out, year after year for almost a decade.... Then marvel at the corruption! Shock! Horror! Blame the Afghan President and his government for this sad state of affairs, which surely is why the Taliban haven't been defeated....

Skids of cash:

Great quotes

"Look back on the Philippines around the turn of the 20th century. They were a coaling station for the Navy, and that allowed us to keep a great presence in the Pacific. That's what Iraq is for the next few decades: our coaling station that gives us great presence in the Middle East."

- Jay Montgomery Garner, retired United States Army lieutenant general and Director of the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq in 2003

Random charts

Source: Wikileaks Iraq: data journalism maps every death