1915 German Gen von der Goltz and 30 German officers arrived in Baghdad to take charge of
Mesopotamia campaign vs British
1922 UK Lord of the Admiralty told Iraq commission Iraq oil would be important in case of war in
Far East
1925 League of Nations said British Mandate in Iraq would last 25 yrs or until Iraq entered
League Kurds would get own administration and schools Set Turkey-Iraq border with Mosul province going to Iraq
(Musings On Iraq How The Ottoman Province Of Mosul Became Part Of Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review The Creation of Iraq 1914-1921)
(Musings On Iraq review Supremacy And Oil, Iraq, Turkey, and the Anglo-American World Order, 1918-1930)
(Musings On Iraq review Turkey, the US and Iraq)
1952 New election law passed for direct voting Before senior politicians picked most winners
Elections still controlled
(Musings On Iraq review Independent Iraq 1932-1958, A Study in Iraqi Politics)
1962 43 day long student strike started in secondary schools that spread to colleges demanding
political rights
1963 Defense Minister Hardan al-Tikrit removed as air force commander Move by Pres Arif
to eliminate Baathists from govt
1974 Iraq bombed Iranian artillery positions along Iraq-Iran border that supported
Barzani
1979 Iraq and France signed deal to buy 8 new Mirage fighters on top of 34 ordered in 1977
(Musings On Iraq review Iraqi Mirages, The Dassault Mirage Family In Service With The Iraqi Air Force, 1981-1988)
1981 Iranian Op Matla al-Fajar reached outside Hamid in center and stopped
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)
1985 Saddam visited Moscow Gorbachev said USSR couldn’t sell to Iraq on credit anymore
because of financial problems Also Moscow would not give Saddam full backing now that he had relations with US Said USSR would still sell weapons and promised 54 Su-25 planes and 300 SCUD missiles
(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 KDP announced plans for elections for Kurdish parliament Iraq agreed Kurdish MPs not to
swear allegiance to Baath
1995 King Hussein offered to sponsor talks amongst Iraqi opposition parties
1998 UN inspectors left Iraq again over non-cooperation
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Rejection of UN Inspectors Led To Mistrust Over WMD and 2003 Invasion)
(Musings On Iraq Charles Duelfer’s Account Of The End Of The 1990s U.N. Inspections)
(Musings On Iraq review The Greatest Threat, Iraq, Weapons of Mass Destruction, And The Growing Crisis Of Global Security)
(Musings On Iraq review Out Of The Ashes, The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein)
1998 Dep chief inspector Duelfer told US preparing military strike on Iraq if didn’t comply with
inspections
1998 Assessment by International Atomic Energy Agency Iraq had not produced a nuclear bomb
before Gulf War Iraq only produced a few grams of weapons grade nuclear material Iraq didn’t have capability to produce nuclear material because of inspections
1998 US and UK started Operation Desert Fox after Iraq broke off cooperation with UN weapons
inspectors Considered failure at time Hit empty buildings Actually ended Iraq’s plans to revive WMD programs
(Musings On Iraq How Operation Desert Fox Finished Off Iraq’s WMD Programs)
(Musings On Iraq Overview of America’s Policy Towards Iraq: From The Clinton Years To The
Sectarian War of 2006)
2002 PM Blair called Bush Told him to be patient with UN inspectors Blair was told US was
worried inspectors would find nothing Bush also wanted war perhaps by Feb 03
(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Inquiry Section 4.3 Iraq WMD Assessments, October 2002 to March 2003)
2003 Blair said it would take time to find Iraq’s WMD
(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
2003 France and Germany agreed to US request to forgive part of $120 bil debt Iraq owed them
2004 Major Shiite parties agreed to United Iraqi Alliance for 2005 elections
2004 Ayatollah Sistani answered question from follower saying he gave his blessing to the United
Iraqi Alliance but he also supported all Iraqi political parties Sistani had helped create the UIA behind the scenes wanting to ensure Shiite rule
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
2004 Report Defense Min Shaalan said United Iraqi Alliance an Iranian list Said Iran wanted an
Islamic dictatorship in Iraq led by clerics to defeat democracy Allawi govt was trying to create
2004 US Iraq cmdr Gen Casey US needed to train Iraqi forces and create effective Iraqi intelligence
services
(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)
(Musings On Iraq review The Endgame, The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from
George W. Bush to Barack Obama)
(Musings On Iraq review The U.S. Army In The Iraq War: Volume 1, Invasion, Insurgency, Civil
War, 2003-2006)
(Musings On Iraq review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008)
2006 PM Maliki held reconciliation meeting Iraqiya National Dialogue Front Sadrists boycotted
Maliki called for Baath era soldiers to return to military Said reconciliation did not include Baathists and Takfiris Then said govt differentiated between Baathists that committed crimes and those that didn’t
2006 Report head of UK sanctions and weapons inspection mission at UN said he never saw any
intel that Iraq posed threat to UK Said UK officials pushed back against US talk of regime change arguing Iraq would fall into chaos afterward
2007 KDP and PUK presented list of complaints against PM Maliki Accused him of conspiratorial thinking
and reliance upon his inner circle of Dawa followers without consulting with other parties
2007 Zawahiri called on insurgency to reconcile with itself Was in response to fighting between ISI
and other groups
2007 Iraq took control of Basra province from British
(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
2007 Report Iraq Red Crescent said 25,000 Iraqi refugees returned from Syria since Sep 07 Iraqi
govt said 60,000 back from Syria and Jordan Govt was inflating figures Nov 28 govt bused 30 Iraqi refugee families from Syria Only 1/3 returned to their homes Rest moved to other parts of Baghdad because homes looted destroyed occupied Govt stopped busing program because couldn’t handle returns Buses were set up by Def Min without consulting with Transportation Min
(Musings On Iraq review Children of War, Voices Of Iraqi Refugees)
2010 Report Iraqi officials said plan to integrate sahwa under threat Got copy of govt plan Said it
would include 24,000 sahwa who had high school diplomas into ISF Those with university degrees could get ministry jobs Those without degrees would work for provinces PM Maliki blamed Interior Min for opposing plan became didn’t have money to integrate sahwa Head of National Reconciliation Comm said plan unrealistic Said some governors opposed integrating sahwa Said no sahwa would be hired by ISF Interior Min turned down plan to hire 10,300 sahwa because of lack of money Budget had no money for sahwa Maliki opposed sahwa and blocked integration
2011 Iraqiya meeting at VP Hashemi’s residence Declared list would boycott parliament until PM
Maliki included them in decision making shared power stopped arbitrary arrests
(Musings On Iraq Premier Maliki Lashes Out At His Political Rivals In The Iraqi National Movement)
2011 Armed protesters blocked highways in Diyala Took over govt building Made Diyala govt flee
Organized by Dawa Part of PM Maliki’s effort to block Diyala from becoming autonomous region
2013 KRG parliament attacked Dep PM Shahristani Said he didn’t have right to administer oil
policy Said KRG had right to develop and export its own oil Said were creating facts on the ground to build independent pipeline to Turkey
2014 Mayor of Khan Bani Saad Diyala and 3 councilman arrested by members of security forces 2
councilmen who were Shiites released Mayor and other councilman who was Sunni found shot in the head Hashd blamed
2014 PUK and Gorran signed Iranian brokered deal to share power in Sulaymaniya Part of
Gorran’s move from opposition to ruling elite in KRG
2015 Report Jul 2014 KRG said all Peshmerga would be unified under 1 command Didn’t happen
1992 KDP and PUK said they would unify peshmerga Created Peshmerga Min but didn’t unite forces 1994 KDP and PUK had civil war 1998 peace agreement Again talked about uniting Peshmerga Units controlled by different political leaders KDP and PUK didn’t want unified Peshmerga force or democratic system of control because would weaken their power
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Divided Kurds, Political Divisions Amongst The Peshmerga Interview With Wladimir van Wilgenburg)
2016 Masrour Barzani said KRG independence was risky but needed to happen Chief of Staff of
Pres Barzani’s office said independence would start with agreement with Baghdad and then with Iran and Turkey
2016 Report Anti-corruption agencies were hampered by how structured Each ministry had
inspector general but under control of ministers Ministers used anti-corruption investigations against enemies Inspector generals rarely worked with each other Usually waited for instructions from others Integrity Comm heads constantly replaced 08 PM Maliki forced out head of Integrity Comm Few convictions in corruption cases US provides training for anti-corruption agencies UN assisted with cases World Bank did training for govt procurement
(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)
2017 Report Badr and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq said they would separate from their armed wings and become political parties Sadr said he was doing same with his movement Didn’t happen
2017 Protests in Sulaymaniya over lack of services KRG was cutting salaries due to drop in oil revenues After KRG lost disputed territories after independence referendum failed KRG lost 40% of its revenue
2019 Human Rights Watch Unknown armed groups and ISF attacked and killed protesters 29-80 killed 137
wounded During attack on protest square in Baghdad power was cut and ISF withdrew from area 7 trucks pulled up and fired into crowd Then went to another place and shot and stabbed protesters Dozens also kidnapped Afterwards ISF returned to positions Human Rights Comm said 9 killed 85 wounded Medical source said 29 killed 137 wounded Times of London reported 80-85 deaths Kataib Hezbollah blamed
2019 Human Rights Comm reported 48 activists kidnapped and not seen against since start
of protests in Oct
(Musings On Iraq UN Report On Violence Against Iraqi Protesters)
(Musings On Iraq United Nations Faults Iraq For Failing To Protect Protesters)
2020 Report Nov-Dec 7 liquor stores attacked 4 of them bombed in Baghdad Nov massage
center attacked Jun Kataib Hezbollah leader Tweeted support for attacks on liquor stores Nov Sadrists marched in Tahrir Square and burned alcohol bottles and warned about selling liquor
2020 Report Some believed attacks on liquor stories done by pro-Iran groups to try to control
business Over last month 15 stores in Baghdad bombed Most run by Christians and Yazidis
2020 Parliament’s security comm expected increase in assassination attempts on activists Said
hit lists were being circulated Dec 15 activist killed in Baghdad Another activist released after being kidnapped and tortured Forced to say that protesters were trained at US Embassy
2020 Report Talked with displaced forced out of camp in Ninewa Said went home and found
homes destroyed 75% said didn’t want to go home as a result 34,000 displaced forced out of 11 camps closed by Kazemi govt Govt wanted to close 3 more with 26,000 displaced Were 180,000 in 25 camps in KRG that didn’t follow order
(Musings On Iraq Kazemi Govt Runs Into Problems Trying To Close Displaced Camps In Iraq)
2021 Norwegian Refugee Council warned Iraq suffering low rainfall and climate change
threatening disaster 50% of families in drought areas needed food aid 20% of families in drought areas didn’t have food for everyone 37% of wheat and 30% of barley farmers said crops would drop 90%
2021 Report 2 groups rejected working with new Iraqi state Baathists and Salafi-Jihadists
Jihadists considered new Iraqi state heretical Baathists were banned Both talked about a new state under their control Political Salafis clerical and nationalist Islamists were willing to work with new system under conditions and didn’t have consistent message Didn’t see Sunnis in govt as apostates Jihadists wanted to change society to fit its image Especially true for IS Jihadists opposed elections Political Salafis willing to take part in voting IS went through 3 stages 1st 03-04 was little cohesion amongst insurgents Were different groups with shifting membership Allowed cooperation between groups Former regime members dominated early insurgency After Saddam captured in Dec 03 many Baathists joined Islamist groups Nationalist groups like Army of Mohammed funded by Baathists slowly radicalized 2004 1920 Revolution Brigades and Islamic Army emerged 1920 Revolution Brigades led by former regime members and aligned with Assoc of Muslim Scholars and Islamic Party Islamic Army ex-soldiers who were Salafis When Zarqawi created Tawhid wal Jihad was mostly foreigners and small Recruited Iraqi Salafis May 04 Ansar al-Sunna members began joining Zarqawi He worked with other groups in 2 battles of Fallujah 04-06 Al Qaeda in Iraq worked with some groups and competed with others Wanted to dominate Iraq Insurgency changed after 2nd Battle of Fallujah Reconsidered fighting Sunnis boycotted Jan 05 election which led some to reconsider participating in politics Brought them into conflict with Zarqawi Al Qaeda in Iraq began demanding others pledge allegiance to Zarqawi 05 members of Islamic Army and Army of Mohammed began joining Al Qaeda in Iraq Dec 05 80% of Sunnis voted Islamic Army guarded polling stations Was blow to Al Qaeda in Iraq Ramadi Shura Council led by cmdr in 1920 Revolutions Brigade used elections to start revolt vs Al Qaeda in Iraq Al Qaeda in Iraq began assassinating Shura Council members Leader of Shura Council fled Albu Mahal tribe in Qaim rose up against Al Qaeda in Iraq but put it down US recruited Sunnis into ISF led to another split within insurgency Tribes in Ramadi began joining ISF Al Qaeda in Iraq attacked recruiting centers and new police 1920 Revolution Brigades put together anti-Al Qaeda in Iraq coalition Al Qaeda in Iraq defeated it Other insurgent groups began asking Al Qaeda to rein in Zarqawi Zawahiri wanted Zarqawi to join 1920 Revolution Brigades and Assoc of Muslim Scholars Zarqawi ignored Zawahiri Jan 06 Al Qaeda in Iraq announced Mujahadeen Shura Council with 6 other groups Start 06 some insurgent groups began talks with US Ended after Feb 06 Askari shrine bombing by Al Qaeda in Iraq Evidence bombing done to stop reconciliation between insurgency US and Iraqi govt 06-14 IS moved to coercively force other groups under its control 06 Anbar Awakening started 06 ISI announced Moved to dominate other groups Called for all Sunni fighters scholars sheikhs to pledge allegiance to ISI Attacks on other groups and groups joining Awakening increased 07 several insurgent coalitions formed Many began talks with US Start of Sahwa increased ISI attacks upon them US withdrawal from cities hurt insurgent groups trying to reconcile with govt US withdrawal from rural areas led to many insurgent groups to demobilize Left Baathists and Jihadists as main groups 2010 IS started new plan of tribal engagement and defeating its rivals Killed over 2000 Awakening members Started new wave of suicide bombings vs Shiites After US withdrew from Iraq ISI began new bombing campaign Expanded into Syria 2011 also when PM Maliki began moving against rivals which increased tensions and new people joined insurgency 2013 Maliki crackdown on protests led to re-emergence of insurgency Islamic Army Mujahadeen Army Naqshibandi re-emerged 2013 ISIS announced Zawahiri condemned new name Led to break with Al Qaeda Many groups worked with ISIS to seize Mosul in Jun 2014 After Mosul fell IS went after all rivals groups Almost all defeated disappeared or joined IS Left IS as only insurgent group in Iraq
2023 Special voting for security forces and displaced took place in provincial elections
Reports security forces threatened by commanders and govt officials if didn’t vote Was widespread fear of lowest voter turnout in post-03 Iraq
(Musings On Iraq Special Voting For Iraq’s Provincial Elections Occurs Amongst Continued Cheating)
2023 Report Parliament’s migration committee said ruling parties used money for displaced
in election campaigns Labor Min said Badr threatened poor if didn’t vote for it wouldn’t get govt aid
View the Iraq History Timelines
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