This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 2

1918 UK War Office told commander in Mespotamia to seize as many oil producing areas as possible

1980 Iran launched counterattack on Iraq’s northern bridgehead at Penjwin 1^st of the war

1981 Iran bombed 4 hydroelectric power plants in Iraq

1982 Day 2 Iranian Op Muslim ibn Aqil between Qasr e-Shirin and Sumer in center Iraq used tear gas 1^st

time to try to turn back Iranian human wave attacks Saddam went to front to urge on troops because Iranian attack could threaten Baghdad

(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)

1989 US NSDD26 said US would try to improve relations with Iraq

1992 UN Res 778 authorized Iraq oil revenues to be deposited in UN controlled bank until sanctions lifted

2001 Badr met with Barzani again Asked about US intentions in Iraq Barzani said US was thinking of

invading Iraq after Afghanistan Barzani was worried about Turkish involvement in any invasion Barzani said that US would only support pro-US parties and they would take control after Saddam Badr asked to open office in Irbil

2002 Summary of main points Natl Intel Estimate released Said Iraq rebuilding nuke and WMD programs

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

2002 Iraq called UK’s weapons dossier propaganda and lies

2002 Bush appeared with Democrats and Republicans calling on Congress to pass use of force resolution on

Iraq

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

Tragedy)

2002 Bush said that Iraq had WMD stocks rebuilding programs Working on nuclear programs

(Musings On Iraq article on how poor US intel work led to claim Iraq rebuilt its nuclear weapons program)

2002 NYT article quoted Defense Policy Board’s Perle that CIA was anti-INC and it provided best intel on

Iraq

2002 CIA Dir Tenet told Senate CIA had no sources inside Iraq since 1990s

2002 CIA Dep Dir McLaughlin told Senate British had stretched story that Iraq tried to buy uranium from

Africa Said low chance Iraq would use WMD Would only use them if attacked Said low chance Iraq would use terrorists against US unless America attacked Iraq 

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

2002 Undersec Def Feith memo Said exiles should organize a conference to create bill of rights for Iraq

before war US wanted a federal system of govt US military would run Iraq after war and work with exiles

2003 Iraq Survey Group head Kay briefed Congress on interim report Found no WMD but evidence of

WMD programs No nuclear program No mobile WMD labs Said Saddam never gave up ambitions to have WMD Iraq’s WMD stocks looked like they were destroyed in 1990s after Gulf War Said secret WMD programs were hidden in Iraqi intelligence services for assassinations Said Iraq had produced banned missile types

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

2003 CIA Dir Tenet and Deputy Dir McLaughlin reluctant to accept Kay’s findings Argued over WMD

stocks being destroyed aluminum tubes and mobile WMD labs

(Musings On Iraq article on the aluminum tubes story)

(Musings On Iraq article on mobile labs story)

2003 White House called CIA Asked why finding no WMD could’ve been buried in Kay’s report instead of

being first 

2003 Kay testimony led White House to change message from Iraq had WMD stocks to WMD programs

being the threat that justified war

2003 US Cmdr in Iraq Gen Sanchez said insurgency had evolved and gotten more deadly

2003 NatSecAdv Rice created Iraq Stabilization Group to help run postwar Iraq without consulting with rest

of govt Bush had given Pentagon control of postwar Iraq so NSC’s group had no authority

2004 Bush said Zarqawi travelled to Iraq before 03 invasion Killed USAID official Foley in Jordan Said that

proved Iraq was a threat because it had WMD and was connected to terrorist networks like Zarqawi’s

2004 Hundreds of Kurds marched in Kirkuk city demanding independent Kurdistan and Kirkuk as its

capital

2005 Parliament ruled no vote on constitution would be based upon actual voters not registered ones to

diminish Sunni ballots against document Sunni politicians complained that change in how votes counted would make it harder to reject draft constitution

(Musings On Iraq interview with constitutional scholar Zaid al-Ali on Iraq’s constitution)

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

2005 CENTCOM Cmdr Gen Abizaid told Congress he was optimistic about Iraq war

2005 US Cmdr in Iraq Gen Casey told Congress 1/3 of 119 Iraqi army battalions could operate with some

US aid

2005 Pres Talabani asked PM Jaafari to step down Complained Shiites were dominating govt Accused

United Iraqi Alliance of not giving Kurds govt positions neglecting ministries run by Kurds not dealing with Kirkuk

2007 NatlSecAdv Rubaie told SecState Rice US had to tell Sunni politicians they couldn’t play politics and

violence at same time Said PM Maliki would take care of Sadr and Mahdi Army

2007 United Alliance told US to stop sahwa program Claimed some were terrorists killing and kidnapping

people

2007 Hamas in Iraq accused ISI of beheading civilians for violating its fatwas Condemned ISI’s chlorine

attack upon Amiriya Fallujah

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

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

2015 Protests in Baghdad Babil Karbala Najaf Qadisiyah Muthanna Dhi Qar Wasit Maysan Basra Diyala

demanding reform

2017 PM Abadi said he would not talk to KRG unless it cancelled referendum results

(Musings On Iraq Fighting Breaks Out Between Federal Forces And Peshmerga In Salahaddin And Kirkuk)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Great Betrayal, How America Abandoned The Kurds And Lost The Middle East)

2017 Abadi govt announced foreigners in Kurdistan could fly out of country via Baghdad even if didn’t

have federal visa

2017 Joint Iran-Iraq military drill started along KRG border in response to independence referendum

2017 PUK’s Hero Ibrahim Ahmed said that Kurds were paying the price for the wrong decision to hold

independence referendum

2017 Gorran called for new Kurdish leadership council to be disbanded Said that referendum had created

another political crisis for KRG

2018 Parliament elected Barham Salah new president Salah picked Adel Abdul Mahdi as future premier Iran

tried to block Salah’s election but failed

(Musings On Iraq article on election of Salah and selection of Mahdi to be new PM)

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