This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 18

 

1921 Nuri al-Said returned to Baghdad from Syria Would become 1^st chief of staff of Iraqi army through his

brother in law Defense Min Askari Was fmr Ottoman officer who fought with Faisal against Turks and served him in Syria

1940 PM Said resigned over growing problems with pan-Arabist Golden Square officers Said

wanted Gaylani to become PM and he would become Foreign Minister to maintain pro-UK policies Golden Square objected to Gaylani govt because it would include Said and Gen Hashemi Went to Regent calling for their exclusion from new govt Regent disagreed with Golden Square officers over new govt and made Gen Umari Mosul garrison commander retire as a result

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

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Modern History of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review The Chatham House Version and other Middle-Eastern Studies)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq Between the Two World Wars, The Militarist Origins of Tyranny)

1964 Radio Baghdad said 450 Kurdish prisoners would be released

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

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Kurdish Revolt 1961-1970)

(Musings On Iraq review Journey Among Brave Men, Travels in Kurdistan)

1965 Mullah Mustafa Barzani sent memo to UN claiming Arif govt carrying out scorched

earth campaign against Kurds Got no support

1984 UN negotiated deal for Iran and Iraq to stop attacking civilian areas Didn’t last

1986 Iraqi high command finally accepted Faw main goal of Iranian offensive after falling for Tehran’s

deception and believing it wasn’t

(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 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)

(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 Tariq Aziz went to Moscow and accepted Soviets unconditional withdrawal plan from Kuwait Then

demanded end to all UN sanctions and resolutions

1991 Report 1986-91 US sold $1.5 bil in goods to Iraq Some went to WMD program Dual use

equipment Pentagon stopped Commerce Dept allowed to be sold Fmr US amb to Iraq Wilsey created US-Iraq Business Forum in 1985 Lobbied Congress not to impose sanctions on Iraq after Halabja US intel reported on German companies helping Iraq with WMD Reagan admin kept info quiet to support Iraq in Iran-Iraq War

(Musings On Iraq Origins Of Iraq’s WMD Programs)

1999 Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr assassinated by Saddam

(Musings On Iraq interview with Univ of Haifa’s Prof Amatzia Baram on the legacy of Ayatollah Sadiq al-Sadr)

(Musings On Iraq A Divided Sadr Trend)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq Between Occupations, Perspectives from 1920 to the Present)

(Musings On Iraq review Death of the Mehdi Army, The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Iraq’s Most Powerful Militia)

(Musings On Iraq review Muqtada, Muqtada Al-Sadr, The Shia Revival, And The Struggle For Iraq)

1999 Fmr CIA counterterrorism officer Cannistraro said Iraqis met bin Laden in Dec 98 False story

2002 US Embassy in Niger said new details on Iraq-Niger uranium deal meant a new look into story was

needed Story fake

(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Failed The Iraq-Niger Uranium Story)

(Musings On Iraq Review Hubris, The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, And The Selling Of The Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)

2005 Al Qaeda in Iraq suicide bombers hit Shiite pilgrims in Kadhimiya

(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)

(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)

2007 PM Blair announced plans to cut British troop strength in Iraq from 7000 to 4000

(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)

2007 US forces began campaign to clear Ramadi block by block of insurgents

(Musings On Iraq review Confronting Al Qaeda, The Sunni Awakening and American Strategy In Al Anbar)

(Musings On Iraq review The Marines Take Anbar, The Four-Year Fight Against Al Qaeda)

(Musings On Iraq review The Sheriff of Ramadi, Navy SEALS and the Winning of Anbar)

2007 1^st living standards study since 03 Found 1/3 of Iraqis living below poverty level 40% lacked good

sanitation 50% lacked adequate water supplies Said free market reforms that cut subsides were lowering living standards for middle and working class families Said service projects should take precedent over reforms

2007 Report ISI targeting US helicopters Shot down 7 in 3 weeks Set up ambushes for US troops looking

to rescue crews

2008 Report Kurdish police arrested activists trying to organize people to demand better services in

KRG

2008 United Iraqi Alliance and Islamic Party made deal to end protests in Diyala against provincial

police chief accused of being sectarian and attacking Sunnis

2009 Pres Talabani met with PUK officials like Kosrat Rasul and Barham Salah who wanted

reforms within party or were threatening to leave Talabani promised transparency

(Musings On Iraq Pres Talabani Heads Off Political Revolt Within The PUK)

2009 Report Housing prices and rent up in Baghdad with violence down UN expected 500,000

refugees to return in 09 63% were from Baghdad Hard to find housing Baghdad had new elite that mostly made money through corruption and reconstruction contracts

2009 KRG PM Barzani said PM Maliki had not kept promises to Kurds Said afraid PM would move

            against Kurds after US withdrawal

2009 MP Dani of Iraqi National Dialogue Front said govt had arrested 1 of his bodyguards and his

secretary in Feb Dani accused of mortar attack on Green Zone Bombing of parliament’s cafeteria Apr 07 Robbery Murder of 110 in Diyala

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