This Day In Iraqi History - May 15 Iraqi army attacked Israel in 1948 Arab-Israeli War

(Wikipedia)

 

1935 Tribes seized Suq al-Shuyukh and cut railway between Basra and Nasiriya during revolt

against govt

1941 German major arrived in Baghdad to lead Brandenburgers Commandorecon along with

squadron of bombers and squadron of fighters Met with PM Gaylani Decided priority blocking Transjordan force from reaching Habaniya base Was too late to do that

(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Boich World War II In Iraq and Syria)

1941 Germany had total of 24 fighters and bombers in Iraq to help Gaylani govt fight German planes

were painted in Iraqi colors to hide their origin

1941 British received intel that German planes flying to Iraq from Syria

1941 German plane bombed British force from Palestine heading towards Habaniya Anbar

1941 British bomber attacked Iraqi column outside Rutba, Anbar

1941 Kurds began discussing revolt against PM Gaylani to take advantage of crisis with British

(Musings On Iraq review Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad)

(Musings On Iraq review Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War)

(Musings On Iraq review Blood, Oil and the Axis: The Allied Resistance Against A Fascist State In Iraq and the Levant, 1941)

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Kurdish Revolt 1961-1970)

1948 Kirkuk oil workers protested against Anglo-Iraq Treaty Part of Wathba/Great Leap

1948 Iraq Egypt Jordan Syria armies entered into Palestine to join in 1948 Arab-Israeli War Iraqi army

attacked Kibbutz Gesher in northern Palestine Were defeated

1948 PM Sadr declared martial law due to growing pre-electoral violence Nuri al-Said and fmr PM-Jabr

used martial law to go after opposition

1969 Bakr govt executed opponents in central Baghdad Meant to rally support for regime

193 Kurdish villages in Sheikhan forced to cede land to Arabs and population expelled

1986 KDP Peshmerga and Iranian paratroopers took Mangesh north of Mosul near Kirkuk pipeline

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)

(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)

1988 Start of 5^th Anfal Campaign aimed at destroying last of PUK’s bastions in Balisan Valley,

Sulaymaniya

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Anfal Campaign And The Destruction Of The Kurdish Opposition)

1990 West Germany seized parts headed for Iraq suspected for 130ft long supergun

1991 International Atomic Energy Agency started first weapons inspection in Iraq

(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)

2001 Sec State Powell told Congress UN sanctions had effectively contained Saddam

2003 2 most senior Iraqi biological scientists denied Iraq was working on WMD before war

2003 UK Foreign Sec Straw Hard evidence of Iraq WMD may never be found Not important Iraq

was in the wrong WMD was main reason UK joined war

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

2003 Undersec of Def Feith told Congress US found evidence of Iraq WMD and needed Iraqis to step

forward and tell them where it was

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

(Musings On Iraq How The Administration Reversed Itself On Finding Iraq’s WMD)

(Musings On Iraq review Hoodwinked, The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War)

2003 Undersec of Def Feith told Congress US had commitment to stay and to leave Iraq

Said CPA would create interim Iraqi government

(Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Chapter 6 Charting A New Course)

2003 ORHA head Garner complained to Bremer about draft CPA Order 2 disbanding Iraqi security forces

Garner talked Bremer out of disbanding police and Interior Ministry

(Musings On Iraq review State of Denial, Bush At War, Part III)

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

Tragedy)

(Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Chapter 6 Charting A New Course)

2003 CPA security adv Slocolmb told Garner Iraqi army had disbanded itself Colluded in Saddam’s

crimes and needed to go

(Musings On Iraq Interview with CSU San Marco’s Prof Marashi Development And Setbacks Of The Current Iraqi Military)

2003 Bremer and CPA advisers reviewed CPA Order 1 DeBaathification

(Musings On Iraq review My Year in Iraq, The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope)

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

(Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Chapter 6 Charting A New Course)

(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Ch 6 Lost In Transition May-July 2003)

2003 CPA appropriated $2 bil for rebuilding Iraqi security forces electricity oil

2003 US forces launched Operation Planet X to arrest Baathists north of Tikrit

(Musings On Iraq review The U.S. Army In The Iraq War: Volume 1, Invasion, Insurgency, Civil

War, 2003-2006)

2003 Sadr cleric gave sermon in Baghdad accusing US forces of being able to see through women’s

clothes and giving pornography to children

(Musings On Iraq A Divided Sadr Trend)

2004 US approved spending $1.9 bil in Iraqi funds for rebuilding weeks before CPA was to end

2005 Sec of State Rice told Pres Barzani and PM Jaafari they had to include Sunnis in new govt

2005 Salah al-Mutlaq said couldn’t unite Iraq without including the Baathists

2007 Sadr returned from Iran to give sermon in Kufa Dismissed number of officials he felt were disloyal

Then went back to Iran

(Musings On Iraq A Divided Sadr Trend)

2007 Constitutional Review Comm submitted draft of changes with no major issues dealt with Told

political parties they had to do rest Deadline for final draft to include all issues extended until 7/31/07 Nothing done

2008 Sahwa in Mosul complained ISF were arresting them instead of insurgents during Mother of Two

Rivers Operation

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

2009 Mass grave found in Najaf with 3,000 Kurds killed during Anfal

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Anfal Campaign And The Destruction Of The Kurdish Opposition)

2009 Oil Ministry said it wouldn’t pay oil companies exporting oil from KRG because deals weren’t

approved by Baghdad

2009 PM Maliki called for majority government and ending sectarian quota system

2009 PM Maliki claimed US releasing terrorists from prisons resulting in increased in violence 2008

Maliki govt had negotiated quicker release of prisoners by US

2010 Iraqi general said 32 of 43 ISI commander had been killed

2011 Sheikh Sulaiman said that tribes and politicians would make Anbar a federal region to protest PM

Maliki

(Musings On Iraq Why Anbar’s Sheikh Ali Hatem Sulaiman Joined Iraq’s Protest Movement)

2011 Salahaddin politicians met with Pres Barzani to discuss making province a federal region to protest

PM Maliki

2012 Trial of ex-VP Hashemi began Bodyguard claimed Hashemi implicated in 150 attacks from 2005-

11

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)

(Musings On Iraq Charges Against Iraq’s Vice President, And Why They Matter)

2012 Human Rights Watch Report Govt continued to arrest without warrants Hold people without

charges or trials Run secret prisons Govt said it closed secret prison at Camp Honor in Baghdad but still open 2 other secret prisons in Green Zone ISF conducted mass arrests

(Musings On Iraq Human Rights Watch reports On Two Mass Arrest Campaigns And Continued Abuses By The Security Forces In Iraq)

2013 Report Attack upon Hawija protest camp could rally insurgency It did 1st qtr 2011 358 incidents 1^st

qtr 2012 539 incidents 1^st qtr 2013 804 incidents PM Maliki afraid of coup Picked cmdrs down to brigades Controls federal court Moving awy from checks and balances on his power

2013 High Criminal Court reversed decision to drop corruption case in Russian arms deal Feb arms deal

announced Mar Iraqi delegation went to Russia Fmr govt spokesman Dabbagh said corruption in deal

2013 KRG facing labor issues Migration from rural to urban areas Large number of foreign workers

Increasing university graduates Graduates complain about lack of job opportunities Wait for govt jobs

2014 Water Dir workers in Sulaymaniya Medical Univ in Irbil Teachers union in Kalar on strike over not

being paid KRG lacked money after Baghdad cut off monthly payments over budget and oil dispute

2014 Babil police launched 2^nd operation to clear Jurf al-Sakhr

2014 Vide of State of Law MP in Qadisiya handing out land deeds in return for votes Find by Election

Comm PM Maliki also handed out land titles During 2012 no confidence vote MPs asked for patronage in return for votes Maliki offered jobs for votes

2015 IS seized govt center in Ramadi with 10 suicide car bombs in final drive to take city

Reinforcements sent to Ramadi to stave off IS offensive Never arrived 50 police taken prisoner executed

(Musings On Iraq Political Ramifications Of The Fall of Iraq’s Ramadi)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Ahmed Ali on fall of Ramadi)

(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)

2015 Abadi govt sent 3 units to relieve Ramadi Came too late to stop IS taking city

2016 Govt officials said govt reaching bankruptcy due to low oil prices Govt deficit growing

2016 Gorran-PUK signed 33 point deal to cooperate Said would run together in next election

Gorran once PUK’s biggest rival

2016 Hashd leader claimed it could free Fallujah in 7 days Said blocked by U.S.

2017 Tunisian paper published interview with Naqshibandi leader Izzat al-Duri Apr 2015 Hashd

claimed Duri dead

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Resurgent Insurgency Interview With Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi)

2017 PUK official said Turkey had set up checkpoints in northern Dohuk Sent in more troops into

KRG

2017 Hashd attacked 2 Yazidi villages Pres Barzani said Hashd should not enter area

(Musings On Iraq Mosul Campaign Day 211 May 15 2017)

2017 Secretary Gen Kataib Hezbollah said people couldn’t return to Jurf al-Sakhr in Babil because

of security Said if allowed back terrorism would return Said area threatens Karbala and Najaf Area turned into large Kataib Hezbollah base Banned people returning to protect pilgrimage routes

2018 Large demonstration by Arabs and Turkmen in Kirkuk city claiming voter fraud

2018 6 Kurdish opposition parties claimed cheating in Irbil election

(Musings On Iraq Growing Crisis Over Elections In Kirkuk and Kurdistan)

2018 Anbar council said tribes had stopped 1000s of displaced returning because of ties to IS

2019 State Dept ordered non emergency workers out of US embassy due to threats from

Iran Germany and Holland suspended training program for Iraqi army Exxon workers evacuated from Basra

(Musings On Iraq Did The US Detect A Credible Threat From Iran Or React To Iran Preparing For US Attack?)

2019 Sadr conducted another purge of his movement Dismissed some of his leading aides

(Musings On Iraq New Sadr Purge Of His Movement Leads To Violence In Najaf)

2020 IS released video announcing new battle of attrition campaign in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq Islamic State Calls For More Attacks During Covid Crisis In Iraq)

2020 Report F-16s largely grounded because Lockheed Martin contractors withdrew due to Hashd

attacks

2020 Human rights activist called for protest in Dohuk after govt workers protested not being paid

arrested Held for 2 weeks Released then re-arrested Then released and re-arrested 2^nd time

2020 Diyala governor asked for Baghdad’s help IS attacks increasing in Khanaqin dist

2020 Demonstrators in Baghdad demanded Kazemi govt explain kidnapping of woman who made

meals for protesters

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

2021 Oct-May UN documented 48 assassination attempts against activists 32 died Govt did

nothing 20 protesters kidnapped Protests met with excessive force arbitrary arrests torture limiting freedom of expression and media UN counted 487 deaths 7715 injured

View the Iraq History Timelines

This Day In Iraqi History - May 14 Pres Bakr brought Communists into National Front govt to co-opt Baath’s largest opponent

(Wikipedia)

 

1935 Iraqi army and air force began campaign to bomb tribal areas Destroy towns and burned crops

to put down tribal revolt in Rumaitha

(Musings On Iraq review Wings of Iraq, Volume 1: The Iraqi Air Force, 1931-1970)

1941 British force from Palestine took Rutba Strafed by Iraqi plane

1941 PM Churchill authorized British air force in Iraq to attack German planes in Syria

(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Boich World War II In Iraq and Syria)

1941 2 British fighters flew out of Iraq and attacked 2 German bombers in Syria damaging them

1941 German war planes began landing in Mosul Were attacked by British planes

1941 Finance Min Suwaidi met German amb Told to take up Turkish mediation offer to stall for time

until Axis aid could be organized

1941 German ambassador promised Iraq German planes were arriving and military aid coming from

Syria

(Musings On Iraq review Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad)

(Musings On Iraq review Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War)

(Musings On Iraq review Blood, Oil and the Axis: The Allied Resistance Against A Fascist State In Iraq and the Levant, 1941)

1948 Arab-Israeli War broke out Iraq sent forces to Palestine

1959 Gen Qasim withdrew Iraq from anti-Communist Eisenhower Doctrine

(Musings On Iraq interview with Western Kentucky’s Prof Romero on the Qasim govt)

1972 Baath brought Communists into govt after Iraq-Soviet 15 year Friendship Treaty

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq Since 1958, From Revolution To Dictatorship)

(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)

1986 Iraq captured Mehran Iran central front 1^st Iranian city seized since 1980 Offered to trade it

for Faw Peninsula Rejected by Iran Was Saddam’s idea of regaining initiative after loss of Faw but failed

(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 UN nuclear inspectors arrived in Iraq

(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)

1992 Iraqi govt suspected of setting off car bomb in front of Dohuk hotel hosting foreign reporters

covering Kurdish elections

1997 Operation Hammer 50,000 Turkish troops invaded Kurdistan to attack PKK and support

KDP vs PUK

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

2002 UN Resolution 1409 created smart sanctions on Iraq to try to limit military and WMD related

imports but increased civilian imports Didn’t change system

(Musings On Iraq review Invisible War, The United States And The Iraq Sanctions)

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Section 3.2 Development of UK Iraq Strategy and Options, January to April 2002 – “Axis of Evil” to Crawford)

2003 Sadrists marched in Baghdad calling for an Islamic government in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq review The Triumph of the Martyrs, A Reporter’s Journey into Occupied Iraq)

2003 US officials said probably wouldn’t find WMD in Iraq Were now focusing on finding documents

about programs

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

(Musings On Iraq How The Administration Reversed Itself On Finding Iraq’s WMD)

(Musings On Iraq review Hoodwinked, The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War)

2003 UK Foreign Sec Straw said finding WMD was not vital to justify war WMD #1 reason Blair wanted

Saddam removed

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

2003 Human rights group complained US forces not protecting 3,000 body mass grave found in Babil

2004 Dep Def Sec Wolfowitz and Gen Pace said prison abuse at Abu Ghraib violated Geneva Convention

2004 Daily Mirror admitted pictures it published of alleged prisoner abuse by UK forces were fakes

2004 US told Iraqi National Congress funding wound end in June 2004

2004 Maysan tribe set ambush for UK forces outside of Amara 20 tribesmen killed and others arrested

Head of tribe Hattab and brother of Maysan governor accused police chief of tipping off UK about ambush

2007 Prison riot at Camp Bucca almost took over facility

2007 UN reported number of prisoners held by Iraqis went from 3,500 in Jan 07 to 20,000 in Mar US

held 3,000 prisoners in Feb 19,500 in May Increase due to Surge Prisoners overwhelmed Iraqi judicial system Prisons would become recruiting and organizing centers for insurgents

2008 ISI fighters crossed into Iraq from Syria and killed 11 policemen in their homes in Anbar

2008 Female suicide bomber killed Iraqi army commander in Yusifiya Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq The Rise of Female Suicide Bombers)

(Musings On Iraq Motivations Behind Female Suicide Bombers)

(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)

2008 Report Pres Talabani met with Iran’s Quds Force cmdr Gen Suleimani to broker ceasefire with Sadr

Suleiman said Sadr uncontrollable Promised to stop arming militias Suleiman wanted Mujahadeen e-Khalq expelled from Iraq

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

2008 Interview with members of Iraqi delegation sent to Iran Said Tehran scolded them for selling out to

US and forgetting how Iran helped Shiites Iran’s Quds Force cmdr Gen Suleiman said Iraq was going to allow US permeant bases that would threaten Iran Denied arming militias Said Mahdi Army were Iranian allies Said Mahdi Army needed to counter US-backed sahwa

2009 Trade Minister Sudani resigned before having to appear before parliament for corruption

charges $4-$8 bil missing from ministry Bought expired food and charged Ministry full price Bought food and kept it for themselves to sell on black market Bought goods for double the prices Sudani signed contract with company owned by his son for $50 mil for old tea that was only worth $20 mil Bought contaminated milk from China Found $8 mil in expired food in warehouse Sudani’s brother and nephew got $40 in kickbacks from every ton of sugar imported by ministry Sudani used some of money to fund PM Maliki’s State of Law in 2009-10 elections

(Musings On Iraq Half Of Corruption Cases Against Iraq’s Former Trade Minister Dropped)

(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)

2009 Fmr Sec of State Powell’s chief of staff Wilkerson said that VP Cheney pressured Al Qaeda

interrogators to find connections with Iraq Army psychiatrist at Guantanamo Bay said interrogators were looking for Iraq-Al Qaeda connections

2009 Report Maliki’s State of Law won most seats in 09 election but mismanaged victory Said

would pick technocrats and most able to be governors but chose Dawa loyalists Wasn’t able to get all its governors elected Led to disputes with other parties

2009 Iranian Pres Ahmadinejad visited ISCI’s Hakim Pushed for Shiites parties to reform United

Iraqi Alliance before 2010 vote

2010 Election Comm finished recount in Baghdad requested by PM Maliki who claimed cheating Found

no problems

(Musings On Iraq No Change in Iraq’s Election Results After Recount, But It Still Served Its Purpose)

(Musings On Iraq review The Unraveling, High Hopes And Missed Opportunity In Iraq)

2010 Abu Suleiman became new War Minister for ISI after Masri killed by US April 2010

2012 Human Rights Ministry said 70,000 Iraqis had been killed since 2003 250,000 had been wounded

2015 IS leader Baghdadi released 34 min long address 1^st one in 6 months Came during reports he was

injured in air strike

2015 IS attacked Ramadi govt center with car bombs and infiltration in final drive to take city

(Musings On Iraq interview with Ahmed Ali on fall of Ramadi)

(Musings On Iraq Political Ramifications Of The Fall of Iraq’s Ramadi)

(Musings On Iraq Why Did Iraq’s Ramadi Fall To The Islamic State?)

2018 PM Abadi ordered manual recount in Kirkuk balloting after widespread charges of cheating State of

Law claimed fraud in Dhi Qar PUK accused KDP of cheating in Ninewa

(Musings On Iraq Growing Crisis Over Elections In Kirkuk and Kurdistan)

(Musings On Iraq interview with IRIS-Chatham House’s Mansour on 2018 elections)

2019 Speaker Halbusi referred several MPs to Anti-Corruption Council claiming they were involved in

bribing Ninewa councilmen to vote for new Gov Marid Led to MPs leaving Axis Alliance and others to call for removing Halbusi

(Musings On Iraq New Ninewa Governor Surrounded In Bribery Accusations Over His Election)

2019 Kataib Hezbollah launched drones from Babil that hit 2 Saudi pumping stations

(Musings On Iraq Instrument Of Iran’s Power In Iraq And Syria Kataib Hezbollah)

2019 IS burned fields in Makhmour Ninewa

2021 PM Kazemi ordered army to find protesters held in Hashd prisons and release them

2021 IS started campaign against Iraq’s power grid blowing up two power towers in Anbar Would

be attacks over next few months in Anbar Baghdad Diyala Kirkuk Ninewa Salahaddin against infrastructure

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Electricity Grid Shuts Down During Summer Heat)

2021 Ashab Ahl Kahf connected to Asaib Ahl Al-Haq claimed it fired missiles form Syria into

Israel

2021 Protests in Karbala Baghdad Dhi Qar over assassinated activist

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Review The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq

O’Leary, Brendan, McGarry, John, Salih, Khaled, Edited by, The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005

 

The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq is part out of date, part valorizing, and mostly bad. It emerged out of two conferences, one in Denmark in 2002 and a second in Washington D.C. in 2003. Nearly half of the book is about what the Kurds should have asked for under the new constitution which was decided in 2005. Then there are chapters that are irrelevant because they are just cheerleading. That means there are very few sections worth reading making the book unnecessary.

This Day In Iraqi History - May 13 Germany planes attacked UK forces at Habaniya air base Anglo-Iraq War

(Bundexarchiv)

 

1915 British forces moved north to try to encircle Ottoman forces in Qurna

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

1935 Muntafiq tribe joined revolt against monarchy

1936 Muntafiq tribes in Nasiriya and Suq al-Shuyukh joined tribal revolt in Diwaniya Demanded

more Shiite representation in govt

(Musings On Iraq review The Shi’is Of Iraq)

1941 Iraq told German ambassador to Turkey that it agreed to Turkish offer to mediate with England

1941 Golden Square officers rejected Turkey’s offer to mediate and threatened to shoot PM Gaylani He

offered to resign Mufti of Jerusalem had to intervene

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq Between the Two World Wars, The Militarist Origins of Tyranny)

1941 1st trainload of Nazi German war supplies from Vichy France controlled Syria arrived in Mosul to

support PM Gaylani’s govt Never used

(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Boich World War II In Iraq and Syria)

1941 British forces bombed Syrian-Mosul railway to try to block Axis aid to Iraq

1941 Jordanians from Palestine arrived at Fort Rutba in Anbar

1941 German planes attacked British forces at Habaniya air base 1 British plane shot down by German

plane over Mosul

1941 Egyptian Chief of Staff Gen Masri arrested while attempting to fly to Iraq to join fight vs British

(Musings On Iraq review Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad)

(Musings On Iraq review Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War)

(Musings On Iraq review Blood, Oil and the Axis: The Allied Resistance Against A Fascist State In Iraq and the Levant, 1941)

1982 Iranian Security Council asked Khomeini’s permission to enter Iraq but denied

1983 Tariq Aziz went to Paris to ask for new arms deal with France

1984 Iran attacked Kuwait tanker carrying Iraqi oil in Persian Gulf Was retaliation for Iraq attacks on

Iranian oil industry 

1987 UN investigation said Iraq used chemical weapons against Iranian civilians

(Musings On Iraq Origins Of Iraq’s WMD Programs)

(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 Kurds attacked police station in Zakho as negotiations continued over rules following 91 uprising

1997 Iraqi army clashed with Bani Said tribe in southern Iraq

2002 Sec Def Rumsfeld said US didn’t need to connect Iraq and 9/11 to go to war Said main reason was

WMD

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Future The aftermath of regime change)

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

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

2003 CPA official briefed UK of plan to disband Iraqi army and build a new one UK didn’t object

Later would

(Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Chapter 6 Charting A New Course)

2003 White House official said Iraq may not have had stocks of WMD but just capability to make them

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

(Musings On Iraq How The Administration Reversed Itself On Finding Iraq’s WMD)

(Musings On Iraq review Hoodwinked, The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War)

2003 Sec Def Rumsfeld told Bremer he would be responsible for temporary governing of Iraq

2003 Mass grave of 15,000 victims of 1991 uprising found in Mahawil, Babil

(Musings On Iraq When The US Helped Start A Rebellion In Iraq That It Didn’t Want)

(Musings On Iraq interview with National Univ of Singapore’s Fanar Haddad on the impact of the 1991 uprising)

(Musings On Iraq Remembering The 1991 Uprising In Iraq)

2004 Joint Chiefs head Gen Pace told Senate US interrogation methods used in Iraq violated Geneva

Conventions

2006 US military report US Iraq cmdr Gen Casey Said Iran providing weapons safe haven to militias

(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)

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

2007 Abu Musah arms supplier to Iranian backed Special Groups arrested

(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)

2007 Jihad and Reform Front got into gun battle with ISI in Baghdad

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

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)

(Musings On Iraq review Caliphate At War)

2007 Fmr CPA head Bremer OpEd in WashPost Defended deBaathification and disbanding Iraqi military

Said army had disbanded itself Shiite and Kurdish leaders wanted it gone Said right to ban Baath US was only doing what it did in Germany with Nazis after WW2 Said it was Iraqis that abused deBaathification but CPA stopped them

(Musings On Iraq review My Year in Iraq, The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope)

(Musings On Iraq Interview with CSU San Marco’s Prof Marashi Development And Setbacks Of The Current Iraqi Military)

2008 Report most insurgents fled Mosul before govt started offensive there

2008 Report Iraqi officials were smuggling artifacts out of Iraq to be sold on the black market

2008 Speaker of KRG parliament said Kurdish oil deals were legal and in accordance with constitution

2008 Constitutional committee turned over Art 140 that was to determine future of Kirkuk and other

disputed issues in constitution to parliament to resolve Nothing happened

2008 Report Fmr head of State Dept’s anti-corruption effort Said office never staffed and ideas ignored

Said State Dept allowed corruption to grow State never committed to fighting it Ignored PM Maliki’s attempt to undermine Integrity Comm Anti-corruption office closed in Dec 07 after report it made leaked to media

2009 Denmark latest European country to start deporting Iraqi refugees

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

2009 Hadbaa party was in talks with Baghdad to try to force Kurds to participate in Ninewa council that

they were boycotting

(Musings On Iraq Tit For Tat In Ninewa)

(Musings On Iraq Arab-Kurdish Divide Over New Ninewa Provincial Council)

2009 ISCI’s Hakim said he wanted the United Iraqi Alliance reformed before the 2010 elections

(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Role In The Revival Of The United Iraqi Alliance)

2010 Iraqi general said Sahwa were like a militia that needed to be disarmed and that members of Maliki

govt distrusted them

2010 Christian party said insurgents were threatening Christians and Assyrians in Mosul trying to drive

them out of city

(Musings On Iraq review Christianity in Iraq)

2011 Friday of Redemption protest in Baghdad called for better services and jobs Were calls for PM

Maliki to step down)

(Musings On Iraq Protests In Iraq’s Tahrir Square Continue)

(Musings On Iraq May 20, 2011 Protests In Iraq’s Tahrir Square, Baghdad)

2011 Iraqiya blamed PM Maliki for assassination attempts on 3 of its members

2011 World Health Org report said Iraq 1 of only 2 countries where life expectancy went down in

MENA Dropped from 68 to 66 yrs from 2000-09

2011 Report MI6 drew up coup plot against Saddam in Dec 01

2011 ISCI’s Ammar Hakin called on Arab govts to end tensions with Iran and improve relations

2011 Parliament created special committee to implement Article 140 to determine future of disputed

territories Led to nothing

2011 Sadr sermon in Najaf Appealed to public to get rid of US through protests

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Sadr Could Be Backing Off Threat To Revive Mahdi Army If U.S. Doesn’t Withdraw)

2012 Report that Pres Talabani supported PM Maliki while Sadr Speaker Nujafi Pres Barzani and Allawi

wanted no confidence vote Sadr actually stood with Maliki

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)

2012 State Dept cut Iraq police training program

2012 Report that Syrian govt was arresting and deporting Iraqis

2012 Ninewa Gov Nujafi announced he was reconciling with KRG When Nujafi elected in 09 Kurds

boycotted provincial govt

2012 Report State Dept cutting police training program Originally called for 350 trainers Cut to 50 Some

think program might end soon State was supposed to take over program form Pentagon but couldn’t Lacked resources and personnel

2013 Arguments between Ramadi and Fallujah protest sites over which represented Anbar demonstrators

Sheikh Saadi said talks beginning between Ramadi protest site and govt

(Musings On Iraq Understanding Iraq’s Protest Movements, An Interview With Kirk Sowell, Editor of Inside Iraqi Politics)

2013 Report 2009 elections PM Maliki’s State of Law won 50% of Shiite seats 2013 only won 33% of

those seats State of Law was larger in 2013 Sadrists also lost seats from 22% to 15% Iraqiya only won 1 seat in south

2013 KRG signed new energy deal with Turkey Ankara would get stakes in KRG oil and gas fields

2013 Sadr criticized Mahdi Army factions that were attacking civilians and displacing people Claimed

they were exploiting the name of the Mahdi Army for personal gain

2014 ISF claimed progress in Fallujah op MPs and experts warned that ISF failing due to bad logistics

ISF took Halabsa Albu Alwan Nassaf Amiriya Fallujah Sijr Amal Would fail to free Fallujah

2014 ISIS began car bomb wave

2014 Iraq asked Turkey to follow 2010 trade agreement and not export oil for KRG Maliki govt stopped

monthly budget payments to KRG for not meeting its oil export quota set in budget

2014 Report KRG turned to private investors and companies for money to make up for Baghdad not

sending monthly budget payments Official said KRG had gotten $417 mil loans from donors Oil companies loaned $258 mil Oil exports were going to pay them back KRG would not be able to pay its debts

2015 Rumors of suicide bombers led to riot amongst Shiite pilgrims in Adhamiya Baghdad burning

            homes and cars

(Musings On Iraq Disaster In Iraq’s Adhamiya Neighborhood Averted)

2015 Report Abu Ala al-Afri deputy IS leader killed in air strike in Tal Afar Ninewa

2016 IS attacked ISF bases around Ramadi with 20 suicide car bombs

(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)

2016 Protests in Wasit Muthanna Babil Basra Dhi Qar Baghdad calling for govt reform

2016 Report Oil companies told Oil Ministry development projects would be delayed if Baghdad

insisted on spending cuts Oil Ministry asked companies to cut their budgets for 2^nd yr due to low oil prices BP Shell Lukoil all complained about request

2019 Mansour Marid elected Ninewa governor Set off controversy in Baghdad as various politicians

claimed vote was rigged by bribes Part of power struggle between Sunni factions

(Musings On Iraq New Ninewa Governor Surrounded In Bribery Accusations Over His Election)

2019 Speaker Halbusi said he was leaving Axis Alliance to form his own bloc Iraqi Forces

Alliance Would be start of building up his own power base

2019 Integrity Commission said it found corrupt deal between Basra Oil Company and 2

foreign companies worth $126 mil

2019 Report IS had cave network in Badush Ninewa Carrying out attacks kidnappings

extortion ISF arbitrary in response Human Rights Watch documented torture to get confessions Badush was IS base before it seized Mosul in 2014

2019 IS started burning farms in Qara Tapa dist northern Diyala

2020 US govt report IS called for increased attacks during COVID IS activity remained at low level

Mostly operates in remote parts of Iraq Was recruiting in Al Hol camp in Syria IS looking to preserve forces Jan 2020 UN said IS trying to rebuild in rural areas IS’s own media said its attacks decreased from end of 2019 to start of 2020 Exploited disputed areas Most active in Diyala

2020 Protesters said suspending demonstrations until after Eid holiday to give PM Kazemi time to

fulfill promises

(Musings On Iraq Protests Return To Iraq Can New Govt Respond To Their Demands?)

2021 Asiab Ahl Al-Haq attacked Falcon Intelligence Cell office in Basra after it tried to arrest a

militiaman for killing an activist PM Kazemi ordered investigation Nothing happened

2021 Police arrested protesters in Babil demonstrating after assassination of Karbala activist Led

to clashes

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Iraq Continues To Earn Huge Amounts While Oil Prices Are High

Iraq continues to benefit from the surge in oil prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Even when exports dip like they did in April the country continues to rake in huge profits.

This Day In Iraqi History - May 12 Sec State Albright said if 500,000 Iraqi children died under sanctions would be worth it to contain Saddam

(CNN)

 

1920 US protested to UK about San Remo agreement that divided up Iraq’s oil between UK and

France saying London promised open door policy in region

(Musings On Iraq review Supremacy And Oil, Iraq, Turkey, and the Anglo-American World Order, 1918-1930)

1941 Soviet Union recognized PM Gaylani’s govt

(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Boich World War II In Iraq and Syria)

1941 British reinforcements from Palestine and Transjordan attacked by a German bomber

1941 German air force liaison officer killed while trying to land in Baghdad during dog fight between

Iraqi and British fighter planes

1941 PM Gaylani told German ambassador to Turkey Ankara made offer to be middleman with England

Gaylani feared Turkey would intervene in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq review Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad)

(Musings On Iraq review Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War)

(Musings On Iraq review Blood, Oil and the Axis: The Allied Resistance Against A Fascist State In Iraq and the Levant, 1941)

1948 Iraqi air force deployed to Transjordan for Arab-Israeli War

1948 Armed clash between Independence Party and tribesmen loyal to Nuri al-Said and fmr PM Jabr 5

dead 47 wounded

1954 National Front formed from National Democratic Party and Independence Party Called for civil

liberties Cancellation of Anglo-Iraq Treaty Closure of UK bases Cancellation of oil concessions

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Democratic Moment)

1958 Parliament ratified Arab Hashemite Union with Jordan

1962 Barzani cut off police battalion in Dohuk area

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Kurdish Revolt 1961-1970)

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

(Musings On Iraq review Journey Among Brave Men, Travels in Kurdistan)

1969 Dispute over Shatt al-Arab discussed at UN after Iran protested Iraq expelling 10,000 Iranians

1982 Iranian Op Bait al-Moqaddas Reached Khorrmashahr across from Basra Drove Iraqi forces out of

Susangerd area

(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 1: The Battle for Khuzestan, September 1980-May 1982)

(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)

1986 US intel report Iraq was talking with China to build a covert nuclear power plant

1990 Italy said it seized parts headed for Iraq to make a 130 ft long supergun UK Turkey

Greece also found parts for gun

1991 Baghdad took journalists to mass grave with 100 bodies it claimed were killed by Iranians and

Shiite rebels in southern Iraq

1996 Sec State Albright interviewed on 60 Minutes Was asked whether 500,000 Iraqi children dying as a

result of sanctions was worth it Albright said yes

(Musings On Iraq review Out Of The Ashes, The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein)

(Musings On Iraq review Invisible War, The United States And The Iraq Sanctions)

2003 Paul Bremer arrived in Iraq to take over new CPA During meeting Bremer suggested shooting

looters Remark leaked angering Iraqis

(Musings On Iraq review State of Denial, Bush At War, Part III)

2003 Only 4000 Iraqi police on duty in Baghdad to cover 7 mil inhabitants

(Musings On Iraq interview with Col Ted Spain on how US struggled to establish law and order in post-invasion Iraq) 

2003 UK ForSec Straw said that Coalition failed to restore order in Baghdad

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

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

2003 Report on INC defector ex-nuke scientist Hamza Saddam’s son-in-law Kamil called Hamza a

liar Hamza and former UN inspector Albright tried to get book published on Iraq’s nuke program Said Iraq failed to build bomb Not published Hamza got new book published Saddam’s Bombmaker claiming Iraq was closer to building a bomb than anyone knew

2004 1800 new pictures of prison abuse at Abu Ghraib released

2004 Sec Def Rumsfeld told Senate US interrogation methods used in Iraq were legal and cleared by

Pentagon lawyers

2005 Al Qaeda in Iraq kidnapped Anbar Gov Mahalawi and his son Governor’s body found 3

weeks later

2006 Bush invited 10 former Secretaries of State and Defense to ask them opinions about Iraq war

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

2007 Report US GAO found 100,000-300,000 barrels of oil missing each day Worth est $5-$15 mil

Smugglers likely culprit

2007 Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq dropped revolution from its title Also said that

it would look towards Ayatollah Sistani more than Ayatollah Khamenei Party was trying to distance itself from its pro-Iran history

2008 PM Maliki told Amb Crocker and Gen Petraeus that Iran was helping criminal elements in Basra

and Iraqis were sick of Tehran’s interference

2008 Sadr issued another ceasefire to try to stop govt offensive against Mahdi Army

2008 United Iraqi Alliance and Sadrists agreed not to attack each other politically after ceasefire

announced

2008 Report US judge who headed anti-corruption effort in Iraq in 07 said State Dept undermined effort

and allowed corruption to continue US embassy State Justice Depts and Iraqi govt ignored effort Jul 07 Amb Crocker told Iraqi official stole $1 bil in medical supplies and sold them on black market and to Syria US did nothing Judge worked on report on corruption Congress asked for copy State classified report and blocked testimony on it Embassy blocked Congress from interviewing anti-corruption officials in Iraq PM Maliki fired Sunnis on Integrity Comm and top investigator Head of Comm Judge Rahdi wouldn’t follow Maliki’s orders When Rahdi asked for asylum in US due to threats US Embassy wouldn’t help him

(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)

2008 Deputy head of US anti-corruption effort said US did nothing as PM Maliki worked to subvert

Integrity Commission

2008 Iran came out against Iraq signing Status of Forces Agreement with US

2009 PM Maliki had head of Ghazilia Baghdad Sawha arrested Was tortured by ISF

2009 Tribal march in Mosul for Hadbaa list and against Peshmerga and Asayesh presence in province

(Musings On Iraq Tit For Tat In Ninewa)

(Musings On Iraq Arab-Kurdish Divide Over New Ninewa Provincial Council)

2009 Mass grave in Qadisiyah found with 100 Kurds killed during Anfal campaign

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Anfal Campaign And The Destruction Of The Kurdish Opposition)

2009 Report PM Maliki set pattern of turning on his allies Started with Sadr in 08 Sadr put him in

power Then turned on Kurds Sent army into disputed area of Diyala Both aimed at increasing Maliki’s nationalist credentials Created Tribal Support Councils that angered ISCI and Kurds

(Musings On Iraq Disputes Over Tribal Support Councils)

2010 US general warned Sadrists carrying out attacks extortion intimidation in southern Iraq

2011 Parliament elected 3 VPs after 2010 elections Mahdi Hashemi and Khuzai

(Musings On Iraq Iraq Completes Another Pieces Of The Government Puzzle By Voting On Vice Presidents)

2011 PM Blair’s communication dir Campbell told Chilcot Inquiry Sep 02 WMD dossier was not case for

war vs Iraq but why Blair concerned about Saddam Min of Defense dir of general intelligence Gen Laurie said dossier was to promote war Said previous drafts rejected because didn’t make strong enough case vs Iraq Said Defense Min under pressure to get more on Iraq to make argument for war Said in final draft every point was edited to make it as strong as possible Said conclusion of dossier was not supported by intel

2011 MI6 told PM Blair’s foreign policy adv Manning Dec 01 that there was no intel linking Iraq to

jihadists Said removing Saddam important to secure oil supplies Would lead to secular state that would help against extremists Said Saddam could be removed in a coup Another memo from April 05 said Iraq war had radicalized many and increased terrorist threat Said made terrorists more determined to attack West Expanded Al Qaeda’s reach Had radicalized Muslims in UK

2011 Report Survey found 50% of graduating primary students went to higher education Many schools

broken down More than 20% of primary kids around 4 mil students drop out each yr South Iraq up to 65% of kids don’t go to school Girls have least education

2011 Sadrist leaders said 2/3 vote in parliament needed to approve US troop extension

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Sadr Could Be Backing Off Threat To Revive Mahdi Army If U.S. Doesn’t Withdraw)

2011 ISCI leader Hakim called on Arab govts to end tension with Iran and form regional organization to

normalize relations with Tehran

(Musings On Iraq Two Iraqi Leaders Praise Iran)

2012 KRG complained about PM Maliki holding cabinet meeting in Kirkuk Listed all grievances with

Baghdad over oil Article 140 etc

(Musings On Iraq Maliki’s Visit To Kirkuk Meant To Divide Iraqi National Movement And Kurdish Coalition)

2012 KRG Natural Resource Min said if Baghdad didn’t deliver region’s share of budget it would truck

oil for exports independently

2013 Iraqi paper got memo showing PM Maliki okayed purchase of fake bomb detectors

2013 Sadrists Supreme Council and Fadhila agreed to form coalition in 7 new provincial govts in south and

Baghdad

2014 Ground forces cmdr Gen Ghidan said Amiriya Fallujah had been cleared of insurgents

2014 Report Election observers found parties replaced ballots and forged them in Anbar Election Com

accepted ballot boxes that were marked for violations and others without counting contents

2015 Report ISCI claimed Kataib Hezbollah Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and other Hashd challenging

future of National Alliance Wanted to turn success in war vs IS into political power Accused Kataib Hezbollah of attacking ISCI offices in Basra Baghdad and other provinces

(Musings On Iraq Intra-Shiite Rivalaries In Iraq As Kataib Hezbollah Raids ISCI Office)

(Musings On Iraq Instrument Of Iran’s Power In Iraq And Syria Kataib Hezbollah)

(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)

2015 Diyala integrity comm called for court to dismiss Diyala governor for stealing funds for

displaced

(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)

2015 Report Rumailfa oil field had budget cut by $1 bil Oil production not grown as fast as

predicted Was talk of Iraq producing 13 mil/bar/day 2015 Iraq was producing 3.7 mil/bar/day Oil Minister said early predictions unrealistic Said if Iraq reached 6-7 mil/bar/day by 2020 would be good Didn’t meet that mark Infrastructure years behind schedule

2015 Report Gorran came in 2^nd in 2013 KRG elections Got ministries but didn’t control

bureaucracy staffed by PUK-KDP Was criticized for going from opposition to partner with ruling parties it criticized Decline of PUK led KDP to want to be sole leader in KRG Pres Barzani declared himself commander in chief and wanted all Peshmerga under his control Peshmerga still under control of leaders within PUK-KDP PUK turned to Iran for aid

2015 Report PM Abadi OK’d 6000 tribal fighters from Anbar Less than 1000 had signed up 40-

50% quit during training Badr accused some of the volunteers of being IS and program created by US

2016 IS began final assault on Ramadi with 12 suicide car bombs ISF morale broke and began

retreating

(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)

2017 3 mass graves found outside Saqlawiya Anbar Contained ISF executed by IS

2017 Hashd op to free west Ninewa started

2018 Iraq held fifth election for parliament 44% voter turnout lowest since elections started in

2005 Sadr-Communist Sairoon list won most seats

(Musings On Iraq May 2018 Elections Triumph For Iraqi Democracy Failure Iraq’s Parties)

(Musings On Iraq Seat Allocation Announced For Iraq’s New Parliament)

(Musings On Iraq Iraq Election Results All 18 Provinces)

(Musings On Iraq interview with IRIS-Chatham House’s Mansour on 2018 elections)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Edinburgh Univ PhD student Benedict Robin on Sadr-Communist alliance and May election)

2018 PUK attacked Gorran HQ in Sulaymaniya Widespread accusations of voting fraud in Sulaymaniya

and Kirkuk provinces

(Musings On Iraq Growing Crisis Over Elections In Kirkuk and Kurdistan)

2018 Iran’s Quds Force head Gen Suleimani arrived in Baghdad for elections Reportedly started talks

afterward to form anti-Sadr coalition

(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 Saudis offered to re-open border crossing closed since 1990 Also re-open

embassy Offered to build sports stadium

2020 Report IS starting new phase in Iraq Trying to assert power over villages and suburbs

Operating in small cells instead of large groups

2021 Clash between protesters and police in Karbala after activist assassinated

View the Iraq History Timelines