This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 7

1916 Start of Battle of Bait Alsa and Sannaiyat between British and Ottomans

1941 UK Middle East cmdr Gen Wavell told War Office military intervention in Iraq not possible and

diplomacy should be used instead UK Mid East Cmdr Gen Wavell thought Regent of Iraq could be restored to power by strong statement and show of force by Royal Air Force

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

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

1972 Soviet PM Kosygin inaugurated Russian company’s production at North Rumaila oil field

1980 Iran withdrew all its diplomatic personnel from Iraq

1980 Iran put military on full alert after accusing Iraq of repeated attacks upon its border area

1988 Start of 3^rd Anfal campaign focused upon Germian, Sulaymaniya Civilians in area rounded up and

many executed

(Musings On Iraq article on Anfal campaign)

1991 Sec State Baker condemned Iraq crimes against its people but said US would not get involved

1991 US began humanitarian airdrops to Kurds

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

1998 IAEA told UN Iraq not carrying out any prohibited nuclear activities at sites it had visited

(Musings On Iraq article on UN weapons inspections)

2002 Blair and Bush met Blair pushed going to UN against Iraq Some claimed Blair okayed war with Iraq at

meeting Blair denied that

2002 Bush told network he’d decided Saddam must go

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

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

2003 US 3^rd Inf Div conducted 2^nd Thunder Run into Baghdad Iraq’s Info Min Mohammed Sahaf denied

U.S. forces were in Baghdad

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

2003 US Marines entered east Baghdad which was empty of Iraqi forces

2003 US got intel Saddam in Mansour Baghdad Carried out air raid that killed 18 civilians

2003 British took Basra city

2003 Ayatollah Haeri named Moqtada al-Sadr his representative in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq aricle on Haeri naming Sadr his representative)

2003 Looting reported in Baghdad

2003 NY Times reported 4 drums of possible nerve agents found near Karbala Story proved false

2003 Rumsfeld opponents within military leaked details of Rumsfeld micromanaging invasion plans to

Seymour Hersh

2004 Mahdi Army seized control of Kut forcing Ukrainian troops to withdraw Ukrainians refused to

evacuate CPA civilians from city during retreat

2004 Mahdi Army attacked Polish patrols in Karbala

2004 Mahdi Army fought Spanish troops in Najaf

2004 Sadr claimed he was the military wing of Ayatollah Sistani

2004 Another marine unit arrived to take part in Op Vigilant Resolve 1^st Battle of Fallujah

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

2004 Blair called White House over his concern about attacks upon civilians during Fallujah Battle

2004 US intel memo said that Sunni areas were a lost cause Sunnis didn’t see themselves having role in

new Iraq US trying to create

2004 US report Iraq earned $10.1 bil by manipulating Oil for Food Program from 1997-2002

2005 Talabani sworn in as Iraq president and named Jaafari as new premier Ended interim govt under PM

Allawi

2006 3 suicide bombers hit Buratha mosque attempting to assassinate ISCI MP Saghir suspected of running

Badr death squads 80 killed

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

2006 Court papers showed Bush authorized leak of information on Iraq-Niger uranium story to support

administration

2006 Prosecutor claimed Cheney Chief of Staff Libby’s leaks to press were part of campaign to discredit fmr

Amb Wilson over Iraq-Niger story

(Musings On Iraq article on Iraq-Niger story)

2007 Islamic Army said it had tried working with ISI but failed Blamed ISI for killing anyone that didn’t

follow it

(Musings On Iraq article on splits within insurgency)

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

2008 Maliki said Sadrists could no longer participate in politics if didn’t disarm

2008 Sadr said he would disarm Mahdi Army if Ayatollah Sistani and clerics in Iran suggested it

2009 Obama flew to Baghdad and met PM Maliki and Pres Talabani Said lots of political progress but still

issues in Iraq

2010 Sadrist referendum on who movement wanted as new premier picked Jaafari after national vote

2012 Kurdish Alliance said committee put together to work out problems with Maliki

2012 Dep PM Shahristani complained about KRG oil contracts saying they were unrealistic

2013 Cabinet said it was going to amend Accountability and Justice Law to meet demands of protesters

2013 PM Maliki said early elections should be considered to solve political stalemate in country

2013 KRG PM Nechirvan Barzani said PM Maliki was violating constitution and consensus politics with

dispute over budget

2013 Report claimed soldiers in army brigade were told to vote for PM Maliki in elections

2014 PM Maliki told Shiite politicians he was turning to militias for security because frustrated with ISF’s

performance

2014 PM Maliki gave militias like Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah control of security in Baghdad

belts

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

2014 Naqshibandi leader and son killed by ISIS in Hamrin, Diyala

2015 Cabinet said Hashd part of ISF and under premier as commander in chief

2015 Sunni tribes blamed for some of the looting in Tikrit after city freed

2015 MP from Albu Ajeel tribe said looting and burning in Albu Ajeel and Dour were done out of revenge

for Camp Speicher massacre

2016 One committee set up to handle cabinet reform said most ruling parties rejected changes

2018 People started two days of sit in protests protests in central Basra over lack of services corruption and

jobs

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