FALL 2010 PAGE 1 TAARII Newsletter The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq

Issue No. 5-2 Fall 2010 © TAARII

Dryest o ing the Symbols of Baathist Iraq Benjamin Isakhan, Centre for Dialogue, La Trobe University, Australia S ince the invasion of Iraq by Iraq. By now, a whole host of coalition forces in 2003, the scholarly studies exists on this Iraqi people have not only topic including the work of suffered a devastating death leading Iraqi and international toll and witnessed the erosion scholars, archaeologists, of every aspect of their civil historians, cultural and heritage infrastructure, they also have workers, diplomats, government endured an extraordinary officials, and military officers.1 period of cultural and historical What is curiously absent destruction. This began during from the existing literature the battle phase of the war, which on the cultural and historical saw untold degrees of “collateral destruction of Iraq, however, is damage” to sensitive historic and the contemporaneous program cultural sites across the nation. to symbolically De-Baathify the This was followed, in the very nation in which key monuments, earliest days of the now more state buildings, murals, and than seven-year occupation, by statues have been defaced or a period of looting and arson destroyed. Indeed, while the in which many cultural and consequences of what might historical sites were destroyed. be called the “bureaucratic” Key institutions such as the Iraq or “militaristic” dimensions National Museum (INM) and of Iraq’s De-Baathification the Iraq National Library and have been discussed in much Archive (INLA) were targeted, of the literature, the symbolic as well as other sites like the Figure 1.1. A defaced mural of at Camp dimension of De-Baathification Bayt al-Hikma and the al- Speicher (al-Sahra Air Force Base). Photo by William N. and its consequences for national Awqaf libraries, Iraq’s Museum Kent, Winter 2006. identity and social cohesion has of Modern Art, an Abbasid-era remained an under-studied and palace, an Ottoman-era mosque, and also had ruinous consequences for underappreciated factor. the Hashemite Parliament House. In Iraq’s cultural heritage with artifacts, Current research by the author addition, many Iraqi civilians and symbols, and monuments being caught therefore seeks to address this lacuna. foreigners have become involved in in the crossfire or deliberately targeted Firstly, it aims to catalog some of highly co-ordinated black market by opposing ethno-religious sectarian the more significant examples of the operations that systematically loot groups. symbolic destruction of Baathist Iraq sensitive archaeological sites across None of this tragic tale will come since 1991, and especially since 2003. Iraq and smuggle the antiquities out as a surprise to members of TAARII Secondly, the study aims to speculate of the country and on to the highly and regular readers of this publication, on the implications that the symbolic lucrative international black market. many of whom are involved in destruction of Baathist Iraq have had The ongoing hostility between documenting and analyzing the ongoing on the socio-political landscape of varying factions within Iraq has cultural and historical destruction of the nation since the fall of the former PAGE 2 taarii newsletter

regime. Finally, this research the nation’s oil wealth to revive Iraqi project aims to conclude by folklore. He utilized the political power suggesting that Iraq needs to of popular culture to create national openly and honestly engage unity behind a distinctly “Iraqi” with its Baathist past and identity, one intimately connected to that such engagement may the glories of Iraq’s history. well provide the means by As part of their “Project for the which a new post-Baathist Re-Writing of History,” the Baath Iraqi national identity can be commandeered Iraqi authors and developed.2 commissioned them to write works However, in order to come that sought to align Iraq’s long and to terms with the significance complex past with contemporary of the destruction of Baathist Baathist ideology. The Baath extended Iraq, it is necessary to begin this project into the lived environment by briefly detailing the role of the Iraqi people, erecting giant that Iraq’s cultural heritage murals in which Hussein was situated has played in building amongst a curious pastiche of deeply national identity and social nationalistic imagery including ancient cohesion since the rise of the Mesopotamian, classical Islamic, and Baathist regime in 1968.3 modern military motifs. This increased Premised on their unique during the Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s brand of secular nationalism, when the symbolic cultivation of Iraqi Figure 1.2. Another damaged mural of Saddam the Baath undertook an nationalism included the erection of Hussein at Camp Speicher (al-Sahra Air Force Base). extensive and sustained several grandiose monuments that Photo by William N. Kent, Fall 2006. cultural campaign in which celebrate the alleged “victory” of the successes of nations Iraq over Iran, including the Martyr’s past became a symbol of Memorial, the Unknown Soldiers Iraq’s potential as a united Monument, and the Victory Arches. and prosperous state. This However, it is crucial to note at this is particularly true of the point that Iraqi identity was (and is) rule of Saddam Hussein who far from monolithic and that official spent a sizeable amount of state narratives of “Iraqi” identity were

Figure 1.3. The beginning of the dismantling of the Victory Arches, . Photo by William N. Kent, Figure 1.4. Another view of the dismantling of the Victory Arches, Spring 2007. Baghdad. Photo by William N. Kent, Spring 2007. FALL 2010 PAGE 3 widely contested. To cite just one well- to suggest that Coalition soldiers have in this order. For example, Clause known example, the Kurds adamantly returned home with “souvenirs” from 4 decrees: “Displays in government resisted the “” of Iraq and Baathist Iraq. The worst example buildings or public spaces of the image their perpetual marginalization by the of this are the British troops who or likeness of Saddam Hussein or central Sunni Arab dominated state. smuggled out of Iraq a nine-foot statue other readily identifiable members of Indeed, Baathist uses and abuses of of Saddam Hussein and resurrected it in the former regime or of symbols of the Iraqi heritage must be understood as the officers’ mess at their military base Baath Party or the former regime are indicative of a tyrannical government in Taunton, England.4 hereby prohibited.”5 and a megalomaniacal leader who The next chapter in this tale is well The effect of such De-Baathification was desperately trying to manipulate known. In a carefully choreographed meant that whatever elements remained the fabric of cultural history to build moment co-ordinated by the Coalition’s of the Baathist state were now the legitimacy and maintain hegemony Psychological Operations Unit, one of official property of the CPA. This beyond its coercive power. At the same the first things that the Coalition forces became immediately apparent as the time, however, the entire symbolic did when they rolled into Baghdad on Coalition began to set up a number nation-building project of Baathist Iraq April 9, 2003, was to target the giant of key military bases at Baathist sites did engender degrees of (admittedly bronze statue of Saddam in Firdos such as in Saddam’s palaces and uneven and often resisted) national Square. Apparently jubilant Iraqis and various government buildings. One identity and social cohesion. It is U.S. troops seemed to work side-by- such example occurred in January 2004 important to note that every aspect of side to climb the statue and place first a when the Coalition used the Baghdad their campaign was distinctly “Iraqi.” U.S. and then an Iraqi flag over the face Martyr’s Memorial as a military In other words, none of the different of Saddam. Finally, the statue was torn base. This site serves as a people’s symbols or monuments that were down and the severed head was dragged shrine dedicated to the 500,000 Iraqi appropriated or developed throughout through the streets as Iraqis ostensibly soldiers who died defending their the rule of the Baath were specifically continued to celebrate the fall of their country in an unpopular, lengthy, and designed to emphasise Sunni Arab, former dictator. However, it is by now brutal war. Comparable perhaps to Kurdish, Shia Arab or another identity, widely understood that these scenes do the Vietnam Veterans Memorial or but to emphasize a collective “Iraqi” not represent the spontaneous actions other war memorials in Washington, identity. of a people’s liberation, but were as well as ANZAC memorials here in However, all of this was to change instead a very deliberate media stunt Australia, one cannot help but balk dramatically with the military invasion designed to promote the legitimacy of at the insensitivity of turning such a and occupation of Iraq from 2003. the war across a sceptical globe. monument into a military base for use Here, the Coalition had set about This was followed by an extensive by a foreign occupying power. a deliberate campaign to target the project to symbolically De-Baathify The same can be said of the symbols of the Baathist epoch. As post-Saddam Iraq initiated when Coalitions use of the one British army officer put it: “Part Lewis Paul Bremer III was installed as dedicated to the “Father of Pan- of the directive was to destroy and the head of the Coalition Provisional Arabism” and the co-founder of the dismantle anything which was part of Authority (CPA) on the May 13, Baath Party, Michel Aflaq. This Syrian- Saddam Hussein’s regime.” In fact, 2003. Indeed, Bremer’s first official born, French-educated Christian is Coalition forces did this with a kind of act — written only three days after widely respected across the marauding efficiency. An entire epoch his arrival — was to issue “Order not only for his enormous contribution of state-produced symbols, monuments, Number 1: De-Baathification of Iraqi to Arab political philosophy, but also and motifs was burnt, bullet ridden, or Society.” Predictably, the order sought for his egalitarian values and deep torn asunder. Indeed, a simple “Google to disestablish the Baath party by respect for Islamic ideals. The site image” search reveals thousands of “eliminating the party’s structures and comprises a tomb and a statue built by photos in which Coalition soldiers can removing its leadership from positions Saddam Hussein upon Aflaq’s death be seen ripping down statues, using of authority and responsibility in in 1989. As part of their program to sledge hammers on giant murals, Iraqi society.” While much has been symbolically De-Baathify Iraq, the vandalizing billboards, using buildings made of the consequences of such Mausoleum was initially slated for for target practice, and even urinating De-Baathification, what is rarely demolition by the CPA before the on monuments dedicated to Saddam. mentioned is the blatant symbolic decision sparked an outcry among There is also a great deal of evidence dimension to De-Baathification found Iraqi and international intellectuals. PAGE 4 taarii newsletter

Today, Aflaq’s mausoleum, which falls between Iraq’s Shiite majority and its Baathification” of Iraq or even a return inside the , has reportedly Sunni minority.”6 What is particularly to a secular nationalist government, it been turned into something of a interesting here is that the destruction does argue that the Coalition and the shopping mall-cum-recreation center- of Iraq’s cultural heritage was stopped incumbent Iraqi government have a cum-makeshift barracks for Coalition — by the Coalition of all groups — in responsibility to develop appropriate soldiers. It houses a barbershop and order to prevent the further breakdown national discourses that are egalitarian pirate DVD stall among other retailers, of social cohesion and national identity and inclusive. as well as a “foosball” table and gym in Iraq and to eschew more ethno- In doing so, Iraq could learn much equipment. Directly underneath Aflaq’s sectarian violence. This indicates at from other twentieth century examples grave, soldiers sleep in cramped least tacit acknowledgement of the in which people have attempted to plywood quarters. As with the use role such monuments have played in forge new versions of national identity of the Martyr’s Memorial, one only creating a unified Iraqi identity and that openly engage with both the has to imagine the use of comparable that their destruction can contribute traumas and the achievements of the historical sites in other nations — to deepening ethno-religious sectarian past. For example, South Africa has consider a foosball table in the Lincoln divides. many useful parallels to Iraq in that memorial — to begin to come to terms It is this connection between the it was under heavy sanctions from the with how such actions might offend the symbolic destruction of Baathist Iraq international community and that it Iraqi people. and the consequences it may have had was rife with cultural, religious, and More recently, the democratically on the nation’s socio-political order ethnic tensions. However, the symbolic elected Iraqi government took initial that most needs to be addressed. More nation-building campaign that followed steps towards furthering this process work desperately needs to be done in the end of Apartheid and the nation’s of symbolically De-Baathifying Iraq. order to understand the complex inter- bold engagement with the sufferings In early 2007, the Shia- and Kurdish- relationships between national memory of the past helped it move towards dominated government organized the and identity politics in Iraq. As we reconciliation and reconstruction. In “Committee for Removing Symbols of have seen, most Iraqis had learned the case of post-Soviet Russia, the the Saddam Era” and drew up extensive about the past through a Baathist lens, nation had the task of re-defining itself plans to destroy many of the symbols a tyrannical kaleidoscope of state not only politically, economically, and of their Sunni-dominated Baathist past. propaganda, a history re-written to both ideologically, but also symbolically. In fact, the dismantling of the Victory justify oppression and coerce people To do this, many of the Soviet- Arches began in earnest in February of into patriotism. This was underpinned era monuments were successfully 2007 and ten-foot chunks were cut out by a very complex cultural-discursive transformed from icons of the Soviet of the monument and carted away while campaign in which the ideology of the Union to symbols of a united Russia. some reports indicate that numerous Baath was embedded into festivals, With a new Iraqi government soon U.S. troops and Iraqi bystanders monuments, history books, and state to emerge from the March 2010 removed parts of the monument as buildings. This evolving research elections and a significant scaling- personal souvenirs. Such events were project therefore seeks to interrogate back of Coalition troops to occur widely contested within Iraq, with the role that the destruction of Iraq’s later this year, the Iraqi people have Mustafa Khadimi, the founder of the Baathist monuments and symbols may perhaps never been in greater need of a Iraq Memory Foundation, saying of have played in decreasing the Iraqi detailed understanding of the ongoing the Victory Arches, “We need to use brand of nationalism that the Baath challenges and intractable problems these two swords as proof to further had managed to promulgate to varying they face. Much rests on Iraq’s ability generations to show what happened to degrees of success since the 1970s. to deal with its past. This means that Iraqi people.” However, it was not until Today, Iraq not only faces the the Baathist epoch — as with every the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay enormous challenge of re-constructing other era in Iraq’s national history Khalilzad, challenged Prime Minister its infrastructure, implementing the — needs to be engaged honestly and Nouri Al-Maliki on the decision that rule of law, and enforcing security, it openly. The terror, coercion, and the project was promptly brought to a also faces the task of re-building the violence need to be acknowledged and halt. According to media reports, the less tangible notions of a collective the guilty brought to justice. Beyond reason for Khalilzad’s intervention was national identity and social cohesion. this, however, Baathist Iraq needs “due to concerns the dismantling of the While this project certainly does not to be understood in its moderately monument might further deepen the rift advocate what might be called a “Re- successful attempts to build a vision FALL 2010 PAGE 5 of a united and prosperous future. The collections: Geoff Emberling and Katharyn East Studies Association in Boston and Pro- nation needs to move beyond simplistic Hanson, Catastrophe! The Looting and De- fessor McGuire Gibson at the University of approaches like total De-Baathification struction of Iraq’s Past (Oriental Institute Chicago for providing some funds for me to Museum Publications 28; Chicago: Oriental present parallel papers in Chicago and New and away from reductive political Institute Museum, 2008); Peter G. Stone and York. I am also grateful to TAARII, and par- ideology that emphasizes schisms Joanne Farchakh-Bajjaly, The Destruction ticularly Stephanie Platz and Orit Bashkin, rather than breaks them down. Indeed, of Cultural Heritage in Iraq (Heritage Mat- for hosting me whilst in Chicago. Finally, I if Iraq is to ever develop a post- ters 1; Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2008); am grateful for the ongoing support of my Baathist national identity then it must and Lawrence Rothfield, Antiquities Under current institution, the Centre for Dialogue come to terms with both the failures Siege: Cultural Heritage Protection After at La Trobe University, Australia. and successes of the former regime. the Iraq War (Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, 3 Baathism originally developed in Such an open and critical engagement 2008). around 1940 and emigrated to Iraq in 1949 before the party began to gather momentum in with the past could not only create 2 I am indebted to various people and the Iraqi armed forces. The Baath Party was to avenues of intercommunity dialogue, institutions for the ongoing development go on to play a crucial part in the 1958 Revo- of this research. The genesis of this project help placate ethno-religious violence lution and held power briefly in 1963 before occurred while I was working as a Research and , and facilitate the ascending to dominance in 1968. Fellow for the Griffith Islamic Research establishment of an inclusive political 4 Unit at Griffith University, Australia. They “ Saddam Statue Erected In Somerset,” Sky order, it could also ensure that the Iraqi not only supported my research but also News, June 5, 2003. 5 people are not destined to repeat a past provided funding for me to present the pre- L. P. Bremer, “Coalition Provisional that has been largely torn down and liminary findings at several conferences Authority Order Number 1: De-Baathification destroyed. across Australia and the United States in of Iraqi Society,” May 15, 2003. 2009. I must also thank Professor Muhsin 6 B. Dehghanpisheh, “Iraqis Not Happy, 1 Some of the better literature on this Al-Musawi of Columbia University for in- Saddam’s Swords Coming Down,” Newsweek, topic can be found in the following edited viting me to present a paper at the Middle February 20, 2007.

Ia r q’s Displaced — Beyond “Tolerance” Summary of the Refugee Studies Centre Policy Brief #4* Dr. Philip Marfleet, University of East London, and Dr. Dawn Chatty, University of Oxford

Between November 2002 and March a collapse in security and deadly sec- from fear of repatriation and its con- 2003, the humanitarian aid regime pre- tarian violence. Although estimates sequences. This report considers some pared for an estimated 1 million “refu- vary widely, about 2 million Iraqis fled of the key issues confronting them and gees” to flee Iraq in the aftermath of their homes but did not cross national those who remain “internally” dis- the Anglo-American invasion — Op- borders and between 1 and 2 million placed (within Iraq’s national borders). eration Iraqi Freedom — to topple Iraqis traveled to Jordan and , set- It suggests that the displacement crisis the regime of Saddam Hussein. How- tling largely in the cities of Damascus, has reached a critical stage — one in ever, six months after the fall of the Aleppo, and Amman. Others moved to which, as international interest in Iraq Iraqi regime, few Iraqis had fled their Cairo and Istanbul, and many traveled declines, refugees will be expected to country. The international aid regime much farther. UNHCR and other NGOs return and to reintegrate into a society had miscalculated and poorly under- raced to set up reception centers and to profoundly marked by war and lack of stood the Iraqi peoples’ response. In provide emergency aid and measures security, civil conflict, and economic 2004, the camps were dismantled; pre- for temporary protection. uncertainty. The report suggests that positioned food and other items were Today we find that many Iraqi refu- mass return is unlikely — that very removed. Three years later, the world gees maintain their distance from the large communities of Iraqis will contin- was caught off-guard as hundreds of UNHCR — for reasons including loss ue to live under difficult circumstances thousands of Iraqis fled their homes of faith in the willingness of politi- in a series of Middle Eastern countries in 2006 and 2007, seeking to escape cians and officials to assist them, and and that continuing displacement with- PAGE 6 taarii newsletter in and from Iraq may stimulate further a problem requiring international atten- are marooned, faced by the prospect movement of long-distance migrants. tion for years to come. of long-term exile (some refer to be- It considers briefly the implications for The volatile situation in Iraq and the coming “Palestinized”) and declining states, refugee agencies, and NGOs, surrounding countries presents UN- interest from governments and support recommending careful consideration of HCR with a particularly difficult task: networks. In 2008, some 17,800 Iraqis policy options in order to avoid errors to facilitate voluntary return of IDPs were settled in third countries in pro- of judgement like those that contributed (internally displaced persons) and refu- grams supported by UNHCR; the pace to the migration crisis of 2006–2007. gees under appropriate circumstances. of resettlement has since accelerated, U.S. policy considers the military However, is it possible to identify such with significant numbers of Iraqis ad- “surge” of 2007 to have returned stabil- conditions today? There is compelling mitted to the U.S. In October 2009, ity to Iraq and improved security dra- evidence to show that very large num- UNHCR estimated that some 500,000 matically. The international aid regime bers of IDPs are unable to undertake Iraqis refugees were in need of resettle- has supported this view and in April even short journeys to their original ment. However, in the current climate 2009 the UNHCR declared that security homes. Furthermore, the Iraqi govern- of opinion vis-à-vis Iraq, resettlement had improved to the extent that people ment has done little to assist IDPs or options are most likely to diminish un- originating from most regions of Iraq refugees. It is difficult to identify any less the international humanitarian aid should no longer be viewed as refugees. concrete steps taken by government on regime reconsiders the way forward. These developments raise a series of behalf of displaced Iraqis. Even U.S. This brief report identifies key prin- problems: Can displaced Iraqis return officials recognize these problems, not- ciples for consideration by policy to their homes with confidence? Is it ing that serious efforts on the part the makers — in government, in migration plausible to expect mass returns? What government “are all but non-existent.” agencies, and in the humanitarian net- are the implications for refugees? Are A recent UNHCR study (2009) articu- works. It does not promote policy in their circumstances likely to change? lated the deep sense of alienation from detail, for this requires careful elabora- The U.S. government holds the position the Iraqi state and the sense of aban- tion in each state in which Iraqis have that security in Iraq is now such that donment which many refugees in Syria, sought security. It suggests, however, U.S. troops may be pulled out and rede- Jordan, and felt. that unless certain principles underpin ployed elsewhere, e.g., to Afghanistan. It is clear that whatever the size of policy in general, governments and The facts on the ground, however, do the refugee population, very few are re- agencies will shortly be confronted not support this picture. In July 2008, turning to Iraq. A recent UNHCR report with new and unwelcome emergencies. the International Crisis Group (ICG (2009) indicated that Iraqis in exile had 1. It is essential to recognize formally 2008) observed that it would be wrong no intention of returning “under any cir- the scale and seriousness of displace- to assume that massive returns are im- cumstances.” These findings raise awk- ment within and from Iraq, and the minent. In the same year, Amnesty In- ward questions for the UNHCR within possibility of further mass movements ternational also warned that worldwide Iraq, where the agency is still officially related to profound problems of insecu- media coverage of increased “voluntary preparing for imminent return of “large rity, especially in the country’s north- returns” and improved security did not numbers.” The most striking aspect of ern regions. alter the true picture — a worsening this situation is the reluctance of refu- 2. False expectations of return may refugee crisis exacerbated by the fail- gees to return despite their difficulties. induce IDPs and refugees to make im- ure of the international community to Most have so far enjoyed basic physical practical or even dangerous journeys to respond in a meaningful way. Other or- security but face serious problems in re- inhospitable locations. There must be ganizations have warned that some Ira- lation to income, employment, housing, no attempts at forced repatriation. qi problems may not only inhibit return health, and education in the host coun- 3. Any realistic prospect of mass re- but also prompt new displacements. tries of the Middle East where they are turn can only be associated with sus- Most important are chronic problems regarded as temporary guests or visitors. tained efforts by the government in of political tension in Iraq’s northern Although mass return is unlikely to Iraq to support displaced people — by governorates and intensely violent occur voluntarily, recent studies sug- tackling problems of access to land and episodes which affected Baghdad and gest that third country resettlement is property, employment, income, and other cities throughout the summer and emerging as a durable solution. For general welfare. autumn of 2009. The reality is that the most Iraqi refugees, settlement in the 4. Robust arrangements for protec- crisis for Iraq’s refugees and internally Arab states is not an option. Most refu- tion of Iraqis in exile are essential: lo- displaced is worsening and will remain gees in Arab host countries feel they cal “tolerance” is at best a short-term FALL 2010 PAGE 7 measure. Relevant agencies should Much more research is needed to For more information, please visit http:// consider how to liaise with govern- discover the scale of current displace- www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/PDFs/RSCPB4-Iraqs- ments of the Middle East to produce ment, the changing circumstances and refugees.pdf. an integrated approach. patterns of movement of Iraqis, and 5. Notwithstanding the reluctance of the implications for governments and * This report summarizes the Forced Migra- some states to accept Iraqis, resettle- NGOs within and beyond the Middle tion Policy Briefing #4 of the Refugee Studies Centre of the University of Oxford, which was ment programs are essential if refugees East. This should address current re- presented at a one-day event in April 2010 are not to be isolated and marginalized alities with full seriousness, avoiding in collaboration with the Regional Human in the Middle East, leading more to partial or partisan approaches and the Security Centre (RHSC) in Amman, Jordan, enter irregular migration networks — temptation to “distort” or to ignore un- under the patronage of HRH Prince El Has- with all their associated dangers. welcome realities. san bin Talal.

Cutall ur Competence and Iraqi Perceptions of U.S. Troops in Iraq (2003–2009) Rochelle Davis and Omar Shakir*

S ince the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 said that they took a wait-and-see ap- versus Special Forces, officers versus and the proposal of a new counterin- proach in the immediate aftermath of enlisted, and professional soldiers ver- surgency doctrine in late 2006, culture the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime, sus new recruits. The Iraqi interviewees has been named as key to the success but their opinions shifted with the ac- exhibited a remarkable ability to un- and failure of U.S. military operations. cumulation of what they felt were un- derstand, relate to, and even empathize However, little research has been con- deserved humiliations and violent as- with the plight of the individual soldier, ducted to understand how Iraqis them- saults that befell them or their families. whose conduct they tied to legitimate selves perceive the U.S. efforts in the Iraqi feelings of dehumanization and feelings of fear and insecurity. They realm of cultural awareness and sensi- disenfranchisement, in turn, produced expressed the belief that soldiers learn tivity. With TAARII funding, we con- fear and in some cases resistance to the from their experiences and improve ducted and analyzed over forty inter- U.S. troops, who were seen by all Iraq- their conduct over time, and yet they views with Iraqi refugees in Jordan, is we interviewed as occupiers, even if are constantly being rotated and new Syria, and the U.S. on the subject of the Iraqis were pro-invasion, and pro- recruits are taking their places. their experiences with U.S. troops in U.S. Anger at the nameless, faceless In the context of the bloodshed and the culture realm. We explore in this soldiers who manned checkpoints and mayhem of the invasion and the oc- research how Iraqis characterize inter- invasively searched homes and stole cupation, Iraqis largely reject the im- actions with American troops, whether things from them was coupled with the portance ascribed to cultural sensitiv- they feel that soldiers took Iraqi culture fact that everyone we interviewed had a ity or cultural knowledge, emphasizing and norms into consideration in their family member going about their daily instead basic human values and the day-to-day interaction, and whether life who was injured or killed by Amer- need for the U.S. to respect Iraqis as they find such efforts significant in the ican troops (in their car, on their roof, individuals and as a country. In spite context of military occupation. This re- in their home or garden, walking down of acknowledging the variation within search is one component of a larger re- the street, etc.).2 the U.S. military and positive experi- search project on cultural training and At the same time, however, almost all ences with some U.S. troops, the vast the U.S. military.1 of our interviewees brought up exam- majority of Iraqis attributed the behav- The Iraqi narratives that emerged ples of honest and decent servicemen ior of the U.S. servicemen and women from our research shed new light on and women with whom they had per- to an institutional and contextual root, the contemporary debate on culture and sonal interactions. In describing their and assign blame to the overarching the U.S. military. Interviewees pointed experiences, Iraqis expressed a nuanced U.S. system of military and govern- to a gradual deterioration in both the understanding of the American troops, mental domination and control. Many quantity and quality of interactions couching their discussions about their found the question of culture insignifi- from 2003 to 2009. Many interviewees interactions in terms of regular troops cant in the context of a brutal occupa- PAGE 8 taarii newsletter tion and unrelenting sectarian violence, Georgetown University. Omar Shakir Elzein and Dena Takruri, “Iraqi Culture and challenging prevailing notions about completed his M.A. in Arab Studies the US Military: Understanding Training, culture, power, and war and the foun- degree from Georgetown University and Experiences, and Attitudes,” in Anthropology and Global Counterinsurgency, edited by John dations underlying the approach that is currently in law school at Stanford University. Kelley, Beatrice Jauregui, Sean T. Mitchell, seeks to win “hearts and minds.” and Jeremy Walton (University of Chicago 1 For more on this subject, see Rochelle Press: 2010), pp. 297–310. * Rochelle Davis is an assistant professor Davis, “Culture as a Weapon System,” in 2 We acknowledge that these are the stories of anthropology in the Center for Middle East Report (MERIP) No. 255, July that Iraqis reported to us, and we did not Contemporary Arab Studies at the Edmund 2010 (http://www.merip.org/mer/mer255/ request other proof of their experiences. A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, davis.html); and Rochelle Davis with Dahlia

Tanribingr sc an Unwritten Language: Iraqi- Kamala Russell and Atoor Lawandow*

In the spring term, 2010, Kamala Rus- different cultural groups. them or whether to represent them sell and Atoor Lawandow of the Mc- The first workshop was an introduc- as bound or unbound morphemes. Neill Language and Gesture Lab at the tory discussion about IA. Attendees For example, in IA, akhadhuliyyaha University of Chicago held a series of were given handouts of transliterated (“they took it for me”) consists in a three workshops entitled “Transcribing simple phrases for conversation, which base verb, inflected for a person, a an Unwritten Language: Iraqi-Arabic.” they practiced together as a group. morpheme directing the action towards The workshops were held at the Land- This activity was incorporated into the person it is inflected for, and an hal Center in the Social Sciences the workshop after seeing that many object pronoun. It would be glossed building. The aim the workshops was, of those who attended were eager to as such: 3rd.pl.took.for.1st.sg.it.fem. first, to open up a discourse between practice speaking IA, especially given sing. In Classical Arabic, the “for me” people who work on Arabic language the fact that during the spring term morpheme is unbound, and the object in the Department of Near Eastern Levantine and Egyptian-Arabic classes pronoun would typically take a differ- Languages and Civilizations and the were being offered at the university ent form. Therefore, it was decided Center for Middle Eastern Studies and and many were curious to see how through the course of this workshop those working in linguistics and other these different dialects compared. Ad- that it was best to consider these mor- related social sciences about the issues ditionally, given most of the attendees’ phemes as bound ones that agglutinate and problems related to transcribing previous but varying knowledge of together to form one IA word. spoken Iraqi-Arabic (IA). Secondly, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), they The final workshop focused on the the workshops also aimed to act as were interested in seeing how IA dif- question as to whether saying that a way of introducing the university fers grammatically and phonologically IA is an “unwritten” language might community to the McNeill Lab’s Iraqi- from it by seeing it in transliteration be a misleading statement. IA is en- Arabic data corpus, i.e., its size, how it and practicing speaking it. countered in a written form through was collected, and how it is currently The second workshop intended to different media: Internet, email, print, being used by the Lab in different re- introduce the basic grammatical pe- etc. The workshop explored how these search studies. This, it is hoped, will culiarities of IA, and to discuss their mediations influence IA transcription encourage those wishing to work on IA transcription and transliteration. The conventions in an academic context. to utilize the data in the future. discussion of the phonetic and pho- Attendees were presented with a vari- The McNeill Lab is a gesture nological difficulties in transliterat- ety of these media, from the scholarly and psycho-linguistics lab in the ing IA was expanded into one about and “respectable” to the non-academic Psychology department at the the orthography appropriate for the and “low culture.” Examples such as University of Chicago. The project in transcription of certain aspects of the screen-grabs from Arabic messag- which we deal with Iraqi-Arabic is the morphology. These grammatical con- ing boards on Youtube and Facebook Rapport Project that hopes to study the structions and morphemes often do not where chat-Arabic (Dardasha Arabic) gesture and non-speech behavior that exist in MSA or Classical Arabic, and often appears were presented to work- enables, or disables, rapport across there are questions as to how to spell shop attendees. FALL 2010 PAGE 9

Another source presented in this IA words and phrases. The workshops were very successful workshop as offering an alternative Another medium showing IA in in what they had aimed to achieve. transcription of IA was the scholarly written form that was presented in They were generally attended by un- work of al-Shaykh Jalal al-Hanafi al- this workshop were United Nations dergraduate students of Arabic and Baghdadi (1914–2006), who was propaganda leaflets dropped by U.N. Persian, although their backgrounds an Iraqi Islamic scholar, journalist, Coalition Forces in different parts of were different, and graduate students writer, and musician. Al-Baghdadi Iraq during the 1991 . Like from the Center for Middle Eastern undertook the collection of popular the al-Baghdadi source, these also pro- Studies, the Linguistics and Near East- sayings from Baghdad beginning in vide an alternative transcription style ern and Languages and Civilizations 1935, which then culminated in his for IA. What was interesting to notice departments. two-volume work, Baghdadi Adages about these leaflets was that IA was (Amthāl Baghdādiyya), in 1962. What inscribed alongside cartoon drawings, For copies of the handouts used in this is useful about this work is that al- and it made references to popular cul- workshop, visit taarii.org. Baghdadi transcribes the proverbs in ture and current events from that time. * Kamala Russell is a third year in the IA and then provides a brief explana- Thus a study of a combination of mul- Linguistics Department in the College and tion of them in MSA, so one may find tiple media in which IA appears would Atoor Lawandow is a MA student in the in this work a possible transcription probably yield a balanced picture of IA Center for Middle Eastern Studies, both at convention for many commonly-used culture. the University of Chicago.

TeR h eLATIonship between Intermarriage and National Identity: Preliminary Reflections on TAARII’s Iraqi Oral History Project

Preliminary analysis of the life histo- or Turcoman origins. The male partners Minister of Defense in the years 1910 ries of more than 130 Iraqis living in were generally educated at the military to 1911 and later held a high-ranking Jordan, Lebanon, and Yemen suggests school in Istanbul, were high-ranking government position. In the 1930s, his that political identities generated by in- officers in the Ottoman army and later brother became a high-ranking official termarriages become a site of conflict in the Iraqi army, or were high-ranking in Iraq. Her father’s family, who are of at times of heightened tension when officials. In most cases, the partners’ Arab-Iraqi origin, lived in Diyarbakir, sectarian and ethnic identities prevail extended families lived in the same in present-day Turkey, for generations. and national identity is marginalized. quarter and inter-married with each Her paternal grandfather and his broth- The famous Iraqi saying, “Women are other. er were sent to Iraq on a mission from the roots of plants,” refers not only to The following is an illustrative case. the Ottoman government: the first to the fact that women nurture their own Salwa is a 90-year-old Sunni Arab settle the Turcoman along the northern groups, but also to the importance of woman who comes from a prominent Iraq–Iran borders, and the second to women’s marriages in creating new and family of high-ranking state officials. settle the Arab nomads along the south- lasting relations among groups as in the Her mother’s family, the descendants ern Iraq–Iran borders. case of out-marriages. of Arabized Georgian Mamluks who As was the practice in late Otto- The questionnaire used in TAARII’s turned Muslim Sunni, belongs to man period and in the early days of Iraqi Oral History Project includes a what can be called the old aristocrat- the Monarchy whereby old prominent section on the marriages of every male ic administrative class. All the male administrative families married into and female in the narrator’s extended members born before the foundation families of their social class, Salwa’s family for four or five generations. of the Iraqi nation-state lived part of father’s family and her mother’s fam- Analysis of the data on marriage pat- their lives in Istanbul, were educated ily married out into Turkish families terns suggests that endogamous mar- in the military academy there, and oc- and into old prominent bureaucratic- riage was predominant between 1900 cupied high-ranking positions in the landed Sunni sada families from Bagh- and the 1940s, and that mixed marriag- Ottoman Empire and later in the Iraqi dad, such as the al-Gailanis, an Arab es were limited to the Ottoman-trained state. One of Salwa’s grandmother’s family, and al-Haydaris, a Kurdish elites during that period. These were contemporary relatives was a general family. Later, they married into afflu- all Sunnis of Arab, Turkish, Kurdish, in the Ottoman army and served as the ent Sunni merchant families, such as PAGE 10 taarii newsletter al- Shahbandars and the Chalibis, who helped to bring this about: the change would divorce her one day. The Assyr- later changed their name to al-Qadi. in the city’s morphology, the empow- ian church allows for divorce,” Nisrin The descendants of two half-brothers erment of women through education, explained. His mother kept inviting her also intermarried. Salwa herself is mar- and the emergence of a public sphere to nice meals and convinced her that ried to a Sunni Arab of a prominent (clubs, societies, political parties), she should marry her son. The couple merchant-landed family whose family where men and women from different eloped and got married in the Assyr- was a neighbor of hers. ethnic backgrounds, faiths, and sects ian church. Her family was outraged Marriage establishes a socially sig- could meet and get to know each other. and denounced her. The couple had to nificant relationship of affinity between Young, educated Iraqis began to break move to another mahallah, hoping that spouses and their families. In marry- away from arranged marriages and opt time would take care of her family’s ing out into families of the same class, for love matches. wrath. the old elite families, who were ethni- Another case illustrates this pattern. A study of intermarriage in Northern cally heterogeneous and homogenous In the 1950s, Wafa, a Sunni from a Ireland shows that the number of inter- by sect, created and maintained inter- middle-class family, was a student of marriages decreases at times of height- group alliances, thereby solidifying and mathematics at Teachers’ College in ened tension.1 The same can be argued increasing their network of allies and Baghdad. In her second year, she met in the case of Iraq. During the Iraq–Iran extending their political and social ties Hussein, who was studying English war, the state viewed the marriages of outward. literature at the same college. Hussein Iraqis of Arab descent and Iraqis of Until the 1950s, marriage was pre- was a Shiite from a middle-class, edu- supposedly Persian descent in political dominantly arranged by the family. cated family. Wafa and Hussein were terms and encouraged the annulment Once a young man came to marriage- both members of the communist party of such marriages. Likewise, the erup- able age, the family’s grown up females and took part in cultural activities or- tion of the sectarian conflict in 2006 began the search for a “proper” spouse ganized by the party and their academic between Shiite and Sunnis in Baghdad for him from a pool of prospective can- departments. They had much in com- and the attempt of each party to create didates. In their search, preference was mon, fell in love, and got married de- its homogenous territories forced many given to young women who were con- spite the disapproval of each of their Shiite–Sunni couples to divorce. An in- sidered “of [their] own sort,” socially families. teresting case illustrates this: Khadija is and often in terms of religion. Prefer- Despite the long-term, gradual in- a 55-year-old Sunni woman married to ence was also given to potential part- crease in the number of intermarriages, , a Shiite university profes- ners drawn from the pool of the fam- mixed unions are still met with disap- sor. They have two daughters, aged 22 ily’s acquaintances. proval, although less so by the middle and 24. In 2006, the family had to leave The city morphology based on ma- class, who consider themselves more Baghdad and come to live in Amman. hallah (neighborhood), whereby the tolerant to differences. Quite often cou- In Jordan, they applied for resettle- different Baghdadi ethnic and religious ples that are contemplating intermar- ment in a European country through groups tended to live in separate quar- riage are pressured by their families, UNHCR, Jordan, and were accepted by ters and extended families in the same relatives, and friends not to consum- Holland. Khadija and her two daugh- mahallah next to each other, quite often mate the marriage. Women are some- ters left Jordan for Holland in Decem- sharing the same courtyard, encouraged times harassed by their families to pre- ber 2009 with the understanding that endogamous marriages. The mahallah vent the marriage, and are denounced if Muhammad, who was then teaching at culture made it possible for the affluent the marriage is consummated. a private university in Amman, would and prominent families of Hayderkha- In another case, Nisrin, a 55-year-old follow them at the end of the academic na, a homogeneous neighborhood Chaldean woman, comes from a work- year. Four months later, the wife filed where Salwa’s family lived, to marry ing-class family. She grew up in ‘Aqd for divorce. A sheikh in Holland whom out of their ethnic group. Similarly, it al-Nasara, the Christian mahallah. she consulted issued her a fatwa stating made it possible for residents of other In her youth, she made friends with that “a Sunni woman married to Shiite heterogeneous mahallahs to marry in. her next-door neighbors, an Assyrian lives in adultery.” Starting from the early 1950s, the working-class family. She liked their number of intermarriages among the eldest son, but when he proposed to 1 Hastings Donnan, 2000, “Private Acts and various socio-religious and ethnic her, she was hesitant to accept. “Chal- Public Violence: Interfaith Marriages in groups began to increase — especially deans don’t like to marry their daugh- Northern Ireland,” Bulletin of the Royal In- within the middle class. Several factors ters to Assyrian men for fear that he stitute for Inter-Faith Studies 2(2): 15–32. FALL 2010 PAGE 11 Excivee ut Director’s Report

Dr. Stephanie Platz

TAARII Members may be aware that specific collections, the state of efforts use the library for their research while each year we aim to make it possible for to rehabilitate existing institutions, and in Amman. several Iraqi scholars to participate in in- case studies of ongoing controversies In 2010, we carried out our first ternational conferences. Our intentions over seized documents. survey of TAARII Fellows to assess have sometimes been frustrated by the On a positive note with respect to Iraqi whether or not our fellowship programs difficulty of obtaining visas to the U.S., collections, we are happy to report that and services are meeting the needs of making it a challenge to plan success- the TAARII library is growing in Am- the scholarly community to the best of ful panels. This year, we were pleased man, where it resides temporarily un- our ability. We were happy to discover to have been able to sponsor a panel til we are able to relocate to Baghdad. that all of those who responded to the at the World Congress of Middle East- Last June, twenty-five additional boxes survey do read our newsletter and that ern Studies (WOCMES) in Barcelona. of donated books arrived from the U.S. those who have been able to participate TAARII Board Member, Dina Khoury, TAARII Library Fellow, Katie Johnson, in TAARII conferences and events have chaired “Iraq in the 1990s: Cultural and is cataloging the collection in both Eng- found them valuable unanimously. We Political Trends,” which included pre- lish and Arabic. We will be using the Li- plan to continue to survey our member- senters Ali Bader, Haider Saeed, Dhiaa brary of Congress system on our shelves ship regarding ways that we can better Al-Asadi, and Joseph Sassoon. Please and will also establish an online public serve the Iraqi Studies community. In look to the spring issue of the TAARII access catalog (OPAC) to display TAA- the meantime, we plan to continue our Newsletter (6-1) for selections from RII records. A WorldCat template will be existing programs, including a U.S. uni- the papers presented. The same issue filled for each item, which will be added versity lecture tour in 2011 and a 2011 will provide a condensed version of a to the overall catalog and uploaded to TAARII Fellows conference in , TAARII-sponsored lecture by Jeff Spurr the Online Community Library Center to examine to consequences of the Sanc- at the Center for Middle East Studies of (OCLC) through the Digital Library for tions regime for Iraq. the University of Chicago in April. The International Research, which has gen- We hope to see as many readers as lecture, “Devastation and Controversy: erously assisted us in the endeavor. We possible at our first TAARII reception at Consequences of the U.S. Invasion for hope that soon our catalog will be avail- MESA in San Diego in November 2010. Iraqi Archives and Archival Documents able online. TAARII Fellows, Research Please check the TAARII website for the since 2003” chronicled damage done to Affiliates, and Members are welcome to date and time.

NEW TAARII PROGRAM: Research Affiliates in Jordan TAARII is pleased to announce the creation of a Research Affiliate status, for U.S. scholars For information on how to become working on Iraq, while based in Amman, Jordan. As increasing numbers of American a TAARII member, visit researchers undertake Iraq-related research in Jordan, TAARII aims to support their needs www.taarii.org. and work and to include them in the broader, TAARII community. For more information about the benefits of the Research Affiliate status and details of how to apply, visit the website, www.taarii.org.

Newsletter Submissions, Comments, & Suggestions

To submit articles, images, or announcements in either English or Arabic, please email Katie Johnson at [email protected] for submission details. The deadline for the spring issue of the TAARII Newsletter is December 1, 2010. For all other inquiries, comments, and suggestions, please visit our website, www.taarii.org.

Flle owship Opportunities The annual deadline for submission of applications to the U.S. Fellows Program is December 15, 2010, for projects beginning as early as March 2010. The annual deadline for the Iraq Fellows Program is December 15, 2010. Applications from U.S.-Iraqi collaborative teams are welcome on a ROLLING basis. Teams of individual U.S. and Iraqi scholars wishing to collaborate may request up to $14,000. For additional information, please visit the TAARII website: www.taarii.org. To submit a collaborate proposal, contact [email protected]. TAARIIPAGE 12 taarii newsletter The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq 1507 E. 53rd St., Suite 920 • Chicago, IL 60615 Ph. (773) 844-9658 • Fax (773) 288-3174 www.taarii.org

In this Issue “Destroying the Symbols of Baathist Iraq” Benjamin Isakhan 1 “Iraq’s Displaced — Beyond Tolerance” Philip Marfleet and Dawn Chatty 5 AbT out aarii TAARII has been formed by a consortium of universi- “Cultural Competence and Iraqi ties, colleges, and museums, which comprise its insti- Perceptions of U.S. Troops in Iraq” tutional membership. Each institution names a person to Rochelle Davis and Omar Shakir 7 act as its representative on the Board of Directors. In- “Transcribing an Unwritten Language: dividual Members elect additional Directors. The Offi- Iraqi-Arabic” Kamala Russell and cers, along with two members of the Board of Directors, Atoor Lawandow 8 comprise the Executive Committee, which is charged “The Relationship between Intermarriage with assuring academic integrity, organizational over- and National Identity: Preliminary sight, and financial and programmatic accountability. Reflections on TAARII’s Iraqi Oral TAARII is a non-governmental organization and is incorpo- History Project” 9 rated in the state of Illinois as a not for profit organization Executive Director’s Report 11 and has 501(c)3 status with the Internal Revenue Service.