The Free Iraqi Forces (FIF) were a militia made up of Iraqi expatriates, who served in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and its aftermath, under the control of

Ahmed Chalabi Ahmed Abdel Hadi Chalabi ( ar, أحمد عبد الهادي الجلبي; 30 October 1945 – 3 November 2015) was an Iraqi politician, a founder of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) who served as the President of the Governing Council of ...

Iraqi National Congress The Iraqi National Congress (INC; Arabic: المؤتمر الوطني العراقي ''Al-Moutammar Al-Watani Al-'Iraqi'') is an Iraqi political party that was led by Ahmed Chalabi who died in 2015. It was formed as an umbrella opposition group ...

government-in-exile. The specifically paramilitary branch of the program was also known as the Free Iraqi Fighting Forces (FIFF), while other elements served as interpreters or on civil affairs projects.

Composition

The original intent of the American

Office of the Secretary of Defense The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is a headquarters-level staff of the United States Department of Defense. It is the principal civilian staff element of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out aut ...

was to recruit and train 3,000 Iraqi expatriates in Taszar, Hungary in preparation for the war. Recruitment, however, fell well below the target number, and were of dubious military utility, ranging from ages 18 to 55.

Operations

The program was seen as unsuccessful, with at one point some US$63 million spent to recruit and train 69 troops for the FIF, and the program was dissolved in April 2003. The FIFF never numbered more than 500 troops. The units were also seen as undisciplined and pro-Shia and anti-Sunni, and engaged in looting.

References

{{Armed Iraqi groups in the Iraq War and the Iraq Civil War 2003 establishments in Iraq Paramilitary forces of Iraq Military wings of political parties