This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 31

1934 Iraqi Communist Party founded

(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)

1941 Pan-Arab Golden Square officers decided to remove PM Hashemi in coup

(Musings On Iraq book review of Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq book review of Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)

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

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad)

1981 Egypt began selling military equipment to Iraq in Iran-Iraq War

1985 Since Jan 1 in Tanker War Iraq hit 30 ships and Iran 7 in Persian Gulf

1985 UN Sec Gen arrived in Iran Told Iraqi air raids killed 1450 civilians and wounded 4000

1988 Iran claimed 44,000 of its troops suffered from Iraqi chemical attacks

(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)

1989 Iraq exported oil for 1^st time from Basra after Iran-Iraq War closed down ports

1989 Israel said Iraq embarked on crash course to build a nuclear bomb and a missile to deliver it

1991 Govt op to retake Sulaymaniya from Peshemerga began

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

(Musings On Iraq interview with National Univ of Singapore’s Fanar Haddad on the Impact of the 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on 1^st hand accounts of 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on Saddam’s view of 1991 Uprising)

(Ahulbayt Video on 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on how US encouraged 1991 uprising)

2000 UN Res 1293 doubled amount of spare parts Iraq could import to maintain its oil industry under Oil

for Food program

2002 Blair offered a division and UK bases to US for invasion

2003 Saddam didn’t give televised speech as expected Instead Information Minister Sahaf did calling on

Iraqis to carry out suicide missions against the invaders

2003 1^st car bomb in Iraq hit US checkpoint north of Najaf

2003 US forces engaged Fedayeen and Republican Guard south of Baghdad

2003 US forces launched raid on Shatra Dhi Qar after receiving information Chemical Ali Hassan al-Majid

was there

2003 British military believed it could start popular uprising in Basra to take city rather than having to

attack it

2003 Sir David Manning told British would have huge shortage of troops for postwar operations in Iraq

2003 UK Foreign Office official wrote For Sec Straw saying Iraqis mistrusted US and US occupation would

be humiliation and untenable

2003 Israeli Infrastructure Min Paritzky said he wanted to reopen Kirkuk-Haifa pipeline by end of 03 Based

upon promises made by Chalabi before war he would get Iraq to export oil to Israel

(Musings On Iraq Book Review Iraq and the Politics of Oil, An Insider’s Perspective)

2004 US Committee on US pre-war intel on WMD said that US intel was “dead wrong” on almost all its

judgments about Iraq

(Musings On Iraq article Iraq, One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)

2004 Insurgents ambushed Blackwater convoy and killed 4 contractors in Fallujah 2 were strung up on

bridge

2004 Bush gave CPA 48 hours to resolve Blackwater attack in Fallujah

(Musings On Iraq book review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)

2004 Bush gave speech US would not give into violence in Iraq and fighting terrorism

2004 Sadrists marched to Green Zone in Baghdad to protest US occupation

2005 Silbermann-Robb report called US pre-war intel on Iraq one of largest intelligence failures in US

history US data on Iraq was worthless and analysis wrong US lacked significant new intel on Iraq WMD so relied on Gulf War and 90s UN inspections and extrapolated from them Relied upon Iraqi defectors that were lying and ignored problems with their stories Relied upon satellite photos that showed nothing substantive US intel claimed Iraq made WMD advances that were technically impossible US intel ignored reports that Iraq no longer had any WMD UN inspectors disproved most of US case against Iraq’s WMD but were ignored CIA had little on Iraq’s nuke program outside of aluminum tubes but became basis for Oct 02 National Intel Est on Iraq’s WMD Aluminum tubes Iraq tried to buy were for rockets not centrifuges Example of misinterpretation by US intel Said aluminum tubes was a technical assessment which CIA failed at Went with assumptions rather than facts CIA never looked at Iraqi rockets to see whether they fit aluminum tubes CIA and DIA created theory on tubes that rejected all criticism Report found British and Australian intelligence didn’t believe aluminum tubes were for centrifuges

(Musings On Iraq article on the aluminum tubes story)

(Musings On Iraq article Iraq, One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)

2005 RAND study showed post-war planning for Iraq was inadequate and never considered security of Iraqi

public

2006 100 insurgents attacked Muqtadiya police headquarters killing 19 police and freed 33 prisoners

2007 Maliki made 1^st trip to Anbar and met with tribal leaders and provincial council who complained about

Baghdad’s neglect

2008 IRGC-QF Gen Suleimani met with Pres Talabani and VP Mahdi to try to negotiate ceasefire between

Maliki and Sadr

2008 Maliki said would continue to go after Mahdi Army in Basra that didn’t follow cease-fire

2008 Maliki aide said plan was to divide Mahdi Army between those that followed Sadr’s ceasefire and

those that continued fighting

2008 Mahdi Army fired rockets at Green Zone for another day

2008 Interior Min announced 1000s of police would be fired for refusing to fight Mahdi Army

2008 Report 2 army regiments refused to fight Mahdi Army in Baghdad

2009 British ended military mission in Iraq

2009 Deadline for power sharing and provincial elections in Kirkuk passed with no progress

2010 VP Hashemi said an Arab should be president no longer a Kurd

2010 Iraqiya said it would implement Art 140 on disputed areas to try to get Kurdish backing for Allawi as

premier

2010 Sadr said there would be a referendum on who his followers wanted as premier

2011 Pres Barzani said he would prosecute security members who fired on demonstrators in Sulaymaniya

2011 Protests in Kalar, Sulaymaniya become violent with rocks thrown at security forces

(Musings On Iraq interview with journalist Wladimir Van Wilgenburg on 2011 KRG protests)

2012 Oil Ministry paid oil companies in Kurdistan $650 mil for exports

2014 ISIS released 2^nd annual al-Naba report on its operations

2014 ISIS held parade in Abu Ghraib

2014 Fmr Communications Min Allawi Fmr Fin Min Issawi and 8 general mangers charged with corruption

2014 Mutahidun claimed 44 civilians killed by Hashd in Buhriz, Diyala with complicity of ISF

2015 Tikrit freed from IS 1^st stories emerged of Hashd looting afterward

2015 Diyala council voted to remove confidence from Gov Yacoub for stealing aid for displaced

2016 PM Abadi presented his list of technocratic ministers

2016 Sadr called off his protests after Abadi announced cabinet

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

View the Iraq History Timelines 

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 30

1921 Cairo Conference decided on indirect rule in Iraq Would make Faisal King of a pro-British

Iraqi govt allowing withdrawal of British forces 

1921 Cairo Confernce decided to keep UK High Commissioner for Iraq British advisers in govt naval

presence in Basra and RAF squadrons in rest of country

(Musings On Iraq article on the Cairo conference and the selection of Feisal to be first king of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq book review Inventing Iraq: The Failure of Nation Building and a History Denied)

(Musings On Iraq book review Supremacy And Oil, Iraq, Turkey, and the Anglo-American World Order, 1918-1930)

1939 King Ghazi gave pan-Arab speech saying he was interested in Arab brothers in Syria Palestine Kuwait

1940 Fmr PM Said put together new govt with Rashid Gaylani becoming PM Said became Foreign Minister

Had backing of British

1941 Regent had PM Hashemi send one of the Golden Square officers to Diwaniya He refused order Was

pushed by UK to try to break up pan-Arab officers in army

(Musings On Iraq book review of Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq book review of Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)

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

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War)

1980 Baath made membership in Dawa punishable by death

1982 Saddam admitted that Iraqi forces retreated from southern Iran

1984 UN condemned use of chemical weapons in Iran-Iraq War but didn’t mention Iraq as perpetrator due

to US and Soviet objections

(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)

1984 US banned export of 5 chemicals to Iraq that could be used to make chemical weapons

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

1991 Saddam’s troops re-entered Dohuk and Irbil to put down Kurdish rebellion

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

(Musings On Iraq interview with National Univ of Singapore’s Fanar Haddad on the Impact of the 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on 1^st hand accounts of 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on Saddam’s view of 1991 Uprising)

(Ahulbayt Video on 1991 Uprising)

1991 Majid al-Khoei met with Saudi intelligence and was turned down for aid because US objections

(Musings On Iraq article on how US encouraged 1991 uprising)

1995 INC and PUK attacked Iraqi forces in Kirkuk district destroying 2 brigades hoping to create a revolt

against Saddam

(Musings On Iraq book review of Iraq In The Eye of the Storm that includes 1995 coup plot)

2002 Gen Franks presented new revised Iraq war plan to Bush

(Musings On Iraq book review of Shaping the Plan for Operation Iraqi Freedom, The Role of Military Intelligence Assessment)

2003 British began 2^nd attack to take Basra city with 600 commandos

(Musings On Iraq book review Target Basra, The High Octane Story of the Royal Marine Commandos In Iraq)

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

2003 UK Defense Minister Hoon told US didn't think taking Basra City important US wanted UK to hold

south oil fields and Um Qasr port

2003 US intensified air strikes on Republican Guard units with 800 sorties

2003 Saddam believed U.S. invasion was stalemated

2003 Saddam’s secretary told Iraqi Foreign Ministry to tell France and Russia they would only accept an

unconditional withdrawal by U.S.

2003 Iraqi TV aired footage of Saddam Qusay and Uday handing out medals and money to soldiers

2003 Rumsfeld told ABC that US knew exactly where Iraq’s WMD were Claimed they were around Tikrit

and Baghdad

2003 Rumsfeld accused Syria of giving military aid to Iraq Syria claimed US committing crimes vs Iraqi

civilians

2003 Dep Sec of Def Wolfowtiz said Iraq war about WMD and that they would eventually be found

(Musings On Iraq article Iraq, One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)

2003 Blair foreign policy adv Sir Manning worried that Baghdad when attacked could turn into drawn out

urban battle

2006 Report Albu Mahal went from insurgency to fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq after objected to Islamic

law being imposed Tribe entered into months of fighting with Salmani and Karabila tribes allied with Al Qaeda in Iraq in WAnbar Qaim dist Was expelled Albu Mahal went to US formed Desert Protectors Got help to have tribesmen join Iraqi army

(Musings On Iraq article on Albu Mahal tribe)

(Musings On Iraq article on Anbar tribes turning on Al Qaeda in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq article on change in perceptions that led to Awakening)

(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)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)

2007 Op Call to Freedom ended effectively clearing Ramadi of insurgents

2007 Report Ali Salah WBaghdad only had 3 Sunni families left after militias forced out rest in March

despite US and Iraqi units in area during Surge

2008 Sadr announced ceasefire in Basra but said Mahdi Army would not give up their weapons

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen Suleimani helped negotiate Sadr ceasefire

(Musings On Iraq interview with Naval Postgraduate School’s Ostovar on history of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard)

(Musings On Iraq book review Vanguard of the Imam, Religion, Politics, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard)

2008 Mahdi Army fired rockets at Green Zone again

2008 Tribes in Dhi Qar and Dulaim in Wasit joined govt in crackdown against Mahdi Army

2008 Nasiriya said to be cleared of Mahdi Army

2008 SIIC held pro-govt demonstration in Karbala against Sadr

2010 Allawi complained about Iran’s interference in forming new Iraqi government

2010 VP Hashemi said Iran trying to unite Shiite parties behind 2^nd Maliki term

2011 Accountability and Justice Comm ruled 2 nominees for Interior and Defense Ministers made by Maliki

were disqualified for Baathist past

2011 Turkey’s Erdogan went on tour of Iraq to Baghdad 1^st Sunni leader to go to Najaf shrine 1^st Turkish

leader to go to Irbil

2012 Pres Barzani said Maliki becoming authoritarian

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)

2016 Kurdish Alliance said they would not give up any of their ministers

2016 Supreme Council MP complained that PM Abadi didn’t consult with others about his reforms

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Iraq’s Former PM Abadi Claimed Only 8 Civilians Killed In Mosul Battle

Fmr PM Abadi talking with journalist Jane Arraf at 2019 Sulamani Forum (Twitter)

At the recent Sulamani Forum held in March 2019 former Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi claimed that there were only 8 civilian casualties in the Battle of Mosul. He told journalist Jane Arraf only eight women and children lost their lives during the fighting. Arraf challenged him on that and Abadi replied that he went to Mosul and checked the figures. He said, “Yes… Less than ten. Eight … Probably the number eight has increased a bit, and that was at one stage. … I was there! Looking in the streets, looking who is going where, who is going around, I made sure that there were no civilians, only combatants.” He went on to claim that he had gone to multiple sources and they confirmed his figures.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 29

1946 Iraq-Turkey Friendship Treaty Would cooperate over Tigris and Euphrates security education

communication economies

1947 Sayid Salih Jabr became premier 1^st Shiite PM of Iraq

1982 Iraq set up new defensive line 6 miles from Maysan border Iran attacked towards Fakkeh breaking

through Iraqi lines Broken up by air strikes Lost 100 tanks and forced to retreat Ended Iranian Op Fath Iraq lost 8000 dead 12000 wounded 13000-20000 captured 400 tanks 3 divisions destroyed Iran lost 4,000 dead, 12,000 wounded, 200 tanks and APCs

1982 Saddam offered to withdraw to international border between Iran-Iraq Rejected by Iran

1984 Iraq used French Super Etendard jets for 1^st time to attack Iranian shipping Hit a Greek ship in Persian

Gulf

1984 US intel found Iraq buying equipment from West German company to make chemical weapons W.

Germany denied story

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

1984 US intel reported Iraq had 5 sites producing chemical weapons for Iran-Iraq War

(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)

1987 Ali Hassan al-Majid given special powers over all govt agencies in northern Iraq to deal with Kurds

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

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

1991 Iraqi troops recaptured Kirkuk from Kurdish rebels

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

1991 Iraqi troops captured Tanuma, Basra from rebels

(Musings On Iraq interview with National Univ of Singapore’s Fanar Haddad on the Impact of the 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on 1^st hand accounts of 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on Saddam’s view of 1991 Uprising)

(Ahulbayt Video on 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on how US encouraged 1991 uprising)

1994 Saddam became prime minister of Iraq

2002 Gen Franks briefed military service chiefs on Iraq war planning

(Musings On Iraq book review of Shaping the Plan for Operation Iraqi Freedom, The Role of Military Intelligence Assessment)

2003 UK Embassy in Washington Bush mad at press reports invasion not going according to plan

2003 1^st Suicide bomber in Iraq war hits US checkpoint in Najaf killing 4 soldiers

2003 Iraq VP Ramadan said suicide bombers would become routine in Iraq and threatened England and US

with them

2003 VP Ramadan said that foreign fighters had arrived in Iraq to help defend it against Americans

2003 Iraqi govt removed commander of Iraqi air defense in Baghdad after missiles misfired and hit the

capital

2003 Iraq fired 2 SCUDS at Kuwait but shot down by US Patriot missiles

2006 US intel report said 1707 Sunni and Shiite families moved in Baghdad after Askari bombing Mahdi

Army kidnapping and executing people

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

2007 ISI began withdrawing from Ramadi leading to large drop in attacks

2007 National Police kidnapped 5 British security guards from Eastern Baghdad

2007 New US Amb Ryan Crocker arrived in Iraq

2007 Suicide bombings in Baghdad kill 82

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

2008 Fighting between ISF and Mahdi Army continued in Karbala, Hillah, Baghdad, Basra

2008 Mahdi Army fired rockets at Green Zone again in retaliation for Charge of Knights

2008 Maliki delegation met with Sadr in Iran to work out ceasefire in Basra

2008 Sadr said he was talking with Ayatollah Sistani to negotiate ceasefire with Maliki

2008 Sadr also called for Qais Khazali and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq to rejoin his organization

(Musings On Iraq article on history of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq)

2009 Provincial election results announced State of Law won 126 of 440 seats 28% ISCI went from 200 to

50 seats

2009 Maliki govt said in talks with Asaib Ahl Al-Haq to get 5 British hostages it kidnapped released Iraq

UK US Iran Hezbollah worked out deal to release Brits in return for AAH leaders Qais and Laith Khazali 300 AHH members and Iranian operatives held by US

(Musings On Iraq article on kidnapping of Brits, Iranian role and their release)

(Musings On Iraq article on history of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq)

2009 PKK rejected call by Pres Talabani and Pres Barzani to disarm

2009 Sahwa in Dora, Baghdad protested over not getting paid by govt

2009 US and ISF disarmed Sahwa in Fadhil, Baghdad after fighting broke out day before when its

commander arrested

2010 Peshmerga withdrew from Jalawla, Diyala after argument over control of disputed areas with Baghdad

2011 Maliki presented nominees for security ministries never filled after 2010 elections

2011 Najmuddin Karim elected governor of Kirkuk

2011 ISI attacked Tikrit provincial council building leaving 150 casualties

2011 Parliament human rights committee found chronic abuses in Diyala prisons including torture

2011 Opposition parties boycotted KRG parliament because govt hadn’t responded to protest demands

(Musings On Iraq interview with journalist Wladimir Van Wilgenburg on 2011 KRG protests)

2011 Turkish Premier Erdogan went to Kurdistan first Turkish leader to visit region

2015 Most Hashd had pulled out of Tikrit op to protest US airstrikes

2015 PM Abadi met with Hashd leaders to talk about Tikrit offensive and their protests over US airstrikes

2015 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq said it would not join future ops in Anbar and Ninewa if US involved

(Musings On Iraq article on history of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq)

2016 Deadline set by Sadr for PM Abadi to announce new technocratic cabinet

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

2016 State of Law said PM Abadi ready to present candidates for cabinet but ruling parties were not

cooperating

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Review Salam Pax: The Baghdad Blog

Review Salam Pax, Salam Pax: The Baghdad Blog, London: Atlantic Books, 2003

Salam Pax, real name Salam Abdul Munim, was an Iraqi blogger from Baghdad that came to prominence in the west before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. His blog “Where is Raed?” started off as irreverent posts about his life, his friends, his family, and his job. As the invasion drew closer it eventually took center stage in his writing. The blog also captured the attention of Westerners and its media because Munim spoke English and constantly referenced Western culture. It made people think that Iraqis weren’t so foreign after all if they were versed in western language and norms. The book covers some of his posts from September 2002 to June 2003. Salam Pax: The Baghdad Blog gives a mix of humorous and serious takes on the life of one Iraqi as things were turned upside down by the Iraq war.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 28

1940 Nuri al-Said convinced Golden Square officers to get Gaylani to form new govt Said would

become Foreign Minister

(Musings On Iraq book review of Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)

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

1987 Saddam was told 24,952 soldiers had deserted from 12/1/86-3/20/87 in Basra

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

(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)

1990 US-UK officials seized equipment at Heathrow Airport meant for nuclear triggers

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

1991 SCIRI head Hakim said Shiite rebels in south only fighting in rural areas after lost cities to Iraqi army

(Musings On Iraq interview with National Univ of Singapore’s Fanar Haddad on the Impact of the 1991 Uprising)

1991 Iraqi intelligence memo said it had contacts with bin Laden

1997 Sec of State Albright said Iraq had lied and blocked UN inspections Said inspections and sanctions had

contained Iraq

(Musings On Iraq book review The United States And Iraq Since 1990: A Brief History with Documents)

1998 UN Res 1154 okayed agreement between UN Sec Gen and Iraq to allow inspectors into presidential

palaces and other sites

(Musings On Iraq article on UN weapons inspections)

2002 Arab League called on Iraq to comply with all UN resolutions and end sanctions Rejected military

action

2002 Gen Franks briefed Joint Chiefs on Iraq war plans Said he would be ready by 10/1/02

(Musings On Iraq book review of Shaping the Plan for Operation Iraqi Freedom, The Role of Military Intelligence Assessment)

2003 Gen Wallace Cmdr US V Corps told press war not going as planned due to resistance of Fedayeen

2003 Royal Marines attacked Abu al-Khasib Basra city suburb

(Musings On Iraq book review Target Basra, The High Octane Story of the Royal Marine Commandos In Iraq)

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

2003 US 173^rd Airborne Brigade and Peshmerga took Irbil

(Musings On Iraq interview with Kevin Petit of 173^rd Airborne Brigade)

2003 PUK and 10^th Special Forces Group began main attack upon Ansar al-Islam camp in Halabja

2003 US and UK military meeting Surprised Iraqis weren’t rising up against Saddam

2003 UN Res 1472 extended Oil for Food program for 45 days after US invasion

2003 US forces received warning of imminent WMD attack

2003 Rumsfeld accused Syria of sending military aid to Iraq British accused Syria of allowing foreign

fighters to use its territory to enter Iraq

2003 Chief weapons inspector Blix said US gave up on inspections in early 2003

(Musings On Iraq article on UN weapons inspections)

2003 Aid ship arrived in Um Qasr Basra with 200 tons of food medicine and blankets for Iraqis

2003 Bush told group of veterans important to win the peace after the war

2004 CPA shut down Sadr’s al-Hawza paper for inciting violence

2006 Anbar Revenge Brigade claimed it killed 4 Al Qaeda in Iraq leaders and a member of Ansar al-Sunna

(Musings On Iraq article on tribes turning on Al Qaeda in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq article on change in perceptions that led to Awakening)

(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)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)

2007 ISI set off chlorine bomb at Fallujah government center

2007 2 truck bombs hit market targeting Shiite Turkmen in Tal Afar leaving 152 dead 347 wounded Militias

and police went through Sunni district of town dragging people out of homes and executed up to 70 in the streets wounded 30 and kidnapped 40 Iraqi army arrived and got into shootout with police until revenge killings ended

2007 Report Iraqi observatory group said one prison in Mahmudiya held 705 Built to hold 75 Another

prison at Muthanna Air Base held 272 built for 50 Said ISF making mass arrests under Baghdad security plan but few releases leading to overcrowding

2008 Maliki offered money to militiamen that turned in their weapons during Charge of Knights op against

Mahdi Army

2008 Government spokesman said talks going on with Sadrists

2008 Maliki met with tribes in Basra that supported government

2008 U.S. and British planes bombed Mahdi Army in Basra

2008 Mahdi Army fired rockets at Badr offices in Amarah, Maysan

(Musings On Iraq article on the history of Badr Organization)

2008 Fighting in 13 neighborhoods in Baghdad between Mahdi Army and ISF

2008 Pres Talabani met with Gen Suleimani about stopping fighting between govt and Mahdi Army

2009 Counterterrorism Unit arrested Fadhil Sahwa leader in Baghdad on terrorism charges leading to

firefight

2010 Supreme Court ruled that any coalition that gained a majority after elections could get 1^st opportunity

to form a new govt Ruling undermined Allawi’s Iraqiya right to form a new govt and gave it to Maliki’s State of Law

2012 Baghdad said it would pay KRG $558 mil for Kurdish oil exports from budget

2013 Iran delivered bodies of Iraqi militiamen killed fighting for it in Syria

2014 Families from Qara Tapa, Diyala started fleeing militias

2016 Abadi said wanted 9 member cabinet with Electricity and Defense ministers staying

2017 Kirkuk council voted to fly the Kurdish flag over government buildings in province

View the Iraq History Timelines

Security In Iraq Mar 15-21, 2019

(Shafaaq News)

The Iraqi insurgency continues to ebb and flow. In February attacks were slightly up from January perhaps pointing to the Islamic State coming out of its winter hibernation. March however has seen some of the lowest incident figures ever recorded by Musings On Iraq. That happened during the third week of March although casualty numbers were up due to another mass grave of IS victims being found and a clash between the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Turkish soldiers in Kurdistan.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 27

1918 British defeated Ottomans in Battle of Khan al-Baghdadi

1922 General Haldane commander of UK forces compared Iraqis to children

1979 Saddam told Baath meeting that Iraq was going to get a nuclear weapon with help of Soviets so he

could go to war with Israel  

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

1979 Saddam believed having a nuclear bomb would allow a conventional war of attrition with Israel that

could cost 50,000 Iraqi casualties

1979 Saddam discussed with advisers how to punish countries that backed Sadat’s peace treaty with Israel

1981 Start of second attempt by Islamic Conference to negotiate ceasefire in Iran-Iraq War

1982 3^rd phase of Iranian Op Fath began to take Fakkeh strategic crossroads to Maysan Saddam ordered 4^th

Corps to retreat from Shush in face of Iranian attack

1984 Iraq began tanker war using Super Entendard jets

1988 Iran Op Bait al-Moqaddas 4 in Kurdistan started

(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 The Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)

1988 Iraq dropped chemical bombs for 2^nd day on Karadagh Kurdistan 64 killed 210 wounded total

during Anfal Campaign

(Musings On Iraq article on Anfal campaign)

1991 2^nd day fighting between Iraqi forces and peshmerga on Khanaqin-Jalawla road Diyala

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

1991 White House spokesman said that US had made no promises to Shiites or Kurds and US public not

interested in getting involved in an Iraqi civil war

(Musings On Iraq interview with National Univ of Singapore’s Fanar Haddad on the Impact of the 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on 1^st hand accounts of 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on Saddam’s view of 1991 Uprising)

(Ahulbayt Video on 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq article on how US encouraged 1991 uprising)

 (Musings On Iraq book review The United States And Iraq Since 1990: A Brief History with Documents)

1995 Fighting between KDP and PUK killed 100 in Irbil

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

1996 UN Resolution 1051 set up monitoring system for Iraqi imports-exports under Oil for Food program

2003 Coalition ground forces commander Gen McKiernan ordered halt to operations to regroup forces

2003 U.S. forces entered Samawa, Muthanna and encountered fierce fighting by Fedayeen Saddam

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

2003 Iraqi forces began withdrawing in Kirkuk Looting started

(Musings On Iraq interview with Petit of 173^rd Airborne Bgd on operations in Kirkuk)

2003 Iraq DefMin reviewed war Told US capturing transportation hubs attacking multiple targets at same

time Report ignored by Saddam

2003 ORHA had meeting of all 4 postwar groups to come up with unified plan for Iraq Didn’t happen

2003 4 postwar Iraq groups had all been created separately within Bush admin with no coordination

between them

2003 Dep Sec Def Wolfowitz told House of Reps committee Iraq oil would pay for reconstruction

2003 USAID disaster response team entered Um Qasr, Basra to assess humanitarian situation in city

2003 Pres Assad called on Arab countries to stand up against US invasion

2003 Iraqi govt claimed 350 civilians killed in Coalition air strikes during invasion

2004 Report sent to Washington that after examination 2 trailers found during invasion were not mobile

WMD labs as originally thought

(Musings On Iraq article on mobile labs story)

2004 Marine patrol got into 36 hr gunfight in Fallujah

2007 Anbar council said no oversight of border crossings and 40% of tariffs stolen due to corruption

2007 1920 Revolution Brigade leader killed by ISI for refusing to join it and talking with govt

2007 Report fighting between Islamic Army and 1920 Revolution Brigades vs ISI in Anbar and Abu Ghraib

and Taji areas of Baghdad over tactics and ISI trying to dominate insurgency Also splits in Diyala

(Musings On Iraq article on splits within insurgency)

2007 US Mil intel report that Iranian intelligence working with Badr and Mahdi Army to assassinate

Industry Ministry officials

(Musings On Iraq article on the history of Badr Organization)

2007 Report 1^st EFP attack Aug 2003 Aug 05 Natl Sec Adv Hadley said Iran probably behind EFP attacks

Oct 05 UK Amb to Iraq said Iran giving aid to militias to attack British forces Apr 06 EFP attacks began increasing then dropped start of 07 Bush admin struggled over what to do with attacks Decided upon raids and media briefings EFPs supplied by Iran and Hezbollah

(Musings On Iraq interview with Galen Wright of Arkenstone blog on Iranian arms shipments to Iraqi militias) 

(Musings On Iraq article on Iran training Iraqi militias)

2008 Presidential Council approved General Amnesty Law as part of reconciliation Allowed release of

thousands of prisoners

(Musings On Iraq article on Amnesty Law)

2008 Sadrists kidnapped Baghdad Operations Command spokesman

2008 Mahdi Army attacked Iraqi army units moving from Nasiriya to Basra

2008 Basra police chief escaped assassination attempt

2008 Mahdi Army fired rockets at Green Zone for 2^nd day

2008 Police in New Baghdad abandoned checkpoints 400 of 550 in 4^th National Police Brigade deserted

rather than fight Mahdi Army

2008 US told that Maliki did not want US advisers in Charge of Knights just US firepower

2008 Fighting started between ISF and Special Groups in northern and southern Dhi Qar

2008 Pipeline in Basra blown up cutting exports in 1/3

2010 Kurdish Alliance said wanted assurances on Kirkuk and Article 140 before it joined any new govt

2011 Iraq parliament cancelled deal with Chinese National Petroleum Corp for Ahdab field in Wasit

2012 Baghdad hosted Arab Summit marking major move back into Arab politics

2014 Islamic Party accused ISF of being involved in killing civilians in Buhriz, Diyala

2015 Tikrit operation re-started after US airstrikes requested by PM Abadi

2015 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq accused US of trying to save IS in Tikrit

(Musings On Iraq article on history of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq)

2016 Supreme Council complained that PM Abadi not consulted with them over his reforms

2016 Sadr went into Green Zone to start his own sit in protests

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

View the Iraq History Timelines