This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 24

1959 Gen Qasim withdrew Iraq from anti-Communist Baghdad Pact

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

1973 Saddam visited Moscow to push for stronger Iraq-Soviet cooperation

1982 Saddam took control of central front to try to stop Iranian Op Fath attack upon Maysan

1984 Iraq deployed French Super Entendard jets first time on raid on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant

US provided satellite intelligence on facility before and after to assess raid Didn’t hit main target Was 1^st of 6 attacks on facility lasting until 1988

1986 UN condemned Iraq’s use of chemical weapons 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 book review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War)

1988 KDP base hit with poison gas in 2^nd Anfal campaign Civilians rounded up and men executed by govt

forces

(Musings On Iraq article on Anfal campaign)

1991 Turkish Pres Ozal met Bush in US and told him an independent Kurdistan in Iraq would lead to

greater Kurdistan affecting Turkey Syrian Iran

1992 Iraqi army began shelling Kifri as sporadic fighting with Peshmerga continued

1998 French Pres Chirac told PM Blair that sanctions were killing kids in Iraq

2002 Cheney on CNN’s Late Edition called Saddam an evil man that U.S. would deal with

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

2003 US forces reached outside Karbala

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

2003 Expected sandstorm hit leading to pause in invasion Gen Franks didn’t want pause and pushed for his forces to continue attack

2003 US B-52 bombers began attacks on Republican Guard positions south of Baghdad

2003 British forces took Basra airport Heavy fighting with Fedayeen led British forces to withdraw from

Basra City

(Musings On Iraq book review Target Basra, The High Octane Story of the Royal Marine Commandos In Iraq)

2003 British military told govt local Iraqi militias putting up tough fight in Basra

2003 British received reports of uprising within Basra city put down by Fedayeen and Baath militia

2003 Red Cross warned of humanitarian emergency in Basra city as water running out

2003 Dow Jones reported no WMD found at suspected facility in Najaf

2003 Iran decided to send in operatives and Badr Brigade to carry out ops against US in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq article on Iran using Badr in post-Saddam Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq article on the history of Badr Organization)

2003 Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei and Pres Khatami recorded talking about sending forces to 5 Iraq cities to

incite anti-US violence

2003 Arab League voted 21-1 demanding U.S. and UK forces withdraw from Iraq

2003 Putin called Bush and said there would be great suffering during war Bush said everything would be

under control

2003 Tariq Aziz gave presser saying US was after Iraq’s oil

2004 Ex-White House counterterrorism chief Clarke told 9/11 Commission Iraq not behind 1993 World

Trade Center bombing

2007 Report DynCorp contracted by US govt to provide sandbangs police and training camps Regularly

overpriced work Iraqi contracts repeatedly failed to do job DynCorp contracted to fill sandbags at Najaf police dept Paid $67k then contracted Iraqi company for $23k to do job Sandbags were useless and job had to be redone Built police camps in Baquba Basra Ramadi Fallujah Najaf all considered bad mostly due to subcontractors Built camp in Mosul for $2.1 bil that should have cost $600k Camp got bad review Air conditioners didn't work Used cheap furniture Foam instead of real matresses Another police camp cancelled after spent $43.8 mil on it

2008 PM Maliki launched Charge of Knights against Mahdi Army in Basra He arrived in Basra to oversee

operation

2009 Sahwa commander in Salahaddin said that Ansar al-Sunna and ISI had created new alliance

2010 Maliki announced new anti-corruption campaign

(Musings On Iraq interview with Vincent Foulk former US anti-graf official)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Stuart Bowen Special Inspetor General for Iraq Reconstruction)

2011 Riot at Rusafa prison over overcrowding

2012 Baghdad and Irbil agreed to increased joint patrols in Diyala

2013 Naqshibandi sent group to Ramadi protest site to try to push it towards violence against govt

2014 After Burhiz, Kirkuk retaken from IS Hashd killed at least 2 civilians and burned homes

2016 Most ruling parties refused to send candidates for technocratic cabinet to Abadi

2016 Supreme Council suspended its ministers in govt

2016 Head of IS Military Council Anbari killed

View the Iraq History Timelines