Thursday, April 30, 2020

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 30


1917 Battle of the Boot at Band-i-Adhaim between British and Ottomans
1924 Baghdad said willing to give land to Assyrians
(Musings On Iraq review of The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)
1941 PM Gaylani refused permission for British troops to land in Basra
1941 2 brigades of Iraqi soldiers surrounded UK Habaniya base ordered UK to cease operations
there Iraq had 9000 troops UK 2250
(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Boich World War II In Iraq and Syria)
1941 Iraqi forces surrounded UK embassy in Baghdad
1941 PM Gaylani hoped to pressure UK to leave Iraq without a fight
1941 UK memo to Chiefs of Staff discussed destroying Iraq’s oil wells to deny them to Germany
(Musings On Iraq review of Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)
(Musings On Iraq review of Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War)
1948 Jewish forces took Jaffa, and 7 other towns held by Iraqi volunteers in 1st Arab Israeli War
1959 Qasim banned political organizing within army Was aimed at Communists to curb their power
(Musings On Iraq 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)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Western Kentucky’s Prof Romero on the Qasim govt)
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
(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)
1980 Arab Iranians seized Iranian embassy in London demanding sovereignty for Khuzistan province
Were trained and armed by Iraq
1982 Iran launched Op Bait al-Moqaddas to recapture Khorramshahr across from Basra and liberate
Khuzistan province Iran had 12 divisions 200,000 soldiers vs 5 Iraqi divisions and 65,000 men Iran would gain 300 sq mi Iranian paratroopers dropped on Karun River near Darkhovin while engineers built bridge over river
(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 review Iran-Iraq War Volume 1: The Battle for Khuzestan, September 1980-May 1982)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)
1985 Sec State Shultz asked Def Sec Weinberger to speed up approval of technology exports to Iraq Much
of that would go to weapons programs
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
(Musings On Iraq review of The Kurds, A Modern History)
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 NSC meeting Dep CIA Dir McLaughlin told DepDefSec Wolfowitz no evidence of Iraq terrorist threat
to US
2001 NSC meeting DepSecState Armitage told DepDefSec Wolfowitz Al Qaeda was the main threat to US
2003 US forces ran into protesters that led to shooting for 2nd time in 2 days in Fallujah 2 killed
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
2003 Sec Def 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
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
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 New Yorker published photos of Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal
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 UK 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 Said 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
2006 Class of new police recruits from Fallujah graduated Told they would serve outside Anbar 600
refused to do so
2007 Parliament voted to keep US troops away from Khadmiya shrine Baghdad after US got into gun
battle with Mahdi Army and Iraqi soldiers in district PM Maliki didn’t sign bill
2007 Anbar Awakening claimed to have killed ISI War Minister Masri Didn’t happen
2007 Report PM Maliki and ministers used Article 136B of Criminal Code to block corruption
investigations
(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)
2007 Report Maliki using PM and Commander in Chief offices to remove and arrest army and National
Police commanders for going after Mahdi Army or being Sunni US officers complained Maliki politicizing officer corps
2008 PM Maliki said 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
2008 Study said Surge didn’t achieve political goals Reconciliation has been between insurgents and US not
with Iraqi govt Still threat of violence if no political accommodation
2009 ISF started 2nd Operation Promise of Good in Diyala
2009 Muthanna last to name new govt after Jan provincial elections PM Maliki’s State of Law won in 9 of
14 provinces Got ruling coalitions in Babil Baghdad Basra Dhi Qar Qadisiya Wasit Maysan Najaf Karbala
(Musings On Iraq article on new provincial govts)
(Musings On Iraq article breaking down new provincial govts)
2010 Def Min said that ISI had lost its direction after 2 leaders Masri and Baghdadi killed
2010 PM Maliki claimed foreign countries were plotting coup against him
(Musings On Iraq review The Unraveling, High Hopes And Missed Opportunity In Iraq)
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
(Musings On Iraq interview with journalist Wladimir Van Wilgenburg on 2011 KRG protests)
2011 US said Iranian investment projects in Karbala and Najaf were fronts for supporting Asaib Ahl
Al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah
(Musings On Iraq article on history of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq)
(Musings On Iraq article on Iran’s Iraq policy)
(Musings On Iraq Instrument Of Iran’s Power In Iraq And Syria 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 PM Maliki
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)
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 Dep PM Mutlaq criticized ISF attack on Hawija protest site
2013 Insurgents attacked Wasit municipal council building
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
2014 ISIS ideologue Binali said that group didn't have to hold territory for Muslims to pledge allegiance to
it Was setting stage for declaration of Islamic State
(Musings On Iraq review The Caliphate At War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)
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 after city liberated
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 PM Abadi’s technocratic govt Sadr called for popular revolution as
followers stormed Green Zone
(Musings On Iraq interview with Cambridge’s Michael Clark on Sadr, protests and PM Abadi’s reforms)

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

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 UK Ambassador told British women and children to leave Baghdad because of expected war
with Iraq
1941 PM Gaylani sent Iraqi forces to UK air base at Habaniya Anbar 11th Inf Brigade ordered to
Baghdad to later be deployed to Anbar UK Emb in Baghdad informed UK forces in Habaniya Iraqi army heading their way
(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Boich World War II In Iraq and Syria)
1941 Iraqis flooded Habaniya area limiting movement of UK troops there Occupied Kirkuk oil
fields Cut oil to Haifa and restarted flow to Lebanon for Vichy France that could be used by Axis
(Musings On Iraq review of Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)
(Musings On Iraq review of Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War)
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
1959 Communist central committee demanded power sharing within Qasim govt
(Musings On Iraq 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)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Western Kentucky’s Prof Romero on the Qasim govt)
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 torture methods used by govt
1986 Iraq launched counterattack to stop Iran Al Fajr 9 outside Rawanduz Kurdistan
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)
1986 Iran launched counterattack along 3 fronts in Basra Advanced up road to Um Qasr and north along
Faw Peninsula Basra Caused 4000 Iraqi casualties
(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 review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)
1991 Report Bush and Joint Chiefs head Gen Powell both thought of Vietnam when Iraq revolt started
Didn’t want to get caught in civil war and quagmire
(Musings On Iraq review Out Of The Ashes, The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein)
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
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
2003 ORHA head Garner told White House flying frozen Iraqi assets to pay for salaries and pensions
helped stabilize 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
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
2004 50 former UK Ambassadors and officials wrote open letter to PM Blair Said UK had no postwar plan
for Iraq Said experts predicted that occupation of Iraq would garner resistance Said had to consider Iraqi history Concluded that Coalition strategy in Iraq was doomed to fail
2005 Gen Vines issued order for US troops to stop and report any cases of abuse by Iraqi forces
2007 US troops went to investigate torture cell run by Mahdi Army in Khadimiya Baghdad Got into gun
battle with Mahdi Army and Iraqi soldiers Afterward parliament voted to keep US forces 1 mile away from shrine
2007 Report Spec Insp Gen for Iraq Recon looked at 8 US projects 7 were not operating or had major
problems Power station for Baghdad airport had $11.8 mil spent on generators $8.6 mil worth not operating Hospital in Irbil had incinerator for waste locked and key lost Dumped waste into sewage system contaminating local water system Water purification system at hospital broke Oxygen system not used by staff that didn’t know how it worked Special Forces barracks in Baghdad had 4 generators broken due to no maintenance and supply pipes had been stolen Spec Insp Gen had warned that US was leaving projects for Iraqis that could not be maintained and were waste of money
2008 2nd ISCI and Dawa delegation went to Iran to meet Sadr and Iran Rev Guards Quds Force’s Gen
Suleimani to negotiate ceasefire Iraqis provided evidence Iran supported militias including names of people locations of training camps and cells working with Tehran Iran denied everything Accused Iraqis of selling out to US and ignoring help Iran gave Shiite parties since 2003 Said it was wrong to go after Mahdi Army because they were Iran’s allies Said Mahdi Army needed to counter Sahwa created by US Sadr refused meeting
(Musings On Iraq Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Commander General Suleimani And His Role In Iraq, An Interview With The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins)
(Musings On Iraq article on Iran’s Iraq policy)
2008 Report Iran Rev Guard Quds Force Cmdr Gen Suleimani sent message to Gen Petraeus and Amb
Crocker that Iran not responsible for fighting between Maliki govt and Mahdi Army Iran gave weapons to Mahdi Army during fighting
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 PM Maliki rejected some of them
2008 Turkey’s Foreign Minister said Ankara wanted better relations with KRG
2008 Former Dep Sec Def Wolfowitz said Bush admin never expected an insurgency in Iraq Said
there were enough US troops after invasion but US failed to create enough ISF Admitted Bush admin was clueless about counterinsurgency
2008 Female suicide bomber attacked bus stop in Muqtadiya Another female suicide
            bomber attacked Sahwa in Abu Said both in Diyala
(Musings On Iraq article on female suicide bombers)
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 PM 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
(Musings On Iraq article on Hezbollah presence in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq article on Iran’s Iraq policy)
2010 Sadrists said PM 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
(Musings On Iraq interview with journalist Wladimir Van Wilgenburg on 2011 KRG protests)
2011 Anbar councilman Fallujah police chief and other officials arrested in Anbar Anbar Ops Command
and PM Maliki blamed
2012 Pres Barzani told US he objected to selling F-16s to Baghdad Said didn’t trust PM Maliki with them
2013 PM Maliki and Pres Barzani agreed on 7 point program to repair relations between Baghdad and Irbil
2013 ISIS 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

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008


Woodward, Bob, The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008, New York, London, Toronto, Sydney: Simon & Schuster, 2008

The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008 was the fourth and final book Bob Woodward wrote about President George Bush’s wars. Bush At War covered how the president decided to go to war in Afghanistan and Iraq without a strategy. Plan of Attack covered how the White House didn’t understand the conflict they were entering in with Iraq. State of Denial was about how the Bush administration screwed up the planning and occupation of Iraq. Finally, The War Within was about the decision to change strategy that led to the Surge in 2007. Woodward focused almost exclusively on the major players in Washington D.C. relying upon extensive interviews with them including Bush, although there are references to what was going on in Iraq. The author broke his usual style and actually commented upon events. Woodward thought Bush was never honest with the American public about what was going on in Iraq always talking about winning and victory when everything was falling apart. When it came time to change policy he never set any deadlines and skipped any process. In the end, The War Within argues that Bush failed as a leader.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 28


1922 UK Iraq Commissioner Cox said King Faisal racially weak for disagreeing with him
1929 Tawfiq al-Suwaidi became premier of Iraq Would hold that office 3 times
1941 PM Gaylani and Golden Square officers decided to go to war with UK Asked Axis for military
and financial aid for second time to be used against British
(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Boich World War II In Iraq and Syria)
1941 UK Amb to Iraq told PM Gaylani second contingent of UK troops landing at Basra Gaylani
refused them entry Amb ordered start of evacuation of UK civilians from Iraq
1941 364 UK troops airlifted to Habaniya air base in Anbar
(Musings On Iraq review of Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)
(Musings On Iraq review of Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War)
1947 Mustafa Barzani and 500 supporters returned to Iraq from Iran
1959 Communist paper editorial demanded positions in Qasim govt Turned down
(Musings On Iraq 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)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Western Kentucky’s Prof Romero on the Qasim govt)
1973 Iraq offered to talk with Kuwait over border dispute
1974 Iraq bombed Halabja killing 42 and wounding over 100 during KDP rebellion
(Musings On Iraq review of The Kurds, A Modern History)
(Musings On Iraq review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)
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
(Musings On Iraq review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)
(Musings On Iraq Review The United States And Iraq Since 1990, A Brief History With Documents)
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
(Musings On Iraq article UN Inspectors Were Right Iraq Was Not A Threat)
(Musings On Iraq article Iraq’s Rejection of UN Inspectors Led To Mistrust Over WMD and 2003 Invasion)
2001 Report 9/11 terrorist Mohammed Atta met with Iraqi intel officer in Prague Story false
2002 US military leaked story to press that Iraq invasion could use a force as small as 70,000 Was push
back against Sec Def Rumsfelds small invasion force
(Musings On Iraq article on war in the press over Rumsfeld’s invasion plan)
(Musings On Iraq review Plan of Attack: The Definitive Account Of The Decision To Invade Iraq)
2003 Protest in Fallujah led to shooting US troops killed 17 and wounded more than 70 Start of
insurgency in city
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
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 Garner then left and meeting broke down into arguments
(Musings On Iraq review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy
Tragedy)
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Dysfunctional Democracy)
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
(Musings On Iraq article on Iran’s Iraq policy)
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
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
2004 UK intel assessment said another attack upon Fallujah would make political and security situation
in Iraq worse
(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
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 Defense Oil Electricity and Human Rights Ministers not been named yet
2005 US pressured PM Jaafari to name partial cabinet because filling ministers was taking too long
2005 SCIRI head Abdul Aziz al-Hakim gave speech threatening to purge the security forces of former
regime members
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
2005 MP Mishan al-Jabouri accused Shiites of dividing Iraq and Sunnis were marginalized
2006 New US military campaign plan issued continuing with withdrawal
(Musings On Iraq article on pre-Surge US Iraq strategy)
2007 Report ex-CIA Dir Tenet’s book said WMD not main reason why US invaded Iraq but that Bush
wanted democratic change in Middle East Said Pentagon officials like Wolfowitz and Feith focused on Iraq before 9/11 Said on 9/11 Def Policy Board member Richard Perle said Iraq responsible for attack and had to pay Said State and Pentagon at war with each other over Iraq Said US had no postwar plan for Iraq other than to put Chalabi in power Said White House ignored warnings about insurgency and failing policies in Iraq in 03 Said White House called CIA defeatists
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Future The aftermath of regime change)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Dysfunctional Democracy)
2007 ISI set off bomb in front of Karbala shrine 58 killed 170 wounded
2008 ISCI and Dawa delegation went to Iran to meet Sadr and Iran Rev Guards Quds Force’s Gen
Suleimani to negotiate ceasefire to end Charge of Knights
(Musings On Iraq Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Commander General Suleimani And His Role In Iraq, An Interview With The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins)
2010 Court acquitted former Trade Min Sudani of corruption for lack of evidence after witnesses
disappeared or changed testimony under pressure from State of Law
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
(Musings On Iraq article on history of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq)
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
(Musings On Iraq article on Iran’s Iraq policy)
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 PM Maliki
2012 Sadr issued demands to PM 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
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)
2013 Sheikh Abu Risha turned over 2 people said responsible for killing 5 soldiers at Fallujah protest site
2014 Ibrahim Jaafari said that PM Maliki’s mistakes led to deterioration in security
2014 ISIS 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 Amiri said Hashd would not wait for permission to enter Anbar Were already there
(Musings On Iraq article on the history of Badr Organization)
2015 Sadr criticized Hashd trying to politicize fight against IS to gain power

View the Iraq History Timelines

Monday, April 27, 2020

Resigned PM Abdul Mahdi Doesn’t Accept Units Leaving Hashd Commission


In March 2020 four pro-Najaf brigades announced that they were leaving the Hashd Commission to protest their mistreatment by the Iran aligned groups that controlled it. In April however, retired Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi told the media that he had not accepted their move.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 27


1924 New parliament met for 1st time to ratify Anglo-Iraq Treat write constitution write law for
parliamentary elections Was lots of opposition to treaty Some wanted to amend which UK rejected
1980 Radio Tehran aired fake story that Saddam had been assassinated
1981 Iraqi counterattack stopped Iranian effort to retake Qasr e-Shirin central front
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)
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
(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 review Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)
(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)
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
(Musings On Iraq article on UN weapons inspections)
(Musings On Iraq review The Saddam Tapes)
(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Sec 1.1 UK Iraq Strategy 1990 To 2000)
2003 ORHA head Garner made first radio address to Iraqis calling for return to normalcy
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
(Musings On Iraq review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy Tragedy)
2003 ORHA and Oil Ministry officials met and picked top positions in ministry
(Musings On Iraq Review Iraq and the Politics of Oil, An Insider’s Perspective)
2004 60 Minutes II showed pictures of Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal
2007 Report ex-CIA Dir Tenet’s new book said White House made him scapegoat for Iraq war and bad
intel on Iraq’s WMD Said officials like Cheney Rice and Natl Sec Adv Hadley tried to blame him Said White House never had serious debate about Iraq threat Claimed Cheney and Pentagon officials like Wolfowitz and Feith were pushing for war at end of 2001 Said CIA opposed White House argument on Iraq-Al Qaeda connection
2008 PM Maliki met with VP Hashemi to try to get Accordance Front to end
            cabinet boycott
2008 Baghdad Operations Command said they captured Iraqis trained and armed 
            by Iran to fight ISF
2008 Spec Insp Gen for Recon Report 855 of 47,321 US rebuilding projects ended mostly due to violence
and costs 112 were ended because of poor job y contractors Many projects listed as complete even though weren’t Ex USAD gave $50 mil contract to Bechtel to build children’s hospital in Basra Ended in 2006 due to long delays US said project finished even though only 35% of work done
2009 PM Maliki announced Iraqi forces captured Abu Omar al-Bahgdadi Didn’t happen
(Musings On Iraq article on Iraq’s claim to have arrested Baghdadi)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Naval War College’s Prof Whiteside on ISI leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi)
2009 PM Maliki condemned US raid in Kut that killed 2 civilians calling it a crime
2009 Basra police chief escaped IED laid by either Mahdi Army or Special Groups
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 PM 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 ISIS 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
(Musings On Iraq article on the history of Badr Organization)
2015 IS head Baghdadi called on Syrian fighters to help fight in Salahaddin and Anbar

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Sunday, April 26, 2020

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
(Musings On Iraq review of Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)
(Musings On Iraq review of Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Boich World War II In Iraq and Syria)
1947 Iraq left San Francisco Conference on creating UN to protest creation of Israel
1960 Iraqi Islamic Party founded as branch of Muslim Brotherhood
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
(Musings On Iraq Review The United States And Iraq Since 1990, A Brief History With Documents)
1991 Kurdish refugees began leaving Turkish mountains for refugee camps in Kurdistan Baghdad offered
amnesty to Kurds that fled during uprising
(Musings On Iraq review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq in Wartime, Soldiering, Martyrdom, and Remembrance)
2003 Marines blocked demonstration against Mishan Jabouri declaring himself mayor of Mosul Shots fired
from crowd at Marines They fired back killing 10-15 civilians Led to riot
2003 ORHA held first meeting of the Iraqi Interim Authority made up of Iraqi exiles and opposition
figures
(Musings On Iraq review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy Tragedy)
2003 Report Bush invaded Iraq to try to transform Middle East by creating a democracy and countering
draw of terrorism
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Future The aftermath of regime change)
(Musings On Iraq review Wanting War: Why the Bush Administration Invaded Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Fiasco: The American Military Adventure In Iraq)
2003 White House said evidence Iraq might have destroyed its WMD right before war and that proved war
right
(Musings On Iraq article Iraq, One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)
(Musings On Iraq How The Administration Reversed Itself On Finding Iraq’s WMD)
(Musings On Iraq review Hoodwinked, The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War)
2003 Report no WMD found in sites Sec State 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
(Musings On Iraq interview with former CIA analyst Nada Bakos that tracked Zarqawi)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)
(Musings On Iraq review The Caliphate At War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)
Musings On Iraq review The ISIS Reader, Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement
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 PM Maliki told Sec State Rice and Sec Def Rumsfeld he was going to fight terrorism improve services
clean up police
2006 Barham Salah said PM 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
2008 Report Iran shifted from sending operatives into Iraq to manage militias to training militias in Iran
US said changed tactics after 20 Quds Force operatives were captured by US from Dec 06-Jan 07 Training program in Iran meant to create core of militiamen that could then train others inside Iraq
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 PM Maliki admitted his 100 day deadline to reform ministries was not enough time
2011 State of Law held counter protest in Mosul supporting PM 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 PM Maliki
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)
2013 4 Sunni mosques bombed in Baghdad after noon prayers
2013 Anbar protest leaders called for a popular army to be formed to protect protest 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 PM Abadi and US were preventing it
from fighting there
(Musings On Iraq Instrument Of Iran’s Power In Iraq And Syria Kataib Hezbollah)
2015 Head of Anbar council announced PM Abadi okayed recruiting locals for Hashd
2016 Sadrists protested while parliament voted in 5 new ministers as part of PM Abadi’s technocratic
cabinet
(Musings On Iraq interview with Cambridge’s Michael Clark on Sadr, protests and PM Abadi’s reforms)
2017 Hashd took Hatra Ninewa
2018 Iraq held auctions for 11 oil and gas fields half of which got winning bids

View the Iraq History Timelines

Saturday, April 25, 2020

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)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Princeton’s Sara Pursley on Sykes-Picot and creation of Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review The Creation of Iraq 1914-1921)
(Musings On Iraq review Dictatorship, Imperialism & Chaos, Iraq since 1989)
(Musings On Iraq review An Analysis of Hanna Batatu’s The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Inventing Iraq: The Failure of Nation Building and a History Denied)
(Musings On Iraq review Supremacy And Oil, Iraq, Turkey, and the Anglo-American World Order, 1918-1930)
1929 Iran officially recognized Iraq as a country Hadn’t before due to complaints of
            mistreatment of Persians in Iraq and British Mandate
1941 Iraq-Italian treaty signed to provide financial and military aid to Iraq for war against UK Axis
would get oil concessions and use ports and military bases
(Musings On Iraq review of Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War)
1990 US Central Command report Said Iraq could be a potential problem in Middle East and ordered
increased intel gathering on it
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
(Musings On Iraq review of The Kurds, A Modern History)
(Musings On Iraq review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)
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
(Musings On Iraq review of The Kurds, A Modern History)
1998 Was story that bin Laden sent delegation to Iraq for Saddam’s birthday and
            Uday agreed to train Al Qaeda Report false
2002 Foreign 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
(Musings On Iraq article UN Inspectors Were Right Iraq Was Not A Threat)
(Musings On Iraq article Iraq’s Rejection of UN Inspectors Led To Mistrust Over WMD and 2003 Invasion)
(Musings On Iraq article on how poor US intel work led to claim Iraq rebuilt its nuclear weapons program)
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
(Musings On Iraq article Iraq, One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)
(Musings On Iraq How The Administration Reversed Itself On Finding Iraq’s WMD)
(Musings On Iraq review Hoodwinked, The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War)
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 Sec Def Rumsfeld said US troops in Iraq would have tours extended for 3 months
2004 Marine generals met with Iraqis to discuss creating a Fallujah brigade after 1st
            battle of Fallujah
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
2004 Larry Diamond worked as democracy expert for CPA said US encouraged Iraqis
            to participate in new Iraq but didn’t provide them security
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
(Musings On Iraq article Iraq, One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)
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
(Musings On Iraq interview with Jerry Burke police and Interior Min adviser on how Badr took over Interior Ministry)
2007 Sheikh Abdul Aziz Fahadawi held meeting of his Albu Fahad tribe in Anbar and told them not to
cooperat with ISI anymore
(Musings On Iraq article on Anbar Awakening)
(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 review of Confronting Al Qaeda, The Sunni Awakening and American Strategy In Al Anbar)
(Musings On Iraq review of The Marines Take Anbar, The Four-Year Fight Against Al Qaeda)
(Musings On Iraq review Illusions of Victory, The Anbar Awakening And The Rise Of The Islamic State)
2008 Sadr said he was only opposed to US occupation not Maliki govt
2008 Report Badr and Mahdi Army set up checkpoints and killed each other in Qadisiyah and
Baghdad 30 bodies found
(Musings On Iraq article on the history of Badr Organization)
2008 PM Maliki said all parties supported his crackdown on Sadr and sign of reconciliation
2008 PM 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 protested in Khalis, Diyala Claimed Baathists took 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 PM 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
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq After America, Strongmen, Sectarians, Resistance)
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 of 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 PM Maliki unless
he followed Irbil power sharing agreement
2012 Pres Barzani said that unless PM Maliki shared power would be a revolt by
            other ruling parties Said Maliki was like a dictator
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)
(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)
2013 PM 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 PM 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

View the Iraq History Timelines 

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