Occupation
• After the 9/11 attacks in New York, the so-called ‘war on
terror’ sweep around the world, most obviously in
Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. It soon became clear
that Iraq would be the next target.
• Throughout 2002, the US government made it clear that
removing Saddam Hussein from power was a major goal,
accusing the Iraqi regime of continuing the production and
use of weapons of mass destruction, and of having links
with terrorist organizations, particularly al-Qaeda.
• The invasion of Iraq was launched on March 19, 2003 by
American forces with British support. The war was fought
fitfully over a three-week period. Large scale operations
ended when the US army entered Baghdad in force on 9
April 2003.
Looting
• With the large scale military operations, the central
authority in Baghdad and the rest of Iraq collapsed and this
led to outbreaks of looting and property destruction on a
huge scale.
• Nearly every ministerial building was systemically stripped
of its contents, and fires were ignited in the buildings.
Hotels, palaces, villas of the elite, embassies, hospitals,
barracks, water works were all targeted and mostly looted,
vandalized and burnt down.
• While all these were taking place, Baghdad’s police force,
normally 40,000 men strong, had disappeared and there
were no firefighters to dampen the flames. The invading
soldiers and officers did not do anything because of lack of
orders to intervene and stop looting.
Sectarianism
• The Oxford English Dictionary defines “sectarianism” as
adherence or excessive attachment to a particular sect
or party, especially a religious one. Political
sectarianism thus refers to a system of governance that
favors and facilitates the empowerment of parties with
platforms defined on the basis of sectarian identity.
• Sectarianism in Iraq was not simply a result of the
occupation. Saddam Hussein had already played on
sectarian differences, using divide-and-rule tactics. For
instance, while in power he had deliberately
established a sectarian hierarchy within government
ranks, largely empowering Sunni Arabs over Shias.
Sectarianism after the Occupation
• Coalition Provisional Authority, set up in March 2003 with the order
of President Bush and charged with temporary powers of
government in Iraq, executed official orders that deepened
sectarian politics in Iraq.
• “de-Baathification” and Sunni resentment
• In July 2003, the CPA ordered the establishment of a non-sovereign
Iraqi Governing Council as the principal body of the Iraqi interim
administration. The 25 members of the council who would run the
ministries were selected on the basis of a sectarian criteria, and setquotas that predetermined a Shia majority.
• In December 2005, national elections were held. Most political
parties campaigned on the basis of ethno-sectarian appeals, and
the election results demonstrated that Iraqis had voted
overwhelmingly along the communal lines.
The New Prime Minister
Civil War
• Al Qaeda Iraq and the Mahdi Army led by Sadr
• Between 2006 and 2008, there was a bloody civil war in the country
fuelled by sectarianism One of the turning points that paved the
way for the civil war was an explosion inside the al-Askari Mosque
in Samarra, demolishing the golden dome of this sacred Shia shrine,
in late February 2006.
• In retaliation, the newly empowered Shia dominated police forces
and Shia militias launched a series of attacks citywide that targeted
Sunni militia fighters and civilians. Throughout the 2006 and 2007,
militias on both sides used brutal practices (intimidation,
kidnapping, murders, suicide bombings and other forms of
violence) to seize territory and displace opposing groups.
• By 2007, an estimated 5.25 million out of Baghdad’s total
population of 7 million reportedly lived in areas dominated by a
single sect.
Pre-2006 Baghdad
After the Civil War
Insurgency and Violence by the
Occupiers
• Some of the worst destruction and atrocities have taken place
in and around the city of Fallujah. First in April 2004 and then
in November 2004, American forces, supported by hundreds
of Iraqi troops, engaged in massive assaults on Fallujah on the
grounds that between 1000 and 6000 insurgents were hiding
in the city.
• According to Iraq Body Count, in the first assault, 800 people
lost their lives and 572 of them were civilians. In the first nine
days of the November assault, at least 800 civilians were killed
by the American and Iraqi soldiers.
• In addition, about 200,000 Iraqis fled the city just before the
assaults.
Dealing With Violence
• Surge: An increase in the number of the US
troops. A change in the military strategy. The US
troops becoming more visible and more active.
• Awakening: Agreement between the former
Sunni insurgents and the US officials.
Establishment of «Sons of Iraq». Former
insurgents providing intelligence to the US troops
• Constructing a series of concrete walls around
some Sunni and Shia neighborhoods.