Review Hard Lessons, The Iraq Reconstruction Experience

Bowen, Stuart, Hard Lessons, The Iraq Reconstruction Experience, Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2009

Stuart Bowen was the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction from 2004-13. His job was to assess the American rebuilding effort in Iraq. In a series of reports he documented the huge failure the United States suffered in Iraq. Much of that history was put together in Hard Lessons, The Iraq Reconstruction Experience that covers the period from 2001 to 2008. At the heart of the matter was the U.S. attempting the largest rebuilding effort in its history in the middle of a war with no unified plan which was a recipe for disaster.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 22

1920 Albu Hassan took Kifil from British 1920 Revolt All of Mid-Euphrates under tribal control

except for Hillah Babil

1920 TE Lawrence wrote British officials refused to give Iraq autonomy

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

1923 UK Minister to Tehran arrived in Baghdad to discuss deportation and immigration of Iraqi opposition

figures to Persia Iraqi govt said they could return after elections for assembly held

1929 Iraq High Commissioner Sir Gilbert Clayton said giving Iraq concessions was best way to maintain

good relations with Iraq and bad negotiations would have opposite effect

1931 Shiite leaders told Yasin Hashemi they would back him for PM if they got majority of cabinet posts

1979 Televised session of Baath meeting Former Revolutionary Command Council secretary general

Mashadi claimed there was a Syrian backed coup Said Syria wanted to remove Iraqi leadership so that two countries could unite

1979 66 accused coup plotters had names read and then taken from Baath party meeting Party members

began praising Saddam Accused coup plotters included 5 of 21 from Revolutionary Command Council Former Oil Min Hadithi who helped nationalize Iraq Petroleum Company

1979 Another accused plotter Adnan Hussein al-Hamdani deputy prime minister and head of president’s

office who had been close aide to Saddam

1979 Court made up of 7 members of Revolutionary Command Council created to try 66 coup plotters 

1983 Iran’s Op Wa al-Fajr 2 took Piranshahr pass Attacked Haj Omran KDPI HQ and Rayat Mount

Kerman Advanced 10 mi into Iraqi Kurdistan

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

1988 Iraq Op Tawakalna ala Allah 4 in Qasr e-Shirin in center and Hoveyzah in south to push Iran

into direct talks Saddam didn’t believe Khomeini committed to UN Res 598 ceasefire Just wanted break and return to war Saddam also wanted one last try at victory in Iran-Iraq War with new offensive Iraqi forces turned back in Kurdistan and Basra but gained 40 mi in Khuzistan province Iran

(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 review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1992 Iraq bombed southern rebels killing 30

1992 Report Sep 89 CIA told Sec Sate Baker Iraq working on nuclear bomb Bush admin did not put any

limits on tech going to Iraq that could help with program because policy was to improve relations Oct 89 Baker told Iraq’s Foreign Min admin would not put any export controls on tech sold to Iraq Nov 89 Baker played leading role in approving $1 bil in food aid to Iraq Some of that money used for weapons

2002 DIA officer told to start making secret intelligence briefings to Rumsfeld on Iraq-Al Qaeda ties based

upon request by Deputy Def Sec Wolfowitz

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

Tragedy)

2002 US Energy Dept assessed Iraq trying to buy magnets meeting with scientists Niger uranium story

showed that Iraq restarted nuclear program

(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Failed The Iraq-Niger Uranium Story)

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

(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Created An Iraqi Nuclear Threat In 2002)

2003 Iraqi Governing Council took office

2003 U.S. forces killed Saddam’s sons Uday and Qusay Hussein in raid in Mosul

(Musings On Iraq review Special Operations Forces in Iraq)

2003 UN report said Iraqis becoming frustrated at US plans for returning sovereignty because would take

too long

2003 Bush speechwriter Gerson found 2 CIA memos from Oct 02 on why Iraq-Niger uranium story should

not be used in Bush speech Gerson’s discovery came just after White House blamed CIA Dir Tenet for why Niger story was used in Bush’s Jan 03 State of Union

(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Failed The Iraq-Niger Uranium Story)

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

2004 Pentagon report acknowledge abuse of Iraqi prisoners including sexual and physical assault and deaths

2004 9/11 report 1994 or 95 Al Qaeda and Iraqi officials met Al Qaeda asked for aid and training camps Iraq

didn’t reply Al Qaeda worked with Ansar al-Islam in Iraqi Kurdistan

2006 1^st meeting of National Reconciliation committee with Pres Talabani PM Maliki Sunni and Shiite

            officials Talked about amnesty law

2006 US Iraq Cmdr Gen Casey said PM Maliki took no responsibility for anything Tried to take control of

ISF Casey said Maliki blocked 5 ops in Sadr City to protect Mahdi Army Maliki gave him list of 10 Shiite notables that could not be touched by US Sadr and aides at top of list

2006 US Iraq Cmdr Gen Casey said PM Maliki wanted militias to gain more control over Baghdad Said

Shiite politicians not serious about limiting Mahdi Army or death squads Said US forces clearing areas in Baghdad but Iraqis couldn’t hold them

2006 US Iraq Cmdr Gen Casey said US had no political strategy for Iraq since Dec 05 elections

2006 US Iraq Amb Khalizad said Sunnis and Shiite not accepted each other as equals not willing to

cooperate

2006 NatSecAdv Hadley told Bush US had no security strategy for Baghdad

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

2008 109,087 pardoned under Amnesty Law Govt originally claimed only had 26,000 prisoners

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Amnesty Law)

2012 ISI head Baghdadi announced it had returned to its strongholds that it was driven out of by by Surge

2013 ISIS issued paper arguing that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was fit to be the next caliph

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

2017 Anbar council voted 3^rd and final time to dismiss Governor Rawi on corruption charges

2018 Protests in Baghdad Basra Qadisiya and Wasit for jobs water electricity Dhi Qar and Muthanna

demonstrators called for governor to step down

2018 Communications Minister said govt had blocked certain websites because they were being abused by

demonstrators

2018 PM Abadi said he needed more time to meet demands of protesters so soon after war with Islamic

State ended

2018 Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights said Iraqi forces were making arrested protesters sign pledges not

to demonstrate again in order to be released from jail

View the Iraq History Timelines 

US Supreme Court Oks Deportation Of Iraqis

(Supremcourt.gov)

At the start of July the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal to stop the deportation of Iraqis convicted of crimes. This will affect around 1,400 Iraqis currently living in America. This is the result of a deal made between the government of Prime Minister Haidar Abadi and President Trump to keep Iraq off of the Muslim ban list.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 21

1933 800 Assyrians left Mosul province for Syria asking for asylum from French because didn't

want to be part of Iraq Assyrian leader Mar Shimun denied he was involved Iraqi army sent to border crossing and told Assyrians they could only return to Iraq if they disarmed

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

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

1958 Gen Qasim set up court to try “enemies of the people” meaning officials from monarchy

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

1982 Iran made third attack as part of Op Ramadan in Basra Was stopped 10km into Iraq Iraqis

counter attacked and drove Iranians back

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

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

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1990 Iraq announced that it had placed troops along border with Kuwait

(Musings On Iraq review The Saddam Tapes)

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

(Musings On Iraq review Out Of The Ashes, The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein)

1991 PM Hammadi met with Barzani to try to stop fighting and reach deal on Kurdish autonomy

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

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

1993 UNHCR spokesman said that 3,000 Shiites fled to Iran to avoid Iraqi army attacks on villages in

southern marshes

2003 UN-IOM convoy fired upon by insurgents in Babil 1^st attack on humanitarian group in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq review The Terrorists of Iraq, Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraqi Insurgency 2003-2014)

2003 UN Sec Gen Annan approved Iraqi Governing Council

2003 NatlSecAdv Rice called MSBC’s Chris Matthews saying Fmr Amb Wilson’s story on Iraq-Niger

deal was part of a political campaign against the White House Said Wilson’s wife was open target and Wilsons were against Bush so White House against them

(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Failed The Iraq-Niger Uranium Story)

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

2003 US received intel that Uday and Qusay Hussein were in Mosul

(Musings On Iraq review Special Operations Forces in Iraq)

2005 Pentagon said half of 93,800 Iraqi police had finished basic training and were not ready for duty

yet

(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Jerry Burke police and Interior Min adviser on how US failed to develop the Iraqi police)

(Musings On Iraq review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008)

(Musings On Iraq review The Endgame, The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from

George W. Bush to Barack Obama)

2005 Insurgents kidnapped 2 Algerian diplomats in Baghdad

2006 Report sectarian cleansing going on in Baghdad’s Ghaziliya and Sadiya neighborhoods Sunni

gunmen told Shiites to leave in Sadiya Inter Min police took away 10 Sunni men in Ghazilya Bodies later found

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

(Musings On Iraq Columbia University Charts Sectarian Cleansing Of Baghdad)

2006 UK Gen Shireff wrote Maysan not as good as reported by UK officials Basra lacked security UK

had to win battle of Basra by defeating Mahdi Army and death squads

2012 ISI leader Baghdadi announced the Breaking Walls Campaign in Iraq Was his first online statement

Said it was new phase of jihad Campaign sign IS had rebuilt after defeat

2013 ISIS attacked Abu Ghraib and Tikrit prisons Freed 500 prisoners from Abu Ghraib End of Breaking

Walls Campaign

2017 3^rd time Anbar council attempted to remove Governor Rawi on corruption charges

2017 Fmr Salahaddin Gov Jabouri received 2 yr prison sentence for corruption

2018 Protests in Baghdad Basra Najaf Qadisiya Most broken up by ISF Human Rights Comm in Basra

criticized govt for shutting down Internet to impede protests Qadisiya sheikhs rejected calls to end protests Activists in Baghdad claimed they were tortured after being arrested Protester in Basra died of wounds

2018 Report Qadisiyah intelligence going after demonstrators and monitoring them on social media ISF

claimed protests plotting to overthrow the govt

2018 Dawa member said protesters were trying to overthrow the govt by targeting airports businesses

and ports

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Security In Iraq Jul 8-14, 2020

Violence in Iraq remained at a very low level during the second week of July. Incidents were in their teens again for the sixth straight week. The end of the Islamic State’s spring offensive along with an aggressive series of sweeps by the Iraqi forces through core insurgent areas contributed to the current security situation.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 20

1920 Pro-Independence delegation of Iraqis met UK High Commissioner Wilson who invited 20

pro-British Iraqis Meeting went nowhere British later tried to arrest pro-independence delegates

1920 British reinforcements arrived helping defeat tribal fighters in 2^nd Battle of Aridiyat

1920 Tribal fighters laid siege to Kufa

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

1933 Mosul province told many Assyrians had left for Syria from Dohuk area

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

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

1959 Gen Qasim put several Communists on trial for hand in Jul 14 fighting between Kurds and

Turkmen in Kirkuk

(Musings On Iraq 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)

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

1961 Kuwait told Arab League Iraq stopped working with League because Qasim claimed Kuwait as part

of Iraq

1970 Pres Bakr attacked Communists for not accepting Baathist leadership in govt

(Musings On Iraq 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)

1987 Iraq accepted UN Res 598 calling for a ceasefire in Iran-Iraq War Iran didn’t reject it which was a

first

1988 Iraqi forces reached Iranian border in Kurdistsan

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

1988 Ayatollah Khomeini said that he endorsed Iran-Iraq War ceasefire

1988 UN Sec Gen de Cuellar invited Iraq and Iran foreign ministers to NY for talks to end war Iran

refused direct talks saying it didn’t accept Saddam’s govt Led Saddam to go back on offensive to make Iran talk

1988 Iraq tried to add 3 more requirements to UN Res 598 ceasefire in Iran-Iraq War including direct

talks with Iran Was meant to delay talks so Iraq could gain more territory to increase its position

(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 review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1990 Pentagon report said Iraq unlikely to use force against Kuwait

1991 KDP and PUK launched attacks in Irbil, Dohuk, Sulaymaniya provinces UN said Kurds had

taken large parts of Sulaymaniya Iraq accused Iran of interference

1998 US asked PUK and KDP to meet in Washington for peace talks over civil war

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

2002 CIA Dir Tenet met MI6 Head Dearlove Tenet said WMD intel didn’t matter because war was

inevitable

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

Tragedy)

2003 Sadrists protested in Najaf against US harassment

(Musings On Iraq A Divided Sadr Trend)

2003 Report US military teams searching for Iraq’s WMD frustrated by not finding anything

2003 Report Jun 02 US started campaign to use No Fly Zones to degrade Iraq’s air defenses to prepare

for invasion

2003 Report US intel actually knew very little about Iraq’s WMD after UN inspectors left in 90s

2004 Filipino driver kidnapped by insurgents Was released after Philippines withdrew its 51 soldiers

from Iraq

2004 PM Blair defended Iraq war to parliament saying caveats should have been included in UK dossier

on Iraq WMD

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

2005 State Dept cable Iran Rev Guard Quds Force smuggling weapons into Iraq and directing attacks

upon Coalition Said ISCI received $100 mil from Iran in 2005 $45 mil of which went to Badr

(Musings On Iraq Badr Organization A View Into Iraq’s Violent Past And Present)

2006 Bush told violence moving from insurgency to sectarian Overwhelming Maliki govt ISF involved in

sectarian violence

2006 UK Amb to Iraq Patey said Coalition facing strategic failure in Iraq Civil war or division of Iraq

possible Happened despite political progress in Iraq but that also increased sectarian divisions UK needed to push Iraqi govt into lead and ensure it has monopoly of force

2008 Iraqi Accordance Front ended 11 month boycott of parliament gaining no concessions from PM

Maliki

(Musings On Iraq Sunni Accordance Front Returns To Maliki’s Government Amidst Recriminations and Challenges)

2018 Protests in Babil Baghdad Basra Dhi Qar Karbala Maysan Muthanna Najaf Qadisiya Wasit for

services and jobs 2 killed 1 in Najaf 1 in Qadisiya by police and Badr guard Almost all broken up by police

(Musings On Iraq 2 Killed As Protests Hit 10 Provinces In Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq Badr Organization A View Into Iraq’s Violent Past And Present)

View the Iraq History Timelines 

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 19

1920 Start of 2^nd Battle of Aridiyat between British and tribal forces

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

1921 Royal Iraqi Military College opened

1988 Tariz Aziz said Iraq accepted Iran offer to accept UN Res 598 to end war but military ops would

continue until Iran confirmed deal

1988 Iraq took Dehloran Iran 20,000 Iranian casualties 6000 captured

(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 review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1988 Iraq used poison gas against Kurdish villages

1991 UN complained Baghdad blocking it from helping displaced in southern marshes

1991 Demonstration in Kurdistan over food shortages led to police firing into crowd Led to 2 days of

fighting with 100 killed

2002 MI6 head Dearlove said US already decided on military action to remove Saddam talk was now

about how and when

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Section 3.4 Development of UK Iraq Strategy and Options, Late July to 14 September 2002)

2002 Gen Franks briefed Bush on Running Start war plan Would have enough forces in theater at

100,000 to start operations

(Musings On Iraq review Shaping the Plan for Operation Iraqi Freedom, The Role of Military Intelligence Assessment)

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

Tragedy)

2003 On defensive over not finding WMD White House released parts of 02 National Intel Est that Iraq

was rebuilding its WMD and nuke programs

2003 US began asking UN for help in Iraq after it spurned its role immediately before and after invasion

2004 Carnegie pre-2002 US intel on Iraq WMD generally good 02-03 reporting became more certain

beyond evidence Bush admin misrepresented threat posed by Iraq WMD and nuke program UN inspectors proved accurate that Iraq didn’t have WMD or nuke programs nor stocks

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

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

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

2005 US complained to Iran about supplying EFPs to militias

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

(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)

2005 State Dept cable said Natl Sec Adv Rubaie knew Iran sending EFPs to Iraq

2005 2 Sunni members of constitutional committee Issa and Obeidi were assassinated Sunni delegation

suspended work afterward

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

2005 Iraq-Iran signed deal for Iraq to export 150,000 bar/day of oil to Iranian refinery in Abadan and

send refined products back to Iraq

2006 Report Iraqi govt told civilians in Baghdad to check IDs of ISF to make sure they were real not

death squads or insurgents

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

2006 NSC memo PM Maliki govt struggling to implement policy and deal with security Said Interior Min

making violence worse Called for review of US Iraq strategy Suggested troop increase might be necessary

(Musings On Iraq review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008)

2006 UK Intel report Violence more complex with multiple actors Violence spiraling out of control of

Iraqi govt Highest levels of violence since 2003 Insurgent commitment to violence unchanged

2007 1920 Revolution Brigades Ansar al-Sunna Iraqi Hamas announced front group Political Office for

the Iraqi Resistance Said willing to negotiate a US withdrawal Attacked ISI for sectarian killings and suicide bombings vs civilians

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

2007 US Embassy memo on US-Iraq anti-corruption council Said it was irrelevant and manipulated by

            PM Maliki

(Musings On Iraq interview with Special Inspector Gen for Iraq Reconstruction Bowen on corruption in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq interview with fmr anti-graft official Vincent Foulk on corruption in Iraq)

2008 Gen Petraeus said Al Qaeda was changing focus from Iraq to Afghanistan

(Musings On Iraq Demise of Al Qaeda In Iraq Update)

2008 100 MPs from Iraqiya Sadrists Iraqi National Dialogue Front Reform Movement walked out to

protest Iraqi Islamic Party claiming all of Iraqi Accordance Front ministers who were being voted on after boycott over PM Maliki’s rule

2008 Sadrist Karbala councilman arrested in Aug 07 admitted to being head of Mahdi Army death squad

that killed head of anti-corruption council in Karbala 4 members of humanitarian group district chief of Karbala city woman rights leader several women accused of being prostitutes

2017 Salahaddin Gov Jabouri arrested over corruption charges

2018 Protests in Baghdad Basra Maysan Activists were planning national protests for Jul 20 Govt

offering jobs and investment and promising to meet protesters’ demands

2018 Heavy police and army presence set up around Basra oil fields to block protests there

2018 Iraqi Human Rights Commission condemned use of excessive force by Iraqi forces against

demonstrators including shootings beatings arbitrary arrests Amnesty Intl talked to 2 protesters arrested and tortured by ISF who wanted to know who organizers were

(Musings On Iraq Abadi Govt’s Carrot And Stick Approach Working With Iraq’s Protests Movement)

2019 Hikma called for protests in 14 provinces Only happened in 7 Only few hundred showed up in total

In Basra was counter protest and rocks thrown at buses carrying away Hikma followers

(Musings On Iraq Hikma’s Calls For National Protests in Iraq Fizzle)

2019 Hashd camp in Amerli, Salahaddin hit by Israeli air strikes Killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard

commander

(Musings on Iraq Pro-Iran Hashd Brigades And Now Israeli Strikes Making A Joke Of PM Abdul Mahdi’s Claims Iraq Neutral In Regional Conflicts)

View the Iraq History Timelines