This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 5

1916 British forces attacked Ottomans at Fallahiya to try to relieve surrounded British troops in Kut

1939 Abd al-Illah asked Nuri al-Said to become premier again

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

1965 Arif govt launched military offensive against KDP

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

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

1980 Saddam gave speech saying conflict with Iran was about Arabs vs Persians and denounced Khomeini

1980 Funeral of those killed in Mustansiriya bombing hit by a bomb Both done by Islamic Action

Organization Iran again blamed

1984 Reagan issued NSDD 139 that US would help Iraq in Iran-Iraq War

(Musings On Iraq book review The Saddam Tapes)

1985 Iranian delegation to Soviet Union said that Tehran would only accept complete Iraqi surrender to end

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)

1990 Iraq said it would destroy its WMD if Israel did the same and signed 1968 nuclear non-proliferation

treaty

(Musings On Iraq article on Saddam’s motivation for threatening Israel before the Kuwait invasion)

1991 Saddam declared that Kurdish and Shiite rebellions were crushed following Gulf War

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

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

(Musings On Iraq article on 1^st hand accounts of 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on Saddam’s view of 1991 Uprising)

(Ahulbayt Video on 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on how US encouraged 1991 uprising)

1991 Bush authorized airdrops of supplies to Kurds

1991 UN Resolution 688 condemned Saddam’s repression of its civilian population

1991 Some displaced Kurds began leaving mountains after govt appealled to them while Turkey let 80,000

into country

2002 Blair gave TV interview saying Saddam needed to go

2002 Blair and Bush met and talked about using inspections to pressure Saddam

(Musings On Iraq article on UN weapons inspections)

2003 US 3^rd Inf Div launched Thunder Run into Baghdad

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

2003 US air strike in Basra attempted to kill Chemical Ali Missed Killed 17 civilians Most in Basra believed

Ali died

2003 National Intel Comm memo said docs claiming Iraq-Niger uranium purchase were fakes and 2002

report on deal was not credible

(Musings On Iraq article on Iraq-Niger uranium story)

2003 Powell said he was sure Iraq’s WMD would be found

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

2003 DIA task force said Baathists made plans for an insurgency with help of jihadists Would later prove

false 

(Musings On Iraq article Did Saddam Plan The Insurgency In Iraq?”

2004 Marines tried to cordon off as much of Fallujah as possible at start of Op Vigilant Resolve

2004 2^nd Iraqi Battalion took part in battle for Fallujah 106 out of 695 Iraqi soldiers deserted and 104 refused

to fight

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

2004 Mahdi Army occupied Basra governor’s office

2004 Bremer called Sadr an outlaw and promised to put down his revolt

2004 CPA announced Iraqi judge issued arrest warrant for Sadr for murder of Khoei

2004 Zarqawi recording released calling for more attacks upon US led Coalition and Shiites

2005 Outgoing Inter Min Naqib told US Iraq Cmdr Gen Casey that SCIRI was closer to Iran then US and

civil war coming to Iraq

2006 Iraqi parties chose Maliki to be new PM over keeping PM Jaafari

2007 Islamic Army condemned ISI for imposing Islamic law and attacking other insurgent groups

(Musings On Iraq article on splits within insurgency)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)

2007 Al Qaeda told Ansar al-Sunnah that its complaints about ISI were unbelievable and it was still under

Al Qaeda’s leadership

2007 Pentagon Insp Gen report on fmr Dep Undersec of Def Feith’s Counterterorism Task Force Feith’s

office claimed active Iraq-Al Qaeda ties CIA and DIA found no such ties Insp Gen said Feith’s work inappropriate Said postwar interviews found no Iraq-Al Qaeda relationship

2008 Meeting of ruling parties decided to back PM Maliki in Charge of Knights and criticized Sadr

2008 PM Maliki called on all political parties to disband their militias or they might get banned from

politics

2008 Iraq’s Gen Suleimani met Pres Talabani and promised to stop arming militias Said Sadr was

uncontrollable

2008 British sent military trainers to Basra to help ISF during Charge of Knights op against Mahdi Army

2008 Fmr Under Sec of Def Doug Feith claimed US invasion of Iraq prevented next terrorist attack on US

2010 World Bank gave $250 mil loan to Iraq to help with budget

2010 UNAMI held meeting between Hadbaa and Kurdish Alliance in Ninewa to try to repair relations

2011 Speaker Nujafi said parliament would work with provinces to deal with detainees in response to

protests

2011 Maliki said ministries could reform in 100 days to respond to protests

2011 Govt talks with 5 insurgent groups broke down

2011 Islamic Union and Islamic Group in KRG called for govt to step down and interim one formed to carry

out reforms due to protests

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

2012 US Amb Jeffrey met with PM Maliki 9 times since start of year to try to mediate Baghdad vs Irbil

argument

2012 New KRG cabinet under Premier Nechirvan Barzani sworn in Opposition boycotted ceremony

2012 Pres Barzani said Iraq could become a dictatorship again due to Maliki

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

2013 Iran delivered bodies of Iraqi militiamen killed fighting for it in Syria

2013 National Alliance delegation went to KRG to try to end Kurds boycott of govt over budget

2013 PM Maliki said he was open to better ties with Turkey which US had been pushing

2013 Iraq threatened legal action against Turkey for oil deals with Kurdistan

2013 1^st shipment of Kurdish oil sold on international market

2013 PM Maliki said he would form a majority govt and not follow sectarian quotas anymore

2014 25 families fled Jurf al-Sakhr, Babil as ISIS moved into area from Anbar

2014 Sadrists began campaign for national elections calling for majority govt and end to sectarian quotas

2015 Tribes claimed 400 buildings burned in Tikrit after liberation

2015 Iraqi military spokesman said some Hashd took part in looting in Tikrit Said they were undermining

the victory

2015 Speaker Jabouri said there was looting in Tikrit Sadr called for end of looting in Tikrit

2015 KDP arrested Haider Sesho in Sinjar for forming his own militia and siding with Baghdad

2015 3 Presidents said that tribes in Anbar and Ninewa should be armed to fight IS

2016 Supreme Council said Abadi’s technocratic cabinet was not serious move

2016 Sadrists complained ruling parties not supporting reforms even though public had called for them via

protests

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

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