Wednesday, February 1, 2023

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 1 Reagan envoy Rumsfeld met Saddam 2nd time to improve US-Iraq relations during Iran-Iraq War

(Al Jazeera)

 

1917 British attacked Hai River salient 2nd time outside Kut Failed again

1922 UK intel report said cabinet told Def Min to count time in Arab Revolt in WWI double for

pensions vs officers that joined afterward to privilege ex-Ottoman officers that originally joined King Faisal like Jaafar al-Askari and Nuri al-Said

(Musings On Iraq review A History of Iraq)

1928 UK sent note to Iraqi govt saying opposed conscription and if govt ran into problems over it

UK wouldn’t help

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

1941 PM Gaylani resigned because of conflict over him reaching out to Axis that split govt

and angered British Was afraid of civil war between his supporters the pan-Arab Golden Square officers and officers loyal to monarchy

1958 Egypt and Syria created United Arab Republic PM Said afraid pan-Arabists would overthrow

his govt so Iraq could join UAR Syria suggested union with Egypt out of fear that Iraq was trying to forge coup or overthrow govt and take over country

(Musings On Iraq review Ropes Of Sand that includes Iraq plots against Syria)

(Musings On Iraq review Killing Hope, U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II)

1981 Iraq received 1st of 4 shipments of Mirage jets from France despite Paris claiming neutrality in

Iran-Iraq War

(Musings On Iraq review Iraqi Mirages, The Dassault Mirage Family In Service With The Iraqi Air Force, 1981-1988)

1984 Iraq said it was going to hit 11 Iranian cities near border in retaliation for Iranian shelling of

border cities Iran threatened more artillery attacks

1984 US Middle East envoy Rumsfeld had second meeting with Saddam to improve US-Iraq ties

(Musings On Iraq review The Saddam Tapes)

1985 Iranian counterattack pushed Iraqi forces out of mountains overlooking Sumer around Qasr e-

Shirin central Iran across from Diyala

(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)

1987 Iran Op Karbala 5 broke through Iraq’s Jassim Canal defenses 7 miles away from Basra city

(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)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 1: The Battle for Khuzestan, September 1980-May 1982)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 3: Iraq’s Triumph)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)

1998 UN Secretary Gen Annan sent report to Security Council recommending doubling the Oil for Food

program Said humanitarian mission should be separate from Iraq’s non-cooperation with weapons inspectors

1999 NY Post claimed Saddam was making contacts with bin Laden and Abu Nidal to strike US

False story

2001 2nd Bush NSC meeting again dealt with Iraq State Dept said US policy should be to stop

Iraq from threatening Middle East Sec State Powell talked again about smart sanctions Sec Def Rumsfeld said removing Saddam and putting in pro-US govt could change Middle East and show world what US policy about Pentagon talked about rebuilding Gulf War coalition against Iraq CIA Dir Tenet talked about coup vs Saddam End of meeting Rumsfeld said US objective was not getting rid of Saddam but his WMD

(Musings On Iraq Indecision Over Iraq Policy In Pre-9/11 Bush Administration)

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Section 1.2 UK Iraq strategy September 2000 To September 2001)

(Musings On Iraq review The Price of Loyalty)

2002 Gen Franks briefed Def Sec Rumsfeld on war plans with start time April 2002 with 300,000

troops with 60 day deployment Rumsfeld wanted 30 day deployment and less troops

(Musings On Iraq review Shaping the Plan for Operation Iraqi Freedom, The Role of Military Intelligence Assessment)

(Musings On Iraq review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy

Tragedy)

2002 Turkey wrote Saddam Asked him to allow UN weapons inspectors back into Iraq to stop US invasion

Saddam rejected idea

2003 US Army War College study said ehtnosectarian differences could lead to civil war or fractured

state after fall of Saddam Said longer US presence in Iraq the more resistance it would face Said ethnosectarian parties would probably emerge in Iraq and increase divisions Warned that there would be terrorism providing services would be difficult oil could not pay for reconstruction Suggested 135 tasks US had to take care of to ensure stability of postwar Iraq Said US would have to occupy Iraq for a long time and building democracy a huge challenge Warned US could win the Iraq war and lose the peace

(Musings On Iraq review Overreach, Delusions of Regime Change In Iraq)

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

(Musings On Iraq review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign

Policy Tragedy)

(Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction’s “Hard Lessons” – Part I: Planning for Postwar Iraq September 2001 to May 2003)

(Musings On Iraq Overview of America’s Policy Towards Iraq: From The Clinton Years To The

Sectarian War of 2006)

2003 Chief UN inspector Blix refused US claims that Iraq was sending WMD and scientists outside

country to hide them

(Musings On Iraq UN Inspectors Were Right Iraq Was Not A Threat)

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Rejection of UN Inspectors Led To Mistrust Over WMD and 2003 Invasion)

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

2003 Sec State Powell went to CIA HQ to go over Iraq-Al Qaeda intel for UN speech Decided to focus

upon Zarqawi

(Musings On Iraq review Insurgent Iraq, Al Zarqawi and the New Generation)

2003 Cheney Chief of Staff Libby and DepNatSecADv Hadley wanted Sec State Powell to use 9/11

hijacker Atta meeting with Iraqi intel in 2001 Powell said no Story false

2003 US-Turkey worked out rules of engagement for proposed Turkish security zone in Kurdistan during

invasion

2004 US Iraq cmdr Gen Sanchez complained to Dep Def Sec Wolfowitz about no military strategy in Iraq

Wolfowitz said goal was to win war Writing strategy waste of time

(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)

(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)

2004 2 suicide bombers hit KDP and PUK offices in Irbil killed 117 injured 133

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

2005 Report US analysts believed Jan 05 elections could erode support for insurgency

(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)

(Musings On Iraq review The Endgame, The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from

George W. Bush to Barack Obama)

(Musings On Iraq review The U.S. Army In The Iraq War: Volume 1, Invasion, Insurgency, Civil

War, 2003-2006)

2006 Saddam refused to appear in court claiming new judge was biased against him

2007 Report Shiite officials were trying to blame Soldiers of Heaven uprising in Najaf on Sunnis

Claimed that its leader was a Sunni Wahabi from Basra Some claimed he was backed by ISI even though group was Shiite Soldiers of Heaven wanted to kill Shiite clergy in Najaf claiming it would lead to return of missing Mahdi

2007 Report Mahdi Army leaders going to Iran and Syria to avoid Surge Militiamen told to lie low to

avoid confrontations with US forces

2007 Experts said Foreign Affairs and Water Mins were stable and well run Oil and Finance Mins had

been purged and suffered from political infighting Some ministries run by parties that used them to further their political and sectarian goals more than govern like Health Min run by Sadrists

2008 Female suicide bomber hit pet market in Baghdad 45 killed 82 wounded Followed by another

woman bomber hitting another market 27 dead 67 wounded

(Musings On Iraq The Rise of Female Suicide Bombers0

(Musings On Iraq Motivations Behind Female Suicide Bombers)

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

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

2010 Ninewa Gov Nujafi visited Wana Was met by Kurdish protest Nujafi’s convoy shot at Mayor of Qosh

who visited Nujafi harassed by Asayesh Nujafi’s bodyguards arrested people charging them with shooting at convoy Kurds responded by taking hostages Gen Odierno sent Emma Sky to negotiate end to confrontation

2010 Accountability and Justice Comm banned another 57 candidates on top of 511 already due to

Baathist ties Part of push by Shiite parties to make Baathists main issue of 2010 vote

(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)

2010 Report Oil companies in KRG held meeting Jan 2010 Biggest question was how would they be

paid Several companies invested billions and not got paid KRG made deal with Baghdad for it to export oil in return for Baghdad paying oil companies

2010 Transportation Min said it would lay cornerstone of Faw project in a few weeks Wasn’t laid

until Apr 2011 Never finished Project restarted 2022

2011 Report Planning Min said it would create 4 mil jobs in 4 yrs Said was to fight poverty Was really for

patronage for ruling parties

2012 Report Syrian and Iranian money flowing into Iraq because sanctions meant couldn’t conduct normal

trade to get foreign currency esp $s Central Bank of Iraq $ auctions went from avg $150 mil to $400 mil/day in Dec 2011 Much of that due to currency traders from Syria and Iran

2013 Maliki govt said it would create 100,000 new jobs in 2013 budget Supposed to employ mostly college

grads Dep PM Mutlaq said around 500,000 unemployed university grads Jobs would be used for patronage by ruling parties

2015 Report Aug 07 Gen Petraeus wrote report to Def Sec Gates that he was considering declaring

war on Iran Said Iran was attacking US forces with militias Joint Special Forces Comm had one unit to go after Iranian proxies Arrested member of Quds Force July 07 2/3 of US casualties were by militias 08 US could’ve killed Quds Force cmdr Gen Suleimani in Syria but didn’t out of fear or retaliatory attacks

2017 KRG set up electronic payment system for govt workers Uncovered widespread fraud Were

people getting up to 5 wages KRG said 1.4 mil govt workers Only around 740,000 actually worked Rest ghost workers or those that get more than 1 salary Took around 70% of KRG budget

2017 Report Production at Taq Taq oil field down 75% in 2 yrs Sign of problems with KRG oil

industry Taq Taq used to be #1 producer in KRG Now down to #3 Companies cut back investment in KRG because not paid Feb 2016 Natural Resource Min said companies would get monthly payments Didn’t happen Jan 2017 Genel Energy said it was owed $57 mil for 2016 production

2020 Former Communications Minister Mohammed Allawi was named interim premier

2020 Protest movement across Iraq rejected Allawi’s appointment as interim PM

(Musings On Iraq Conflicts Between Protesters And Sadrists Over Their Return And New Interim Premier)

2020 Sadrists attacked protesters in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square who were against nomination of Allawi as

new premier Then took over Turkish Restaurant

(Musings On Iraq Sadr Tries To Impose His Will On Iraq’s Protests)

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