1948 All Jewish govt workers fired in Iraq 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
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 1: The Battle for Khuzestan, September 1980-May 1982)
(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)
1983 Iranian Op Wa al-Fajr 4 began to take Penjwin Valley in Kurdistan from KDPI and cut its
supply line to Iraq
(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 Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)
(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)
2003 Sec State Powell said US found evidence of Iraq’s WMD programs and that Saddam always
wanted nuclear weapons
(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Created An Iraqi Nuclear Threat In 2002)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)
2003 Bin Laden tape aired on Al Jazeera Congratulated Iraqis for resisting Americans in
Iraq Said US was mired in the swamps of the Tigris and Euphrates
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 Saddam was training foreigners to
carry out terrorist attacks and working with Islamic groups
(Musings On Iraq Laurie Mylroie’s Convoluted Iraq-Terrorism Conspiracy Theory)
(Musings On Iraq Laurie Mylroie’s Iraq Conspiracy Theory Was Debunked By Captured Baath Documents)
2004 PM Allawi got US to free insurgent leader Sheikh Jumaili in attempt to split militants in Fallujah
against Zarqawi Failed
2005 Saddam’s trial started and pled his innocence
2005 Natl Sec Adv Rice told Senate about Clear Hold Build counterinsurgency plan for Iraq Was not
discussed with US military beforehand
(Musings On Iraq 2006 Clear Hold Build: An Iraq Strategy That Wasn’t A Strategy)
(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)
(Musings On Iraq review State of Denial, Bush At War, Part III)
2005 US Iraq Cmdr Gen Casey US Iraq Amb Khalizad later asked Rice what Clear Hold Build was and why
not consulted
2005 Def Sec Rumsfeld complained to Natl Sec Adv 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 Mahdi Army stormed 3 police stations manned by Badr in Amara
(Musings On Iraq Badr Organization A View Into Iraq’s Violent Past And Present)
2006 US military spokesman said Op Together Forward II failed to reduce violence in Baghdad Said
attacks up 22% since start of Ramadan US forces returned to Dora after it was touted as first area cleared during operation
(Musings On Iraq review Fiasco: The American Military Adventure In Iraq)
2006 US Iraq Cmdr Gen Casey US Amb Khalzad gave press conference saying Op Together Forward
II in Baghdad working
2006 Report over 20 militias operating in Baghdad Mahdi Army splintering
2006 Report police unit blamed for killing 26 Sunnis at food factory in Baghdad’s Amil Unit was
suspended
(Musings On Iraq review Voices From Iraq, A People’s History, 2003-2009)
(Musings On Iraq Columbia University Charts Sectarian Cleansing Of Baghdad)
2013 IS held parade in southern Fallujah
2019 Sadrists held protests in Karbala during Arbaeen pilgrimage
(Musings On Iraq Sadr Joins Protests While Govt Continues With Promises And Crackdown)
View the Iraq History Timelines
1920 Najaf surrendered to British in 1920 Revolt
(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)
1928 Shiite sheikhs issued statement about conscription saying only the Shiites would be drafted as Kurds
and western tribes would never allow it meaning Shiites would make all the sacrifices
1940 Ger Amb to Turkey told Fin Min Shawkat Germany supported Arabs but gave no specific
promises or support
(Musings On Iraq review Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The Nationalist Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)
(Musings On Iraq review Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review The Role of the Military In Politics, A case study of Iraq to 1941)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War)
1980 Pres Carter called on Iraq to withdraw from Iran Carter was trying to get US hostages held by Tehran
released
1980 Iraqi forces attempted to attack Abadan from behind but failed Iranian counterattack in Andimeshk
forced Iraqi retreat
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)
1984 Iranian Op Al Fajr 7 began to recapture Mehran Iran in central front Discovered by Iraqi intelligence
(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 Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)
(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 PUK and KDP agreed to US brokered ceasefire in civil war Clashes continued
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurds, A Modern History)
2001 2nd CIA report on story that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger Said Iraq didn’t have
facilities to process uranium
(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)
2001 Wall St Journal OpEd by ex-CIA Dir Woolsey said Iraq behind 9/11
2002 Sec Def Rumsfeld told Under Sec of Def Feith to create postwar planning office for Iraq Cancelled few
days later Cancellation came from White House that didn’t want postwar planning because could derail invasion
(Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction’s “Hard Lessons” – Part I: Planning for Postwar Iraq September 2001 to May 2003)
(Musings On Iraq on Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Chapter 3 The Department of Defense Takes Charge)
(Musings On Iraq review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy
Tragedy)
(Musings On Iraq review Hard Lessons, The Iraq Reconstruction Experience)
2006 ISI held march in Ramadi to declare its Islamic state and mark its new name
2006 CENTCOM briefing said Iraq heading towards chaos Increased sectarian violence despite U.S.
security plan
2008 Female suicide bomber killed at Sahwa checkpoint in Salahaddin
(Musings On Iraq The Rise of Female Suicide Bombers0
(Musings On Iraq Motivations Behind Female Suicide Bombers)
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
2008 Govt committee to investigate attacks on Christians in Mosul found some army units worked with
armed groups and weren’t protecting Christians
(Musings On Iraq review Christianity in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Bad Times For Iraq’s Christians)
2008 4 armed members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were found and arrested in Diyala by ISF
(Musings On Iraq Iranians And Special Groups Forces Returning To Iraq)
2011 Exxon signed oil and gas deal with KRG marking 1st major energy company to enter region
(Musings On Iraq New Twists In Exxon-Kurd Oil Deal)
2017 KRG Election Comm said it stopped preparations for presidential and parliamentary elections
because no candidates
(Musings On Iraq In Face Of Referendum Fallout Kurdish Ruling Parties Decide To Hold Onto Power)
2017 UN warned Election Comm that choosing electronic voting system would undermine trust in
voting
2018 Out going Oil Minister Luabi transferred 9 state oil companies to new Iraq National Oil Company that
he headed PM Designate Mahdi warned that his govt would cancel any orders it felt illegal
(Musings On Iraq Iraq Starts Reviving National Oil Company)
2019 Amnesty reported govt had on going campaign against activists and journalists for
protests Included threats arrests and disappearances
(Musings On Iraq Sadr Joins Protests While Govt Continues With Promises And Crackdown)
(Musings On Iraq UN Report On Violence Against Iraqi Protesters)
View the Iraq History Timelines
1909 Mosul representatives to new Ottoman Assembly left for Istanbul Was part of Young Turks’
reforms
1920 Kufa fell to British during 1920 Revolt Led to surrender of Najaf next day Tribal siege of Diwaniya
also ended
(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)
1973 Saddam said govt and KDP were far apart on autonomy talks for Kurds
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurds, A Modern History)
(Musings On Iraq review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)
1980 UN Security Council discussed Iran-Iraq War Addressed by Iran and Iraq Iran Foreign Min told UN
Iraq was aggressor Saddam wanted to overthrow Iranian govt Iraq backed by superpowers and Arab countries Iraq Foreign Min said Iran violated treaties attacked border towns never replied to letters calling for negotiations UN Security Council backed Secretary General’s attempts to negotiate a ceasefire in Iran-Iraq War
(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)
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 Bush called PM Blair Told him Iraq probably behind anthrax letters in US
2001 NY Times article reported Iraqi defector saw Iraq training terrorists at Salman Pak to take
airliners Said INC claimed Iraq diplomat met bin Laden in 98 and offered him safe haven Reported 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
(Musings On Iraq interview with former CIA analyst Nada Bakos that tracked Zarqawi)
2004 Heavy fighting in east and south Fallujah between US forces and insurgents
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
2006 NSC started review of Iraq strategy to come up with new one
(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)
2006 Interior Min fired 3,000 police for human rights abuses corruption connection to militias 1
Police Commando commander and a public order brigade commander removed for ties to militias
(Musings On Iraq interview with Jerry Burke police and Interior Min adviser on how Badr took over Interior Ministry)
2006 After 4 days of sectarian fighting Iraqi army and US forces deployed to Balad Almost entire
Sunni population had fled
2008 ISF arrested 4 ISI members planning attacks on Christians in Mosul Since attacks started in Oct
9,360 had fled city
(Musings On Iraq review Christianity in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Bad Times For Iraq’s Christians)
2008 UN reported more Iraqis seeking asylum than any other nationality 1st 6 months of 2008
165,100 Iraqis asked for asylum
2016 Mosul campaign started with joint operations between Iraqi forces and Peshmerga
(Musings On Iraq Interview with Ret. Col Witty on the Battle of Mosul)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Horizon Client Access’ Alex Mello on Battle of Mosul)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Amnesty International’s Donatella Rovera on Battle of Mosul)
(Musings On Iraq interview with International Center for Study of Radicalization’s Charlie Winter on how IS media dealt with its defeat in Battle of Mosul)
(Musings On Iraq interview with BBC’s Quentin Sommerville on the Battle of Mosul)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Niqash’s Mustafa Habib on Battle of Mosul)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Reuters’ Stephen Kalin on Battle of Mosul)
(Musings On Iraq interview with AFP’s Ahmad Mousa on Battle of Mosul)
(Musings On Iraq interview with journalist Florian Neuhof on Battle of Mosul)
(Musings On Iraq Review They Will Have to Die Now: Mosul and the Fall of the Caliphate)
(Musings On Iraq Review Shatter the Nations, ISIS and the War for the Caliphate)
2017 Kurds withdrew from Khanaqin Diyala Also Bashiqa Makhmour Gwar Rabia part of Sinjar Ninewa
that they occupied in 2014 Was gun battle between Hashd and Police vs Peshmerga at Mosul Dam
(Musings On Iraq Kirkuk Aftermath)
(Musings On Iraq Kurds Fall Back to 2014 Borders)
(Musings On Iraq review The Great Betrayal, How America Abandoned The Kurds And Lost The Middle East)
2017 Peshmerga clashed with Hashd at Mosul Dam before handing over facility to govt forces
2017 5 Turkish soldiers killed by IEDs laid by PKK 1st time in years Turkish soldiers killed by PKK in Iraq
Would start escalation of conflict End of 2017 318 PKK fighters and 23 Turkish soldiers killed along with 23 Turks wounded in fighting
(Musings On Iraq interview with journalist Frederike Geerdink on escalating conflict between PKK and Turks in Iraq)
2019 Maliki Hakim Abadi all condemned govt going after journalists
(Musings On Iraq Sadr Joins Protests While Govt Continues With Promises And Crackdown)
View the Iraq History Timelines
Abdullah, Thabit, A Short History of Iraq, Second Edition, Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 2011
Professor Thabit Abdullah wrote a short and concise book in A Short History of Iraq. It starts with the Arab conquest of what would become Iraq in the 7th Century and goes up to U.S. occupation. Throughout each period he talks about the political and economic developments with a bit on culture as well. Abdullah emphasizes that Iraq has constantly seen conflict and divisions but also periods of stability and growth.
1973 Iraqi, Syrian and Jordanian forces attacked Israeli positions but were turned back
1991 Turkish army launched ground assault into Kurdistan to attack PKK
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurds, A Modern History)
2001 CIA Dir Tenet met with UK officials and agreed no Iraq-9/11 connection
(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
2002 Iraq held elections where Saddam voted president for another 7 years
2002 Iraq renewed offer for new UN inspections after US rejected deal
(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)
2002 French Pres Chirac said no Iraq Al Qaeda ties and attacking Iraq could lead to new terrorist
attacks
2002 State Dept intel agency gave CIA DIA NSA Energy Dept copies of Iraq-Niger uranium
documents
(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)
2003 UN Resolution 1511 set 12/15/03 as date for Iraqi Governing Council to submit plan for
interim govt and constitution
2003 UK Def Sec Hoon said that attacks on Coalition were increasing and Coalition response in
Sunni areas was alienating Iraqis
(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
2004 Attacks upon 5 churches
2006 PM Maliki called Bush said he was worried US had set 2 month deadline for him to control
sectarian violence Said deadline and talk of dividing Iraq were undermining his govt Bush said he supported Maliki
2006 Report US Cmdr Iraq Gen Casey was worried that ISF couldn’t take over security as planned
start of 07 Casey said US could have substantial troop drawdowns but had to increase US forces by 10,000 due to violence in Baghdad
2006 PM Maliki interview said his govt wouldn’t disarm militias until end of 06/early 07 Said US
forces would start large withdrawals start of 07 Rejected US operations vs Mahdi Army in Sadr City
2006 Iraq Body Count criticized Lancet casualty report Said meant 500,000 death certificates were issued
but not recorded by govt Would mean thousands of Iraqis were wounded and never went for medical help Would mean only 1/10 of Iraqi deaths were recorded
(Musings On Iraq Major Flaws With The Lancet Reports On Iraqi Deaths Part I)
(Musings On Iraq Major Flaws With The Lancet Reports On Iraqi Deaths Part II)
(Musings On Iraq New Survey On Estimated Deaths In Iraq Refutes Lancet Reports)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Mark Van Der Laan on Lancet Reports)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Michael Spagat on Lancet reports)
2006 Sunni tribesmen fired mortars into Balad 13 vehicles stopped at police checkpoint south of Balad and
people taken away by insurgents afer 2 days of killings by Shiites for 26 Shiites killed in Dhuluiya Total of 80 bodies arrived at Balad morgue
2007 Report US stopped UK withdrawal from Basra for 5 months During time 25 UK soldiers killed and
58 wounded US said Iran would move into city if UK pulled out too soon British said Iraqi nationalism would hold Iran in check PM Maliki sent general to Basra to tell UK it should leave to reduce tensions
2007 Report Dec 06 US Embassy memo said every Iraqi ministry plagued by corruption Singled out
Interior Min as one of the worst Health Min run by Sadrists who extorted doctors and private clinics and stole drugs
(Musings On Iraq interview with Special Inspector Gen for Iraq Reconstruction Bowen on corruption in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq interview with fmr anti-graft official Vincent Foulk on corruption in Iraq)
2007 Report US organized 34 Sahwa units in central Iraq 25 were Sunni 9 Shiite
(Musings On Iraq review Surge, My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War)
2012 PM Maliki suspended Central Bank of Iraq head Shababi after he refused to stop dinar re-
valuation Appointed ally Turki head of Board of Supreme Audit as new bank head
2017 Iraqi forces moved towards military base and oil fields in south Kirkuk Fighting broke out with
Peshmerga PUK withdrew most of its forces leading KDP to do the same Allowed joint forces to take most of Kirkuk province including Bai Hassan Avana and Baba Gargur oil and gas fields denying KRG of roughly half its revenues
(Musings On Iraq Kirkuk Aftermath)
(Musings On Iraq Kurds Fall Back to 2014 Borders)
(Musings On Iraq Seven Expert Opinions On The Kirkuk Crisis)
2017 KDP called PUK traitors and PUK called KDP thieves after Kurdish withdrawal from Kirkuk
2017 PUK withdrew its forces from Jawala Qara Tapa Mandali Daquq in northeast Diyala after meeting
with governor and army chief of staff
(Musings On Iraq In Face Of Referendum Fallout Kurdish Ruling Parties Decide To Hold Onto Power)
2017 Fighting broke out between Peshmerga and Hashd in Tuz Kharmato Salahaddin Widespread looting
and burning of homes and businesses by Hashd
(Musings On Iraq Kurds Fall Back To 2014 Borders)
2019 Report PM Abdul Mahdi asked Sistani to help end protests but he refused Iran Rev Guard’s Gen
Suleimani flew to Najaf and warned Sistani had had to pick between the protests and the govt
(Musings On Iraq Sadr Joins Protests While Govt Continues With Promises And Crackdown)
(Musings On Iraq Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Commander General Suleimani And His Role In Iraq, An Interview With The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins)
2019 Report Pro-Iran Hashd units deployed 3rd day of protests to put them down Used snipers
in Baghdad Included elements of Hashd commission
(Musings On Iraq UN Report On Violence Against Iraqi Protesters)
2019 Iraqi Media House said journalists were fleeing Baghdad and south due to death threats
View the Iraq History Timelines
The recent uptick in Islamic State operations in Iraq where attacks went from single to double digits does not now appear to be a Fall offen...
