Oil Smuggling Alive And Well In Iraq

Oil smuggling operation to tap into a pipeline discovered (Al Maalomah)

The Iraqi press had a spate of articles in the last two months about oil smuggling going on across the country. There were five such pieces in September, and another seven in October. For every report that the authorities had discovered such an operation there were probably plenty more that were not found pointing to this illegal business being alive and well in Iraq.

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 8

1914 British troops after landing at Fao Peninsula captured Ottoman Fao Fort

1980 Saddam said Iraq was ready to withdraw from Iran if Tehran recognized Iraq’s rights to Shatt

al-Arab Iran refused

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War)

1990 Bush asked if he would use force to expel Iraq from Kuwait Wouldn’t answer the question Did

say there would be enough US forces for offensive action

1996 Report Baghdad was selling weapons to KDP in its conflict with the PUK

(Musings On Iraq book review of The Kurds, A Modern History)

(Musings On Iraq book review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)

2001 NY Times talked with 2 Iraqi defectors provided by INC One was Quairy Claimed Mukhabarat

trained Islamists and produced WMD to attack US Story coincided with INC defectors appearing in PBS’ Frontline

2001 Frontline aired “Gunning for Saddam” Was full of conspiracies about Iraq being behind 9/11

and that it should be attacked Interviewed with Ex Iraq nuke scientist Khidhir Hamza who said Iraq behind 9/11 Richard Perle said Saddam most dangerous man in world because he could use WMD against US Ex-CIA Chief Woolsey said Iraq probably behind Al Qaeda and 1993 World Trade Center bombing Laurie Mylroie Said Iraq behind Al Qaeda INC defector Khodada Claimed he saw jihadists training with Iraqis in Salman Pak including taking airliners Said this was connected to 9/11

(Musings On Iraq article on Mylroie’s Iraq conspiracy theories)

2002 UN Resolution 1441 said Iraq was in violation of previous resolutions and authorized new

weapons inspections anywhere in Iraq

2003 Red Cross withdrew most of its staff after Zarqawi bombing

2004 2 Marine regiments started attack in 2^nd Battle of Fallujah clearing northern section of city

Zarqawi believed to have fled Fallujah during 2^nd battle for city

2004 Sadr issued statement calling on Iraqi forces to not take part in the 2^nd Battle of Fallujah

Association of Muslim Scholars also condemned the battle

2004 Battle of Mosul began

2004 Rumsfeld said most of Iraq stable with violence only in 4 of 18 provinces

2005 Another one of Saddam’s lawyers was killed in an ambush

2006 NatlSecAdv Hadley memo to Bush Maliki either lying didn’t have resources or was not

explaining his goals

2006 Bush announced Rumsfeld out as Secretary of Defense in large part because of Iraq

2009 Parliamentary election law passed expanding number of seats to 325

2012 US Treasury Dept designated Kataib Hezbollah a terrorist organization

2016 Peshmerga freed Bashiqa Ninewa

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Iraq Will Receive Some Exemptions From U.S. On Its Iran Sanctions

(IRNA)

There was some confusion when on November 5 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced countries that received waivers from U.S. sanctions on Iran, and Iraq was not mentioned. The Secretary said that China, India, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey could continue to buy Iranian oil. Iraq was not on the list when just three days before it was reported that Baghdad would be allowed to continue to by certain products from Tehran. It now turns out, Pompeo was simply talking about Iran’s oil exports, while Iraq was a separate case.

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 7

1914 British troops started march from the port of Fao to the city of Basra

1940 British cabinet decided to send emissary to Iraq to demand Regent remove PM Gaylani from

power for his overtures to Axis

(Musings On Iraq book review of Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq book review of Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)

1968 Baath National Guard fired on Communist march killing 3

1978 Iraq and Syria announced they were working to unify their two states

1980 Iranian commandos attacked Iraqi oil export terminals at Mina al-Bakr and Fao

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War)

2002 UK Embassy in US said hawks in Washington thought UN Res 1441 authorizing new weapons

inspections was a defeat

(Musings On Iraq article on UN weapons inspections)

2003 CENTCOM Cmdr Gen Abizaid told Bremer US should bring back ex-Iraq officers into new

army Bremer said no

2004 2^nd Battle of Fallujah started

2004 PM Allawi declared martial law for 2 months Ordered curfew in Fallujah and closed Baghdad

international airport

2006 Interior Ministry charged almost 100 police including 18 officers and a general for torturing

prisoners at east Baghdad Site 4 detention facility Held 1,431 people

2010 Turkey’s Foreign Min Davutoglu travelled to Iraq to try to help form new govt

2015 Maliki said Abadi’s reforms were unconstitutional

2015 Abadi went to Najaf to gain more support for reforms but Sistani would not meet with him

View the Iraq History Timelines 

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 6

1914 British troops landed at Fao, Basra starting war against Ottomans in Mesopotamia

1982 Iranian Op Muharram Iran seized several border crossings Abu Shirib and Bayat oil fields in

Maysan Iraq counterattacked to try to take back oil fields but failed Rain ended Iranian offensive Iran lost 4,000 dead Iraq lost 3,000 dead 3,500 prisoners

1983 Iranian Op Wa al-Farj 4 Made 2^nd major attack Seized Penjwin KDPI HQ and moved towards

Sulaymaniya Was stopped by Iraqi counterattack using mustard gas 1^st use of chemical weapons in war

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War)

1990 SecState Baker convinced China to abstain on UN resolution to allow use of force against Iraq

for Kuwait invasion

1994 Iran fired SCUD missiles at Mujahadeen e-Khalq camp in Iraq

1998 Clinton admin sent letter to Congress saying US would support Kurds as long as they remained

united

2002 UN told that Iraq cut back on oil smuggling but still continuing in violation of UN sanctions

2002 Sec State Powell got ok from Natl Sec Adv Rice to make deal with France on UN resolution to       allow UN inspections in Iraq

2003 Congress authorized $18.4 bil for Iraq reconstruction

2003 Bush speech If democracy failed in Iraq would be win for terrorism and bad for Middle East

2003 Report Saddam offered to allow US troops to search country for WMD before invasion

2004 Fallujah police collapsed after night attack by insurgents

2005 Report Feb 2002 DIA said Al Qaeda captive Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi was misleading in statements

about Iraq-Al Qaeda cooperation Libi continued to be source of Bush admin statements about Iraq-Al Qaeda ties after it was believed he was making things up

2005 Report Italian intel SISMI appeared to be source for both US and UK claim that Iraq tried to

buy uranium from Niger/Africa SISMI got fake docs from informer Rocco Martino on alleged Iraq-Niger uranium deal and then passed intel to other countries

(Musings On Iraq article on Iraq-Niger uranium story)

2006 Rumsfeld memo to White House Iraq not working and needed change

2006 Report insurgent intimidation campaign against ISF and officials in Fallujah U.S. officers said

not enough forces to secure city

2012 Pres Barzani called on Democratic Union Party and Kurdish National Council to stop fighting

each other in Syria

2015 Friday sermon Ayatollah Sistani rep said Abadi’s reforms should not be blocked

2016 Iraqi forces freed Hamama al-Alil Ninewa

2017 Iraq Federal Court ruled no province could secede in lawsuit against Kurdish independence

referendum

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Musings On Iraq In The News

Was quoted by Wladimir van Wilgenburg in "Canada-led NATO mission in Iraq begins" for Kurdistan 24.

Link to all Musings On Iraq citations

Iraq Benefits From Rising Oil Prices In October 2018

(Middle East Monitor)

After reaching an all time high in August, Iraq’s oil exports have decreased the last two months. Fortunately, prices have continued to go up making the country more and more profits.