Free Iraqi Forces
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. | |
Leaders | Ahmad Chalabi |
Dates of operation | 2003 |
Country | Iraq |
Allegiance | ![]()
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Motives | Overthrow of the government of Ba'athist Iraq |
Status | Dissolved |
Part of | Iraqi National Congress (2003) |
The Free Iraqi Forces (FIF) were 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.[1][2]
Composition
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/US_Navy_030328-A-2018L-009_A_member_of_the_Free_Iraqi_Forces_%28FIF%29_is_reunited_with_family_members_in_his_home_village._Free_Iraqi_Forces_are_Shiia_and_Sunni_Muslims%2C_Arabs_and_Kurds%2C_all_exiled_from_Iraq_who_are_committed_to.jpg/220px-thumbnail.jpg)
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.[1] Recruitment, however, fell well below the target number, and were of dubious military utility, ranging from ages 18 to 55.[3]
Operations
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Free_Iraqi_Force_%28FIF%29_coat.jpg/220px-Free_Iraqi_Force_%28FIF%29_coat.jpg)
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.[4] The units were also seen as undisciplined and pro-Shia and anti-Sunni, and engaged in looting.[5]
References
- ^ a b Catherine Dale (April 2011). Operation Iraqi Freedom: Strategies, Approaches, Results, and Issues for Congress. DIANE Publishing. pp. 48–. ISBN 978-1-4379-2030-7.
- ^ Nathan Hodge (15 February 2011). Armed Humanitarians: The Rise of the Nation Builders. Bloomsbury USA. pp. 66–. ISBN 978-1-60819-017-1.
- ^ Sheldon Rampton; John Clyde Stauber (2003). Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin. pp. 61–. ISBN 978-1-58542-276-0.
- ^ Beth K. Dougherty; Edmund A. Ghareeb (7 November 2013). Historical Dictionary of Iraq. Scarecrow Press. pp. 299–. ISBN 978-0-8108-7942-3.
- ^ Anthony H. Cordesman; Emma R. Davies (30 December 2007). Iraq's Insurgency and the Road to Civil Conflict. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 58–. ISBN 978-0-313-34998-0.
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Shia Islamic militias |
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