The Ministry of Defence ( Arabic : وزارة الدفاع العراقية ) is the cabinet -level ministry responsible for national defence in Iraq . It is also involved with internal security .
117-838: The Ministry directs all the Iraqi Armed Forces , comprising a Joint Headquarters, the Iraqi Ground Forces Command (which controls the Army), the Iraqi Special Operations Forces , the Iraqi Army , the Iraqi Navy (including Marines), and the Iraqi Air Force . The Ministry was dissolved by Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2 of mid-2003. It was formally re-established by CPA Order 67 of 21 March 2004. In
234-650: A pronunciamiento , in which the military deposes the existing government and hands over power to a new, ostensibly civilian government. A "barracks revolt" or cuartelazo is another type of military revolt, from the Spanish term cuartel ('quarter' or 'barracks'), in which the mutiny of specific military garrisons sparks a larger military revolt against the government. Other types of actual or attempted seizures of power are sometimes called "coups with adjectives". The appropriate term can be subjective and carries normative, analytical, and political implications. While
351-462: A coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is when a leader, having come to power through legal means, tries to stay in power through illegal means. By one estimate, there were 457 coup attempts from 1950 to 2010, half of which were successful. Most coup attempts occurred in the mid-1960s, but there were also large numbers of coup attempts in
468-489: A Sunni he faced inherent challenges working within a Shiite-dominated government. On 19 September 2005, The Independent reported that approximately one billion US dollars have been stolen by top ranking officials from the Ministry of Defence including Hazim al-Shaalan and Ziyad Cattan . Previous defence ministers under Saddam Hussein 's regime included Ali Hassan al-Majid ('Chemical Ali'). Iraq's first minister of defence
585-402: A complete changeover to Western equipment, Western countries were reluctant to sell large amounts of weaponry to Iraq. Western weapons were more expensive than Soviet ones, and they took longer to train personnel on, so there was a reluctance to make a complete equipment reversal. However, more weapons were bought from various non-communist countries, supplementing their largely Soviet arsenal, and
702-888: A cornerstone of the 2006 United States counter-insurgency doctrine. However, after the national elections in December 2005, the Iraqi insurgency shifted focus from a resistance against the occupation towards a sectarian conflict . Accelerated by the Golden mosque bombing in February 2006, the levels of sectarian violence rose dramatically. In Baghdad , a cycle of sectarian violence accelerated in which Al-Qaeda -affiliated Sunni insurgents carried out suicide-bombings in Shia districts and Shia militias retaliated with killings in Sunni districts. It became evident that
819-613: A coup is usually a conspiracy of a small group, a revolution or rebellion is usually started spontaneously by larger groups of uncoordinated people. The distinction between a revolution and a coup is not always clear. Sometimes, a coup is labelled as a revolution by its plotters to feign democratic legitimacy. According to Clayton Thyne and Jonathan Powell's coup data set, there were 457 coup attempts from 1950 to 2010, of which 227 (49.7%) were successful and 230 (50.3%) were unsuccessful. They find that coups have "been most common in Africa and
936-418: A coup. A 2019 study found that states that had recently signed civil war peace agreements were much more likely to experience coups, in particular when those agreements contained provisions that jeopardized the interests of the military. Research suggests that protests spur coups, as they help elites within the state apparatus to coordinate coups. A 2019 study found that regional rebellions made coups by
1053-569: A coup. The authors of the study provide the following logic for why this is: Autocratic incumbents invested in spatial rivalries need to strengthen the military in order to compete with a foreign adversary. The imperative of developing a strong army puts dictators in a paradoxical situation: to compete with a rival state, they must empower the very agency—the military—that is most likely to threaten their own survival in office. However, two 2016 studies found that leaders who were involved in militarized confrontations and conflicts were less likely to face
1170-527: A dearth of technical skills and a limited exposure to machinery." However it also had significant strengths, particularly in two areas: logistics and combat engineering. Two impressive logistical accomplishments of the army included the ability to sustain an armoured corps in Syria during the Yom Kippur War/1973 Arab–Israeli War and their ability to move formations of corps size from one end of
1287-839: A fixed succession rule being much less plagued by instability than less institutionalized autocracies. A 2014 study of 18 Latin American countries in the 20th-century study found the legislative powers of the presidency does not influence coup frequency. A 2019 study found that when a country's politics is polarized and electoral competition is low, civilian-recruited coups become more likely. A 2023 study found that civilian elites are more likely to be associated with instigating military coups while civilians embedded in social networks are more likely to be associated with consolidating military coups. A 2017 study found that autocratic leaders whose states were involved in international rivalries over disputed territory were more likely to be overthrown in
SECTION 10
#17331067639851404-512: A greater consultation of regional and local-specific sources. Successful coups are one method of regime change that thwarts the peaceful transition of power . A 2016 study categorizes four possible outcomes to coups in dictatorships : The study found that about half of all coups in dictatorships—both during and after the Cold War—install new autocratic regimes. New dictatorships launched by coups engage in higher levels of repression in
1521-635: A local level by using infantrymen on dismounted patrols. As insurgents lose passive or active support from the local population, they will more easily be defeated, it was believed. Light infantry brigades are equipped with small arms, machine guns, RPGs, body armor and light armored vehicles. Mechanized infantry brigades are equipped with T-54/55 main battle tanks and BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles. The Hungarian Defence Forces donated 77 Soviet-made T-72 tanks from their own arsenal. The tanks were refurbished by Hungarian specialists and were delivered in fully battle-ready condition in 2004. Training of personnel
1638-786: A major threat to dictators. The Harem conspiracy of the 12th century BC was one of the earliest. Palace coups were common in Imperial China . They have also occurred among the Habsburg dynasty in Austria, the Al-Thani dynasty in Qatar , and in Haiti in the 19th to early 20th centuries. The majority of Russian tsars between 1725 and 1801 were either overthrown or usurped power in palace coups. The term putsch ( [pʊtʃ] , from Swiss German for 'knock'), denotes
1755-606: A modernising influence in the country. In 1931, the Iraqi Air Force was founded with a small number of pilots. Six Army coups took place, with one in 1936 being led by Bakr Sidqi and the last being the Rashid Ali coup of 1941. Following the persecution of the Assyrians, which culminated in the Simele massacre of 1932, a conscription law was introduced, which strengthened the Iraqi Army at
1872-841: A number of changes. They concluded that Soviet equipment and methods did not meet their needs and that many western weapons were superior to their Soviet counterparts. Also the Soviet Union was trying to influence Iraqi policy by holding up arms deliveries. Despite the large amount of Soviet equipment that Iraq continued to receive (shown by the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database, Iraq 1973–1990 ), Iraq sought Western military equipment. Purchases from France included 64 Mirage F1 fighter-attack aircraft in 1976 and 200 AMX-30 tanks in 1977. That same year, Iraq ordered ten frigates and corvettes from Italy and in 1978 it purchased 200 Cascavel APCs from Brazil. While Iraqi generals supported
1989-405: A putsch. Pronunciamiento ( ' pronouncement ' ) is a term of Spanish origin for a type of coup d'état . Specifically the pronunciamiento is the formal declaration deposing the previous government and justifying the installation of the new government by the golpe de estado . One author distinguishes a coup, in which a military or political faction takes power for itself, from
2106-578: A reliance on Soviet doctrine reduced. In most cases, the Iraqis went back to British doctrine, while in others, they melded British and Soviet doctrine. Iraq's logistics capability was also improved, with the purchase of 2,000 heavy equipment transporters. Iraqi participation in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 took the part of a 60,000 strong Iraqi Army expeditionary force which operated on the Syrian front. However,
2223-556: A somewhat higher chance of success in Africa and Asia. Numbers of successful coups have decreased over time. A number of political science datasets document coup attempts around the world and over time, generally starting in the post-World War II period. Major examples include the Global Instances of Coups dataset, the Coups & Political Instability dataset by the Center of Systemic Peace,
2340-560: A staff that is notorious for favorism, corruption, and deeply divided along sectarian and ethnic lines. He was a rival of the former Minister of the Interior Jawad al-Bolani, National Security Advisor Muwafaq al-Rubai, and Minister of Staff for National Security Affairs Shirwan al-Waili. He has been criticized for not being able to stand up to the Badr Organization and Mehdi Army members which dominate his own party. In addition, as
2457-464: A stalemate on 20 August 1988 when Iran accepted a UN-brokered ceasefire . Iraq's rationale for the invasion was primarily to cripple Iran and prevent Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from exporting the 1979 Iranian Revolution movement to Shia -majority Iraq and threaten the Sunni -dominated Ba'athist leadership. Iraq had also wished to replace Iran as the dominant state in the Persian Gulf , which
SECTION 20
#17331067639852574-450: A subordinate command to MNF-I, under Major General David Petraeus . MNSTC-I was given the task of building up the new Iraqi Armed Forces, as well as the Ministry of Interior (Iraq) (MOI) and other security forces. A new force generation plan aimed to create ten army divisions. On 22 April 2004, under Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 73 all personnel, facilities, and equipment of
2691-425: A two-sided impact on coup attempts, depending on the state of the economy. During periods of economic expansion, elections reduced the likelihood of coup attempts, whereas elections during economic crises increased the likelihood of coup attempts. A 2021 study found that oil wealthy nations see a pronounced risk of coup attempts but these coups are unlikely to succeed. A 2014 study of 18 Latin American countries in
2808-514: A well camouflaged minelaying barge, and the tug Al Raya , which had been outfitted as a minelayer itself. Of the units that remained by late 2002, most were in a poor state of repair and the crews were in a poor state of readiness. Whatever units that remained after 1991 were used primarily for safeguarding Saddam's palaces on the Tigris river. The Navy "was reformed in 2003 around five Taiwanese-built 28-meter Predator -class patrol boats, calling itself
2925-570: Is an editor's note in the London Morning Chronicle ,1804, reporting the arrest by Napoleon in France, of Moreau , Berthier , Masséna , and Bernadotte : "There was a report in circulation yesterday of a sort of coup d'état having taken place in France, in consequence of some formidable conspiracy against the existing government." In the British press , the phrase came to be used to describe
3042-519: Is more likely in former French colonies. A 2018 study in the Journal of Peace Research found that leaders who survive coup attempts and respond by purging known and potential rivals are likely to have longer tenures as leaders. A 2019 study in Conflict Management and Peace Science found that personalist dictatorships are more likely to take coup-proofing measures than other authoritarian regimes;
3159-595: Is strictly ceremonial and honorary, such as awarding medals and decorations on the recommendation of the commander-in-chief (Article 73). The appointment of the chief of staff is approved by the Council of Representatives of Iraq after being appointed by the Council of Ministers which is headed by the commander-in-chief (prime minister). Iraq's legislation on defence dates from the Coalition Provisional Authority period of 2003–2004. CPA Order 22 established
3276-613: Is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was known as the Royal Iraqi Army up until the coup of July 1958. The Iraqi Army in its modern form was first created by the United Kingdom during the inter-war period of British control of Mandatory Iraq . Following the invasion of Iraq by U.S. forces in 2003, the Iraqi Army was rebuilt along U.S. lines with enormous amounts of U.S. assistance at every level. After
3393-695: The 1948 Arab–Israeli War , a first war against the Kurds from 1961 to 1970, and then in the Six-Day War of 1967. Iraqi participation in the Six-Day War was limited, principally owing to the slow reaction of the Iraqi 3rd Armoured Division , which had been stationed in eastern Jordan. The 3rd Armoured Division did not organise itself and reach the front line before the Jordanians ceased operations. Therefore, Iraqi participation
3510-576: The 2003 invasion of Iraq . After the invasion, the Air Force was rebuilt, receiving most of its training and aircraft from the United States . In 2007, Iraq asked Iran to return some of the scores of Iraqi fighter planes that flew there to escape destruction during the Gulf War in 1991. As of 2014, Iran was receptive to the demands and was working on refurbishing an unspecified number of aircraft. By 2002
3627-622: The Anglo-Iraqi War of 1941. They fought against Israel in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , in the 1967 Six-Day War , and in the 1973 Yom Kippur War . Two wars against the Kurds were fought during 1961-1970 and 1974–1975 . A much larger conflict was the Iran–Iraq War , initiated by the Iraqis in 1980, which continued until 1988. Thereafter Iraq began the invasion of Kuwait , which led to the Gulf War of 1991, which led in turn to confrontations over
Ministry of Defence (Iraq) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3744-581: The Arvand Rud ). Although Iraq hoped to take advantage of Iran's post-revolutionary chaos and expected a decisive victory in the face of a severely weakened Iran, Iraq only made progress for three months. By December 1980 the invasion had stalled. In fierce fighting, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran started to gain momentum and regained virtually all lost territory by June 1982, pushing
3861-604: The Battle of Basra (2008) . The IA received Coalition support only in air support , logistics and via embedded advisors . A British infantry brigade stationed at Basra International Airport was ready in a tactical overwatch role, but it did not intervene. On January 1, 2009, the Provincial Iraqi Control process was superseded by the U.S.-Iraqi Security Agreement (see also U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement ), which transferred all provinces' security responsibilities to
3978-466: The Battle of Nasiriyah and the Battle of Baghdad . The British Army controlled the southern regions of Iraq and fought there until their withdrawal on 30 April 2009. The United States controlled Northern and Central Iraq. After the invasion, the Coalition Provisional Authority was established to administer the occupation . The Armed Forces were formally disbanded and the Iraqi Ministry of Defense
4095-591: The Bush Administration decided that Saddam Hussein's regime must be removed, and it gave an ultimatum to that effect. Saddam's government did not respond to the ultimatum in the way that the Bush Administration wanted them to. On March 19, 2003, the United States, with British, Australian , and Polish assistance began the 2003 invasion of Iraq . In the process, Saddam's armed forces were defeated. In
4212-512: The Constitution of Iraq establishes the legal basis of the Iraqi Armed Forces. Much of the wording of Article 9 draws upon Article 27 of the 2004 Transitional Administrative Law . Part A, First Section, Article 9 states that 'The Iraqi armed forces and security services will be composed of the components of the Iraqi people with due consideration given to their balance and representation without discrimination or exclusion. They shall be subject to
4329-641: The Iraqi Civil Defense Corps as a temporary security agency to complement Coalition military operations in Iraq. In April 2004, an Iraqi battalion refused to fight insurgents in Fallujah . Soon afterwards, U.S. forces in Iraq were reorganised. Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I) was created under General George W. Casey, Jr. For the new Iraqi armed forces, the most important move was the creation of Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq (MNSTC-I) as
4446-426: The Iraqi insurgency coalesced shortly after the invasion, the Iraqi Army was redesigned as a counter-insurgency force. After the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2010, Iraqi forces assumed full responsibility for the country's security. A New York Times article suggested that, between 2004 and 2014, the U.S. had provided the Iraqi Army with $ 25 billion in training and equipment in addition to an even larger sum from
4563-511: The Iraqi no-fly zones during the 1990s, and finally the Iraq War of 2003, which resulted in the dissolution of the Iraqi armed forces imposed by the Coalition Provisional Authority . The nascent post-Iraq war Iraqi armed forces were engaged in anti-insurgency during the insurgency and civil war that followed the US-led invasion of the country. The latest major conflict in which the armed forces of
4680-517: The KDP and PUK , which had sided with Iran. The United States, United Kingdom , Soviet Union , France , and most Arab countries provided an abundance of financial, political and logistical support for Iraq, while Iran was largely isolated. Saddam Hussein had also poured massive resources into regime protection agencies, like the Republican Guard , that later took on a battlefield role. Losses during
4797-538: The Persian Gulf War from the United States -led coalition resulted in the reduction of Iraq's ground forces to 23 divisions and the air force to less than 300 aircraft. The Iraqi Popular Army was also disbanded. Military and economic sanctions prevented Iraq from rebuilding its military power. What rebuilding was done was concentrated on the Republican Guard and the new Special Republican Guard , created after
Ministry of Defence (Iraq) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4914-701: The Prime Minister of Iraq . Along with the primary service branches, there exists two non-MOD agencies that are part of the armed forces and report directly to the Prime Minister; namely, the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service and the Popular Mobilization Committee . The armed forces of Iraq were initially formed in the early 1920s. Six military coup d'états were mounted by the army between 1936 and 1941. They first saw combat in
5031-660: The United Kingdom as well as Breda Ba.65 attack planes and SM-79 bombers from Italy. In the years following Iraqi independence, the Air Force was still dependent on the Royal Air Force . The Iraqi government allocated the majority of its military expenditure to the Army and by 1936 the Royal Iraqi Air Force had only 37 pilots and 55 aircraft. The following year, the Air Force increased its number of pilots to 127. The air force used both Soviet and British aircraft throughout
5148-456: The head of government assume dictatorial powers. A soft coup , sometimes referred to as a silent coup or a bloodless coup , is an illegal overthrow of a government, but unlike a regular coup d'état it is achieved without the use of force or violence. A palace coup or palace revolution is a coup in which one faction within the ruling group displaces another faction within a ruling group. Along with popular protests, palace coups are
5265-420: The paramilitary faction led by Ernst Röhm , but Nazi propaganda justified it as preventing a supposed putsch planned or attempted by Röhm. The Nazi term Röhm-Putsch is still used by Germans to describe the event, often with quotation marks as the 'so-called Röhm Putsch'. The 1961 Algiers putsch and the 1991 August Putsch also use the term. The 2023 Wagner Group rebellion has also been described as
5382-444: The rents that an incumbent can extract . One reason why authoritarian governments tend to have incompetent militaries is that authoritarian regimes fear that their military will stage a coup or allow a domestic uprising to proceed uninterrupted – as a consequence, authoritarian rulers have incentives to place incompetent loyalists in key positions in the military. A 2016 study shows that the implementation of succession rules reduce
5499-602: The 'Armed Forces of the Kurdistan Region,' are a separate armed force loyal to the Kurdistan Regional Government . The force is quite sizable. The KDP and PUK both had around 100,000 peshmerga (totalling 200,000) as of January 2010. Two divisions of the army are included in this figure; the regional government and the central government disagree as to whether they are under Baghdad's authority and to what extent. Iraqi military intelligence has been rebuilt since
5616-542: The 1920s and early 1930s. The RIrAF was based at the airport in the Washash neighborhood of Baghdad, and consisted of five pilots, aeronautics students trained at the RAF College Cranwell , and 32 aircraft mechanics. The original five pilots were Natiq Mohammed Khalil al-Tay, Mohammed Ali Jawad, Hafdhi Aziz, Akrem Mushtaq, and Musa Ali. During the early years of the Royal Iraqi Air Force, it mainly received aircraft from
5733-523: The 1950s and 1960s. When Saddam Hussein came to power in 1979, the air force grew quickly when Iraq ordered more Soviet and French aircraft. The air force's peak came after the long Iran–Iraq War , which ended in 1988, when it consisted of 1029 aircraft of all types (of which 550 were combat aircraft), becoming the largest air force in the region. Its downfall came during the Gulf War (1990–91) and continued as U.S. and allied forces enforced no-fly zones. The remains of Iraq's air force were destroyed during
5850-429: The 20th century study found that coup frequency does not vary with development levels, economic inequality , or the rate of economic growth. In what is referred to as "coup-proofing", regimes create structures that make it hard for any small group to seize power. These coup-proofing strategies may include the strategic placing of family, ethnic, and religious groups in the military; creation of an armed force parallel to
5967-588: The Americas (36.5% and 31.9%, respectively). Asia and the Middle East have experienced 13.1% and 15.8% of total global coups, respectively. Europe has experienced by far the fewest coup attempts: 2.6%." Most coup attempts occurred in the mid-1960s, but there were also large numbers of coup attempts in the mid-1970s and the early 1990s. From 1950 to 2010, a majority of coups failed in the Middle East and Latin America. They had
SECTION 50
#17331067639856084-540: The Arab world. However, during Saddam Hussein's dictatorship and interference in military organization, the competence of the Army severely declined. The Army, in particular, is one of the most trusted national institutions of Iraq. Iraqi Armed Forces deficiencies have been identified in enabling functions, such as, logistics and military intelligence . In high-end conventional operations, Iraqi capabilities are currently limited by lack of artillery and air power . Article 9 of
6201-611: The Coup d'etat Project by the Cline Center, the Colpus coup dataset, and the Coups and Agency Mechanism dataset. A 2023 study argued that major coup datasets tend to over-rely on international news sources to gather their information, potentially biasing the types of events included. Its findings show that while such a strategy is sufficient for gathering information on successful and failed coups, attempts to gather data on coup plots and rumors require
6318-430: The Iraqi Air Defence Command counted four air defence sectors and at least five missile brigades, the 145th, 146th, 147th, 148th, and 195th. The Iraqi Navy ( Arabic : القوات البحرية العراقية) is one of the components of the Armed Forces. Its primary responsibilities are the protection of Iraq's coastline and offshore assets. It was formed in 1937 as a small four-ship force headquartered in Basra. Between 1937 and 1958, it
6435-417: The Iraqi Armed Forces and the various MOI forces were incapable of putting a lid on the sectarian violence and protecting the population, and MNF-I had to adjust plans again for a security transition. Though Iraqi forces had received initial training and been equipped, they had not developed the capabilities needed to plan, conduct and sustain effective counter-insurgency operations. There were also challenges at
6552-410: The Iraqi Civil Defense Corps were transferred to the Iraqi Ministry of Defence as a component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. After the dissolution of the Coalition Provisional Authority on June 28, 2004, the U.S. and its allies remained in Iraq, receiving authorisation to do so under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546 . For periods immediately after the invasion, U.S. Army forces had seen
6669-449: The Iraqi Coast Guard until December 2004, when it assumed the navy title." By the time the force "assumed its new identity as the Iraqi Navy in December [2004], it had mustered a force of 600, including 200 naval infantry who guard" Iraq's two oil platforms." Coup d%27%C3%A9tat A coup d'état ( / ˌ k uː d eɪ ˈ t ɑː / ; French: [ku deta] ; lit. ' stroke of state ' ), or simply
6786-416: The Iraqi Government's commitment to the respect and implementation of Iraq's international obligations regarding the non-proliferation, non-development, nonproduction, and non-use of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. The Second Section says that military service shall be regulated by law. The prime minister acts as the commander-in-chief (Article 78 of the constitution), and the president ’s role
6903-418: The Iraqi government. Five provinces were transferred at once as a result. The Ministry of Defense (MOD) oversees the forces, as well as the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Bureau, reporting directly to the Prime Minister of Iraq , which oversees the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service . MOD forces include the Iraqi Army , the Army Aviation Command, the Iraqi Air Force , the Iraqi Navy , the Iraqi Air Defence Command ,
7020-404: The Iraqi treasury. The Iraqi Army was designed as a counter-insurgency force that was developed under United States Army tutelage from 2003 to 2009. The force generation plan as of November 2009 includes 14 divisions, each consisting of 4 brigades. The Iraqi Army was described as the most important element of the counter-insurgency fight. The tactic is to provide security and other services on
7137-404: The Iraqis back to the pre-war border lines. Following this, the next five years saw Iran go on the offensive until Iraq took back the initiative in mid-1988, and whose major offensives led to the final conclusion of the war. There were a number of proxy forces operating for both countries—most notably the People's Mujahedin of Iran , which had sided with Iraq and the Iraqi Kurdish militias of
SECTION 60
#17331067639857254-447: The Navy was destroyed during Operation Pearl . Between 1977 and 1987, the Iraqi Navy received eight Osa -class missile boats , armed with P-15 Termit ("Styx") anti-ship missiles, from the Soviet Union . It also purchased four Lupo -class frigates and six Assad -class corvettes from Italy, although these were never delivered because of international sanctions following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The Iraqi Navy
7371-402: The New Iraqi Army on August 18, 2003, and CPA Order 67 renamed the New Iraqi Army the Iraqi Armed Forces on March 21, 2004. In the process, the New Iraqi Army was expanded to include an Army, Air Force, Coastal Defense Force, reserve forces, and other elements. Iraq does not appear to have publicly issued a national defence review or white paper. Much of defence policy since 2003 has been set by
7488-462: The Special Security Division (Green Zone protection), and also reportedly the Special Forces Command. The MOD also runs a Joint Staff College, training army, navy, and air force officers, with support from the NATO Training Mission - Iraq . The college was established at Ar Rustamiyah on September 27, 2005. The center runs Junior Staff and Senior Staff Officer Courses designed for first lieutenants to majors . The Peshmerga , since September 2009
7605-422: The Taji National Depot at its centre, is now well under way. The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF or IrAF) ( Arabic : القوات الجوية العراقية, Al Quwwat al Jawwiya al Iraqiya ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces, responsible for the policing of international borders and surveillance of national assets. The Air Force also supports the Iraqi Navy and the Iraqi Army . The Royal Iraqi Air Force
7722-524: The United States and its allies. These weapons were ordered destroyed by United Nations Security Council Resolutions . After a protracted and problematic weapons inspection process, the majority of these type of weapons were considered to be destroyed and their facilities sealed under UN weapons inspections . A new round of weapons inspections was performed in early 2003 by United Nations weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix , which searched Iraqi sites again, but found no new weapons or weapons programs. However,
7839-417: The United States. For example, one mission objective for Multi-National Force-Iraq was an "Iraq that has a security force that can maintain domestic order and deny Iraq as a safe haven for terrorists" . To do this, the U.S. aimed to train and equip Iraq's security forces and gradually transition security responsibilities to them. In 2010 there are at least three major defence tasks. They are the suppression of
7956-412: The above factors are connected to military culture and power dynamics. These factors can be divided into multiple categories, with two of these categories being a threat to military interests and support for military interests. If interests go in either direction, the military will find itself either capitalizing off that power or attempting to gain it back. Oftentimes, military spending is an indicator of
8073-495: The armed forces of internal security functions by creating new paramilitary forces, such as the Iraqi Popular Army . He also guaranteed the military's loyalty to the regime by promoting loyal officers and purging questionable ones. However, this had the effect of filling the senior officer ranks with incompetents. The Iran–Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began on 22 September 1980 when Iraq invaded neighbouring Iran . The war lasted almost eight years, ending in
8190-437: The army was dissolved in 2003. However, it has suffered from political interference. In mid-2009 Prime Minister al-Maliki reportedly dismissed Major General Jamal Suleiman, the director of military intelligence, and took on the job himself. The Prime minister had reportedly dismissed the director of Iraqi national intelligence at the same time. The Iraqi Army, officially the Iraqi Ground Forces ( Arabic : القوات البرية العراقية),
8307-424: The authors argue that this is because "personalists are characterized by weak institutions and narrow support bases, a lack of unifying ideologies and informal links to the ruler". In their 2022 book Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism , political scientists Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way found that political-military fusion, where the ruling party is highly interlinked with
8424-429: The caretaker government of Mustafa al-Kadhimi . Thabet Muhammad Al-Abasi serves as the current minister of defense as of 2022. The previous Minister of Defence, Lieutenant General Abd al-Qadr Muhammed Jassim al-Obaidi , is a Sunni career military officer and political independent. He had limited experience and faced a number of hurdles impeding his effective governance. Some of the major problems included inheriting
8541-501: The contextualized idea of a 'knockout blow to the existing administration within a state'. One early use within text translated from French was in 1785 in a printed translation of a letter from a French merchant, commenting on an arbitrary decree, or arrêt , issued by the French king restricting the import of British wool. What may be its first published use within a text composed in English
8658-541: The control of the civilian authority, shall defend Iraq, shall not be used as an instrument to oppress the Iraqi people, shall not interfere in political affairs, and shall have no role in the transfer of authority.' Parts B and C prohibit the formation of military militias outside the framework of the armed forces and prohibit armed forces personnel from standing for political office or campaigning for political candidates. Part C expressively notes that military personnel are allowed to vote in elections. Part E expressively states
8775-472: The country participated was the war against ISIS during 2013-2017. Logistics and combat engineering have been traditional strong points. Iraqi soldiers have also usually fought hard in difficult situations. After the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq , which resulted in the toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime and the dissolution of the whole armed forces, the United States sought to rebuild them anew, and so
8892-494: The country received substantial assistance from the United States Department of Defense . Since the implementation of the U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement on January 1, 2009, the Iraqi Armed Forces and the forces of the Iraqi interior ministry are responsible for providing security and upholding law and order throughout most of Iraq. The Iraqi armed forces were historically one of the more competent militaries in
9009-417: The country to another in days during the Iran–Iraq War . Since 2003, creation of combat forces has been the priority, and logistical support was initially supplied in one way or another by the coalition. As of mid 2008, logistical problems included a maintenance crisis and ongoing supply problems. Logistical capabilities have been developing, however, and the build-up of a nationwide logistical structure, with
9126-489: The coup attempt will be successful. The number of successful coups has decreased over time. Failed coups in authoritarian systems are likely to strengthen the power of the authoritarian ruler. The cumulative number of coups is a strong predictor of future coups, a phenomenon referred to as the "coup trap". In what is referred to as "coup-proofing", regimes create structures that make it hard for any small group to seize power. These coup-proofing strategies may include
9243-609: The coup trap and reduces cycles of political instability. Hybrid regimes are more vulnerable to coups than very authoritarian states or democratic states. A 2021 study found that democratic regimes were not substantially more likely to experience coups. A 2015 study finds that terrorism is strongly associated with re-shuffling coups. A 2016 study finds that there is an ethnic component to coups: "When leaders attempt to build ethnic armies, or dismantle those created by their predecessors, they provoke violent resistance from military officers." Another 2016 study shows that protests increase
9360-516: The expense of the tribal sheiks . In 1938–1939, Iraqi Army forces were concentrated near the Kuwaiti border, as the military portion of a policy by then- King Ghazni to encourage its union with Iraq. British forces later defeated the Iraqis in the short Anglo-Iraqi War of May 1941, during the Second World War . The Iraqi Air Force used British aircraft until the 14 July Revolution in 1958, where
9477-514: The fighting as conventional ' fighting in built up areas ,' rather than as an insurgency . After a review of the Iraq War strategy in the end of 2004, General Casey directed the Coalition forces to shift their focus from fighting insurgents to training Iraqis. This was to be the strategy until 2006. The aim was a small Coalition footprint and a rapid handover of security responsibilities to new Iraqi forces. Developing indigenous military forces became
9594-526: The force did not perform very well, and the Iraqi Air Force did not do well either, losing 26 of the 101 fighter aircraft sent to Syria without shooting down any Israeli aircraft. The Kurds started the second Kurdish war of 1974–75, but the war ended in a Kurdish defeat after the Iranian–Iraqi Algiers agreement cut off Iranian support to the Kurds. From 1973 to 1980, Saddam largely relieved
9711-766: The insurgency, the resolution of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces' status in relation to the Iraqi Armed Forces themselves, and longer-term, the growth of the armed forces so that they can defend Iraq from external threats. The armed forces of Iraq began to be formed by the United Kingdom after they assumed mandated control over Iraq after 1917. During the March 1921 Cairo conference , it was agreed that an Iraqi Army would be created along British lines, with British training and equipment. King Faisal wanted an army of 15,000–20,000 men. The army actually grew from 3,500 in 1922 to 7,000 in 1927 and then to 11,500 in 1932. The army became
9828-660: The interim period, the CPA Office of Security Affairs served as the de facto Ministry of Defence. The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Bureau directs the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Command, which is a further military force answerable to the Prime Minister of Iraq directly. As of 30 June 2009, there had been legislation in progress for a year to make the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Bureau a separate ministry. The position of Minister of Defence became vacant in
9945-419: The likelihood of a coup taking place. Nordvik found that about 75% of coups that took place in many different countries rooted from military spending and oil windfalls. The accumulation of previous coups is a strong predictor of future coups, a phenomenon called the coup trap . A 2014 study of 18 Latin American countries found that the establishment of open political competition helps bring countries out of
10062-435: The likelihood of coups. A fifth 2016 study finds no evidence that coups are contagious; one coup in a region does not make other coups in the region likely to follow. One study found that coups are more likely to occur in states with small populations, as there are smaller coordination problems for coup-plotters. In autocracies, the frequency of coups seems to be affected by the succession rules in place, with monarchies with
10179-427: The mid-1970s and the early 1990s. Coups occurring in the post- Cold War period have been more likely to result in democratic systems than Cold War coups, though coups still mostly perpetuate authoritarianism . Many factors may lead to the occurrence of a coup, as well as determine the success or failure of a coup. Once a coup is underway, coup success is driven by coup-makers' ability to get others to believe that
10296-644: The military and created the administrative structures of the military from its inception, is extremely effective at preventing military coups. For example, the People's Liberation Army was created by the Chinese Communist Party during the Chinese Civil War , and never instigated a military coup even after large-scale policy failures (i.e. the Great Leap Forward ) or the extreme political instability of
10413-400: The military more likely. A 2018 study found that "oil price shocks are seen to promote coups in onshore-intensive oil countries, while preventing them in offshore-intensive oil countries". The study argues that states which have onshore oil wealth tend to build up their military to protect the oil, whereas states do not do that for offshore oil wealth. A 2020 study found that elections had
10530-631: The ministerial level, within the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Interior, and these ministries could not sustain their forces in terms of logistics, intelligence, communications and procurement. The Iraq War troop surge of 2007 allowed Iraqi forces more time for training and leadership development, as well as more Coalition partnering with Iraqi units. The commander of the Iraqi Assistance Group , General Dana Pittard , said in June 2007 that Coalition forces should not draw down too quickly and that
10647-533: The new Iraqi government began increased diplomatic relationships with the Soviet Union . The Iraqi Air Force used both Soviet and British aircraft throughout the 1950s and 1960s. In 1961, Iraqi forces were again amassed along the Kuwaiti border, and Iraqi again threatened to invade. A quick British deployment of troops, aircraft, and naval vessels, called Operation Vantage , deterred any move though. Iraqi forces fought in
10764-509: The occurrence of coup attempts. Succession rules are believed to hamper coordination efforts among coup plotters by assuaging elites who have more to gain by patience than by plotting. According to political scientists Curtis Bell and Jonathan Powell, coup attempts in neighbouring countries lead to greater coup-proofing and coup-related repression in a region. A 2017 study finds that countries' coup-proofing strategies are heavily influenced by other countries with similar histories. Coup-proofing
10881-683: The political-military actions of an unsuccessful minority reactionary coup. The term was initially coined for the Züriputsch of 6 September 1839 in Switzerland. It was also used for attempted coups in Weimar Germany , such as the 1920 Kapp Putsch , Küstrin Putsch , and Adolf Hitler 's 1923 Beer Hall Putsch . The 1934 Night of the Long Knives was Hitler's purge to eliminate opponents, particularly
10998-408: The previous Iraqi cabinet, approved on 21 December 2010. While it was vacant, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki served as the acting defence minister. Saadoun al-Dulaimi later served as Minister of Defence from 2011 to 2014. Khaled al-Obaidi served as defence minister in the Iraqi cabinet of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi . Juma Inad served as defense minister from May 2020 to October of 2022 under
11115-456: The process. On August 2, 2003, the first battalion of new Iraqi Army (IA) recruits started a nine-week training course at a training base in Qaraqosh . They graduated on October 4, 2003. In the interim, the new army had been formally established by Coalition Provisional Authority Order 22 of August 18, 2003. Then on September 3, 2003, Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 28 established
11232-440: The regular military; and development of multiple internal security agencies with overlapping jurisdiction that constantly monitor one another. It may also involve frequent salary hikes and promotions for members of the military, and the deliberate use of diverse bureaucrats. Research shows that some coup-proofing strategies reduce the risk of coups occurring. However, coup-proofing reduces military effectiveness, and limits
11349-401: The risk of coups, presumably because they ease coordination obstacles among coup plotters and make international actors less likely to punish coup leaders. A third 2016 study finds that coups become more likely in the wake of elections in autocracies when the results reveal electoral weakness for the incumbent autocrat. A fourth 2016 study finds that inequality between social classes increases
11466-499: The south, the U.S. Combined Forces Land Component Command drove north with the Army's V Corps , and I Marine Expeditionary Force (which included a British Army division). They defeated the Iraqi 3rd Corps, the Republican Guard, and much of the Fedayeen Saddam . In the north, the special operations-led Task Force Viking , defeated the 1st Corps and Iraqi 5th Corps plus parts of the Republican Guard. Significant battles included
11583-593: The southern part of Iraq while Operation Northern Watch did the same in the north. As a result of Iraqi actions, cruise missile strikes on Iraq were launched in June 1993. The same year, the Iraqi Air Defence Command was elevated and established as a fourth service. Kuwait was then threatened with Republican Guard divisions in October 1994, which resulted in a major U.S. protective deployment designated Operation Vigilant Warrior . Operation Vigilant Sentinel
11700-400: The strategic placing of family, ethnic, and religious groups in the military and the fragmenting of military and security agencies. However, coup-proofing reduces military effectiveness as loyalty is prioritized over experience when filling key positions within the military. The term comes from French coup d'État , literally meaning a 'stroke of state' or 'blow of state'. In French,
11817-457: The top, is a form of coup d'état in which a political leader, having come to power through legal means, stays in power through illegal means through the actions of themselves and/or their supporters. The leader may dissolve or render powerless the national legislature and unlawfully assume extraordinary powers not granted under normal circumstances. Other measures may include annulling the nation's constitution , suspending civil courts, and having
11934-479: The transitioning of security responsibilities would take time. In July 2006, a milestone was achieved when the first Iraqi province transferred to Provincial Iraqi Control . Al Muthanna Governorate was the first province to be transferred. Twelve further governorates were transferred to Provincial Iraqi Control from September 2006 to October 2008. The Iraqi Army launched its first solely planned and executed high-profile division-level operation March 25, 2008 in
12051-656: The various murders by Napoleon's alleged secret police , the Gens d'Armes d'Elite , who executed the Duke of Enghien : "the actors in torture, the distributors of the poisoning draughts, and the secret executioners of those unfortunate individuals or families, whom Bonaparte's measures of safety require to remove. In what revolutionary tyrants call grand[s] coups d'état , as butchering, or poisoning, or drowning, en masse, they are exclusively employed." A self-coup , also called an autocoup (from Spanish autogolpe ) or coup from
12168-607: The war ended. Iraq maintained standing armed forces about 375,000 strong. Armed force intelligence was provided by the Directorate of General Military Intelligence . Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq had a growing domestic arms producing industry that produced everything from rifle bullets to ballistic missiles, advanced naval mines, the Lion of Babylon (tank) , remote-piloted "drone" aircraft, sophisticated cluster-bomb, infrared and television-guided bombs and laser-guided missiles. At that time, Iraq
12285-410: The war's duration. A 2003 review of the academic literature found that the following factors influenced coups: The literature review in a 2016 study includes mentions of ethnic factionalism, supportive foreign governments, leader inexperience, slow growth, commodity price shocks, and poverty. Coups have been found to appear in environments that are heavily influenced by military powers. Multiple of
12402-410: The word État ( French: [eta] ) is capitalized when it denotes a sovereign political entity. Although the concept of a coup d'état has featured in politics since antiquity, the phrase is of relatively recent coinage. It did not appear within an English text before the 19th century except when used in the translation of a French source, there being no simple phrase in English to convey
12519-570: The year after the coup than existed in the year before the coup. One-third of coups in dictatorships during the Cold War and 10% of later ones reshuffled the regime leadership. Democracies were installed in the wake of 12% of Cold War coups in dictatorships and 40% of post-Cold War ones. Coups occurring in the post- Cold War period have been more likely to result in democratic systems than Cold War coups, though coups still mostly perpetuate authoritarianism . Coups that occur during civil wars shorten
12636-673: Was Jafar al-Askari (1920–1922). Iraqi Armed Forces The Iraqi Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Iraq . They consist of the Ground forces , the Army Aviation Command , the Iraqi Air Force , the Air Defence Command and the Iraqi Navy . The armed forces are administered by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Effective control of the MOD armed forces rests with
12753-553: Was a later 1995–2007 operation of the same nature. More cruise missile strikes on Iraq were launched in 1996. Iraq was bombed again in Operation Desert Fox in 1998. As U.S. preparations for an attack on Iraq gathered pace in 2002, Operation Southern Focus was launched, further damaging Iraqi air defences in the southern part of the country. In the 1980s and 1990s, Iraq built and used an arsenal of chemical and biological weapons , some of which have been alleged to come from
12870-495: Was almost completely destroyed by the Royal Navy during the Gulf War of 1991. The force had 19 ships sunk and 6 vessels damaged. In total, more than 100 Iraqi ships were destroyed. The Navy was not rebuilt and played little part in the Iraq War (2003). One Soviet patrol boat was destroyed. One exception was two mine warfare vessels captured by US Navy and Coast Guard units during the assault on Al Faw ; The tug Jumariya , towing
12987-406: Was also provided to the newly forming Iraqi Army. Iraq was planned to receive 280 M1A1 M tanks from 2010 and 2013. The Army extensively collaborated with Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces during anti-ISIL operations. From its creation in 1922 to 2003, the army suffered from a number of serious difficulties, junior tactical leadership among them. "Iraqi forces consistently had problems because of
13104-514: Was before this point not seen as feasible by the Iraqi leadership due to pre-revolutionary Iran 's colossal economic and military might, as well as its close alliances with the United States and Israel . The war followed a long-running history of border disputes , as a result of which Iraq had planned to annex Iran's oil-rich Khuzestan Province and the east bank of the Shatt al-Arab (also known in Iran as
13221-510: Was believed to be way ahead of its then rival Iran 's arms producing industry. The Iraqi Armed Forces were involved in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in Iraq , which led to refugees fleeing north in 1991. The U.S. launched Operation Provide Comfort with allied aid to provide assistance to these refugees. This involved some confrontations with the Iraqi armed forces. The Iraqi no-fly zones were established partially due to these operations. Operation Southern Watch dominated Iraqi airspace in
13338-607: Was dissolved shortly after the invasion, by Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2 of May 23, 2003. On June 25, 2003, the Vinnell Corporation was awarded a contract to train the first nine battalions, or 9,000 recruits, of a 44,000 person-strong " New Iraqi Army ." MPRI was given the military training subcontract. The Department of Defense created the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team under Major General Paul Eaton to oversee
13455-574: Was founded in 1931, during the period of British control in Iraq after their defeat of the Ottomans in the First World War, with only a few pilots. The Air Force considered its founding day as 22 April 1931, when the first pilots flew in from training in the United Kingdom . Before the creation of the new air force, the RAF Iraq Command was in charge of all British Armed Forces elements in Iraq in
13572-554: Was limited to a Tu-16 bomber raid on Israel , which did not locate its targets, and a return Israeli air raid on the H-3 airbase , which was around 435 kilometers from Bagdad in western Iraq, near the H-3 oil pumping station. The Israelis reportedly destroyed 21 Iraqi aircraft for the loss of three of their own. After the first Kurdish war ended with a stalemate, the Armed Forces began to implement
13689-616: Was primarily a riverine force. Following the 14 July Revolution of 1958, the Iraqi Navy began to expand. Based in the port of Umm Qasr , the Arabic Gulf Academy for Sea Studies was established in Basra , which offered a bachelor's degree in war and engineering naval studies. By 1988, the Navy grew to a force of 5,000, but played a relatively small role during the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War . Much of
#984015