Michael Brill

"Archives containing records of mass violations play a crucial educational role in countering denial and historical revisionism, ensuring that primary sources are available to future generations." -Fadel Abdulghany

snhr.org/blog/2026/03...

The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein The lead US interrogator of Saddam Hussein George Piro delivers a riveting account of his six months with Saddam, in formal interrogations and ungu...

Piro couldn't write this book until he retired from the FBI, but it will be interesting to see how two decades later, his account engages with the work based on the captured records, insights from which were only emerging at the time he interrogated Saddam.

www.simonandschuster.ca/books/The-In...

At the site of Saddam’s cruellest crime, the ghost of America’s ‘forever wars’ never left

At the site of Saddam’s cruellest crime, the ghost of America’s ‘forever wars’ never left

For Millennials Like Me, the Iran War Feels Horribly Familiar Most Americans, it seems, have learned something from our recent history, even if this administration has not.

For millennials like me, the Iran war feels horribly familiar. slate.trib.al/KYrVgkP

Why Iran could become the next Iraq The first Gulf war left a weakened regime in place without a political settlement — paving the way for future conflict

Why Iran could become the next Iraq ft.trib.al/HZOFQg3 | opinion

Jeremy Bowen: Trump has called for an Iran uprising but the lessons from Iraq in 1991 loom large The US president might learn that starting wars is much easier than ending them, writes the BBC's international editor.

Jeremy Bowen: Trump has called for an Iran uprising but the lessons from Iraq in 1991 loom large
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
As heard on #r4today - yesterday at 8.11am. Journalism as it should be. Listen on BBC Sounds.

"Um, bad things can happen."

Hegseth again channeling Rumsfeld in Iraq ("Stuff happens") while sounding like the shock jock he is.

For @newlinesmag.bsky.social, I wrote about these and other uncanny echoes of Iraq in the Trump team's handling of the Iran war so far: newlinesmag.com/essays/the-u...

What the Iraq Wars Tell Us About the Conflict in Iran Donald Trump wants to proclaim victory over Iran. He is overlooking hard lessons from decades of conflict in Iraq

"We can presume that when Donald Trump decides to end his Iran war, he will declare it a victory — whatever the reality on the ground." @ldfreedman.bsky.social for @opinion.bloomberg.com

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Mission accomplished? The 2003 boast that haunts today's Iran conflict The echoes between the conflicts are certainly there but there are also profound differences.

Mission accomplished? The 2003 boast that haunts today's Iran conflict

Echoes of Iraq: Mainstream media ‘deja vu’ over framing of the war on Iran <article data-history-node-id="435668" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/echoes-iraq-mainstream-media-deja-vu-over-framing-war-iran" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/echoes-iraq-mainstream-media-deja-vu-over-framing-war-iran" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Echoes of Iraq: Mainstream media ‘deja vu’ over framing of the war on Iran</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>“Why we should go to war” ran the headline of a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/feb/01/iraq.comment" target="_blank">Guardian article</a>&nbsp;in February 2003 by the commentator Julie Burchill.&nbsp;</p> <p>In it, she explained to the Guardian’s liberal readers why a pro-war attitude in the run-up to former&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/uk" target="_blank">British&nbsp;</a>Prime Minister Tony Blair’s invasion of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/iraq" target="_blank">Iraq&nbsp;</a>should be welcomed.&nbsp;</p> <p>“If you really think it's better for more people to die over decades under a tyrannical regime than for fewer people to die during a brief attack by an outside power, you're really weird and nationalistic and not any sort of socialist that I recognise,” wrote Burchill.</p> <p>Another article published in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/apr/13/iraq.iraq" target="_blank">April</a>&nbsp;2003, after the invasion started, criticised anti-war “doomsters”, claiming “the people of Iraq have been unchained from appalling torture and tyranny” as a result of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/us" target="_blank">US</a>-UK action.</p> <h3>Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/echoes-iraq-mainstream-media-deja-vu-over-framing-war-iran">Echoes of Iraq: Mainstream media ‘deja vu’ over framing of the war on Iran</a></h3> <figure role="group" class="media-block"> <div class="group-inner"> <div alt="British newspaper headlines in the aftermath of the Israeli-US attack on Iran (Paul Ellis/AFP)" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7a39084a-ac0c-400a-a4b8-52d21e89fa2e" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/images-story/newspaper-headlines-afp-paul-ellis.jpg" width="1778" height="1000" alt="British newspaper headlines in the aftermath of the Israeli-US attack on Iran (Paul Ellis/AFP)" typeof="foaf:Image" fetchpriority="high"> </div> <figcaption>British newspaper headlines in the aftermath of the Israeli-US attack on Iran (Paul Ellis/AFP)</figcaption> </div> </figure> <p><span style="background: url(&quot;https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png&quot;) rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); top: -15px; left: 0px;"><img height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> </div> </div> </article>

Echoes of Iraq: Mainstream media ‘deja vu’ over framing of the war on Iran - https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/echoes-iraq-mainstream-media-deja-vu-over-framing-war-iran

Syria hands OPCW 34 boxes of Assad-era chemical weapons documents - Enab Baladi The Syrian government has handed the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) more than 34 sealed boxes containing […]

"The Syrian government has handed the OPCW more than 34 sealed boxes containing documents related to chemical weapons in Syria during the previous regime. The materials were delivered over the past year, documented & digitally scanned..."

english.enabbaladi.net/archives/202...

Twenty years ago in Iraq, ignoring the expert weapons inspectors proved to be a fatal mistake In this SIPRI Essay, former nuclear inspector Robert Kelley describes how the case for invading Iraq in 2003 was built on false claims about weapons of mass destruction.

A timely read:

"The claim by David Kay—'we were almost all wrong’—reflects how most people still think of the events of 2002–2003: as a story of faulty & inadequate intelligence, rather than robust & reliable intelligence information ignored." -Robert E. Kelley

www.sipri.org/commentary/e...

A Blank Check for Israel and the War with Iran The United States did not enter the war with Iran because it was attacked or was about to be attacked. It seems to have entered after concluding that once

The debate in Washington was not simply about whether to fight. It was about when the fight would begin and who would start it.

Kurdish gains in Syria could disappear without international support − just as they did in Iraq decades ago Despite risks, Kurds in Syria have the best chance in a generation to protect their national rights. Their success may hinge on the international community.

The Kurds – scattered across Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria – have a long and tragic history of reaching agreements with those countries for autonomy, only to have their rights removed.

Kurdish gains in Syria could disappear without international support − just as they did in Iraq decades ago Despite risks, Kurds in Syria have the best chance in a generation to protect their national rights. Their success may hinge on the international community.

In this piece for @us.theconversation.com, I draw parallels between recent Syrian declarations of Kurdish rights and Iraq’s 1970 March Manifesto, which fell apart within years. Kurdish rights granted in Syria are unprecedented but must be enshrined in law theconversation.com/kurdish-gain...

Iraq war’s aftermath was a disaster for the US – the Iran war is headed in the same direction More than 20 years after the US military success in Iraq, the outcome of the US effort at regime change wasn’t as expected, and authoritarians with close ties to Iran now rule the country.

Winning the war in Iraq didn’t fix Iraq. More than 20 years after the U.S. invasion, the country sits firmly in Iran’s sphere of influence.

A security scholar says this new war with Iran risks repeating the same mistake: military success without a plan for what comes next.
buff.ly/fjWE7Ei
#polisky

Senior Disarmament Affairs Official Informs Security Council of Over 100 Additional Sites Potentially Linked to Syria’s Chemical Weapons Programme Senior Disarmament Affairs Official Informs Security Council of Over 100 Additional Sites Potentially Linked to Syria’s Chemical Weapons Programme

WMD verification efforts in Iraq were complicated by the fact that the regime secretly destroyed weapons & records without documentation. The efforts in Syria appear to still be complicated by the Israeli strikes that destroyed CW program components & documents.

observervoice.com/senior-disar...

Syria reaffirms resolve at UN to destroy Assad-era chemical weapons Syria affirmed, through its permanent representative to the United Nations, Ibrahim al-Ulabi, its full commitment to implementing the Chemical Weapons...

"The session witnessed a notable shift in international discourse, with several nations praising the constructive cooperation between the current Syrian government & the Technical Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)."

www.dailysabah.com/world/mid-ea...

Kurdish gains in Syria could disappear without international support − just as they did in Iraq decades ago Despite risks, Kurds in Syria have the best chance in a generation to protect their national rights. Their success may hinge on the international community.

"But the history of Iraq should serve as a cautionary tale & underscores that the critical ingredient in a fair & equitable process for Kurds will be that international players stay invested in the process." @lilyhindy.bsky.social @us.theconversation.com

theconversation.com/kurdish-gain...

A Blank Check for Israel and the War with Iran The United States did not enter the war with Iran because it was attacked or was about to be attacked. It seems to have entered after concluding that once

"The choice was not between war and peace. It was between two pathways into the same war." -Farah Jan @warontherocks.bsky.social

warontherocks.com/2026/03/the-...

Iraq war’s aftermath was a disaster for the US – the Iran war is headed in the same direction More than 20 years after the US military success in Iraq, the outcome of the US effort at regime change wasn’t as expected, and authoritarians with close ties to Iran now rule the country.

"But the military outcome and the political outcome are almost never the same thing, and the gap between them is where wars fail." -Farah N. Jan @us.theconversation.com

theconversation.com/iraq-wars-af...

UK to launch its first war crimes trial against member of Assad regime | The National Former Syrian Air Force Intelligence operative faces charges of crimes against humanity

"It will mark the first time a court in the UK prosecutes a former member of the Assad regime for war crimes committed during the Syrian civil war. The man is to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court."

www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/2026...

I co-wrote this article, based on documents I personally uncovered about the Iraq War, as a 23 year old MPhil student at the University of Cambridge. This story featured on the front page of The Sunday Times Magazine yesterday.

MPhil History and @girtoncollege.bsky.social student Nick Davis’ research into the US occupation of Iraq – during which he found a @yale.edu archive of revelatory emails from US diplomat Paul Bremer – features on front page of The Sunday Times Magazine and on @thetimes.com website ⬇️

📢 Join us on Zoom 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰!

“𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐊𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬: 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲, 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫” with 𝐎𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐤𝐡𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬

🗓️ 𝐖𝐞𝐝, 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟏
⏰ 𝟏𝟐 𝐏𝐌 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 / 𝟏 𝐏𝐌 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧
𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘋𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜.𝘚.

👉 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫:
zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Go figure--the US & Israel had better intelligence on Iran's nuclear program & uranium stockpile prior to when Tehran ceased cooperation with the IAEA, which was an entirely predictable response to the 12-Day War waged by Israel & the US against Iran last June. 🤔

When President Trump voiced hope last weekend that the air war he was unleashing against Iran would topple the country’s regime, he was making a bet against history. 🔗 on.wsj.com/4btXeOt

How the Assad Regime Disappeared Thousands of Children New testimony and unearthed records expose a deliberate policy of family separation and years of systematic abuse

During the 14-year war that killed more than half a million people and displaced 13 million more, the Assad regime also forcibly disappeared more than 150,000 Syrians.
newlinesmag.com/reportage/ho...

"He did call Trump several times asking him not to attack." -Bernard Haykel on Muhammad Bin Salman's efforts

This is an important correction to inaccurate reports claiming Netanyahu & MBS both lobbied for war & distracts from the fact this is an US-Israeli war.

open.spotify.com/episode/5Wdj...

Paul Bremer ran Iraq for Bush. His emails reveal panic and chaos

Paul Bremer ran Iraq for Bush. His emails reveal panic and chaos