Security In Iraq Aug 8-14, 2019

(Shafaaq News)

Attacks went back down to the teens during the second week of August in Iraq. This was another sign that this year’s spring-summer campaign Revenge of the Levant has not amounted to much. At the same time that might be because the Islamic State has other priorities in Iraq right now.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 22

1973 Sheikh Jabir al-Sabah visited Iraq and again offered to talk about Iraq-Kuwait border dispute

Iraq demanded 2 islands from Kuwait which it refused

1991 Bush announced no fly zone over southern Iraq to stop Saddam offensive to clear out southern

marshes

1995 UN interviewed Hussein Kamal former Industry Min and Saddam’s son-in-law that defected to

Jordan Kamal said Iraq hid its WMD and nuke programs from inspectors but all programs ended after Gulf War US and UN didn’t believe Kamal’s claim that Iraq had ended its programs Were convince Iraq would always hide WMD

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

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

1996 Massoud Barzani wrote Saddam asking for help to fight PUK and their Iranian backers in Irbil Tariq

Aziz released letter

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

2003 Bush said Iraq war had transformed to one against Baathists and Al Qaeda

2003 Australian intel officer testified to parliament no pre-war evidence of Iraq-Al Qaeda ties and Iraq’s

WMD contained Said US flooded with disinformation by anti-Saddam Iraqis before war

2005 Incomplete draft constitution presented to parliament Given another extension to finish draft

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

2005 Report Abu Mustafa Sheibani running arms for Iranian Revolutionary Guard to Shiite militias in Iraq

including EFPs

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

(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)

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

2005 Board of Supreme Audit report leaked to press Nearly half of $1.27 bil spent by Def Min disappeared

in 1^st 8 months of Allawi govt Found Allawi’s office and Def Min gave no bid defense contracts to middlemen paid up front in cash

(Musings On Iraq book review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)

2006 Sheikh Abu Risha met with US and asked for more financing and more raids on insurgents

(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)

2007 1920 Revolution Brigade leader killed by ISI in Baquba His mosque was destroyed and 15 people

kidnapped as well

2009 Iraqi govt said it was arresting Baathists involved in Aug 18 Baghdad bombings when it was actually

ISI

(Musings On Iraq Baghdad Can’t Get Its Story Straight On Aug 18 Bombings)

2014 ISF and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq raided mosque in Diyala and killed worshippers

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

(Musings On Iraq Iran And Its Shiite Militias Mobilize In Iraq Interview With Phillip Smyth)

2015 Gunmen in military uniforms attacked sit in protesters in Basra Police did nothing

2015 Riot police broke up protests in Hillah beating them Used water hoses

View the Iraq History Timelines 
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Expansion of the Hashd al-Shaabi’s Influence In Iraq, Interview With Clingendael’s Erwin van Veen

(Getty)

Erwin van Veen is part of the Clingendael Institute in the Netherlands, which has released a series of reports about the Hashd al-Shaabi in Iraq over the last several years. The last one came out in July 2019 and talked about how different Hashd groups were expanding their influence in Iraq. This is an interview about those development. Van Veen can be followed on Twitter @ErwinVeen.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 20

1974 Iraq deployed 84,000 troops and 20,000 Kurdish militia to fight KDP

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

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

1987 Dawa set off car bomb in Baghdad killing 20

1988 Ceasefire in Iran-Iraq War announced 350 UN peacekeepers deployed along border

(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)

1990 NSD 45 signed saying U.S. would get withdrawal of Iraq from Kuwait restore Kuwaiti govt

restore security of Gulf protect U.S. citizens in Kuwait and Iraq

1990 Iraq withdrew from last piece of Iranian territory taken during Iran-Iraq War Meant to secure

            east front

(Musings On Iraq book review from storm to Freedom, America’s Long War with Iraq)

1991 Barzani left Baghdad effectively ending autonomy talks with Baghdad

1995 Iraq admitted to UN inspectors that its crash program to build a nuclear bomb failed

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

1996 PUK attacked KDP positions in Sulaymaniya with Iranian artillery and helicopter support

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

1997 Iraq agreed to allow Iranian pilgrims to go to Najaf and Karbala as way to get around UN sanctions

2002 Rumsfeld said Al Qaeda operatives were in Iraq and that US needed to launch pre-emptive strike

because couldn't wait for Iraq to get stronger

(Musings On Iraq book review America at the Crossroads, Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy)

(Musings On Iraq book review Wanting War: Why the Bush Administration Invaded Iraq)

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

2002 UnderSecDef Feith’s intel group met with CIA to discuss Iraq-Al Qaeda ties Complained CIA didn’t

believe Iraq involved in 9/11 Brought up story that 9/11 hijacker Atta met with Iraqi intel in Prague in 2001

2003 Bush at NSC meeting said US had to re-evaluate enemy in Iraq after Zarqawi bombed UN in

Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq book review The Caliphate At War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)

2003 UN said bombing of its Baghdad offices wouldnt stop reconstruction of Iraq UN would withdraw most

of its staff

2003 Bremer told Iraqi Governing Council they had to act quicker to rebuild country and give public

confidence

2004 PM Allawi called for Sadr to give up Imam Ali shrine in Najaf or face US-Iraq assault

(Musings On Iraq article on 2^nd battle of Najaf)

(Musings On Iraq book review Battle For The City Of The Dead)

(Musings On Iraq book review US Marines in Battle An-Najaf August 20014)

2005 Report Islamic Party talked with insurgents to try to ensure large turnout in constitutional referendum

2005 Report Shiite parties took over police in Basra Carried out assassinations of ex-Baathists Sunni leaders

and rival Shiites

2005 Report Peshmerga ran 5 prisons and carrying out mass arrests of Sunnis Turkmen and minorities in

Mosul

2007 ISCI governor of Muthanna assassinated by Sadrists Sadr-Hakim rivalry

2007 Report Mahdi Army fighters said they’d gone to Lebanon to train with Hezbollah Sadr said there was

a formal alliance between the two groups

(Musings On Iraq article on Hezbollah presence in Iraq)

2007 Protest in Bagdhad’s Ghazilyia against Sahwa there Ghazailya Guardians Said they were former

insurgents

2008 As part of Maliki-Pres Barzani deal Peshmerga began withdrawing from Qara Tappa and Jalawla in

Diyala after Baghdad sent in army and demanded them to withdraw from disputed area

(Musings On Iraq article on Maliki-KRG dispute over Khanaqin dist)

2011 On ISI’s 5^th anniv released video with message that it was going to Syria

2012 US warned that oil companies signing deals with Kurds without Baghdad’s approval were taking risks

2015 Pres Barzani’s term expired but he refused to leave office

2017 Operation to free Tal Afar began

2018 Protests in Muthanna and West Qurna 1 oil field in Basra over services and jobs

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Can The Islamic State Make A Comeback In Iraq Part 3? Interview With Horizon’s Alex Mello

(Reuters)

Violence in Iraq is at the lowest level since the 2003 invasion. This is despite the Islamic State announcing its annual spring-summer offensive Revenge of the Levant. That raises the question of whether IS can make a comeback again like it did after the Surge.  To help delve into this question is Alex Mello a security analyst at Horizon. He can be followed on Twitter @AlexMello2.

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 19

1921 UK cabinet decided Feisal would be coronated king and then Anglo-Iraq treaty drafted

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

1984 France agreed to refinance $1.4 bil in debts Iraq owed France biggest western backer of Iraq

1988 UN Res 619 created military observation group to watch Iran-Iraq border to make sure ceasefire

followed

(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)

1996 PUK accused KDP of working with Baghdad KDP accused PUK of working with Iran during civil war

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

2003 Zarqawi bombed UN headquarters in Baghdad killed 23 including UN Rep de Mello and injured

over 100

(Musings On Iraq book review The Caliphate At War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)

2003 Bremer asked Washington if he could arrest Sadr Rumsfeld said no fearing would provoke more

violence

2004 PM Allawi wrote Bush saying Iraq was more dangerous and unstable than a year ago

2004 Allawi govt called for Sadr to disband Mahdi Army and leave Najaf shrine

2004 Sistani’s office said it was open to Sadr’s offer to turn over keys to Najaf shrine

(Musings On Iraq article on 2^nd battle of Najaf)

(Musings On Iraq book review Battle For The City Of The Dead)

(Musings On Iraq book review US Marines in Battle An-Najaf August 20014)

2004 Iraq Survey Group head Kay was rebuked by NSC staffer for criticizing NSC to Congress on

WMD Group head Kay said Rice more interested in being Bush’s friend than being National Security Adviser

2005 Al Qaeda in Iraq unsuccessful fired rockets from Jordan at 2 US ships docked in Israeli port

2005 3 Islamic Party members kidnapped by gunmen in Mosul putting up flyers to vote in constitutional

referendum

2007 US general accused Iran of training Shiite militias in Iraq to attack US forces Said 50 Iranian

Revolutionary Guard members in South Baghdad Last 3 months found 217 weapons in 4 provinces suspected of coming from Iran Said most going to Mahdi Army

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

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

(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 Iraq withdrew its ambassador to Damascus to protest Baghdad bombings

(Musings On Iraq article on Maliki’s response to Fall 09 bombings)

2014 IS posted video of beheading of journalist James Foley

2018 Protest in Qadisiya over services

View the Iraq History Timelines 

This Day In Iraqi History - Aug 18

1933 Iraqi army held victory parade and given award by Prince Ghazi for massacring Assyrians in

north Total 60 villages looted and destroyed Around 600 killed

(Musings On Iraq book review of The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq book review State and Society in Iraq)

1982 Iraq fired 27 SCUD missiles at Kharg Island Iran’s major oil port with little to no effect

(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)

1990 Saddam said foreign workers and visitors could not leave Iraq after Kuwait invasion

1990 UN Resolution 664 demanded Iraq release foreign nationals it held

2003 Bremer told Rumsfeld gave order not to arrest Sadr to try to avoid further violence

2003 General Robert Fry Deputy Chief of UK Defense Staff said that Iraqis had grown tired of Coalition

Said Shiite leaders warned that people could start turning on Coalition Said rebuilding ISF political development and providing services in southern Iraq was stalled

2004 Iraq Survey Group head Kay testified to Congress Blamed Rice and NSC for not checking WMD intel

before war

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

2005 Police report listed 18 Sunnis arrested in Baghdad 6 weeks later their bodies found along Iranian

border Showed torture

(Musings On Iraq interview with Jerry Burke police and Interior Min adviser on how Badr took over Interior Ministry)

2005 Anbar governor and other Sunni leaders fired upon in Ramadi during meeting over constitutional

referendum

(Musings On Iraq article on Anbar Governor Alwani)

2006 Report 2 Iraqi army divisions in Anbar short 5,000 troops Soldiers not getting paid Defense Min could

not supply them

2009 ISI set off 3 car bombs in Baghdad hitting Finance and Foreign Ministries and Rashid Hotel killing

101 and wounding 565 PM Maliki blamed Baathists and Syria for Baghdad bombings even though it was ISI

(Musings On Iraq Baghdad Can’t Get Its Story Straight On Aug 18 Bombings)

2015 IS second in command Abu Muslim al-Turkmani killed by US drone strike in Mosul

2017 Kirkuk Gov Karim rejected court order to remove Kurdish flag from government buildings in province

View the Iraq History Timelines