Civil - Military Relations in Iraq (1921-2006): An Introductory Survey - British Invasion, Golden Shrine, Royal Military College, Qasim Era, President Arif, Ba'ath Party, Iran Invasion, Iraqi Army

This excellent report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. This article surveys the historical military experience since the formation of modern Iraq and until the present time.

The first unit of the Iraqi army was established on January 6, 1921 and was emblematically named Fawj Musa al-Kadhim, after the seventh Shi'i imam whose tomb is situated under the golden shrine in Baghdad. This is perhaps the first paradox pertaining to this entity, which has been an army by the Sunnis and for the Sunnis. To be sure, the number of Shi'i recruits increased in later decades, mainly because of the conscription, which was established by a law in 1934, drafting the Shi'a to the army in large numbers. But this increase in numbers did not cause an increase of Shi'i power, because the officer corps remained predominantly Sunni.
Prior to the British invasion 1914-1918, Iraq was part of the Ottoman Empire, along with many other Arab areas in the region. The Ottomans divided the historic land of Iraq into three separate provinces, Musol in the north, Baghdad in the center and Basra in the south. The country was underdeveloped and plagued by highly corrupt governments. Following the declaration of WWI, the Ottoman central government issued its orders to all provinces to begin a sweeping campaign of monetary levy and to draft as many young men as possible to support the war effort. This was a long-awaited opportunity for the local administrators to enrich themselves at the expense of the general population and all in the name of war expenditure.