The Islamic State made a return to Iraq during the last week of May. Pro-Iran groups continued attacks upon Israel during the Gaza War.
1915 British took Qurna and set out to capture Amarah from Ottomans
(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)
Frederick, Jim, Black Hearts, One Platoon’s Descent Into Madness In Iraq’s Triangle Of Death, Broadway, 2010
Black Hearts, One Platoon’s Descent Into Madness In Iraq’s Triangle Of Death is a depressing story about how a U.S. army platoon was neglected, denigrated and committed a heinous crime during its deployment in Iraq. Most of the book is about how a battalion from the 101st Airborne Division was deployed to what was called the Triangle of Death, one of the most dangerous parts of the country just south of Baghdad. It emphasizes how aimless the U.S. military was for many years in Iraq carrying out tasks that had no real impact. It’s only at the end that the book goes over the rape of a 14 year old Iraqi girl and the murder of her family by American soldiers. Black Hearts blames the chain of command for allowing the unit to deteriorate to the point that it carried out this act.
1920 UK judicial secretary Carter wrote Sir Wilson head political officer warning Sunni-Shiite
unity would threaten British rule in Iraq
1933 Interior Min had Assyrian leader Mar Shimun come to Baghdad to discuss differences with
govt over settling community in north Interior said it was willing to acknowledge Mar Shimun as spiritual leader but would not give him any political power Said UK officer arriving to help settle community Mar Shimun said he would help with settlement Pledged loyalty to King Faisal
(Musings On Iraq review The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)
1917 UK Col Clayton in Egypt worried Sykes-Picot would create opposition by Sharif of
Mecca against UK taking Baghdad Included independent Arab state for Sharif
(Musings On Iraq review The Creation of Iraq 1914-1921)
(Musings On Iraq review Empires of the Sand, The Struggle For Mastery In The Middle East 1789-1923)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Princeton’s Sara Pursley on Sykes-Picot and creation of Iraq)
1915 US consulate report Discontent in Baghdad against draft for war growing UK tried
to bribe tribes south of Baghdad to turn on Ottomans
1922 Cleric Khalisi informed southern tribes British were trying to get their way in new Anglo-
Iraq Treaty
Selbi, Dhafir, Al-Chalabi, Zuhair, Co-authored and edited by Dr. Khadduri, Imad, Unrevealed Milestones in the Iraqi National Nuclear Program 1981-1991, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011
Unrevealed Milestones in the Iraqi National Nuclear Program 1981-1991 was written by three Iraqi scientists who worked on the country’s nuclear program. They were partly inspired by two other scientists who wrote books which the authors believed were full of misinformation aimed at supporting the U.S. claims about WMD. Their intent was to tell their truth of what Iraq did and didn’t do which of course was a huge topic of controversy before and after the 2003 invasion.
1922 When Colonial Sec Churchill asked by parliament if King Faisal opposed British Mandate
Churchill said no Faisal was against Mandate When news reached Iraq was 1st page in papers Angered Iraqis
1919 Sheikh Mahmoud Barzinji started rebellion against British in Sulaymaniya
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurdish Revolt 1961-1970)
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurds, A Modern History)
(Musings On Iraq Explaining Kurdish Nationalism Interview With Teen Tech Univ Prof Michael Gunter)
1847 Treaty of Arzurum tried to set border between Ottoman Empire and Persia Gave
Sulaymaniya to Ottomans Shatt al-Arab to Persia Set up commission to demarcate border between Ottomans and Persia but never finished
(Musings On Iraq review An Analysis of Hanna Batatu’s The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq)
869 Adv to Abbasid Caliph Mutazz confronted ministers accusing them of hoarding money Were
tortured and imprisoned but had no money
1941 British bombed Fallujah while troops began surrounding town
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s First Battle Of Fallujah 1941)
(Musings On Iraq interview World War II In Iraq and Syria Interview With Case Western’s Prof Broich)
1920 Huge joint Sunni-Shiite demonstration in Baghdad during Ramadan against British rule
(Musings On Iraq review A Short History of Iraq)
Franzen, Johan, Pride And Power, A Modern History Of Iraq, Hurst & Company, 2020
Pride And Power, A Modern History Of Iraq by Johan Franzen is a very dense history of Iraq from the Ottoman period to the present. It is chock full of detail after detail. There are some new bits of information relayed but the last third of the book that starts with the Gulf War falters. Its version of the 2003 invasion is especially disappointing making it an uneven book.
1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement broke up Ottoman Empire Basra and Baghdad to UK Mosul to France
Would be independent Arab state under UK and French influence
(Musings On Iraq interview with Princeton’s Sara Pursley on Sykes-Picot and creation of Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review The Creation of Iraq 1914-1921)
(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)
(Musings On Iraq review Empires of the Sand, The Struggle For Mastery In The Middle East 1789-1923)
(Musings On Iraq review U.S. Policy In Post-Saddam Iraq)
1935 Tribes seized Suq al-Shuyukh and cut railway between Basra and Nasiriya during revolt
against govt
1935 Iraqi army and air force began campaign to bomb tribal areas Destroyed towns and burned
crops to put down tribal revolt in Rumaitha
(Musings On Iraq review Wings of Iraq, Volume 1: The Iraqi Air Force, 1931-1970)
1915 British forces moved north to try to encircle Ottoman forces in Qurna
(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)
1920 US protested to UK about San Remo agreement that divided up Iraq’s oil between UK and
France saying London promised open door policy in region
(Musings On Iraq review Supremacy And Oil, Iraq, Turkey, and the Anglo-American World Order, 1918-1930)
1941 Soviet Union recognized PM Gaylani’s govt
(Musings On Iraq interview World War II In Iraq and Syria Interview With Case Western’s Prof Broich)
1941 British reinforcements from Palestine and Transjordan attacked by a German bomber
1941 German air force liaison officer killed while trying to land in Baghdad during dog fight between
Iraqi and British fighter planes
1941 PM Gaylani told German ambassador to Turkey Ankara made offer to be middleman with
England Gaylani feared Turkey would intervene in Iraq
(Musings On Iraq review Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad)
(Musings On Iraq review Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War)
(Musings On Iraq review Blood, Oil and the Axis: The Allied Resistance Against A Fascist State In Iraq and the Levant, 1941)
1948 Iraqi air force deployed to Transjordan for Arab-Israeli War
1948 Armed clash between Independence Party and tribesmen loyal to Nuri al-Said and fmr PM Jabr
5 dead 47 wounded
1954 National Front formed from National Democratic Party and Independence Party Called for civil
liberties Cancellation of Anglo-Iraq Treaty Closure of UK bases Cancellation of oil concessions
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Democratic Moment)
1958 Parliament ratified Arab Hashemite Union with Jordan
1962 Mustafa Barzani cut off police battalion in Dohuk area
(Musings On Iraq review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurdish Revolt 1961-1970)
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurds, A Modern History)
(Musings On Iraq review Journey Among Brave Men, Travels in Kurdistan)
(Musings On Iraq Explaining Kurdish Nationalism Interview With Teen Tech Univ Prof Michael Gunter)
1969 Dispute over Shatt al-Arab discussed at UN after Iran protested Iraq expelling 10,000 Iranians
1982 Iranian Op Bait al-Moqaddas Reached Khorrmashahr across from Basra Drove Iraqi forces out
of Susangerd area
(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)
1986 US intel report Iraq was talking with China to build a covert nuclear power plant
1990 Italy said it seized parts headed for Iraq to make a 130 ft long supergun UK Turkey
Greece also found parts for gun
(Musings On Iraq review Al-Hussein, Iraqi Indigenous Conventional Arms Projects, 1980-2003)
1991 Baghdad took journalists to mass grave with 100 bodies it claimed were killed by Iranians and
Shiite rebels in southern Iraq
1996 Sec State Albright interviewed on 60 Minutes Was asked whether 500,000 Iraqi children dying
as a result of sanctions was worth it Albright said yes
(Musings On Iraq review Out Of The Ashes, The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein)
(Musings On Iraq review Invisible War, The United States And The Iraq Sanctions)
2003 Paul Bremer arrived in Iraq to take over new CPA During meeting Bremer suggested shooting
looters US military said it would not shoot looters Remark leaked angering Iraqis
(Musings On Iraq review State of Denial, Bush At War, Part III)
2003 Only 4000 Iraqi police on duty in Baghdad to cover 7 mil inhabitants
(Musings On Iraq interview with Col Ted Spain on how US struggled to establish law and order in post-invasion Iraq)
2003 UK ForSec Straw said that Coalition failed to restore order in Baghdad
(Musings On Iraq review Voices From Iraq, A People’s History, 2003-2009)
(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
2003 Report on INC defector ex-nuke scientist Hamza Saddam’s son-in-law Kamil called Hamza a
liar Hamza and former UN inspector Albright tried to get book published on Iraq’s nuke program Said Iraq failed to build bomb Not published Hamza got new book published Saddam’s Bombmaker claiming Iraq was closer to building a bomb than anyone knew
2004 1800 new pictures of prison abuse at Abu Ghraib released
2004 Sec Def Rumsfeld told Senate US interrogation methods used in Iraq were legal and cleared by
Pentagon lawyers
2005 Al Qaeda in Iraq kidnapped Anbar Gov Mahalawi and his son Governor’s body found 3
weeks later
2006 Bush invited 10 former Secretaries of State and Defense to ask them opinions about Iraq war
(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)
2007 Report US GAO found 100,000-300,000 barrels of oil missing each day Worth est $5-$15 mil
Smugglers likely culprit
2007 Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq dropped revolution from its title Also said
that it would look towards Ayatollah Sistani more than Ayatollah Khamenei Party was trying to distance itself from its pro-Iran history
2008 PM Maliki told Amb Crocker and Gen Petraeus that Iran was helping criminal elements in Basra
and Iraqis were sick of Tehran’s interference
2008 Sadr issued another ceasefire to try to stop govt offensive against Mahdi Army
2008 United Iraqi Alliance and Sadrists agreed not to attack each other politically after ceasefire
announced
2008 Report US judge who headed anti-corruption effort in Iraq in 07 said State Dept undermined
effort and allowed corruption to continue US embassy State Justice Depts Iraqi govt ignored effort Jul 07 Amb Crocker told Iraqi official stole $1 bil in medical supplies and sold them on black market and to Syria US did nothing Judge worked on report on corruption Congress asked for copy State classified report and blocked testimony on it Embassy blocked Congress from interviewing anti-corruption officials in Iraq PM Maliki fired Sunnis on Integrity Comm and top investigator Head of Comm Judge Radhi wouldn’t follow Maliki’s orders When Radhi asked for asylum in US due to threats US Embassy wouldn’t help him
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Corruption)
(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)
2008 Deputy head of US anti-corruption effort said US did nothing as PM Maliki worked to subvert
Integrity Commission
2008 Iran came out against Iraq signing Status of Forces Agreement with US
2009 PM Maliki had head of Ghazilia Baghdad Sawha arrested Was tortured by ISF
2009 Tribal march in Mosul for Hadbaa list and against Peshmerga and Asayesh presence in Ninewa
(Musings On Iraq Tit For Tat In Ninewa)
(Musings On Iraq Arab-Kurdish Divide Over New Ninewa Provincial Council)
2009 Mass grave in Qadisiyah found with 100 Kurds killed during Anfal campaign
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Anfal Campaign And The Destruction Of The Kurdish Opposition)
2009 Report PM Maliki set pattern of turning on his allies Started with Sadr in 08 Sadr put him in
power Then turned on Kurds Sent army into disputed area of Diyala Both aimed at increasing Maliki’s nationalist credentials Created Tribal Support Councils that angered ISCI and Kurds
(Musings On Iraq Disputes Over Tribal Support Councils)
2010 US general warned Sadrists carrying out attacks extortion intimidation in southern Iraq
2011 Parliament elected 3 VPs after 2010 elections Mahdi Hashemi and Khuzai
(Musings On Iraq Iraq Completes Another Pieces Of The Government Puzzle By Voting On Vice Presidents)
2011 PM Blair’s communication dir Campbell told Chilcot Inquiry Sep 02 WMD dossier was not case
for war vs Iraq but why Blair concerned about Saddam Min of Defense dir of general intelligence Gen Laurie said dossier was to promote war Said previous drafts rejected because didn’t make strong enough case vs Iraq Said Defense Min under pressure to get more on Iraq to make argument for war Said in final draft every point was edited to make it as strong as possible Said conclusion of dossier was not supported by intel
2011 Report MI6 told PM Blair’s foreign policy adv Manning Dec 01 that there was no intel linking
Iraq to jihadists Said removing Saddam important to secure oil supplies Would lead to secular state that would help against extremists Said Saddam could be removed in a coup Another memo from April 05 said Iraq war had radicalized many and increased terrorist threat Said made terrorists more determined to attack West Expanded Al Qaeda’s reach Had radicalized Muslims in UK
2011 Report Survey found 50% of graduating primary students went to higher education Many
schools broken down More than 20% of primary kids around 4 mil students dropped out each yr South Iraq up to 65% of kids don’t go to school Girls had least education
2011 Sadrist leaders said 2/3 vote in parliament needed to approve US troop extension
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Sadr Could Be Backing Off Threat To Revive Mahdi Army If U.S. Doesn’t Withdraw)
2011 ISCI leader Hakim called on Arab govts to end tension with Iran and form regional organization
to normalize relations with Tehran
(Musings On Iraq Two Iraqi Leaders Praise Iran)
2012 KRG complained about PM Maliki holding cabinet meeting in Kirkuk Listed all grievances with
Baghdad over oil Article 140 etc
(Musings On Iraq Maliki’s Visit To Kirkuk Meant To Divide Iraqi National Movement And Kurdish Coalition)
2012 KRG Natural Resource Min said if Baghdad didn’t deliver region’s share of budget it would
truck oil for exports independently
2013 Iraqi paper got memo showing PM Maliki okayed purchase of fake bomb detectors
(Musings On Iraq Fallout In Iraq From Conviction Of Fake Bomb Detector Maker)
2013 Sadrists Supreme Council and Fadhila agreed to form coalition in 7 new provincial govts in
south and Baghdad
2014 Ground forces cmdr Gen Ghidan said Amiriya Fallujah had been cleared of insurgents
2014 Report Election observers found parties replaced ballots and forged them in Anbar Election Com
accepted ballot boxes that were marked for violations and others without counting contents
2014 ISF said Babil’s Jurf al-Sakhr dist cleared of insurgents Was still ISIS base
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Southern Front Babil Province Where The Islamic State Has Free Reign)
(Musings On Iraq Twelve Security Operations Later And Iraq’s Northern Babil Is No Less Safe)
2015 Report ISCI claimed Kataib Hezbollah Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and other Hashd challenging
future of National Alliance Wanted to turn success in war vs IS into political power Accused Kataib Hezbollah of attacking ISCI offices in Basra Baghdad and other provinces
(Musings On Iraq Intra-Shiite Rivalaries In Iraq As Kataib Hezbollah Raids ISCI Office)
(Musings On Iraq Instrument Of Iran’s Power In Iraq And Syria Kataib Hezbollah)
(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)
2015 Diyala integrity comm called for court to dismiss Diyala governor for stealing funds for
displaced
2015 Report Rumaila oil field had budget cut by $1 bil Production not grown as fast as
predicted Was talk of Iraq producing 13 mil/bar/day 2015 Iraq was producing 3.7 mil/bar/day Oil Minister said early predictions unrealistic Said if Iraq reached 6-7 mil/bar/day by 2020 would be good Didn’t meet that mark Infrastructure years behind schedule
2015 Report Gorran came in 2nd in 2013 KRG elections Got ministries but didn’t control
bureaucracy staffed by PUK-KDP Was criticized for going from opposition to partner with ruling parties it criticized Decline of PUK led KDP to want to be sole leader in KRG Pres Barzani declared himself commander in chief and wanted all Peshmerga under his control Peshmerga still under control of leaders within PUK-KDP PUK turned to Iran for aid
2015 Report PM Abadi OK’d 6000 tribal fighters from Anbar Less than 1000 had signed up 40-
50% quit during training Badr accused some of the volunteers of being IS Criticized program created by US
2016 IS began final assault on Ramadi with 12 suicide car bombs ISF morale broke and began
retreating
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
2017 3 mass graves found outside Saqlawiya Anbar Contained ISF executed by IS
2017 Hashd op to free west Ninewa started
2018 Iraq held fifth election for parliament 44% voter turnout lowest since elections started in
2005 Sadr-Communist Sairoon list won most seats
(Musings On Iraq May 2018 Elections Triumph For Iraqi Democracy Failure Iraq’s Parties)
(Musings On Iraq Seat Allocation Announced For Iraq’s New Parliament)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq Election Results All 18 Provinces)
(Musings On Iraq interview with IRIS-Chatham House’s Mansour on 2018 elections)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Edinburgh Univ PhD student Benedict Robin on Sadr-Communist alliance and May election)
2018 PUK attacked Gorran HQ in Sulaymaniya Widespread accusations of voting fraud in
Sulaymaniya and Kirkuk provinces
(Musings On Iraq Growing Crisis Over Elections In Kirkuk and Kurdistan)
2018 Iran’s Quds Force head Gen Suleimani arrived in Baghdad for elections Reportedly started
talks afterward to form anti-Sadr coalition
(Musings On Iraq Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Commander General Suleimani And His Role In Iraq, An Interview With The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins)
2019 Report Saudis offered to re-open border crossing closed since 1990 Also re-open
embassy Offered to build sports stadium
2020 Report IS starting new phase in Iraq Trying to assert power over villages and suburbs
Operating in small cells instead of large groups
2021 Clash between protesters and police in Karbala after activist assassinated
(Musings On Iraq UN Report On Violence Against Iraqi Protesters)
(Musings On Iraq United Nations Faults Iraq For Failing To Protect Protesters)
View the Iraq History Timelines
1920 Nationalist Haras al-Istiqlal decided to increase campaign for independence in
Baghdad Agreed on joint Sunni-Shiite events during annual religious ceremonies
Bulloch, John and Morris, Harvey, Saddam’s War, Faber and Faber, 1991
Saddam’s War is a very short and thorough overview of the causes of the Gulf War. It was written by John Bulloch and Harvey Morris who worked for the Independent newspaper in London as a journalist and an editor. It provides a good introduction for anyone interested in the conflict.
1919 UK approved Iraq political officer Wilson’s plan for mandate in Iraq run by a high
commissioner Foreign Office told Wilson to treat Mosul as an Arab province of Iraq Meant Mosul would be included in Iraq
(Musings On Iraq review Britain In Iraq, Contriving King and Country)
(Musings On Iraq review U.S. Policy In Post-Saddam Iraq)
1638 Ottoman Sultan Murad IV began siege of Baghdad Captured it by end of year Massacred Shiites