Iraq has been involved in numerous conflicts in the past few decades, with civilians frequently caught in the crossfire. Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ruled the country for decades, with many Iraqis suffering under his repressive rule. In 1980, he launched an invasion of Iran, beginning a war that would last 8 years and claim hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides, including both combatants and civilians. Thousands of Iraqi civilians were killed in crackdowns on internal dissent, and in 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait, while launching missiles at Israel and Saudi Arabia.. The invasion was defeated in the Gulf War by an international coalition, with thousands of Iraqi soldiers and civilians killed in the fighting.
In 2003, the US and some allied nations invaded Iraq, overthrowing Hussein’s regime, supposedly due to the presence of weapons of mass destruction. The US occupied the country until 2011, during which time a civil conflict broke out. Western military forces and the Iraqi government were opposed by a number of groups, including Islamist groups,and sectarian violence was common. Insurgent groups continued fighting after the withdrawal of American troops in 2011, with thousands of Iraqis killed in the decades of violence. Sectarian divisions played a large role in the conflict,with
In 2013, the Islamic State (ISIS) invaded Iraq and quickly occupied a significant amount of territory. During this time, numerous crimes against humanity were committed, including genocidal actions taken against the Yazidi people and atrocities against Shias in the occupied areas. The subsequent war against the group involved numerous foreign nations including the United States and Iran. While the group was eventually defeated and no longer holds territory, civilians suffered greatly during the fighting and occupation. Terrorist attacks continued throughout the country, and thousands of Iraqis were either forced to flee their homes or suffer under the draconian rule of ISIS. Along with the neighboring conflict in Syria, the fighting created a refugee crisis, and thousands were killed during the fighting, including civilians, soldiers, and members of Kurdish and Iranian-linked militia groups.
After its military defeat, the group has continued to wage an insurgency against the government of Iraq, leading to continued violence. Fighting broke out in 2021 between the government and Iranian-linked militias, as political disputes resulted in a long political crisis that lasted until 2022. As a result of the decades of conflict in Iraq, there are numerous armed actors present beyond state security forces, including American troops, the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces, the security forces of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the north, and a number of smaller armed groups, including terrorist organizations. There is some hope that Iraq is entering a new relatively peaceful era, despite the political turmoil and recent history of violence.
Peace efforts:
Unfortunately, peace in Iraq has generally been brought as a result of military victories instead of negotiations. As a result, peace has often been fleeting. Ordinary Iraqis have found themselves generally excluded from any peace process. For much of Iraq’s recent history, foreign nations have had more voice in the peace process than Iraqis themselves. The American invasion, and more recent Iranian backing of militias and political actors, has given those states significant influence in Iraq. The constant fighting has ensured that civilians have dealt with consistent insecurity and threats to their livelihood, beginning with Hussein’s repressive regime and foreign wars, and continuing through the military conflicts and insurgencies of the 2000s and 2010s. At the moment, large-scale military conflict in Iraq appears to have ended, even as lower-intensity violence and the threat of terrorist attacks remains.
The end of the insurgency, the war against the Islamic State, and the political crisis have led to some optimism for the state of peace in Iraq. Economic and political instability remain, and there is continued tension between the Kurdish government in the North, which is historically supported by the US, and the Iranian-backed government. Despite these growing tensions and associated protests, there has been no widespread violence or a resumption of open sectarian or political conflict. For peace to remain in Iraq, a political solution to these disputes is necessary, and it must come from Iraqis themselves, not from foreign actors. The people of Iraq deserve peace and a voice in the governance of their country, something they have been denied for far too long. Hopefully the current trend continues, and there is a stable future of positive peace and reconciliation for Iraq.
