This Day In Iraqi History – Mar 23

1923 UK Iraq commission final report said British would not withdraw from Iraq

            Would lead to collapse of King Faisal and humiliation for British

1930 Nuri al-Said became PM, would hold office 8 times Went after opposition

            silenced press controlled parliament became favorite of British

(Musings On Iraq interview with Historian Phebe Marr comparing PM Said with PM Maliki)

1970 Communist leader in Baghdad Khadri found shot in street Baathists suspected

1974 Soviet Defense Minister Grechko arrived in Iraq to try to find compromise with

            Kurds Iran and US told Barzani not to make any deals

1975 Mustafa Barzani and around 100,000 KDP members left Iraq for Iran ending

            Kurdish revolt

1981 Iran said it would not accept ceasefire with Iraq as long as Saddam was in power

1985 Iran ended Op Badr failed attempt to attack Basra city Iraq 10-12,000 casualties

Iran 15,000

1988 PUK base in Sulaymaniya attacked in 2^nd Anfal Campaign

(Musings On Iraq article on Anfal campaign)

1991 Sadoun Hammadi, a Shiite became premier as Saddam tried to appease Shiites

            while putting down uprising after Gulf War

1997 Memo told Iraqi officials to hide material, documents, equipment from U.N.

            weapons inspectors

2002 Joint Chiefs did paper drill running through Iraq invasion plan

2003 British commandos took control of Um Qasr port while heaving fighting

            continues in the town in Basra

2003 US attacked Nasiriya Heavy fighting led 29 marines killed

2003 US B-52 bombers carried out raids on Baghdad Iraqi govt claimed 106 civilians

            killed

2003 British Tornado jet is accidently shot down by US patriot missile killing 2 crewmen

2003 US soldier Jessica Lynch taken prisoner by Iraqi forces during invasion when her

            supply convoy attacked

2003 32 Apache helicopters sent on raid to destroy Reb Guard units in Karbala Turned

            back by Iraqi fire

2003 US forces reached outside Najaf Claimed they found WMD facility Story proved

            false

2003 CENTCOM commander Gen Franks said no doubt Iraq had WMD

2003 White House said no question Iraq had WMD and that they would be found

2003 Intel agents leaked to press they felt pressured by White House to come up with

            intel to justify Iraq war

2004 Fmr Def Sec Cohen said head of Al Qaeda Sudan chemical plant met with

            Iraq chemical weapons scientist in 90s

2006 Report on captured Iraq docs Russian amb gave detailed info to Iraq on US

            invasion force and plans

2006 Report on captured Iraq docs Confirmed Iraq and bin Laden met in Feb 1995

            to talk about cooperation Iraq agreed to air bin Laden’s anti-Saudi tapes

2007 US House of Reps voted to set deadline for US withdrawal by 8/31/08

2007 Iran captured 15 UK Marines in Basra and offered to trade them for release of

            Asaib Ahl Al-Haq leader Qais Khazali

2007 IS attempted assassination of Dep PM Zubaie

2008 Mahdi Army in Sadr City started firing rockets into Green Zone

2011 National Reconciliation Commission claimed 5 insurgent groups agreed to

            put down arms and join political process

2012 ISI broke 19 of its men out of Kirkuk prison

2015 Hashd looted and destroyed 8 houses in Sadiya, Diyala Adviser to Diyala

            governor killed blamed on Hashd

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