1.
Iraq War
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The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict and it became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. The invasion began on 20 March 2003, with the U. S. joined by the United Kingdom and several allies, launching a shock. Iraqi forces were overwhelmed as U. S. forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Baathist government, President Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn in December of that same year, the United States responded with a troop surge in 2007. The winding down of U. S. involvement in Iraq accelerated under President Barack Obama, the U. S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011. Select U. S. officials accused Saddam of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, while others cited the desire to end a repressive dictatorship, after the invasion, no substantial evidence was found to verify the initial claims about WMDs. The rationale and misrepresentation of pre-war intelligence faced heavy criticism within the U. S. in the aftermath of the invasion, Iraq held multi-party elections in 2005. Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in 2006 and remained in office until 2014, the al-Maliki government enacted policies that were widely seen as having the effect of alienating the countrys Sunni minority and worsening sectarian tensions. The Iraq War caused hundreds of thousands of civilian, and thousands of military casualties, the majority of casualties occurred as a result of the insurgency and civil conflicts between 2004 and 2007. A1990 Frontline report on The arming of Iraq said, Officially, most Western nations participated in an arms embargo against Iraq during the 1980s. Western companies, primarily in Germany and Great Britain, but also in the United States, sold Iraq the key technology for its chemical, missile, any Western governments seemed remarkably indifferent, if not enthusiastic, about those deals. N Washington, the government consistently followed a policy which allowed and perhaps encouraged the growth of Saddam Husseins arsenal. The Western arming of Iraq took place in the context of the Iran-Iraq War, prior to September 2002, the CIA was the George W. Bush administrations main provider of intelligence on Iraq. The agency was out to disprove linkage between Iraq and terrorism the Pentagon adviser told me, the U. N. had prohibited Iraq from developing or possessing such weapons after the Gulf War and required Iraq to permit inspections confirming compliance. This was confirmed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, during 2002, Bush repeatedly warned of military action against Iraq unless inspections were allowed to progress unfettered. In accordance with U. N. Security Council Resolution 1441, Iraq agreed to new inspections under United Nations Monitoring, as part of its weapons inspection obligations, Iraq was required to supply a full declaration of its current weapons capabilities and manufacturing
2.
Diyala campaign
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In mid-October 2006, al-Qaeda announced the creation of Islamic state of Iraq, replacing the Mujahideen Shura Council and its al-Qaeda in Iraq. In 2006, Diyala province had special significance for the insurgents, when Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, he designated Diyala as the capital of the Islamic caliphate he planned to establish in the country. He located his headquarters in a village north-west of Baqubah, the insurgents used the rural areas east and southeast of the capital, from Balad Ruz to Turki as supply bases for their bombing campaigns in Baghdad and Diyala. They were also based in the Diyala river valley, northeast of Baqubah, where they fought for control of Muqdadiyah, the insurgents also had control of the tribal areas of Khan Bani Saad south of Baqubah to Salman Pak, south-east of Baghdad. The first signs of increased insurgent activity in Diyala came after U. S. forces found an insurgent bunker complex near the village of Turki, at least 55 militants are killed in clashes in the preceding days, according to anonymous police sources. During the fighting a mass grave with 28 bodies was discovered, after that U. S. and Iraqi forces begin raids in the city. The morgue in the city reports by the beginning of December 2006 that it had received 102 bodies in the two weeks. After the announcement of a new attempt by the U. S, on Christmas Day, it was reported that the capital of the province, Baquba, had fallen under insurgent control. An Iraqi news cameraman went to the city and reported seeing hundreds of gunmen with AK-47s in cars, there was no sign of the security forces except for the bodies of a few executed by the insurgents. After that, there were increased insurgent attacks on the U. S. and Iraqi forces around Baquba, in mid-January, U. S. and Iraqi forces conducted a series of raids that resulted in 93 insurgents killed and 57 captured. Despite that, however, the insurgents had some successes early in the campaign, mainly when they shot down a Black Hawk helicopter on January 20, the helicopter was carrying mostly officers from the U. S. National Guard. The dead included a colonel who was the top American military doctor in Iraq, the city at its peak had over 300,000 residents, but a February 2007 report labeled the city a ghost town as most residents had fled. In two separate incidents in the beginning of March, insurgents captured 32 members of the Iraqi security forces, the bodies of 14 captured policemen were found shortly after, and the 18 other soldiers and policemen were shown on television with a message that they would be executed. Suicide bombers continued to attack in Diyala, targeting not only military but also civilian targets such as a cafe in Balad Ruz, the capture of policemen continued, with another 10 policemen captured and 1 killed when insurgents overran a police station in the town of Hibhib. The bodies of five of the policemen were found the next month, also,20 Iraqi soldiers and policemen were captured at the beginning of April and were executed several days later. On March 23, the director of civil defense, Colonel Ahmed Kadhim Jawad, was killed in Khalis. The next day, as the first batch of the reinforcements was moving close to the outskirts of Baquba, in the ensuing chaos one American soldier was killed,12 were wounded and two Stryker armored vehicles were destroyed. The same day, in two separate incidents, two more American soldiers were killed in the province
3.
Diyala Governorate
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Diyala Governorate or Diyala Province is a governorate in eastern Iraq. Governor, Muthana al-Timimi Deputy Governor, Mohammed Jassim al-Jubouri Diyala Governorate extends to the northeast of Baghdad as far as the Iranian border and it covers an area of 17,685 square kilometres. A large portion of the province is drained by the Diyala River, because of its proximity to two major sources of water, Diyalas main industry is agriculture, primarily dates grown in large groves. The province also contains one of the largest olive groves in the Middle East and it is also recognized as the orange capital of the Middle East. The Hamrin Mountains pass through the governorate and this changed drastically starting in 2003. It is now the Sunni Arabs that are exposed to expulsion and loss of house, presently, an estimated population of some 1,224,000 people live in this province. Sunni Arabs, once a majority until 2003, have been losing their positions due to violence of the Iraqi Civil War and since summer of 2014. Nearly half the Sunni Arab population has been pushed out of the province, presently, they constitute no more than 25 percent of the population of the Diyala Governorate. In contrast, the Feyli Kurds who were deported from this area from the 1960 to 1990s by various Sunni Arab governments in Baghdad are returning-as have other Kurds and they now dominate the entire Khanaqin district and all others bordering on Iran in this province. At the lowest point during the rule of Saddam Hussein, their numbers had fallen to just 7% of the total, today, they boast to around 30% and increasing as they take up their old homes in places such a Jalula/Jalawla and Al-Sadiyah. The rest of the residents are Iraqi Sunni Turkmen predominantly in Kifri, the Diyala Media Center was built under contract by a Japanese architectural firm in 1989. It is one of Iraqs few independent radio and television stations offer local television. There is evidence that Al-Qaeda in Iraq has recently moved its base of operations from Anbar province to Diyala, during late 2006 Baqubah and much of the Diyala province were reported to have come under Sunni insurgent control. This insurgent control is reported to have continued through 2007 and into early 2008, on May 11,2007, Army Maj. Gen. S. Military, and the debate about the level of commitment from the U. S. government. By mid-2007 the Islamic State of Iraq, already holding Baqubah and most of the province under its control, there is already strong evidence the Islamic State of Iraq has moved most of its command and control operations to Diyala. In June 2007, US forces launched Operation Arrowhead Ripper with night air assaults in Baquba, by August 19, Baquba was largely secured, although some insurgent presence remained in the city and surrounding areas. Fighting continued in the Diyala River valley but by the beginning of October, US and Iraqi forces held most of the province while the insurgents were in retreat to the north, Diyala is still a contested province
4.
Iraq
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The capital, and largest city, is Baghdad. The main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds, others include Assyrians, Turkmen, Shabakis, Yazidis, Armenians, Mandeans, Circassians, around 95% of the countrys 36 million citizens are Muslims, with Christianity, Yarsan, Yezidism, and Mandeanism also present. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish, two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation. It was here that mankind first began to read, write, create laws, the area has been home to successive civilisations since the 6th millennium BC. Iraq was the centre of the Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian and it was also part of the Median, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Ayyubid, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires. Iraqs modern borders were mostly demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations when the Ottoman Empire was divided by the Treaty of Sèvres, Iraq was placed under the authority of the United Kingdom as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. A monarchy was established in 1921 and the Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from Britain in 1932, in 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Iraqi Republic created. Iraq was controlled by the Arab Socialist Baath Party from 1968 until 2003, after an invasion by the United States and its allies in 2003, Saddam Husseins Baath Party was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in 2005. The American presence in Iraq ended in 2011, but the Iraqi insurgency continued and intensified as fighters from the Syrian Civil War spilled into the country, the Arabic name العراق al-ʿIrāq has been in use since before the 6th century. There are several suggested origins for the name, one dates to the Sumerian city of Uruk and is thus ultimately of Sumerian origin, as Uruk was the Akkadian name for the Sumerian city of Urug, containing the Sumerian word for city, UR. An Arabic folk etymology for the name is rooted, well-watered. During the medieval period, there was a region called ʿIrāq ʿArabī for Lower Mesopotamia and ʿIrāq ʿajamī, for the region now situated in Central and Western Iran. The term historically included the south of the Hamrin Mountains. The term Sawad was also used in early Islamic times for the region of the plain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In English, it is either /ɪˈrɑːk/ or /ɪˈræk/, the American Heritage Dictionary, the pronunciation /aɪˈræk/ is frequently heard in U. S. media. Since approximately 10,000 BC, Iraq was one of centres of a Caucasoid Neolithic culture where agriculture, the following Neolithic period is represented by rectangular houses. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gypsum, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations
5.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
6.
Islamic State of Iraq
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The Islamic State of Iraq was a militant Islamist group that aimed to establish an Islamic state in Sunni, Arab-majority areas of Iraq during the Iraq War. It was formed on 15 October 2006 from the merger of a number of Iraqi insurgent groups, including Al-Qaeda in Iraq and its Mujahideen Shura Council allies. At their height in 2006–2008, ISI had military units or strongholds in Mosul and in the governorates of Baghdad, Al Anbar and Diyala, in April 2013, ISI transformed itself into the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which is still active today. Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi started a group called Jamaat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999, although they are believed to have assassinated US diplomat Laurence Foley in 2002, they became notorious for their violent campaign in Iraq, which began in August 2003. In January 2006, AQI united with five smaller Sunni Islamist groups into the Mujahideen Shura Council, in June 2006, Zarqawi was killed by the US, and AQI’s leadership passed onto the Egyptian Abu Ayyub al-Masri. In 2005, under its name Al Qaeda in Iraq, its goals were, expelling the US from Iraq, turning Iraq into a Islamic state or caliphate and these continued to be its goals when it became the Islamic State of Iraq. When ISI was formed in October 2006, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi was presented as its leader or emir, however, US military officials later came to believe that the Baghdadi role had been taken by an actual ISI leader. Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq from June 2006, officially, he was the Islamic State of Iraqs military commander, al-Masri and Omar al-Baghdadi were both reported killed on 18 April 2010 in a raid by Iraqi and US forces. On 16 May 2010, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was announced as the new leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, in April 2007, the ISI declared a ‘cabinet’ of ten ‘ministers’, under its leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. The ‘ministers’ included, Abdullah al-Janabi, Minister of Security, was wanted by the Iraqi Criminal Court since 2005. In 2014 he was still a prominent militant in Fallujah, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, Minister of War, was already wanted by Iraqi and US-coalition authorities since 2005, and was killed by US/Iraqi forces in April 2010. He was succeeded by Abu Suleiman al-Naser, according to American authorities, the group lost considerable funding sources and popular support from 2007 onwards. A2008 report on the groups finding reported that its most lucrative source of income was stolen oil in the region of Bayji, in addition, jihadists in Saudi Arabia and Syria and other elements outside Iraq provided funding. Only 5% of the came from outside donations. By the end of 2009, AQI was, according to US and Iraqi officials, for speculations about its later management structure, see section 2010, revival ISI. In 2007, estimates of the groups strength ranged from just 850 to several thousand full-time fighters, between the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in late 2011, and late 2012, estimates of its strength more than doubled, from 1,000 to 2,500 fighters. The Washington Post reported that AQI came to control parts of Iraq between 2005 and 2008. In Autumn 2006, AQI had taken over Baqubah, the capital of Diyala Governorate, in 2006, AQI/ISI had strongholds in Al Anbar Governorate, from Fallujah to Qaim, and were the dominant power there, according to the US
7.
Mark Hertling
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Mark Phillip Hertling is a former United States Army officer. During his time as a U. S. soldier, Hertling served in Armor, Cavalry, planning, operations and training positions, most notably, he commanded the Armys 1st Armored Division and Task Force Iron/Multinational Division-North in Iraq during the surge of 2007-8. In 2013, Hertling became a Senior Vice President for the innovative Florida Hospital organization in Orlando, while serving there he developed a successful Physician Leader Development course for that organization and in 2016 published the book Growing Physician Leaders. In September 2013, Hertling was appointed by President Obama to be one of 25 people serving on the Presidents Council on Fitness, Sport and he served as a Council member until 20 January 2017. He also acts as an advisor to Mission Readiness, a nonprofit. In 2016, he was named as an Adjunct Scholar to the Modern War Institute at the US Military Academy, West Point. Since June 2014, Hertling has appeared as a security and military analyst for CNN, discussing events in Iraq, Israel, Ukraine. Hertling was born on September 29,1953 in St. Louis and he attended Christian Brothers College High School in Clayton, Missouri. In 1975, Hertling was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Armor Branch after graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point. While at West Point, Hertling was on the NCAA Division 1 Swimming and Water Polo Team, in 2016 he was accepted into the Executive Doctorate of Business Administration program by the Crummer Business School, Rollins College. In the former role, he commanded the 1st Tank in both its location in Germany, and as part of the surge in Iraq. In Iraq, Task Force Iron was based in Tikrit, and cooperated with five different Iraqi Army divisions in a security, Hertling integrated a series of named kinetic operations with a unique series of non-kinetic engagements to further improve stability, government, economics, and security. Hertling led significant change in areas, including integrating new training methods into basic combat training, advanced individual training. IMT revised the Armys Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills and developed training in rifle marksmanship, combatives, values instruction, first aid. Complementing Soldier Athlete, Hertling recommended a change in the Armys Physical Readiness test. He has been assigned to all of the Combat Training Centers in the United States and Germany, Hertling has influenced the training model in the U. S. Army at various stages of his career. Hertling served in command and staff assignments, both in the continental United States and overseas. He began his career in Europe as a second lieutenant, leading tank
8.
Prisoner of war
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A prisoner of war is a person, whether combatant or non-combatant, who is held in custody by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the prisoner of war dates to 1660. The first Roman gladiators were prisoners of war and were named according to their ethnic roots such as Samnite, Thracian, typically, little distinction was made between enemy combatants and enemy civilians, although women and children were more likely to be spared. Sometimes, the purpose of a battle, if not a war, was to capture women, a known as raptio. Typically women had no rights, and were legally as chattel. For this he was eventually canonized, during Childerics siege and blockade of Paris in 464, the nun Geneviève pleaded with the Frankish king for the welfare of prisoners of war and met with a favourable response. Later, Clovis I liberated captives after Genevieve urged him to do so, many French prisoners of war were killed during the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. In the later Middle Ages, a number of religious wars aimed to not only defeat, in Christian Europe, the extermination of heretics was considered desirable. Examples include the 13th century Albigensian Crusade and the Northern Crusades, likewise, the inhabitants of conquered cities were frequently massacred during the Crusades against the Muslims in the 11th and 12th centuries. Noblemen could hope to be ransomed, their families would have to send to their captors large sums of wealth commensurate with the status of the captive. In feudal Japan there was no custom of ransoming prisoners of war, in Termez, on the Oxus, all the people, both men and women, were driven out onto the plain, and divided in accordance with their usual custom, then they were all slain. The Aztecs were constantly at war with neighbouring tribes and groups, for the re-consecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, between 10,000 and 80,400 persons were sacrificed. During the early Muslim conquests, Muslims routinely captured large number of prisoners, aside from those who converted, most were ransomed or enslaved. Christians who were captured during the Crusades, were either killed or sold into slavery if they could not pay a ransom. The freeing of prisoners was highly recommended as a charitable act, there also evolved the right of parole, French for discourse, in which a captured officer surrendered his sword and gave his word as a gentleman in exchange for privileges. If he swore not to escape, he could gain better accommodations, if he swore to cease hostilities against the nation who held him captive, he could be repatriated or exchanged but could not serve against his former captors in a military capacity. Early historical narratives of captured colonial Europeans, including perspectives of literate women captured by the peoples of North America. The writings of Mary Rowlandson, captured in the fighting of King Philips War, are an example
9.
Timeline of the Iraq War
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The following is a timeline of major events during the Iraq War, following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. March 20, The United States begins the invasion of Iraq, American, British, Australian, Polish, and Danish military operations begin, ground troops move into Iraq. April 10, Fall of Baghdad, Coalition forces moved into Baghdad, may 1, U. S. President George W. Bush declares major combat operations in Iraq over. May 15 - U. S. forces launch Operation Planet X, may 23 - L. Paul Bremer issues Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2, dissolving the Iraqi Army and other entities of the former Baathist state. June 15, The U. S. military begins Operation Desert Scorpion, june 24 - Six soldiers from the British Royal Military Police are killed by a mob in Al Majar Al Kabir in Southern Iraq. July 2, U. S. President George W. Bush challenges those attacking U. S. troops to bring em on, july 13, The Iraqi Governing Council is established under the authority of the Coalition Provisional Authority. July 22, Uday and Qusay Hussein, Saddam Husseins sons, are killed in Mosul August 7, Jordanian embassy is bombed, the first car bombing of the occupation. August 19, Canal Hotel bombing, Truck bomb at the United Nations headquarters kills the top UN envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello, August 29, Influential Shiite cleric Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim is killed in a car bomb blast as he leaves his mosque after Friday prayers. At least 84 others are killed, September 23, Gallup poll shows majority of Iraqis expect better life in 5 years. Around two-thirds of Baghdad residents state the Iraqi dictators removal was worth the hardships theyve been forced to endure, October 2, David Kays Iraq Survey Group report finds little evidence of WMD in Iraq, although the regime did intend to develop more weapons with additional capabilities. Such plans and programs appear to have been dormant, the existence of these though were concealed from UNSCOM during the inspections began in 2002. Weapons inspectors in Iraq did find a network of biological laboratories. The US-sponsored search for WMD has so far cost $300 million and is projected to cost around $600 million more, October 16, UN Security Council issues Resolution 1511 which envisions a multinational force and preserves Washingtons quasi-absolute control of Iraq. October 27,27 October 2003 Baghdad bombings, beginning of the Ramadan Offensive, November 12, A suicide truck bomb blows up the Italian headquarters in Nasiriyah, killing 19 Italians and 14 Iraqis. November 27, U. S. President George W. Bush makes a stealthy Thanksgiving Day visit to Baghdad in an attempt to boost morale among the troops and ordinary Iraqis. Bush is accompanied by National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, and he is flown in to Baghdad International Airport aboard Air Force One. November 30, The US military reports killing 46 militants and wounding 18 in clashes in the central = December 13, Saddam Hussein is captured in Operation Red Dawn, it was announced the next day. December 17, The U. S. 4th Infantry Division launches Operation Ivy Blizzard, the operation resulted in the arrest of several guerrilla fighters and possible terrorists
United States 
Iraq
Islamic state of Iraq