Saturday, December 7, 2024

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


 

1914 UK made 2nd 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)

 

1931 PM Said gave opposition leader Pachachi of Iraqi National Party ministership Pachachi

expelled from party He then joined Said’s al-Ahd party

1934 Rashid Ali al-Gaylani Hikmat Sulaiman met with sheikhs Pledged to start revolt and

overthrow PM Ayubi Jawadat

1958 Plot against Gen Qasim by fmr PM Rashid Ali al-Gaylani announced as foiled

1980 Saddam announced that Iraq was going on the defensive in the Iran-Iraq War Saddam thought

he could seize Khuzistan province leading to revolt against Khomeini govt but didn’t happen Thought Iran would negotiate new border agreement Failure to take Dezful or Abadan meant Iranian supply lines intact and could regroup

1980 Iran counterattacked in Abadan in Khuzistan

(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)

2002 TV speech Saddam apologized to people of Kuwait for 1990 invasion

2002 Iraq gave its WMD and nuclear weapons declaration to UN as part of new inspections

claiming it had no WMD

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Inquiry Section 3.6 Development of UK Strategy and Options, November 2002 to January 2003)

2002 Iraqi general claimed weapons declaration proved Iraq had no WMD

2002 US and UK condemned Iraq’s weapons declaration as being incomplete and for denying it had

WMD

(Musings On Iraq Iraq One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)

2002 VP Cheney told NSC Iraq’s weapons declaration was a material breach and Bush should move

towards war Cheney said Sec State Powell and UN wanted to use inspections to avoid war with Iraq Def Sec Rumsfeld and Natl Sec Adv Rice didn’t think Iraq’s weapons declaration was a material breach

2003 Gingrich went on offensive against CPA saying US should’ve given over sovereignty to Iraq

early on like in Afghanistan

2003 Report US forces used collective punishment Blew up homes of suspected insurgents

Put barbed wire around towns

2004 Number of US troops killed in combat in Iraq reached 1000 after soldier shot in Baghdad

2004 Report Nov 04 CIA said security deteriorating Iraqi govt had to assert authority and rebuild

economy

2005 KDP attacked PUK offices in Dohuk Zakho Amedia Shaklaca Kadash Sedarash Akre 3 killed

including a KDP candidate KDP followers set PUK office in Dohuk on fire wounding 21

2005 Nov DNO said it would start drilling for oil in KRG Dec found oil Signed deal in 04 1 of 1st

foreign companies to sign oil deal with KRG

(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)

2005 Report US struggled to train ISF Most thought ISF in poor condition Pentagon said 3 out of 115

ISF units were capable of operating on their own Was later lowered to just 1 unit Around 1/3 of Army units could operate with US aid 2/3 of army and ½ of police needed more manpower and supplies to operate ½ of police were incapable of operating with no US aid Wasn’t until mid-04 that US began serious effort to train ISF Criticized because only focused on numbers and not quality Mid-04 US began embedding units with ISF Militias were operating in ISF units Ran death squads and kidnappings

2005 Report Nov US found 173 abused prisoners in secret Interior Min prison in Baghdad Were

reports throughout 05 about ISF abuses Def Sec Rumsfeld questioned whether US should do anything about it

2006 VP Cheney and Sec State Rice debated Iraq strategy at NSC Cheney argued against

withdrawing Rice still against surge of troops

2007 Gen Petraeus praised Sadr’s ceasefire for helping to reduce violence in Baghdad Said US in

talks with Sadr movement

2007 Pentagon audit couldn’t account for $5.2 bil spent on training ISF

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

War, 2003-2006)

2007 UN warned parts of Iraq too dangerous for refugees to return Aug-Nov 07 125,000 refugees

had returned from Syria but 97,000 had left Iraq Iraq govt was promoting returns with TV ads

(Musings On Iraq review Children of War, Voices Of Iraqi Refugees)

2007 US proposed job program for Sahwa since Maliki govt reluctant to fulfill promise to hire them

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

2007 Report 2 Lancet reports most controversial on Iraqi deaths Authors wouldn’t release

household data and computer code used to analyze them making it impossible for others to replicate results Believed 1st Lancet report inconsistent Included Fallujah data in some analysis and not in others President Amer Statistical Assoc said response rate in 2nd Lancet not credible

(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)

2007 Report Mahdi Army set up special unit to take care of troublemakers within militia Went

after Baghdad cmdr who was enriching himself 1 of many attempts by Sadr to gain control of militia

2008 Qadisiyah Gov told Marines to shut down Sahwa in province on orders of PM Maliki Sahwa

were meant to counter militias Maliki saw them as political threat

(Musings On Iraq Another Chapter In The Government’s Opposition To The Sons Of Iraq)

2008 Report Diyala sahwa leader arrested by police Died in custody Police said he confessed to killing

Shiites ISF arrested 100s of Sahwa and members of Islamic Party in Diyala for months Move by Maliki to break up Sunnis before 09 election

2009 Chilcot Inquiry Gen Cross told PM Blair in March 03 Iraq invasion should be postponed due

to lack of postwar plans Cross singled out Intl Dev Min Short for not allowing her ministry to work on postwar plans

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

2009 Chilcot Inquiry Edward Chaplin ex-UK Amb to Iraq 2004 Said Southern Iraq never got much

reconstruction money Said south felt neglected just like under Saddam Thought US ignored south because was secure

2009 Ghabban adv to PM Maliki and fmr Oil Min said 6 mil/bar/day in oil production by 2015-16 was

realistic Didn’t believe Iraq could reach 10-12 mil/bar/day by 2017 which was claimed in 09 after signed deal with major oil companies Iraq didn’t reach either mark

2010 Report Maliki govt didn’t support sahwa Leaders said many sahwa who got govt jobs left

because weren’t paid or didn’t like work Sahwa leader in Baghdad said he went from 500 to 60 fighters and regretted trying to integrate them into govt Head of Natl Reconciliation Comm said integrating sahwa on hold until new govt formed

2010 Report Education Min banned theater and music classes Baghdad’s Fine Arts Institute Also

removed statues Didn’t give reason 1 MP said part of religious crackdown

2012 Genel Energy said it would fund KRG oil pipeline to Turkey Said wanted to export natural gas to

Turkey as well

2013 Pro-Maliki Sheikh Hayes house mortared in Ramadi Nephew Sheikh Moahmmed al-Hayes

assassinated Sheikh Hayes blamed protesters Gave protest site 48 hours to turn over perpetrators or his men would storm the camp

(Musings On Iraq Security In Iraq’s Anbar Province December 2013)

2014 VP Maliki blamed Kurds for fall of Mosul Claimed he had evidence of what really happened in

Mosul Said Kurds were spreading rumors against him Pres Barzani said he warned Maliki about IS threat to Mosul but Maliki ignored him KRG offered to send Peshmerga to defend Mosul but Maliki refused

2014 2 mass graves found in 2 towns in Ninewa with 100s of people killed by IS

2014 Report Iranian Rev Guard was training Hashd and Iraqi Air Force pilots PM Maliki signed

military aid deal with Iran Allowed Iran to work inside Iraq along border Iranian jets bombed IS in Iraq Rev Guard had base in Diyala Was meant to protect border with Iran Created joint ops command with Iraq US knew about cooperation Drew redline at Iranians attacking Sunni areas in north and west Iraq and sending troops to Baghdad

2015 Turkey said it would withdraw 350 of its 600 troops in Ninewa that were training Peshmerga

Came after PM Abadi demanded they withdraw

2015 Badr’s Amiri said foreign intervention in Iraq wouldn’t be tolerated Called for protest against

US and Turkey Said US military bases in Iraq could be targeted

2015 Report IS set up huge bureaucracy to govern territory it controlled Had 16 depts for services

and governance After Mosul fell in 2014 focused on rules for citizens 2015 worked on state building IS doc said it made 23% of its money from oil and gas 63% of its spending on military 17% on services

2016 Report Original Mosul plan was to leave outlet for IS fighters to flee to Syria Iran lobbied and

got plan changed Didn’t want IS fighters going to Syria to fight its ally Assad Iran got Hashd to move into west Ninewa and block outlet

2016 Report Saqlawiya Anbar freed from IS found IS had executed scores of men ISF then did

screenings of all men in town Around 1250 men taken away Not heard of 6 months later UN condemned abduction Found 40 men at Hashd base who’d been tortured because accused of being IS Told they were being punished for Camp Speicher massacre Not interrogated Just beaten Another 643 men were abducted by Hashd during Anbar fighting Still disappeared

(Musings On Iraq Missing 600 From Anbar’s Saqlawiya Finally Found Dead?)

(Musings On Iraq Crimes And Misdemeanors Of Kataib Hezbollah During War Vs ISIS Interview With Free Lance Journalist Jonathan Lee Krohn)

2016 Report IS forced civilians from 3 neighborhoods in Mosul into eastern side of city to be used as

human shields

2017 PM Abadi said corruption new challenge for Iraq Each ruling party had office in charge of

raising money using govt workers they controlled Coordinated govt contracts and kickbacks for parties Politicians used govt money to fund their campaigns by giving contracts to friends and getting kickbacks New campaign aimed at smuggling money out of Iraq Fake contracts Central Bank of Iraq auctions

(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)

2018 Protest in Basra demanding provincial govt resign Support protest in Baghdad

2019 Gunmen in trucks did drive by shooting at Baghdad protest site

2019 Report ISF were ordered to withdraw from Baghdad protest site before Kataib Hezbollah

attacked it Hashd group called to expel saboteurs at protests Kataib Hezbollah gunmen came from Green Zone Sadr’s blue hats deployed to protest site afterward to secure it

2019 Report Kataib Hezbollah used Hashd IDs to get through checkpoints to reach Baghdad

protest site to attack it Interior Min knew about gunmen going to site Power cut to site before attack Was coordinated with Baghdad Ops Cmd 300-400 Kataib Hezbollah gunmen met at mosque and then moved on site ISF withdrew from site before attack Kataib Hezbollah members infiltrated site to cause chaos during attack 1 Kataib Hezbollah member arrested and confessed to attack

2019 Hashd attacked protesters on Baghdad bridge Killed 7

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

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

2020 Protests in 3 parts of Sulaymaniya over jobs services corruption 1 town KDP PUK Gorran

Kurdistan Islamic Group Kurdistan Islamic Union offices burned 1 protester killed NRT HQ raided for covering protests

(Musings On Iraq Protests In Iraq’s Kurdistan Over Economic Conditions And Mismanagement)

2020 Report Intl Coalition dropped Iraqi F-16s from strikes due to mismanagement and corruption at

Balad Air Base Had poor maintenance Most Iraqi pilots disqualified from flying because didn’t get enough training hours because so few jets operational Officials said only 7 F-16s could fly and had to cannibalize parts from others Base declined after Lockheed Martin technicians left due to Hashd attacks on base Returned but then left again after new attacks Iraq denied any problems

2020 Report Dhi Qar activist said that PM Kazemi’s committee to investigate attacks on protesters

was actually trying to stop demonstrations via arrests

2021 Motorcycle bomb in Basra killed and injured 8 Pro-Iran Hashd death squad blamed Was

trying to kill intel officer investigating group

2021 Report KRG PM Barzani used front company to buy $18.3 mil pharmacy in Miami Barzani’s

real estate in KRG believed to be worth $1.27 bil Owned mansions in California and Virginia worth $75 mil

2022 2 protesters killed in Dhi Qar by police demonstrating against activist getting 3 yrs for

insulting Hashd

2023 Pro-Iran groups fired rockets at Green Zone for first time since October 2022

View the Iraq History Timelines 

No comments:

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 ...