Free Iraqi Forces

Last updated
Free Iraqi Forces (FIF)
Leaders Ahmad Chalabi
Dates of operation2003
Country Iraq
AllegianceFlag of Multi-National Force - Iraq.png Multi-National Force - Iraq Flag of Iraq.svg Iraq
MotivesOverthrow of the government of Ba'athist Iraq
StatusDissolved
Part of Iraqi National Congress (2003)

The Free Iraqi Forces (FIF) were a militia made up of Iraqi expatriates, who served in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and its aftermath, under the control of Ahmed Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress government-in-exile. The specifically paramilitary branch of the program was also known as the Free Iraqi Fighting Forces (FIFF), while other elements served as interpreters or on civil affairs projects. [1] [2]

Contents

Composition

An FIF soldier in an American camouflage uniform US Navy 030328-A-2018L-009 A member of the Free Iraqi Forces (FIF) is reunited with family members in his home village. Free Iraqi Forces are Shiia and Sunni Muslims, Arabs and Kurds, all exiled from Iraq who are committed to.jpg
An FIF soldier in an American camouflage uniform

The original intent of the American Office of the Secretary of Defense was to recruit and train 3,000 Iraqi expatriates in Taszar, Hungary in preparation for the war. [1] Recruitment, however, fell well below the target number, and were of dubious military utility, ranging from ages 18 to 55. [3]

Operations

Free Iraqi Forces (FIF) desert battle dress uniform with insignia (Private collection of P-E / Militariabelgium) Free Iraqi Force (FIF) coat.jpg
Free Iraqi Forces (FIF) desert battle dress uniform with insignia (Private collection of P-E / Militariabelgium)

The program was seen as unsuccessful, with at one point some US$63 million spent to recruit and train 69 troops for the FIF, and the program was dissolved in April 2003. The FIFF never numbered more than 500 troops. [4] The units were also seen as undisciplined and pro-Shia and anti-Sunni, and engaged in looting. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Civil War</span> 1861–1865 conflict in the United States

The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which had been formed by states that had seceded from the Union. The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which many believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Army</span> Military unit

The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. As of 1 October 2023, the British Army comprises 75,983 regular full-time personnel, 4,097 Gurkhas, 26,546 volunteer reserve personnel and 4,548 "other personnel", for a total of 111,174.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Rumsfeld</span> American politician and diplomat (1932–2021)

Donald Henry Rumsfeld was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He was both the youngest and the oldest secretary of defense. Additionally, Rumsfeld was a four-term U.S. Congressman from Illinois (1963–1969), director of the Office of Economic Opportunity (1969–1970), counselor to the president (1969–1973), the U.S. Representative to NATO (1973–1974), and the White House Chief of Staff (1974–1975). Between his terms as secretary of defense, he served as the CEO and chairman of several companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Militia</span> Force of non-professional soldiers

A militia is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional and/or part-time soldiers; citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of regular, full-time military personnel; or, historically, to members of a warrior-nobility class. When acting independently militias are generally unable to hold ground against regular forces; militias commonly support regular troops by skirmishing, holding fortifications, or conducting irregular warfare, instead of undertaking offensive campaigns by themselves. Local civilian laws often limit militias to serve only in their home region, and to serve only for a limited time; this further reduces their use in long military campaigns. Militias may also, however, serve as a pool of available manpower for regular forces to draw from, particularly in emergencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercenary</span> Soldier who fights for hire

A mercenary, also called a merc, soldier of fortune, or hired gun, is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather than for political interests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian National Army</span> Army of mostly Indian POWs of Japan in WW2

The Indian National Army was a collaborationist armed unit of Indian collaborators that fought under the command of the Japanese Empire. It was founded by Mohan Singh on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 invasion of Iraq</span> Military invasion led by the United States

The United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq was the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 days of major combat operations, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq. Twenty-two days after the first day of the invasion, the capital city of Baghdad was captured by coalition forces on 9 April 2003 after the six-day-long Battle of Baghdad. This early stage of the war formally ended on 1 May 2003 when U.S. President George W. Bush declared the "end of major combat operations" in his Mission Accomplished speech, after which the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was established as the first of several successive transitional governments leading up to the first Iraqi parliamentary election in January 2005. U.S. military forces later remained in Iraq until the withdrawal in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Central Command</span> Unified combatant command of the U.S. Armed Forces responsible for the Middle East

The United States Central Command is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irish Army</span> Land service branch of the Irish Defence Forces

The Irish Army, also known simply as the Army, is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland. The Irish Army has an active establishment of 7,520, and a reserve establishment of 3,869. Like other components of the Defence Forces, the Irish Army has struggled to maintain strength and as of April 2023 has only 6,322 active personnel, and 1,382 reserve personnel. The Irish Army is organised into two brigades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GROM Military Unit</span> Polish special forces unit

The Home Army Silent Unseen Paratroopers GROM Military Unit, simply known as the GROM Military Unit, is a Polish special forces unit and forms part of the Special Troops Command of the Polish Armed Forces. It is believed to consist of around 250 operatives plus support personnel. GROM is considered to be the most elite unit in the Polish Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irregular military</span> Any non-standard military organization

Irregular military is any non-standard military component that is distinct from a country's national armed forces. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military organization, or to the type of tactics used. An irregular military organization is one which is not part of the regular army organization. Without standard military unit organization, various more general names are often used; such organizations may be called a troop, group, unit, column, band, or force. Irregulars are soldiers or warriors that are members of these organizations, or are members of special military units that employ irregular military tactics. This also applies to irregular infantry and irregular cavalry units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi Ground Forces</span> Military unit

The Iraqi Ground Forces, or the Iraqi Army, is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was formerly known as the Royal Iraqi Army up until the coup of July 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syria–Lebanon campaign</span> British offensive in World War II, 1941

The Syria–Lebanon campaign, also known as Operation Exporter, was the invasion of Syria and Lebanon in June and July 1941 by British Empire forces, during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi Armed Forces</span> Ministry of Defence military forces of Iraq

The Iraqi Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Iraq. They consist of the Iraqi Army, the Iraqi Air Force, and the Iraqi Navy. Along with these three primary service branches, there exists the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service and the Popular Mobilization Forces. The President of Iraq acts as the supreme commander as outlined by the constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraq War</span> War in Iraq from 2003 to 2011

The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion of Iraq by the United States-led coalition that overthrew the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the next decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the coalition forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government. US troops were officially withdrawn in 2011. The United States became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, and the insurgency and many dimensions of the armed conflict are ongoing. The invasion occurred as part of the George W. Bush administration's war on terror following the September 11 attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp follower</span> Civilians who follow armies

Camp followers are civilians who follow armies. There are two common types of camp followers; first, the spouses and children of soldiers, who follow their spouse or parent's army from place to place; the second type of camp followers have historically been informal army service providers, servicing the needs of encamped soldiers, in particular selling goods or services that the military does not supply—these have included cooking, laundering, liquor, nursing, sexual services and sutlery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Legion</span> Indian volunteer unit in Nazi Germany

The Indian Legion, officially the Free India Legion or 950th (Indian) Infantry Regiment, was a military unit raised during the Second World War initially as part of the German Army and later the Waffen-SS from August 1944. Intended to serve as a liberation force for British-ruled India, it was made up of Indian prisoners of war and expatriates in Europe. Due to its origins in the Indian independence movement, it was known also as the "Tiger Legion", and the "Azad Hind Fauj". As part of the Waffen-SS it was known as the Indian Volunteer Legion of the Waffen-SS.

The First Indian National Army was the Indian National Army as it existed between February and December 1942. It was formed with Japanese aid and support after the Fall of Singapore and consisted of approximately 12,000 of the 40,000 Indian prisoners of war who were captured either during the Malayan campaign or surrendered at Singapore. It was formally proclaimed in April 1942 and declared the subordinate military wing of the Indian Independence League in June that year. The unit was formed by Mohan Singh. The unit was dissolved in December 1942 after apprehensions of Japanese motives with regards to the INA led to disagreements and distrust between Mohan Singh and INA leadership on one hand, and the League's leadership, most notably Rash Behari Bose. Later on, the leadership of the Indian National Army was handed to Subhas Chandra Bose. A large number of the INAs initial volunteers, however, later went on to join the INA in its second incarnation under Subhas Chandra Bose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of African Americans in the American Civil War</span> Aspect of United States history

African Americans, including former slaves, served in the American Civil War. The 186,097 black men who joined the Union Army included 7,122 officers and 178,975 enlisted soldiers. Approximately 20,000 black sailors served in the Union Navy and formed a large percentage of many ships' crews. Later in the war, many regiments were recruited and organized as the United States Colored Troops, which reinforced the Northern forces substantially during the conflict's last two years. Both Northern Free Negro and Southern runaway slaves joined the fight. Throughout the course of the war, black soldiers served in forty major battles and hundreds of more minor skirmishes; sixteen African Americans received the Medal of Honor.

Since the 19th century, the United States government has participated and interfered, both overtly and covertly, in the replacement of many foreign governments. In the latter half of the 19th century, the U.S. government initiated actions for regime change mainly in Latin America and the southwest Pacific, including the Spanish–American and Philippine–American wars. At the onset of the 20th century, the United States shaped or installed governments in many countries around the world, including neighbors Hawaii, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

References

  1. 1 2 Catherine Dale (April 2011). Operation Iraqi Freedom: Strategies, Approaches, Results, and Issues for Congress. DIANE Publishing. pp. 48–. ISBN   978-1-4379-2030-7.
  2. Nathan Hodge (15 February 2011). Armed Humanitarians: The Rise of the Nation Builders . Bloomsbury USA. pp.  66–. ISBN   978-1-60819-017-1.
  3. Sheldon Rampton; John Clyde Stauber (2003). Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq . Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin. pp.  61–. ISBN   978-1-58542-276-0.
  4. Beth K. Dougherty; Edmund A. Ghareeb (7 November 2013). Historical Dictionary of Iraq. Scarecrow Press. pp. 299–. ISBN   978-0-8108-7942-3.
  5. Anthony H. Cordesman; Emma R. Davies (30 December 2007). Iraq's Insurgency and the Road to Civil Conflict. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 58–. ISBN   978-0-313-34998-0.