The last two weeks of April was the first time in 2018 that there were consecutive weeks with a low number of incidents. That resulted in low casualty figures as well.
Monday, April 30, 2018
Security In Iraq Apr 22-28, 2018
The last two weeks of April was the first time in 2018 that there were consecutive weeks with a low number of incidents. That resulted in low casualty figures as well.
This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 30
1917 Battle of the Boot at Band-i-Adhaim between British and
Ottomans
1941 PM Gaylani refused
permission for British troops to land in Basra
1941 2 brigades of Iraqi soldiers surrounded British
Habaniya base ordered British
to cease
operations there
1941 Iraqi forces surrounded British embassy in Baghdad
1941 Iraqi troops seized Kirkuk oil field and cut off
pipeline to Haifa
1941 PM Gaylani hoped to pressure British to leave Iraq
without a fight
1941 UK memo to Chiefs of Staff discussed destroying Iraq’s
oil wells to deny them to
Germany
1948 Jewish forces took Jaffa, and 7 other towns held by
Iraqi volunteers in 1st Arab
Israeli War
1959 Gen Qasim banned party activities in armed forces to
try to block Communists’
influence
1969 Bakr govt executed opponents in central Baghdad
1980 By end of April around 20 Iraqi officials had been
killed in bombings by
Shiite
opposition parties
1980 Arab Iranians seized Iranian embassy in London
demanding sovereignty for
Khuzistan
province Were trained and armed by Iraq
1985 Sec State Shultz asked Def Sec Weinberger to speed up
approval of technology
exports to
Iraq
1985 State Dept intel reported no evidence Iraq had started
on a nuclear weapons
program It
had
1990 Jordanian prosecutor report detailed fake bank accounts
Ahmed Chalabi ran
with his
Petra Bank
1996 Turkey began bombing campaign along border against PKK
1997 Fighting broke out between PUK and Kurdish Islamic
Movement
2001 NSC meeting on Al Qaeda threat DepDefSec Wolfowitz
asked why US should
focus on
bin Laden when Iraq terrorism real threat
2001 Dep CIA Dir McLaughlin told DepDefSec Wolfowitz no
evidence of Iraq terrorist
threat to
US
2001 DepSecState Armitage told DepDefSec Wolfowitz Al Qaeda
was the main threat
to US
2003 U.S. forces shot at civilians for 2nd time
in 2 days in Fallujah 2 killed
2003 Rumsfeld visited Iraq Realized rebuilding country would
take years which was
not his
plan
2004 Marines withdrew from Fallujah turning over security to
Fallujah Brigade
2004 Daily Mirror published what turned out to be fake
pictures of UK forces abusing
Iraqi
prisoners
2004 Poll 71% of Iraqis saw US as occupiers 46% said
invasion more harmful then
good
2004 Prisoner abuse by US guards at Abu Ghraib reported in
US media
2005 mass grave with up to 1,500 Kurds killed by Saddam
during Anfal campaign
found
outside Samawa
(Musings
On Iraq article on Anfal campaign)
2006 Fmr Sec State Powell told British TV he advised CENTCOM
cmdr Gen Franks
US needed
more troops before invasion but advise ignored
2006 Pres Talabani said 7 insurgent groups might be able to
be talked into joining
political
process
2006 US Special Inspector Gen for Iraq Reconstruction report
said attacks still retarding
rebuilding
projects but real progress being made
2006 US Special Inspector Gen for Iraq Reconstruction head
said that attacks on
infrastructure
down 60%
2006 Audit found effort to protect power and oil
infrastructure largely failed Questioned
2 foreign
security companies contracted to train guards
2007 Anbar Awakening claimed to have killed ISI War Minister
Masri Didn’t happen
2008 Maliki said that Mahdi Army had to be disbanded because
couldn’t have
militias
and state
2008 Sadr spokesman said Iranian weapons in Iraq was normal
because Tehran
would sell
to anyone
2008 Turkey said it would resume diplomatic relations with
Kurdistan
2009 ISF started 2nd Operation Promise of Good in
Diyala
2010 Def Min said that ISI had lost its direction after 2
leaders Masri and Baghdadi
killed
2010 Maliki claimed foreign countries were plotting coup
against him
2010 Iraqiya threatened boycott after courts banned winning
candidates for Baathist
past
2011 Hundreds demonstrated in Kut for better services and
against corruption
2011 Asayesh arrested four protest organizers trying to
start demonstration in
Sulaymaniya
2011 US said Iranian investment projects in Karbala and
Najaf were fronts for
supported
Asaib Ahl Al-Haw and Kataib Hezbollah
2012 KRG said Baghdad should pay foreign oil companies
working in Kurdistan
2012 Allawi said he wouldn’t go to national conference to
resolve differences with
Maliki
2012 4 bodyguards of fmr Speaker Mashadani arrested for
terrorism
2013 Kurdish ministers ended boycott of govt
2013 Islamic Army met with Kirkuk tribes to form armed group
after ISF attacked
Hawija
protest site
2013 Sheikh Sulaiman said that protesters would go to war
with govt after crackdown
on Hawija
protest site
2013 Insurgents attacked Wasit municipal council building
2013 Dep PM Mutlaq criticized ISF attack on Hawija protest
site
2014 KRG parliamentary elections 1st in 8 years
2014 Anbar tribes claimed Baghdad agreed to some of
protesters’ demands to end
fighting
Didn’t happen
2015 Head of Salahaddin council said Hashd were looting and
burning buildings
in Tikrit
2015 City worker in Tikrit said 300 buildings in northern
section of city had been
destroyed
including 2 mosques
2015 IS seized half of Baiji refinery
2015 Head of Anbar Operations Command said Hashd were needed
to fight IS
in province
2016 Parliament refused to meet over Abadi’s technocratic
govt Sadr called for popular
revolution
as followers stormed Green Zone
View the Iraq History Timelines
Sunday, April 29, 2018
This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 29
1916 Ottomans defeated the British at Battle of Kut after 4
months captured
13,000
prisoners British lost 33,000 casualties One of largest UK defeats in WWI
1941 More British troops from 20th Inf Brigade
arrived in Basra Iraq protested
1941 British Ambassador told British women and children to
leave Baghdad because
of expected
war with Iraq
1941 British flew planes from Shaiba base in Basra to
Habaniya in Anbar
1941 PM Gaylani sent Iraqi forces to British air base at
Habaniya, Anbar to confront
them 11th
Inf Brigade ordered to Baghdad to later be deployed to Anbar
1941 Iraqis flooded Habaniya area limiting movement of British
troops there
1948 Battle of Katamon began between Jewish forces attacking
Iraqi volunteers and
Arab Legion
in 1st Arab-Israeli War
1954 Arshad al-Umari became premier 2nd time
1969 Iraq condemned Shah of Iran for unilaterally ending
1937 border treaty over
Shatt
al-Arab waterway
1981 Amnesty Intl report interviewed 15 Iraqis exiles
detailing toture methods used by
govt
1982 Iran launched Op Bait al-Moqaddas with 70,000 troops to
liberate Khorramshahr
Iran-Iraq
War Gained 300 sq mi
1994 Iraqi army launched new military campaign to drive out
displaced and rebels
from
southern marshes
1994 Sec State Christopher said Iraq complying with UN Res
687 was not enough to
end
sanctions Contradicted resolution
2002 Pentagon official said 9/11 hijacker met with Iraqi
intel officer in Prague
Didn’t
happen
2003 2nd anti-American protests in Fallujah Threw
rocks at US troops who fired into
crowd
killing 3 wounding 16
2003 50 former British ambassadors and senior officials
wrote letter to Blair criticizing
having no
plan for post-invasion Iraq
2004 US announced end of Battle of Fallujah Would withdraw turn
over security to
Fallujah
Brigade
2004 Sheikh Jabani’s brother and 3 kids kidnapped in
Fallujah for fighting insurgents
2005 Gen Vines issued order for US troops to stop and report
any cases of abuse by
Iraqi
forces
2008 2nd ISCI and Dawa delegation went to Iran to
meet Sadr and Gen Suleimani to
negotiate
ceasefire
2008 MPs found torture at Karbala prison overcrowding in
Babil ones
2008 Accordance Front sent list of candidates to replace
their vacant ministers in
cabinet
Maliki rejected some of them
2008 Turkey’s Foreign Minister said Ankara wanted better
relations with KRG
2008 Fmr Dep Sec of Def Wolfowitz said Bush admin never
expected an insurgency
in Iraq
2009 Police sent by Integrity Comm to arrest Trade Min
Sudani for corruption got
into
shootout with guards in Baghdad
2009 Interior Ministry said ISI had successfully penetrated
ISF and used agents to
carry out
attacks
2010 Maliki said that there were no secret prisons in Iraq
after one at Muthanna Airport
prison was revealed Claimed that
torture victims at Muthanna prison gave themselves scars to fake abuse
2010 US accused Iran of using Hezbollah to carry out attacks
against its forces in Iraq
2010 Sadrists said Maliki could not get a second term as
premier
2011 Obama’s National Security Adviser suggested 10,000 US
troops stay in Iraq after
withdrawal
2011 Sadr threatened to bring back Mahdi Army if US forces
stayed past end of year
2011 KRG security forces arrested one of top protest leaders
in Sulaymaniya
2011 Anbar councilman Fallujah police chief and other
officials arrested in Anbar
Anbar Ops
Command and Maliki blamed
2012 Pres Barzani told US he objected to selling F-16s to
Baghdad Said didn’t trust
Maliki with
them
2013 Maliki and Pres Barzani agree on 7 point program to
repair relations between
Baghdad and
Irbil
2013 ISI set off 2 car bombs in central Karbala 2 car bombs
in Amarah 1 car bomb
in Diwaniya
2013 Turkmen in Kirkuk demanded peshmerga withdraw from
disputed areas
2014 ISIS took credit for suicide bombing of PUK rally in
Khanaqin, Diyala that killed
30
2014 Report that US intel believed Maliki getting re-elected
PM would divide Iraq
more
2016 Protests in Baghdad Basra Najaf Qadisiya Maysan Karbala
Dhi Qar Muthanna
against corruption and sectarian
quotas in govt
View the Iraq History Timelines
Musings On Iraq In The News
I wrote "What to expect from Iraq's May 2018 elections" for NRT. I was also quoted by Paul Iddon in "Kurdish political division before Iraqi elections weakens Kirkuk claims" for Rudaw.
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope
Review Gunter,
Michael, Kurds
of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope,
New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1992
Professor Michael Gunter of Tennessee Tech University is a leading Kurdish scholar. One of his first books on the subject was Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope published in 1992. It’s a quick read with only 118 pages of text, and gives a good review of the major trials and tribulations that have faced the Kurdish movement in Iraq.
This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 28
1922 UK Iraq Commissioner Cox said King Feisal racially weak
for disagreeing
with him
1929 Tawfiq al-Suwaidi became premier of Iraq, would hold
that office 3
times
1941 PM Gaylani asked Axis for military and financial aid
for second time to be
used
against British
1941 UK Amb to Iraq told PM Gaylani second contingent of
British troops landing
at Basra
Gaylani refused them entry
1947 Mustafa Barzani and 500 supporters returned to Iraq
from Iran
1959 Communists asked for positions in Qasim govt but turned
down
1973 Iraq offered to talk with Kuwait over border dispute
1990 Iraq hosted Arab summit Saddam attacked Kuwait for
economic warfare vs
Iraq
1990 Saddam asked Emir of Kuwait if Iraq could use two of
its islands Emir said
no
1991 US led Coalition created safe zone for Kurds near Dohuk
after uprising
put down
1992 Report CIA continued to give intel to Iraq until day it
invaded Kuwait in Aug 90
1998 Inspectors report to UN said no progress in last 4
months due to confrontation with
Iraq
2001 Report 9/11 terrorist Mohammed Atta met with Iraqi
intel officer in Prague
2002 US military leaked story to press that Iraq invasion could
use a force as small as
70,000 Was
push back against Rumsfeld’s small invasion force
(Musings
On Iraq article on war in the press over Rumsfeld’s invasion plan)
2003 Protest in Fallujah led to shooting US troops killed 17
and wounded
more than 70
2003 ORHA Garner met with 350 Iraqis in Baghdad and told
them they were in charge
of Iraq
said would be meeting to create interim govt in 4 weeks
2003 Dep Sec of Def Wolfowtiz said US occupation of Iraq
would not need as many
troops as
invasion did
2003 Pentagon paper said interim Iraqi govt had not been
decided upon
2003 Gen Franks asked UK to take control of 5 southern Iraqi
provinces UK said could
only handle
4 Basra Maysan Dhi Qar Muthanna
2003 UK report Iran sending in groups into southern Iraq to
influence postwar
situation
2004 Fighting between US marines and insurgents continued in
Fallujah while US
commander
claimed ceasefire holding
2004 Marines began forming Fallujah Brigade to take over
security of city
2004 UN Rep Brahimi reported to Security Council that
interim govt would serve
until
elections held in late 2004-early 2005
2004 General Mark Kimmitt deputy director of Coalition
operations in Iraq told CBS
News he was
disappointed in a few soldiers for Abu Ghraib scandal
2005 PM Jaafari’s cabinet approved by parliament 5 ministers
and 1 dep PM either
empty or
temporary pending deal with Sunnis
2005 Defense Oil Electricity and Human Rights Ministers not
been named yet in
Jaafar
cabinet
2005 US pressured PM Jaafari to name partial cabinet because
filing ministers was
taking too
log
2005 SCIRI head Abdul Aziz al-Hakim gave speech threatening
to purge the security
forces of former
regime members
2005 MP Mishan al-Jabouri accused Shiites of dividing Iraq
and Sunnis were
marginalized
2006 New US military campaign plan issued continuing with
withdrawal
2008 ISCI and Dawa delegation went to Iran to meet Sadr and
Gen Suleimani to
negotiate
ceasefire
2010 Court acquitted former Trade Min Sudani of corruption
for lack of evidence
2010 Accountability and Justice banned Iraqiya members of
Diyala council for Baath
past
2010 Baathists held meeting in Damascus trying to unify two
factions of Mohammed
Yunis and
Izzat al-Duri
2011 1920 Rev Brigades and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq agreed to disarm
and join politics
after talks
with National Reconciliation Min Didn’t happen
2011 chief of staff of ISF Gen Zebari said Iraq would not be
able to defend itself
until 2020
2011 US Gen 25th Inf Div said Iranian backed
Special Groups were attacking US
forces
2011 Sadrists said that if US stayed passed end of year that
would justify attacks
upon them
2012 Pres Barzani Pres Talabani Sadr Speaker Nujafi and
Allawi met in Irbil to
discuss no
confidence vote against Maliki
2012 Sadr issued demands to Maliki saying he would be
removed if didn’t submit
to them
2012 Pres Talabani tried to moderate between Maliki Barzani
and Allawi over
having no
confidence vote against PM
2013 Sheikh Abu Risha turned over 2 people said responsible
for killing 5 soldiers
at Fallujah
protest site
2014 Ibrahim Jaafari said that Maliki’s mistakes led to deterioration
in security
2014 ISI seized control of 6 voting centers in Qara Tapa,
Diyala
2014 Iran signed oil and natural gas deal with KRG
2014 Special voting started in national elections for
parliament
2015 Badr’s Ameri said Hashd would not wait for permission
to enter Anbar Were
already
there
2015 Sadr criticized Hashd trying to politicize fight
against IS to gain power
View the Iraq History Timelines
Friday, April 27, 2018
This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 27
1982 French delegation returned to Iraq to help work on its
Osirak nuclear
reactor Left
after Iranian bombing of reactor in 1980
1987 Iran Op Karbala 10 took 2 towns and 100 sq mi in
Sulaymaniya
1987 Syria agreed to stop backing Iraqi Kurds
1991 Iraq made declaration of its nuclear program to UN
inspectors but was hiding
most of it
2003 Report evidence found linking Ansar al-Islam with Al
Qaeda
2003 Captured Mukhabarat documents showed it had meetings
with Al Qaeda in 1990s
2003 Grenade thrown at 82nd Airborne troops
wounding 2 in Ramadi
2003 Baghdad conference opened to discuss forming an Iraqi
provisional govt with
300 Iraqis
attending Endorsed by US
2003 ORHA and Oil Ministry officials met and picked top
positions in ministry
2008 Maliki met with VP Hashemi to try to get Accordance
Front to end
cabinet
boycott
2008 40 MPs said Maliki’s crackdown on Sadr needed to end
2008 Baghdad Operations Command said they captured Iraqis
trained and armed
by Iran to
fight ISF
2009 Maliki announced Iraqi forces captured Abu Omar
al-Bahgdadi Didn’t happen
2009 Maliki condemned US raid in Kut that killed 2 civilians
calling it a crime
2012 Kurdish Alliance returned to Ninewa council after
boycott started in 2009
when Hadbaa
took all the top posts after elections
2013 Peshmerga said it was moving into disputed areas of
Kirkuk Diyala Salahaddin
to protect
against increased violence
2013 Maliki blamed Syria for rise of sectarianism and
increased violence in Iraq
2013 Naqshibandi claimed they were behind rise in violence
after ISF attacked
Hawija
protest site
2013 Anbar Operations Command set 24 hrs deadline for
killers of 5 soldiers at
Fallujah
protest site to be turned over
2013 5 Anbar tribes said they were arming to fight ISI in
province after 5 soldiers
killed at
Fallujah site
2013 2 tribes withdrew from Anbar protests after 5 soldiers
killed at Fallujah site
2014 ISF claimed it was starting op to retake Fallujah that
Anbar council denied
was
happening
2015 Arabs accused Peshmerga of destroying homes in 5
villages after freed from IS in
Kirkuk
2015 Badr’s Ameri said using Hashd only way to free Anbar
2015 IS head Baghdadi called on Syrian fighters to help
fight in Salahaddin and Anbar
View the Iraq History Timelines
Thursday, April 26, 2018
KDP Arrest PM Abadi Candidates
Prime Minister Haidar Abadi is in full campaign mode touring the country recently visiting Ninewa, Muthanna, Diwaniya, Anbar and Maysan. His latest stop was Sulaymaniya. Abadi’s Nasr list is running 25 candidates in Kurdistan including 10 in Sulaymaniya. That has apparently raised the ire of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). On April 24, it was reported that three Nasr candidates were arrested by the Asayesh. This blatant intimidation tactic was a warning that the Barzani clan did not appreciate the premier’s move into their territory.
This Day in Iraqi History – Apr 26
1916 British arranged a ceasefire with Ottomans in Kut,
Wasit after 146 day
siege
1923 UK’s Iraq committee presented findings and okayed by
cabinet to stay path in
Iraq
1941 PM Gaylani asked Axis for military and financial aid
against British
1947 Iraq left SF Conference on creating UN to protest
creation of Israel
1987 Jordan and Saudis arranged meeting between Saddam and
Syria’s Assad to try to
improve
ties
1990 Report Bush pushed greater economic ties with Iraq
1991 Kurdish refugees began leaving Turkish mountains for
refugee camps in Kurdistan
Baghdad
offered amnesty to Kurds that fled during uprising
2003 Report Bush invaded Iraq to try to transform Middle
East by creating a
democracy
and countering draw of terrorism
2003 White House said evidence Iraq might have destroyed its
WMD right before
war and
that proved war right
2003 Report no WMD found in sites Powell mentioned in his 03
UN speech
2003 Ayatollah Haeri issued fatwa from Iran saying clerics
needed to fill power
vacuum left
by US invasion
2003 Sheikh Naifus of Albu Alwan in Babil arrested for
taking part in executions of
rebels after 91 uprising
2004 Zarqawi announced his group Tawhid wal-Jihad
2004 US announced Iraqi police returning to Fallujah and
would start join patrols
with Iraqi
Civil Defense Forces
2004 Aid agencies claimed Geneva Convention was violated in
Battle of Fallujah due
to civilian
casualties
2006 Maliki told Rice and Rumsfeld he was going to fight
terrorism improve services
clean up
police
2006 Barham Salah said Maliki was step towards
reconciliation
2006 Amb Khalizad took credit for creating new coalition
that appointed Maliki
premier
2007 Congress passed bill calling for US withdrawal from
Iraq by 10/1/07 Was
vetoed by
Pres Bush
2008 Chalabi called Petraeus saying he could speak for
militias to negotiate ceasefire
in Sadr
City
2008 VP Hashemi said Accordance Front interested in ending
its boycott of cabinet
2008 ISF said cleared last Sadr stronghold in Basra
2010 Baath exile faction led by Ahmad Yunis said wanted to
unite with other faction
led by Izzat al-Duri during meeting
in Damascus
2010 Human Rights Watch interviewed prisoners who were held
at secret
prison at
Baghdad Muthanna Airport and tortured by ISF
2010 Kurdish member of Kirkuk council said displaced Arabs
had to leave province
and go home
2011 Maliki admitted his 100 day deadline to reform
ministries was not enough time
2011 State of Law held counter protest in Mosul supporting
Maliki
2011 Ninewa Gov Nujafi called for strike in response to
security forces attacking
protest
camp in Mosul
2012 Sulaymaniya court gave protest organizer life in prison
after policeman killed
at protest
in Halabja
2012 Report that Kurds being threatened and driven out of
Khanaqin district northeast
Diyala
2012 Sadr went to Irbil to meet Pres Barzani over no
confidence vote against Maliki
2013 4 Sunni mosques bombed in Baghdad after noon prayers
2013 Anbar protest leaders called for a popular army to be
formed to protect demo sites
2013 Fallujah protest site announced formation of Pride and
Dignity Army to protect
demonstrators
from ISF
2013 5 Intelligence officers killed at Fallujah protest site
2013 ISF retook Suleiman Beq from insurgents who seized town
for several days
2015 Kataib Hezbollah withdrew from southern Fallujah
claiming Abadi and
US were
preventing it from fighting there
2015 Head of Anbar council announced Abadi okayed recruiting
locals for Hashd
2016 Sadrists protested while parliament voted in 5 new
ministers as part
of Abadi’s
technocratic cabinet
2017 Hashd took Hatra Ninewa
View the Iraq History Timeline
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
No Enforcement Of Foreign Funding Law In Iraqi Election
The Iraqi Election Commission continues to fine parties for violations of campaign rules before May’s voting. Those include the lack of good conduct, putting up materials in the wrong places and times, etc. There are much bigger violations going on that the Commission has done nothing about. That is enforcing the ban on foreign funding for campaigns.
This Day In Iraqi History – Apr 25
1920 San Remo Agreement created
British Mandate in Iraq France agreed to
give
up Mosul vilyat in return for oil concessions in Iraq
(Musings
On Iraq article on how Mosul province became part of Iraq)
1929 Iran officially recognized Iraq as a country Hadn’t
before due to complaints of
mistreatment
of Persians in Iraq
1991 Kurdish parties agreed to deal with Saddam including
autonomy to end
revolt
after Gulf War
1991 Turkey told UN 30,000 Iraqi Kurds had entered Turkey in
2 days and 220,000
were on
there way as Kurdish uprising put down
1994 Iraqi govt announced completion of Mother of all
Battles Irrigation Canal meant to
drain
southern marshes to drive out displaced and rebels
1995 Turkey’s Op Steel ended Withdrew 20,000 troops but left
15,000 in Kurdistan
1998 Was story that bin Laden sent delegation to Iraq for
Saddam’s birthday and
Uday agreed
to train Al Qaeda Report false
2002 For Sec Straw said UK had to stand up to “bullies” like
Saddam
2002 IAEA report that during inspections in 1990s Iraq’s
nuclear program was
dismantled
and no ability to produce nuke material
2003 US arrested ex-Iraq Amb to Tunisia Farouk Hijazi who
reportedly met with Al
Qaeda in
90s and cited as proof of Iraq-Al Qaeda ties
2003 Bush said Iraq’s WMD were either hidden or were
destroyed but US would find
them
2003 White House official told NY Times Iraq may not have
had WMD just agents to
make them
2003 Only Iraqi policemen to help US in Fallujah executed
outside his house
2003 US Cmdr in Iraq Gen Franks said didn’t know how long it
would take to
rebuild and
stabilize Iraq
2003 Iraqi opposition met in Madrid but failed to agree on
an interim govt
2004 Marine generals met with Iraqis to discuss creating a
Fallujah brigade after 1st
battle of
Fallujah
2005 Iraq Survey Group found Gulf War and UN sanctions
destroyed Iraq’s WMD
programs
and Saddam didn’t try to rebuild them
2005 Iraq Survey Group found no evidence that Iraq’s WMD
were sent to Syria
2005 White House said Iraq Survey Group found Saddam wanted
WMD in the future
2006 Memo by Gen McCaffrey said that Iraqi army was making
real progress but was
badly
equipped lacking armor air support etc
2006 Memo by Gen McCaffrey said Iraqi police heavily
infiltrated by insurgents and
militias Said that Al Qeada in Iraq
had been defeated as a strategic threat to the Iraqi govt
2008 Sadr said he was only opposed to US occupation not
Maliki govt
2008 Report Badr and Mahdi Army setting up checkpoints and
killing each other in
Qadisiyah and Baghdad
2008 Maliki said all parties supported his crackdown on Sadr
and sign of reconciliation
2008 Maliki said if Sadr disarmed dropped politics turn in
wanted militiamen would
stop Charge of Knights
2008 Fmr Under Sec of Def Feith said he warned of postwar
chaos in Iraq but
was ignored
and Pentagon was on top of issue not State or CIA
2009 Gorran List founded by former PUK leader Mustafa
2009 Shiites protest in Khalis, Diyala claiming Baathists
taking over new provincial
council after elections
2009 Arab tribes in Makhmour and Qaraj demanded Asayesh
withdraw claiming
harassment
2010 Iraqi Airways flew to London for first time in 20 years
2010 Court upheld Accountability and Justice Comm banning 52
winning candidates
for
Baathist ties
2011 Maliki claimed power had been decentralized in response
to national protests
2011 ISF tried to stop protesters from gathering in Mosul
Led to clash killing 1
demonstrator
and wounding 9 others
2011 Protest in Ramadi demanding US withdrawal close secret
prisons and stop
Iranian
influence in country
2011 Peshmerga Minister accused Kurdistan Islamic Group and
Kurdistan Islamic
Union of
being saboteurs and fostering jihadists
2011 Kurdistan Islamic Union said KRG had cut its monthly
budget
2011 Soldiers and KDP security got into shoot out in Kirkuk
City after brother 12th Div
commander killed a taxi driver and
was arrested
2011 Speaker Nujafi said Iraq didn’t need US troops anymore
and any extension
would have
to go through parliament
2012 Accordance Front and Iraqiya threatened no confidence
vote against Maliki unless
he followed Irbil power sharing
agreement
2012 Pres Barzani said that unless Maliki shared power would
be a revolt by
other
ruling parties Said Maliki was like a dictator
2013 Maliki gave TV speech saying security would be restored
after ISF attack
on Hawija
protest site led to spike in violence
2013 Heavy fighting in Mosul 10 police and 31 insurgents
killed
2014 Boko Haram pledged support to ISIS
2014 US sent intelligence officers to assist Iraq with
fighting insurgency, started
training
Iraqi Special Forces in Jordan
2014 KRG offered North Oil Company to use its pipeline to
Turkey
2014 Report that insurgents were split over whether to
support elections or not
2015 Abadi said Hashd should include all Iraqis from all
backgrounds
2015 Kudish Alliance said opposed National Guard in disputed
areas because
peshmerga
could secure them
2015 Yazidi militia leader Haider Sesho said that Yazidis
would form their own
party in
Sinjar and be independent of KDP
2015 IS took over army base in Thar Thar, Anbar 141 soldiers
killed in fighting
2017 Turkey bombed PKK positions in Sinjar Ninewa
View the Iraq History
Timelines
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Security In Iraq Apr 15-21, 2018
April has been different from previous months during the year. Each week the number of security incidents has gone up and down. The two main trends during the third week of April was the ongoing fighting between the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Turkey in northern Kurdistan and more attacks upon candidates and political parties before next month’s parliamentary elections.
This Day In Iraqi History – Apr 24
1916 British attempt to
re-supply besieged garrison at Kut failed
1920 UK gave France 25% of Turkish Petroleum Company in
return for agreeing to
British
mandate in Iraq
1941 PM Gaylani and Mufti of Jerusalem met with Italian amb
Told him they were
angry Axis
had done nothing to help Iraq vs British
1974 Iraqi planes bombed Qala Diza during Kurdish rebellion
killing 130
1991 Kurdish leaders announced tentative deal with Saddam
over autonomy and
returning
refugees who fled during revolt
1999 Were clashes between Iraqi forces and Iraqi opposition
in south
2002 Gen Franks me with commanders in Qatar Said they needed
to start war
preparations
2003 Bush said Iraq might have destroyed its WMD before
invasion but US would
find them
2003 NY Times article Iraqi scientists said Saddam expanded
WMD programs and
secret facilities
but destroyed stocks Wasn’t true
2003 US seized warehouse in Baghdad thought to contain WMD
agents Proved false
2003 Trailer found near Mosul was suspected of being mobile
WMD labs Turned out
not to be
2003 Dep PM Tariq Aziz surrendered to US Said Iraq had no
WMD
2003 INC’s Zubeidi declared himself mayor of Baghdad
2003 ORHA head Garner met with 60 Iraqis in Kut to talk
about security and how city
should pick
city council
2003 ORHA head Garner blamed Iran for anti-US protests in
Kut
2003 ORHA head Garner said INC’s Chalabi was not US’s choice
to run Iraq and
Iraqis
could pick their own leaders
2003 Gen McKiernan ground commander in Iraq told ORHA’s
Garner security #1
priority
for postwar Iraq
2003 Rumsfeld called Powell to propose Paul Bremer as new
presidential envoy to Iraq
2003 Rumsfeld called Garner and told him he would be
replaced by Bremer Garner said
he would
quit Rumsfeld asked him to stay
2003 Rumsfeld said that Iraqis could form any govt they
wanted as long as it wasn’t
a theocracy
like Iran’s
2003 UN Res 1476 extended Oil For Food Program past US
invasion
2003 2 drive by shootings on US base in Kut, Wasit
2003 Was anti-American march in Kut, Wasit
2003 UK cabinet agreed to expand control from Basra &
Maysan to Dhi Qar and
Muthanna
despite warnings might not have capabilities to deal with them
2003 UN SecGen Annan said US Coalition had to follow intl
law as occupying
power in
Iraq US rejected occupier title
2004 US reported that 40% of Iraqi police deserted during
Sadrist uprising in
Najaf and
Kut
2004 Insurgents launched boat attack upon Basra oil terminal
killing 2 US sailors
2006 Sunni politicians accused SIIC of taking over Interior
Min and staffing it with
Badr
militiamen and killing civilians
2006 Zarqawi released video portraying himself as military
commander in Iraq
2006 Fmr CIA officer Drumheller said Iraq war was a policy
failure by White House
not intel
one Said Bush committed to war no matter what the intel
2006 Iraqiya MP said new Maliki govt wasn't national unity
one but just Shiite
Kurdish and
Sunni parties dividing up ministries
2008 ISF gained full control of central Basra from militias
during Charge of Knights
2008 Captured ISI letters showed complaints about War Min
Masri not consulting
with others
and didn't take criticism
2008 Captured letters said ISI was passing off old Zarqawi
videos as new operations
2009 2 suicide bombers targeted Baghdad’s Khadmiya shrine
2011 Ayatollah Haeri in Iran issued fatwa against extending
US troop presence in
Iraq past
2011
2011 Sadrists said they opposed any troops extension for US
past end of year
2011 Kurd opposition parties said KRG could either negotiate
with protesters or
suppress
them
2011 Press freedom group said 226 violations by KRG against
media trying to cover
Sulaymaniya
protests
2011 Bomb at Sacred Heart church in Baghdad
2011 6,000 protested in Mosul demanding reform and releasing
prisoners
2012 Sound bomb at offices of Ayatollah Najafi in wave of
attacks upon leading
ayatollahs
2012 Pres Barzani said that Exxon would follow through with
its contracts to work
with KRG
despite threats from Baghdad
2013 Maliki called for dialogue with Sunni protests after
raided and killed protesters in
Hawija Also
called for law and order
2013 Mutahidun complained Maliki allowing militias to
operate in Iraq
2013 Insurgents took control of Suleiman Beq, Salahaddin
after ISF attacked
Hawija
protest site
2013 Hawija protest group announced that it was joining
Naqshibandi after ISF
attacked
protest site
2014 Was fighting between ISIS and Military Council in
Fallujah
2015 report that ISF were charging displaced Anbaris money
to get into Baghdad
View the Iraq History
Timelines
Monday, April 23, 2018
Number Of Displaced Continues To Drop In Iraq
The war against the Islamic State that started in 2014 caused the second major displacement of Iraqis since 2003. Over 5 million people left their homes. Now that the conflict is over, more and more people are returning.
This Day In Iraqi History – Apr 23
1917 British Samarra Offensive ended in victory over
Ottomans British suffered
18,000
casualties
1920 Ataturk gave speech demanding Turkey’s southern
territories include Mosul and
Sulaymaniya
(Musings
On Iraq article on how Mosul province became part of Iraq)
1941 PM Gaylani asked for German military intervention in
case of war with England
1941 London decided to land an entire division from India in
Basra
1948 Kirkuk oil workers protested against Anglo-Iraq Treaty
1989 Ali Hassan al-Majid’s special powers over northern Iraq
for Anfal ended
(Musings
On Iraq article on Anfal campaign)
2003 Iraq oil started flowing for fist time since US
invasion Iraq shut down oil flow
day war
started Mar 20
2003 USAID official told Nightline rebuilding Iraq could
cost US $1.7 bil and
Iraqi oil
and donors would pay for rest
2003 ORHA head Garner came up with list of 9 objectives to
accomplish for postwar
Iraq
including paying salaries return police and ministries etc
2003 White House said confident Iraq’s WMD would be found
2003 NY Times article Iraqi scientists told US Iraq
destroyed all its WMD equipment
before
invasion US now looking for programs rather than WMD stocks
2003 NY Times article US would be getting info on Iraq’s WMD
from Chalabi and
INC
2003 Up to 3 mil participated in Arbaeen ceremony that had
been banned under
Saddam
2003 Protest in Kut, Wasit blocked US convoy for 4 hours
2003 Report thousands of Arabs were being evicted from Kirkuk
by Kurds and
forming
militias to protect themselves
2003 1st US troops arrived in Fallujah 2 weeks
after end of invasion
2004 Bremer said ex-soldiers welcomed back into army said
complaints about
deBaathification
were legitimate US streamlining how it deal with prisoners
2004 US Cmdr in Iraq Gen Sanchez ordered investigation into
military intel practices
due to Abu
Ghraib prison scandal
2005 UN Sec Gen Annan blamed US and UK for Iraq smuggling
under Oil For Food
program in
90s rather than UN
2009 KRG Premier Barzani criticized Hadbaa party for
monopolizing all the seats
on Ninewa
council
2009 Iraq claimed it captured IS leader Abu Omar Baghdadi
Didn’t happen
2010 5 car bombs hit Shiite mosques in Baghdad kill 72
2011 Karbala governor said province should think about
becoming a federal region
2011 5,000 protested in Mosul demanding release of prisoners
2011 Sadrists marched in Baghdad against US occupation
2012 Iran tried to work out deal between Maliki and Sadr but
failed Sadr moved
into growing
critic of Maliki’s rule
2012 Iraq’s Foreign Ministry called in Turkey’s ambassador
complaining about
Ankara’s
interference in Iraqi politics
2013 Maliki ordered raid on Hawija protest camp run by
Naqshibandi leading to over 40
dead and 70
wounded
2013 Violence spiked in Iraq after Hawija raid and helped
mark return of Iraqi
insurgency
2013 Mohammed Abu Risha called for protesters to arm
themselves after ISF attack
upon Hawija
protest site
2013 Clash between protesters and ISF in Ramadi 6 soldiers
killed
2013 Fighting broke out between ISF and insurgents in
Suleiman Beq
2013 British court found maker of fake bomb detectors guilty
of 3 counts of fraud
2016 Fighting broke out again between Hashd, Turkmen vs
Peshmerga Kurds in
Tuz
Kharmato
View the Iraq History
Timelines
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Musings On Iraq In The News
I was mentioned by Coline Clarke and Haroro Ingram in "Defeating the ISIS Nostalgia Narrative" in Foreign Policy Research Institute. The article was also republished by RAND.
Review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq
Review Foulk,
Vincent, The
Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq, Jefferson and London: McFarland &
Company, Inc.: 2007
The Battle for
Fallujah is a bit misleading as the book is really about the period from
2003 when the U.S. forces first entered Fallujah until the 2nd
Battle of Fallujah at the end of 2004. Each chapter has a theme such as
kidnappings, car bombs, Moqtada al-Sadr and his uprisings, etc. It’s a quick
read on what the American military was facing during this period of the Iraq
War.
This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 22
1915 Lord Curzon asked why British should promise Basra and
Baghdad vilyats
to Arabs if
they were fighting on Ottoman side
1916 British attacked Sannaiyat but Ottomans turned them
back British suffered
1,200
casualties
1923 British troops occupied Rowanduz in military campaign
to subdue Kurds opposed
to being
included in new Iraq Mandate
1969 After Shah ended 1937 border treaty with Iraq Iran
sailed ship down Shatt al
Arab
waterway in violation of treaty
1969 Iraq retaliated by expelling 10,000 Iranians for Shah
ending 1937 border treaty
over Shatt
al-Arab waterway
1980 Khomeini revealed that Ayatollah Baqir al-Sadr had been
executed and called for
overthrow
of Saddam
1991 Report that Iranian intel and Revolutionary Guard
working in Iraq to help revolts
1998 Tariq Aziz letter to UN Said inspectors ignored last 7
yrs of progress Said intrusive
inspections
work of US to create justification for US military strike
2003 ORHA head Garner went to KRG to talk with Barzani and
Talabani about interim
Iraqi govt
2003 Barzani and Talabani suggested group of Iraqi advisers
to help Garner rather than
interim
Iraqi govt
2003 Sadrists held second day of protests after its cleric
Fartusi was arrested by US
2003 Only 10% of Baghdad’s electricity restored since city
fell to US forces
2003 US sent 1000 more experts to look for Iraq’s WMD
2003 Chief UN inspector Blix told BBC US tried to discredit
inspections at the Security
Council
2003 UK general warned that British military not trained for
postwar operations called
for in Iraq
2003 NYTimes’ Miller told PBS NewsHour US found info on
Iraq’s WMD Had
destroyed
stocks right before invasion Fooled UN inspectors
2004 Bremer said some Baathist officials would be able to
return to their jobs
2004 After no real weapons turned over by insurgents in
Fallujah Gen Conway said
militants
had days to do so or city would be attacked again
2006 Pres Talabani Asked Maliki to form new govt
(Musings
On Iraq interview with Reuters’ Parker on Maliki’s biography)
(Musings
On Iraq interview with Inside Iraqi Politics’ Sowell on whether Maliki
became a dictator)
(Musings
On Iraq interview with Historian Phebe Marr comparing PM Maliki with MP
Said)
2007 ISI stopped bus and took 23 Yazidis off and executed
them in Bashiqa, Ninewa
2008 Maliki promised $150 mil to rebuild Sadr City after
fighting Mahdi Army was
over
2009 16 Kurdish towns in Ninewa threatened to not cooperate
with new Hadbaa run
Ninewa
council calling it Baathists
2010 Parliamentary election results were supposed to be
certified but political disputes
delayed
that
2011 Protests in Baghdad, Mosul and other cities calling for
release of prisoners better
services fighting corruption
2011 Sadr announced new social organizing project Munasiroon
in Basra
2012 Attack on Najaf offices of Ayatollah Fayadh in wave of
attacks against Iraq’s
top clerics
2012 Turkey’s Erdogan compared Maliki to Saddam
2013 Tigris Ops Command stopped parliamentary delegation from
visiting Hawija
protest
site after checkpoint attacked
2014 Pres Barzani threatened independence of Kurdistan if
oil dispute with Baghdad
continued
2015 Day after IS attacked Sahl al-Malih, Ninewa Peshmerga
expelled Arab residents,
looted and
burned village
View the Iraq History Timelines
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Review America at the Crossroads, Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy
Review Fukuyama, Francis, America at the Crossroads, Democracy, Power,
and the Neoconservative Legacy, Yale University Press: New
Haven and London, 2006
Neoconservatives were one of the main groups behind the 2003
invasion of Iraq providing much of the ideological justification for the war. The
term was thrown around a lot in the media, yet few actually knew what it was
about. For example, there was some talk about Leo Strauss and graduates from
the University of Chicago where he taught, but what that meant in real terms or
how it related to the Iraq war were largely left unexplained. That’s the reason
why Francis Fukuyama’s America at the
Crossroads, Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy is important
because it provides a short and concise summary and analysis of just what neoconservatism
is and how it was connected to Iraq.
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This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 7 Saddam said Iraq going on defensive in Iran-Iraq War 3 months into war
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