1920 Iraq High Commission Sir Cox asked Jafaar al-Askari to return to Baghdad Would become
1st Defense Minister Askari ex-Ottoman officer Was Faisal’s military commander during Arab Revolt
1949 Zionists organized general strike of kosher butchers to try to force chief rabbi to resign because
wasn’t standing up to govt during wave of arrests of Jews following independence of Israel
(Musings On Iraq review Last Days in Babylon, The Exile of Iraq’s Jews, the Story of My Family)
1965 Gen Nasser said he supported Iraqi govt against Mustafa Barzani’s Kurdish rebellion
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurds, A Modern History)
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurdish Revolt 1961-1970)
1974 Barzani wrote Kissinger Said Iraq was launching major offensive Said arming Kurds
would block Soviet expansion in Mideast
1980 Iraqi forces surrounded and began siege of Abadan Iran Was supposed to be taken in 1st wk
of war Was already 1 month long
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)
1981 UN backed Islamic Conference Organization’s attempt to end Iran-Iraq War
1983 Iranian Op Wa al-Farj 4 reached Penjwin Sulaymaniya Iraqi counterattack pushed Iranians
back
(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 Baghdad told Kurdish workers that if they wanted to keep their jobs they had to move to
govt controlled areas of Kurdistan due to clashes with Peshmerga
1992 Inspectors interviewed Gen Ayubi in charge of SCUDs during Gulf War Said he moved missiles from
Anbar facing Israel to south facing Saudi Arabia without Coalition finding out Said didn’t lose a single launcher during war US claimed it destroyed several
2004 Sistani aide Safi in Friday sermon said voting in 2005 elections was a religious duty
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
2004 Report Around 20 families mostly exiles like the Majids who were cousins of Saddam were
financing the insurgency
2006 Report criticized Lancet report that est 400,000-800,000 Iraqi deaths since 2003 Lancet
claimed 40 consecutive households were questioned within 1 day Public health researcher Hicks didn’t think that possible One Lancet author Roberts said 80% of deaths recorded had a death certificate and that deaths had been underreported Lancet criticized for main street bias only surveying streets where violence more likely Lancet author Burnham said off streets were included Then said he actually didn’t know how survey was conducted Lancet author Roberts said some of the raw data was destroyed to protect people’s safety Also said that findings could easily be replicated by other studies
(Musings On Iraq Comparing Surveys of Iraqi Deaths During The War)
(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)
2006 Report US in talks with Islamic Army in Jordan
2006 Fmr Finance Min Allawi said $750-$800mil in defense spending under PM Allawi stolen
Ziad Cattan head of military procurement convicted in absentia for stealing from defense deals
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
(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)
2006 2nd ISI car bomb at Sheikh Abu Risha’s compound head of Anbar Awakening in Ramadi
(Musings On Iraq Understanding Anbar Before And After The Awakening Part III Sheikh Ahmed Sattar Al-Rishawi Abu Risha)
2007 bin Laden message to Iraq said insurgency was winning Had to overcome differences
and not work with US Called on insurgency to unite under one group Said insurgency would undo the division of the Ottoman empire and a new Islamic age was coming Called for reconciliation with Sahwa
2007 Report Sadiya Baghdad used to be majority Sunni Now 60% Shiite Mahdi Army worked
with Inter Min Wolf Brigade to cleanse neighborhood of Sunnis Sunnis turned to ISI US then organized Sadiya Guardians in Sep 07 Mahdi Army shelled Guardians Was protest by Shiites against Guardians claiming they were killers Sunnis held counter demonstration PM Maliki said he wanted Shiites to join Guardians but they objected
(Musings On Iraq review Voices From Iraq, A People’s History, 2003-2009)
(Musings On Iraq Columbia University Charts Sectarian Cleansing Of Baghdad)
2007 Report US campaign plan now had militias bigger threat to Iraq than insurgency Couldn’t
defeat militias so hoped that reconciliation would happen Dropped legislative benchmarks as sign of progress
2008 Report Ayatollah Haeri in Iran issued fatwa against Status of Forces Agreement with U.S.
Said it would be against Iraqi sovereignty
2008 Report Dispute over Tribal Support Councils part of rivalry between ISCI and PM Maliki’s
Dawa Councils answered directly to Maliki’s office ISCI said councils unconstitutional and patronage networks for Maliki
(Musings On Iraq Maliki’s Tribal Support Councils Appear To Be Paying Off)
2009 Report Interior Min intel head said ISF needed to be cleansed of criminals and militia Said
he fired 60,000 police in 2009 for criminal records 15,000 dismissed in 2008 1,500 police were hired in 2009 by political parties None were qualified Oct 09 Baghdad jewelry store robbed by police who killed 8 wounded 9
2010 Wikileaks released thousands of classified US reports on Iraq
2010 Wikileaks docs show US didn’t understand Al Qaeda in Iraq initially US received 100s of
reports of attacks Some true others not US never sure of origin of foreign fighters captured Had false papers Zarqawi’s Tawhid wal Jihad not really mentioned until Jul 04 Zarqawi pledged allegiance to bin laden Oct 04 Al Qaeda in Iraq not mentioned until July 05 Knew more about Ansar al-Islam Syria and Saudi Arabia main sources of foreign fighters US reports complained about Syria allowing foreign fighters to enter Iraq 08 US said Syria was changing policy Early 08 Adm Smith said foreign fighters from Syria had been cut in half Foreign fighters began decreasing mid-07 Led ISI to turn to women for suicide bombings May 07 1st report of women bomber mentioned by US Al Qaeda in Iraq got money from Syria and Gulf States Also raised money in Iraq Kidnapping common money maker Extorted money Robbery Stole $1.6 mil from oil office in Mosul Dec 08
2010 Report Wikileaks had 100s of reports of ISF abuses Reports of Iraqi soldiers cutting off
fingers of prisoners Burning them with acid Were mostly ignored by US Iraqis did nothing 1 Iraqi police chief said abuse was way to interrogate suspects
2010 Report Anbar govt rejected auction of Akkas gas field Said Oil Min needed to listen to
its demands Said it would not allow company to work there until demands met Anbar wanted natural gas used locally first Oil Min rejected Anbar’s interference
2010 Report Wikileaks docs Dec 05 US military in Baghdad warned about Dulaimi of Mahdi
Army who orchestrated kidnapping of Educ Min officials Planned on kidnapping US soldiers Dulaimi trained by Hezbollah in Iran Was under Iranian Rev Guard Quds Force supervision May 07 Dulaimi tracked and killed in US raid in Sadr City Dulaimmi also worked with Asaib Ahl Al-Haq
2010 Report Wikileaks showed many sahwa were fmr insurgents who abused positions One
report on low level sahwa leader who kidnapped and killed people Attacked US and ISF Many reports of sawha extorting money and arresting rivals Apr 08 report on sahwa leader who planted IED in Salahaddin that went off against US vehicle US thought he set off bomb over not getting contract 08 US thought sahwa were making up stories of finding bombs etc to inflate their importance Maliki govt arrested sahwa leaders in Diyala on thin charges Arrests complicated integration of sahwa into govt Arrests happened before 09 elections
2010 Report Wikileaks showed Iranian intel working with Mahdi Army and Badr to attack govt
officials Iran wanted to assassinate Industry Minister in 06 Survived attempt on his life Oct 05 report Iranian intel gave weapons to militias in Basra
(Musings On Iraq A History Of Iranian Weapons Shipments To Iraq Interview With Arkenstone Blog’s Galen Wright)
2010 Report Wikileaks showed Iran supplied sniper rifles and surface to air missiles to militias
US helicopter shot down with Iranian supplied missile in Baghdad Jul 07
2010 Report Blair’s new biography said Bush admin thought about invading Syria because it
supported Iraqi insurgency Sep 04 US Asst Sec State for Near East Burns went to Syria and complained about Assad supporting insurgents Reports Syrian intel helped insurgents with making bombs
2011 Sadrist MP said Mahdi Army would be unnecessary if US withdrew Sadr said US embassy
staff were occupiers and should be resisted
2011 Report US cut back staff at US embassy because of budget problems US withdrawal was
another factor
2011 Report After PKK killed 24 Turkish soldiers Turkey made incursion into KRG with 10,000
troops
2012 Report Diplomats believed charges against Central Bank of Iraq head attempt by PM
Maliki to control bank 2011 Supreme Court ruled bank under control of cabinet not parliament Eurasia Group analyst thought another example of Maliki centralizing power
(Musings On Iraq More On Central Bank of Iraq Scandal)
2012 Iraq’s ambassador to US asked Obama admin to intervene with Exxon and stop its contract
with KRG US said it couldn’t do much
2012 KRG used 2 trading company to truck around 8,000 bar/day of oil to Turkey KRG wanted
to increase exports to 12,000 bar/day by end of Oct Supported by Turkish govt Iraq said deals illegal
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)
2013 Dana Gas Crescent Petroleum Pearl Petroleum filed arbitration against KRG in UK Wanted
to clarify contracts for Khor Mor and Chamchamal fields Also wanted to know how much Natural Resource Min owed them Companies said they tried to negotiate with ministry first
2013 Report Young Kurds that grew up in West and returned had problems in KRG Filmmaker
from Holland got job at Film Academy in Irbil Complained about corruption patronage nepotism Said students regularly cut and pasted their work Businessman from Netherlands said most medicine imported by 2 families He tried to get into business and container of his medicine held at checkpoint Went to checkpoint to get it released and arrested on drug charges Lawyer couldn’t get him out Called his boss who called a political party and got him released Said he was arrested and medicine held so that it spoiled and couldn’t be sold
2013 Report Sheikh Abu Risha said 40% of Anbar controlled by ISI Said army was failing to
secure desert Said that ISF cmdr for Anbar sectarian Said Awakening turned around security in Anbar and then abandoned by govt
2014 Report US expanded role in Iraq Conducted air operations to supply ISF in Salahaddin and
Anbar Increased intel sharing Helped coordinate and plan attacks by ISF and tribes in Anbar Involved in op to retake Baiji and Baiji refinery
2014 Report Displacement Min officials stealing and delaying money meant for displaced
Parliament investigated Stories displaced had to pay bribes to get govt aid Dep Displacement Min said found officials within ministry made fake papers saying they were displaced to steal money Displaced families supposed to get $850 for food and shelter Anbar official said Displacement Min officials had been asking for bribes Abadi govt wasn’t sending money to KRG for displaced
2014 Report Kurds kidnapped by ISF in Baghdad for ransom Kurdish army cmdr said ISF used
checkpoints in Baghdad to stop Kurds from getting to capital and turned them back Claimed leadership ordered ISF to stop Kurds A Kurdish cmdr was kidnapped in Baghdad
2014 Report IS took control of Euphrates area northwest of Hit Anbar Arrested 98 people
including police and local officials Executed police chief
2014 ISF announced 2nd op to try to free Baiji Salahaddin
2014 IS launched new attack upon Amiriya Fallujah Anbar driven off with help of Coalition air
strikes
2014 Albu Nimr tribe in Hit area of Anbar surrendered to IS Was fighting IS with no help from
govt Was massacred afterward
2015 Report Albu Ajeel tribe in Tikrit dist blamed for helping IS with Camp Speicher massacre
Victims’ families demanded compensation from tribe Albu Ajeel was also known to be close to Saddam 23 members of tribe arrested and disappeared Tribe harassed by ISF and Hashd Awja north of Tikrit mostly destroyed by Iraqi forces because Albu Nasr tribe there blamed for backing IS Jabour and Abed tribes wanted revenge upon Albu Ajeel and Albu Nasr Shiite tribes in Balad dist wouldn’t allow Sunnis back into area because accused of being IS sympathizers Sunnis in Balad said their property was being seized
2015 Report Asaib Ahl Al-Haq Badr Kataib Hezbollah Hezbollah Al-Najba and Hashd special
forces unit Anger Div took part on attack on Baiji Hashd made deal with local Sunni tribes to take part in op 3000 tribal fighters also took part but were not on front lines Secured freed towns Hashd said didn’t want looting and destruction of property in Baiji like what happened in Tikrit Hashd looted Baiji refinery after freed
2015 After car bomb on Ashura procession Hashd arrested 175 Sunnis from Askari and Tin areas
of Tuz Kharmato accused of being IS Taken to 2 Hashd bases Some were tortured 8-34 were killed
(Musings On Iraq review A Stranger in Your Own City, Travels in the Middle East’s Long War)
2017 Report Sec State Tillerson said Iranian backed Hashd should leave Iraq
2017 Peshmerga withdrew from Altun Kupri Kirkuk after fighting Hashd Peshmerga blew up bridge in Ninewa to prevent advance of Iraqi forces
2017 Report Up to 2013 KRG growth mostly fueled by money from Iraqi budget When Baghdad cut off budget payments in oil dispute KRG fell into debt to local banks Turkey oil companies and traders 2014 KRG took oil fields after Mosul fell Became dependent upon Kirkuk oil fields KRG lost all of those except for 1 after independence referendum Production at Taq Taq oil field declined after reserves were grossly inflated KRG was earning $300 mil/mo from oil Costs were $700 mil/mo KRG believed it would control Kirkuk oil fields for good Stopped developing its own fields as a result
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)
2017 Report Sec State Tillerson said Trump admin pushing for better Saudi-Iraq relations to try to counter Iran
2018 Kurdistan Islamic Union said it would boycott new KRG over its poor showing in
election Gorran rejected voting results
2018 Report KDP and PUK gave their peshmerga multiple voter cards to cheat in KRG
election 1 party member bragged he got 200 voter cards
2019 Govt released report on violence against protesters Blamed ISF Said commanders lost
control of forces 149 killed Most 107 killed in Baghdad 4,207 wounded most in Baghdad 3,458 Also 19 killed in Dhi Qar 7 in Diwaniya 6 in Maysn 5 in Najaf 4 in Wasit 1 in Babil 70% of those killed were shot in head and chest Said Baghdad Operations Command Commanders of army’s 11th Div Fed Police 1st Div Police chiefs in Babil Dhi Qar Muthanna Najaf Qadisiya Wasit and several other officers should be fired punished or investigated for crimes Did not blame PM Abdul Mahdi other politicians or Hashd
(Musings On Iraq Report On Violence Used Vs Iraq Protests Covers-Up Govt Responsibility)
(Musings On Iraq UN Report On Violence Against Iraqi Protesters)
(Musings On Iraq United Nations Faults Iraq For Failing To Protect Protesters)
2019 Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights said govt report on violence against protests was
disappointing Said it lacked facts Didn’t blame any perpetrators Asked how Iraqi forces could shoot at protesters and not be stopped by their commanders
2019 UN report Interior and Defense Mins put in charge of dealing with protests Oct 1 3000
protested in Baghdad Tried to get into Green Zone Started throwing stones and water bottles at ISF ISF responded with water cannons tear gas rubber bullets Then began shooting at crowd Protests Oct 2-5 also shot at by ISF Protests in Sadr City attacked police station Army acknowledged they used excessive force vs protests UN had evidence of snipers Oct 1-5 19 protesters killed in Dhi Qar when people tried to burn buildings ISF shot at ambulances Entered hospital and threatened staff and questioned wounded protesters Activists had houses raided and arrested without warrants Oct 5 5 TV stations in Baghdad raided Journalists arrested and threatened Oct 7-8 ISF went through coffee shops in Sadr City Checked phones and if saw pictures of protests people were arrested Human rights activists warned and threatened not to protest Reports of wanted lists of activists People fled as a result of threats Abdul Mahdi govt said it gave no orders to shoot at protests
2019 Report Iran Rev Guard set up crisis cell in Baghdad to help put down protests Cell
included Gen Suleimani PM Abdul Mahdi’s chief of staff Natl Sec Adv Fayad Abu Muhandis Dep Head Hashd Comm other Hashd leaders Coordinated suppression of street and snipers 1 sniper from Kataib Sayid al-Shuhada arrested Reuters reported head of Hashd Security Dir from Kataib Hezbollah coordinated Hashd ops to suppress demonstrations Leaked est of 400 protesters killed 247 disappeared 6200 wounded Govt blocked Internet Oct 2-6 to try to stop organizing Human Rights Comm said 257 people arrested disappeared Many believe taken to Kataib Hezbollah secret prison in Babil’s Jurf al-Sakhr Activists and journalists threatened Many fled to KRG or left Iraq Were accused of working with US or Israel 6 TV stations attacked by Saraya al-Khorasani and Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba Media Comm warned TV stations to shut down for covering protests Were then attacked Asaib Ahl Al-Haq tried to attack Al Forat offices but driven off Later bombed building
(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 Were no big protests in Basra like 2018 Activists scared of violence Were
beaten tortured arrested got death threats in 2018 Many signed pledges not to protest again Was protest start of Oct Broken up by police
2019 Report 15 villages along Diyala-Salahaddin border in Metibijah basin abandoned due
to IS Insurgents were attacking Edheim dist in same area
(Musings On Iraq The Islamic State’s Failed Comeback In Iraq)
2020 Fatah MP said govt didn’t know how many govt workers there were Said due to corruption
Said up to 600,000 ghost employees Didn’t include KRG Said some govt workers got 3 salaries
2020 Report Telegram text messages leaked about media cell run by Iranian Revolutionary
Guard in Baghdad Promoted positive stories about Hashd and Iran Criticized protests
2020 MP said parliament rejected request by Kazemi govt to borrow money Govt in financial
crisis due to drop in oil prices and COVID Couldn’t pay its monthly bills
2021 Report 36% of eligible voters took part in election Lowest since 03 Sadr’s Sairoon went
from 54 seats in 2018 to 73 in 2021 Fatah went from 48 to 16 seats Fatah won more votes 670,000 than Sadr who got 650,000 New system ended transferring extra votes to candidates within same party Before parties would run multiple candidates in same areas they were popular so could use excess votes in other areas to get members elected Sadr planned well for election Nominated candidates for each dist Organized supporters to vote for them Had phone app for followers Other parties ran multiple candidates for same district State of Law and KDP also prepared for new system resulting in better results Fatah had each member of alliance run own candidates
(Musings On Iraq Fatah Refuses To Accept Results And Recount Process Due To Poor Showing In Iraq’s Oct Election)
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