This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 2

1915 Suleiman Bey took over Iraq Command for Ottomans Called on Arab sheikhs to join

war against British and planned on retaking Basra

1980 Iranian Op Mohammed Rasoolallah attacked Iraqi forces in Zagros Mtns Kurdistan Pushed

back by Iraqi counterattacks

(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 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)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)

2003 UN inspector told Irish Times no active WMD or nuclear programs found in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq article UN Inspectors Were Right Iraq Was Not A Threat)

(Musings On Iraq article Iraq’s Rejection of UN Inspectors Led To Mistrust Over WMD and 2003 Invasion)

(Musings On Iraq article on how poor US intel work led to claim Iraq rebuilt its nuclear weapons program)

2004 Bremer met with Barzani and Talabani in Irbil to discuss Kurdish demands in new

constitution

2004 Bremer asked Kurds to disband Peshmerga abandon claims to Kirkuk oil accept authority of

central govt Kurds said no

2006 Iraq’s Dec 2005 export average of 1.1 million barrels a day was lowest since 2003 invasion

2006 USAID report on development projects outlined civil war Said tribes were turning in rivals as

insurgents to govt Report said south Iraq controlled by militias and religious groups curtailing people’s freedoms imposing dress codes bombing liquor stores etc Said Iraqi govt had no real control of country Police ineffective Criminals had free reign and working with militias and insurgents

2007 Iraqi govt reported 16,273 deaths in 2006 14,298 civilians, 1,348 police, 627 soldiers

2007 Report US pre-Surge Iraq strategy failed US planned to withdraw and have Iraqis take over security

Problem was violence increased ISF was not up to task of securing country and many units were full of militiamen making situation worse Bush still talked about victory when plan was a withdrawal As early as 2005 State Dept and NSC officials wanted to review Iraq strategy but went nowhere Wasn’t until fall 06 Bush finally agreed that things were not working

(Musings On Iraq article on pre-Surge US Iraq strategy)

2008 Female suicide bomber killed Sahwa leader in Baquba

(Musings On Iraq article on female suicide bombers)

2014 ISIS fighters attacked Ramadi and helped take Fallujah with other insurgents

2014 Meeting of sheikhs clerics and notables to work out plan to retake Fallujah

2014 Mutihadun said wanted govt to release MP Alwani and police to restore security in Anbar

(Musings On Iraq article on PM Maliki crackdown on Anbar protests)

2019 PM Abdul Mahdi announced new Supreme Anti-Corruption Council to combat the problem

(Musings On Iraq interview with Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen on Iraq’s fight with corruption) 

(Musings On Iraq interview with former anti-corruption official Vincent Foulk)

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Happy New Year!

This Day In Iraqi History - Jan 1

1960 Gen Qasim issued new law of association promising parties would be legalized and more

political freedom Banned any student organizing and activism on campuses to control student protests

(Musings On Iraq interview with Western Kentucky’s Prof Romero on the Qasim govt)

1982 Peshmerga bombed Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline

1984 Report US told Persian Gulf allies that it supported Iraq in Iran-Iraq War

(Musings On Iraq book review The Saddam Tapes)

1988 Iran Launched Bait al-Moqaddas 2 in Mawet Kurdistan

(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 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)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)

1995 Civil war between PUK and KDP killed more than 500 over control of Irbil

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

1997 US and UK launched Operation Northern Watch to maintain no fly zone over northern Iraq

after France withdrew

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Sec 1.1 UK Iraq Strategy 1990 To 2000)

1999 French paper claimed in 1998 bin Laden talked about safe haven in Iraq

2001 Break-in at Niger embassy in Rome to provide cover for how Italian intel broker Martino got

fake Iraq-Niger uranium papers

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

(Musings On Iraq Review Hubris, The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, And The Selling Of The Iraq War)

2006 UK Gen Houghton said that US Iraq Cmdr Gen Casey wanted to emphasize fighting insurgency

while withdrawing US troops Houghton didn’t think that was plan to defeat insurgents

2007 ISF raided Al-Sharqiya TV station office in Baghdad after newscaster wore black day after

Saddam executed Govt claimed station promoted violence Owned by Bazzaz who ran TV and radio for Saddam

2008 Migration Minister said that govt plan was to return refugees to their homes and neighborhoods Gen

Petraeus didn’t think that possible because demographics had changed during civil war Said it would lead to violence Said many refugees would never return to their homes

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

2009 US military handed over control of Green Zone to Iraqi govt

2009 British transferred control of Basra Airport to Iraqi forces

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

2014 ISI fighters moved into Ramadi and looted police stations Reports police in Fallujah deserted

and joined insurgents Fighting spread to Garma

(Musings On Iraq article on aftermath of shutting down Anbar protest sites)

2014 Sheikh Abu Risha called on Anbar to fight ISI

2014 ISI began pushing families out of Jurf al-Sakhr, Babil

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Kataib Hezbollah’s Role Along The Iraq-Syrian Border: Security Profits Supporting Iran

Kataib Hezbollah base in Qaim hit by US (Reuters)

On December 29 the United States hit three Kataib Hezbollah bases in western Anbar in the Qaim district in retaliation for a rocket attack upon a base in Kirkuk that killed a U.S. contractor along with two Iraqi policemen. Kataib Hezbollah has been in Qaim since 2017 when it was liberated from the Islamic State. Afterward the group banned families from returning claiming they were creating a security zone along the border with Syria. It wasn’t only interested in fighting the Islamic State however it moved its men back and forth into Syria to support Iran and the Assad regime. It also set up its own informal border crossing into Syria, which it ran for a profit taxing the vehicles passing through, as well as smuggling goods between the two countries. When the Qaim border point officially re-opened in September 2019 it operated that as well opening up another opportunity to make money. This was not the first time Kataib Hezbollah had suffered an air strike and casualties in that district either as it was hit likely by the Israelis in August 2019 killing two and wounding another.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 31

1920 High Commission Sir Cox reported that many sheikhs of large confederations

supported Mandate and didn't want an Iraqi govt

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

1980 Attacks upon Iranian oil facilities and ports cost it $6 bil in 1980 Attacks on Iraqi oil facilities

and ports cost $4 bil

1981 End of 1^st yr of Iran-Iraq War 22,000 Iraqi 38,000 Iranian dead

(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 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 UN inspector told press they were finding no evidence of Iraq’s WMD and Western intel

providing nothing substantive

(Musings On Iraq article UN Inspectors Were Right Iraq Was Not A Threat)

(Musings On Iraq article Iraq’s Rejection of UN Inspectors Led To Mistrust Over WMD and 2003 Invasion)

2003 Bush said couldn’t tell whether Iraq had a nuclear weapon or not

(Musings On Iraq article on how poor US intel work led to claim Iraq rebuilt its nuclear weapons program)

2003 3 dead 20 wounded after Arabs and Turkemn stormed PUK office in Kirkuk

2007 Iraqi govt reported 16,232 civilians deaths in 07 up from 12,360 in 06

2007 Deadline to hold referendum on future of disputed territories under Constitution’s Article 140

passed

2007 Deadline for committee to revise Iraqi constitution missed Was 4^th time delayed Never finished

job

(Musings On Iraq interview with constitutional scholar Zaid al-Ali on Iraq’s constitution)

2007 Report Govt had hired 150,000 police from Sep to Dec 07 8 provinces asked for 45,000 more police

Most had no training Interior Min only agreed to 12,000

2011 US withdrew forces from Iraq under Status of Forces Agreement

(Musings On Iraq book review The United States And Iraq Since 1990: A Brief History with Documents)

(Musings On Iraq book review Quicksilver War, Syria, Iraq and the Spiral of Conflict)

2011 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and Sadrists got into gunfight in Sadr City and Kadhimiya Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq article on history of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq)

2013 Anbar council negotiated withdrawal of 2 ISF units from Ramadi to try to control protests and

fighting

2013 PM Maliki said he would withdraw ISF from cities in Anbar after closed protest sites led to fighting

2013 Speaker Nujafi announced Mutahidun withdrawing from govt to protest PM Maliki shutting down

Ramadi protest site

(Musings On Iraq article on PM Maliki crackdown on Anbar protests)

2013 10 houses in Babil’s Jurf al-Sakhr blown up by ISI forcing 84 families to flee

2013 Army base outside Ramadi hit by rockets Base in Baghadi Anbar shot at Police station in

Ramadi taken over 2 army bases in Haditha and Baghdadi overrun

(Musings On Iraq article on insurgent offensive in Anbar)

(Musings On Iraq article on aftermath of shutting down Anbar protest sites)

View the Iraq History Timelines

US Retaliates Against Kataib Hezbollah Raising Question Of What Comes Next?

US struck 5 Kataib Hezbollah camps in Iraq and Syria (Reuters)

 

On December 29, the U.S. fired missiles at three Kataib Hezbollah bases in Iraq and two in Syria. Kataib Hezbollah claimed that 25 of its fighters including a brigade commander and 51 others were wounded in Anbar. Reportedly, three Iranians lost their lives as well. This was the first time that the Trump administration responded to Iranian provocation in Iraq.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 30

1959 Qasim govt passed Law of Personal Status Equalized inheritance for men and women

Restricted polygamy Set legal marrage age at 18

2002 For Sec Straw and Sec of State Powell thought UN inspections would not provide

smoking gun against Iraq so alternatives needed

2002 UN inspectors said they had gone to all major suspected WMD sites and found nothing

(Musings On Iraq article UN Inspectors Were Right Iraq Was Not A Threat)

(Musings On Iraq article Iraq’s Rejection of UN Inspectors Led To Mistrust Over WMD and 2003 Invasion)

2002 Report Reagan admin and its Middle East envoy Rumsfeld did nothing while Iraq used WMD

in Iran-Iraq War

2002 NYTimes article said CIA looking into Iraq buying smallpox from a Russian scientist

2003 White House meeting on what to do about Governing Council going to UN to ask them with

help to transition to sovereignty White House decided they would try to block any UN plans for Iraq because wanted to keep control of process Meeting then turned to security VP Cheney said he wanted to eliminate Sadr

2005 Oil Min Uloom put on leave after opposing govt plan to increase prices on gas and cooking oil

Replaced by Dep PM Chalabi

2005 South Korea’s parliament okayed plan to withdraw 1/3 of its forces from Iraq Korea had 3^rd

largest Coalition force in Iraq

2006 Iraqi govt hanged Saddam Hussein while Sadrists taped it and chanted Moqtada

2006 Naqshibandi insurgent group formed by Baathists

2007 Basra police chief escaped 2 IEDs Was 7^th attempt on his life since Jun 07

2009 British hostage Peter Moore released by Asaib Ahl Al-Haq in return for release of leader Qais

Khazali Moore and 4 bodyguards kidnapped from Fin Min building Baghdad in May 2007 Op planned by Iran’s Rev Guard Brits were held in Iran for most of 2 year captivity 4 bodyguards were killed

(Musings On Iraq Iranians Planned Kidnapping And Held British Captives Taken In Iraq) 

(Musings On Iraq interview with Naval Postgraduate School’s Ostovar on history of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard)

(Musings On Iraq book review Vanguard of the Imam, Religion, Politics, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard)

2009 2 suicide bombers hit provincial council building in Ramadi killing 27 and injuring 100

including Gov Fahadawi

(Musings On Iraq Voter Dissatisfaction Growing In Anbar?)

2013 Anbar sheikhs gave govt 12 hour ultimatum to release MP Alwani arrested by PM Maliki

2013 PM Maliki used death of army’s 7^th Div cmdr to order Ramadi and Fallujah protest camps to be

closed Led to call to arms in Fallujah Closure helped insurgency to return

2013 Gunmen appeared in Fallujah after protest site there closed setting up checkpoints and fighting

with ISF Some mosques in Ramadi called for jihad Police cars seized in Ramadi and burned Clashes in Hit

(Musings On Iraq article on PM Maliki crackdown on Anbar protests)

(Musings On Iraq article on aftermath of shutting down Anbar protest sites)

2013 Army base east of Fallujah hit by mortars as part of new insurgent offensive

(Musings On Iraq article on insurgent offensive in Anbar)

View the Iraq History Timelines