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Iraq/ Afghan Insurgent flags anyone?


RedLegGI
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  • 2 months later...

Don't want to rain on your parade but the flags in posts 13 and 14 are not the same. Look at the space between the different parts of the lettering. The flag in the pic is much larger.

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Don't want to rain on your parade but the flags in posts 13 and 14 are not the same. Look at the space between the different parts of the lettering. The flag in the pic is much larger.

 

Good eye Tomas, and you are absolutely correct.

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For a typical Iraqi flag, maybe. There are loads of them out there. The one the lady's husband burned was probably one of these.

 

For an insurgent flag, it's a whole different kettle of fish. However, there is no mature market for this stuff now. Like any kind of militaria in the beginning, not enough "nostalgia" time has passed, and not enough scholarly research has been done to establish meaning and rarity. In the days after WWII, you could probably pick up a camo US paratrooper helmet for peanuts, not much more than you'd spend on a regular M1. Post-war, TR stuff was traded back and forth without a care as to what it was, and it was lucky to not just end up in the trash. My father and uncles destroyed all the stuff my grandfather brought back (some of it quite incredible and valuable today), and nobody gave a damn, including my grandfather.

 

In time, when people have an opportunity to reflect on and study the history of the Iraq war, the importance and rarity of insurgent flags and banners like this might be appreciated. But it ain't going to be today, and thus a true value can't be established.

Not sure what you mean by "no mature market"? There have been collectors of these items since the 90-91 Gulf War and there are some good forums dedicated to these wars. Here are a couple that have a lot of scholarly research and a lot of just plain good information like this forum. Scott

 

http://z8.invisionfree.com/Iraq_militaria_forum/index.php?act=idx

 

http://oefoif.forumotion.net/

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  • 2 weeks later...
airborne1968

Not sure what you mean by "no mature market"? There have been collectors of these items since the 90-91 Gulf War and there are some good forums dedicated to these wars. Here are a couple that have a lot of scholarly research and a lot of just plain good information like this forum. Scott

 

http://z8.invisionfree.com/Iraq_militaria_forum/index.php?act=idx

 

http://oefoif.forumotion.net/

Iraqi militaria is a small niche collectible but the prices for some of these items equal many WW2 items and it didn't take 60 or 70 years to get there. It is all about demand and I'm sure there is a fair share of research going on especially for those who collect Iraqi militaria. One short fall that I anticipate is in untranslated material from Iraq. Where as German material was easily translated due to the number of German Americans and German collectors in the hobby. However, I don't see many Iraqi collectors coming onto the stage. The internet offers todays collector a world wide market that couldn't be imagined after WW2, barring some recent over inflated bidding, the going rate for Iraqi militaria has stabilized (ie common items: $50 for a helmet, $25 for a gas mask, $15 for a canteen). Specialized items such as Iraqi SF ($100+ for a marked helmet) and Fedayeen ($400-$1000 for a helmet or uniform grouping) artifacts, without a doubt, command higher prices but they vary greatly but there are a lot of collectible Iraqi artifacts out there and they are identifiable to those who have done a little research. I suspect the big boom for this era of collecting will come from the children of Desert Storm and OIF vets when they are in their late 20s and early 30s and have expendable income, time, and desire to learn more about what "mom or dad" did during the Big One of 91. If a military dealer hasn't realized the potential for Iraqi militaria they're still time to catch the train.

 

Goo point on information and research...I would like to see more unit specific identified items but I expect that will be difficult with many vets not annotating a location where the items were recovered. We're coming up on 25 years of Iraqi collecting (a result of Desert Storm) and I expect more resources will become available for research of these items.

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First one is a political banner

 

ASiraqi5.JPG

 

Baath Party flag found hidden inside a wall in one of Saddam's palaces

 

BaathFLAG.JPG

 

Iraqi flag picked up in same palace

 

IRAQflag.JPG

 

Iraqi flag flown over polling station during first free elections

 

IRAQIelectionFLAG1.JPG

 

Belarussian Flag picked up in Afghanistan from the Russian war ,it was given to my friend by his Afghani counterpart during training as a gift .

 

ALrusAFGHANflag1.JPG

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First one is a political banner

 

 

 

Baath Party flag found hidden inside a wall in one of Saddam's palaces

 

 

 

Iraqi flag picked up in same palace

 

 

 

Iraqi flag flown over polling station during first free elections

 

 

 

Belarussian Flag picked up in Afghanistan from the Russian war ,it was given to my friend by his Afghani counterpart during training as a gift .

 

 

I have a friend who is a foreign student from Jordan. Would you like me to ask him if he could translate the flags?

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doinworkinvans

If I had some of these flags I would burn them, video the process and then post it on YouTube. Why? Because it's what these b******* do to ours!!

I knew I always liked you Ian!

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If I had some of these flags I would burn them, video the process and then post it on YouTube. Why? Because it's what these b******* do to ours!!

 

Funny , I found the info from my buddy on the Sadaam era flag :

 

 

"The day I picked up this Iraqi flag was after a huge fight for the capital city of Baghdad. The Iraqi Army ,or what was left of it ,spread out and started doing this hit and run tactic on us and when they became overwhelmed by our firepower they broke contact and decided to blend in with the local populace, so they ditched their uniforms in a pile along with their National flag.

We were on patrol lending assistance and trying to flank, when my team and I came upon the pile of uniforms,equipment and the flag. I sent in a report to my higher ups then picked through the pile of stuff to see what was left behind and who they might have been, trying to gather some sort of intel to put in my report when I go back to our Company area.

What floors me was how they just discarded their own National flag like it was nothing to them but a piece of equipment, nothing to be proud of.

I'd lay down my life for our Flag and they just threw theirs in the filth on the ground. I have no respect for an enemy who cant even show respect for their Nations flag.

 

 

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First Wave 2003

Me and another guy in my unit found this flag and another white one wqith some kind of horses on it. I kept this one and he kept the horse one. They were in some rubbled out buildings, I believe in Diwaniyah in 2003. This place was littered with abandoned uniforms, dog tags, berets, beret insignia, bayonets, AK's, and everything imaginable. I had so many trophies, but my CO made us burn and bury almost evrything we had. What a dick!

Anyway, I have been looking up Arabic writing trying to figure out what this means. Does anyone know the origins of this flag. It was home made (hand painted) by whatever Iraqi unit flew it. I am thinking of getting a pretty expensive professional framing done on it to preserve it.

 

 

Well, anyway, if someone can help me with posting pictures, I'll show you.

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  • 1 month later...

Why are flags confiscated? I mean I know they won't let you bring home weapons related items, but what is the harm in bringing home a flag? How are they used as "evidence". I just feel bad for the guys in now that can't send home anything as opposed to WWII where you could send home just about whatever you wanted.-Ben

 

I'm guessing the potential prosecution for any AQI (especially foreign fighters) in Iraqi courts, or even US civil courts/military tribunals in some cases, existed post stabilization. Possession of the flag is evidence they were affiliated w/ AQI when they deny deny deny after capture.

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