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© Paddy Molloy
For the U.S. military, the war is over. But for tens of thousands of Iraqis who have risked their lives in the service of America, it continues at a perilous clip. Nearly two years ago, we began calling on the White House to prepare contingency plans to protect our Iraqi allies as we withdrew, fearful that a campaign of violence against them would unfold in the security vacuum created upon our departure. We released a report, Tragedy on the Horizon, which examined the lessons of the history of withdrawal, and testified before Congress, which soon passed a bill attempting to compel the Executive Branch to act.
They ignored us, and they ignored Congress. The current policy of the United States towards the Iraqis who stood by us is simple: submit your application and wait. If you can survive nearly two years, we might resettle you.
The List Project has helped nearly 1,500 Iraqi interpreters make it to safety over the years, but we’ve never seen the bureaucracy in such poor shape. What’s worse, our government has adopted a policy of wishful thinking with respect to the threats still faced by our former employees.
For our final act, we are compiling a new list, not of cases that we’d like the State Department to prioritize, but rather a documentation of what our Iraqi allies are going through while they wait for someone in our Government to act. We will post the death threats, the assassination attempts, the statements by militia leaders, and casualties, with the battered hope that it might restore some sense of urgency.
Americans are rightly happy to put the war in Iraq behind them, but our moral and strategic obligations did not end when the last boots left the ground.
Approximate Date Perpetrator Description of event City Province
1/25/2012 Jaysh Al-Mahdi | Muqtada Al-Sadr Iraqi on the List contacts us to report an attempted assassination. He has since fled his home and gone into hiding. Baghdad (Al-Mansour) Baghdad
1/24/2012 Jaysh Al-Mahdi | Muqtada Al-Sadr Iraqi contacts TLP to report that JAM attacked a U.S.-affiliated Iraqi who is waiting on a visa, along with his son. The Iraqi police declined to get involved, stating it was a tribal matter. Baghdad (Mustansiriya) Baghdad
1/22/2012 N/A TLP Netroots volunteers report the assassination of a U.S.-affiliated Iraqi, while recovering in the hospital from a bomb attack. N/A N/A
12/15/2011 N/A Iraqi contacts TLP, explaining that he was advised by a relative in Iraqi Army Intelligence that because Iraqi Government info on Iraqis working with U.S. may be given or fall into the wrong hands, that he should be very careful in months ahead. N/A N/A
12/12/2011 Jaysh Al-Mahdi | Muqtada Al-Sadr Iraqi source in Baghdad tells us of info he received from a high level Iraqi government source, telling him that Sadrists at Al-Mustansiriyah University in Baghdad are seeking to bar any U.S. affiliated Iraqi Interpreters and their family members, deeming them collaborators. Those who perpetrated the threat are remnants of the feared "League of Students" a group of Shia fundamentalist students who in the past have conducted violent campaigns on the campus, raping and killing a number of students and professors in a reign of terror that forced the University to temporarily close its doors in 2009. Some say the group still controls the security at the University and is looking to bar select students Baghdad Baghdad
11/24/2011 Iraqi Police Iraqi who worked with the U.S. contacts TLP, explaining that he had been threatened outside his home by an Iraqi policeman, who told him that he would be beheaded because he was a disloyal traitor and an American puppet. Baghdad Baghdad
11/21/2011 Jaysh Al-Mahdi | Muqtada Al-Sadr List Project applicant notifies us that her husband was released from his work with the U.S. at the air base in Ramadi, as the Army prepares to hand over the base to Iraqi armed forces. Her husband is now hiding from elements of the Mahdi army, which he says are hunting down U.S. affiliated Iraqis in the area. Ramadi Al-Anbar
11/20/2011 N/A Iraqi Newspaper Sabah al-Jadeed (New Morning) reports from Baquba that Iraqi personnel who have worked with Americans, from government officials to translators, are currently disposing of any photographs or documents that associate them with Americans. This is being done out of fear of retribution from extremists. Baquba Diyala
11/16/2011 Jaysh Al-Mahdi | Muqtada Al-Sadr More Iraqis contact TLP in desperation regarding rumors that that Jaysh Al-Mahdi will target in force Iraqis who worked with the United States after withdrawal. Allegedly, because of the their ties to the government, they have access to all identification databases for Iraqi workers in the International Zone in Baghdad, allowing them to obtain personal information such as addresses, pictures and phone numbers. Baghdad Baghdad
11/11/2011 N/A Aswat al Iraq reports that 4000 Iraqis working with the United States Army through subcontractors KBR and GLS were released from their jobs on Friday November 11th. The article also noted that the companies did not work to help those seeking to get to the U.S. because of threats, and also released them without a termination bonus. Nasiriyah Dhi Qar
11/11/2011 Jaysh Al-Mahdi | Muqtada Al-Sadr Press release from Muqtada al-Sadr, in response to a question regarding whether he will work toward the Islamization of society. He vows he will, and also adds that he will not differentiate from Sunni, Shia, Christian, etc, and then made these further qualifying remarks: "I call on everyone to transcend their differences and build a new Iraq, free from the "destructor" (Saddam) and his men, from terrorism and its agents, militias, troops and of the occupation and its clients." Baghdad Baghdad
11/03/2011 Grand Ayatollah and Marja Mahmoud Hassani Sorkhi On October 28th, Grand Ayatollah Mahmoud Hassani Sorkhi released a statement in conjunction with a celebration for Mohammed Sadiq al Sadr, (murdered by Saddam in 1999, and Moqtada's Father) which following the Islamic calender, would be the 13th anniversary of his death. Sorkhi praises Sadr, calls out the U.S. occupation and the corruption it has ushered in. He also tells followers to "Reject the occupation, the invaders and the collaborators, and those who prepared for their arrival and are satisfied with their work. A clear victory to reject the occupation and its presence." Link: http://www.al-hasany.net/News_Print.php?ID=1410 Baghdad Baghdad
10/31/2011 Jaysh Al-Mahdi | Muqtada Al-Sadr State Department representative informs Iraqi USAID contractor staff that Muqtada al-Sadr has announced a war on U.S.-affiliated Iraqis and has given them an ultimatum to leave with U.S. by the end of the year.
Department of State representative suggests that Iraqi staff take extra security precautions from now on.
Baghdad Baghdad
9/01/2011 N/A Iraqi on the List alleges that many assassinations are being carried out in Nasiriyah, and that U.S. affiliated Iraqis are among the main targets. Nasiriyah Dhi Qar
9/01/2011 N/A Iraqi on the List relates a story that he heard about militias having a list of names of Iraqis who have worked for the United States, and that they have been trying to find and kill those Iraqis. Aswat al Iraq reports in October that a security source in Diwaniyah confirmed that there was a list of persons of influence that militants were seeking to assassinate. The article also added that nine people had been assassinated within the timeframe of one month Diwaniyah Al-Qadisiyyah
09/01/2011 Jaysh Al-Mahdi | Muqtada Al-Sadr Threat against USAID contractor causes them to inform their Iraqi staff that they will move their compound to a more secure location. Baghdad Baghdad
12/8/2011 Iraqi Army Iraqi newspaper al-aalam reports that 12 Iraqi U.S. Army interpreters were allegedly arrested by the Iraqi Army during a recent base transfer ceremony in the province of Diyala. The List Project has not been able to verify that this event took place. N/A Diyala
6/30/2011 Association of Muslim Scholars | Harith Al-Dhari Harith Al-Dhari, leader of Iraq's Association of Muslim Scholars, and known as a spiritual leader among Iraq's Sunni Insurgency, released a statement to his followers on June 30th, the 91st anniversary of the 1920 Iraqi revolt against the British occupation. In it he praised the resistance to the U.S. and expressed the following: "Do not fall into the temptation of the invaders, the invaders and their agents who prefer money over law. They betrayed the interests of Iraq and its people." N/A N/A
06/23/2011 Jaysh Al-Mahdi | Muqtada Al-Sadr Attack on U.S. convoy headed to Mustansiriyah University, killing one American and injuring another.
As a result, one prominent security contractor forbids trips to any areas controlled by Sadrists
Baghdad Baghdad
