As Talk Of Expelling US Forces From Iraq Dies Down Attacks Upon Americans Pick Up

Truck used to fire rockets at Camp Taji on March 11 (Al Sumaria)

Hashd units aligned with Tehran killed another two Americans bringing an immediate response from Washington. It appears that pro-Iran groups are returning to harassing attacks because the move by Iraq’s parliament to expel U.S. forces has stalled due to the inability to pick a new prime minister.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 13

1917 British started Samarra offensive against Ottomans after taking Baghdad

1933 UK Amb to Iraq told King Faisal that trying to control opposition by including it in govt only

created dysfunctional govts and opposition were opposed to Iraq’s alliance with UK and should be excluded

1935 PM Midfai sent army unit from Hilla to Diwaniya to crush tribal uprising Revolt instigated by

politicians opposed to Midfai

1959 Nasser gave 3^rd speech attacking Iraqi Communists Said Communists wanted to spread their ideas

            across the Arab world

(Musings On Iraq book review Red Star Over Iraq, Iraqi Communism Before Saddam)

(Musings On Iraq Interview with Prof Johan Franzen on the history of the Iraqi Communist Party)

1975 KDP announced ceasefire with govt after Iran said it would stop giving it aid following Algiers

Agreement ended border dispute with Iraq

(Musings On Iraq book review Killing Hope, U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II)

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

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

(Musings On Iraq book review The Great Betrayal, How America Abandoned The Kurds And Lost The Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq article on Nixon admin support for Kurdish revolt)

1984 UN team arrived in Iraq to investigate use of chemical weapons while Iran made new claims its

forces hit with mustard gas in Manjoon Islands

(Musings On Iraq article on the origins of Iraq’s WMD programs)

1985 Iraqi commandos airlifted into Hoveyzah marshes to try to cut off Iranian Op Badr forces

(Musings On Iraq book review of Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)

1986 Iraqi counterattack to retake Fao stopped in middle of island Iraqis dug in Iran 10,000 dead 25,000

wounded Iraq 3,000 dead 9,000 wounded 1,500 captured Iran still in control of Fao

(Musings On Iraq book review of Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)

1988 Iran launched Op Zafar 7 in Khurmal Op Bait al-Moqaddas 3 in Sulaymaniya Op Wa al-Fajr 10

in Halabja Goal was to capture two dams Captured 7 Kurdish villages

(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 Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)

(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 The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1991 Pres Bush said Iraqi helicopters should not be used to put down Shiite and Kurdish uprisings

1991 Kurdish uprising spread to Zakho

1991 Kurdistan Front announced council to run Kurdish areas during uprising

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

1991 325 Iraqi opposition leaders from 23 factions met in Beirut to discuss uprising in Iraq Led to Free

Iraqi Council led by Saad Salih Jabr

(Musings On Iraq article on 1991 Beirut meeting)

1991 Was anti-govt protest in Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq interview with National Univ of Singapore’s Fanar Haddad on the Impact of the 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on 1^st hand accounts of 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on Saddam’s view of 1991 Uprising)

(Ahulbayt Video on 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on how US encouraged 1991 uprising)

2002 PM Blair Foreign Pol Adv Manning met with Natl Sec Adv Rice’s staff Manning said US not

considered problems with going to war with Iraq

2003 UK Foreign Office legal adv Brummell wrote Attny Gen Lord Goldsmith saying didn’t need 2^nd UN

resolution to go to war with Iraq

2003 Attny Gen Lord Goldsmith changed his opinion saying 2^nd UN resolution not needed for action

against Iraq

2003 PM Blair told Bush not to give ultimatum to Saddam until he had dealt with parliament Bush said

OK

2003 PM Blair told still hope that 2^nd resolution authorizing force against Iraq could be passed in UN

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

2003 USAID official told aid groups Iraq war would be quick Needs would be met Iraqis would regain

control US would be out in a year

(Musings On Iraq article on Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Chapter 2 The Agencies Engage)

(Musings On Iraq book review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy

Tragedy)

2005 Dep Industry Min said there was systematic looting of factories and weapons sites after 03 invasion

2006 Bush said Iraqi forces would take over most security jobs by end of 2006 and that way forward

would continue to be difficult

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

2007 PM Maliki and Gen Petraeus went to military base in Ramadi met Awakening sheikhs Petraeus said

city example of successful counterinsurgency Maliki promised services and reconstruction for city Awakening sheikhs asked for new Anbar provincial elections so they could gain seats in govt

(Musings On Iraq article on tribes turning on Al Qaeda in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq article on change in perceptions that led to Awakening)

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Carter Malkasian on Anbar Awakening)

(Musings On Iraq book review of Confronting Al Qaeda, The Sunni Awakening and American Strategy In Al Anbar)

(Musings On Iraq book review of The Marines Take Anbar, The Four-Year Fight Against Al Qaeda)

(Musings On Iraq book review Illusions of Victory, The Anbar Awakening And The Rise Of The Islamic State)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Sheriff of Ramadi, Nvy SEALS and the Winning of Anbar)

2007 ISI leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi released tape refuting criticism of his group

(Musings On Iraq interview with Naval War College’s Prof Whiteside on ISI leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi)

2007 Report CURVEBALL source of claim Iraq had mobile WMD was still under German intel

protection living outside Munch Fmr CIA’s Europe ops chief Drumheller claimed he tried to remove CURVEBALL info from Sec State Powell’s Feb 03 UN speech Drumheller claimed he met with Dep CIA Dir McLaughlin to complain about including CURVEBALL in Powell’s speech McLaughlin denied that Powell said he never heard any questions about CURVEBALL before his speech

(Musings On Iraq How Iraqi Defector CURVEBALL Became Basis For US Claim That Iraq Had WMD)

(Musings On Iraq Look Who The LA Times Dug Up – CURVEBALL)

(Musings On Iraq Story of CURVEBALL And Iraq’s Mobile Biological Weapons Labs)

2008 Dep PM Salah said strong military presence needed in Basra to get rid of militias Natl Sec Adv

Rubaie said Basra Gov Waeli had ultimatum to fight militias or lose backing of Baghdad Waeli replied Baghdad didn’t understand situation and neglected province Lead up to PM Maliki’s attack upon Mahdi Army

2008 Army and US Special Forces deployed to take Kut back from Mahdi Army after it had expelled

police following raid on Sadrists areas of city Was 3^rd day of fighting

2008 Gen Petraeus complained that Iraqi leaders were not taking advantage of  improved security in Iraq

to move forward on reconciliation

2008 US military said that ISI could be reduced but would not go away because it was so adaptable

2008 Head of Baghdad Operations Command Gen Qanbar said sectarian violence down 90% in capital

2008 Body of Chaldean Archbishop of Iraq Raho found outside of Mosul after being kidnapped

2009 SIIC’s Hakim said he wanted reforms within National Alliance due to disputes with PM Maliki

2012 Oil Ministry said KRG not meeting its export quota

2018 Pres Masum sent 2018 budget back to parliament saying parts violated constitution Had no power

to veto law

2018 Kirkuk city municipal workers protested over not getting paid for several months

2020 U.S. struck Kataib Hezbollah targets in Babil Anbar Karbala and Salahaddin in

retaliation for the death of 2 American soldiers on Mar 11

View the Iraq History Timelines 

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 12

1921 Start of Cairo Conference where Britain decided on its future MidEast policy with Mesopotamia

being a centerpiece Colonial Secretary Churchill’s main concern at Cairo Conference was cutting costs for London Said British troops would be withdrawn in Mesopotamia as quickly as possible Air power would be used instead for control Sir Percy Cox and Gen Haldane objected to Churchill’s troops reduction plan saying soldiers still needed in Mesopotamia Royal Air Force said it would need another year to set up in Mesopotamia Meant Churchill could not withdraw British troops as quickly as he wanted Most at conference supported a Hashemite either Faisal or Abdullah becoming ruler in Mesopotamia Churchill said putting Faisal in power in Mesopotamia would be part of larger policy to have Hashemites beholden to England in Mecca and Transjordan Churchill believed putting Faisal in power would lead to Mesopotamian govt that could run things and save UK money Churchill was open to creating a Kurdish state Thought would be a buffer between Turkey and Mesopotamia Sir Percy Cox and Gertrude Bell argued for a unitary Mesopotamian state that included Kurds at Cairo Conference

(Musings On Iraq article on the Cairo conference and the selection of Faisal to be first king of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Princeton’s Sara Pursley on Sykes-Picot and creation of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq article on Churchill’s views on Mesopotamia)

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

(Musings On Iraq book review of Gertrude Bell And Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq book review Gertrude Bell, Explorer of the Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq movie review Letters from Baghdad)

(Musings On Iraq book review Supremacy And Oil, Iraq, Turkey, and the Anglo-American World Order, 1918-1930)

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

1959 Nasser gave 2^nd speech attacking Iraqi Communists Said that they would never be able to stop Arab

nationalism Said that Communists relied upon Shiites for support who opposed Arab nationalism Denied that he supported Col Arif against Qasim govt

(Musings On Iraq book review Red Star Over Iraq, Iraqi Communism Before Saddam)

(Musings On Iraq Interview with Prof Johan Franzen on the history of the Iraqi Communist Party)

1974 After talks broke down with Baghdad and it imposed own law for Kurdistan KDP restarted

rebellion

1975 Baghdad offered KDP truce to allow its forces to retreat to Iran or surrender

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

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

(Musings On Iraq book review Killing Hope, U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Great Betrayal, How America Abandoned The Kurds And Lost The Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq article on Nixon admin support for Kurdish revolt)

1979 At National Security Council Saddam decided that govt would take control of religious sphere to

protect country from ideas that could threaten the regime

1984 Iraq called off attacks into Basra marshes to try to recapture Majnoon Islands Iran lost 20,000 dead

30,000 wounded 1,000 captured Iraq lost 3,000 dead 9,000 wounded and 1/6 of its oil reserves

(Musings On Iraq book review of Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)

1985 Iran Op Badr reached Tigris River and began building bridge across it then forced back Reached

Baghdad-Basra highway and took Qurna but then retaken by Iraqis 2 Revolutionary Guard divisions attacked from Majnoon Islands and forced Iraqis to retreat

(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)

1985 Iraq started using chemical weapons against Iran’s Op Badr over next 4 weeks Iran claimed it

suffered 4,600 casualties as a result

1986 CIA said that Iraq facing worst situation since start of war after Iran captured Fao Peninsula

Warned that if Iran carried out more offensives could break the Iraqi army and Saddam could be deposed

(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 of Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)

(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 The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1991 Govt operation to retake Najaf from Shiite rebels began

1991 Iraqi refugees fleeing country claimed govt forces used napalm to put down uprising

(Musings On Iraq interview with National Univ of Singapore’s Fanar Haddad on the Impact of the 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on 1^st hand accounts of 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on Saddam’s view of 1991 Uprising)

(Ahulbayt Video on 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on how US encouraged 1991 uprising)

1993 Iraqi army attacked Aweina Kurdistan killing 30

2002 Blair For Pol Adv Manning met with Natl Sec Adv Rice and said UK supported regime change in

Iraq but needed good strategy

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

2002 2 CIA reports said aluminum tubes Iraq tried to buy were for centrifuges and Iraq might be trying

to build a nuclear weapon

(Musings On Iraq article on the aluminum tubes story)

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

2003 Bush called PM Blair about vote on 2^nd UN resolution on Iraq Bush said if didn’t have votes

shouldn’t have a vote

2003 Bush called Mexican Pres Fox and Chilean Pres Lagos on 2^nd UN resolution Fox non-committal

Lagos said he would vote no

2003 Bush called PM Blair and said that vote on 2^nd UN resolution was dead

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

2003 UN committee reported on Iraq violating sanctions

2003 Iraqi scientists began private interviews with UN inspectors

(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 endorsed Def Dept plan for quick transition to Iraqi authority made up of exiles and Kurds

after war

(Musings On Iraq book review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy Tragedy)

2003 UndersecDef Feith briefed NSC on postwar plans for Iraqi Foreign Min military and intel services

Said Foreign Ministry and embassies needed to be purged Wanted to disband intel services Republican Guard State Security Office and militias and cut Iraqi military to just 3-5 divisions

(Musings On Iraq article on Part I Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Planning for Postwar Iraq September 2001 to May 2003)

2003 White House reviewed plan to ship $1.7 bil in frozen Iraqi assets in U.S. to Iraq to pay for Iraqi

public workers and pensions

2004 Sadrists destroyed Gypsy village of Qawliya, Qadisiya

(Musings On Iraq article on the destruction of Qawliya)

2006 2 bombings of markets in Sadr City kill 58

(Musings On Iraq book review Voices From Iraq, A People’s History, 2003-2009)

2006 US soldiers gang raped 14 yr old Iraqi girl in Mahmudiya and then killed her family

2007 Report Sadr met with Ayatollah Sistani and asked what he should do about attacks upon his

movement Sistani told him he could withdraw or take the consequences Sadr ended up leaving for Iran

2008 2^nd day of fighting Mahdi Army forced police out of Kut Came after Sadr said militia could defend

themselves during freeze Police raided Sadrists areas in city leading to fighting

2008 Pentagon said it would not publicly release its study that found no Iraq-Al Qaeda links based upon

600,000 captured Iraq docs Would not even be posted on the Internet

2008 US reported violence had hit nadir Hadn’t dropped from Nov 07-Feb 08 Avg number of insurgents

attacks went from 180 per day in Jun 07 to 60 per day in Jan 08

2008 Sir Synnott former CPA official in charge of south Iraq said UK wanted to portray stable Iraq after

invasion but didn’t spend time and money to rebuild country Said CPA focused on large projects but not small sustainable ones that would have benefited more Iraqis

2016 PM Abadi called on political parties to present their technocratic candidates for new cabinet Only 3

parties did so

2018 Municipal workers protested in Zubayr Basra over not getting paid for 2 months Threw stones at

govt offices

View the Iraq History Timelines

Laurie Mylroie’s Iraq Conspiracy Theory Was Debunked By Captured Baath Documents

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was a big fan of Laurie Mylroie and her theories about Iraq. In April 2001, during the first discussion of terrorism by the new Bush administration, Wolfowitz brought up Mylroie’s claim that Iraq was behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and therefore Baghdad not Al Qaeda should be the focus of any counter terrorism strategy. In June, the deputy secretary tried to get the CIA to look into Mylroie’s theory. On September 17, 2001 Wolfowitz sent a memo to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld advocating for the United States to attack Iraq in retaliation for 9/11. He said there was a better than 10% chance that Baghdad was behind the strikes on New York and Washington D.C. He included the 1993 bombing. Later, he sent former CIA Director James Woolsey to England to find evidence to support Mylroie’s story. Finally in November 2001 Wolfowitz wrote Rumsfeld again saying that Iraq was probably involved in 9/11 based upon Mylroie’s ideas of links between Saddam and Al Qaeda from 1993. Mylroie’s theories about Iraq and terrorism were popular amongst neoconservatives like Wolfowitz, but were totally convoluted and later proven false by captured Iraqi documents.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 11

1917 British army captured Baghdad from Ottomans

1922 Wahabi Ikhwan from Saudi Arabia attacked south of Nasiriya slaughtering civilians

1959 Nasser gave speech in Damascus attacking Communists as being against freedom not

supporting Arab nationalism and taking orders from a foreign country meaning USSR

(Musings On Iraq book review Red Star Over Iraq, Iraqi Communism Before Saddam)

(Musings On Iraq Interview with Prof Johan Franzen on the history of the Iraqi Communist Party)

1970 Bakr govt offered Kurds autonomy agreement after talks with KDP Offered self rule assembly

recognized Kurdish language promoted Kurdish culture Agreement allowed Kurdish vice president in Baghdad share of oil revenue Mustafa Bazani agreed to give up heavy weapons and have Peshmerga integrated into army

1970 Since fighting started in 1968 some 60,000 killed in Kurdish rebellion 300,000 displaced

1974 After talks with KDP broke down Bakr govt announced Autonomy Law for Kurdistan which KDP

rejected

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

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

1984 Report Iraq had 3 poison gas plants producing chemical weapons for Iran-Iraq War

(Musings On Iraq article on the origins of Iraq’s WMD programs)

1985 Iran bombed Baghdad and 10 other Iraqi cities Started 2^nd War of Cities

1985 Iran started Op Badr trying again to cut Basra-Baghdad highway take back initiative in war Started

with diversionary attack then infiltration into Hoveyzah marshes Overran Iraqi 35^th Division

1986 Iraqi Special Forces unit destroyed attempting to storm beaches on Fao Peninsula

(Musings On Iraq book review of Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)

1987 Limited Iranian attack in Basra stopped by Iraqis

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War Volume 3: Iraq’s Triumph)

1988 Iran and Iraq signed truce in war of cities in Ankara Didn’t last War of Cities went on for another

month

(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 The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1991 Shiite uprising in Hillah put down

1991 Rebels from Najaf met French forces who said they would meet Gen Schwarzkopf Never happened

1991 Kurdish uprising started in Irbil

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

1991 Massoud Barzani offered amnesty for soldiers who surrendered to Peshmerga

1991 Peshmerga began attacking Kirkuk, Iraqi army responded by taking hostages inside city

(Musings On Iraq interview with National Univ of Singapore’s Fanar Haddad on the Impact of the 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on 1^st hand accounts of 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on Saddam’s view of 1991 Uprising)

(Ahulbayt Video on 1991 Uprising)

1992 Saddam said Kurds could not hold elections for parliament until they gave up protection of

Coalition forces

1995 PUK suicide bomber hit KDP headquarters in Zakho

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

2002 PM Blair told VP Cheney UK would support US action to remove Saddam

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

2003 Def Sec Rumsfeld said US could attack Iraq by itself without other nations Said British might not

participate

2003 UK Embassy in US furious that Sec Def Rumsfeld said British might not take part in war and

complained to White House

2003 Sec Def Rumsfeld forced to issue clarification saying British would take part in Iraq war

2003 PM Blair said Britain would help in any US attack upon Iraq

2003 UK acknowledged couldn't get 2^nd UN resolution authorizing force against Iraq before US timetable

for war

2003 UK Chief of Def Staff Adm Boyce said military needed legal directive for war with Iraq

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

2003 CIA assessment said it didn’t dispute IAEA finding that Iraq-Niger uranium docs were fakes

2003 CIA WMD division said it didn’t dispute IAEA finding that Iraq-Niger uranium docs were fakes

and always considered intel on story fragmentary

(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)

2003 ORHA head Garner told press US would keep Iraqi army and would quickly turn over control of

country to Iraqis When asked Garner dismissed talk about US turning over power to Chalabi and INC

(Musings On Iraq book review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy

Tragedy)

2003 DepDefSec Wolfowitz and UnderSecDef Feith chastised ORHA head Garner for comments about

INC Garner later told by Pentagon he could no longer talk to the press

(Musings On Iraq review Losing Iraq, Inside The Post War Reconstruction Fiasco)

2003 Natl Sec Adv Rice issued memo on postwar Iraq plans Said interim Iraqi authority would be created

Meeting in Baghdad to be held to bring in more Iraqis to authority

(Musings On Iraq article on Part I Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Planning for Postwar Iraq September 2001 to May 2003)

2004 UK envoy to Iraq John Drawers said US had no leadership strategy or coordination

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

2004 Iran intel opened Office to Help Poor Shiites as front office in Najaf Recruited Iraqis

(Musings On Iraq article on Iran’s Iraq policy)

2007 US Emb report 11 ministries and Central Bank of Iraq using Article 136(b) of Criminal Code to

block up to 48 investigations and corruption cases Sep 06-Feb 07 Said PM Maliki blocked corruption cases to help political allies

2008 Report Awakening had broken up into 3 main factions under Sheikh Abu Risha Sheik Suleiman

and Sheikh Hayes They were fighting for political power in both Anbar and in Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq book review Illusions of Victory, The Anbar Awakening And The Rise Of The Islamic State)

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Carter Malkasian on Anbar Awakening)

2008 Mahdi Army fought ISCI controlled police in Kut after they raided Sadrist areas Clashes in several

other southern cities ISCI leader in Babil assassinated Sadr said that Mahdi Army could use arms in self defense leading to new round of confrontations with its main rival for control of south Iraq

2010 US captured ISI governor for Baghdad Rawi who provided intel that led to killing of ISI leaders

Masri and Baghdadi

2011 KDP held rally against on going protests

(Musings On Iraq interview with journalist Wladimir Van Wilgenburg on 2011 KRG protests)

2013 Anbar council voted to delay provincial elections there due to security concerns

2016 Sadrists protested again in Baghdad demanding reforms

(Musings On Iraq interview with Cambridge’s Michael Clark on Sadr, protests and PM Abadi’s reforms)

2018 Security operation in part of Hawija district began in response to increased insurgent attacks in area

2018 2 Pro-Abadi MPs said that parliament added too much govt spending to 2018 budget which World

Bank objected to and admitted IMF had problems with budget as well

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Section 3.7 Development of UK Strategy and Options, 1 February to 7 March 2003

In the months immediately before the March 2003 invasion of the Iraq the number one priority of Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government was getting a second United Nations resolution to authorize the use of force against Saddam Hussein. This was despite the fact that the weapons inspectors had found nothing, and France, Russia and others on the U.N. Security Council opposed going to war. Despite that Blair was convinced that he could win the day. He would be proved wrong again and again.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 10

1917 British forces defeated Ottoman defenses outside Baghdad in Diyala River Led Ottomans to

abandon Baghdad

1975 Iraq’s Revolutionary Command Council and Regional Command of Baath Party ratified Algiers

Agreement with Iran

1975 Mustafa Barzani sent letter to Kissinger saying that Kurds were being destroyed by Iraqi govt and

asked for U.S. help

(Musings On Iraq book review Killing Hope, U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II)

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

(Musings On Iraq book review The Great Betrayal, How America Abandoned The Kurds And Lost The Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq article on Nixon admin support for Kurdish revolt)

1980 Iraq declared Iran’s ambassador persona non-grata as dispute built up leading to Iran-Iraq War

(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 The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1990 Saddam issued amnesty for Kurdish fighters

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

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

1991 Iranian Rev Guard attacked 2 Mujahedeen e-Khalq camps in Iraq during Shiite uprising

(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)

1991 Kurdish uprising spread to Tuz Kharmato and Dohuk

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

1991 Govt imposed curfew in Kirkuk to try to stop unrest

(Musings On Iraq interview with National Univ of Singapore’s Fanar Haddad on the Impact of the 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on 1^st hand accounts of 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on Saddam’s view of 1991 Uprising)

(Ahulbayt Video on 1991 Uprising)

1991 US troops began withdrawing from Persian Gulf

2002 Report UK’s Joint Intelligence Committee investigation found no links between Iraq and 9/11

2002 CIA briefing included story that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger

(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)

2003 UK gave Iraq 6 requirements to meet if wanted to avoid war including Saddam going on TV and

admitting to WMD

2003 French President Jacques Chirac said France would veto any new resolution because no grounds for

war

2003 Bush told PM Blair 2^nd UN resolution against Iraq was waste of time Was major policy goal of Blair

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

2003 Bush talked to his advisors about giving an ultimatum to Saddam to leave power

(Musings On Iraq book review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy

Tragedy)

2003 US official said Iraq had cluster munitions to disperse WMD

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

2003 ORHA head Garner briefed Bush on plans for postwar Iraq including using Iraqi army for

reconstruction and interim govt Said would only remove top Baath leadership Bush approved ORHA’s plan

2003 NSC briefed on postwar Iraq plans Included excluding 25,000 top Baathists from govt Using Iraqi

courts and police NSC plans included establishing rule of law

(Musings On Iraq article on Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Chapter 3 The Department of Defense Takes Charge)

2003 Bush said US needed to get Iraqis running new govt and US would not pick new Iraqi leaders

2003 Sec State Powell said US had to get a new UN resolution for the US led interim administration in

postwar Iraq

2003 US Treasury Sec Snow said that US dollars could be used as interim currency in Iraq until new

dinar created Bush approved plan

2003 Bush approved NSC proposal for light deBaathification after war

(Musings On Iraq article on Part I Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Planning for Postwar Iraq September 2001 to May 2003)

2003 Institute for Science & Intl Sec report asked whether US misled public about Iraq rebuilding nuke

program

2003 Turkey’s Erdogan met Bush Argued against deposing Saddam saying it would lead to Shiite govt

tied to Iran

2003 Gen Franks told White House mayors would be appointed to run Iraq after invasion Was not in any

postwar plans

2004 82^nd Airborne Div commander claimed insurgency in Anbar was in disarray Next month 1^st Battle

of Fallujah would be fought

2005 Kurds and United Iraqi Alliance agreed on new govt based upon deal to resolve future of Kirkuk

and PUK’s Talabani becoming president

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)

2007 For 2 days ISI began burning homes in Muqtadiya Diyala causing dozens of families to flee

2007 Iraq hosted international conference of 13 countries UN Islamic Conference and Arab League PM

Maliki asked for help to fight terrorism

2008 Report Iraqi intel said Sadr’s ceasefire and move to Iran during Surge benefited Tehran the most

which was able to break away large sections of Mahdi Army

2008 Female suicide bomber killed sheikh and Sahwa leader in Diyala as part of ISI campaign against

            Sahwa

(Musings On Iraq article on female suicide bombers)

2008 Speaker Mashadani said KRG had right to sign oil contracts Said courts would have final say on

            matter

2008 Study of captured Baath docs found no evidence of operational link between Saddam and Al Qaeda

Said Saddam didn’t trust Islamists Mar 06 US military released study of Iraqi docs and found same thing

2008 US military spokesman said caches found of Iranian weapons Accused Iran of recruiting Iraqis to

train them in Iran Hezbollah did much of the training

(Musings On Iraq article on Iran’s Iraq policy)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Galen Wright of Arkenstone blog on Iranian arms shipments to Iraqi militias) 

(Musings On Iraq article on Hezbollah presence in Iraq)

2009 Suicide bombing of tribal gathering with army in Abu Ghraib killed 33

2010 Iran invited Shiite politicians to celebrate Nowruz and pushed them to reunite behind PM Maliki

View the Iraq History Timelines