This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 31 Badr and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq blamed for retaliatory attacks in Diyala after bombing Killed civilians destroyed Sunni mosques and shops Told Sunnis they had to leave

(AP)

 

1941 UK Foreign Office decided to give money to Regent to help him return to power

(Musings On Iraq review Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)

1946 PM Pachachi resigned as Regent pushed for political and economic reforms in Iraq

1964 Barzani met with Sulaymaniya governor Arif govt said it would accept Kurdish rights

release political prisoners Kurds would allow govt officials to return to Kurdistan

(Musings On Iraq review 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)

1983 Iran officially rejected ceasefire talks by Iraq Khomeini was open to talks but

Rafsanjani and Khamenei rejected offer

1987 Iran Op Karbala 5 made last attack upon Iraqi defensive lines in Basra and stopped

(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)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 1: The Battle for Khuzestan, September 1980-May 1982)

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 3: Iraq’s Triumph)

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

1991 US and Saudis pushed Iraqi forces out of Saudi city of Khafji after 2 days of fighting

1993 Iraqi forces attacked Irbil

1999 Soviet paper claimed hundreds of Afghan Arabs were being trained in terrorism in

south Iraq to fight US

2003 PM Blair’s advisers told him had to prioritize pushing Bush on postwar planning for

Iraq but Blair failed to do so

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Inquiry Section 6.5 Planning And Preparation For A Post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, January to March 2003)

2003 PM Blair told Bush he needed a 2^nd UN resolution for use of force against Iraq for

domestic politics Bush agreed 2^nd resolution not necessary to go to war Talked about provoking Iraq to help justify war including getting US spy plane fired upon Bush said that invasion would start Mar 10 2003

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

(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 Chilcot Inquiry Section 3.7 Development of UK Strategy and Options, 1 February to 7 March 2003)

2003 Bush said fighting between Iraqi factions would be unlikely after invasion

2004 Gen Taguba started investigation of abuses at Abu Ghraib prison

2004 Car bomb at Mosul police station killed 9 wounded 45

2005 Assyrians in Ninewa’s Bashiqa and Bartella told couldn’t vote after promised they

could when ballots ran out on Jan 30

2005 Assyrians demonstrated in Ninewa Plains over not being allowed to vote Broken up by

Kurdish security forces

2006 US Emb-military report situation in 6 of Iraq’s 18 provinces serious 1 critical Said

militias infiltrating security forces in Basra Lots of gangs smuggling assassinations

2007 PM Maliki told CNN Iraq only needed a few more US troops not Surge Bush called for

2007 Bush in interview said he’d authorized US forces in Iraq to treat Iranian agents as

combatants

2007 Fmr Rep Hamilton and Fmr Attn Gen Meese told Congress US hired contractors to

train Iraqi police that weren’t competent and didn’t have personnel for job Said Justice Dept should have led effort and police should have taken over training not military

(Musings On Iraq interview with Col Ted Spain on how US struggled to establish law and order in post-invasion Iraq) 

(Musings On Iraq American Negligence In Iraq Or How The United States Failed To Plan For Security The Country Part One Of A Two Part Interview With Jerry Burke Former Advisor To The Baghdad Police And Interior Ministry)

(Musings On Iraq review The U.S. Army In The Iraq War: Volume 1, Invasion, Insurgency,

Civil War, 2003-2006)

2007 Special Insp Gen for Iraq Recon report said some Iraqi ministries spent as little as 15%

of their budgets because couldn’t find companies to work in dangerous areas lack of skilled contracting officers ant-corruption rules hindered spending Said electricity production in 4^th qtr of 2006 below pre-war levels State Dept so embarrassed eliminated pre-war power production from a report to try to hide dip in output Said US lost $300 bil due to waste and corruption State Dept contracted DynCorp to build police camp in Baghdad Not used Spent $4.2 mil for VIP trailers and Olympic sized pool ordered by Interior Min and not authorized by US Spent another $36.4 mil on armored vehicles body armor communications that never showed up

(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Savage on US reconstruction effort in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Reconstructing Iraq’s Budgetary Institutions)

2008 Report US military blamed Bassima al-Jadiri on National Reconciliation Comm for

blocking integration of Sunnis into ISF Accused her of being sectarian US general in charge of police training said Jadiri should be removed Iraqi general submitted list of army recruits Jadiri rejected all the Sunnis US general sent list of 3,000 Sahwa to be integrated into police Jadiri only accepted Shiites

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

2008 Report Iraq Family Health Survey Est 151,000 violent deaths from Mar 03-Jun 06 Deaths usually

underreported during violent times Compared survey with Iraq Body Count and Lancet studies Matched up with Iraq Body Count Not with Lancet Thought Lancet overestimated deaths considerably Lancet est 925 violent deaths/day from Jun 05-Jun 06 Would mean 87% of deaths were missed by Healthy Survey and 90% by Iraq Body Count Highly improbable to miss that many Health Survey also used much larger sample size which meant more quality control than Lancet

(Musings On Iraq Major Flaws With The Lancet Reports On Iraqi Deaths Part I)

(Musings On Iraq Major Flaws With The Lancet Reports On Iraqi Deaths Part II)

(Musings On Iraq New Survey On Estimated Deaths In Iraq Refutes Lancet Reports)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Mark Van Der Laan on Lancet Reports)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Michael Spagat on Lancet reports)

2009 Provincial elections held Saw heavy Sunni turnout Voter participation was still down

to 51% vs 57% in Jan 05 and 76% in Dec 05

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Provincial Elections And Abuses)

(Musings On Iraq Information On Iraq’s Voting System)

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s New Provincial Councils – Update)

(Musings On Iraq Governors, Heads of Councils, and Ruling Coalitions In Iraq’s Provinces)

2009 1920 Revolution Brigade established truce with other insurgents in Diyala to conduct

vote Wanted representation

2009 1000s couldn’t vote in provincial election Names weren’t on voter lists Some couldn’t

find their voting centers Kurds in Diyala and displaced complained

2009 Election monitoring group said violations in Baghdad Ninewa Diyala

2009 Higher Educ Min said 2,000 fake degrees held by govt officials and faculty 2,000 held

by individuals claiming to be college graduates

2009 Foreign Min Zebari said he was proud of Iraq after Arab summit in Kuwait because Iraq

had finally been re-integrated into the region

2011 Report PM Maliki made his son assistant to dir of PM’s office Maliki stripped former assistant of

power to let son in Maliki’s son in law also part of intel agency Another son director of procurement in PM’s office Critics said Maliki used his sons to enrich himself and family

2012 Report 09 Oil Min began signing contracts with foreign oil companies Iraq needed their tech

and expertise Production increased as a result Signed 11 foreign contracts Promised 13 mil/bar/day in oil production in 7 yrs Would make Iraq largest oil producer in world Didn’t happen Political disputes undermined goals During sanctions oil infrastructure deteriorated relied upon improvised solutions Still did Red tape major problems 2011 western companies couldn’t get visas for months Visas had to be approved by PM Maiki’s office and couldn’t handle traffic Maliki’s style was to centralize power which meant delays increased Oil Min slow to work out and ok plans and sign contracts Customs held up equipment at ports Law said parliament needed to approve oil contracts but only went through Oil Min Made it harder to pass oil law because would have to recognize existing contracts and terms Energy decisions made by individuals and increased rivalries KRG followed independent policy Opposed by Baghdad 07 KRG signed 1^st deal with foreign company Oct 2011 Exxon signed deal with KRG Upset Baghdad which wanted to centralize power over oil KRG Natural Resource Min said wanted to increase exports to 1 mil/bar/day in 5 yrs Couldn’t do that without deal with Baghdad

2012 VP Hashem said PM Maliki broke the constitution Called on Pres Talabani to stop Maliki’s abuse

Came after more of Hashemi’s bodyguards and 2 of his staff were arrested

2012 Report Jasim Mohammed Mashadani founded Islamic Army Began meeting people during prayers in

Baghdad after invasion Might’ve been fmr intel agent Said he was a businessman to cover his work Eventually formed ties with other insurgents Set up safe houses Formed units Imported vehicles Focused on propaganda for groups Experimented with new forms of IEDs Moved to Diyala Started working with Ansar al-Sunna Believed US never understood how insurgency started Thought social networks of ex-military and intel officers nationalists Islamists allowed people to meet and organize

2013 Human Rights Watch ISF continued to carry out arbitrary arrests and run secret prisons March 2011

Justice Min said it would close secret prison at Camp Honor Torture used there Prison never closed Before Arab League Summit Maliki govt conducted mass arrests Some were tortured ISF said was done to stop attacks before event 6 prisoners who were released said they were arrested to stop protests during summit Govt said 70% of prisons overcrowded Many held without going to trial or pre-trial review Many prisoners lacked adequate access to food and water Govt responded to protests with intimidation threats violence arrests Feb 2012 PUK security surrounded protest in Sulaymaniya and attacked crowd Feb 2012 ISF blocked protesters from reaching Tahrir Square in Baghdad Natl Communications Comm asked Interior Min to take action vs 44 foreign and Iraqi media outlets for operating illegally None were closed but opened door to them being closed in future

2013 Report Syrian Kurds looked to KRG for help KRG gave aid to Syrian Kurdish refugees Hosted

meeting of parties Trained Syrian fighters Pres Barzani pushed for creation of Supreme Kurdish Comm to align all Syrian Kurdish groups Barzani supported Kurdistan National Council that called for federalism in Syria PKK rejected idea

2014 Report Rival Diyala govt formed in Khanaqin Came about after governor dismissed for a warrant for

him Governor then re-elected in Khanaqin Replacement governor elected and put in office in Baquba Court said re-election of old governor illegal

2015 Peshmerga freed 2 towns in Diyala Told residents to leave afterward Then destroyed homes in

3 towns

2016 Human Rights Watch Blamed Badr and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq for attacking Sunnis after Jan 2016

bombing in Muqdadiya Diyala 30 killed in retaliation 12 Sunnis mosques and shops also destroyed 2 journalists killed after tried to report on story PM Abadi said he would seek justice for incident Claimed gangs had been arrested for attack Muqdadiya mayor said no Hashd arrested for incident Hashd blamed attack on IS

2016 Report Hashd blamed for around 1000 kidnappings in Salahaddin After areas freed of IS MP

called on PM Abadi to find the missing

2017 Report 2012 around ¼ of Iraqi children lived in poverty Children had highest rate of poverty of

any age group Undermined future of youth Poor households didn’t get many social benefits from govt 34% of rural children poor vs 17% in urban areas South Iraq had most poverty Illiteracy major factor in poverty 1 in 3 kids lacked full access to education 30% of kids under 5 suffered food deprivation Only 12% of poor got services 82% of govt expenditures on social services went to the rich

2017 Report Parliament restarted investigation into oil corruption Australian paper reported billions

in bribes made by Unaoil Group High level officials in Oil Min VP Shahristani and Oil Min Luaibi implicated

2017 Report Auditing firm found corruption in KRG ministries in 2015 Nothing done

2018 Report Iraq trying to extradite corrupt figures 2018 fmr Trade Min Sudani extradited from

Jordan Had been fugitive since 2009 Fmr general secretary of Def Min extradited in Jan 2018 Accused of embezzling $1 bil Iraq also went after fmr Electricity Transportation Defense Ministers

2018 Report Turkish army moved 7 km into KRG to fight PKK Set up base in a town

2020 Sadr called for his followers to return to protests after abandoning them reportedly for

Iran’s backing

(Musings On Iraq Sadr Returns To Iraq’s Protests After Betraying Them For Iran)

2020 Human Rights Watch Starting Jan 25 ISF increased attacks on protests Burnt tents

Used live ammo Arrested people in Baghdad Basra Dhi Qar Tried to break up sit-in camps Crackdown started after Sadr withdrew support for demonstrations

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

(Musings On Iraq United Nations Faults Iraq For Failing To Protect Protesters)

2020 3 protesters stabbed in Baghdad Were skirmishes between protesters and Sadrists in

Tahrir Sq

2020 Report Sadr’s withdrawal of support for protests split his movement Many supported

change and demonstrations

2021 Report Head of parliament’s finance committee rejected cutting govt salaries Agreed to income

tax but at lower % Cutting salaries major part of attempt to fight budget deficit caused by drop in oil prices

2021 Iraq ranked 8^th most corrupt country out of 179 in Transparency International’s

Corruption Perceptions Index

(Musings On Iraq Iraq Ranked In Bottom 10 In World In Corruption Index)

(Musings On Iraq Corruption In Iraq An Interview With Stuart Bowen Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction)

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Trouble Fighting Corruption Interview With Vincent Foulk Former US Anti-Graft Official)

2023 Sudani govt said it wanted to return all displaced and close all displaced camps in 6

months

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