Security In Iraq Oct 8-14, 2017

Iraq had another week of very low violence. There have been less than one hundred security incidents reported for the last eleven weeks. Casualties were high however as the government made a rare announcement of casualties from the Hawija operation.

This Day In Iraqi History – Oct 20

1980 US said Iraq invasion of Iran threatened security in Gulf and land should

            not be seized by force

1983 Iran launched Wa al-Fajr 4 in Kurdistan taking 25 mi of Iraqi land

1991 Report Saddam was arming PKK to fight Turkey

2000 British Foreign Office said wanted to offer end of sanctions to return inspectors

            but didn’t think US would agree

2002 Czech Intel told US no evidence 9/11 hijacker Atta met with Iraq intelligence

            in Prague

2004 Report Jan 03 Natl Intel Council warned building democracy in Iraq would be

            long difficult and turbulent

2004 Report Jan 03 Natl Intel Council warned that overthrowing Saddam could lead to

            ethnosectarian rivalries and power grabs in Iraq

2004 Transparency International ranked Iraq one of most corrupt countries in world

2005 One of Saddam’s lawyers kidnapped and killed

2007 US Special Forces raid into Sadr City hunting Special Groups led to huge

            firefight

2015 Baiji town finally cleared

View the Iraq History Timeline

Inside Iraq’s Oil Sector Interview With Gary Vogler

Gary Vogler worked extensively in Iraq’s oil sector starting in 2002 when he was recruited by the Pentagon to plan for postwar situations. That group was then folded into the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) and then the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). Vogler would later work as a contractor and consultant in Iraq until 2015, and was involved in several major projects. He recently published a book about his experiences Iraq and the Politics of Oil, An Insider’s Perspective.

This Day In Iraqi History – Oct 19

1948 All Jewish Iraqi govt workers fired after creation of Israel

1958 Gen Bakr forced to retire after Col Arif lost power struggle with Gen Qasim

            within govt

1980 Saddam speech said Iraq couldn’t win war because outnumbered by Iran

2003 Powell said US had found evidence of Iraq’s WMD programs & that

            Saddam always wanted nuclear weapons

2004 Head of aid group Care was kidnapped in Baghdad Later killed by insurgents

2004 Iraq conspiracy theorist Mylroie wrote OpEd in NY Sun that Iraq was training

            foreigners to carry out terrorist attacks and working with Islamic groups

2005 Saddam’s trial started and pled his innocence

2005 Rice told about Senate Clear Hold Build counterinsurgency plan for Iraq Was not

            discussed with US military beforehand

2005 US Iraq Cmdr Gen Casey US Iraq Amb Khalizad later asked Rice

            what Clear Hold Build was & why not consulted

2005 Rumsfeld complained to Rice that he did not back Clear Hold Build and he

            was not consulted about it

2006 IED killed Amara police chief from Badr Police arrested brother of suspected

bomber from Mahdi Army 2 days of fighting started

2006 Mahdi Army stormed 3 police stations manned by Badr in Amara

2006 US general said Op Together Forward II failed to reduce violence in Baghdad

2006 US Iraq Cmdr Gen Casey US Amb Khalzad gave press conference saying

            Op Together Forward II in Baghdad working

- 2013 IS held parade in southern Fallujah

View the Iraq History Timeline

Kurds Fall Back To 2014 Borders

For the second day, the Peshmerga continued to withdraw from territory they occupied during 2014. All did not go peacefully however as there was a short gun battle at Mosul Dam.

This Day In Iraqi History – Oct 18

1980 Pres Carter called on Iraq to withdraw from Iran Carter was trying to get

            US hostages held by Tehran released

1984 Iran launched Op Dawn 7 to recapture the city of Mehran Won back some

            Iranian territory

2001 CIA report on story that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger Said Iraq

didn’t have facilities to process uranium

2001 WSJ OpEd by ex-CIA Dir Woolsey said Iraq behind 9/11

2002 Sec of Def Rumsfeld told Under Sec of Def Feith to create postwar planning

            office for Iraq Cancelled few days later

2002 Cancellation came from White House that didn’t want postwar planning

            because could derail invasion

View the Iraq History Timeline

Kirkuk Aftermath: PM Abadi And PUK Winners, KDP Losers, KRG Done For?

Golden Division sitting in Governor Karim’s seat in Kirkuk City (Rudaw)

Prime Minister Haidar Abadi’s move in Kirkuk went from a possible disaster to an unmitigated success. After fighting broke out in the morning of October 16 the Kurds withdrew and the Iraqi forces took all the positions they wanted plus Kirkuk city and areas of northeast Diyala. This was the result of a deal with the major wing of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which has left the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and President Massoud Barzani hanging high and dry, and threatens the future of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

This Day In Iraqi History – Oct 17

1973 Saddam said govt and KDP were far apart on autonomy talks for Kurds

1980 UN Security Council discussed Iran-Iraq War Addressed by Iran PM and Iraq

            Foreign Minister

1980 Iran For Min told UN Iraq was aggressor Saddam wanted to overthrow Iranian

            govt Iraq backed by superpowers & Arab countries

1980 Iraq For Min said Iran violated treaties attacked border towns never replied to

            letters calling for negotiations

1980 UN Security Council backed Secretary General’s attempts to negotiate a ceasefire

            in Iran-Iraq War

1987 Iraq held national census

1994 Iraqi defector Saadi claimed he went to Jordan with Mukhabarat to buy nuke

            material from Russians for a bomb

2001 NY Times article reported Iraqi defector saw Iraq training terrorists at Salman

            Pak to take airliners

2001 NY Times reported INC said that Iraq diplomat met bin Laden in 98 and offered

            him safe haven

2001 NY Times article Czech Inter Min said 9/11 hijacker Atta met with Iraqi intel

            officer in Prague

2003 Iraqi prisoner photographed stripped and handcuffed to cell door by US jailers

            at Abu Ghraib

2003 Gunfight outside Sadr office in Karbala killed 3 US soldiers and 7 Iraqis

2004 Zarqawi pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda Tawhid wal Jihad

            became Al Qaeda in Iraq

2004 Heavy fighting in east and south Fallujah between US forces and insurgents

2006 NSC started review of Iraq strategy to come up with new one

2016 Mosul campaign started with joint operations between Iraqi forces and Peshmerga

View the Iraq History Timeline

Fighting Breaks Out Between Federal Forces And Peshmerga In Salahaddin And Kirkuk

The game of brinkmanship blew up in the faces of Baghdad and Irbil on October 16 as talks gave way to fighting in south Kirkuk and Tuz Kharmato in Salahaddin.

This Day In Iraqi History – Oct 16

1973 Iraqi, Syrian and Jordanian forces attacked Israeli positions but were turned back

2001 CIA Dir Tenet met with UK officials and agreed no Iraq-9/11 connection

2002 Iraq held elections where Saddam voted president for another 7 years

2002 Iraq renewed offer for new UN inspections after US rejected deal

2002 French Pres Chirac said no Iraq Al Qaeda ties & attacking Iraq could

            lead to new terrorist attacks

2003 UN Resolution 1511 set 12/15/03 as date for Iraqi Governing Council to

            submit plan for interim govt & constitution

2012 Maliki removed Shababi after he refused to stop dinar re-valuation Appointed ally

            Turki as new bank head

2017 As Iraqi forces moved towards military base and oil fields in south Kirkuk fighting

            broke out with Peshmerga

2017 Were also clashes in Tuz Kharmato between Hashd and Peshmerga

View the Iraq History Timeline