This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 31

 

1918 UK oil expert Adm Slade wrote 1^st Lord of the Admiralty Sir Geddes that UK should seize as much oil

as possible which included fields in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

1924 MP Chalabi rejected quotas in new parliament for minorities claiming everyone would be

represented

1928 Red Line Agreement allowed British Dutch French US Turkish oil companies to jointly control

Turkish Petroleum Company Would lead to Iraq Petroleum Company

1982 Iraq claimed it crushed Iranian Op Ramadan to seize Basra Retook most lost territory

(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)

1983 Iraqi army took 8,000 men from Barzani clan and executed them Retaliation for KDP taking part in

recent Iranian offensive in Kurdistan

1986 Iraqi air force launched most devastating attack upon Kharg Island Iran’s major oil port Knocked

out its ability to load tankers Let Iranians off the hook by not attacking again

(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 review Iraqi Mirages, The Dassault Mirage Family In Service With The Iraqi Air Force, 1981-1988)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1990 King Fahd and Pres Mubarak tried to mediate between Iraq and Kuwait Saddam told

Saudis nothing serious would happen with Kuwait

1990 Kuwait emir told his representative to not give into any Iraqi demands at meeting in Saudi Arabia

between 2 nations

(Musings On Iraq review Unholy Babylon, The Secret History of Saddam’s War)

1990 Saddam’s deputy Izzat al-Duri said that Kuwait was driving Iraq to kill it after rejected all of Iraq’s

demands

(Musings On Iraq review The Outlaw State, Saddam Hussein’s Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis)

1990 AsstSecState Kelly told House US had no defense treaty with Gulf States and didn’t take position on

border disputes or OPEC Said US would be concerned if Iraq invaded Kuwait but had no treaties with it

1990 Pentagon said it was committed to individual and collective defense of its allies in the Gulf

1990 Iraqi commanders told of Kuwait invasion plan

(Musings On Iraq review Desert Storm, Volume 1)

1990 US Central Command cmdr Gen Schwarzkopf warned White House Iraq was going to invade Kuwait

1990 US told Saudis and Kuwaitis that Iraq had issued ammunition to troops along Kuwait

border

2002 Iraq Foreign Minister Sabri said Baghdad rejected return of UN inspectors Said they would just collect

intel for US strikes

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

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

2002 Bush said US goal was regime change but denied any war plans were on his desk Part of strategy to

work on war plans while publicly denying it

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

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

Tragedy)

(Musings On Iraq Review Hubris, The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, And The Selling Of The Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Bush Administrations and Saddam Hussein, Deciding on Conflict)

(Musings On Iraq review Plan of Attack: The Definitive Account Of The Decision To Invade Iraq)

2002 Senate Foreign Relations Comm began hearing on Iraq invasion

2002 Sec Def Rumsfeld told Senate Comm time helped Saddam erode sanctions and spread terrorism

2002 NSA had drill on Iraq Found it had little signals intel on country

2002 Report Iraq working on nuclear program quoted fmr UN inspector Kay and INC defectors Hamza and

Haideri May 02 Haideri labeled fabricator by DIA

2002 INC defector ex-nuke scientist Hamza testified to Senate Foreign Relations Comm claiming Iraq only

lacked uranium to build nuke bomb in 1994

(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Created An Iraqi Nuclear Threat In 2002)

2002 Iraq conspiracy theorist Mylroie interviewed on CNN Said Bush was going to invade Iraq because of

WMD and its ties to terrorism including 9/11 Accused CIA of covering up Iraq’s involvement in 9/11

(Musings On Iraq Laurie Mylroie’s Convoluted Iraq-Terrorism Conspiracy Theory)

(Musings On Iraq Laurie Mylroie’s Iraq Conspiracy Theory Was Debunked By Captured Baath Documents)

(Musings On Iraq review Losing Iraq, Inside The Post War Reconstruction Fiasco)

2003 Sadr announced 10,000 man Islamic army being formed in Najaf

(Musings On Iraq A Divided Sadr Trend)

2003 Report several Iraqi scientists interviewed by US said Saddam had not restarted its nuclear or WMD

programs

(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Created An Iraqi Nuclear Threat In 2002)

2003 National Sec Adv Rice said international intel agencies all agreed with US that Iraq had WMD US

would prove right that Saddam was threat to world

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

(Musings On Iraq How The Administration Reversed Itself On Finding Iraq’s WMD)

(Musings On Iraq review Hoodwinked, The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War)

(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)

2003 US forces found Iraqi jets buried at Taqadum airbase west of Baghdad Helped explain why Iraqi air

force didn't fight during invasion

(Musings On Iraq Why Didn’t The Iraqi Air Force Fight During The 2003 Invasion?)

2003 Report White House official said wasn’t strong evidence that Iraq involved in 9/11

2004 US arrested Sadrist Sheikh Hasnawi in Karbala Mahdi Army kidnapped police in Najaf in response

2006 Displacement Min said 182,154 had been displaced since Askari shrine bombing in Feb 2006

2006 Police in 15 SUVs kidnapped 25 people from Iraqi American Chamber of Commerce and Rawi

telephone company in central Baghdad Never seen again

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

2006 Iraqi Health Min and Baghdad Morgue reported avg 110 Iraqis killed per day in July Mostly at hands

of militias and death squads rather than insurgents

2007 VP Cheney said that he was wrong when he said insurgency in its last throes in 2005 Said that

benchmarks didn’t reduce violence and insurgency stronger than he thought

2007 2/3 of US casualties in Iraq were caused by militias in July

2008 US and Iraq missed deadline to sign Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq

(SOFA) US wanted residual military force to stay in Iraq after official withdrawal

(Musings On Iraq Missed Deadlines)

2008 Kirkuk council threatened to annex province to Kurdistan

2008 Police shut down Sahwa group in Kut Wasit Had formed political party to run in 2009 elections PM

Maliki opposed US creating Sahwa in Shiite areas seeing them as threat to his base

(Musings On Iraq Recent Government And Sons of Iraq Relations)

2012 France’s Total signed contracts for two oil blocks in KRG

2015 Protest in Baghdad Basra Najaf over lack of electricity Called for Electricity Min to step down

2018 Human Rights Watch report No due process in Iraqi legal system Judges ignored torture allegations in

cases even after asked for report and told signs of torture present Torture banned in constitution

2018 PM Abadi said he would meet demands of protesters Said govt would publish names of officials sent

to Integrity Comm for corruption

2018 Sit-in protest in Muthanna and Burjisiya oil field in Basra for 3^rd day Sit in protests outside West

Qurna 1 oil field and Basra council building broken up by ISF Protests in Baghdad Dhi Qar Qadisiyah

2018 Iraq Human Rights Commission said protesters beaten and tortured after arrest and reporters attacked

for covering demonstrations 1 shot

2019 Report Israeli defense official said Iranian presence in Iraq was a threat Said Iran

moving missiles into Iraq that could reach Israel

(Musings on Iraq Pro-Iran Hashd Brigades And Now Israeli Strikes Making A Joke Of PM Abdul Mahdi’s Claims Iraq Neutral In Regional Conflicts)

2020 Protests in Wasit Dhi Qar over electricity shortages Govt building in Karbala burned

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Security In Iraq Jul 22-28, 2021

Violence in Iraq dropped for a third straight week. There were just 10 total security incidents reported in the country from July 22-28. That was down from 20 the week before, 25 the second week of July and 38 the first week. Both the Islamic State and pro-Iran groups have been winding down at the end of July. This is the normal ebb and flow of attacks in the country. From April to May there was a similar spike.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 30

1920 War Min Churchill approved sending division to Mesopotamia from India to put down 1920

Revolt

(Musings On Iraq Churchill In His Own Words On Mesopotamia/Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Churchill’s Folly, How Winston Churchill Created Modern Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

1933 Report French disarmed many Assyrians who had tried to get into Syria from Iraq

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

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

1963 Arif govt re-opened talks with Barzani after military campaign stalled

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

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Kurdish Revolt 1961-1970)

(Musings On Iraq review Journey Among Brave Men, Travels in Kurdistan)

1968 Pres Bakr accused Def Min Daud and PM Naif of attempting to take over govt PM Naif arrested and

became Ambassador to Morocco Daud sent to Jordan Baath then purged govt of opponents

1968 Pres Bakr became prime minister and commander and chief of armed forces consolidating his power

Appointed Saddam deputy secretary general of Baath Party

(Musings On Iraq review Saddam His Rise and Fall)

1982 Iraq launched major counterattack against Iran’s Op Ramadan in Basra Halted by Iranians

(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)

1983 Iran ended Op Wa al-Fajr 2 in Kurdistan Retook 195 sq km of Iranian territory Seized 220 sq

km of Iraqi land Cut KDPI supply lines and forced it to withdraw west KDP given control of Haj Omran pass

(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)

1983 Iran started Op Wa al-Fajr 3 to free Mehran Iran and then invade Wasit and cut Baghdad-Basra

highway Iraq discovered plan and launched pre-emptive strike Iran launched night attack infiltrating behind Iraqi lines

1983 Iraqi army began raids through villages and displaced camps in Irbil Arrested all Kurdish males

1988 Iran and Iraq started talks at UN for ceasefire

(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 review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1990 Saddam offered to withdraw his troops from Iran and settle Shatt al-Arab differences to prepare for

Kuwait invasion

1990 DIA analyst told DIA Dir Soyster Iraq could overrun Kuwait and northern Saudi Arabia and US would

have no warning Said that Saddam was going to use force vs Kuwait and Kuwait would make no concessions to Iraq

1990 DIA Dir Soyster disagreed with analyst about Iraq’s intentions to invade Kuwait but passed

assessment to Sec Def Cheney and Gen Powell

(Musings On Iraq review Unholy Babylon, The Secret History of Saddam’s War)

1990 Report Iraq had 100,000 troops on Kuwait border State Dept officials said it was a bluff

(Musings On Iraq review The Outlaw State, Saddam Hussein’s Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis)

1990 Jordan’s King Hussein called Emir of Kuwait 2^nd time Told him Iraq would not invade

1991 Iraq admitted to have four times as many chemical munitions as it claimed before to UN weapons

inspectors

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

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

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Saddam Tapes)

(Musings On Iraq review Out Of The Ashes, The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein)

1992 Iraqi forces surrounded Shiite rebels in southern marshes and bombed them

1996 CIA report head of Iraq intel met bin Laden in Sudan and provided bomb making know how False

report bin Laden left Sudan May 96 and no reports he returned afterward

2002 PM Blair’s foreign policy adv Manning told Bush UK with US against Iraq but had to go through UN

2002 UK attorney general Goldsmith told PM Blair without UN resolution war against Iraq illegal

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Volume 2 Sec 3.3 Development of UK Iraq Strategy and Options April to July 2002)

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Section 3.4 Development of UK Iraq Strategy and Options, Late July to 14 September 2002)

(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)

2002 French Pres Chirac said that Germany and France would only support an invasion of Iraq if backed by

a UN resolution

2002 Fmr head UN inspector Ekeus said US manipulated 90s inspections to spy on Iraqi security services

and find location of Saddam Said US wanted to create crises to justify attacks on Iraq

(Musings On Iraq UN Inspectors and CIA Spying On Iraq In The 90s)

2003 Bush admitted Iraq-Africa uranium story should not have been included in his State of Union speech

(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Failed The Iraq-Niger Uranium Story)

(Musings On Iraq Review Hubris, The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, And The Selling Of The Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)

2003 Natl Sec Adv Rice said Saddam was a threat and he had WMD Said Iraq was buying all kinds of

            equipment for centrifuges including aluminum tubes Were for rockets

(Musings On Iraq How A Contested Aluminum Tubes Story Became The Basis For War With Iraq)

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

(Musings On Iraq How The Administration Reversed Itself On Finding Iraq’s WMD)

(Musings On Iraq review Hoodwinked, The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War)

(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)

(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)

2004 Sec State Powell in Iraq said US worried about Iran’s influence in southern Iraq

(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)

2007 Oxfam found Maliki govt spent 22% of its development budget and 99% of its salary allocation in

2006

2007 Report Interior Ministry split between Dawa Badr Kurds Badr and Kurds fighting for control of intel

service Kurdish dep minister faced death threats from Badr dep minister Almost all Sunnis purged from ministry Interior Min trying to purge militias from ministry

(Musings On Iraq Badr Organization A View Into Iraq’s Violent Past And Present)

2007 Fmr Amb to Iraq Khalilzad said that Saudis were undermining US effort in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq The Saudi Role In The Iraqi Insurgency)

2008 U.S. forces officially withdrew troops from Iraqi cities

2008 Sadr said he was leading a nationalist movement against the US and needed to restrain abuses and

violence of Mahdi Army Said militia would not operate in cities or target civilians or govt only US military

2008 Report PM Maliki replaced head of South Oil Company and fired heads of gas tanker and refinery

companies in Basra Replaced them with loyalists to control resources before 2009 election

2008 Report 103,000 Sahwa Baghdad promised to take over program Only 15% integrated into ISF US

created vocational school because govt not following through with promises of integrating Sahwa but few wanted training

2009 Report that Salahaddin Army Islamic Army of Iraq Baathists and ex-military met Agreed to

work together

2009 US released 2 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq cmdrs Part of deal with UK and Iraq to free 10

cmdrs in return for 5 Brits kidnapped by group 4 were already dead killed by Asaib Ahl Al-Haq

(Musings On Iraq Iranians Planned Kidnapping And Held British Captives Taken In Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)

2009 Report 17,000 sahwa given jobs 13,000 in ISF None hired since Apr 09 Number given jobs in

other ministries drastically declined 41 leaders arrested Nov 08-July 09

2015 Protests in Arbat and Darabandikhan, KRG and Nasiriya and Amara over lack of services and

electricity

2018 Protest in Samawa and 2^nd day of sit ins outside of West Qurna 1 and Burjisiya oil fields in Basra

2020 Kazemi govt announced that 560 killed in protests over last year and each family would

receive 10 mil dinars in compensation

(Musings On Iraq UN Report On Violence Against Iraqi Protesters)

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Review The U.S. Army In The Iraq War: Volume I, Invasion, Insurgency, Civil War, 2003-2006

Rayburn, Colonel Joel, Sobchak, Colonel Frank Editors, with Godfroy, Lieutenant Colonel Jeanne, Morton, Colonel Matthew, Powell, Colonel James, Zais, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew, The U.S. Army In The Iraq War: Volume I, Invasion, Insurgency, Civil War, 2003-2006, United States Government, US Army, 2019

 

The U.S. Army’s official history of the Iraq War was delayed for years. When it was released the military tried to bury it claiming that fighting irregular conflicts like Iraq was not what the army’s doctrine was about. It wanted to focus upon taking on a major power instead. This is the exact same thing that happened after the Vietnam War and a reason why America was so unprepared for Iraq. The first volume of the history deals with the period from 2003-2006. It provides five major reasons why the U.S. strategy failed during the start of the occupation of Iraq.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 29

 

1933 Assyrian leader Mar Shimun wrote letter to Interior Minister Said he was being detained He

would help settle Assyrians If govt did nothing he would go to League of Nations and advocate for Assyrians to leave Iraq Letter sent to ambassadors in Iraq embarrassing govt

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

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

1968 Baath had Def Min Daud visit Jordan so that party could take control of military while he was gone

Daud arrested when he arrived in Jordan Sent into exile as ambassador to Saudi Arabia

1988 Mujahedeen e-Khalq forced to withdraw from 2 Iranian towns ending hopes of Iraq backed revolt

against Khomeini

(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 review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1990 OPEC agreed to raise prices 20% that year under pressure from Iraq that wanted to boost revenues to

rebuild after Iran-Iraq War

(Musings On Iraq review Unholy Babylon, The Secret History of Saddam’s War)

1990 Mukhabarat placed 30 agents at Kuwait oil fields and Kuwait city to help with invasion

1990 Egyptian intelligence sent 2^nd report to Pres Mubarak with more details about Iraq’s invasion plans

1991 Talabani said that without another major international relief effort Kurds would face another disaster

1992 Sec State Baker and Natl Sec Adv Scowcroft met with Ahmed Chalabi Talked about Iraqi

campaign against rebels in southern marshes and pushed for southern on fly zone Baker said US would stand with Iraqi opposition Bush wanted to increase pressure on Iraq during presidential campaign

(Musings On Iraq review The Man Who Pushed America To War, The Extraordinary Life, Adventures, and Obsessions of Ahmad Chalabi)

(Musings On Iraq review Arrows of the Night: Ahmad Chalabi and the Selling of the Iraq War)

2002 PM Blair’s foreign policy adv Manning told Rice UK with US against Iraq but had to go through UN

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Volume 2 Sec 3.3 Development of UK Iraq Strategy and Options April to July 2002)

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Section 3.4 Development of UK Iraq Strategy and Options, Late July to 14 September 2002)

(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)

2002 NYTimes article on Iraq war plans Mentioned Gen Franks ideas for dealing with defense of Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq How Arguments Over Iraq Invasion Plan Were Fought Through Press Leaks)

2003 US intel report Hezbollah attempted to reach out to Sadr and his Mahdi Army

(Musings On Iraq Hezbollah’s Role In Iraq)

2003 Report US held Iraqi detainees incommunicado and without access to lawyers

2003 Saddam recording said his sons Uday and Qusay died as martyrs for Iraq and US would be defeated

2007 Report PM Maliki said he couldn’t work with Gen Petraeus Said that if US kept using sahwa he

would arm militias Maliki ally Askari said Petraeus biased against Shiites

(Musings On Iraq review Surge, My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War)

2008 Op Omens of Prosperity in Diyala began Most insurgents fled beforehand because announced days

before ISF targeted Sahwa in Baquba instead

(Musings On Iraq Diyala Offensive Begins)

(Musings On Iraq Recent Government And Sons of Iraq Relations)

(Musings On Iraq review Surge, My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War)

2008 Report after anti-Sadr op in Maysan Maliki govt promised to purge provincial ISF of Mahdi

Army Pro-ISCI tribes told to sign up for ISF

2008 Report PM Maliki and Dawa officials handed out cash to people in Baghdad to build patronage

            network

2008 Report govt arresting Sadrist officials as well as Mahdi Army members Sadr’s rivals taking advantage

of situation to assassinate leaders in Sadr movement

2009 Results of KRG election Barzani re-elected president with 69% of vote KDP-PUK list won 57% of

parliamentary vote Change 23%

(Musings On Iraq Kurdish Election Results And Implications)

(Musings On Iraq Full Kurdish Election Results)

(Musings On Iraq Ruling Kurdish Parties Try To Co-Opt And Intimidate Opposition)

2009 Report US cmdr in Iraq Gen Odierno said when US withdraw in 2011 Iraq wouldn’t be able

            to defend its airspace

2013 ISI started new car bomb wave as part of Soldiers’ Harvest campaign

2018 PM Abadi dismissed Electricity Minister Fahadawi until investigation into poor services finished

Was in response to protests

2018 Protests in West Qurna 1 and Burjisiya oil fields in Basra Basra City Samawa Baghdad Nasiriya

2018 Member of European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations said 14,000 civilians were

wounded during Battle of Mosul 32% were children 4,000 still needed care

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Iraq-Lebanon Sign Trade Deal That Doesn’t Make Any Sense

(Shuttershock)

On July 24 Iraq and Lebanon finally signed their much talked about trade agreement. Iraq will send one million tons of oil to Lebanon in exchange for services. The problems are many. First, Lebanon can’t use Iraqi oil for its power plants. Instead, it will buy petroleum from other providers and pay them in Iraqi crude. Second, Lebanon has no services to offer Baghdad. At first, Beirut was to provide medical services but most of its doctors are in the private sector and the government doesn’t have authority over them. Then it was said that other good would be provided like fruits and vegetables, but again, it didn’t have much to offer. Then it was said that Lebanese dollars would be used but those can only be spent inside the country. That means Iraq will be exporting oil to Lebanon for free.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 28

 

1920 US complained 2^nd time to England about San Remo agreement that divided Iraq’s oil between

England and France

1920 War Min Churchill told UK Cmdr in Iraq Gen Haldane no reinforcements were to be had

Told Haldane to consult with chief political officer Wilson to formulate policy to deal with 1920 Revolt

(Musings On Iraq review of Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern 1927 British report Difficult to settle Assyrians in north because land already inhabited

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

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

1959 Qasim govt disbanded communist led Federation of Trade Unions, arrested members Part of

            push back against communist influence

(Musings On Iraq review The Making of Iraq 1900-1963, Capital, Power and Ideology)

(Musings On Iraq 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)

1982 Iran made fifth attack in Basra as part of Op Ramadan but failed

(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)

1982 During Iranian Op Ramadan Ayatollah Baqir al-Hakim crossed into Iraq from Iran

            Called for uprising vs Saddam

(Musings On Iraq history of Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq)

1983 Iraq counterattack against Iran Op Wa al-Fajr 2 with heliborne assault that recaptured Mount

Kerde Mand in Iraqi Kurdistan

(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 review Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1990 Iraq said it was suspending talks with Kuwait over disputes over border and oil

1990 Bush letter to Saddam asked him not to use force in region and hoped for continued good US-Iraq

relations Pentagon tried to block Bush note to Saddam fearing an Iraq invasion of Kuwait

(Musings On Iraq review The Bush Administrations and Saddam Hussein, Deciding on Conflict)

(Musings On Iraq review Unholy Babylon, The Secret History of Saddam’s War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Outlaw State, Saddam Hussein’s Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis)

1990 CIA briefed Bush warning that Iraq was going to invade Kuwait

1990 Egyptian intelligence sent report to Pres Mubarak saying Iraq would invade Kuwait within a week

Saddam had assured Mubarak Iraq would not invade Mubarak asked for another report

1990 Jordan’s King Hussein called Kuwait’s emir told him Iraq would not invade

1992 UN inspectors went through Agriculture Min but found nothing as Iraqis had removed all

            WMD docs

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

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

1996 Iranian Revolutionary Guard entered Kurdistan to fight the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran

but also to support the PUK against the KDP Guard went 40 miles into Kurdistan and stayed 72 hours When withdrew left behind weapons for PUK

2002 PM Blair told Bush UK would be with US on Iraq but had to consider difficulties and work on politics

of war

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Volume 2 Sec 3.3 Development of UK Iraq Strategy and Options April to July 2002)

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Section 3.4 Development of UK Iraq Strategy and Options, Late July to 14 September 2002)

(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)

2002 Wash Post article on Iraq war plans Said many in military wanted containment of Iraq

2003 Blair govt accused of crimes against humanity for Iraq war in Greek court

2004 68 killed in suicide car bomb on police center Baquba Diyala

(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)

2007 US Inspector General found from 2005-07 Iraqi govt only accepted 435 out of 2797 reconstruction

projects Since Maliki govt took power in 06 accepted few if any projects Finance Min Jabr blamed for not releasing money to take over projects US spent $90 mil to fix 2 turbines at Dora power plant Iraqis didn’t know how to work turbines and used wrong fuel Iraqi govt wouldn’t accept project Meant US turning over projects to provincial and city govts that didn’t have money or know how to run them Problem was US didn’t include Iraqis in projects who had no say in what was built

(Musings On Iraq review Hard Lessons, The Iraq Reconstruction Experience)

2007 Maliki ratified dismissal of Basra Gov Waeli who received no confidence vote led by ISCI over

corruption Waeli refused to step down and referred issue to Supreme Court

2008 3 female suicide bombers hit Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad’s Karrada 32 dead 100

            wounded

(Musings On Iraq 26^th Female Suicide Attack In Iraq Takes Dozens Of Lives In Baghdad)

(Musings On Iraq Motivations Behind Female Suicide Bombers)

(Musings On Iraq review The ISIS Reader, Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement)

(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)

2008 Suicide bomber attacked Kurds protesting provincial election results in Kirkuk 24 killed Crowd burned

down Turkmen Front office and attacked Arab councilman’s house afterward

(Musings On Iraq Kurdish Frustrations Over Provincial Elections Boil Over After Suicide Bombing)

2017 Protest in Baghdad Governor said demos legitimate and trying to improve services

            Also demo in Muthanna over electricity

2018 Protests in Baghdad outside West Qurna 1 oil field in Basra

2019 Israeli allegedly bombed Ashraf air base in Diyala targeting Hashd and Iranian weapons

(Musings on Iraq Pro-Iran Hashd Brigades And Now Israeli Strikes Making A Joke Of PM Abdul Mahdi’s Claims Iraq Neutral In Regional Conflicts)

View the Iraq History Timelines 

U.S. Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 9 – Down The Spider Hole, October-December 2003

At the end of 2003 the U.S. believed that it was winning in Iraq. It was underestimating the strength of the insurgency, thought the capture of Saddam Hussein was a turning point, and Washington sped up the timetable to return sovereignty to Iraq thinking that would be another blow to the militants. In fact, things were getting worse. The abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison occurred, the insurgency launched its first Ramadan offensive, and opposition to the occupation was only growing in strength.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 27

 

1933 French forbid anymore Assyrians entering Syria

1933 Iraq asked French to impose treaty between two to remove Assyrians from Iraq-Syrian border and

disarm them for 2^nd time

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

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

1958 Provisional constitution gave Kurds recognition as equal to Arabs

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

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Kurdish Revolt 1961-1970)

(Musings On Iraq review Journey Among Brave Men, Travels in Kurdistan)

1959 Gen Qasim passed deal promising Arab-Kurdish partnership after talks with Mullah Mustafa

Barzani

1968 Communists issued demands to new Baath govt calling for National Front and coalition govt

1973 Communists said Bakr govt’s policies leading Iraq towards socialism

(Musings On Iraq 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)

1982 US official sent to Baghdad to share CIA satellite imagery of Iranian troop movements

1983 Iraq announced it would increase attacks on Iran’s oil facilities

1983 Iraqi forces regained control of Rayat and Mount Kerman from Iranians in Kurdistan

            Iran turned over Haj Omran to ISCI

(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)

1987 US asked Iraq to stop attacks on shipping in Persian Gulf in hopes that Iran would follow suit

(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 review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1990 US told Saudis and Kuwait Iraqi build up on Kuwait border ominous Neither took

warning seriously

1990 Congress voted to impose sanctions on Iraq for threats against Kuwait Israel nuke and WMD

programs and human rights violations White House opposed

(Musings On Iraq review The Bush Administrations and Saddam Hussein, Deciding on Conflict)

(Musings On Iraq review The Outlaw State, Saddam Hussein’s Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis)

1990 Israel Science Minister threatened retaliation with chemical weapons if Iraq attacked

(Musings On Iraq Why Did Saddam Threaten Israel Before The 1990 Invasion of Kuwait?)

1991 4^th International Atomic Energy Agency inspection team entered Iraq Concluded Iraq had

            a nuclear bomb program

1993 Iran asked for aid for 4,000 Iraqi refugees that entered country as southern marshes were drained

2001 Pentagon memo said that sanctions were falling apart Meant US could face a nuclear armed

            Saddam Advocated for regime change without saying how to achieve it

2003 DepSecDef Wolfowitz claimed that Iraq’s insurgency had no support in Iraq or in region

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)

2003 Iraq Survey Group head Kay briefed Bush VP Cheney Def Sec Rumsfeld Dep Def Sec Wolfowitz CIA

Dir Tenet Natl Sec Adv Rice Chief of Staff Card on WMD hunt Said Iraq probably only had surge capacity to quickly restart WMD programs but no stockpiles Said trailers found were probably not mobile WMD labs Said Bush seemed unphased by fact that no WMD found

(Musings On Iraq How Iraqi Defector CURVEBALL Became Basis For US Claims That Iraq Had WMD)

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

2003 Kay separately briefed VP Cheney who asked Kay to look into whether Iraq sent its WMD to Syria or

Bekka Valley Lebanon

2005 Saddam’s trial ended

2006 Iraq and UN announced International Compact to help develop country

2006 UK Amb to Iraq Patey said that de facto division of Iraq and civil war more likely than transition to

democracy

2006 Al Qaeda in Iraq leaders Abu Salih al-Saudi Abu Abdullah al-Saudi and 14 fighters killed in airstrike

north of Ramadi Disrupted group’s operations in Ramadi

2007 KDP and PUK renewed strategic power sharing agreement

2007 Report Jan 07 Saudis told US Amb to Iraq Khalilzad that PM Maliki an Iranian agent and helped

Sadr Bush officials said Saudis not helping with Iraq Financing Sunni groups Majority of suicide bombers Saudis 40% of foreign fighters in Iraq Saudis Saudis asked Gulf States to help it finance Sunni groups opposed to Maliki US didn’t publicly criticized Saudis because of alliance

(Musings On Iraq The Saudi Role In The Iraqi Insurgency)

(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)

2008 Report Mahdi Army took protection money from gas stations minibus service power stations markets

ice factories and squatters in Sadr City 4 main gas stations in district used to pay $13,000/day Controlled 12 trucks that delivered gas canisters

2009 Report KDP arresting Christians in Qaraqosh KRG funded projects in town to win loyalties

2009 Industry Minister said public employees only worked avg 2 hrs per day 

2009 Report Sadr lived in Tehran Went to Qom for religious training to become learned religious

scholar Never finished

2009 VP Abdul Mahdi’s bodyguards robbed state run Rafidain Bank in Baghdad Stole $6.8 mil

Executed 8 guards

2009 Kurdistan Islamic Union HQ in Irbil attacked by KDP followers

2015 Protests in Rania KRG over project being stopped that led to clash with police

2018 Protests in Basra Babil Dhi Qar Karbala Baghdad Najaf Maysan Muthanna Qadisiya for jobs services

(Musings On Iraq Activists Focusing Upon Fridays For National Protests In Iraq)

View the Iraq History Timeline 

Security In Iraq Jul 15-21, 2021

Violence in Iraq declined for the second week. Incidents by both the Islamic State and pro-Iran groups went down during the third week of July 2021. The insurgents were able to launch a mass casualty bombing in Baghdad however.

This Day In Iraqi History Jul 26

 

1920 Gertrude Bell wrote that Baghdad started the 1920 Revolt but not lost control of it when tribes rose up

and they listened to no one Baghdad did not start revolt

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell And Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell, Explorer of the Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq movie review Letters from Baghdad)

(Musings On Iraq review Desert Queen, The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia)

1920 UK Cmdr in Iraq Gen Haldane requested two divisions as reinforcements to deal with 1920

Revolt

1933 Iraq-French meeting Iraq told new border meant Assyrians who tried to get into Syria

            were actually still in Iraq French didn't want them in Syria

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

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

1983 Iran Op Wa al-Fajr 2 captured Haj Omran pass and Mount Kerde Mand in Iraqi Kurdistan

(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)

1985 Iranian Op Al Quds 4 in Mandali Diyala

1988 Iraq began Op Eternal Light using Mujahedeen e-Khalq attacking towards Kormanshah

Advanced 60 miles Took 2 Iranian towns with Iraqi air support hoping to start revolt against Khomeini

1988 Iran and Iraq foreign ministers met to discuss ceasefire

(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 review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1988 PUK decided to withdraw from Balisan Valley Hit by chemical weapons while retreating

1992 Iraq agreed to UN inspection of Agriculture Min after two week standoff as long as

            wouldn’t include any Americans

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

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

2001 Last of 4 NSC Deputies Committee meetings on revising Iraq policy

2005 US Army interrogators testified that dogs sleep deprivation and nudity all used on

            prisoners held at Abu Ghraib

2007 Truck bomb in Baghdad’s Karrada market killed 92 wounded 127

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

2007 US general said militias more accurate in targeting Green Zone because of training from Iran

(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)

2007 Audit Bechtel only finished half of its contracts Other half either canceled cut back or didn’t

            finish US only had 2 people to oversee contracts

2010 ISI bombed Al Arabiya TV station

2012 Protests in Basra against lack of electricity

2014 Ansar al-Islam refused to give allegiance to IS in Sadiya Diyala Led to fighting

            between two with IS winning

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

2015 Protest in Nasriaiya over power shortages

2017 Court issued arrest warrant for head of Salahaddin council for corruption

2018 Protest at West Qurna 2 field in Basra Tried to set up sit-in camp Broken up by ISF

            Another protest at Zubayr oil field went off peacefully

2020 Protests in Basra Dhi Qar Wasit Diwaniya Najaf Muthanna Baghdad ISF fired on protests and killed

3 in Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq National Protests Start In Iraq During The Weekend UPDATED)

(Musings On Iraq UN Report On Violence Against Iraqi Protesters)

View the Iraq History Timelines 

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 25

 

1920 Karbala joined 1920 Revolt Tribal fighters beat British at Raranjiya

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

1920 British reinforcements to Hilla devastated in route

1961 Gen Qasim claimed Kuwait as part of Iraq for 2^nd time

(Musings On Iraq review Unholy Babylon, The Secret History of Saddam’s War)

1968 PM Naif announced press censorship was ending

1985 Congress agreed to State Dept request to remove Iraq from list of states supporting terrorism Was

            part of Reagan’s move towards Iraq

1990 OPEC agreed to raise oil prices and follow quotas allaying Iraq complaints Kuwait and UAE

overproducing and lowering prices

(Musings On Iraq review Unholy Babylon, The Secret History of Saddam’s War)

1990 Saddam met US Amb to Iraq Glaspie Said he wanted meeting to be message to Bush Saddam said

US and Iraq didn’t have close understanding of each other that could lead to problems and misunderstandings Claimed US was plotting against him Said UAE and Kuwait forcing down oil prices which was an attack upon Iraq Said US supporting Gulf States at expense of Iraq Said US had to choose sides Said that he would not threaten Kuwait if it forgave debt agreed to OPEC quotas Saddam said he would talk to Kuwait but would not sit and wait while Kuwait waged economic war on Iraq Said that Gulf States refused to renegotiate Iraq’s debt and this was conspiracy led by Kuwait Claimed he would talk with Kuwait about dispute if they didn’t give into Iraqi demands he would act

(Musings On Iraq review the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait)

(Musings On Iraq review The Bush Administrations and Saddam Hussein, Deciding on Conflict)

(Musings On Iraq review The Outlaw State, Saddam Hussein’s Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis)

1990 Amb Glaspie told Saddam Bush wanted better Iraq-US relations Apologized for bad press on Iraq

Asked why Saddam had placed troops near Kuwait border Told Saddam US had no opinion on Iraq-Kuwait border dispute but warned not to use force

1990 US Defense Special Assessment said Iraq trying to pressure Kuwait to give into its demands and

didn’t think it would use military force

1990 Sec of State Baker told Commerce Dept export controls needed on US technology going to Iraq that

could be used for weapons programs

1990 Asst Sec State for Near East Kelly cancelled interview with Voice of America that would have warned

Iraq about troops buildup along Kuwait border

1990 US intel observed Iraqi trucks moving supplies from Baghdad to troops in Basra on

Kuwait border

1990 Pres Mubarak called Saddam worried about Iraq putting troops on Kuwait border Claimed Saddam

promised not to attack Kuwait Saddam later denied that

1992 PUK head Talabani said he wanted to joint a democratic Turkey rather than stay part of Iraq Came

after talks between Turkey and KDP-PUK after Gulf War and pledges by them to stop the PKK

2003 Sadr held rally in Najaf saying that he would form his own army to oppose US occupation

(Musings On Iraq A Divided Sadr Trend)

(Musings On Iraq review The Triumph of the Martyrs, A Reporter’s Journey into Occupied Iraq)

2003 Japan authorized largest deployment of troops since 1945 to be sent to Iraq

2003 CENTCOM cmdr Abuzaid memo to Rumsfeld Situation in Iraq met definition of insurgency US

shouldn’t be afraid to use term

2005 New US Amb Khalilzad said security was his top priority

2005 Sunni members of constitutional committee ended boycott after member assassinated

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

2006 Op River Falcon to secure Sayifiya south of Baghdad started

2007 Iran gave PM Maliki his own personal jet

2007 US commanders in south Baghdad meeting on reconstruction Found Shiite areas had plenty of

water provided by govt Sunnis areas were facing huge water shortage US had to provide water to Sunni areas Talked about pressuring Maliki govt but it was unresponsive because made decisions on sectarian basis

2009 KRG held parliamentary and presidential elections

(Musings On Iraq Implications of the Kurdish Elections On Iraq’s Parliamentary Vote)

2018 Protest in Dhi Qar Called for removal of governor

2018 Report Iraq Election Comm warned that using electronic voting machine could undermine trust in

vote Told machines had major problems South Korean company would not properly audit vote

2020 Protests in Najaf Diwaniya Basra Babil Karbala Dhi Qar over electricity lack of services

and govt workers not being paid

(Musings On Iraq National Protests Start In Iraq During The Weekend UPDATED)

View the Iraq History Timelines