870 Abbasid Caliph Muhtadi killed in capital Samarra in revolt by Turkish soldiers over not being paid
(Musings On Iraq review when baghdad ruled the muslim world, the rise and fall of islam’s greatest dynasty)
1913 Turkish military commander in Basra and another official killed by local leader Sayid Talib who was
pushing for Basra autonomy
1933 King Faisal went for 1st state visit to England
1961 Qasim sent telegram to Kuwait emir claiming his country as part of Iraq
(Musings On Iraq review Unholy Babylon, The Secret History of Saddam’s War)
1961 Qasim said that all agreements between Kuwait and England were illegitimate because Kuwait was
part of Iraq
1963 Kurdish minister resigned from Baath govt while Kurdish officers in military and govt officials
suspended due to new Barzani revolt
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurds, A Modern History)
(Musings On Iraq review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurdish Revolt 1961-1970)
(Musings On Iraq review Journey Among Brave Men, Travels in Kurdistan)
1980 Iraq held first parliamentary elections since end of monarchy in 1958 Baath won 187 seats
Independents 63
1982 Saddam ordered Iraqi troops to withdraw to border Ayatollah Khomeini said war would end
when Saddam was out
1982 Ayatollah Khomeini agreed to Iran going on offensive and invading Iraq Said that heavy Shiite
casualties had to be avoided
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)
1985 Iran Op Fatah in Basra started
1987 UN Res 598 called for new peace plan to end Iran-Iraq War Tehran did not reject idea for first
time
1987 Iran Op Nasr 4 Took Mawat Kurdistan
(Musings On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq interview with author Tom Cooper on Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 1: The Battle for Khuzestan, September 1980-May 1982)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 3: Iraq’s Triumph)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)
1987 Ali Hassan al-Majid issued order for random attacks on Kurdish areas to kill as many people as
possible Also said that any Kurd captured between 15-70 should be interrogated then executed
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq in Wartime, Soldiering, Martyrdom, and Remembrance)
2003 Kay head of Iraq Survey Group meant to find Iraq’s WMD arrived in Baghdad Found out that 75th
Expeditionary Force which had looked for WMD after invasion had been sent back to US Not turned over any of their findings
2004 Interim PM Allawi said special commando units would be created Interior Min Naqib used units to
bring in relatives and ex-military into ministry Allawi thought units would be critical to defeating insurgency
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
2004 Head of 9/11 Commission said Al Qaeda was closer to Iran and Pakistan than Iraq
2004 9/11 Comm member said captured Iraqi docs showed 1 Fedayeen Saddam was an Al Qaeda member
Attacked press for claiming Comm report contradicted Bush admin claims on Iraq-Al Qaeda connections
2004 White House claimed 9/11 Comm proved its argument of Al Qaeda-Iraq ties when Commission said
no cooperation
2005 UK UN diplomat Ross said he saw 4 ½ yrs of intel on Iraq WMD and it didn’t support Blair’s
argument for war
(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
2006 Michael Maloof from Pentagon’s Policy Counterterrorism Group interviewed on Frontline Said Al
Qaeda’s Libi and INC reported Iraq provided training to Al Qaeda Feb 04 Libi recanted his story which was given under torture Claimed in 1990 Ansar al-Islam was working on WMD in Kurdistan Ansar not created until 2002 Said Iraq supported Ansar al-Islam Was not true Said Iraq ran terrorist training camp in Salman Pak with a plane fuselage next to a WMD facility raising fears Iraq giving terrorists WMD Was no WMD facility in Salman Pak Terrorist camp story spread by INC before war Was a counterterror camp Said he believed 9/11 hijacker Atta met with Iraqi intel in Prague in 2001 and never disproven Czech intel CIA FBI and 9/11 Comm never found evidence of meeting
(Musings On Iraq review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy
Tragedy)
2006 Fmr head State Dept Intel Bureau Carl Ford said pre-Iraq war intel showed failure of tradecraft and
analysis of US intel
(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)
2006 Amb Carl Ford said US got reports of things like Iraq-Niger uranium story and aluminum tubes and
failed to analyze and question them thoroughly
(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Failed The Iraq-Niger Uranium Story)
(Musings On Iraq How A Contested Aluminum Tubes Story Became The Basis For War With Iraq)
2006 Fmr Dep Dir CIA McLaughlin said that Feith’s Counter Terror Group found lots of
Al Qaeda-Iraq meetings but no control or operational connections Thought Feith’s group was put together to counter CIA’s intel on Iraq-Al Qaeda
(Musings On Iraq review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest
Foreign Policy Tragedy)
(Musings On Iraq Overview of America’s Policy Towards Iraq: From The Clinton Years To The
Sectarian War of 2006)
2006 Fmr CIA bin Laden desk chief Scheuer said Iraq war devastated CIA’s counterterrorism office by
draining resources
2006 CIA’s Scheuer said CIA didn’t see any threat from Iraq compared to Al Qaeda Said Dep Sec Def
Feith’s office was set up to counter the CIA’s reporting no ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda Scheuer headed CIA’s report on Iraq-Al Qaeda ties and found no relationship
2006 Gen DeLong Gen Frank’s deputy commander at CENTCOM said he believed Iraq working with
Ansar al-Islam and Al Qaeda in Kurdistan pre-invasion
2008 Report Reform and Change front that included 1920 Revolution Brigades reached out to political
parties trying to get involved in politics
2008 ISF arrested Sadrist deputy governor 2 councilmen 700 police in Maysan during Operation Promise
of Peace against Sadr
(Musings On Iraq Operation Promise of Peace in Maysan Province)
2008 Report 4 political parties formed from 2 Anbar Awakening groups and 2 from insurgent Islamic
Army 2 Awakening leaders were Sheikh Abu Risha and Sheikh Sulaiman
2009 Head of Kurdish list in Ninewa told Bashiqa teachers they should stop teaching in Arabic and
switch to Kurdish Dispute with Hadbaa List
(Musings On Iraq Tit For Tat In Ninewa)
(Musings On Iraq Arab-Kurdish Divide Over New Ninewa Provincial Council)
(Musings On Iraq Update On Political Dispute In Ninewa)
2009 ISI bombed Shiite mosque killing 73 in Taza Kirkuk
(Musings On Iraq review The ISIS Reader, Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement)
2009 Report After Promise of Peace security op in Maysan PM Maliki promised $100 mil for
rebuilding Money not spent well Still few services Sadrist officials in Maysan were refusing to help with projects Maliki created 17 tribal support councils in Maysan Were patronage networks used in 2010 election
2010 2 ISI suicide car bombs in front of Trade Bank of Iraq in Baghdad 27 killed 55 wounded
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
2010 Funeral for protester killed in Basra led to march calling for PM Maliki to step down
(Musings On Iraq Basra Protest Over Lack Of Electricity Reflects Twenty Years Of Problems)
2010 Ayatollah Najafi issued statement condemning electricity shortages and supported right of people
to protest problem
2010 Report 2006 150-200 security incidents/day reported 2010 were 20 incidents/day Probably
half of actual violence Attacks hit a plateau 2010 attacks went up and down No improvement in security from 2009-2010
2011 Sadr statement called for arrest and punishment of ex-Mahdi Army Abu Dura and his followers
Known as Shiite Zarqawi
(Musings On Iraq Armed Clash Erupts In Iraq Between Sadrists And Breakaway Faction)
2011 Protest movement split Some met with govt Others formed new group and called the others
traitors
(Musings On Iraq And Iraq’s Protest Movement Splits)
(Musings On Iraq Baghdad Meets With Iraq Protest Leaders)
2011 Parliament security comm found 19,000 fake degrees used by Interior and Defense Ministry
officials
2012 Sadr MP said 3rd term for PM Maliki would lead to dictatorship
(Musings On Iraq Argument For Maliki Being Iraq’s Next Strongman)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq After America, Strongmen, Sectarians, Resistance)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Inside Iraqi Politics’ Sowell on whether Maliki became a dictator)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Historian Phebe Marr comparing PM Maliki with MP Said)
2012 Sadrist protest in Baghdad claimed govt cracking down on independent press
2012 Fighting started between ISIS and pro-Naqshibandi tribes in Hawija Kirkuk
2012 Report Apr 2012 Ninewa Gov Nujafi made deal with Kurds Before opposed his govt Kurds ended
boycott of provincial govt Got prominent positions Split Nujafi’s Hadbaaa list with 1 party leaving Meant Nujafi needed Kurdish support to stay in power PM Maliki tried to split Hadbaa to undermine Nujafi
2012 Dep PM Shahristani said Exxon promised to stop working in KRG until Baghdad made deal with
Kurds Didn’t happen Shahristani warned France not to have any of its companies sign with KRG
2012 Insurgents bombed 7 power towers in Diyala Cut off power to Khalis in Diyala Baiji
in Salahaddin parts of Baghdad
2013 Chevron signed new exploration deal with KRG for work in Irbil Gazprom met with Pres Barzani to
discuss oil deals in KRG despite warnings from Oil Min
2013 Dep PM Shahristani claimed Iraq’s electricity problems would be solved by end of year Didn’t
happen
(Musings On Iraq Iraq No Closer To Solving Its Electricity Problems)
2013 Election Comm said voter turnout only 35% in Ninewa and 37% in Anbar in delayed provincial
elections
2013 Report ISI growing in Mosul Used it to operate in Syria Iraqi official said it was raising $1 mil/mo
from crime in Mosul Ansar al-Islam and Naqshibandi also operating in Ninewa Politicians said ISI exploited govt repression of protests
2013 Report Russia received 1st payment from Iraq in $4 bil arms deal that included 30 Mi-28 attack
helicopters 50 SA-22 mobile anti-aircraft systems Deal was corrupt
2013 Report BP Lukoil Eni and Iraq agreed to reduce production target for Rumaila oil field Shell and
Exxon also wanted reductions Meant Iraq would not reach its production target of 6.5 mil/bar/day by 2014
2014 Tanker sold Kurdish oil to Israel exported through KRG’s independent pipeline to Turkey
2014 Fighting between Naqshibandi and ISIS in Hawija killed 17 as IS tried to assert control over area
(Musings On Iraq Precarious Relationship Between The Islamic State of Iraq And The Baathist Naqshibandi)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Resurgent Insurgency Interview With Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi)
(Musings On Iraq Rise Of The Islamic State And the Fading Away of the Rest of the Iraqi Insurgency Interview With Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi)
2014 45 bodies found executed by insurgents in Tigris River in Salahaddin
2014 Turkman leaders in Tuz Kharmato said happy Peshmerga moved into city but wanted power
sharing
2014 Sistani spokesman called for new govt that “avoids past mistakes” Most took that as criticism of
PM Maliki
2014 Report ISIS had huge stock of money Managed money from Syria Local ISIS chapters raised money
Passed 20% to central leadership $8mil/mo from taxes on trade $20 mil/yr in oil sales $30 mil/yr from kidnapping foreigners Had front companies in MidEast
2014 Interview with head of Islamic Army Said Mosul taken by Baathists ex-soldiers tribes
not ISIS Said fighting in Iraq uprising by Iraqis not ISIS Said didn’t believe in creating Islamic state like ISIS Said wanted to make PM Maliki step down and divide Iraq along ethnosectarian grounds
2014 KRG Finance Min from Gorran found KRG Natural Resource Min deposited oil revenue in Turkish
Bank for 1st time in 2014 Would only make 1 other deposit during yr Turkish bank account supposed to control oil revenue Claimed most oil money put in German bank and then sent to Kurdistan Intl Bank
2014 ISF claimed Mutassim in Salahaddin Garma in Anbar freed from insurgents
2014 Report Sunni imam called fighting in Iraq popular revolution Muslim Brotherhood cleric in Qatar
supported insurgency
2015 Civil group claimed Peshmerga killing civilians and displacing people in Diyala’s Khanaqin Dist
2015 Report Tribes wanted to continue op to free Ramadi but were told to stop by ISF and Hashd
until plan formulated Ramadi op stopped by Hashd who turned to Fallujah instead Still fighting in Baiji 2 weeks after it was declared freed
(Musings On Iraq Iraq Government Offensive In Anbar And Salahaddin Dragging On For Weeks Or Put On Hold)
2015 Report Last 3 months Iraq reached record highs in oil production Still major problems Oil
Min cut investment in Rumaila oil field largest in Iraq in half Lukoil Shell Eni scaled back plans for fields they operated Plans to build Faw port shelved $13 bil water injection plan to maintain and increase oil production questioned Oil companies said Iraq always stalled on development plans
2015 Hashd killed Kurd Wounded 4 others in Tuz Kharmato Led to gun battle between Hashd and
Peshmerga
2016 Op to free Zankura in Ramadi dist started 5 days after area declared freed
(Musings On Iraq Security In Iraq, Jun 15-21, 2016)
2016 Report PM Abadi appointed 14 new inspector generals to ministries and independent
commissions All from Dawa 98% of all inspector generals now Dawa
2016 Parliament human rights comm said media distorting Fallujah op by reporting on abuses Said
found no evidence of displaced abused Then said it did find cases but were not major Hashd and Federal Police detained and killed displaced
2016 Report IS attacked 3 villages in Tuz Kharmato dist Peshmerga tried to enter 2 villages but
stopped by Hashd Led to gunfight IEDs car bombings blamed on Peshmerga-Hashd dispute Iranian diplomat tried to negotiate ceasefire between two
2016 Report Political divisions amongst Yazidis in Sinjar Split between pro-KRG and pro-
Baghdad Many mad at KRG for withdrawing from dist when IS attacked in 2014 PKK-YPG set up in dist Opposed by Turkey Baghdad paid YPG as counter to KDP PUK wanted to challenge KDP in dist KDP set up embargo of Sinjar
2017 Report Ayatollah Khamenei told PM Abadi not to trust US Said US troops should leave Iraq
Said had to maintain Hashd to pressure US
2018 Up to 300 protested in Basra demanded jobs from oil companies and Industry Ministry Was broken
up by police
2018 Report Iraq no longer in talks with Exxon over water injection plant to inject water to maintain and increase oil production in Basra oil fields Basra Oil Company said it would contract with another company
2018 Turkey’s Foreign Min said Turkish forces were advancing into Kurdistan to fight PKK
2018 Kataib Hezbollah convoy stopped by police in Baghdad Fired at police 2 police and 1 Kataib Hezbollah fighter wounded Police surrounded Kataib Hezbollah HQ leading to another gunfight Demanded those involved in 1st gun battle be turned over 1 Kataib Hezbollah member arrested PM Abadi said matter had been taken care of
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s PM Gives Warning to Kataib Hezbollah To Stop Rocket Attacks In Baghdad)
2019 Carnegie Middle East Center Iraq had no reconstruction strategy Needed $8 bil to rebuild after war
with IS Got little from international donors Reconstruction contracts given to politicians who sold them to Turkish and Jordanian companies for millions in commissions
2020 Report John Bolton’s book on time in Trump admin said Trump asked him to go to Persian
Gulf countries and ask for money for US troops in Syria and Iraq Wanted to make profit from deployment
2020 Finance comm MP said 1 border crossing earned 199 bil dinars/mo but only sent 9 bil/dinars
to Baghdad Rest stolen Asked PM Kazemi to send Counter Terror force to take control of crossings
View the Iraq History Timelines
 |
| (Reuters) |
1914 Germany and Britain asked Ottomans for oil concessions in Mosul and Baghdad provinces
1935 UK Ambassador to Iraq said King Ghazi was a playboy who was completely absorbed by his
hobbies and neglected his country
1937 Pan-Arab officers withdrew support for head of army Gen Sidqi 4 reformer ministers resigned
Weakened Sulaiman’s govt Only 3 ministers left Sulaiman replaced reformers with Arab naionlist Istiqlal members Sulaiman became completely dependent upon Sidqi to stay in power
(Musings On Iraq review The Role of the Military In Politics, A case study of Iraq to 1941)
(Musings On Iraq review Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)
(Musings On Iraq review Imagining The Nation, Nationalism, Sectarianism and Socio-Political Conflict in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review The Modern History of Iraq)
1961 Kuwait signed new defense deal with England angering Qasim
1966 Pres Arif met with Jalal Talabani Promised Kurdish rights in provisional constitution
Govt thought Talabani represented Kurds when he didn’t He’d just broken with Barzani
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurds, A Modern History)
(Musings On Iraq review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurdish Revolt 1961-1970)
(Musings On Iraq review Journey Among Brave Men, Travels in Kurdistan)
1981 UN Resolution 487 condemned Israel’s destruction of Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor
1985 Iran attacked Qasr e-Shirin central Iran across form Diyala Diversionary attack before Op Al Quds
2
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)
1988 Iraq captured Mehran Iran central front then handed it over to Mujahedeen e-Khalq’s National
Liberation Army
(Musings On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq interview with author Tom Cooper on Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 1: The Battle for Khuzestan, September 1980-May 1982)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 3: Iraq’s Triumph)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)
1996 UN and Iraq began talks on allowing UN inspectors access to sensitive sites
1996 Dep PM Aziz told UN inspectors they got most of their intel from US and UK that were trying to
remove Saddam and that inspectors were making sensitive visits to provoke a crisis on US-UK’s behalf
(Musings On Iraq UN Inspectors Were Right Iraq Was Not A Threat)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Rejection of UN Inspectors Led To Mistrust Over WMD and 2003 Invasion)
(Musings On Iraq review Neighbors, Not Friends, Iraq And Iran After The Gulf Wars)
1996 CIA was hoping to cause a crisis between Iraq and UN inspectors to justify military action against
Saddam that would start coup CIA working with ex-Gen Shawani and his sons in Republican Guard
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq In The Eye of the Storm)
(Musings On Iraq review The United States And Iraq Since 1990: A Brief History with Documents)
(Musings On Iraq review Out Of The Ashes, The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein)
1996 Iraqi intelligence captured an Iraqi operative involved in CIA coup and rounded up everyone in plot
(Musings On Iraq UN Inspectors and CIA Spying On Iraq In The 90s)
1998 UN Res 1175 increased Iraq’s oil export quota to $5.3 bil under Oil For Food program Allowed
importation of equipment to maintain oil industry
1998 Ayatollah Ali Gharavi and his son and son in law were gunned down in Najaf by govt Saddam
blamed foreign agents
2002 US told UK that it was ready for its input on military planning against Iraq
(Musings On Iraq review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
2002 Gen Franks briefed Bush on war plans
(Musings On Iraq review Shaping the Plan for Operation Iraqi Freedom, The Role of Military Intelligence Assessment)
(Musings On Iraq review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy
Tragedy)
2003 Def Sec Rumsfeld said that US only fighting small groups of dead enders in Iraq Tried to
compare insurgency in Baghdad to murder rate in Wash DC to say it wasn’t bad
2003 Deputy Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz told Congress violence in Iraq was “last remains of a dying
cause” and not an insurgency
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)
2003 US forces found an old buried centrifuge Claimed proof that Iraq had a nuclear weapons program
(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Created An Iraqi Nuclear Threat In 2002)
2003 US denied that captured Iraqi trailers were anything but mobile weapons labs Inspections showed
they weren’t
(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)
2003 White House acknowledged that State Dep intel questioned whether captured trailers were WMD
labs
(Musings On Iraq How Iraqi Defector CURVEBALL Became Basis For US Claims that Iraq Had WMD)
2003 Report on Iraq-Niger uranium deal Said VP Cheney got docs on deal from UK Asked for more info
leading to Fmr Amb Wilson’s trip to Niger Article used Wilson as unnamed source who said White House knew Niger story was a lie It didn’t
(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Failed The Iraq-Niger Uranium Story)
(Musings On Iraq review Hubris, The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, And The Selling Of The Iraq War)
2006 Bodies of 2 US soldiers kidnapped by Mujahedeen Shura Council in Baghdad found
2007 Op Ripper to clear Baquba in Diyala began 1st part of Op Phantom Thunder to clear Baghdad belts
of insurgents
2007 Iraq ranked No 2 on failed states list by Fund for Peace/Foreign Policy due to civil war Was No 4 in
2006
2007 Maj Mowle fmr Iraq cmdr adv said summer 04 military drew up 1st campaign plan for Iraq Didn’t
include goals of insurgency or how Iraqis would react Thought Iraqis would do what was best for the US and everything would go exactly as planned Didn’t expect Iraqis react negative to 1st Battle of Fallujah
2007 Leon Panetta of Iraq Study Group said found no coordination within White House and within
military on Iraq Military commanders said they were getting nothing from Washington
2007 Philip Zelikow adv to Nat Sec Adv/Sec State Rice said fmr Iraq Cmdr Gen Casey’s campaign plan
didn’t have a strategy or operational instructions for military Washington gave no direction to military in Iraq When Rice announced Clear Hold Build policy in Oct 05 didn’t have strategy on how to carry it out Jun 06 State pushed Bush to get hands on involved in Iraq Didn’t happen Bush didn’t get hands on until winter 06
(Musings On Iraq 2006 Clear Hold Build: An Iraq Strategy That Wasn’t A Strategy)
(Musings On Iraq review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008)
2007 Ret Col Krepinevich Adv to Army said US had no strategy in Iraq until Surge What Washington
said about the war didn’t match what it was actually doing Didn’t commit resources to win
(Musings On Iraq review Surge, My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War)
2007 Ret Gen Keane architect of the Surge Bush always talked about winning and victory in Iraq but he
never understood what the actual strategy was US never had a winning strategy before the Surge The policy was to hold elections and turn security over to the Iraqis so the US could leave That had nothing to do with defeating the insurgency
(Musings On Iraq review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008)
2007 Fred Kagan architect of Surge US strategy pre-07 was to withdraw and have Iraqi politics deal with
insurgency Didn’t work because many Sunnis rejected politics Said Bush wasn’t hands on with Iraq policy until Surge
(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)
2007 Fred Kagan Surge strategy was to establish security in Baghdad and surrounding areas Then go to
Shiite parties and ask them to make compromises with Sunnis
2009 Speaker of KRG parliament said KDP and PUK taking $30 mil of KRG budget for themselves
2009 2 British guards kidnapped and killed by Asaib Ahl Al-Haq returned to British embassy In return
AAH members released from prison
(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Iranians Planned Kidnapping And Held British Captives Taken In Iraq)
2009 Report PM Maliki and ISCI met and agreed to revive the United Iraqi Alliance before 2010
elections Maliki wanted it called State of Law and he would be its leader Didn’t work out
(Musings On Iraq United Iraqi Alliance Ready To Be Reconstituted)
(Musings On Iraq Trying To Revive the United Iraqi Alliance)
2009 Weatherford signed $224.4 mil deal with Maysan Oil Company to develop Bazargan field
Involved kickbacks over production
(Musings On Iraq interview with Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen on Iraq’s fight with corruption)
(Musings On Iraq interview with former anti-corruption official Vincent Foulk)
2010 Protest in Basra over power shortages Threw rocks and burned things at govt building 2
demonstrators killed by police
(Musings On Iraq Basra Protest Over Lack Of Electricity Reflects Twenty Years Of Problems)
2010 Report Sahwa leader in Diyala warned that ISI using carrot and stick against sahwa members in
attempted comeback in province
(Musings On Iraq Behind The Revival Of The Islamic State in Iraq, Interview With Naval War College Prof Craig Whiteside)
2010 Speaker Nujafi told Al Jazeera that $18.7 bil was missing from Iraqi funds used by US for reconstruction
(Musings On Iraq More On Iraq’s Missing Billions In Reconstruction Funds)
2010 Report Dir North Oil Company said pipes old and in disrepair Said 500km of Iraq-Turkey
pipeline needed to be fixed urgently Oil Ministry said 1 bil cubic ft of natural gas burned off during oil production because of lack of means to capture and use it Iraq loses $50 every second as a result
2011 Def Sec Gates blamed Iran for giving weapons to Special Groups who were attacking US forces
before withdrawal
(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)
2011 1st Iraqi army unit received artillery from US
2011 PM Maliki govt accused Communist party and civil groups for protests in Baghdad
(Musings On Iraq review Red Star Over Iraq, Iraqi Communism Before Saddam)
(Musings On Iraq Interview with Prof Johan Franzen on the history of the Iraqi Communist Party)
2011 Speaker Nujafi told Al Jazeera that $18.7 bil was missing in Iraqi funds used by US for reconstruction
(Musings On Iraq More On Iraq’s Missing Billions In Reconstruction Funds)
2012 Report Iran tried to stop no confidence vote against PM Maliki
(Musings On Iraq Iran Tries To Mediate Iraq’s Political Crisis, But Can They Overcome The Deep Divisions In The Country?)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)
2012 PM Maliki said Exxon deal with KRG could lead to break up of Iraq Baghdad asked US for help to
stop deal Maliki’s media adv said govt would stop any KRG-Exxon oil deal that involved disputed areas
(Musings On Iraq Exxon Deal With Iraq’s Kurds Gains Powerful New Ally, Ninewa’s Governor, But Will It Backfire On Him?)
2013 ISIS’ spokesman Adnani released tape criticizing Zawahiri admonishing group for declaring itself
ISIS and expanding into Syria
2013 Iraqi army claimed it was responsible for split between ISIS and Al Nusra in Syria because it
controlled Iraq-Syria border
2013 Iraqiya Diyala-Sadr list formed new govt in Diyala shutting out State of Law State of Law held
protests against new govt in Diyala Militias blocked roads around Baquba
2013 Maliki govt said it wanted to reach 4.5 mil/bar/day in oil production by end of 2014 Didn’t happen
2013 Report France’s Total expanded investment in KRG Bought 80% stake in Bar Bahar field in Dohuk
Already had 35% stake in Harir and Safen fields in Irbil
2013 Report More militias going to fight in Syria More open funerals Abu Zeinab former Mahdi Army
cmdr hosting fighters going to Syria at his home in Baghdad Up to 50 fighters flown to Syria each week Foreign Min Zebari said stories are exaggerated Privately politicians officials and militiamen said Maliki govt explicitly support fighters going to Syria Mahdi Army Badr Asaib Ahl Al-Haq all fighting in Syria
2014 PM Maliki ordered govt to pay salaries and benefits to Hashd
2014 Report Obama called for more inclusive govt in Iraq in order to receive US aid State Dept’s McGurk
denied US was pushing for removal of Maliki Speaker Nujafi and Kurds hoped statements would help them oust Maliki
(Musings On Iraq Replacing Maliki No Panacea For Iraq)
2014 ISIS set up 8 courts in Mosul to run city Was pushing out other insurgent groups that helped take
city
(Musings On Iraq The Islamic State of iraq Attempts To Create A State in Syria And Iraq Interview With Aaron Zelin)
(Musings On Iraq review Mosul Under ISIS, Eyewitness Accounts Of Life In The Caliphate)
2014 Sadr offices announced taking volunteers for new Peace Brigades to fight insurgency
(Musings On Iraq Moqtada al-Sadr And Iraq’s Militia Mobilization)
2014 Fighting in Saqlawiya Anbar after it was declared freed Ishaqi Salahaddin declared freed 2nd time
but fighting continued
(Musings On Iraq Security In Iraq’s Anbar Shows Battle Against Insurgents Will Be Long And Often Futile)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Western Front Is Anbar Next To Fall?)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Northern Front Stalemate In Salahaddin)
2015 Report returns to Tikrit area largely baed upon whether or not backed IS Salaahddin Gov
Jabouri afraid of retaliation against IS families Said 400 homes destroye din Tikrit after it was freed After Hashd left Tikrit families allowed in Families returning to Alam where tribes fought IS Dour and Abu Ajeel which sided with IS empty
2016 Report Interior Min document in 2014 when PM Maliki acting minister ordered stop to
investigation of official who imported fake bomb detectors
2016 Report Up to 50 prisoners executed by Hashd at Amerli prison
2017 Hashd spokesman again talked about liberating Tal Afar Said intl pressure would not stop it
Turkey warned Iraq not to allow Hashd into city
(Musings On Iraq Mosul Campaign Day 246-47 Jun 19-20 2017)
2017 EU said Kurds had to work with rest of Iraq Said against unilateral actions meaning KRG
independence referendum
2017 KRG Pres Barzani said no turning back on KRG independence referendum
2017 Mosul council issued ordinance that IS families be sent to camps
2018 PM Abadi said govt would disarm Hashd that were not part of the state
2019 Report PM Abdul Mahdi said armed groups should stop acting independently of the
state including those abroad meaning in Syria Said all foreign forces had to have govt permission to be in country next day rockets fired at Mosu and Basra by pro-Iran groups
2019 Report Ninewa Ops Command working to remove local Hashd from province Aug
2018 and May 2019 PM Abdul Mahdi ordered them to leave but they refused
2020 Report Gulf Keystone that operated oil field in KRG laid off 40% of workforce due to falling
oil prices and delayed payments by KRG
2021 Babil Governor Mandil said displaced couldn’t return to Jurf al-Sakhr because of IEDs Real
reason large Kataib Hezbollah base and along pilgrimage route to Karbala and Najaf
2021 Report 7 villages in south Kirkuk empty of people because of IS threats Mayor of Daquq
said more people were leaving
View the Iraq History Timelines
 |
| (Wikipedia) |
1932 Assyrian religious leader Mar Shimun presented petition to League of Nations Mandate
Commission demanding autonomy for his people
(Musings On Iraq review The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)
1957 Ali Jawadat became PM 3rd time Continued with anti-Communist pro-Western foreign policy of PM
Said
1964 New govt formed by PM Yahya
1972 Iraq and France signed deal to allow France to keep its share of Iraq Petroleum Company in return
for technical aid to run industry France also allowed to buy Iraqi oil at lower prices Agreed to major arms deal
1988 Iraq Op Fury starts working with Mujahadeen e-Khalq started attacking Iranian forces using nerve gas
to capture Mehran central front
1988 Iraq Op Fury killed nearly 3500 Iranians and destroyed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Division Hit
10 oil fields
(Musings On Iraq interview with Naval Postgraduate School’s Ostovar on history of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard)
(Musings On Iraq review Vanguard of the Imam, Religion, Politics, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard)
(Musings On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq interview with author Tom Cooper on Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 1: The Battle for Khuzestan, September 1980-May 1982)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 3: Iraq’s Triumph)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)
1990 Intl Islamic Popular Conf backed Iraq against Zionist aggression and conspiracy led by US and
England
1998 Inspectors report to UN Said Iraq not come clean on VX program 1st denied it worked with it Then
said produced experimental amount that was destroyed Later admitted it produced 1.7 tons of VX but didn’t weaponize it
(Musings On Iraq UN Inspectors Were Right Iraq Was Not A Threat)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Rejection of UN Inspectors Led To Mistrust Over WMD and 2003 Invasion)
(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Sec 1.1 UK Iraq Strategy 1990 To 2000)
(Musings On Iraq review Out Of The Ashes, The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein)
(Musings On Iraq review The Saddam Tapes)
(Musings On Iraq review The Greatest Threat, Iraq, Weapons of Mass Destruction, And The Growing Crisis Of Global Security)
2002 CIA Dir Tenet told Congress couldn’t find evidence for story 9/11 hijacker Atta met with Iraqi intel
officer in Prague in 01 Story was false
2003 Gen Odierno 4th Inf Div commander said US wasn’t facing an insurgency in Iraq because wasn’t
organized opposition Said there were attacks on US troops but were insignificant overall
2003 DepSecDef Wolfowitz told Congress US facing an insurgency in Iraq but U.S. could beat it
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)
2003 Bremer talked with Bush about troop levels in Iraq Bremer didn’t object to drawdown plan but said
they shouldn’t go too low Bush said plan was to rotate troops into Iraq not to withdraw them and agreed that troop levels had to be maintained
(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)
2003 2,000 fired Iraqi soldiers protested outside of Green Zone demanding pensions 1 speaker said they
would attack US forces for humiliating them Threw rocks US soldiers shot and killed 2
(Musings On Iraq Overview of America’s Policy Towards Iraq: From The Clinton Years To The
Sectarian War of 2006)
2003 Ex-ORHA head Garner met Def Sec Rumsfeld in Washington complained about CPA policies
Garner told Rumsfeld deBaathifiaction disbanding military and Iraq leadership group all wrong but could be fixed
2003 Def Sec Rumsfeld told ex-ORHA head Garner couldn't fix mistakes made by CPA could only move
forward in Iraq
2003 Def Sec Rumsfeld held press conference for ex-ORHA head Garner who said everything going well in
Iraq Bremer doing good job
2003 Ex-ORHA head Garner met with Bush said that Iraq going well and Bremer doing good job
2003 David Kay new head of Iraq Survey Group looking for Iraq WMD left for Qatar to run search
2003 Kay switched Iraq Survey Group from search teams going to suspected WMD sites to intel op going
through Iraqi docs
2003 CIA informed House and Senate Intel committees that it no longer believed Iraq-Niger uranium story
(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Failed The Iraq-Niger Uranium Story)
(Musings On Iraq Review Hubris, The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, And The Selling Of The Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)
2004 Al Qaeda in Iraq suicide car bombing at army recruitment center Baghdad killed 35
wounded 145
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
2004 9/11 Commission spokesman said it found no evidence of cooperation between Iraq and Al Qaeda
2007 US started Operation Arrowhead Ripper to clear Baquba of insurgents
2008 LA Times interviewed CURVEBALL Iraqi defector in Germany who claimed Iraq had mobile WMD
labs Claimed everything he said was true and he should be treated like a king for helping overthrow Saddam Labs didn’t exist
(Musings On Iraq How Iraqi Defector CURVEBALL Became Basis For US Claim That Iraq Had WMD)
(Musings On Iraq Look Who The LA Times Dug Up – CURVEBALL)
(Musings On Iraq Story of CURVEBALL And Iraq’s Mobile Biological Weapons Labs)
2008 ISF launched Op Promise of Peace against Sadrists in Maysan Govt would create 17 tribal support
councils Became part of PM Maliki’s patronage network
(Musings On Iraq Operation Promise of Peace in Maysan Province)
(Musings On Iraq Sadr’s Leadership Or Lack Thereof)
(Musings On Iraq Disputes Over Tribal Support Councils)
2010 3000 protested in Basra over lack of electricity
(Musings On Iraq Basra Protest Over Lack Of Electricity Reflects Twenty Years Of Problems)
2011 Shooting between Sadrists and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq in Sadr City
(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)
2011 Report Azri Dir Gen of Trade Bank of Iraq said he met PM Maliki Jun 2 He asked for $6 bil in
financing for deal with SKorean company without any guarantees Afterward Maliki aide said bank under investigation Maliki then raided bank and Azri fled to Jordan Said all the charges were political
2012 Report Gov Nujafi and Hadbaa made deals with Kurds in Ninewa after two opposed each other
2012 2 suicide bombers hit Shiite funeral in Baquba killing 22
(Musings On Iraq review The ISIS Reader, Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement)
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
2012 Dep PM Shahristani said by end of 2013 Iraq would ends it electricity problems Didn’t
2012 Report Sadr followed dual track policy Criticized PM Maliki while supporting him Starting Feb Sadr
began calling Maliki dictator Complained about lack of services Same time said PM should not be removed After Election Comm head arrested by Maliki Sadr increased his comments Started meeting with Barzani and Allawi Supported no confidence vote Iran pressured Sadr to stop
2013 Fmr Dep Gov of Central Bank of Iraq blamed political parties for problems with bank Said they had
no idea what bank did or how to run it Wasted money by putting their loyalists in bank Anti-money laundering unit didn’t do its job Governor of bank arrested for wasting public funds MPs criticized bank for selling too many dollars at auctions and bank officials charged with crimes for doing that
2014 Tal Afar, Ninewa declared cleared of insurgents but wasn’t
2014 PM Maliki said he would not step down in return for U.S. military aid
2014 Joint Chiefs head Gen Dempsey and Def Sec Hagel told congress Iraqi govt had to reach out to
Sunnis to end insurgency
2014 Insurgents kidnapped 17 Shiites from Tuz Kharmato and executed them
(Musings On Iraq review The ISIS Reader, Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement)
2014 Insurgents began attack upon Baiji refinery
2014 New security operation in Jurf al-Sakhr, Babil began
2014 Report PM Maliki said Saudis behind IS’s return Said Saudis were responsible for crimes close to
genocide in Iraq
(Musings On Iraq review A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, The Saudi Struggle For Iraq)
2015 Garma Anbar declared freed but fighting continued
(Musings On Iraq Iraq Government Offensive In Anbar And Salahaddin Dragging On For Weeks Or Put On Hold)
2016 Report ISF said taking Fallujah easier than Tikrit and Baiji IS concentrated on perimeter
After broke IS defense got to city center Forced IS to move opening them up to air strikes
2016 IS seized 3 villages in Tuz Kharmato dist When expelled Peshmerga tried entering 2 of the
villages but stopped by Hashd Led to gunfight Iranian official negotiated ceasefire
2016 Amerli police chief killed in ambush Badr raided Amerli jail and killed 7 prisoners in
revenge
2017 Syrian army met Hashd at Ninewa-Syria border 2 Kataib Hezbollah brigades met at Anbar-
Syria border 1 in Syria 1 in Anbar Pro-Iran Hashd would use border crossings to move men and material into Syria to support Assad
2017 PM Abadi said Hashd refused his orders
2018 Hashd accused US airstrike of killing 22 fighters in east Syria Imam Ali Brigade threatened to attack US for incident Was no airstrike
2018 Communist said it was leaving alliance with Sadr after he made deal with Fatah
2019 Rockets fired at Ninewa Operations Command Rumaila oil field and foreign oil
company compound in Burjesia Basra by pro-Iran groups due to Iran-US tensions
2020 PM Kazemi warned against outlaws threatening Iraqi security by firing rockets in
Baghdad
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s PM Gives Warning to Kataib Hezbollah To Stop Rocket Attacks In Baghdad)
2020 Rockets fired at Green Zone by pro-Iran groups
2021 New Baghdad-Irbil budget deal made PM Kazemi wanted to start sending money to KRG
before it sent oil revenues to Baghdad Wanted Kurdish support for his govt
View the Iraq History Timelines
In 2002 I started researching Iraq to try to understand why the United States wanted to invade the country. In 2008 I created Musings On Iraq. Since then I've branched out to try to cover all different aspects of Iraq from book reviews to history, etc. I thank everyone who has helped me and especially you the readers.
Davis, Eric, Memories of State, Politics, History, and Collective Identity In Modern Iraq, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 2005
Memories of State, Politics, History, and Collective Identity In Modern Iraq is an academic look at how the Iraqi elite tried to forge a common history and political culture to bring the populace under its control. Author Professor Eric Davis argues that this effort was never successful for two reasons. First, the country was divided between nationalists and pan-Arabists for its first thirty years of its existence leading to constant instability. Eventually the pan-Arab Baath Party came to power but it quickly gave up those ideas for a cult of personality around Saddam Hussein which was rejected by wide swaths of the populace. Davis’ argument is convincing in some parts and has faults in others.
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| (Worldology) |
1919 British force defeated Barzanji near Chamchamal
1920 Arab govt run by British advisors approved by London Head political officer in Iraq Wilson
told to announce it to Iraqis
1920 Calls for revolt vs British posted in Hillah British political officer arrested those calling for
revolt and exiled them
(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)
(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)
1927 Lord Cecil said British public opinion was overwhelmingly against staying in Iraq
1954 PM Umari resigned Thought he couldn’t control opposition and get new Anglo-Iraq Treaty
passed Wasn’t accepted until Jul
1963 Kurds blew up two oil wells in Kirkuk province during Barzani revolt
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurds, A Modern History)
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurdish Revolt 1961-1970)
(Musings On Iraq review Journey Among Brave Men, Travels in Kurdistan)
1981 Col Qaddafi announced he would go to Tehran and Baghdad to try to negotiate
ceasefire in Iran-Iraq War Libya supported Iran
1987 Iran Op Fath 7 Iranian Rev Guard and PUK attacked Iraqi 27th Div supply lines in Kurdistan
1987 Iran Op Nasr 3 started in Maysan
(Musings On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq interview with author Tom Cooper on Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 1: The Battle for Khuzestan, September 1980-May 1982)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 3: Iraq’s Triumph)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)
1991 Generals Garner and Shalikashvili met with PUK and KDP Told them world opinion behind
Kurds but Kurds said Saddam still a problem
1996 UN said Iraq smuggling oil through Iranian waters breaking sanctions
(Musings On Iraq review Invisible War, The United States And The Iraq Sanctions)
2003 CIA report to Dir Tenet said that Niger-Iraq uranium story was dropped because based upon
fake docs
(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Failed The Iraq-Niger Uranium Story)
(Musings On Iraq Review Hubris, The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, And The Selling Of The Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)
2003 CIA report that it found docs at Iraqi scientist’s home that proved Saddam had nuke program
Proved false
2003 Report UK official in CPA said Iraq reconstruction in chaos because no strategy Said CPA
was most chaotic organization he’d ever worked for Couldn’t deal with needs and lacked resources to make change in Iraq
(Musings On Iraq review Bad Days In Basra, My Turbulent Time as Britain’s Man in Southern Iraq)
2004 PM Allawi promised reprisals against insurgents after suicide bombing of Iraqi army base
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
2004 Natl Sec Adv Rice told Bremer Bush supported early end to CPA
(Musings On Iraq review State of Denial, Bush At War, Part III)
2004 Bush refuted 9/11 Comm Said Iraq-Al Qaeda had connections and that was why Iraq was a
threat
(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)
2004 Cheney said 9/11 Comm didn’t look at the overwhelming evidence of Iraq-Al Qaeda
connections Claimed he had intel on Iraq-Al Qaeda ties that 9/11 Comm didn’t That intel later proved false
2005 Constitutional Committee agreed to expand number of Sunnis from 2 to 17 with another 10
as advisers under heavy US and UK pressure
(Musings On Iraq interview with constitutional scholar Zaid al-Ali on Iraq’s constitution)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
2007 Report PM Maliki complained to US Cmdr in Iraq Gen Petraeus about Sahwa program
(Musings On Iraq review Surge, My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War)
2008 Truck bomb by Mahdi Army or Special Group in Baghdad killed 63 wounded 70 US forces
claimed bombing meant to stop return of displaced Sunnis and provoke sectarian fighting
(Musings On Iraq Desperation Move By The Sadrists?)
2008 Report Start of June standoff between Peshmerga and oil workers Khurmala Dome oil field
KRG claimed field belonged to it Baghdad gave Peshmerga 24 hrs to leave and did
2008 UN report displaced increased by 800,000 from 2007-08 45,000 refugees returned to Iraq
from 2007-08
(Musings On Iraq review Children of War, Voices Of Iraqi Refugees)
2009 US held talks with Syria to try to stop foreign fighters traveling through country to Iraq
2011 ISI took responsibility for killing deputy head of deBaathification Comm Lami
(Musings On Iraq Al Qaeda In Iraq Behind DeBaathification Leader’s Death)
2011 Anbar councilman said Syria still supported insurgency
2011 PM Maliki organized second march for his government in Baghdad and Karbala to counter
protests
2011 Protests held in Baghdad and Dhi Qar against corruption Baghdad protesters attacked by PM
Maliki supporters 2nd time
(Musings On Iraq Maliki Counter Iraq’s Protest Movement With A Demonstration And Media Campaign Of His Own)
2011 Activists created committee to hold talks with Maliki govt
(Musings On Iraq Baghdad Meets With Iraq Protest Leaders)
2011 Report 1000s of foreign workers employed in Iraq Many are illegal Go through employment
agencies that steal their money Nepali worker paid $5000 to get job in Iraq Govt trying to clamp down on foreign workers because of high unemployment
2011 Electricity Min spokesman said govt may only be able to provide less than half of electricity needs
during summer
(Musings On Iraq Iraq Heading For Another Hot Summer)
2012 Sadr said he would not accept a 3rd term for PM Maliki Gave into Iranian pressure
2012 PUK’s MP Othman said that KDP wanted PM Maliki out while PUK didn’t
2013 Kataib Hezbollah attacked Mujahedeen e-Khalq camp with rockets
(Musings On Iraq Instrument Of Iran’s Power In Iraq And Syria Kataib Hezbollah)
2013 Badr said one of its men died fighting in Syria before its presence officially announced
(Musings On Iraq The Increasing Flow Of Iraqi Fighters To Syria, An Interview With University Of Maryland’s Phillip Smyth)
(Musings On Iraq Badr Organization A View Into Iraq’s Violent Past And Present)
2013 Exxon signed 3rd contract with KRG to explore for oil in Sulaymaniya
2013 Report 2/3 of army brigade in Salahaddin joined Peshmerga Apr Cmdr of brigade refused order
from Tigris Ops Command to secure Sulaiman Beq Cmdr told TV he wanted to join Peshmerga Baghdad ordered brigade to move or not be paid Peshmerga Min started paying brigade
2014 Security operation to clear Qaim, Anbar began Tuz Kharmato declared freed of insurgents
2014 Rawa Ana Saqlawiya Amiriya Fallujah Ramadi Khalidiya in Anbar all declared freed Half of them
weren’t
(Musings On Iraq Security In Iraq’s Anbar Shows Battle Against Insurgents Will Be Long And Often Futile)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Western Front Is Anbar Next To Fall?)
2014 Insurgents attacked 3 neighborhoods in Baquba, Diyala along with Hit and Garma in Anbar
2014 Prisoner that was wounded when Badr and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq executed 43 prisoners in Baquba was
taken from hospital by police and killed
(Musings On Iraq Badr Organization A View Into Iraq’s Violent Past And Present)
(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)
2014 PM Maliki dismissed Gen Gharawi head of Ninewa Ops Command for fall of Mosul
2014 Hezbollah’s Nasrallah said that Shiite shrines in Iraq needed to be protected from insurgents Said
that Hezbollah would send men to fight in Iraq
(Musings On Iraq Interview Iran And Its Shiite Militias Mobilize In Iraq Interview With Phillip Smyth)
2015 Sadr blamed ex-PM Maliki’s authoritarianism for return of insurgency
2015 Report Def Sec Carter testified to House that US wanted to train 24,000 ISF by fall 2015 Iraq
wasn’t providing enough recruits Hadn’t been any Iraqi trainees at Ain Al-Assad base for weeks
(Musings On Iraq Contradictions In Obama Administration’s Iraq Training Program)
2015 Hashd shot at car killing Kurdish civilian in Tuz Kharmato Led to clash with Peshmerga
Some Peshmerga wounded and Hashd arrested
(Musings On Iraq Iraq Government Offensive In Anbar And Salahaddin Dragging On For Weeks Or Put On Hold)
2016 Golden Div reached center of Fallujah PM Abadi prematurely announced liberation of city
Head of Fallujah Ops Command said Hashd not involved in freeing of Fallujah Was all done by ISF
(Musings On Iraq Iraq Gains Big Victory Over Islamic State In Fallujah In Record Time)
2016 Report Videos posted of Hashd attacking civilians in Fallujah op 1 showed Hashd beating
civilians saying people of Fallujah cowards
2017 KRG Pres Barzani held meeting and announced that Kurdish independence referendum would
happen 9/25/17
(Musings On Iraq review The Great Betrayal, How America Abandoned The Kurds And Lost The Middle East)
(Musings On Iraq review Quicksilver War, Syria, Iraq and the Spiral of Conflict)
2017 Chief of staff of KRG president’s office said US asked for KRG independence referendum to
be delayed KRG said no
2017 Syrian General Command said hooking up with Hashd and Syrian-Ninewa border was
turning point in war Cut IS supply lines Also allowed new land route for Iranian supplies to Syria
2017 Facebook video showed residents going door to door in Qayara Ninewa threatening IS
families Told them to leave or else ISF said mobs attacked people 25 families fled
2019 Rocket fired at Taji Base Baghdad by pro-Iran group due to US-Iran tensions
(Musings On Iraq Tehran And Its Allies Respond Asymmetrically To Trump Admin’s Iran Policy)
2019 Report Tribal spokesman said IS demanding taxes from farmer in Tal Afar and Mosul
districts
2019 PM Abdul Mahdi issued statement that armed groups outside of the control of the state were
prohibited All Iraqi forces had to operate under his command after spate of attacks by pro-Iran groups on bases containing Americans
(Musings On Iraq Tehran And Its Allies Respond Asymmetrically To Trump Admin’s Iran Policy)
2020 PM Kazemi said that ISF had to find those responsible for rocket attacks in Baghdad
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s PM Gives Warning to Kataib Hezbollah To Stop Rocket Attacks In Baghdad)
2020 Interior Min claimed it arrested some involved in rocket attacks in Baghdad Nothing
came of it
2020 Report New group League of Revolutionaries claiming responsibilities for attacks on
Americans
2020 1 mil of 3 mil people had pensions cut as austerity measure due to econ crisis caused by
collapse of oil prices and COVID
2020 Activists said PM Kazemi not serious about bringing killers of demonstrators to justice
2021 Fmr Unaoil executive ordered to pay $560,000 in damages by UK judge Admitted to paying
$17 mil bribe to win contract to build pipelines and buoys in Basra
2021 Report Minister said he just signed contracts given to him Said they had already been
approved by staff When he questioned them staff would complain When he rejected deal political parties would threaten him 1st parties controlled govt through ministries and top officials Now parties control bureaucracy so doesn’t matter who ministers are Parties compete over special grades in ministries who have real power Parties given points for how many seats win in elections Points determine how many positions they get in govt Major cause of corruption 2018 parliament’s transparency comm said $320 bil lost since 2003 2020 Finance Min Allawi said $100-$300 bil had been sent overseas Sr official said 25% of ministry’s budget spent on fake contracts Another 25% went to payroll corruption 2013 est 10-25% of govt workers ghost employees used by parties to steal money 2020 Finance Min Allawi est 300,000 ghost workers in govt Contracts often go to businesses tied to ruling parties Electricity Min signed $21 mil contract with fake company to build power station in Nasiriya Min signed $8 mil deal with another fake company 2016 technocratic ministers appointed Meant more power went to bureaucrats Now special grades have been main issue in govt formation process more than ministries
(Musings On Iraq interview with Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen on Iraq’s fight with corruption)
(Musings On Iraq interview with former anti-corruption official Vincent Foulk)
2021 Interior Min Ghanimi claimed most assassins of activists were outside of Iraq and couldn’t
be arrested
View the Iraq History Timelines
The Bush administration wanted the U.K. included in the invasion of Iraq to make it look like Washington wasn’t acting unilaterally. This wa...
