This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 1

1940 UK Cabinet decided to send division from India to Basra to pressure PM Gaylani who refused

to break relations with Italy and demanded changes to Anglo-Iraq Treaty UK Mideast Cmdr Gen Wavell opposed idea saying it would make situation worse Cabient cancelled deployment

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

1943 Mustafa Barzani led rebellion against govt Iraqi troops backed by British airplanes suppressed revolt

by Oct 1945

1961 UK sent troops to newly independent Kuwait to protect it from Gen. Qasim’s call that it be annexed

1985 Def Dept official said that US should watch technology exports to Iraq because they could be used

for its nuclear weapons program

1986 Iraq escalated air strikes on Iran’s economic infrastructure

1988 Iraq For Min Aziz admitted that Baghdad used chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq War but said Iran

started using them first

(Musings On Iraq article on the origins of Iraq’s WMD programs)

(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)

1995 Iraq told UN inspectors it had a biological weapons program and made anthrax and botulinum 1989-

90 Denied it weaponized agents Seemed like Iraq had finally come clean about all its weapons programs to inspectors

(Musings On Iraq article Iraq’s Rejection of UN Inspectors Led To Mistrust Over WMD and 2003 Invasion)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Saddam Tapes)

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Sec 1.1 UK Iraq Strategy 1990 To 2000)

1996 Richard Butler became head UN weapons inspector replacing Rolf Ekeus Butler was more

confrontational with Iraqis

(Musings On Iraq article UN Inspectors Were Right Iraq Was Not A Threat)

(Musings On Iraq book review of Iraq In The Eye of the Storm)

2002 Pentagon memo said US should organize Iraqi opposition to help with regime change and fill

vacuum after Saddam Said exiles would help ensure no chaos after invasion Said if US tried to run Iraq without opposition leaders would backfire

(Musings On Iraq book review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy Tragedy)

2003 Mosque in Fallujah bombed killing 5 wounding 4

2004 CIA official said agency was constantly told to re-do assessments that said no Iraq-Al Qaeda

connection by White House 

2004 Saddam and 11 senior Baathists appeared in court for first time

2006 Truck bomb Sadr City killed 62 wounded 120

2006 Sunni female parliamentarian and 8 bodyguards kidnapped in Baghdad

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

2007 Iraqi govt announced 1,227 civilian deaths in June lowest monthly total in 2007

2014 IS released recording of its leader Baghdadi declaring a new caliphate

(Musings On Iraq book review The Caliphate At War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)

2018 Protests in Waraka and Rumaitha Muthanna over water services and privatization of electricity

Protest at West Qurna 2 oil field demanding more pay Hundreds protested outside provincial council building for jobs threaten to close down foreign companies Protest in Amara Maysan cutting off roads over power 

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