This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 8

1916 British forces defeated Ottomans at Fallahiya

1941 UK Joint Planning Staff said all measures should be taken to overthrown PM Gaylani

1941 Churchill ordered Sec of State for India to put together force to be sent to Iraq

1941 German Foreign Office said it supported Arab action against British for their freedom

(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 Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad)

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

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

1980 Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr and sister Bint al-Huda executed by Saddam

1980 DIA said 50% chance Iraq would invade Iran Said Iraq thought Iranian military weak and could easily

be defeated

1980 Ayatollah Khomeini broadcast speech calling on Iraq people to topple their govt

1981 Sec State Haig said that Iraq was an important Middle Eastern country and hoped for better relations

in future

1982 Syria closed border to Iraq Claimed Saddam backed Muslim Brotherhood against Assad

1983 Dawa bombed offices of Iraqi Airways in Baghdad

1985 2^nd War of the Cities ended

1985 UN Sec Gen de Cuellar went to Baghdad where Saddam said Iraq was ready to enter into talks to end

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)

1991 Plan to create UN safehaven in northern Iraq for Kurds approved at European Union meeting

1991 US agreed to $10 mil in humanitarian aid to Kurds

1991 European Community agreed to provide humanitarian aid to Kurds

1992 Kurds announced elections for Kurdish parliament and leader would be held 5/17/92

1995 PUK-KDP ceasefire in civil war Turkey mediated Ankara hoped to gain PUK-KDP help against PKK

in return

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

2001 Czech Inter Min claimed 9/11 terrorist Atta met with Iraqi intelligence in Prague Later proven false

2003 Bush said UN would play crucial role in creating an interim Iraqi govt but US had rejected role for UN

2003 US forces surrounded Baghdad US A-10 jet shot down by Iraqi surface to air missile over city

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

2003 Ayatollah Haeri said Iraq’s Shiites needed to seize power now that Saddam overthrown and oppose US

plans

2003 Site south of Baghdad searched for chemical weapons but nothing found

2003 Def Sec Rumsfeld had meeting to find replacement for ORHA head Garner for new presidential envoy

to Iraq

2003 British army appointed Muzahim Tamimi former general and Baathist as head of Basra province

Provoked demonstrations leading to Tamimi’s removal

2004 CENTCOM cmdr Gen Abizaid said that US would get Fallujah under control

2004 Fighting in Fallujah left 460 Iraqis and 36 US troops dead

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

2004 US 1^st Armored Div retook Kut from Mahdi Army

2004 Several Japanese aid workers kidnapped

2005 Transitional Iraqi parliament confirmed Talabani as president of Iraq

2006 Iraqi general said country in a civil war

2008 End of Maliki’s deadline for militias to disarm in Basra

2008 US forces moved into southern Sadr City to build wall to prevent attacks on Green Zone Led to

fighting with Mahdi Army

2008 10% of Basra police facing AWOL charges for fleeing instead of fighting Mahdi Army during Charge

of Knights

2008 Gen Petraeus told Congress Baghdad had only accepted 21,000 Sahwa out of 91,000 into ISF

2008 Gen Petraeus said Shiite Special Groups were largest long term threat to Iraq

2008 Amb Crocker told Congress that if US withdrew from Iraq without accomplishing constitutional

reform Iranians would come out winners

2011 Over 2,000 protested in Baghdad and Fallujah Demanded prisoners be released Some demanded US

forces to leave

2011 Soldiers from 11^th Div in civilian clothes arrested protest organizer and held him for a week and

tortured him 

2011 KDP and PUK rejected call by opposition to disband govt to meet demands of protesters

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

2011 Maliki told Def Sec Gates Iraq did not need a U.S. military presence after withdrawal at end of year

Gates was in Iraq to try to convince Maliki and political parties to accept stay behind force of US soldiers

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

2012 Sadr said that Maliki was becoming a dictator

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

2013 ISI released statement that it sent operative Jalwani to Syria to create Jabhat al-Nusra That group was

no longer and would be part of new ISIS

2015 KDP released Haider Sesho Yazidi militia commander on promise that his men would follow

Peshmerga

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