Iraq May Delay US Troop Withdrawal Due To Syria

There are an increasing number of articles coming out of Iraq that the ruling Coordination Framework may ask for U.S. troops to stay longer rather than demanding their withdrawal due to the recent events in Syria.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 31US withdrew forces from Iraq under Status of Forces Agreement

1920 High Commissioner Sir Cox reported that many sheikhs of large confederations supported

Mandate and didn't want an Iraqi govt

(Musings On Iraq review Inventing Iraq: The Failure of Nation Building and a History Denied)

Security In Iraq Dec 22-28, 2024

There were two IED explosions in Iraq during the last full week of December but both were old ordinance that civilians stumbled upon.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 30 Saddam executed while Sadrists chanted Moqtada Body later kicked and spat on by Shiite politicians

 

1959 Qasim govt passed Law of Personal Status Equalized inheritance for men and women

Restricted polygamy Set legal marriage age at 18

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 29 2nd Phase of Battle of Mosul began with attack upon eastern side of city

 

1934 Yasin al-Hashemi Rashid Ali Al-Gaylani criticized PM Ayubi Jawadat for elections he

held because excluded them Senate criticized vote PM started being called a tyrant

(Musings On Iraq review Independent Iraq 1932-1958, A Study in Iraqi Politics)

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 28 Def Sec Rumsfeld told Bush Iraq war would be short and US would withdraw quickly

 

1929 Fmr Iraq High Comm Dobbs said if Iraq moved forward in its own dysfunctional way

and was better off than it was under Ottomans UK would have succeeded

Review Riverbend, Baghdad Burning, Girl Blog From Iraq, The Feminist Press, 2005

Riverbend, Baghdad Burning, Girl Blog From Iraq, The Feminist Press, 2005

 

In August 2003 an Iraqi woman going by the name Riverbend started a blog called Baghdad Burning. It became one of the many voices from Iraq that emerged during this time that was quite popular. This book collects her first year of posts. They range from her family life to observations about the deteriorating situation in her country.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 27 Kataib Hezbollah blamed for rocket attack upon Iraqi base that killed 1 US Contractor Trump admin would retaliate by killing Iran’s Gen Soleimani and Hashd leader Abu Muhandis

 

865 Ibn Tahir deposed Abbasid Caliph Mutasin Ordered people of Baghdad to pledge allegiance to

Mutazz as new caliph City rejected Mutazz Forced Ibn Tahir to back down Caliph Mutasin appeared saying he was still caliph

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 26 Political parties started discussing removing PM Maliki in no confidence vote accusing him of being an autocrat

 

1920 Iraq High Commissioner Sir Percy Cox wrote Iraqis wanted an outsider as ruler UK didn’t need

an election to pick one Could fix it so Faisal would become King

(Musings On Iraq review Empires of the Sand, The Struggle For Mastery In The Middle East 1789-1923)

Musings On Iraq In The News

I was mentioned in this article by Aaron Zelin on the Islamic State's attempted comeback "Remaining, Waiting for Expansion (Again): The Islamic State's Operations in Iraq and Syria" for the Hudson institute. 

For a full list of citations see here. 

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 25 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq threatened to attack Interior Min and free men arrested for rocket attack upon Green Zone

 

1920 Gertrude Bell wrote that Faisal was the only solution to Iraq and its first choice to be king

(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)

(Musings On Iraq review Empires of the Sand, The Struggle For Mastery In The Middle East 1789-1923)

(Musings On Iraq review A Quest in the Middle East, Gertrude Bell and the Making of Modern Iraq)

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 24 PM Jamil Midfai overthrown in military coup by pan-Arab Golden Square officers

 

1638 Ottoman Sultan Murad IV conquered Baghdad Looting led to resistance by defeated

Persian soldiers and then massacre Up to 50,000 killed

 

Security In Iraq Dec 15-21, 2024

There was no political violence in Iraq for another week in December.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 23 Iraq-Syria border set with Deir Azzor going to latter

 

1920 Iraq-Syria border set with Deir Azzor going to latter

(Musings On Iraq interview with Princeton’s Sara Pursley on Sykes-Picot and creation of Iraq)

This Day In Iraqi History Dec 22 Ottoman Sultan Murad IV began siege of Baghdad

 

1638 Ottoman Sultan Murad IV began siege of Baghdad Captured it by end of year

Massacred Shiites

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 21 Saddam paid Carlos the Jackal and PFLP to kill Saudi and Iranian oil ministers at OPEC meeting for supporting Kurdish revolt Ministers were taken prisoners but then released

 

1956 Communist uprising in Al-Hay put down and leaders executed

(Musings On Iraq review The Modern History of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Red Star Over Iraq, Iraqi Communism Before Saddam)

(Musings On Iraq A History Of The Iraqi Communist Party Interview With Univ of East Anglia’s Johan Franzen)

Review Anne Garrels, Naked in Baghdad, The Iraq War as seen by NPR’s correspondent, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003

Garrels, Anne, Naked in Baghdad, The Iraq War as seen by NPR’s correspondent, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003

 

Anne Garrels was a reporter for National Public Radio who went to Baghdad in 2002 to witness the U.S. invasion and how it impacted Iraqis. Naked in Baghdad, The Iraq War as seen by NPR’s correspondent is a series of journal entries about her day to day activities joined by emails that her husband sent out to update her friends and family about what was happening. Garrels was able to capture the feelings of everyday Iraqis and a little slice of life in the Iraqi capital during this tumultuous time.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 20 Reagan envoy Donald Rumsfeld met with Saddam to improve US-Iraq ties

 

1974 Govt secretly tried 25 Shiite leaders and executed 5 of them after religious pilgrimage

turned into protest against Pres Bakr

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 19 PM Maliki issued warrant for Finance Min Issawi on terrorism charges 1 yr after issued warrant for VP Hashemi Would lead to Sunni protests and revival of insurgency

 

869 Abbasid Caliph Muhtadi had to flee capital Samarra as Turkish troops looted palace Muhtadi

confronted troops calling for their loyalty and received it

(Musings On Iraq review when baghdad ruled the muslim world, the rise and fall of islam’s greatest dynasty)

Iran Cuts Natural Gas Exports To Iraq Again Leading To Power Outages

Iraq imports 30-40% of its energy needs from Iran in the form of electricity and natural gas to fuel power plants. The problem is Tehran constantly cuts off this supply for a number of reasons from maintenance work to Baghdad not paying its bills. That is currently happening leading to blackouts across Iraq.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 18 Qasim began supporting Arabs in Iran as part of his dispute with Tehran

 

1959 Gen Qasim called Ahwaz and Mohammareh in Iran Arab Started supporting Arabs in

Khuzistan province

Sadr Upset With Followers Announces Another Withdrawal

On December 11 Moqtada al-Sadr announced that he was withdrawing from the public. This was after some of his militiamen tore down posters of Hassan Nasrallah, Abu Muhandis and General Qasim Soleimani in Baghdad and got arrested as a result. Sadr claimed his followers were not following his instructions.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 17 PM Maliki issued warrant for VP Hashemi on terrorism charges Latest move by Maliki vs his opponents

 

1917 US consulate report Since British took Baghdad all trade cut off Businesses closed People out

of work

Security In Iraq Dec 8-14, 2024

There was only one violent incident in Iraq during the second week of December.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 16 League of Nations set Turkey-Iraq border with Mosul going to Iraq

 

1915 German Gen von der Goltz and 30 German officers arrived in Baghdad to take charge of

Mesopotamia campaign vs British

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 15 Elections held for Iraq’s 1st permanent parliament after 2003 invasion

 

1932 League of Nations Mandate Comm rejected Assyrian petition for autonomy Said Iraqi

govt would settle Assyrians within country or outside of it

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

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 14 PM Askari and UK agreed on new Anglo-Iraq Treaty Would put Iraq under UK influence for decades

 

1927 PM Askari and Foreign Office agreed on new Anglo-Iraq Treaty Had to be passed by Iraqi

parliament

(Musings On Iraq review Supremacy And Oil, Iraq, Turkey, and the Anglo-American World Order, 1918-1930)

Review Richard Engel, War Journal, My Five Years In Iraq, Simon & Schuster, 2008

Engel, Richard, War Journal, My Five Years In Iraq, Simon & Schuster, 2008

 

NBC News correspondent Richard Engel’s War Journal My Five Years In Iraq gives a different perspective from other books on the Iraq War. It’s not a history full of details. It’s not a soldier’s story about combat. It gives a Western journalist’s view of the conflict mixed in with the experiences of the Iraqis that he worked with. It reads like a journal and has some very interesting parts to it especially about the everyday brutality journalists and Iraqis had to live through during the civil war years.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 13 US forces captured Saddam

 

1916 British made diversionary attack at Sannaiyat and took Hai in offensive to retake Kut from

Ottomans

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 12 Dawa members including Abu Muhandis bombed US & French embassies in Kuwait killing 8 Retaliation for air strikes in Lebanon

 

1916 Gen Maude began new campaign to defeat Ottomans in Mesopotamia British now had numerical

advantage in troops and new supplies

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 11 Gen Qasim nationalized 99% of Iraq Petroleum’s concessions and created Iraq National Oil Company Was only unused land though

 

1922 UK Colonial Office wrote only reason King Faisal accepted in Iraq was because he was

backed by British

Iraq’s Oil Exports Drop For 4th Straight Month

Iraq continues to try to comply with its OPEC+ production quota resulting in lower oil exports and revenues.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 10 PUK made deal with Saddam not to fight for Iran in Iran-Iraq War 3000 peshmerga quit in protest

 

1915 Turkish infantry assault on British in Kut began

Security In Iraq Dec 1-7, 2024

Iraq experienced one of those rare weeks at the start of December when there was no violence by either the insurgency or the Iraqi Resistance.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 9 UN said Abdul Mahdi govt used excessive force and abused protesters While groups were abducting and killing activists

1914 Ottoman forces surrendered in Qurna, Basra 1,034 Ottomans taken prisoner End of 1^st

            phase of Mesopotamian campaign

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 8 After US soldiers complained about not having adequate equipment Def Sec Rumsfeld said you go to war with the army you have

 

1925 Turkey told League of Nations it refused to accept League as arbiter of Mosul’s future

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 7 Saddam said Iraq going on defensive in Iran-Iraq War 3 months into war

 

1914 UK made 2^nd attack on Qurna, Basra forcing Ottomans to retreat Lost around 200 killed

130 taken prisoner UK lost 10 killed 118 wounded

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

Review Williamson Murray Kevin Woods, The Iran-Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History, Cambridge University Press, 2014

Murray, Williamson, Woods, Kevin, The Iran-Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History, Cambridge University Press, 2014

 

The Iran-Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History was the third in the Iraqi Perspectives Project that used captured Baathist documents to try to explain major events in recent Iraqi history. The book portrays the Iran-Iraq War as one between two leaders with expansionist visions who had no idea about military affairs. The result was an eight year bloody war of attrition that ended in a tie. That was only possible because Iraq was able to acquire far more weapons on the international market than the numerically superior Iran that had burned its bridges with most of the world. The Iraqi military also improved at the tactical level and relied upon its armor and artillery against lightly armed Iranian infantry.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 6 Kataib Hezbollah fired into Baghdad protesters Killed 85 Wounded 130

1915 UK cmdr Gen Townsend sent his cavalry and transport south from Kut so would have fewer mouths

to feed Believed relief coming from Basra

Money Laundering and Dollar Smuggling Continues In Iraq

Iraq’s Central Bank is expected to auction around $75 billion in U.S. dollars by the end of the year. That is above previous years leading observers to believe that the government has failed once again to stop the Bank’s auctions being used for criminal activity.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 5 PM Maliki and his State of Law tried to stop case against Trade Min Sudani who stole $400 mil which helped fund party

 

1927 Draft of Anglo-Iraq Treaty written by UK Colonial Office Said Iraq independent state to

appease Iraqis when under British control

Iraq’s Resistance Scales Back Attacks Upon Israeli In Nov 2024

During November the Islamic State was largely absent from Iraq. The Iraqi Resistance started the month off with a bang carrying out multiple attacks upon Israel. By the end of the month however they trailed off likely due to political pressure.

This Day In Iraqi History Dec 4 Siege of Kut began Would become UK’s 2nd largest defeat in WWI

 

1534 Ottoman Sultan Suleiman entered Baghdad and visited Sunni and Shiite shrines trying to

win over city

Iraqi Govt Denies It But Pro-Iran Factions Enter Syria To Support Assad

At least one pro-Iran Hashd group has sent fighters to Syria to support the Assad government against the ongoing insurgent offensive in Aleppo. This is despite official government denials.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 3 Arif govt shut down all media to try to control opposition

 

1915 Retreating UK forces reached Kut after loss at Battle of Ctesiphon/Salman Pak UK

suffered 5,187 casualties over last 10 days Started Turkish siege of Kut

Security In Iraq Nov 22-28, 2024

During the fourth week of November the Islamic State once again disappeared from Iraq while incidents by the Islamic Resistance also fell off.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 2 PM Pachachi govt told oil companies not to employ Jews after creation of Israel

 

1920 US Consul in Baghdad said England hadn’t taken any serious steps to create an independent

Iraqi govt

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 1 UK got France to give up Mosul vilayet after WWI for stake in Iraqi oil

 

1915 Retreating British force attacked by pursuing Ottomans at Um at Tubul after loss at Battle of

Ctesiphon/Salman Pak