The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) finds itself on the defensive after the election of Iraq’s president. The party believed it was on the ascendency due to the disarray of its partner the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) but that trend has been reversed recently.
In March Iraq’s oil exports hit the lowest volume since the 2003 invasion due to the Iran War. The conflict is not over yet threatening the industry’s attempt to restart production. This is causing a financial crisis for the most oil dependent country in the world.
1917 British military governor in Baghdad banned weapons and ammunition for public and
imposed curfew on city
1916 German commander of the Ottoman forces in Mesopotamia Gen Goltz died of typhoid in
Baghdad
1919 France and England signed Long-Berenger oil deal France got 20% of Iraqi oil via Turkish
Petroleum Company
(Musings On Iraq review The Creation of Iraq 1914-1921)
In The Name of Democracy, American War Crimes In Iraq And Beyond is an anti-war book edited by Jeremy Brecher, Jill Cutler and Brendan Smith. It’s an anthology of articles which starts off fine but then gets farther and farther away from Iraq. It also becomes more and more of a diatribe where at first it was more about presenting evidence against how the U.S. occupied Iraq.
1916 Battle of Bait Isa Turkish counterattack stopped British advance British suffered
1,600 casualties Ottomans 4-5,000 3rd defeat in British effort to relieve siege at Kut
1914 US consul in Baghdad reported rumors spread that all Christians and Jews in city would be
massacred due to start of 2nd Balkans War Rumors started after newspaper asked Mufti and Shiite clergy what was duty of Muslims in war They said to protect Islam and raise money Said Christians were defiling Muslim women in Balkans
Iraq’s Kurds were one of the biggest victims of the Iran War and Kurdistan continues to be targeted by Tehran.
Empire divided UK had to get Mosul vilayet because had oil
(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)
1915 Ottoman campaign to try to retake Basra from British failed
On April 11 Iraq’s parliament finally elected a president six months after elections. That was Nizar Amedi from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). This happened despite a boycott by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Nuri al-Maliki’s State of Law.
1915 British won Battle of Shaiba Ottomans had 4200 casualties 700 captured UK 1232 casualties
Ottoman commander Askari killed himself in disgrace British 1200 casualties
fortress despite German advisers warning against it British artillery decimated Ottoman forces
1915 Ottomans and tribesmen began probing attack upon British outpost in Shaiba, Basra to try to
expel UK forces from vilayet
1917 US consulate report Economy in Baghdad collapsing after British took city Trade cut off No
business
The ceasefire between the United States and Iran brought back a sense of peace to Iraq. The Resistance following its Persian sponsors announced a two week halt to operations.
1915 New UK cmdr in Iraq Gen Nixon arrived Ordered to take all of Basra Secure Tigris to protect
Anglo-Persian Oil Company in Persia Plan for advance on Baghdad 1st step in escalating war from protecting oil concession to taking all of Mesopotamia
(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq In World War I, From Ottoman Rule to British Conquest)
(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)
The news of the day was a series of strikes by the U.S. and Israel across Baghdad. The Federal Police’s 2nd Division was hit in Sabi al-Bour in the north. This was likely a mistake as a nearby Hashd base was also struck. Five police were wounded. A rocket landed on a house in Amiriya killing two civilians while an airstrike blew up a home on Palestine Street. The latter was used to store weapons for the Resistance. Jets also targeted locations in Jamila and Maghreb Street in the east. Five Hashd were wounded at a camp in Taji outside of the city in the north.
UK should get Would lead to creation of Iraq
(Musings On Iraq review U.S. Policy In Post-Saddam Iraq)
The pro-Iran Resistance was active in Kurdistan and Baghdad. A peshmerga headquarters was hit by four drones on April 5. The next day two blasts were heard near Irbil airport. Four missiles were shot down heading towards the U.S. consulate in Irbil city. Multiple drones were also intercepted in Irbil province with debris hitting a residential area killing two civilians. In Baghdad drones targeted the logistics support center at the airport.
1915 UK Gen Nixon ordered to prepare attack on Nasiriya and Amara to protect Basra vilayet and
Persian oil concession
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq In World War I, From Ottoman Rule to British Conquest)
(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)
The weekend marked a paradox in Iranian strategy towards Iraq. On the one hand there were a series of attacks upon the Iraqi oil industry and on the other a tanker with Iraqi petroleum passed through the Strait of Hormuz after Tehran said Baghdad would be exempt from its blockade.
1916 British attacked Sannaiyat by Kut British suffered 1,168 casualties
1916 Battle of Sannaiyat by Kut British attacked Ottomans Took Hanna and Fallahiya British had
1,885 casualties
The Hashd Commission and the pro-Iran Resistance gave some numbers on the impact of the Iran War. The Commission said that there had been 83 attacks upon Hashd units since February 28 leading to 73 dead and 61 injured. The Resistance on the other hand claimed it carried out 753 operations and 23 alone on April 3.
1927 UK official wrote Foreign Sec Chamberlain saying UK got Mosul by trick Promised 25 yr Iraq
Mandate Now pushing Iraq independence
As the Iran War enters its second month Iran and its allies’ strategy has become apparent. They are focusing upon Iraq’s oil industry, the Kurds, the Baghdad Airport and neighboring countries. The Americans and Israel on the other hand don’t appear to have any plan.
1929 Shah and King Faisal passed notes that legal barriers over Persian nationals In Iraq had been
lifted
Overnight a drone was intercepted targeting the U.S. consulate in Irbil City. Another drone was shot down over an American military base in the city. On March 29 the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad faced an attack so it appears diplomatic facilities are fair game again by the pro-Iran Resistance.
arrest him after coup Regent tried and failed to organize resistance to coup in Basra Then fled to Jordan
(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)
(Musings On Iraq review Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)
(Musings On Iraq review The Role of the Military In Politics, A case study of Iraq to 1941)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq Between the Two World Wars, The Militarist Origins of Tyranny)
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) finds itself on the defensive after the election of Iraq’s president. The party believed...
