Amanda Roraback's

World in a Nutshell

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Samarra (3/7/07)

Sunni Arab Alliance

Possible Consequences of Failure

US Military in Iraq

Saddam Hussein Execution

"Saddam"-What's in a Name

Flag (1/22/08)

Neocons on Iraq

Iraq Study Group (coming soon)

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Middle East Terms

Mid-East Geography

Iraq's Flag
This page was last updated on 02/15/2008

Iraq in a Nutshell
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On January 22, 2008, Iraq adopted a new flag to be flown for one year until a permanent flag is issued.

Background
The flag in use in Iraq since 2004 is a stylized version of the flag used during the time of Saddam Hussein. The original flag adopted on July 31, 1963 had three bands of red, white and black (the color scheme used by neighboring Arab nations) with three green 5-pointed stars. The stars originally symbolized the unity between Iraq, Egypt and Syria within the proposed United Arab Republic (UAR). When the UAR was dissolved, the stars came to represent the three tenets of the Baathist party -- Unity, Freedom and Socialism. During the 1991 Gulf War, Saddam Hussein added the Arabic words “Allahu akbar” (“God is great”) to give the flag, and his regime, a more Islamic appearance. The script, believed to have been written in Saddam’s own handwriting, was replaced with a more stylized Arabic Kufic script in mid-2004. The stars were removed in January 2008.

Controversial Flag
Proposed in 2004
In April 2004,  Iraq's Governing Council approved a flag that had been proposed by Governing Council President Massoud Barzani. The design would have had a white background with two blue stripes (representing Iraq's Shiites and Sunnis and the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers) on either side of a yellow stripe representing the Kurds (from the color of the star on the flag of Kurdistan). A blue crescent symbolizing Islam floated above the lines.

The new design was heavily criticized for its resemblance to the Israeli flag which has two light blue horizontal stripes on a white background with a star of David in the center. 

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