Security In Iraq Aug 1-7, 2017

Since the end of the Mosul battle in July, violence in Iraq has remained at a very low level. Both security incidents and casualties have been at record lows as a result.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 18

1933 Iraqi army held victory parade and given award by King Ghazi for massacring Assyrians in 

            north

1990 Saddam said foreign workers and visitors could not leave Iraq after Kuwait invasion

1990 UN Resolution 664 demanded Iraq release foreign nationals it held

2004 Iraq Survey Group head Kay testified to Congress Blamed Rice & NSC for not checking 

           WMD intel before war

2015 IS second in command Abu Muslim al-Turkmani killed

View the Iraq History Timeline

Troubles Of The Tribal And Local Hashd In Anbar And Ninewa

As more Iraqi territory has been freed the government has run into a growing problem, how to secure it all. Most of the local police fled when the Islamic State conquered northern and western Iraq in 2014. Baghdad never rebuilt most of these forces due to a lack of planning and money. That led to ad hoc solutions, one of which was the tribal and local Hashd. These units are small and disparate, and usually linked to tribes, politicians and parties seeking political and economic power. In Anbar and Ninewa these forces have run into increasing problems, undermining security in the process.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 17

1937 PM Hikmat Sulaiman govt resigned over threat of military coup or civil

            War

1937 Jamil al-Midfai became premier for 3^rd time
1987 Iraq told UN it wouldn’t accept any changes to Resolution 598 that proposed

            ceasefire in Iran-Iraq War

2000 Iraq reopened Saddam International Airport to get around UN sanctions

2001 US Energy Dep report said aluminum tubes Iraq tried to buy were probably for

            rockets not centrifuges

2003 CPA told White House if didn’t get additional $20.3 bil would be disaster for

            Bush’s plans for Iraq

2003 Water pipeline in Rusafa Baghdad hit with RGP knocking out water for 2 days

            for 300,000 people

2003 US forces killed Reuters reporter outside Abu Ghraib prison Said camera looked

            like an RPG

2004 Allawi govt offered amnesty and role in govt to Sadr in return for ceasefire in 2^nd

            Battle of Najaf

2004 NSC meeting discussed US attacking Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf and possibly

            killing Sadr

2006 Bush held national security meeting to rethink Iraq strategy Bush told staff Iraq

            policy going bad and wanted new one

2006 US Cmdr in Iraq Gen Casey told Bush Iraqis may not be up to task of securing

            Baghdad

2010 ISI suicide bomber hit army recruits in Baghdad killing 60

2012 VP Biden called Maliki about Iran flying military supplies to Syria over Iraqi

            airspace

- 2015 Judicial Council rejected call for Chief Justice Medhat to resign

View the Iraq History Timeline

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 16

1933 Iraqi army campaign to kill Assyrians in north ended

1946 KDP founded by Mustafa Barzani and Hamzah Abdullah

1962 Turkish planes shot down Iraqi plane in retaliation for Iraq bombing Turkish

border post while fighting Kurdish rebels

1967 Law No 97 gave more power to Iraqi National Oil Company

1985 Iraq claimed it destroyed Iran’s main oil terminal at Kharg Island but only damaged it

2002 U.S. decided Bush would go to UN to present case against Iraq

2002 Pentagon office claimed briefing day before convinced CIA Dir Tenet to

            reconsider Iraq-Al Qaeda relationship

2002 CIA Dir Tenet denied Feith’s office had changed his view on Iraq-Al Qaeda relationship

2002 Feith’s office said Iraq & Al Qaeda cooperated CIA said they had contacts but no cooperation

2003 Insurgent attack on Abu Ghraib prison 6 prisoners killed 59 wounded
2015 Abadi closed 4 ministries merged 8 others into 4 by decree even though legally

            had to go through parliament

View the Iraq History Timeline

Post Mosul Liberation Day 35 Aug 14 2017

There were more incidents in Mosul and surrounding areas of Ninewa province. Islamic State members were arrested attempting to smuggle weapons into west Mosul. A senior insurgent leader who allegedly was in charge of operations in east Mosul along with several other militants were also detained. A policeman in Tanak in the west was shot and killed. In an outer village, an IED wounded a civilian, and three people were killed and one injured in a shooting incident in the Tal Afar district. The liberation of Mosul didn’t mean the end of the Islamic State. Its units are scattered, but still making attempts every day in the governorate.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 15

1990 Iraqi opposition in Iran claimed they could field 50,000 to fight Saddam

1990 Iraq offered to fully implement UN Res 598 and Algiers Agreement to try to win

            favor with Iran after Kuwait invasion

1991 UN Resolution 706 proposed Iraq import petroleum products to alleviate

            humanitarian situation caused by sanctions Iraq rejected plan

1991 UN Resolution 707 said Iraq was in flagrant violation of weapons inspectors 

1995 Supreme Council denounced Jordan taking in Saddam’s son-in-law Hussein

Kamal as a murderer

2001 Foreign Office legal adv Sir Wood said that British forces could be sued if not

            given legal basis for going to war with Iraq

2002 1st Bush NatlSecAdv Scowcroft wrote Wall St Journal OpEd saying Saddam not

            threat to US and not connected to 9/11

2002 NatlSecAdv Rice said US needed to launch pre-emptive strike against Iraq

            before it got too strong

2002 Pentagon office briefed CIA on its findings that Iraq and Al Qaeda had cooperated for years

2003 White House objected to CPA’s request for $20.3 bil after administration

            said it would not ask Congress for any more money

2003 Oil pipeline to Turkey bombed in Baiji Salahaddin shutting down exports for 2^nd

            time in a week

2004 Peace talks between Allawi govt & Sadr broke down over ending 2^nd Battle of Najaf

2005 One week extension given to Constitutional committee to finish work

2011 ISI attacked Sahwa in mosque in Yusifiya during Ramadan & bomb St Ephraim

            Syriac Orthodox church in Kirkuk

2015 Chief Justice Medhat said that judiciary supported Abadi’s reforms but made no changes

View the Iraq History Timeline 

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 14

1985 Iraq started air campaign against Kharg Island Iran’s main oil terminal Iran-

            Iraq War

1985 Start of air strikes on Kharg Island dropped capacity by 1/3 Iran moved most of

            its shipping south as a result

1998 Iraq found violating UN sanctions by smuggling oil

2003 UN Resolution 1500 created UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI)

2003 US intel officer wrote memo saying that “gloves are coming off” in interrogating

            Iraqi prisoners

2007 4 suicide bombers hit Kahtaniya, Sinjar district killing 796 Yazidis and

            wounding almost 1,500  

2014 Maliki agreed to step down after elections Was under pressure from US and

            Ayatollah Sistani

2015 Sistani’s office said Abadi needed to reform judiciary

2015 Protests in Maysan Kirkuk Samawa Basra Karbala Najaf Nasiriya Hillah Baghdad

Diwaniya Kut Baquba Dujail over better services fight corruption

2015 Journalists said that Baghdad Operations Command stormed their office and

            told them not to cover protests

2015 Maliki gave interview saying reform protests were anti-religious

View the Iraq History Timeline

Post Mosul Liberation Day 34 Aug 13 2017

The Islamic State is operating throughout Ninewa, but at a very low level. Three insurgents were arrested attempting to lay IEDs along the road from Qayara in the southeast to Mosul. Every day there are a few such incidents. They do not present a real threat to security, but it shows the militants have access to nearly every part of the province.

Musings On Iraq In The News

I was cited in “Bataille De Mossoul: Le Recit Des Derniers Combats Pour Reprendre La Ville A L’Etat Islamique” in France Soir. I was interviewd for "What's the significance of Hashd participation in Hawija, Tal Afar operations?" and "Assessing Sadr and Sistani's opposition to the Hashd al-Shaabi," by Paul Iddon both for Rudaw. I was mentioned by Patrick Cockburn in "Endtimes for in Mosul" in the London Review of Books.