This page lists and explains the five wars fought between the United Kingdom and Iraq. The word "Anglo" refers to England, once known as "Angle Land," which is part of the island of Great Britain, which is the primary part of the United Kingdom.

1st Anglo-Iraq War: May 1920 to Feb. 1921

The Great Iraqi Revolution (known in Iraq as Ath Thawra al Iraqiyya al Kubra and by the British as the Arab Revolt of 1920-Rebellion by Iraqi Arabs against the rule of the British Mandate. The rebellion was suppressed by the British military. This can be considered the First Anglo-Iraqi War.

The immediate causes of this conflict arose out of the results of the British conquest of the Mesopotamian region from the Ottoman Turks during World War I. Following that war, the British established, with League of Nations approval, a colonial-style Mandate over the region now named “Iraq.” Many Iraqi nationalists, who believed independence would result from the ejection of the Turks, were severely disappointed with the establishment of the British Mandate. Other, related events and issues also inflamed Iraqi Arab opinion against the British. The Mandate government almost completely excluded Iraqis, as the British imported experienced civil servants from India (also ruled by Britain) to help administer the country. In northern Iraq, the British allowed thousands of Christian refugees escaping persecution in Turkey, to settle in mostly Muslim Iraq.

2nd Anglo-Iraq War: April 18, 1941 to May 30, 1941

The Anglo-Iraqi War of 1941, also known as the Rashid Ali Coup, was a relatively small, but very significant part of the Second World War. Since the ending of the British Mandate and the advent of full Iraqi independence in 1932, Britain retained a great deal of military influence in Iraq, despite lingering opposition from many Arab nationalists. One of these nationalists, Rashid Ali, seized power in Baghdad and refused British requests to allow British military forces to enter Iraq. Britain at this time was fighting German and Italian forces in North Africa and were preparing to invade Vichy French-held Syria. (The Vichy French were working with the Germans and British and Free French forces needed to secure the region). Believing promises of German support, Rashid Ali ordered his forces to attack British bases in western Iraq and to oppose the landing of British forces at the southern city of Basra. German support appeared in the form of a small number of Luftwaffe fighter planes, and the British forces quickly defeated the Iraqi military.

3rd Anglo-Iraq War: Aug. 2, 1990 to Feb. 1991

The Second Persian Gulf War (Also known as “Operation Desert Storm”)— On August 2, 1990, Iraqi forces invaded and quickly conquered the small, oil-rich emirate of Kuwait. Almost immediately, an international coalition of nations gathered a powerful military force under the authority of the United Nations and the leadership of the United States, first to defend the oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and secondly, to force Iraq to withdraw from occupied Kuwait. From the beginning of the crisis, the United Kingdom, led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, worked very closely with the U.S. in assuming a determined posture against Saddam Hussein’s territorial ambition. Click on the blue link above for more detail on the war.

4th Anglo-Iraq War: 1991 to March 19, 2003

The "No-Fly Zone War" pitted the air and naval forces of the United States and the United Kingdom against the air defenses of Iraq. This conflict was a direct result of the agreements which ended the fighting in the Second Persian Gulf War (Also known as “Operation Desert Storm”). Click on the blue "No-Fly Zone War" link above for more detail on the war.

5th Anglo-Iraq War: March 19, 2003 to Present

The Third Persian Gulf War , known as "Operation Telic" by the British, and "Operation Iraqi Freedom" by the U.S., ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from power and led to the occupation of Iraq by British and American forces. Click on the blue link above for more detail on the war.

Please cite this source when appropriate:

Lee, R. "The History Guy: Anglo-Iraq Wars

http://www.historyguy.com/anglo-iraq_wars.html

Waziristan War—(2004- Present): In the rugged and remote region of Waziristan on Pakistan’s northwest border with Afghanistan, Islamic rebels allied to the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida are fighting to establish an Islamic Republic.

The fighting began in 2004, when Pakistan’s army entered the region inhabited by the Waziri tribe in search al-Qaida and Taliban fighters who were using Waziristan as a base for attacks against American and Allied forces in Afghanistan.

Since the fighting began, Pakistani forces suffer almost daily casualties due to roadside bombs and ambushes. The authority of the central government is almost nonexistent in the rebellious tribal borderlands.

The United States aids the Pakistani forces with intelligence information and with tactical air strikes on suspected rebel bases and safe houses. The best known U.S. airstrike occurred at the village of Damadola, on January 13, 2006. The attack occurred in the Bajaur tribal area, about 4.5 miles) from the Afghan border. This Predator-drone attack killed at least 18 people, including several non-Waziri foreign al-Qaida fighters.

In July, 2007, following nearly ten months of an uneasy peace, the Islamic militants of Waziristan once again began fighting the Pakistani government in response to the siege and army assault on the Red Mosque in Islamabad. The Red Mosque had been held by Islamic militants and the Pakistani Army ousted the militants in a bloody battle.

The U.S. had been quietly critical of Musharaff’s government for letting the militants in the Waziristan border region regroup during the ten-month truce. After the border region violence renewed, Washington offered assistance to Pakistan in terms of arms and other aid. Rumors of possible American intervention against the Taliban and al-Qaida in Waziristan sparked a rebuke from the Pakistani government that any such cross-border action would be opposed.

Reports: Pak Army strikes in Waziristan–July 25, 2007

US points out 9 terror camps in Waziristan–July 25, 2007

60 dead in Pakistan border fighting  –April 4, 2007

Copyright © 1998-2007 Roger A. Lee and History Guy Media; Last Modified: 10.07.07

"The History Guy" is a Registered Trademark.

When General/President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan, ended freedom of speech, freedom of the press, overturned the authority of the Supreme Court, and postponed elections by at least a year, he not only reminded everyone that he is, indeed, a military dictator, but he also seriously endangered America’s War on Terror.

The War on Terror, or the Long War, as some have come to call the current world war the U.S. is waging on Islamic extremists, has relied on Pakistan’s relative stability as a bulwark against the Taliban and al-Qaida.  The War in Afghanistan, which has entered its sixth year, has put a great deal of pressure on neighboring Pakistan.  The Taliban and al-Qaida use the mountainous border region for bases and for recruitment of new fighters.  Keeping Pakistan in the fight against the terrorists is vital for American strategy, yet Musharraf has made American support for his regime all the more difficult with his heavy-handed repression of political dissent.

This state of emergency will only embolden the Islamic militants in Pakistan, giving them more legitimacy as "freedom fighters" against an American-supported military dictatorship.  Meanwhile, by suppressing the free press and the legitimate non-violent political opposition, he weakens the democratic institutions that form the natural bulwark to the extremists. 

The Bush Administration is caught between a rock and a hard place in deciding how to respond to this unwelcome development.  Too much pressure on Musharraf to reverse course could drive Pakistan out of the anti-Taliban alliance.  Too little pressure will expose the cynicism and hypocrisy of America’s claim to support democracy in Iraq and elsewhere while tolerating or supporting dictatorships when convenient.  And of course, if Pakistan devolves into a spiral of violence, the militants win and at the best Pakistan is unable to control its own borders, while at the worst, an anti-Western, pro-Taliban, pro-bin Laden government takes over.  And let us not forget that Pakistan is a nuclear power.  If chaos reigns, who watches the nuclear arsenal?  Thinking people in Washington, London, Tehran, New Delhi, Kabul and elsewhere should be very worried on that point.   

Pervez Musharraf–(b. August 11, 1943)

Pervez Musharraf , commanding general of the Pakistani military, as well as the current president of Pakistan, is a military dictator who seized power in a military coup on October 12, 1999. In his time as Pakistan’s top general and as its political leader, he has led Pakistan into conflict with India (the Kargil Conflict), supported the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan, become an ally of the United States against the Taliban after September 11, 2001, fought against rebels in Baluchistan, and against frontier tribes, al-Qaida and the Taliban in the resurgent Waziristan War and the Siege of the Red Mosque. Musharraf has presided over the political fragmentation of his country as he tries to suppress democracy and continue his hold on power especially with his ongoing political conflict with Pakistan’s Supreme Court and his imposition of a State of Emergency, (martial law) in early November of 2007.

Musharraf was born in Nahr wali Haveli, Delhi, British India on August 11, 1943. British India was divided between the newly independent nations of Pakistan and India, and, as Muslims, the Musharraf family migrated from Hindu-dominated India to the Muslim nation of Pakistan, along with millions of other Indian Muslims. His father was a Pakistani diplomat, reaching the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Musharraf graduated in 1956 from Saint Patrick’s School in Karachi, Pakistan, and later attended Forman Christian College in Lahore. Though he is Muslim, it was then common for children of the educated elite to attend such private schools.

Musharraf entered the military in 1964, and served in the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War. He later fought in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War (a.k.a. the Bangladesh War of Independence). Musharraf does not belong to the largely ethnic Punjabi officer class which dominates the Pakistani army. The Musharraf family are members of the Urdu ethnic group. His rise through the military is notable due to his minority status. In addition to his education as a youth, Musharraf also acquired military training in the United Kingdom. (See also: Indo-Pakistani Wars)

In 1998, General Pervez Musharraf was appointed to the position of Army Chief of Staff by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The 1998-1999 Kargil Crisis and conflict, which was overseen by General Musharraf, ended as an embarrassing loss for Pakistan, and brought him into open conflict with the Prime Minister. In October, 1999, Prime Minister Sharif attempted to fire Musharraf, who then led a bloodless coup against Sharif. Immediately following the Musharraf coup, tensions with India increased, though eventually the Musharraf regime worked successfully to ease tensions with India.

Prior to the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, Pakistan supported the Taliban movement in neighboring Afghanistan, but Musharraf decided to work with the United States against the Taliban and al-Qaida as the U.S. and its allies invaded Afghanistan in October, 2001. Musharraf’s stance against Islamic extremists like the Taliban and al-Qaida helped lead to violence within Pakistan as those groups aided frontier tribes oppose the authority of Pakistan’s central government. Traditionally, the tribal groups along Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier have enjoyed a great deal of autonomy, and when Musharraf sent the Pakistani military to the frontier in an attempt to prevent Taliban and al-Qaida infiltration along the border (per American requests), the tribes saw this as a violation of their rights. The Taliban and al-Qaida were more than willing to aid the tribes against the government, and this border conflict became the latest War in Waziristan, as part of the frontier is known. Islamic militants have attempted to assassinate President Musharraf several times, and in the summer of 2007, violence hit the Pakistani capital with the Siege of the Red Mosque. Islamic militants led by Abdul Rashid Ghazi defied government authority, which prompted a violent army siege of an important mosque in Islamabad, resulting in hundreds of deaths.

Musharraf named himself President of Pakistan in June, 2001, and has maintained that post as well as his old position of Army Chief of Staff. The legality of his dual role has brought him into conflict with the Pakistani Supreme Court. Despite the fact that Musharraf allowed a former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto to return from exile, he imposed martial law in early November of 2007. This act brought condemnation from many foreign governments, including the United States. Pakistan is at the brink of serious political violence as Musharraf attempts to further consolidate power at the expense of his country’s remaining democratic institutions.