Questions tagged [iraq]
Questions relating to the government or politics of the Republic of Iraq
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Have other countries (besides Iraq) issued arrest warrants for some [former] US presidents?
The New Arab reported that
Last year [2022], Iraq's judiciary issued an arrest warrant for former US president Trump for ordering the assassination of Soleimani and Muhandis.
Did the judiciary in ...
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2
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Does Kataib Hezbollah get any funding from the government of Iraq?
I am curious what it means exactly that PMF forces (including Kataib Hezbollah) are
designated [...] as an "independent military formation" within the Iraqi armed forces.
Do they actually ...
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1
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Why do Iraqi officials repeatedly called for the withdrawal of coalition forces in Iraq?
Washington has had a continuous presence in Iraq since its 2003
invasion. Although all U.S. combat forces left in 2011, thousands of
troops returned in 2014 to help the government of Iraq defeat IS.
...
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Have any prominent politicians in the US called for US troops to leave Iraq this year?
Some US politicians, like DeSantis, have said US troops in Iraq are just "sitting ducks", at their present strength, so called for either a surge or departure.
“We’ve got troops in Syria ...
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What non-WMD weapons were Saddam Hussein prohibited from buying?
The Wikipedia page of UNSCR 1441 (the last one before the invasion, reiterating what had been said in previous resolutions and giving a 'final chance') says this:
Iraq's breaches related not only to ...
17
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3
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Did Iraq declare outright support for Hamas after Oct 7?
According to Le Monde they did:
But a quick search didn't find any statements. So who in Iraq declared support for Hamas, and in what terms?
3
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1
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Did any authority of note opine that the 1991-2002 Iraq no-fly zones amounted to occupation?
Regarding the Iraq no-fly zones of pre-invasion time.
This military action was not authorised by the United Nations. The Secretary-General of the UN at the time the resolution was passed, Boutros ...
0
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1
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Who gained more successes in Iran-Iraq war? [closed]
From the infobox of the Wikipedia article for the Iran-Iraq war:
Result:
Stalemate; both sides claim victory.
Iraqi failure to capture Iranian territories and bolster Arab separatism in Iran's ...
5
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1
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Did the Iraqi central government explicitly object to (or approve of) any deals by Russian oil & gas companies with the Kurdish Regional Government?
According to al-Jazeera, citing various (alas unnamed Russian and Kurdish diplomats/officials), Russia financially "saved" the KRG at a crucial time, by having its major oil/gas companies ...
4
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2
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How strong was the Western pacifist campaign to not liberate Kuwait by force?
When Iraq invaded Kuwait their invasion was over in a couple of days and only a few hundred people died in those two days.
Iraq was also said to have the 4th or 5th largest army in the world at the ...
37
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Did the US and allies ever apologize for their invasion of Iraq?
In reference to Did Soviet Union ever apologize for its alliance with Germany before 1941?
We all know that the US and its coalition has invaded Iraq in 2003. They have toppled a government which was ...
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How does the indignation of the Russo-Ukrainian War compare to the Iraq War? [duplicate]
I was only born in 2001. I know London and DC had enormous protests, but none of the details. So eyewitness accounts are great but I need historical data too.
With the triumph of YouTube I can follow ...
2
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1
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Why doesn't Iraq just blockade the Bashiqa base if they really want the Turks gone from there?
Apparently there's a seven year dispute between the Iraqi central government and Turkey over the Turkish base at Bashiqa (near Mosul) located at about 150 km from the Turkish border. Seemingly there ...
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What did the Dutch law commission find about their own military participation in Iraq (2003-2005)?
As I don't speak/read Dutch, the most detailed article I found about this is in Der Spiegel. In summary (from there), the Dutch law commission found
that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was illegal
that ...
2
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1
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How do the Iranian authorities or state-leaning media describe Muqtada al-Sadr?
Muqtada al-Sadr despite being Shia seems to be leading an Iraqi faction that seems to want to be less aligned with Iran. (His supporters have recently stormed the parliament, "chanting anti-Iran ...
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What were the repercussions of Saddam Hussein's Iraq switching from USD to EUR in 2000?
In 2000, Saddam Hussein switched to selling petroleum in Euros. At that time it was considered an financially unwise decision, but later it was reported to have won Iraq handsome profits.
How exactly ...
3
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1
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What happens if some folks can prove that the election is rigged in Iraq?
As the election of Iraq was held two days ago and initial results are calculated, Muqtada al-Sadr had won the election, but some parties have strongly criticized the election and called it a "...
5
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1
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What are the consequences for Iraq if it chooses to not repay the amount of war reparation owed?
After the Gulf War, Iraq accepted United Nations Security Council
Resolution 687, which declared Iraq's financial liability for damage
caused in its invasion of Kuwait.[17] The United Nations ...
40
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2
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What are the differences among ISIS, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban?
Seeing as how Afghanistan is being taken over by the Taliban and remembering how easy it was for ISIS to just roll over the Iraqi Army, plus the role of Al-Qaeda in starting these two wars, it got me ...
3
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In the wake of the 2014 Iraqi army disintegration in front of ISIS, did the US make changes to how it trained such forces, esp. in Afghanistan?
Although some are shocked by the disintegration of Afghan army in front of the Taliban, I for one wasn't too surprised given the 2014 precedent provided by the US-trained Iraqi army, which ...
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Why didn't the USA invade Iran before they could build up their missile arsenal?
Iran's Ballistic Missile Program
According to the above article, even though Iran started its domestic missile program during the 80s, it achieved its long-range missiles around the 2000s. As of 2021,...
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Is petroleum a valid explanation of why the U.S. military fought the first Iraq war?
Why couldn’t the U.S. have bought petroleum from Iraq after they took control over Kuwait’s oil supply?
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Why didn't the USA topple Saddam Hussain in the 90s?
Why did the US government topple Saddam Hussain in 2003, rather than in the 90s?
Why did they wait 13 years?
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Why did the US invade Iraq for weapons of mass destruction but not North Korea [duplicate]
Why can the US invade Iraq for weapons of mass destruction but not North Korea who have confirmed nuclear weapons? Are they more scared of NK?
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Was John Abizaid's statement about the Iraq War rationale taken out of context?
I have recently visited the wikipedia page that was titled "Rationale for the Iraq War" for the sake of interest. I then saw a section titled oil in that wikipedia page. I never believed ...
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Have US anti-ballistic-missile capabilities been used and were they effective in countering the recent Iranian missile strike on US bases in Iraq?
This is breaking news, so it may not be answerable right away but probably will be in a reasonably short term...
Iran has launched (from its own territory) ballistic missile strikes against US bases ...
24
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Why is Iraq's decision to expel US troops non-binding?
In response to the United States' killing of an important Iranian military commander on Iraqi soil on 3 January 2020, the Iraqi parliament voted to expel US troops from the country. According to ...
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What is the international law to preserving the cultural sites?
After taking down the Iranian general Soleimani, Iranians vowed retaliation against USA. To which Trump tweeted that USA has targeted 52 locations of Iranian interests including the Cultural sites.
...
3
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1
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Has there been a decrease of US aid to Iraq under Trump?
Trump has recently threatened Iraq with sanctions if they decide to expel US troops.
His statement didn't explicitly say anything about [withdrawing] US aid, which appears to still be ongoing, ...
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Why would the USA honour an Iraqi request for its military to leave? [closed]
Reportedly, President Trump has threatened Iraq with sanctions if they expel US troops.
I don't understand the threat. It's not like military aggressors ask nicely before invading or occupying other ...
3
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Does the US have any long-term leases on bases in Iraq?
Breaking news is that the Iraqi parliament has passed a non-binding resolution calling for the withdrawal of foreign troops:
The non-binding resolution was passed by the Iraqi parliament after the ...
5
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Did Qassim Suleimani have any kind of diplomatic status while he was in Iraq?
If so, what would be the direct consequences?
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4
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Why was Qasem Soleimani in Iraq?
Earlier this week, Qasem Soleimani was killed by the US. The news media is brimming to capacity with news stories about this. However, not one - that I've seen at least - mentions why Qasem Soleimani ...
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Which "coalition" countries have troops in Iraq and how many?
NBC News reported U.S. airstrike kills top Iran general, Qassem Soleimani, at Baghdad airport:
The Defense Department said in announcing the strike Thursday night that Soleimani had orchestrated ...
41
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Who was General Qasem Soleimani, and why was he targeted by the US?
Early on Friday morning, the US carried out an air strike on Baghdad airport which killed General Soleimani, along with members of local militia.
Who was General Soleimani, why is he so important, ...
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Why are the Syria and Iraq wars viewed differently among Democrats?
Currently, the Iraq war seems to be viewed very negatively by the US "establishment" of the Democratic Party—for example, in both the 2016 and 2020 primaries, people have been attacked for past ...
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1
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Did Rand Paul publicly approve of Obama's withdrawal from Iraq?
Rand Paul is one of the few (I think) high-level Republicans who publically approved of Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria. (Even Mitch McConnell attacked it and reminded that "A bipartisan ...
3
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0
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Why Iraqi embassy websites closed for 1 month already? [closed]
I have recently noticed Iraqi embassy websites throughout the world have been closed out. Their foreign affairs website has pages for these embassies but not fully available websites . Here are some ...
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1
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How much money did the United States spend on the Iraq war, and how much money did US oil companies gain as a result of the new Iraqi constitution?
This is just a cost benefit analysis, any discussion about US motivations in engaging in the Iraq war I would consider out of scope.
Iraq nationalized oil production in 1972 (source). Following the ...
3
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1
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Iran-Iraq War compensations claims
Recently an Iranian MP demanded the Iraqi government to pay Iran more than 1 trillion US dollars as damages for Iran-Iraq War. The MP based his claim on Article 6 of UN Resolution 598. I wonder if ...
4
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Is the PKK and PYD's political outlook unpopular among Iraqi Kurds?
The Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party is active in the Iraqi Kurdish autonomy zone; and it seems to be the counterpart of the PYD in Syria and the PKK in Turkey. The party failed rather miserably in ...
3
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1
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Was Saddam ever a US ally?
Was Saddam Hussain ever a US ally during his presidency?
If YES,
why didn't Iraq had any major US-made weapon?
what caused the alliance to decline?
9
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2
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Would killing ISIS journalists be considered a war crime? If so, could ISIS use the ICC?
If ISIS had journalists on the ground in the Battle of Mosul (2016-17) that recently concluded, and they were clearly journalists, and clearly weren't combatants; would their Iraqi enemy be allowed to ...
3
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How many non-combatants have been killed by the Islamic State?
Since IS was formed (including the time it was knows as ISIS), how many non-combatants were killed by IS-affiliated forces or individuals?
I'm interested in the ballpark figure, not splitting hairs ...
2
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What specific consessions did Iraq make to be excluded from Trump's new executive order?
One of the differences between two travel executive orders was the fact that Iraq was omitted in the new one ("Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States (13780)")
I ...
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What made Saddam Hussein believe that he could get away with the Kuwait invasion?
What made Saddam Hussein believe that he could get away with invading Kuwait?
How did he assess the political situation before Kuwait invasion?
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2
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What was the Bush administration's public explanation on Iraq invasion when they failed to find Iraq's WMDs? [duplicate]
What was the Bush administration's or Republican party's explanation on the justification of Iraq invasion to the public when they failed to find Iraq's WMDs?
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1
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What is this new insignia in Iraq?
Iraq's government seems to be rapidly evolving, developing new armies to cope with ISIL, and making various political changes. I recently saw this new insignia being worn by a member of the Iraqi ...
10
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1
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342
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Does Saudi Arabia support Baathist resistance in Iraq?
Does Saudi Arabia support Baathist resistance in Iraq, currently led by Ad-Douri? Do they want to install a similar regime as in Egypt to counter the Qatari influence?
10
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1
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What exactly differentiates Ba'athism?
Wikipedia defines Ba'athism as such:
An Arab nationalist ideology that promotes the development and
creation of a unified Arab state through the leadership of a vanguard
party over a ...