This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 28 2 truck bombs in Tal Afar left 499 casualties Militias and police killed 70 in revenge

1918 British took Ana

Iraq Running Out Of Money Due To Iran War

  

The Financial Times reported on the economic crisis that the Iran War is causing for Iraq. It said that Baghdad has lost around $5.4 billion since the start of the conflict and it only has 1-2 months worth of cash to cover government salaries. The Central Bank on the other hand said its reserves could cover 12 months worth of oil exports. The problem is by law the bank can’t cover the government’s budget so it has to issue bonds or some other means to provide money. Government salaries and benefits are the largest part of the budget because adding public workers is the main means that the ruling parties have to maintain their support. Before the war Baghdad was running into problems meeting its obligations because of low oil prices. Now it is barely making any money with the Strait of Hormuz closed.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 27 Saddam said he was going to get a nuclear bomb with help of the Soviets so he could go to war with Israel

 

1918 British took Haditha

Iraq Outraged By Airstrike On Military Base In Anbar

  

A military base in Habaniya Anbar was attacked by jets setting off a new controversy. The planes hit a Hashd al-Shaabi intelligence department within the facility. Most news reports said that 7 soldiers were killed and 13 others wounded but Shafaq News said that 15 Hashd were killed and 14 wounded. The Iraqi government condemned the incident saying it was a direct attack upon its forces. This was not the first time a mixed Iraqi forces and Hashd target was hit but the high casualties made it unacceptable to Baghdad. The Sudani government is trying to walk a fine line between criticizing the Resistance which is part of the government and security forces for attacking international troops and businesses while also being upset when the pro-Iran factions suffer casualties.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 26 Iyad Allawi won 2010 election PM Maliki came in 2nd and would outmaneuver his opponent to gain another term

1918 Battle of Khan Baghdadi between Ottomans and British started

More Reports Of Iran Aiding The Iraqi Resistance

  

The Saudi paper Asharq al-Awsat ran a report on Iran’s role in assisting the Resistance in Iraq. It said as soon as the war started on February 28 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Forced moved into Iraq to advise and direct attacks by the Resistance against the U.S. They joined advisors who were already in the country. The operations are run out of a command center in Baghdad with sub-branches in Najaf, Diyala and Basra.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 25 Iraq’s Information Min Sahaf began telling media US losing during invasion of Iraq

 

1915 British infantry brigade and artillery landed at Basra as reinforcements

Iraq’s PM Sudani Criticizes Pro-Iran Resistance While Giving Them Concession During Iran War

  

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani is trying to play a double game with the pro-Iran Resistance. On the one hand he is criticizing it for attacks upon the government on the other hand he is giving them concessions because factions are in his political camp and he is still hoping that he can win a second term in office with their support.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 24 Ayatollah Khamenei Pres Khatami decided to send Badr Brigade into Iraq to carry out ops vs US during invasion

 

1915 Gen Nixon made UK cmdr in Mesopotamia Told to hold Basra vilayet and all outlets to sea

Pro-Iran Resistance Picks Up Attacks In Iraq

  

On March 19 it was reported that the government got the pro-Iran Resistance to agree to a ceasefire. Violence went markedly down for two days but then on March 22 things were back to normal.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 23 Nuri al-Said became PM 1st of 9 times Went after opposition Closed newspapers Took control of parliament to assure passage of Anglo-Iraq Treaty

 

1915 French Amb to UK Cambon suggested that UK and France begin discussions on

dividing Ottoman Empire Would lead to creation of Iraq

Violence Down After Ceasefire In Iraq

  

On March 19 Al Hurra reported that the ruling Coordination Framework got the pro-Iran Resistance to agree to a ceasefire. Since then violence has decidedly dropped off in the country.

This Day In Iraqi History – Mar 22 Over 200 civilians killed in US airstrike in Mosul Abadi govt would launch disinformation campaign denying that it happened

 

1921 UK Cabinet approved Colonial Sec Churchill’s choice of Faisal as new ruler in Mesopotamia

(Musings On Iraq Churchill In His Own Words On Mesopotamia/Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Cairo 1921, Ten Days That Made the Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq review Churchill’s Folly, How Winston Churchill Created Modern Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Desert Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia)

(Musings On Iraq review Foundations of British Policy In The Arab World: The Cairo Conference of 1921)

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

(Musings On Iraq review Imagining The Nation, Nationalism, Sectarianism and Socio-Political Conflict in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review The Chatham House Version and other Middle-Eastern Studies)

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

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

Ceasefire Reported In Iraq But Not Followed

  

Al Hurra reported that the ruling Coordination Framework got the pro-Iran Resistance to agree to a ceasefire. This has occurred several times in the past when the government tried to step in and stop violence perpetrated by factions that undermine the country’s stability.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 21 Shock and Awe bombing campaign started during 2003 invasion of Iraq

 

1920 Iraq political officer Wilson wrote India Secretary Montague Said no connection between Iraq and Syria

and would reject rule by Faisal who’d been declared king of both before overthrown by France Said Iraq should have its own govt

Musings On Iraq In The News

I was quoted in this article "Iraq caught in the crossfire as Iran war crisis escalates" by Paul Iddon for The Irish Times. 

For a full listing of Musings On Iraq citations look here.

 

Iran Helping The Resistance Carry Out Attacks In Iraq

  

Al Hurra reported on Iran’s involvement in the violence going on in Iraq. On March 1 an Asaib Ahl Al-Haq headquarters in Diyala was hit that allegedly killed an Iranian Advisor. On March 17 a house in the Jadriya neighborhood of Baghdad was struck that killed six members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC). Al Hurra stated that they are involved in helping the Resistance carry out attacks. Quds Force commander General Esmail Qaani gave the Resistance the initiative to plan their own operations. The IRGC forces are there simply to assist them to make sure the attacks are successful.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 20 Start of 2003 invasion of Iraq

 

1919 French Foreign Min Picon argued for French mandate in Syria UK PM Lloyd George said no

claiming that would violate treaty made with Arabs during WWI US Pres Wilson suggested sending a commission to Syria and Iraq to determine what people there wanted

Iraq Starts Exporting Oil Once Again During Iran War

  

Iraq’s Oil Ministry announced that it was exporting petroleum once against through Turkey. After Irbil and Baghdad came to an agreement up to 250,000 barrels a day began flowing through a pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The United States reportedly played a leading role in getting the two sides together as it wants more oil on the market to try to bring down prices.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 19 Bush ordered attack on farm in Baghdad hoping to kill Saddam as opening blow in Iraq invasion

 

1914 Ottomans agreed to merger of Turkish Petroleum Company that was to get oil concession in Mosul

vilayet with Anglo-Persian Oil Company

2 Breakthroughs To Allow Iraq To Export Oil Again During Iran War?

  

There was some fast breaking news on the oil front in Iraq. The Oil Ministry announced it was in talks with Iran to allow some tankers full of Iraqi petroleum to sail through the Strait of Hormuz which has been closed during the war. By the middle of the day Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani said that an agreement had been made on the issue. It would be quite an irony if Iraq and other countries are successful in these operations because it would make Tehran more powerful in the Persian Gulf as Trump keeps announcing that the U.S. is winning.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 18 4 pro-Najaf Hashd units asked to join Defense Min to protest pro-Iran groups control of Hashd Commission

 

1914 US consulate in Baghdad reported Ottomans had reconciled with Sayid Talib and Sheikh

Ajaimi of Montafiq Confederation They had de facto control of Basra vilayet

Spokesman For Kataib Hezbollah Killed As Iran War Continues To Escalate In Iraq

  

In another escalation of the Iran War’s impact upon Iraq the spokesman for Kataib Hezbollah Abu Ali Al-Askari was killed. This comes after his father Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi the secretary general of the group was either killed or injured on March 13. The U.S. and Israel has mostly hit units of the pro-Iran Resistance and their allies but has begun taking out leadership members now. Kataib Hezbollah is one of the most militant members of the Resistance and is also a political party with parliamentarians. If both father and son were taken out this would be a dramatic loss for the organization.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 17 Yasin al-Hashemi became PM 2nd time Was widely feared that he wanted to become dictator of Iraq

1639 Treaty of Zuhab ended Ottoman-Safavid War and gave Ottomans most of Mesopotamia

(Musings On Iraq review An Analysis of Hanna Batatu’s The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq)

Political Dispute Blocks Iraq Exporting Oil Through Turkey During Iran War

  

Iraq’s oil exports have been cut off due to the Iran War. It is in discussions with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to use its pipeline to Turkey but the two can’t agree on the details.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 16 Iraqi WMD attack upon Halabja 5,000 killed

1917 UK War Cabinet created Mesopotamia administration committee to decide on form of

govt in captured areas

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

Resistance Leadership Targeted As French Soldier Killed And Italian Forces Withdraw From Iraq

US Embassy in Baghdad being hit

  

From March 13-14 Iran targeted members of the anti-Islamic State Coalition in Irbil while the U.S. and Israel went after more leaders of the pro-Iran Resistance.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 15 Ayatollah Khomeini called on Iraqis to rise up and overthrow Saddam

 

1915 Viceroy of India wrote UK interests were protecting Persian oil concession which meant Basra

vilayet should be controlled by UK while Baghdad vilayet should be ceded by Turkey and given native administration under UK influence

(Musings On Iraq review Desert Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

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

Review Edmund Candler, The Long Road to Baghdad, Volume II, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1919

  

Edmund Candler was a journalist who traveled with the British forces during the Mesopotamia campaign of World War I. This second volume of his book The Long Road to Baghdad covers the end of the war from 1917-1918. The vast majority of the writing is a blow by blow account of the various battles fought as the British conquered what would become Iraq. It does bring up larger issues however such as the lack of a strategy and the contempt the English had for the Ottomans and Arabs.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 14 Operation to free Tikrit stalled due to high Hashd casualties

 

1921 Colonial Sec Churchill wrote PM Lloyd George Said making Faisal king of Iraq best

chance for UK to save money in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq review Cairo 1921, Ten Days That Made the Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq review Desert Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia)

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

(Musings On Iraq review Foundations of British Policy In The Arab World: The Cairo Conference of 1921)

Iraq Resistance Base Hit With Over 120 Casualties

   

On March 12 Ansar Allah’s 19^th Hashd Brigade was struck by at least two airstrikes in Akashat, Anbar. When rescue teams arrived they were hit as well. At least 35 were killed and around 90 were wounded. That was by far the highest number of casualties by any operation by the United States and Israel since the Iran War started. Before that the Hashd announced that there had been a total of 27 dead and 50 injured.