21:43Iraq: 'It was really no comparison between the Iraqi army and the US' - Saddam Hussein’s army veterans on fighting US-led forces
Veterans of Saddam Hussein’s armed forces discussed the march to war in 2003, experiences fighting coalition troops and life under the new regime, in the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the US military intervention.
President George W Bush made his intention to invade clear in an address on March 17, 2003, on the pretext of alleged 'Weapons of Mass Destruction', but for those in the military, both the conflict itself and the outcome were clear more than a decade before.
"Whoever believes that the war began on March 17, 2003 and ended on April 9, 2003 is greatly delusional and mistaken," said Brigadier General Dr A'yad Al-Tufan, a military analyst and strategist. "The war started on August 2 1990 when the Iraqi military broke into Kuwait."
In that Gulf War, US-led forces intervened following Iraq’s attack on its neighbour, although for Al-Tufan, the aftermath was brutal and irreparably destroyed Iraq’s chances of defending itself in the future.
"The crime occurred on the so-called 'The Highway of Death’ when the US and coalition airstrikes with the help of few Gulf's Arab Ravens destroyed the remains of the Iraqi army during its withdrawal from Kuwait," he continued.
That event, February 26-27 1991, saw coalition forces attack retreating Iraqi military personnel; according to some estimates up to 1,000 were killed.
"During the 80s, the Iraqi Army had huge capabilities, including armoured vehicles, air defence, air force, fighter jets, and all other types of weapons," explained former senior Iraqi military officer Lieutenant General Abdul Monem Hussein Qadouri al-Qaisi. "Due to the suffocating blockade on imports and the UN’s oil-for-food Programme (following the Gulf War), the Iraqi army suffered a lack of equipment and weaponry."
With forces severely weakened and unable to rebuild, another US-led military intervention was likely to be very one-sided.
"we were coming out of war, 2 years after the first Gulf War, the Iran-Iraq war,"Al-Tufan stated. "We hadn't kept pace with major technical and technological advances… it was really no comparison between the Iraqi army and the US and an international coalition of more than 30 countries."
WMDs were never confirmed, while UN and US reports a year later found any stockpiles had been destroyed a decade before. However, the offensive took place, and some in the military found the scale and speed of the US action staggering.
"We thought the US wouldn’t dare to launch a ground invasion because we knew Baghdad was protected by dozens of military formations, including the Intelligence service, Special Security Organization, and other highly-trained formations specially prepared to fight back the occupying forces," said Brigadier Adnan Al-Kanaani, Physical Training Staff Officer in the 1st Border Brigade in Mosul.
While US-led forces quickly took control of vast swathes of the country, the Iraqi army wasn’t without its victories.
"We fought the US invasion and the coalition with simple weapons, causing them enormous losses," Al-Tufan explained. "The US troops had changed their military strategy after realising their incapability to penetrate and seize the cities."
However, for him, the Battle of Baghdad - and the fall of the capital city on April 9 - was among the most painful.
By the following month, Bush was already giving his 'mission accomplished' speech although the US troops remained on the ground to ensure security following the first stage of 'regime change'.
“It was aggression. We didn’t want it to happen. It would have been better if the regime change was internally motivated," said al-Qaisi. "The US forces bombed and destroyed Iraq, killed Iraqis, and disbanded the Iraqi military, security, and intelligence infrastructure."
Washington claimed it was about ridding the country of institutions linked to Saddam Hussein, although some blame those actions for contributing to instability.
"(The US’s top civilian administrator in Iraq) Paul Bremer implemented a carefully crafted plan to dissolve the Iraqi Army," said Al-Tufan. "The plan was to destroy the Iraqi army and create a fragile army," he claimed, suggesting many politicians within Iraq were also in favour. "This process has significantly led to insecurities in recent years".
“[Paul] Bremer’s decision was absolutely wrong and led to the destruction of Iraq," al-Qaisi agreed."They should have maintained the army and changed only the commanders."
The treatment of those who had served Iraq under Saddam also led to resentment.
"We have very senior commanders and officers over the age of 75, and their sole crime was fighting the U.S. troops and they had fought the Iranians to defend their homeland," claimed Al-Tufan. "Why are they not released?"
That resentment only intensified with media reports of US troops abusing Iraqi citizens, particularly, in the Abu Ghraib prison. Washington said they were isolated incidents, while human rights groups alleged they were part of a pattern - and other atrocities later came to light.
"Even after invading and occupying Iraq, the U.S. troops perpetrated numerous massacres in many cities," alleged Al- Tufan. "I want to recall the 12-year-old Abeer al-Khafaji who was raped and killed alongside her parents and brother and they burned their bodies."
The case he refers to was that of 14-year-old Abeer al-Janabi in 2006, who was raped and killed, along with her parents and five-year-old sister, in a town 20 miles south of Baghdad. Five US soldiers were later convicted of the crimes.
With US forces and administrators in control, some did cling to the promises made of a brighter future and were initially divided about the presence of the Americans.
"We were jubilant about the American administration's promises to turn Iraq into a democratic country, support Iraqis, rebuild Iraq," said Al-Kanaani. "Ultimately, we realised the US administration's blatant lie."
"On one hand, we were distressed by the violations committed against Iraq: the plundering of its funds, treasures and resources…On the other hand, we were thrilled at replacing the dictatorial fascist regime with a new era," he continued.
The US promised free and fair elections in the country - although these were not until 2005.
"For the first two years after the occupation, Iraq had no government, police, or state forces. It was the Americans who ruled us." said al-Qaisi.
"After the regime change, we hoped for effective and functional governments…These governments didn’t pay much attention to the reconstruction." he stated.
Contemporary reports point to a large rise in sectarian violence among the disparate groups in the years after, due to a lack of leadership and corruption among the new governments of Iraq. Al-Kanaani claims the country has never recovered.
"They (the US) worked on destabilising Iraqis' values and killing the spirit of citizenship, patriotism and national belonging, destroying the human aspect and driving wedges among citizens. Moreover, they created hostility between the Iraqi spectrum, split Iraq according to its components and sowed sectarian struggles," he concluded.
On March 19, 2003, Washington, along with coalition forces, launched a military offensive on Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein under the pretext of disarming Iraq’s presumed weapons of mass destruction, plunging Iraq into bloodshed and chaos, resulting in the violent deaths of around 200,000 civilians, according to the Iraq Body Count project, although there are other estimations that increase or decrease this figure.
The US officially withdrew its troops from Iraq by December 2011, but thousands remained as part of security operations or serving as private military contractors. The aftermath of the intervention in the country triggered widespread violence and was linked to the rise of the Islamic State (IS).
21:43Veterans of Saddam Hussein’s armed forces discussed the march to war in 2003, experiences fighting coalition troops and life under the new regime, in the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the US military intervention.
President George W Bush made his intention to invade clear in an address on March 17, 2003, on the pretext of alleged 'Weapons of Mass Destruction', but for those in the military, both the conflict itself and the outcome were clear more than a decade before.
"Whoever believes that the war began on March 17, 2003 and ended on April 9, 2003 is greatly delusional and mistaken," said Brigadier General Dr A'yad Al-Tufan, a military analyst and strategist. "The war started on August 2 1990 when the Iraqi military broke into Kuwait."
In that Gulf War, US-led forces intervened following Iraq’s attack on its neighbour, although for Al-Tufan, the aftermath was brutal and irreparably destroyed Iraq’s chances of defending itself in the future.
"The crime occurred on the so-called 'The Highway of Death’ when the US and coalition airstrikes with the help of few Gulf's Arab Ravens destroyed the remains of the Iraqi army during its withdrawal from Kuwait," he continued.
That event, February 26-27 1991, saw coalition forces attack retreating Iraqi military personnel; according to some estimates up to 1,000 were killed.
"During the 80s, the Iraqi Army had huge capabilities, including armoured vehicles, air defence, air force, fighter jets, and all other types of weapons," explained former senior Iraqi military officer Lieutenant General Abdul Monem Hussein Qadouri al-Qaisi. "Due to the suffocating blockade on imports and the UN’s oil-for-food Programme (following the Gulf War), the Iraqi army suffered a lack of equipment and weaponry."
With forces severely weakened and unable to rebuild, another US-led military intervention was likely to be very one-sided.
"we were coming out of war, 2 years after the first Gulf War, the Iran-Iraq war,"Al-Tufan stated. "We hadn't kept pace with major technical and technological advances… it was really no comparison between the Iraqi army and the US and an international coalition of more than 30 countries."
WMDs were never confirmed, while UN and US reports a year later found any stockpiles had been destroyed a decade before. However, the offensive took place, and some in the military found the scale and speed of the US action staggering.
"We thought the US wouldn’t dare to launch a ground invasion because we knew Baghdad was protected by dozens of military formations, including the Intelligence service, Special Security Organization, and other highly-trained formations specially prepared to fight back the occupying forces," said Brigadier Adnan Al-Kanaani, Physical Training Staff Officer in the 1st Border Brigade in Mosul.
While US-led forces quickly took control of vast swathes of the country, the Iraqi army wasn’t without its victories.
"We fought the US invasion and the coalition with simple weapons, causing them enormous losses," Al-Tufan explained. "The US troops had changed their military strategy after realising their incapability to penetrate and seize the cities."
However, for him, the Battle of Baghdad - and the fall of the capital city on April 9 - was among the most painful.
By the following month, Bush was already giving his 'mission accomplished' speech although the US troops remained on the ground to ensure security following the first stage of 'regime change'.
“It was aggression. We didn’t want it to happen. It would have been better if the regime change was internally motivated," said al-Qaisi. "The US forces bombed and destroyed Iraq, killed Iraqis, and disbanded the Iraqi military, security, and intelligence infrastructure."
Washington claimed it was about ridding the country of institutions linked to Saddam Hussein, although some blame those actions for contributing to instability.
"(The US’s top civilian administrator in Iraq) Paul Bremer implemented a carefully crafted plan to dissolve the Iraqi Army," said Al-Tufan. "The plan was to destroy the Iraqi army and create a fragile army," he claimed, suggesting many politicians within Iraq were also in favour. "This process has significantly led to insecurities in recent years".
“[Paul] Bremer’s decision was absolutely wrong and led to the destruction of Iraq," al-Qaisi agreed."They should have maintained the army and changed only the commanders."
The treatment of those who had served Iraq under Saddam also led to resentment.
"We have very senior commanders and officers over the age of 75, and their sole crime was fighting the U.S. troops and they had fought the Iranians to defend their homeland," claimed Al-Tufan. "Why are they not released?"
That resentment only intensified with media reports of US troops abusing Iraqi citizens, particularly, in the Abu Ghraib prison. Washington said they were isolated incidents, while human rights groups alleged they were part of a pattern - and other atrocities later came to light.
"Even after invading and occupying Iraq, the U.S. troops perpetrated numerous massacres in many cities," alleged Al- Tufan. "I want to recall the 12-year-old Abeer al-Khafaji who was raped and killed alongside her parents and brother and they burned their bodies."
The case he refers to was that of 14-year-old Abeer al-Janabi in 2006, who was raped and killed, along with her parents and five-year-old sister, in a town 20 miles south of Baghdad. Five US soldiers were later convicted of the crimes.
With US forces and administrators in control, some did cling to the promises made of a brighter future and were initially divided about the presence of the Americans.
"We were jubilant about the American administration's promises to turn Iraq into a democratic country, support Iraqis, rebuild Iraq," said Al-Kanaani. "Ultimately, we realised the US administration's blatant lie."
"On one hand, we were distressed by the violations committed against Iraq: the plundering of its funds, treasures and resources…On the other hand, we were thrilled at replacing the dictatorial fascist regime with a new era," he continued.
The US promised free and fair elections in the country - although these were not until 2005.
"For the first two years after the occupation, Iraq had no government, police, or state forces. It was the Americans who ruled us." said al-Qaisi.
"After the regime change, we hoped for effective and functional governments…These governments didn’t pay much attention to the reconstruction." he stated.
Contemporary reports point to a large rise in sectarian violence among the disparate groups in the years after, due to a lack of leadership and corruption among the new governments of Iraq. Al-Kanaani claims the country has never recovered.
"They (the US) worked on destabilising Iraqis' values and killing the spirit of citizenship, patriotism and national belonging, destroying the human aspect and driving wedges among citizens. Moreover, they created hostility between the Iraqi spectrum, split Iraq according to its components and sowed sectarian struggles," he concluded.
On March 19, 2003, Washington, along with coalition forces, launched a military offensive on Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein under the pretext of disarming Iraq’s presumed weapons of mass destruction, plunging Iraq into bloodshed and chaos, resulting in the violent deaths of around 200,000 civilians, according to the Iraq Body Count project, although there are other estimations that increase or decrease this figure.
The US officially withdrew its troops from Iraq by December 2011, but thousands remained as part of security operations or serving as private military contractors. The aftermath of the intervention in the country triggered widespread violence and was linked to the rise of the Islamic State (IS).