This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 12

1921 Start of Cairo Conference where Britain decided on its future Middle East

            policy with Mesopotamia being a centerpiece

(Musings On Iraq article on Cairo conference)

1921 Colonial Secretary Churchill’s main concern at Cairo Conference was cutting costs

            for London

1921 Colonial Secretary Churchill said British troops would be withdrawn in

            Mesopotamia as quickly as possible Air power would be used for control

1921 Sir Percy Cox and Gen Haldane objected to Churchill’s troops reduction plan

            saying soldiers still needed in Mesopotamia

1921 Royal Air Force said it would need another year to set up in Mesopotamia Meant

            Churchill could not withdraw British troops as quickly as he wanted

1921 Most at UK Cairo Conference supported a Hashemite either Feisal or Abdullah

            becoming ruler in Mesopotamia

1921 Colonial Sec Churchill said putting Feisal in power in Mesopotamia would be

part of larger policy to have Hashemites beholden to England in Mecca and Transjordan

1921 Colonial Sec Churchill thought putting Feisal in power would lead to

            Mesopotamian govt that could run things and save UK money

1921 Colonial Sec Churchill was open to creating a Kurdish state Thought would be a

            buffer between Turkey and Mesopotamia

1921 Sir Percy Cox and Gertrude Bell argued for a unitary Mesopotamian state that

            included Kurds at Cairo Conference

1921 Colonial Sec Churchill wrote PM George saying UK troop costs in Mesopotamia

            were a huge waste and there would be a quick withdrawal

1974 After talks broke down with Baghdad and it imposed own law for Kurdistan KDP

restarted rebellion

1991 Govt operation to retake Najaf from Shiite rebels began

1991 Iraqi refugees fleeing country claimed govt forces used napalm to put down

            uprising

1993 Iraqi army attacked Aweina Kurdistan killing 30

2002 Blair For Pol Adv Manning met with Natl Sec Adv Rice and said UK supported

            regime change in Iraq but needed good strategy

2002 2 CIA reports said aluminum tubes Iraq tried to buy were for centrifuges for nuke

            program

(Musings On Iraq article on the aluminum tubes story)

2003 Bush called Blair about vote on 2^nd UN resolution on Iraq Bush said if didn’t have

            votes shouldn’t have a vote

2003 Bush called Mexican Pres Fox and Chilean Pres Lagos on 2^nd UN resolution Fox

            non-committal Lagos said he would vote no

2003 Bush called Blair and said that vote on 2^nd UN resolution was dead

2003 UN committee reported on Iraq violating sanctions

2003 Iraqi scientists began private interviews with UN inspectors

2003 Bush endorsed Def Dept plan for quick transition to Iraqi authority made up of

            exiles and Kurds after war

2003 UndersecDef Feith briefed NSC on postwar plans for Iraqi Foreign Min military

            and intel services

2003 Feith said Foreign Ministry and embassies needed to be purged

2003 Feith wanted to disband intel services Republican Guard State Security Office and

            militias and cut Iraqi military to just 3-5 army divisions

2004 Sadrists destroyed Gypsy village of Qawliya, Qadisiya

(Musings On Iraq article on the destruction of Qawliya)

2006 2 bombings of markets in Sadr City kill 58

2006 U.S. soldiers gang raped 14 yr old Iraqi girl in Mahmudiya and then killed her

            family

2016 Abadi called on political parties to present their technocratic candidates for

            new cabinet Only 3 parties did so

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