Free Iraqi Forces

Last updated
Free Iraqi Forces (FIF)
Supreme Commander Aras Habib
Dates of operation1991–present
Allegiance Flag of Iraq.svg Iraq
Headquarters Baghdad, Iraq
Active regionsIraq
Ideology Civic nationalism
State capitalism [1]
Decentralization [1]
Secularism [2]
Welfarism [3]
Federalism [4]
Feyli interests (alleged, denied) [5]
Size75,000 (1991-2003)
1000 (2025)
AlliesState allies:
Flag of the United States.svg (1991-2006)
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
Flag of Kurdistan.svg  Iraqi Kurdistan
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates
Flag of France.svg  France
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  UK
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
OpponentsState opponents:
Flag of Iraq (1963-1991); Flag of Syria (1963-1972).svg Baathist Iraq
Battles and wars
List

The Free Iraqi Forces (FIF) is 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. [6] [7]

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. [6] Recruitment, however, fell well below the target number, and were of dubious military utility, ranging from ages 18 to 55. [8]

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. [9] The units were also seen as undisciplined and pro-Shia and anti-Sunni, and engaged in looting. [10]

References

  1. 1 2 "Iraqi National Congress". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  2. "Iraqi National Congress | Iraqi Parliament Guide". Archived from the original on 2014-07-26. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  3. "Iraqi National Congress | Iraqi Parliament Guide". Archived from the original on 2014-07-26. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  4. "Iraqi National Congress | Iraqi Parliament Guide". Archived from the original on 2014-07-26. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  5. "Iraqi National Congress | Iraqi Parliament Guide". Archived from the original on 2014-07-26. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  6. 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.
  7. Nathan Hodge (15 February 2011). Armed Humanitarians: The Rise of the Nation Builders . Bloomsbury USA. pp.  66–. ISBN   978-1-60819-017-1.
  8. 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.
  9. Beth K. Dougherty; Edmund A. Ghareeb (7 November 2013). Historical Dictionary of Iraq. Scarecrow Press. pp. 299–. ISBN   978-0-8108-7942-3.
  10. 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.