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

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

            self rule assembly recognized Kurdish language promoted Kurdish culture

1970 Autonomy agreement with Kurds allowed Kurdish vice president in Baghdad

            share of oil revenue

1970 Autonomy agreement 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

Kurdisan which KDP rejected

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

            War

1985 Iran bombed Baghdad and 10 other Iraqi cities

1985 Iran started Op Badr trying again to cut Basra-Baghdad highway

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

            went on for another month

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

1991 Massoud Barzani offered amnesty for soldiers who surrendered to Peshmerga

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

            inside city

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

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

2003 Rumsfeld said US could attack Iraq by itself without other nations Said British

            might not participate

2003 UK Embassy in US furious that Rumsfeld said British might not take part in

            war and complained to White House

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

2003 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

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 alays considered intel on story fragmentary

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

2003 ORHA head Garner told press US would keep Iraqi army and would quickly

            turn over control of country to Iraqis

2003 When asked Garner dismissed talk about US turning over power to Chalabi

            and INC

2003 DepDefSec Wolfowitz and UnderSecDef Feith chastised Garner for comments

            about INC

2003 ORHA Chief later told by Pentagon he could no longer talk to the press

2003 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

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

            coordination

2010 US captured ISI governor for Baghdad Rawi who provided intel to allow

            killing of ISI leaders Masri and Baghdadi

2011 KDP held rally against on going protests

2013 Anbar council voted to delay provincial elections there

2016 Sadrists protest again in Baghdad demanding reforms

View the Iraq History Timelines