Pelion on Ossa: Pre-Paused
Iraq. Cradle of Civilisation. A massive rebellion of Iraqi nationalists has forced the weakening Ottomans to let Iraq peacefully secede after the forces of the Arab Freedom Brigades occupied most of the country without skirmished overmuch with the Ottoman Army of Arabia; which is still stationed in Iraq. The Amir of the new country, Adam Baqi, had been the commander of the 12th Arab Freedom Brigade that seized Baghdad in the War of Independence and from that position he was able to secure the armistice that led to eventual independence. Setting himself up as Amir with his troops backing him, Baqi deposed the traditionally Hashemite rulers of the region and in doing so made enemies with the Hashemite-ruled Nejd in Arabia. But that will become more relevant later.
Iraq is currently making no profit whatsoever, heralding what may be an economic collapse if the government doesn't soon act. Unfortunately, Iraqi economic advisers are not top-shelf and British advisers were brought in at an ironically staggering expense. Raised taxes and tariffs combined with across-the-board spending cuts managed to pull the nation away from the brink.
This decision will be one of the cornerstones of Iraqi politics for a long time to come. His Sultanic Majesty the Amir is a noted Arab Pan-Nationalist, having published numerous papers on the subject of Arab identity such as his magnum opus
جزيره العرب: على الشعب العربي وثقافتهم (
Arabia: On the Arab People and their Culture) and several works concerning the viability of an Arab State enjoying wide popularity in such nations as Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, and Nejd. The concept of using Iraq merely as a tool to achieve his wider Arabian dreams is firmly entrenched in the mind of the Amir and will quite possibly by the directive of Iraqi foreign policy.
Unfortunately for His Majesty, the First Army is not quite up to the task of being used as the sword of a new Arabia. Consisting of two cavalry units and four units of irregulars the Iraqi military is considerably dwarfed by the Persian forces to the east, the Ottomans to the west, and is matched only by Nejd in equal size; although the infantry forces of the Nejdi army could easily wipe up the untrained irregulars of Iraq. The only real military card in Iraq's sleeve is that if she should ever care to disband her standing army she has the supplies to re-build it in a modern form, whilst it would be the greatest difficulty for, say, Nejd to build a unit of Artillery.
This is the situation on July 1st, 1861; one month after the Treaty of Baghdad was signed, recognising the existence of the Iraqi State and formalising the relations between the Iraqi State, later the Emirate of Iraq, and the Ottoman Empire. While Turkey is in a slow decline, weakened by the loss of the Barbary War with Tripoli and various ethnic pressure, she still has the capacity for significant force projection in the region; and strenuous efforts should be taken to build an alliance with her. Iraq is on excellent terms with the Sublime Porte and does not need to fear an invasion; however a formalised military alliance would be of great value. To Iraq's Eastern border lies the Persian Lion, sleeping. Possibly one of the biggest players in the region Persia can field an impressively modernised army in the tens of thousands and could easily overwhelm Iraqi armies if need be. An alliance between the Shahanshah and the Amir would be quite useful; especially as Persia, as a non-Arab state, would never have to be the subject of Iraqi aggression in the future.
And finally the Arab states to the south. Of these, Nejd is the largest and most vulnerable. While capable of fielding armies up into the 16-17,000s in times of war; the Nejdi Army is poorly trained and would not be able to stand up to well-equipped infantry forces. And while her large inhospitable deserts work to the detriment of enemy forces they also make occupation much easier. Out of Oman, Abu Dubai, and Yemen, Yemen can field the largest army of 12-17,000 while the Abu Dubaian military is well-trained infantry useful for light skirmishes and the Omani forces helpful for occupation duty. If the Amir's master plan is to work Iraq must be allied with all three; creating a web of Arabian alliances.
Iraq has stepped out into the hostile world. It is time for her to forge her destiny.
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Sorry about the lack of pictures and such; I'm still a little unsure on how this is all going to go. And honestly, this is more of an appetizer than anything else. The first course is yet to come.
