Input from Iraqi President Rashid on Iraq’s relative success regarding federalism & advice for Syrians.

On the 8th anniversary of the passing of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, this passage from the introduction of “Shalash the Iraqi” shows a glimpse of what made him different from his peers.

Recently appointed head of Iraqi intelligence Hameed Al-Shatri is the first Iraqi official to visit Damascus post-Ba’ath. There were a handful of Iraqi officials that were in charge of handling relations with Syria during Ba’ath regime. No surprise that a new but trusted figure was sent by Baghdad.

Fascinating account from the colonizer’s record of the Jewish community in Iraq, particularly those in Baghdad, about their thoughts on the Balfour Declaration in 1917.

Avi Shlaim goes into further detail about Iraqi-Jews views on creation of Israel in his book Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew

First edition of Arnold T. Wilson’s memoirs as civil commissioner in Iraq, signed by Wilson himself.

Today marks the 66th anniversary of the July 14 revolution. For anyone interested in reading about this important period in contemporary Iraqi history, the late professor Majid Al-Khadduri’s book Republican Iraq is a must.

March 1st marks the start of the 1991 Iraqi uprising that began in Basra & spread northwards. Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime massacred tens of thousand of Iraqis and levelled towns and cities. The Imam Hussain shrine has left some of the bullet holes to preserve the memory.