Security In Iraq Nov 22-28, 2020

Violence in Iraq has fluctuated up and down the last three months. The fourth week of November 2020 was no different with attacks increasing from the week before.

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 30

 

1920 British said all of its colonial offices were under control of Iraq council of state

1971 Iran backed by UK occupied uninhabitated Lesser Tunb Island and took Greater Tunb Island after

fighting with Iraq Baghdad condemned move

1973 Soviets said Bakr govt policies leading Iraq towards socialism

1980 Iranian air force attacked Iraq’s nuclear reactor at Tuwaitha and Faw Peninsula in Basra

(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)

1991 After fighting ended Iraq and KDP restarted talks over Kurdish autonomy

(Musings On Iraq review The Kurds, A Modern History)

(Musings On Iraq review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)

2001 Def Sec Rumsfeld told press US knew Iraq had WMD because defectors said so

(Musings On Iraq Iraq One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)

2003 US soldiers repelled 3 ambushes on convoy in Samarra Iraqis later claimed US fired

indiscriminately killing civilians

2003 Senior CIA analyst said 2002 Nat Intel Est on Iraq’s WMD lacked specifics on the programs

(Musings On Iraq Iraq One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)

2004 Report War mismanagement sanctions since 1980s destroyed Iraq’s health care system

2005 Aide to PM Jaafari wanted to know whether KRG signing oil deal with DNO was constitutional

2005 White House released National Strategy for Victory in Iraq Lacked any substance on what

strategy was

2005 Bush speech announced new National Strategy for Victory in Iraq Said goal was

to train Iraqi forces to take over the war New US strategy was actually a withdrawal plan not one to win war

(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)

(Musings On Iraq review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008)

(Musings On Iraq review The Endgame, The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from

George W. Bush to Barack Obama)

(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)

2005 Pentagon contracted Lincoln Group to place pro-US stories in Arab media about Iraq

2006 Bush met PM Maliki Said he wanted more control over ISF and command over them Maliki

also presented plan for Iraqi forces to take control of Baghdad Bush said no Bush told Maliki he had lost control of Baghdad and about to lose Iraq Maliki agreed Bush told Maliki US was going to have troop surge Maliki had to back it and agree to reconciliation Maliki said yes

(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Mansoor on the Surge)

(Musings On Iraq review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008)

2006 Sadrists walked out of parliament and cabinet for PM Maliki meeting with Pres Bush in Jordan

Sadrists had 30 MPs and 5 ministers Came after 6 car bombs killed 215 in Sadr City Sadrists blamed US for insecurity in Iraq 

(Musings On Iraq A Divided Sadr Trend)

2007 US Govt Accountability Office report US designating ISF units as independent and fully

independent meaningless because still completely relied upon US for logistics intel and other services

2007 US military complained govt had no plan to help returning displaced/refugees No plans to settle

property disputes in Baghdad after major population changes No plans for aid shelter or services

(Musings On Iraq review Children of War, Voices Of Iraqi Refugees)

(Musings On Iraq Refugees International Report On Iraq’s Refugees and Displaced)

(Musings On Iraq January 2009 U.N. Report On Iraq Refugee Returns)

2008 South Korea withdrew its military forces from Iraq

2008 5 committees created to try to work with KRG to pass oil law Baghdad said it would allow KRG to

exports its oil via Turkey if deal made Didn’t happen

2008 Report Honor killing of women up 70% in Basra 81 women killed there in 08 vs 47 women killed in

07 Police said they supported killings Could hire killer for $100 to kill a woman Some women killed for talking to a man in public 9 of 12 women groups in Basrsa closed

2014 IS put travel restrictions on people trying to leave Mosul

2019 Protesters in Najaf set entrance to shrine of Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim on fire

ISCI’s Ashura Brigades shot at crowd killing 3 Protests then turned on ISCI official in city

(Musings On Iraq UN Report On Violence Against Iraqi Protesters)

2019 Solidarity protests in Kirkuk and Mosul

View the Iraq History Timelines 

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 29

 

1920 Gertrude Bell wrote few tribes were talking about self rule and many rejected it in Basra

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell And Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell, Explorer of the Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq movie review Letters from Baghdad)

1927 UK Foreign Sec Chamberlain told King Faisal talks over Anglo-Iraq Treaty should be delayed for

two years and Faisal would have to run Iraq on his own British knew Faisal afraid of potential unrest and was trying to intimidate him during negotiations over new treaty Tactic worked

1934 Border dispute between Iraq and Persia escalated

1936 PM Sulaiman named new cabinet 1922-58 were 59 cabinets

1980 Iranian marines destroyed Mina al Bakr and Khor al Amaya oil terminals in Iraq Attack cut

Iraqi exports from 3.24 mil/bar/day to 550,000 bar/day

1981 Iran Op Tariq al-Quds began to free Bostan in south Started with drive in Susangard Pres

Rafsanjani told parliament he would push Iraqis back to the border

(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)

1990 UN Resolution 678 gave Iraq until 1/15/91 to withdraw from Kuwait

(Musings On Iraq review from storm to Freedom, America’s Long War with Iraq)

1990 Iraq released all the foreign hostages it held trying to sway world public opinion

2001 UN Res 1382 extended Oil for Food program

2001 Amer Enterprise Institute panel said Saddam had to be removed before US could confront

radical Islam

(Musings On Iraq review Wanting War: Why the Bush Administration Invaded Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review The Road to Iraq, The Making of a Neoconservative War)

(Musings On Iraq review America at the Crossroads, Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy)

2002 UK Defense Min told Blair that US still had no political strategy for Iraq

(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)

2002 American Enterprise Inst group of experts started work on paper on what U.S. facing after

9/11 Would focus on Iraq

2003 Insurgent attacks killed 7 Spanish intelligence officers and 2 Japanese diplomats in Iraq

2004 Bush told NSC January 2005 Iraqi election had to happen on time

2005 Def Sec Rumsfeld told press “insurgent” should no longer be used when reporting on Iraq because

they didn’t believe in anything He then explained that they stood for overthrowing the Iraqi system and creating a caliphate Rumsfeld said US forces didn't have to report abuse and torture by Iraqi forces Joint Chiefs head General Pace then used insurgent when describing security in Iraq and said US forces absolutely had responsibility to report any abuses by Iraqi forces

2005 Report Badr infiltrated Inter Min Mahdi Army regular police Both carrying out murders torture

and abuse Inter Min Inspector General said police carrying out extrajudicial killings Inter Min intel chief Kamal said there was abuse going on but was not official policy of the Ministry

(Musings On Iraq Badr Organization A View Into Iraq’s Violent Past And Present)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Jerry Burke police and Interior Min adviser on how Badr took over Interior Ministry)

(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)

(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation, War And Resistance In Iraq)

2005 Ceremony for DNO to start drilling for oil at field in Zakho

2006 Report PM Maliki wanted more control over ISF increased US training and bigger weapons Said

couldn’t disarm militias when Iraqis didn’t trust ISF and US Said his govt would collapse if he moved against militias Said he would find a political solution to problem

2006 Adviser to Saudi govt said would be a massive intervention by Riyad to save Iraq’s Sunnis from

Shiite militias if US withdrew

2006 Inter Min announced it was creating monitoring unit that would take legal action against

media that reported fake news Quoted AP story of 6 men burned to death in Baghdad mosque Claimed police captain in story didn’t exist AP had talked to police captain for 2 years and been in his office Also found 3 witnesses to story and more people came forward afterward

2007 Car bomb found outside offices of Accordance Front leader Adnan Dulaimi Would lead to him

being placed under house arrest

2008 Bosnia and Herzegovina withdrew its military forces from Iraq

2019 PM Abdul Mahdi said he resigned after Ayatollah Sistani’s Friday message

2019 Najaf police chief resigned after massacre of protesters Nov 28 2^nd Dep Gov of Najaf

resigned Said protesters were being murdered

(Musings On Iraq UN Report On Violence Against Iraqi Protesters)

2019 Clashes between protesters and ISF continued in Nasiriya Another 17 killed Crowd

tried to storm shrine of Mohammed Baqir al-Mohammed ISCI’s Ashura Brigade fired at crowd killing 5 

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Sadrists Attack And Kill Protesters While Proclaiming They Are The Saviors Of Iraq

Protest tents burned by the Sadrists in Nasiriya (Al Mirbad)

On November 27 the Sadrist movement claimed it was a force for change and reform in Iraq while attacking a protest camp in Dhi Qar that left 5 demonstrators dead and many more wounded.

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 28

 

1935 UK Foreign Office rejected King Faisal mediating Palestine dispute believing he had

aspirations over territory

1947 Iraq’s Foreign Minister Jamail told UN that creation of Israel would lead to unrest in Middle

East

1958 Shah criticized Iraq for refusing to settle navigation down Shatt al-Arab Pres Qasim responded

by claiming all of waterway for Iraq

1980 Iran’s Op Morvarid continued into next day Iranian planes sunk 7 Iraqi boats Rest of day

Iranian planes bombed Faw port Basra destroying more Iraqi ships In total Iran lost 1 ship Iraq lost 2 oil terminals 100 dead 2 planes 13 ships Was 80% of its ships Iraqi navy was out of commission 

(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)

1997 Iraq said inspectors could not go to presidential and sovereign sites

2001 UK intel report Iraq not connected to 9/11 not working with Al Qaeda not giving WMD to

terrorists Said Iraq WMD threat “slight”

(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)

2001 Pentagon officials told Time after Afghanistan US would target Iraq as next step in war on

terror

(Musings On Iraq review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy

Tragedy)

2002 UN inspectors went to Dawrah Foot and Mouth Disease Facility Said facility couldn’t be used in

weapons programs Reporters said it was mostly destroyed

(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)

2005 Dep Human Rights Min Usayran and Gen Samarriae told Knight Ridder Iraqi forces torturing

and abusing prisoners

2005 Arrest warrant for police Volcano Brigade commander Gen Gharwai Never given to Interior

Min to carry out

2005 Anbar Gov Alwani hosted meeting of US forces and sheikhs interested in working with US against

insurgents Led to creation of Anbar security council of sheikhs religious leaders and former soldiers

(Musings On Iraq Anbar Before And After the Awakening Pt X, 2005-09 Governor Mamoun Alwani)

(Musings On Iraq The Demise But Not Death of Al Qaeda In Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq How A Change In Perceptions Led To The Anbar Awakening)

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Carter Malkasian on Anbar Awakening)

(Musings On Iraq review Confronting Al Qaeda, The Sunni Awakening and American Strategy In Al Anbar)

(Musings On Iraq review The Marines Take Anbar, The Four-Year Fight Against Al Qaeda)

(Musings On Iraq review Illusions of Victory, The Anbar Awakening And The Rise Of The Islamic State)

2006 CENTCOM Cmdr Gen Abizaid and US cmdr in Iraq Gen Casey said they opposed troop surge

Said it could only last 6-8 months and better to shift forces within Iraq

(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Mansoor on the Surge)

(Musings On Iraq review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008)

2006 Sadrists walked out of parliament and cabinet for PM Maliki meeting with Pres Bush in

Jordan Sadrists had 30 MPs and 5 ministers Came after 6 car bombs killed 215 in Sadr City Sadrists blamed US for insecurity in Iraq 

2006 Report US intel official said 1000-2000 militiamen had gone to Lebanon for training by

Hezbollah organized by Iran Summer 06 Mahdi Army commander said he’d sent 300 of his men to Lebanon US officials said Iran providing IEDs and training to militiamen Iran might have directed some attacks by militiamen

(Musings On Iraq Hezbollah’s Role In Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Galen Wright of Arkenstone blog on Iranian arms shipments to Iraqi militias) 

(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)

2006 Report after Sadr City bombings Sunni militias expelled Shiites from Dora and allowed Sunnis kicked

out of north Baghdad into homes

(Musings On Iraq review Voices From Iraq, A People’s History, 2003-2009)

(Musings On Iraq Columbia University Charts Sectarian Cleansing Of Baghdad)

2006 Report Ninewa Dep Gov said 70,000 Kurds fled Mosul due to violence Fed Police cmdr in

Diyala’s Khanaqin said sectarian civil war going on there Local Khanaqin councilman said around 100 killed there a week Was gun battle between Sunni and Kurdish police in Jalawla when Kurds refused new Sunni Arab police chief

2006 Report on US Marine intel report on Anbar Said that Sunnis were fighting for survival Shiites

carrying out “pogroms” against Sunnis in Iraq and was forcing Sunnis into hands of ISI Said Sunnis believed that Iran was taking over Baghdad and Anbar and Sunnis marginalized Said Sunnis couldn’t rely upon US because thought it was going to leave Said no economic revival in Anbar Govt offices had disintegrated Baghdad not paid salaries of Anbar officials and ISF Said US needed 15,000-20,000 more troops and billions in aid to change situation Said violence would be worse without US troops

2008 Japan announced it would end its military mission in Iraq Deployed in 2004

2008 KRG Natural Resource Min Hawrami said KRG would start exports at 100,000 bar/day with goal of

250,000 bar/day by end of 09 Oil Ministry said hadn’t agreed to that

2017 Mujahadeen Coalition announced for pro-Iran Hashd units to run in 2018 elections

2019 Sadr said protests could lead to end of Iraq if PM Abdul Mahdi didn’t resign Abadi

warned of collapse of govt if didn’t resign

2019 60 protesters killed in Nasiriya 10 killed in Najf 4 killed in Baghdad Police station

burned in Nasiriya in one of deadliest days since unrest started in Oct

(Musings On Iraq One Of The Deadliest Days Of Protests At Least 25 Killed In Nasiriya)

(Musings On Iraq UN Report On Violence Against Iraqi Protesters)

2019 PM Abdul Mahdi announced crisis cells between military and governors to deal with

protests

2019 Dhi Qar governor got head of new crisis cell tob e dismissed for deaths of protesters

Then governor resigned

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Review Netflix’s Mosul

Netflix’s Mosul is an ode to the men of the Ninewa SWAT. The movie follows a squad from that unit who are in the midst of the end of the battle for the city. They are on a special mission which is not revealed until the very end which proves to be very moving. It shows their sacrifices, their fighting prowess and their souls in the midst of a bloody fight.

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 27

 

1963 Syrian govt said it was withdrawing its army brigade from Iraq that was helping fight

Kurds

1980 Iranian Op Morvarid began to destroy Iraqi oil terminals in Gulf and attempted to

destroy Iraqi navy Iranian commandos landed at 2 Iraqi oil terminals and destroyed them ending Iraq’s ability to export oil from Basra 2 Iranian ships then waited at mouth of Shatt al-Arab to bait Iraqi navy to come out of its bases Sank 3 Iraqi boats

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1980 Iran retook Susangard in Khuzistan

1983 Truck bomb hit Baghdad killing around 100 Iraq blamed Iran and said it would retaliate

(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)

1990 Gorbachev gave up on diplomatic effort to defuse Kuwait crisis and backed use of force against

Iraq

1994 Iraq finally agreed to border with Kuwait

2001 Rumsfeld told CENTCOM cmdr Gen Frank he wanted to completely revise Iraq war plan

(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)

(Musings On Iraq review Plan of Attack: The Definitive Account Of The Decision To

Invade Iraq)

2001 Saddam rejected Bush’s call for UN weapons inspectors to return to Iraq

2001 Wash Post survey found 78% of Americans supported military action against Iraq

2002 UN weapons inspections carried out first inspections under new regime

(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)

2004 Report 1/3 of property Hallliburton contracted to manage in Iraq lost

2006 Dep Natl Sec Adv Crouch presented idea of Surge

2006 Joint Chiefs told Bush was leaning towards a troop surge in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008)

2006 Frederick Kagan wrote 3^rd OpEd in Weekly Standard calling for a troop surge in Iraq Kagan

helped draft plan that would become the Surge

(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Mansoor on the Surge)

2006 Sec State Rice and Asst Sec State Near East Welch said US wanted Saudi Arabia Egypt Jordan to push

Iraqi parties to back PM Maliki so he would move away from Sadr Also wanted Arab countries to pressure insurgents to reduce violence

2006 England said it would pull out most of its 7000 troops in Iraq by end of 2006 Poland and

            Italy said all their forces were withdrawing

2007 77,542 sahwa in total in 192 groups US said they planned on capping sahwa at 100,000 Dep Natl

Sec Adv Hussein said worried what would happen after US stopped running program Said Interior and Defense Mins couldn't hire them all

(Musings On Iraq review Surge, My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War)

2008 Iraq passed Status of Forces Agreement with US setting withdrawal date for US forces 12/31/11

(Musings On Iraq The Status Of Forces Agreement)

(Musings On Iraq SOFA Passes)

(Musings On Iraq July SOFA Referendum)

2018 Protesters blocked govt offices in Basra city highway in Faw ISF cleared protest

outside Majnoon oil field Govt building burned in Dhi Qar Roads blocked in Karbala and Najaf Iranian consulate in burned Ashurba Brigades shot at protesters outside Ayatollah Hakim shrine Killed total of 27 over 4 days

(Musings On Iraq Iraq Protests Escalate Once Again)

(Musings On Iraq UN Report On Violence Against Iraqi Protesters)

2019 Report Quds Force Cmdr Gen Suleimani arrived in Baghdad to block resignation of

            PM Abdul Mahdi Got support of Badr’s Amiri

(Musings On Iraq Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Commander General Suleimani And His Role In Iraq, An Interview With The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins)

(Musings On Iraq Badr Organization A View Into Iraq’s Violent Past And Present)

View the Iraq History Timelines