This Day In Iraqi History - May 6

1935 Govt arrested cleric Asadallah follower of Ayatollah Ghita who had been demanding

concessions from govt Led to revolt by Abu Hassan Bani Zurayij and Zawalim tribes against monarchy

1941 UK Foreign Min Eden told parliament if Iraq withdrew forces from Habaniya and fighting stopped

London willing to talk Policy was to remove PM Gaylani

1941 Iraq launched largest air attack on Habaniya air base Iraqis then began to withdraw from outside base

due to lack of water and rations 409 Iraqi soldiers captured Iraqis suffered 1,000 casualties

1941 Iraq launched 2^nd air raid on Habaniya later that day Iraqis lost initiative in Anglo-Iraq War when gave

up in Habaniya Had no plan or leadership to do more than lay siege to base

1941 British and Assyrian forces took Sin al-Dhiban, Anbar captured 300 Iraqi soldiers

1941 British planes destroyed Iraqi column heading for Habaniya inflicting over 1,000 casualties and

prisoners taken

1941 PM Gaylani told Mufti of Jerusalem to contact Germans and ask them for immediate aid

1941 German deal with Vichy France allowed military equipment to be moved from Syria to Iraq to fight

British

1941 German air unit sent to Syria bound for Mosul to confront British

1941 More British troops landed in Basra

(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)

1963 Soviet Union said it supported Mustafa Barzani and his KDP

1991 Iraq letter to UN accused US of sending in counterfeit dinars to undermine economy

1991 2^nd round of Baghdad-Kurd talks started Barzani led delegation

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

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

1998 100 US peace activists led by former Attn Gen Ramsey Clark arrived in Iraq with $4 mil in medicine

to protest sanctions

2003 Bush speech said building democracy in Iraq would be like what US did in post WWII Germany and

Japan

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraq’s Future The aftermath of regime change)

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

2003 Bush announced Paul Bremer as head of new CPA to run postwar Iraq

2003 Bush told Bremer he had whatever time he needed to put Iraq back together

2003 ORHA agreed to allow Baath members to return to government jobs and police

2003 NY Times Kristof OpEd used Fmr Amb Wilson as unnamed source on Iraq-Niger uranium deal Said

Wilson went to Niger in 2002 and told CIA and State Dept that uranium story based upon fake docs Wilson accused US intel of covering up his findings and decieving world Said White House and State Dept kept using story despite denial Wilson never saw docs and went to Niger 8 months before US got them

(Musings On Iraq article on Iraq-Niger uranium story)

2004 NSC meeting on how to frame and publicize the coming return of sovereignty to Iraq

2004 First large scale fight broke out between US forces and Mahdi Army in Najaf

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

2004 Wash Post published new pictures of Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse

2006 British helicopter shot down over Basra killing 5 soldiers When British moved to secure wreckage

were attacked by 300 from Mahdi Army

2008 ISF raided hospital and police stations in Baghdad accusing officers and staff of being Mahdi Army

members

2008 ISF raided Sadr offices in Kut

2009 Sahwa in Ghaziliya Baghdad complained about his men leaving because not getting paid by govt

2009 Dawa MP said new offensive in Diyala would fail because insurgents had fled to Kurdistan

(Musings On Iraq article on Op Promise of Good II)

2010 Maliki govt announced start of 5 year anti-corruption plan

(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)

2013 Report said politicians manipulating Central Bank of Iraq dollar auctions

2015 Barzani met with Obama in Washington Asked for heavy weapons Said Kurds would help in Battle

of Mosul Said wouldn’t fight in Arab areas and didn’t covet territory

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