Free Iraqi Forces (FIF) | |
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![]() Flag of the Free Iraqi Forces (FIF), seen on Free Iraqi Forces militiamen’s uniform as a flag sleeve patch, and sometimes flown during the invasion of Iraq. | |
Supreme Commander | Aras Habib |
Dates of operation | 1991–present |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Headquarters | Baghdad, Iraq |
Active regions | Iraq |
Ideology | Civic nationalism State capitalism [1] Decentralization [1] Secularism [2] Welfarism [3] Federalism [4] Feyli interests (alleged, denied) [5] |
Size | 75,000 (1991-2003) 1000 (2025) |
Allies | State allies:![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Opponents | State opponents:![]() |
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]
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]
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]