Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very interesting Operation Iraqi Freedom-era Iraqi national flag of the pattern used from 1991 to 2004, measuring approximately 22 x 38 inches. The flag is crudely constructed from a soft silk or rayon-type material, with separate red, white, and black horizontal panels stitched together. Three green stars and the Arabic takbīr, Allahu Akbar, meaning “God is the greatest,” appear across the central white field.

The flag is in very good overall condition but shows some fraying along the edges and generally crude construction. A fabric header is present at one end for attaching the flag to a pole or line. The lettering and stars are printed on only one side, with no corresponding reverse image. This differs from formally manufactured national flags, but is consistent with the inexpensive or locally produced construction sometimes encountered on Iraqi flags from the period.

This lovely example is the type that was flown and used from 1991-2004. It is in very good condition and is made quite crudely with some fraying along the edges. This was more than likely recovered from an abandoned post before it had time to be used, or it could very well have been purchased from a Bazaar and then brought back to the United States by a service member. The flag is made from a soft silk/rayon type material, three pieces stitched together with a header at one end for the attachment of a flag.

On 13 January 1991, the flag was modified by Flag Law No. 6 of 1991. At the instigation of President Saddam Hussein, the takbīr (the phrase Allahu akbar, meaning "God is the greatest" in Arabic) was added in green between the stars. The form of the takbīr was said to be Saddam's own handwriting. Many interpreted the addition of the sacred Islamic text as an attempt to garner wartime support from previously outlawed religious Iraqi leaders, to stop the disrespect of the Iraqi flag in Iraqi-occupied Kuwait, and to bolster the Iraqi government's Islamist credentials in the period immediately preceding the Persian Gulf War.

As with other flags inscribed with Arabic script, the hoist is to the right of the obverse (front) of the flag. There is no reverse to this example, with the lettering and stars only printed on one side.

The autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq used a separate Kurdish flag rather than this Iraqi national pattern, making this tricolor representative specifically of the Iraqi state during the period immediately before and during the opening stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

This example is notable for its small 22 x 38-inch size, multi-piece stitched construction, crude manufacture, one-sided printing, surviving attachment header, and light edge fraying. Its 1991-2004 design places it squarely within the flag pattern in official use during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It will fit well into any flag or capture collection.