Rattibha

[THEAD] The war in Iraq (2003-2011), from the beginnings of the war to the democratic crusade of George Bush until the advent of the Islamic State in Iraq and the departure of American troops from the country.
{credit @VAWIOP}

Spreading the ideals of the American neoconservatives through war was therefore one of the main reasons for the invasion of Iraq,
Very soon after the fall of Saddam Hussein,2 strategies are opposed in the American camp, with on the one hand a first approach consisting in quickly

making the transition vis à vis a new Iraqi government of transition, In the end it will be Paul Bremer's vision that will prevail, he will become the de facto authority in Iraq, he will then take the head of the "provisional authority" and will define the procedure

to follow according to him, with the approval of George Bush. The beginning of the insurrection, the battle for Fallujah and the abuses of Abu Ghraib as the first symbols of this war.
The insurgents who cause the most problems from the start for the United States

are the Sunni insurgents where claiming to be Sunnism, these insurgents are then themselves divided into several organizations with various obediences.
The battle for Fallujah will indeed be a turning point in the war in Iraq, in particular because of the magnitude of the

confrontation, it all starts with an ambush targeting mercenaries from the well-known PMC BlackWater.
4 Americans are killed, among at least 3 former American soldiers, including 1 former Navy Seal, the burned and shredded bodies are then hung on the Fallujah bridge

Several groups are present at the time, such as those of the Islamic army of Iraq which will participate in the ambush against the members of the PMC BlackWater, but also the group of Zarqawi which will make Fallujah its capital progressively time

some of the most important commanders of the group will take part in the battle for Fallujah, such as Abou Anas Shami or Omar Hadid, Zarqawi stays away from him, his lieutenants advising him to stay away for the sake of their boss.

While the American offensive is slipping due to a lack of manpower and the resistance of the insurgents, the Americans are using their air force more and more, civilian casualties are increasing, and the offensive is increasingly poorly perceived by the media.

Finally after several weeks of combat, the Americans withdrew, after the death of nearly thirty American soldiers without having been able to take the city, this battle is seen as the first great victory of the insurgents over the Americans.

his group receives the allegiance of many locals, but also of foreigners who will flock from all over the world, but more particularly from the Arab world to take part in the war then in progress against the Americans in Iraq.

In the meantime, during this period, a scandal broke out in Iraq, that of Abu Ghraib, a prison where the Americans at the time locked up Iraqi men and women suspected of supporting the insurgency,
the Americans are accused of torture, humiliation and rape on many prisoners,

and in particular on women prisoners,indeed at the time several sources report abuse inflicted on prisoners held by the Americans in the prison.The insurgents will react, and among them a group in particular will try to storm this prison to free them,this group is that of Zarqawi

Abou Anas Shami, already mentioned above, will lead the preparations for this operation, but will be killed in a US drone strike, 1 year later, the Zarqawi group will lead a second attempt and storm the Abu Ghraib prison.

The operation is named "in honor" of Abu Anas Shami, the American air force and the American soldiers manage to repel the assault, but this attack will surprise the United States by the nature of the attack, namely an attack head-on against such a well-guarded objective.

This type of attack on prisons will later become the hallmark of islamic state terrorist organization around the world, as we have seen this year through the attack on 3 prisons in 3 different countries, in Nigeria, Congo and Syria.

A little more than 1 month after the strike against Abu Anas Shami, the second battle of Fallujah begins, this one will be the most violent of all the war in Iraq, the Americans will lose nearly 100 soldiers to take the city and will have several hundred of injured.

You should know that before this second battle, the group of Zarqawi had succeeded in making the city of Fallujah a real sanctuary, which was the initial goal, despite the presence of other groups in Fallujah at the base, it is the Zarqawi group taking over.

Thus at the time in Fallujah, the sharia is applied in its entirety, which is the modus operandi that the EI will follow each time a territory will pass under its control in the future.

In the end, we can say that Fallujah was the first state experience of ISI
For the United States and the interim Iraqi government of the time elections cannot happen, even as a city like Fallujah de facto escapes their control.

Retaking this city therefore becomes the priority of the Bush administration in Iraq.
At the time, a memo to John Abizaid claimed that Fallujah was "a sanctuary for the best organized, most effective terrorist network in Iraq".

This time the Americans do not want to leave any chance to the insurgents, therefore the American numbers are revised upwards compared to the first battle, 10 battalions are engaged for the 2nd battle of Fallujah instead of 2 for the first.

In all more than 10,000 American soldiers will take part in this battle, the United States is also this time fully supported by the Iraqi government which wants to assert its authority over the city.

As said above the battle will be the most violent of the war, the Americans will lose nearly 100 soldiers, and in all nearly 200 American soldiers will find death in Iraq during the months of November-December 2004, of which nearly 140 nothing only for the month of November.

The relentlessness of the insurgents pushes the United States to destroy a large part of the city, at the end of the fighting, 10,000 of the 50,000 buildings in the city will be destroyed, and half of the remaining buildings seriously damaged.

The American soldiers of the time clearly explain that it was better for them at the time to destroy the city than to take the risk of losing more soldiers.

The elections, the victory of the Shiite parties and the American-Shiite collaboration against the population and the Sunni insurgents during the war.
For the Americans the elections are important for 2 reasons, the first is that the desire to set up a democratic process was

precisely one of the reasons for the invasion of Iraq, and this for ideological reasons as we could see it before.
Second, Americans believe that free and democratic elections representing all communities will lead to a decline in Sunni insurgent activity,

For this,the Americans want in particular a large participation of the Sunni population,which at the time represented the main obstacle to these election
To ensure the conduct of these elections,the United States is increasing the number of its troops in Iraq to 150,000 soldiers

But for the Shiites it is a way of finally coming to power, they integrate into key positions (such as the police force) Shiite militiamen, such as those of the Badr organization or those of Sadr.
Things don't stop at provocations, Iraqi police forces also used to commit abuses

against the Sunni population in their own neighborhoods, from torture to rape threats to summary executions.
Indeed, the United States will voluntarily choose to make common cause with anti-Sunni Shia militiamen to punish Sunnis in general who at the time supported the ongoing

insurgency,way of deterring potential insurgent recruits
Colonel John said "We were told to leave Jaysh al Mahdi alone&not to initiate confrontation with,the multinational force already had its hands full with the Sunni insurgency,so we were told not to fight the Shiite militias

At the time, almost all US operations were conducted in Sunni regions, likewise almost all US troops were in Sunni regions, while foreign troops from other nations were in southern regions. Shiite majority.

The Iraqi government, Shiite militias and Iraqi police forces will use US soldiers to empty Baghdad neighborhoods of Sunni population and undermine any potential Sunni attempts to take power.

The first to say this again are the Americans themselves, like Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Peterson who said that the Americans had no choice, because these local forces at the time were their partners on the ground.

While the Americans carry out joint operations with police forces infiltrated by the Shiite militias, the Shiite militias threaten the Sunnis in the mixed neighborhoods of Baghdad, either they leave or they will be targeted.

Most of the former mixed neighborhoods of Baghdad will therefore gradually become predominantly Shiite neighborhoods, several maps below illustrating this phenomenon:

"Concentrating on the Sunni insurgency, we pursued a strategy of transferring responsibility for Iraq's security as quickly as possible to a Shia-dominated government that we helped put in place."

Or even the "black humor" of Thomas Odierno, the general of the American forces in Iraq: "I am not a fan of Sunnis, I have killed and arrested more Sunnis than anyone in this room".

The more the war against the insurgents progressed, and the more it seemed unwinnable, at the time, not a week passed without at least a dozen American soldiers being killed in Iraq.

American soldiers are targeted from all sides, especially through these famous IEDs which will haunt American soldiers throughout the war & will be responsible for a large part of the losses of the coalition.

Like the "deep buried" IEDs used mainly by Sunni insurgents, and which will be responsible in particular for the destruction of many of the heavy equipment of the American forces such as the Bradley armored vehicles or the M1 Abrams tanks.

For e.g. in 2006, after the deployment of the 1st battalion of the 12th regiment of the American cavalry in Diyala to fight the Islamic State of Iraq,the aforementioned battalion will lose in 6 months,8 tanks M1 abrams, 15 Bradleys and 18 Humvees ,much of it because of these IEDs

And obviously IEDs were not the only dangers at the time, VBIEDs for "vehicle born explosive device" were used massively by Sunni jihadists, whether at a banal checkpoint:

Surprisingly, the Shiite militias will not use this type of method, even though they were the first to use it, especially against American troops in Lebanon, but in Iraq, it is the hallmark of Sunni insurgents.

There is therefore hardly a moment of respite for the American soldiers at this time who describe themselves, moreover, the difficulty of the fight in Iraq compared to any other conflict in progress at the time.

Like former Navy Seal, Jocko Willik who explains the difficulty of the battle of Ramadi against islamic state terror organization insurgents, he describes the organization of the group as similar to that of his own soldiers.

Ramadi will be one of the most violent battles of this war with that of Fallujah, a battle during which a significant number of American soldiers will be killed and wounded, including a certain number of Navy seals.

Sergeant Shawn MCGuire has similar comments to those of Jocko Willink and also explains at the time during his deployment to Diyala the difficulty of the fighting and the organization of his opponents:

I have never seen before (in Iraq) such an organization, they were organized, they were well trained, it was almost like seeing American soldiers in training."

During this period, the insurgents will take control of entire urban and rural areas, which the Americans will recover with difficulty, such as the city and surroundings of Baqouba, the capital of Diyala, which the insurgents will turn into a veritable fortress.

At the time, the accumulating losses and the difficulty of the fighting during this period will also push certain American soldiers to commit numerous acts against Iraqi civilians.

Like the highly publicized massacre at the time of a family and the rape of the eldest daughter of this same family who was 14 years old at the time of the events,the soldiers kill the father & the youngest daughter of the family &rape of the eldest daughter, then burn her body

At the time, this incident caused so much noise that once again the insurgents carried out several operations in response, one of which shocked American public opinion.

3 months after the incident, that will lead to an assault against a checkpoint by islamic state if Iraq terrorists managed by soldiers from the same battalion as the one responsible for the massacre of the Iraqi family.

Private David Babineau is killed on the spot, soldiers Kristian Menchaca and Thomas Tucker are captured, tortured and executed, then their bodies burned by the jihadists.

At the time, islamic state if Iraq terrorists claimed responsibility for the attack, then broadcasted a video of the bodies of the soldiers, claiming that this attack was revenge for the acts perpetrated on the girl mentioned above.

This extremely violent and harsh attack shocked American public opinion and once again showed at the time the difficult period the American army was going through in Iraq.

The rise of the Islamic State, its domination of the insurgency, intra-insurgent tensions and the American strategy of surge and sahwat.
During the year 2006 and 2007 several extremely important events will take place in Iraq, events which will change the course of the war.

The most important event is the formation of the Islamic State of Iraq, following the MSC coalition, including at the time Al Qaeda in Iraq, and therefore the Zarqawi group as well as several other groups

Abdoullah rachid al Baghdadi who was none other than Abou ali al Anbari, who will be arrested shortly before the operation against Zarqawi, then who will be killed 10 years later by American special forces.

The formation of the Islamic State in Iraq will be one of the most important events of the war in Iraq and a turning point for 3 reasons.
The first is that with this training at the time, the insurgents was already laying the first brick of the caliphate project,

for the insurgents it was not just a media stunt, but a real project aimed at paving the way to the establishment of a caliphate.
To highlight this fact, we will take a speech by George Bush dating from September 5, 2006 on the subject and which is extremely interesting.

This is exactly the goal that Islamic state terror organization is currently pursuing with its affiliates.
Then Bush explains that the terrorists are clear that the most important front in their fight is in Iraq, then Bush quotes Bin Ladin explaining the importance of Iraq.

he quotes Zawahiri's words "Step 1 = expel the Americans from Iraq. Step 2 = establish an Islamic authority until it reaches the caliphal stage. Step 3 = export jihad to neighboring secular countries. Step 4 = war against Israel"

He will also quote the will of the terrorists to create an Islamic state going from Spain to China, these remarks will be taken up by Abou Omar AB (and not ABAB) who will affirm in his first audio that "the liar had said the truth" (thus it is their will).

The second reason is that following the formation of the IS in Iraq in 2006, a large part of the insurgents of the other groups that make up the Sunni insurrection will join the IS.

Below Abu Omar AB in his first audio, again, lists the number of insurgents belonging to these groups who joined ISIS in different parts of Iraq following the announcement of the establishment of the caliphate

The insurgents of these groups who did not join the islamic state terrorists at the time will subsequently either give up the fight, or join the sahwa to fight the islamic state terrorists with the Americans

So how to explain the decline of the organization at the time in 2007/2008? We come to the third reason, this domination of the ISI terrorists will push many people at the time into the arms of the Americans

As we have said before, some insurgents belonging to other groups of the Sunni insurgency will refuse to pledge allegiance to the Islamic state terrorists, for several reasons, ideological disagreements, disagreements on strategy, personal disagreements, etc.

Some elements of these groups will subsequently have talks during this period with the Americans, in particular with Zalam Khalizad who is already at the time at the initiative just as he will be at the initiative of the talks with the Taliban who will give the agreements of Doha

And among these, some will join the famous "sahwa", this alliance of Sunni tribesmen who will fight alongside the Americans against the jihadists in 2007/2008.

This is where the famous nickname "sahawat" comes from, which islamic state terrorists will later use to describe people who are Sunni-based, but who fight for Western interests against the jihadists.

The sahwa was originally based in the province of Al Anbar, it was from this region that members of the tribes opposed the control of the region by the insurgents of Al Qaeda terrorists and then of islamic state terrorists

The Americans will take advantage of this situation and will support these tribesmen and encourage them to recruit volunteers from their tribes to fight the insurgents, also promising salaries to those who will take up arms alongside the Americans.

These tribal members will be important for the Americans, because they will allow them to take control of the situation, many former insurgents will join this initiative and form an alliance with the Americans,

response, the Islamic state terrorists will conduct an offensive and some of the deadliest operations of the war during this same period, whether against the Americans, against local forces or against the country's minorities.

2007 will be the year where the Americans will lose the most soldiers with more than 900 American soldiers who will find death in Iraq during this year.

From the beginning of the year, Abou Omar AB announced an offensive, in the space of a month and a half at least 3 American helicopters were shot down by the organization.

Indeed, the insurgents are losing ground, following the establishment of the sahwa, then the American surge at the beginning of the year when Bush had announced the arrival of more than 20,000 additional American soldiers, the insurgents are increasingly on the back.

The 170,000 American soldiers deployed in Iraq, the tens of thousands of tribal militiamen making up the sahwa, as well as Iraqi soldiers, Shiite militias and private militias are gradually suffocating the organization in its strongholds.

The strongholds of the organization in Anbar were first taken over, in Baghdad, the organization also lost ground in the Sunni neighborhoods, areas where the new American battalions of the surge were sent as a priority.

In Diyala the United States also leads the offensive on the strongholds of the organization, and very quickly at the end of 2007/beginning of 2008, the Islamic state terrorists lost almost all its urban strongholds, with the exception of Mosul and its region.

The return to hiding and the departure of American troops from Iraq.
Following the multiple coalition offensives, the insurgents returned to hiding as at the start of the insurrectionary war in 2003 and prioritized deadly attacks in the various major cities of the country.

For the insurgents, the goal is no longer to hold ground against American troops or to take control of neighborhoods and entire towns as in 2004/2005/2006/2007, but to strike at symbolic places and strategies of power.

These attacks demonstrate one thing, at this time the insurgents are no longer able to contest large swaths of territory, but they are still able to strike the power in the heart in the places supposed to be the most secure in the country.

These attacks will be neither the first nor the last, during the years that will follow, the terrorist organization will continue its offensive through this type of attack, but they are not the only ones on the offensive.

During the year 2010, islamic state terrorists will lose many of its leaders following American-Iraqi raids, but on April 18, 2010, the United States and their partners carry out their biggest blow since the operation against Zarqawi

and managed to kill the 2 main leaders of the organization, Abou Omar al Baghdadi and Abou Hamza al Mouhajir.

For the United States it is time to turn the page, the Iraqi government can now manage the situation.

Obama will say as US troops leave Iraq that the United States is now leaving behind a "sovereign, democratic and self-governing" Iraq, and that this conference marks the end of the war in Iraq.
{End credit @VAWIOP}

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