This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 4

1927 UK official wrote ForSec Chamberlain saying UK got Mosul by trick Promised 25 yr Iraq

Mandate Now pushing Iraq independence

1939 King Ghazi’s death publicly announced PM Said resigned

1941 British called new Gaylani govt illegal and distributed copies of message by Regent to resist

1941 Ultra intel in UK intercepted message from Italian amb in Tehran that Rome and Berlin were

going to send arms to Iraq via Syria

1941 UK Chiefs of Staff asked Middle East cmdr Gen Wavell how many troops he could spare for

Iraq

(Musings On Iraq article on 1941 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)

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

1948 Port of Basra strike against Anglo-Iraq Treaty

1980 Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr arrested in Najaf by Saddam

1981 Iran bombed Iraq’s H3 airbase near Syria Destroyed 23 planes and 4 helicopters 15 other planes

damaged 6 senior Iraqi officers were executed after raid  

1981 Iran said it wouldn’t negotiate a ceasefire with Saddam

1981 Head of US Interests Section in Iraq said that US and Iraq were growing closer

1983 Iraq offered 1 day ceasefire in order to clean up oil spill Iran rejected offer

(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 Report Pres Bush gave CIA okay to support opposition in Iraq led to creation of Voice of Free Iraq

radio station run by Saudis

(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)

1991 Britain offered $37 mil in humanitarian aid to Kurds

1991 Turkey said it couldn’t support Kurdish refugees flowing into country so shut border 10,000 crossed

into Turkey 80,000 held at border

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

2002 UK intel officials claimed that Blair decided that WMD and Saddam were not good argument for

going to war in Iraq

2003 3^rd Inf Div captured Saddam International Airport in Baghdad Fedayeen Saddam counterattack turned

back Took 3 days to clear airport Saddam finally accepted US would attack Baghdad

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

2003 US forces sent to southern Baghdad to destroy Republican Guard units but they fled instead of

fighting

2003 Saddam appeared on Iraqi TV touring Baghdad neighborhood

2003 Information Minister Sahaf finally admitted US forces were in Baghdad at airport

2003 US forces hit by female suicide car bomb at Haditha Dam Women had made video beforehand aired on Al Jazeera

2003 Blair sent letter to Iraqi people saying Saddam would fall and Coalition would not be in Iraq longer

than necessary

2003 Power surge knocked out most of the power in Baghdad Would be out for weeks after war over

2003 Natl Sec Adv Rice said US wanted a democratic Iraq with no WMD that would not be threat to

neighbors

(Musings On Iraq book review America at the Crossroads, Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Road to Iraq, The Making of a Neoconservative War)

(Musings On Iraq book review Wanting War: Why the Bush Administration Invaded Iraq)

2004 Sadrists rose up in Baghdad Najaf Kut Karbala Kufa Nasiriya against US Ambushed US patrol in Sadr

City killing 8 Americans

(Musings On Iraq book review Battle For The City Of The Dead)

2004 80% of one Iraqi National Guard battalion and 70% of another deserted in Baghdad in 1^st day of

fighting Mahdi Army

2004 40% of police in Najaf and Kut fled when Sadrists rose up in 2 cities

2004 Fighting between Mahdi Army and Spanish in Najaf left 200 Iraqi casualties

2004 Polish battalion held Karbala city hall but rest of city fell to Mahdi Army

2004 Italian governor of Dhi Qar made deal with Mahdi Army to stay in base while militia took Nasiriyah

2004 CPA created Ministerial Committee for National Security in Iraqi govt

2004 UN special envoy Brahimi arrived in Iraq to help put together interim govt

2004 Operation Vigilant Resolve launched by Marines starting 1^st battle of Fallujah

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

2005 Outgoing Inter Min Naqib warned US if SCIRI got Inter Min would fill it with Badr militiamen which

it did

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

(Musings On Iraq interview with Jerry Burke former Interior Min adviser on how militias took over Iraqi police)

2006 Report Inter Min refused to deploy any police trained by US-UK mission in last 3 months because

didn’t control recruits

2007 Report US arrested Dep Health Min Zamili in Feb Accused of taking kicksbacks for equipment orders

at ministry with money funneled to Sadrists 15 warrants for ministers for corruption not served MP Jabouri in hiding accused of stealing $7 mil for pipeline security force he created Allawi Defense Min Shaalan facing $1 bil in corruption charges

(Musings On Iraq interview with Special Inspector Gen for Iraq Reconstruction Bowen on corruption in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq interview with fmr anti-graft official Vincent Foulk on corruption in Iraq)

2008 Maliki said he would stop raids against Sadrists

2008 Maliki said he didn’t negotiate ceasefire with Sadr but Iran did

2008 Sadr said he would recruit 10,000 local tribesmen into security forces in Basra after Charge of Knights

2009 Maliki said that Baathists and ISI had infiltrated Sahwa

2009 Sahwa leader in Baghdad said govt was out to destroy Sahwa

2009 Sheikh Abu Risha said he would run with State of Law in provincial elections

2010 3 car bombs on Iranian Egyptian and German Embassies in Baghdad killed 41

2011 Baghdad Operations Command accused Harith al-Dhari head of Muslim Scholars Association of being

behind assassinations in Baghdad

2011 Day of Dignity protests in Baghdad

2011 Opposition parties walked out of KRG parliament when Peshmerga and Interior ministers refused to

appear for questioning over treatment of Sulaymaniya protests

2011 Sulaymaniya protesters called on KRG government to resign

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

2012 Dep PM Shahristani told Kirkuk governor had to stop oil smuggling to KRG

2012 State of Law MP accused Kurds of trying to prevent army from buying new equipment

2012 Maliki sent envoy to try to improve ties with Turkey but failed

2013 Turkey said it was willing to split payments of oil exports between Baghdad and Irbil

2015 Great Tikrit Mosque set on fire after city freed Tribes demanded Hashd withdraw from area

2016 Kurdish Alliance said it would not vote on any ministers it didn’t nominate

2016 Allawi said if new govt was to be nonpartisan than Abadi had to resign too along with his cabinet

2017 Kirkuk council called for referendum to integrate province into KRG

2018 Pres Masum filed lawsuit over 2018 budget saying it violated the constitution

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