Ministry of Defence (Iraq) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Ministry of Defence is the Iraq government

Politics of Iraq

The politics of Iraq takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. It is a multi-party system whereby the executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers as the head of government, as well as the President of Iraq, and...

agency

Government agency

A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...

responsible for Defence

Defense (military)

Defense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...

of Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. It is also involved with internal security

Internal security

Internal security, or IS, is the act of keeping peace within the borders of a sovereign state or other self-governing territories. generally by upholding the national law and defending against internal security threats...

Authority

The Ministry directs all the Iraqi Armed Forces, comprising a Joint Headquarters, the Iraqi Ground Forces Command

Iraqi Ground Forces Command

The Ground Forces Command at Victory Base Complex near Baghdad Airport is the most important fighting formation in the Iraqi Army. The headquarters of the Iraqi Ground Forces Command and the Iraqi Joint Forces Command are the same entity....

(which controls the Army), the Iraqi Special Operations Forces

Iraqi Special Operations Forces

Iraqi Special Operations Forces refers to the Iraqi special forces unit created by Coalition forces after the 2003 invasion. As of November 2009, the forces, directed by the Iraqi Counter-Terrorist Bureau, consist of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorist Command, which has two brigades subordinate to it...

, the Iraqi Army

Iraqi Army

The Iraqi Army is the land component of the Iraqi military, active in various forms since being formed by the British during their mandate over the country after World War I....

, the Iraqi Navy

Iraqi Navy

The Iraqi Navy is one of the components of the military of Iraq currently being reconstructed by UK-US Coalition forces in Iraq. Its primary responsibilities are the protection of Iraq's coastline and offshore assets...

(including Marines), and the Iraqi Air Force

Iraqi Air Force

The Iraqi Air Force or IQAF is the military branch in Iraq responsible for the policing of international borders, surveillance of national assets and aerial operations...

History

The Ministry was dissolved by Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2

Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2

Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2: Dissolution of Entities signed by CPA civil administrator L. Paul Bremer on May 23, 2003, disbanded the Iraqi military, security, and intelligence infrastructure of President Saddam Hussein...

of mid 2003. It was formally re-established by CPA Order 61 of February 22, 2004. In the interim period, the CPA Office of Security Affairs served as the de facto

De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

Ministry of Defence.

The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Bureau directs the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Command, which is a further military force answerable to the Prime Minister of Iraq

Prime Minister of Iraq

The Prime Minister of Iraq is Iraq's head of government. Prime Minister was originally an appointed office, subsidiary to the head of state, and the nominal leader of the Iraqi parliament. Under the newly adopted constitution the Prime Minister is to be the country's active executive authority...

directly. As of 30 June 2009, there had been legislation in progress for a year to make the Iraqi CTB a separate ministry.

Minister of Defense

The position of Minister of Defense was left vacant in the current Iraqi cabinet, approved on 21 December 2010. While it is vacant, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

Nouri al-Maliki

Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister...

serves as the acting defense minister.

The previous Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Abd al-Qadr Muhammed Jassim al-Obaidi

Qadir Obeidi

Lt. Gen. Abdul Qadir Mohammed Jassim Obeidi al-Mifarji was the Defence Minister of Iraq in the Council of Ministers of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki from 2006 to 2010...

, is a Sunni career military officer and political independent. He had limited experience and faced a number of hurdles impeding his effective governance. Some of the major problems included inheriting a staff that is notorious for favorism, corruption, and deeply divided along sectarian and ethnic lines. He was a rival of the former Minister of the Interior Jawad al-Bolani, National Security Advisor Muwafaq al-Rubai, and Minister of Staff for National Security Affairs Shirwan al-Waili. He has been criticized for not being able to stand up to the Badr Organization

Badr Organization

The Badr Organization previously known as the Badr Brigades or Badr Corps is an Iraqi political party headed by Hadi al-Amiri...

and Mehdi Army members which dominate his own party. In addition, as a Sunni he faced inherent challenges working within a Shiite-dominated government.

On September 19, 2005, The Independent

The Independent

The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

reported that approximately one billion US dollars have been stolen by top ranking officials from the Ministry of Defense including Hazim al-Shaalan

Hazim al-Shaalan

Hazim al-Shaalan al-Khuzaei was Iraq's Defence Minister from June 2004 until May 2005 under the Iraqi Interim Government of Ayad Allawi.al-Shaalan was born in Diwaniyya, southern Iraq, into a leading family of the Ghazal tribe. He is a Shia Arab...

and Ziyad Cattan

Ziyad Cattan

Ziyad Cattan is a dual citizen of Poland and Iraq.According to an article published in The Independent, on September 19, 2005, Hazim al-Shaalan, Defense Minister of Iyad Allawi's interim administration, appointed Ziyad Cattan, as the Defence Ministry's procurement chief.The Independent article...

.

Previous defence ministers under Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

's regime included Ali Hassan al-Majid

Ali Hassan al-Majid

Ali Hassan Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti , , was a Ba'athist Iraqi Defense Minister, Interior Minister, military commander and chief of the Iraqi Intelligence Service...

('Chemical Ali'). Iraq's very first minister of defence was Jafar al-Askari

Jafar al-Askari

Ja'far Pasha al-Askari ‎ served twice as prime minister of Iraq: from November 22, 1923, to August 3, 1924; and from November 21, 1926, to December 31, 1927....

(1920-1922).

Authority

History

Minister of Defense

Further reading