This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 30

1917 Battle of the Boot at Band-i-Adhaim between British and Ottomans

1924 Baghdad said willing to give land to Assyrians

(Musings On Iraq book review of The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq book review State and Society in Iraq)

1941 PM Gaylani refused permission for British troops to land in Basra

1941 2 brigades of Iraqi soldiers surrounded British Habaniya base ordered British to cease operations

there Iraq had 9000 troops British 2250

1941 Iraqi forces surrounded British embassy in Baghdad

1941 PM Gaylani hoped to pressure British to leave Iraq without a fight

1941 UK memo to Chiefs of Staff discussed destroying Iraq’s oil wells to deny them to Germany

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

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

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

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

1948 Jewish forces took Jaffa, and 7 other towns held by Iraqi volunteers in 1^st Arab Israeli War

1959 Qasim banned political organizing within army Was aimed at Communists

(Musings On Iraq book 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)

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

1969 Bakr govt executed opponents in central Baghdad

1980 By end of April around 20 Iraqi officials had been killed in bombings by Shiite opposition parties

1980 Arab Iranians seized Iranian embassy in London demanding sovereignty for Khuzistan province Were

trained and armed by Iraq

1982 Iran launched Op Bait al-Moqaddas to recapture Khorramshahr across from Basra and liberate

Khuzistan province Iran has 12 divisions 200,000 soldiers vs 5 Iraqi divisions and 65,000 men Iran would gain 300 sq mi Iranian paratroopers dropped on Karun River near Darkhovin while engineers built bridge over river

(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)

1985 Sec State Shultz asked Def Sec Weinberger to speed up approval of technology exports to Iraq

1985 State Dept intel reported no evidence Iraq had started on a nuclear weapons program It had

1990 Jordanian prosecutor report detailed fake bank accounts Ahmed Chalabi ran with his Petra Bank

1996 Turkey began bombing campaign along border against PKK

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

1997 Fighting broke out between PUK and Kurdish Islamic Movement

2001 NSC meeting on Al Qaeda threat DepDefSec Wolfowitz asked why US should focus on bin Laden

when Iraq terrorism real threat

2001 Dep CIA Dir McLaughlin told DepDefSec Wolfowitz no evidence of Iraq terrorist threat to US

2001 DepSecState Armitage told DepDefSec Wolfowitz Al Qaeda was the main threat to US

2003 U.S. forces shot at civilians for 2^nd time in 2 days in Fallujah 2 killed

(Musings On Iraq book review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)

2003 Rumsfeld visited Iraq Realized rebuilding country would take years which was not his plan

2004 Marines withdrew from Fallujah turning over security to Fallujah Brigade

(Musings On Iraq book review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)

2004 Daily Mirror published what turned out to be fake pictures of UK forces abusing Iraqi prisoners

2004 Poll 71% of Iraqis saw US as occupiers 46% said invasion more harmful then good

2004 New Yorker publishes photos of Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal

2005 Mass grave with up to 1,500 Kurds killed by Saddam during Anfal campaign found outside Samawa

(Musings On Iraq article on Anfal campaign)

2006 Fmr Sec State Powell told UK TV he advised CENTCOM cmdr Gen Franks US needed more troops

before invasion but advise ignored

2006 Pres Talabani said 7 insurgent groups might be able to be talked into joining political process

2006 US Special Inspector Gen for Iraq Reconstruction report said attacks still retarding rebuilding projects

but real progress being made Said attacks on infrastructure down 60%

2006 Audit found effort to protect power and oil infrastructure largely failed Questioned 2 foreign security

companies contracted to train guards

2006 Class of new police recruits from Fallujah graduated Told they would serve outside Anbar 600 refused

to do so

2007 Anbar Awakening claimed to have killed ISI War Minister Masri Didn’t happen

2007 Report PM Maliki and ministers using Article 136B of Criminal Code to block corruption

investigations

2007 Report Maliki using PM and Commander in Chief offices to remove and arrest army and National

Police commanders for going after Mahdi Army or being Sunni US officers complained Maliki politicizing officer corps

2008 PM Maliki said Mahdi Army had to be disbanded because couldn’t have militias and state

2008 Sadr spokesman said Iranian weapons in Iraq was normal because Tehran would sell to anyone

2008 Turkey said it would resume diplomatic relations with Kurdistan

2009 ISF started 2^nd Operation Promise of Good in Diyala

2010 Def Min said that ISI had lost its direction after 2 leaders Masri and Baghdadi killed

2010 PM Maliki claimed foreign countries were plotting coup against him

2010 Iraqiya threatened boycott after courts banned winning candidates for Baathist past

2011 Hundreds demonstrated in Kut for better services and against corruption

2011 Asayesh arrested four protest organizers trying to start demonstration in Sulaymaniya

(Musings On Iraq interview with journalist Wladimir Van Wilgenburg on 2011 KRG protests)

2011 US said Iranian investment projects in Karbala and Najaf were fronts for supported Asaib Ahl

Al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah

(Musings On Iraq article on history of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq)

(Musings On Iraq article on Iran’s Iraq policy)

2012 KRG said Baghdad should pay foreign oil companies working in Kurdistan

2012 Allawi said he wouldn’t go to national conference to resolve differences with PM Maliki

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

2012 4 bodyguards of fmr Speaker Mashadani arrested for terrorism

2013 Kurdish ministers ended boycott of govt

2013 Islamic Army met with Kirkuk tribes to form armed group after ISF attacked Hawija protest site

2013 Sheikh Sulaiman said that protesters would go to war with govt after crackdown on Hawija protest site

2013 Insurgents attacked Wasit municipal council building

2013 Dep PM Mutlaq criticized ISF attack on Hawija protest site

2014 KRG parliamentary elections 1^st in 8 years

2014 Anbar tribes claimed Baghdad agreed to some of protesters’ demands to end fighting Didn’t happen

2014 ISIS ideologue Binali said that group didn't have to hold territory for Muslims to pledge allegiance to

it Was setting stage for declaration of Islamic State

2015 Head of Salahaddin council said Hashd were looting and burning buildings in Tikrit

2015 City worker in Tikrit said 300 buildings in northern section of city had been destroyed including 2

mosques

2015 IS seized half of Baiji refinery

2015 Head of Anbar Operations Command said Hashd were needed to fight IS in province

2016 Parliament refused to meet over PM Abadi’s technocratic govt Sadr called for popular revolution as

followers stormed Green Zone

(Musings On Iraq interview with Cambridge’s Michael Clark on Sadr, protests and PM Abadi’s reforms)

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