Babaker Shawkat B. Zebari currently serves as a senior military advisor to Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani; however, he was the Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Army from 2004 to 2015. He recently sat down with Kurdistan Chronicle to reflect on the challenges of forming a new Iraqi army after 2003, as well as the current state of the Iraqi army and the security threats facing Iraq, 

In 2003, a U.S. and British delegation visited Erbil, and then-Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani tasked Zebari with overseeing this effort under coalition supervision. Zebari recalls how the nascent army’s headquarters was in the kindergarten of Saddam Hussein’s grandchildren and consisted of a hall, two rooms, and a bathroom. Despite these humble beginnings, the new Iraqi army took shape, and Zebari served as its Chief of Staff for over a decade.

“When we first arrived in Baghdad, the ministry was empty except for Dr. Ali Allawi. I brought a regiment from Kurdistan, including Fadhil Barwari’s Kurdish regiment, which formed the core of the new Iraqi army. The Americans provided significant assistance,” Zebari explained.

Forces and weapons

Contrary to popular belief, Zebari asserts that the former Iraqi army disbanded itself before U.S. troops arrived. “The United States merely signed the death certificate. Commanders had fled, soldiers had deserted, and civilians had looted military bases,” he said. Zebari believed, however, that the United States exacerbated the situation by permitting looting, which resulted in the removal of explosives, weapons, and other material from the bases.

Despite the obstacles posed by the Ba’ath eradication law, the new Iraqi army relied heavily on officers from the disbanded army who had not participated in the Ba’ath regime’s crimes. Approximately 2,000 young officers, including some from the Republican Guard and both Sunni and Shi’a Arabs, were recruited.

Ever since Iraq’s liberation in 2003, critics and some factions have called for the complete withdrawal of U.S. and coalition forces, a move Zebari deems foolish, arguing that coalition forces provide crucial intelligence and advanced weaponry to Iraq, among other benefits. He recounted how once a British Defense Secretary joked about wanting the United States to invade the UK so that it too could receive similar military aid, highlighting the absurdity of Iraq rejecting such support.

Zebari, a 1970 graduate of the Baghdad Military Academy and former artillery battalion commander in Jordan, left the Iraqi army in 1973 due to Ba’ath regime atrocities against Kurds. He lamented that despite the peshmerga being part of the Iraqi armed forces, they faced numerous obstacles in acquiring weapons. Iraq has consistently refused to arm the peshmerga, leaving them defenseless against attacks.

“When Kurdistan is attacked by drones, the peshmerga have no anti-drone weapons, and Iraq is unwilling to allocate any to them,” Zebari said. He criticized the coalition’s non-interference stance, noting that Iraq’s reluctance to arm the peshmerga weakens Kurdish defenses.

New threats to Iraq

In late July, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) released ISIS fighters in Syria, which alarms Zebari. He warned that Syria might face a renewed threat, exacerbated by the presence of Turkish, Russian, and Iranian forces. Zebari is convinced the SDF could not have taken this step without external support that possibly aims to further destabilize Syria.

Zebari cautioned that if the released ISIS militants were to enter Iraq, they would pose a severe threat, especially in the Diyala and Anbar governorates. Despite ISIS’s weakened state, it still has support within Iraq. For instance, Zebari noted that some individuals live normal lives by day but become ISIS fighters at night.

The decline of Kurdish and Sunni Arab representation in the Iraqi army is another threat to security. Originally, political leaders agreed that the army would be composed of 25% Sunni Arabs, 20% Kurds, 45% Shi’a Arabs, and 10% from other groups. However, since Zebari’s departure in 2015, the Kurdish share has fallen to only 3%. Sunni Arab representation has also decreased significantly. Zebari underscored that while he was in office, the Kurdish share in the Iraqi army remained secure. However, since then, key positions traditionally held by Kurds have not been filled by Kurdish personnel, undermining Kurdish representation and influence in the military.

Riband Saadallah is a professional photographer and seasoned journalist. He is a member of the Union of Journalists in Finland.