This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 23

1935 PM Aiyubi gave resignation to King Ghazi King asked Yashin al-Hashemi to form new

govt but exclude Rashid Ali al-Gaylani and Hikmat Sulaiman because they were agitating mid-Euphrates tribes

1946 Tawfiq Suwaidi became premier for 2^nd time Was supposed to carry out Regent’s reform

program

1959 Communists called for march in Mosul to counter rumors of military revolt against Gen Qasim

there

(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)

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

1980 Start of major military operation against Kurds

1985 Iraqi military intel warned Iranian offensive would happen in Basra’s Fish Lake Was wrong

1986 Iraq’s southern front to retake Fao stopped by Iranian anti-tank missiles

1986 KDP launched preparatory attacks in Sulaymaniya to support Iranian offensive starting next

day in area

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

1988 1^st Anfal Campaign targeted PUK HQ in Jafati Valley, Sulaymaniya Yakhsamar Sergalou Bergalou

attacked

(Musings On Iraq article on Anfal campaign)

1991 Iraq said it agreed to Soviet peace plan and would withdraw from Kuwait unconditionally

1991 UN Security Council met Western countries said they weren’t interested in Soviet

            peace plan

1991 Bush ordered Gen Schwarzkop to expel Iraq from Kuwait

1994 Saddam diverted Tigris into southern marshes to put down rebels there

1996 Hussein and Saddam Kamal killed by uncle Ali Hassan al-Majid and members of tribe after talked

into returning to Iraq

1998 UN negotiated Iraq working with UN inspectors again including unrestricted visits but didn’t work

(Musings On Iraq article on UN weapons inspections)

1998 Bin Laden issued fatwa against US sanctions on Iraq and calling for attacks against it

1999 State Dept denied that US was using UN inspectors to spy on Iraq but it was

2004 UN Rep Brahimi report said earliest Iraq could hold elections was late 2004-early 2005

2006 Iraqi govt ordered curfew in Baghdad Salahaddin Diyala Babil after Samarra bombing

2006 US report Sadr changed order to kill all Sunnis in east Baghdad Were to be taken to Sadr City to be

executed instead

2006 US report Iraqi army and police assisting Mahdi Army to kill Sunnis in east Baghdad

2006 Insurgents stopped vehicles in Baquba and executed 47 people who were heading to protest against

Samarra bombing

2006 Sunnis withdrew from talks with United Iraqi Alliance over new govt saying authorities were not

preventing revenge attacks after Samarra bombing

2006 Sec Gen of Iraqi National Dialogue Front Hayan said revenge attacks after Samarra bombing were

how a civil war started

2006 Assoc of Muslim Scholars said 168 Sunni mosques attacked 10 imams killed 15 abducted after

Samarra bombing

2006 Interior Min said 18 Sunnis mosques in Baghdad attacked 1 imam killed 1 kidnapped

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

2006 Study Iran supported Mahdi Army and violence in Iraq while backing Shiite parties and Iraqi govt

2007 US Special Forces arrested Ammar Hakim on trip back from Tehran Was only released upon protest

of Gen Petraeus

2008 Sadr said he failed because US still occupying Iraq and many of his followers had left his movement

2011 National Reconciliation Min announced that 5 insurgent groups had agreed to join politics

2016 Kurdish Alliance said they didn’t support Abadi’s reform program and wanted their quota of

positions in his new cabinet

(Musings On Iraq interview with Reidar Visser on PM Abadi’s reform program)

2018 Pro-Iran Hashd criticized US Said it had no right to demand that Abrams tanks Hashd had should be

turned back over to Iraqi army

(Musings On Iraq article on how Hashd got Abrams tanks)

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism

Review Dodge, Toby, Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism, London: International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2012

Professor Toby Dodge wrote Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism with the goal of evaluating the Bush administration’s war aims after the U.S. withdrew its armed forces at the end of 2011. The White House said it wanted a stable and democratic Iraq that would not be a threat to itself or its neighbors. Dodge believed the U.S. fell far short of accomplishing that. Instead what it left behind was a weak state that had lost its monopoly on force and allowed various groups, including some connected to the government to use violence at will, and that was vulnerable to interference from its neighbors. Iraq while holding elections was governed by an elite bargain between exile and opposition parties that largely excluded Sunnis, and was giving way to an authoritarian prime minister in Nouri al-Maliki. That last element, which is only a fraction of the book, was what actually made Dodge’s analysis of Iraq standout because he was one of the first westerners to criticize Maliki and his concentration of power. Not even Dodge however could predict how much of an impact Maliki would have upon the future of Iraq.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 22

1921 War Min Churchill wrote PM George that he thought an Arab govt should be created

to run Mesopotamia for UK

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

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

1981 Iran rejected UN attempts to negotiate ceasefire as long as Iraqi troops were on Iranian territory

1984 Iranian Op Kheibar began to capture Majnoon island in Basra

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

1984 Iraq’s attacks on Iranian cities stopped ending 1^st War of the Cities

1987 Iran Op Karbala 5 launched last attack upon Iraqi defenses in Basra but stopped Caused 4,000

Iraqi casualties

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

1988 Iraq renewed war of cities by firing missiles at Tehran Iraq wanted to provoke UN to get

involved again with peace talks

(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)

1991 Iraq set Kuwait oil fields on fire

1991 Report Saudis tried to organize Iraqi exiles for post-Saddam Iraq

1998 Newsweek poll showed US support for military action against Iraq dropped from 40 to 18%

1999 SCIRI UK Rep Bayati said overthrowing Saddam should be done by Iraqis without outside

interference

2003 Bush administration officially announced it was deploying forces for invasion Actually started

Dec 02

2003 Spanish Pres Aznar visited Bush Had group call with Blair and Italian Premier Berlusconi

Decided on 2^nd UN resolution on Iraq

2003 ORHA drill found US would not have enough troops for Iraq postwar security

2003 ORHA worried not enough funding for postwar Iraq that could leave behind unstable country

2003 ORHA found US had no plans for what kind of govt they wanted in Iraq and how to achieve it

2003 ORHA Dep Head thought US had faulty assumptions overly optimistic lacked reality on what

postwar Iraq would be like

2005 Dawa’s Jaafari became UIA candidate for premier following Jan elections

2006 Zarqawi bombed Askari shrine in Samarra 25 Sunni mosques in Samarra 27 in Baghdad attacked 3

imam killed 1 kidnapped US immediately got intel Zarqawi behind Askari shrine bombing Tunisian and 4 Saudis from Al Qaeda in Iraq did bombing Tunisian Al Qaeda in Iraq bomber was arrested in June 2006 and explained attack

2006 Al Qaeda in Iraq blamed Baghdad and Shiite militias for Samarra bombing to incite attacks on

Sunnis

2006 Other insurgent groups blamed Baghdad for Samarra bombing and claimed govt was allowing

attacks upon Sunni mosques

2006 Sadr called on his parliamentarians to meet on vote to ask U.S. forces to leave Iraq

2006 US report Sadr gave orders to kill Wahabis in east Baghdad in retaliation for Samarra bombing

Meant Sunnis

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

2006 Sadr offices spread rumor that US military vehicles were seen around Samarra shrine before

bombing to lay blame on US

2006 Iran blamed US for Samarra bombing

2006 Ayatollah Sistani called for 7 days of mourning peaceful protests and prohibited attacks upon

Sunnis in wake of Samarra bombing

2006 SCIRI head Hakim blamed US for Samarra bombing claiming it gave aid to insurgents Claimed

US criticism of Shiite death squads provoked militants

2007 Report security plan in Ramadi showed progress US and ISF setting up posts throughout city Started

working with tribes outside Ramadi to provide men to man checkpoints and join police

(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 After England said it would withdraw some of its forces from Iraq Denmark said it would withdraw

its troops serving in Basra Lithuania that had troops serving alongside Danes was considering pulling out Romania said it would make decision about its troops that were also in Basra

2008 Sadr renewed his freeze on Mahdi Army

2011 Independent Nalya Radio and TV station was set afire in Sulaymaniya probably by KDP

supporters

2015 Sadr called for followers to protests in Baghdad next Friday calling for reforms

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

View the Iraq History Timelines 

After Liberation Of Iraq’s Baiji District An Uncertain Peace

The Iraqi Human Rights Observatory said that thousands of people have not been able to return to their homes in the Baiji district of eastern Salahaddin. It cited four main reasons: over 20,000 homes are destroyed or damaged, there is a lack of work, there is apprehension about the security situation, and Hashd forces are refusing to let people back. This area is symbolic of many other parts of central Iraq that are suffering from the aftermath of the war with the Islamic State.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 21

1922 UK Sec of War Evans told Foreign Office it should back King Faisal because that would allow

UK to exit Iraq and escape expenses of running country

1984 Iranian Op Al Fajr 6 began Aimed at taking Ali al-Gharbi 15 miles into Iraq

1984 Iraq warned that it could use chemical weapons against next Iranian offensive

1986 Iraq counterattack to retake Fao began on 3 fronts Iraq used poison gas but bad weather dissipated

effects

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

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

1991 Foreign Minister Aziz went to Moscow Told Gorbachev Iraq wouldn't accept UN resolution to

recognize Kuwait independence and pay reparations

1991 Russia announced proposal for Iraq withdrawal from Kuwait in return for lifting of sanctions US

rejected offer

1999 Govt killed 20 protesting assassination of Ayatollah Sadiq al-Sadr by Saddam and arrested 250

across Iraq

(Musings On Iraq interview with Univ of Haifa’s Prof Baram on legacy of Ayatollah Sadiq al-Sadr)

2002 Fmr Amb Joseph Wilson left for Niger to investigate Iraq buying uranium from it

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

2003 ORHA staff met in DC to have run through their Iraq postwar plans

2003 Blair met Bush at Camp David to reaffirm their alliance to remove Saddam

2004 Report US did not brief UN inspectors on 21 of 105 WMD sites in Iraq US claimed it gave info on all

sites

2004 UN Secretary General Annan said UN was ready to assist Iraq with elections but couldn’t happen

before end of June 2004

2006 PBS Frontline show “The Insurgency” said Iraqi insurgency expanded and Islamists replaced former

regime members as leaders

2007 Blair announced England would begin withdrawing 1,500 troops from Basra

2007 Report British lost politically and militarily in Basra by 2005 when Shiite religious parties won

provincial election and took control of security forces and economy

2007 Australia said it would keep its 1,400 soldiers in Iraq

2008 Op Sun 800 Turkish troops entered Kurdistan to attack PKK

2011 Group of men attacked protesters in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square while police looked on

2015 National Alliance MPs complained that Abadi didn’t consult with them about his reforms

2015 Sadrists said Abadi missed great chance to reform country Sadrists had been PM Abadi’s main

supporters

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

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Activists Targeted In Basra For Summer 2018 Protests

Basra protests Sep 2018 (AP)

During the summer of 2018 protests returned to Basra focused upon services like water and electricity, fighting corruption and better governance. They eventually turned into riots in Basra city that went after political parties, Hashd al-Shaabi groups, and the Iranian consulate. Several activists were arrested and killed in what organizers believed was retaliation by some of those same parties.

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 20

1940 Gen Umari Mosul garrison commander attempted coup rather than be forced to resign

by Regent Put down by Golden Square officers

(Musings On Iraq book review The Role of the Military In Politics, A case study of Iraq to 1941)

1969 Bakr govt executed opponents in central Baghdad

1985 US and Soviet officials met to discuss ways to end Iran-Iraq War Nothing came of it

(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)

1991 US 1^st Cav Div launched large attack into Iraq Engaged 7 Iraqi divisions to deceive Iraqis on where

invasion would come from

1995 KDP and PUK resumed fighting in Rawandaz ending ceasefire

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

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

1996 Hussein Kamal and brother Saddam Kamal accepted pardon from Saddam and returned to Iraq Were

later killed

1998 UN Sec Gen Annan met with Saddam to try to restart UN weapons inspections

(Musings On Iraq article on UN weapons inspections)

1998 UN report said Iraq’s electricity situation was in dire straights

1998 UN Res 1153 increased Iraq’s exports from $2 bil in oil each 6 months to $5.2 bil and expanded

imports from food and medicine to infrastructure needs

1999 Supreme Council accused govt of killing Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr

(Musings On Iraq interview with Univ of Haifa’s Prof Baram on legacy of Ayatollah Sadiq al-Sadr)

2002 Secret CIA team entered Kurdistan to prepare for ops inside Iraq called Northern Iraq Liaison

Elements

2002 CIA gave fmr Amb Johseph Wilson talking points for his trip to Niger to investigate Iraq-Niger

uranium deal

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

2002 UK Joint Intel Comm chief Scarlett briefed For Sec Cook on Iraq’s WMD Cook thought Iraq didn’t

have capability for large scale WMD attack

2003 Chief UN Inspector Blix told Blair intelligence he’d gotten wasn’t great and maybe Iraq didn’t have

much WMD

2003 UN sources told press US intel on Iraq WMD was not turning up anything

(Musings On Iraq article on UN weapons inspections)

2003 Report interviews with Iraqi scientists by inspectors had not turned up any evidence of a nuclear

program

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

2004 Report CPA dropping caucus plan to elect Iraqi provisional govt and working with UN for alternative

Iraqi Governing Council wanted to expand membership from 25 to 125 and become new govt

2007 British turned over army base in Basra to Iraqi 10^th Division as part of withdrawal from province

2007 Report Officials claimed 80% drop in violence in Baghdad at start of Surge US focusing upon Dora

South Baghdad Sadr told Mahdi Army to stand down

2007 Report Sadrist mosques posted lists of Mahdi Army fighters expelled Sadr was trying to purge and

            control militia

2012 Saudi Arabia named its Jordan Ambassador as non-resident ambassador to Iraq as relations were

slowly improving

2013 Iraq signed deal to build natural gas pipeline from Iran across Iraq to Syria

2016 PM Abadi said financial crisis meant reforms needed Called for end of quota system in govt

(Musings On Iraq interview with Reidar Visser on PM Abadi’s reform program)

2016 Sadr created committee to nominate technocrats for Abadi’s new cabinet

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

2018 Report some of the 9 Abrams tanks pro-Iran Hashd units got came from the Iraqi army rest were

captured from IS

(Musings On Iraq article on how Hashd got Abrams tanks)

View the Iraq History Timelines