Monday, April 10, 2023

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 11 Sec Def Rumsfeld said “Stuff happens” to try to explain looting after US invasion of Iraq


 

1915 Ottomans and tribesmen began probing attack upon British outpost in Shaiba, Basra to try to

expel UK forces from vilayet

1917 Turkish XIII Corps from Persia made 2nd attack in attempt to reach XVIII Corps in

Samarra in Battle of Shiala Were stopped British counterattacked Forced Turks to retreat

1941 UK Amb to Iraq wrote PM Gaylani’s will needed to be tested by announcing UK troops would

be arriving in Iraq soon and traveling through country

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

(Musings On Iraq review 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)

1950 Iraq Development Board created Would use increased oil revenue on large development

projects that mostly helped landed elite

(Musings On Iraq review The Industrialization of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Under General Nuri, My Recollections of Nuri al-Said, 1954-1958)

(Musings On Iraq review The Making of Iraq 1900-1963, Capital, Power and Ideology)

(Musings On Iraq Is Iraq’s Prime Minister Maliki More Like Premier Nuri al-Sa’id Than Saddam? An Interview With Historian Phebe Marr)

1959 Egyptian press claimed Qasim made secret deal with USSR to protect his regime

(Musings On Iraq Revolutionary Times, Gen. Qasim And Iraq’s 1958 Coup, Interview With Western Kentucky’s Prof. Juan Romero)

1974 Govt executed 11 KDP members in Irbil during Kurdish rebellion

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

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

1983 Iraq counterattacked Iranian Op Wa al-Fajr 1 in central front retaking half of lost territory

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

1987 Iraq counterattack vs Iran’s Op Karbala 8 in Basra pushed Iranians back to starting point Iraq

had 2,000 casualties Iran 6,500 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)

(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)

1991 Cease fire between Iraq and Coalition went into effect

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

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

2001 1st US Energy Dept report said aluminum tubes Iraq tried to buy were wrong size for centrifuges

Not like centrifuges Iraq used before Could be for rockets They were

(Musings On Iraq How A Contested Aluminum Tubes Story Became The Basis For War With Iraq)

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

2002 Gen Franks talked with Sec Def Rumsfeld about war preparations that could start now without

gaining much notice

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

Tragedy)

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

2003 Saddam fled Baghdad for Ramadi Qusay and Uday tried to escape to Syria but turned back at border Went to Mosul

2003 British forces entered Amarah, Maysan during invasion Looting started

2003 UK Def Min Hoon told parliament British troops would soon be able to withdraw from Iraq

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Inquiry Section 9.1 March to 22 May 2003)

(Musings On Iraq review Burning Horizon, British Veteran Accounts Of The Iraq War 2003)

2003 US ground forces Cmdr Gen McKiernan ordered increased patrols around important buildings in

Baghdad to try to reduce looting Same time US forces withdrew from bridges leading to looting to spread to west side of Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq review Losing Iraq, Inside The Post War Reconstruction Fiasco)

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

(Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Ch 5 ORHA In Baghdad)

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

Sectarian War of 2006)

2003 “Stuff happens” Sec Def Rumsfeld said freedom was untidy in response to looting in Iraq

2003 Sec Def Rumsfeld criticized press for focusing on looting in Iraq and missing all the positive

stories happening

2003 Sec Def Rumsfeld said US would help Iraq rebuild but ultimately it would be up to Iraqis to run

and rebuild their country

2003 Suicide bomber attacked Marine checkpoint wounding 4 in Baghdad 2 US soldiers killed and

several dozen wounded in firefights in different parts of Iraq

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

2003 Iraqi V Corps surrendered in north Iraq

2003 Armed men reported hunting down Baathists in Basra to kill them

2003 US took over control of security in Kirkuk and Peshmerga began withdrawing Turkey sent

military observes to watch process Looting reported in Kurdish sections of Kirkuk

(Musings On Iraq How Did Kirkuk Become Such A Divisive Issue? A Portrait of The City In

2003)

2003 With backing of US Special Forces notables picked Abdul Munim Abud as Najaf city mayor and police chief Worked with US but was fmr Baathist

2003 Turkey’s Foreign Min Gul said situation in Kirkuk stable and Turkey wouldn’t intervene

Sent Special Forces to assassinate Kirkuk mayor

2003 Talabani said Peshmerga would start withdrawing from Kirkuk because of Turkish complaints

(Musings On Iraq interview with Petit of 173rd Airborne Bgd on operations in Kirkuk)

2003 Sadr gave his 1st Friday sermon in Kufa following US invasion Called for pilgrimage to Karbala

for Arbaeen Was banned under Saddam

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

2003 US tried to kill Saddam’s half brother in air attack in Anbar Killed Sheikh Harbit and 21 family

members Turned Dualim tribe against US

2003 US delivered $20 mil in cash to Iraq from frozen Iraqi assets to help pay for bills and

reconstruction

(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Savage on US reconstruction effort in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Reconstructing Iraq’s Budgetary Institutions)

2003 US military called on to repair power grid in Baghdad that went down on Apr 9 when city fell

(Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General For Iraq Reconstruction’s Hard Lessons Chapter

14 Rebuilding the Electricity Sector)

2003 Iraqi physicist Jaffar interviewed by CIA in UAE said Iraq had no WMD and no nuke program

2003 Russia said it would forgive debts to Iraq worth $8-$12 bil

2004 Ceasefire announced in Fallujah after 2 members of Iraqi Governing Council resigned in protest

over battle

(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)

(Musings On Iraq review No True Glory, A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah)

2004 Iraqi 202nd Bn collapsed under insurgent attacks in Fallujah 710 of 750 soldiers quit

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

2004 US forces retook Samarra from insurgents

2004 UK cmdr Gen Stewart wrote US Gen Metz Said understood anger over UK not closing Sadr

offices and attacking Mahdi Army Said talks better Would further goal of giving Iraqis political control Military ops without intel and preparation vs Sadr would be counter productive

2004 Mahdi Army and Sunnis from Baghdad tried to deliver supplies to Fallujah Were turned back by

marines

2005 Tens of thousands of Sadrists marched in Baghdad against US occupation

2008 Sadr aide in Najaf killed Sadr blamed US and PM Maliki Was heading Sadrist negotiations with

Baghdad to end conflict Might have been killed by other Sadrists

(Musings On Iraq Sadrist Cleric Assassinated In Basra)

2008 US helicopters attacked Mahdi Army in Basra and Sadr City

2008 US forces raided Sadr offices in Kut

2008 ISF moved on other Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad besides Sadr City in

            fight against Mahdi Army

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

2008 Gen Petraeus said Sadr had a legitimate political movement that govt needed

            to deal with

2008 Amb Crocker told Congress Iran was trying Lebanonize Iraq by backing militias

(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)

2009 National Security Min Waili said Iraq Turkey US had new intelligence sharing agreement

targeting PKK

2009 Fahadawi elected governor of Anbar Backed by Iraq Awakening Alliance Fulfilled Sheikh

Abu Risha’s desire to control province

2010 State of Law called for recount in 5 provinces claiming voter fraud after national elections PM

Maliki believed US and Saudis responsible

(Musings On Iraq Maliki Tries To Cling To Power In Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq The Conspiratorial Mind of Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki)

(Musings On Iraq review The Unraveling, High Hopes And Missed Opportunity In Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, The Saudi Struggle For Iraq)

2010 Sadr called PM Maliki a liar and blamed him for arresting Sadrists

(Musings On Iraq Maliki Tries To Woo Sadrists)

2010 ISF withdrew from Salahaddin provincial council building after occupying it for 2 months on

orders from PM Maliki to block federalism move

2011 PM Maliki said ISF ready to take over full security duties after US military withdrawal at end of

year

2011 Govt spokesman Dabbagh said US military had to leave Iraq at end of year or would cause

internal problems

2011 Another power sharing deal announced between PM Maliki Allawi and Kurds to try to get

security ministers named

2011 Sulaymaniya protesters issued roadmap for negotiations with KRG including early elections and

interim govt

2011 Peshmerga Min survived no confidence vote in KRG parliament over treatment of protesters

2011 Opposition parties boycotted KRG parliament over protests in Kurdistan

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

2011 KRG PM Salah said Baghdad should pay oil companies operating in KRG Said KRG had filed

bills Oil Min refused to recognized KRG contracts KRG wanted independent contracts but Baghdad to pay its bills

(Musings On Iraq Baghdad And Kurdistan No Closer To Resolving Oil Dispute)

2011 Report Ahmed Chalabi tried to advise different protest movements in Middle East Included

Bahrain Egypt Yemen

2012 Kurds attended Ninewa council for 1st time since boycotting in 2009 when Hadbaa won power

Hadbaa boycotted in response

(Musings On Iraq Kurds End Their Boycott Of Iraq’s Ninewa Provincial Council, But Divisions Within Province Likely To Continue)

2012 Court denied ex-VP Hashemi’s charge that 2 of his bodyguards were tortured to death by ISF

2012 Ninewa Gov Nujafi said he wanted to work with KRG to resolve issues over developing oil in

province Part of move by Nujafi towards KRG which he previously opposed

(Musings On Iraq Exxon Deal With Iraq’s Kurds Gains Powerful New Ally, Ninewa’s Governor, But Will It Backfire On Him?)

2012 Order issued to integrate KDP and PUK Interior Ministries within 45 days Didn’t happen

2012 Kurdish intel beat 2 reporters covering meeting at a military facility in Dohuk

2013 Al Qaeda’s Zawahiri wrote ISIS leader Baghdadi about claim that Jabhat al-Nusra no longer

existed and was part of ISIS Baghdadi didn’t reply

2013 Report Turkey’s PM Erdogan wanted better relations with KRG and to integrate Kurdistan into

Turkish economy Turkey supplied KRG with 70% of its imports worth $11 bil/yr Turkey was helping KRG build independent oil pipeline opposed by US and Baghdad

2013 Interview with Hawija protest leader Was member of Naqshibandi Said govt part of US

occupation Said fighting govt was last step in expelling US Naqshibandi leader Duri called on protests in Jan 2013 to push for their demands until PM Maliki’s govt fell Were ISIS members amongst some of the protests

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Resurgent Insurgency Interview With Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi)

(Musings On Iraq Understanding Iraq’s Protest Movements, An Interview With Kirk Sowell, Editor of Inside Iraqi Politics)

2014 ISIS conducted raid into Abu Ghraib district west Baghdad Killed 11 soldiers

2014 Gunmen suspected to be from Asaib Ahl Al-Haq shot up homes and burned a mosque in Bodaja,

Diyala

(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)

2014 Diyala governor warned that militias were operating in province and increasing tensions and

violence

2014 Fighting broke out in Kirkuk between PUK and KDP supporters leaving 17 wounded before

KRG elections

2014 Fmr Higher Education Min Ugayli arrested for wasting public money and legal abuses

2015 Badr’s Amiri said 100s of Badr fighters in Baghdadi and Haditha Would later claim

were none in Anbar because of Abadi and US Kataib Hezbollah said it was fighting in Shjariya Earlier said would not fight in Anbar because of US

(Musings On Iraq Badr Organization A View Into Iraq’s Violent Past And Present)

(Musings On Iraq Instrument Of Iran’s Power In Iraq And Syria Kataib Hezbollah)

2015 US Amb Jones met with Anbar tribal leaders and officials Said he didn’t like Hashd being

deployed in Anbar offensive US demanded that they withdraw from Ramadi area before it would conduct air strikes

2015 Report IS lost many of the oil fields it controlled in Iraq Oil prices also dropped Nov 2014 UN

est IS making up to $1.6 mil/day from oil Was selling oil in Turkey IS looking into other financing like smuggling cigarettes Selling artifacts

2015 Report ISF and Hashd withdrew from Shjariya and retreated back to Habaniya base in Anbar

Supposed to allow for more air strikes

2017 Report Federal Police and Rapid Reaction Div doing more fighting in Mosul Whenever ran

into resistance would shell area Leading to more damage to city

(Musings On Iraq Mosul Campaign Day 177, Apr 11, 2017)

2017 Hashd spokesman accused US and Turkey of pressing PM Abadi to stop liberation of Tal Afar

from IS Claimed US helping IS leaders escape area Part of pro-Iran Hashd info campaign vs US

2018 Report Delays in maintenance and infrastructure slowing oil exports in Basra Some pipes couldn’t handle pressure and were leaking in Basra Gulf Increase in exports strained infrastructure Led to decline in exports

2018 Kataib Hezbollah al-Nujaba spokesman said if US hit Iranians in Syria it would hit US forces in Iraq and Syria

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Sheikh Akram Al-Kaabi and Hezbollah al-Nujaba)

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