Posted by G.A. Matiasz on February 8, 2015
I’m a big fan of information presented visually, graphically. As you might know, my other blog is political, and I’ve been working on a column in part on the Kurdish social experiment in Western Kurdistan, or Rojava. I ran into these excellent maps detailing the balance of political/military forces in Syria and Iraq put together by Thomas van Linge. The two maps below are reproduced from Pieter Van Ostaeyen‘s website. These two maps are remarkable in what they reveal(Jabhat al-Akrad as combatants for instance), and when compared to previous maps, reveal the rapid change of events in the region.


Posted in Iraq, maps | Tagged: Iraq, maps, Pieter Van Ostaeyen, Rojava, Syria, the map is not the territory, Thomas van Linge, Western Kurdistan | Leave a Comment »
Posted by G.A. Matiasz on June 13, 2014
For the moment, ignore that we went to war in Iraq in 2003 on the excuse that Saddam Hussein had WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction) fully expecting that US troops would be greeted as liberators, to be showered with flowers and candy. For the moment, forget that the Iraq we had invaded almost disintegrated into a Sunni/Shi’ite civil war, with the northern Kurds standing on the sidelines, until the US military surge in 2007 temporarily shored up the situation on the ground, leaving all the old ethnic/religious tensions firmly in place. For the moment, pretend that neo-conservative predictions that the US/Iraq war would produce liberty and democracy not just in that country but throughout the region weren’t entirely idiotic.
Let’s consider just one set of factors of this fucked-up mess that the US left when America officially ended military operations in Iraq in 2011 and withdrew US troops.
Here are several maps charting the ethnic/religious divisions in Iraq:


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When the US declared “mission accomplished” for a second time in 2011, the majority Shi’ite government held power in Baghdad with the minority Sunni population bridling under this arrangement, and the Kurds enjoying relative autonomy in the north. Enter ISIS, the radical Sunni movement for an Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. This al-Qaeda affiliate is more popular, more determined, more uncompromising and more violent than al-Qaeda itself, intent upon establishing a sharia-governed Islamic Caliphate from Lebanon through Iraq. Here are maps charting the activity of ISIS through 2014:








Here are maps indicating the general territory currently controlled by the ISIS as of June 2014:


And here is a map representing the Islamic Caliphate that is the ultimate goal of ISIS:


Let me restate matters. In 2011, when the US declared victory in Iraq, ceased military operations and withdrew its troops, the nation of Iraq was nominally a democracy under Shi’ite control and heavily influenced by Iran, with al-Qaeda decimated, on the run, and its leader Osama bin-Ladin dead. Now, in 2014, ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, is fully resurgent and militarily on the move while Iraq totters on the brink of complete collapse. Hell, the whole region remains profoundly unstable, teetering on the brink of total social chaos and bloody violence. Forget Left or Right. Anybody up for some serious war crimes trials?


Here’s the BBC’s ongoing coverage of the STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ.
[A WORD ON THE MAPS: Treat each series of multiple maps as a slide show, and try to build up a multi-layered, close to 3D image of the situation they separately are two-dimensionally attempting to portray. Merge the information the maps have in common, and accumulate the unique information each map provides.]
Posted in American Empire, American intervention, Baghdad, Democrats & Republicans, Federal Government, Iraq, Iraq War, Islamic extremists, Islamic militants, Islamic terrorism, life, maps, military intervention, neocon, neoconservative, neoliberalism, politics, US military | Tagged: American Empire, American intervention, Baghdad, Barack Obama, Democrats & Republicans, Federal Government, George W. Bush, Iraq, Iraq War, Iraqi civil war, ISIS, Islamic Caliphate, Islamic extremists, Islamic militants, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, Islamic terrorism, Kurds, Lebanon, maps, military intervention, neocon, neoconservative, neoliberalism, Shi'ite, Shi'ite Islam, Sunni, Sunni Islam, US military, war crimes, war crimes trials, war criminals, Weapons of Mass Destruction, WMDs | Leave a Comment »
Posted by G.A. Matiasz on November 3, 2013
It’s a clear enough chart:

Which belies any statement that “the US intervention in Iraq is over,” or that “the Iraq war is over,” or that “Iraq is at peace,” or that “there is now an inclusive and democratic Iraq in place.”
What we have, now that the United States has ended formal military intervention in the region, is an ongoing, full-scale civil war in Iraq. Sunnis versus Shi’ites, with massive civilian casualties on all sides, and minority religionists being wiped out or forced to immigrate.
This is the immediate legacy of American involvement in Iraq. There is blood on the hands of every individual in every US administration since George W. Bush first invaded Iraq. Too bad there aren’t going to be any war crimes trials.
Posted in American Empire, American intervention, Iraq, Iraq War, Islamic extremists, Islamic militants, Islamic terrorism, life, military intervention, United States of America, US military | Tagged: American Empire, American intervention, Iraq, Iraq War, Iraqi civil war, Islamic extremists, Islamic militants, Islamic terrorism, military intervention, no inclusive and democratic Iraq, no peace in Iraq, Shi'ite, Shia Islam, Sunni, Sunni Islam, United States of America, US military, war crimes trials | Leave a Comment »