Saturday, December 13, 2025

Friday, December 12, 2025

Review Dahr Jamail, Beyond The Green Zone, Dispatches From An Unembedded Journalist In Occupied Iraq, Haymarket Books, 2007


 

Dahr Jamail was opposed to the U.S. overthrowing Saddam Hussein. That inspired him to go to Iraq several times from 2003 to the start of 2005 as a freelance journalist to report on how bad the American occupation of the country was. He said he wanted to put Iraqis in the forefront of his stories which he did. Ironically he mostly portrayed them as victims of the U.S. with no agency unless they were in the insurgency. His position on the war also led him to take all kinds of stories he was told at face value even though many were not true. His book suffers massively as a result.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 12 Dawa members including Abu Muhandis bombed US & French embassies in Kuwait killing 8 Retaliation for air strikes in Lebanon


1916 Gen Maude began new campaign to defeat Ottomans in Mesopotamia British now had numerical

advantage in troops and new supplies

Tuesday, December 9, 2025

Iraq Govt Doesn’t Name Names For Khor Mor Gas Facility Attack


 

On the night of November 26 pro-Iran groups launched two drones against the Khor Mor gas facility in Sulaymaniya. One hit a storage tank setting off a fire that temporarily shut down the plant. In the aftermath the Sudani government set up an investigative committee and promised to name names of those responsible. That did not happen.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 9 UN said Abdul Mahdi govt used excessive force and abused protesters While groups were abducting and killing activists


 

1914 Ottoman forces surrendered in Qurna, Basra 1,034 Ottomans taken prisoner End of 1st

            phase of Mesopotamian campaign

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 13 US forces captured Saddam

  1916 British made diversionary attack at Sannaiyat and took Hai in offensive to retake Kut from Ottomans