Tuesday, February 27, 2024

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 27 Iran’s 1st major victory on Iraqi territory during Iran-Iraq War Seized Majnoon Island in south


 

1923 UK High Comm Cox wrote London that Faisal complained Anglo-Iraq treaty was only

new phase of mandate instead of ending it

 

1937 New parliament took office Only 1/3 of MPs returned to office 2/3 had never been in

parliament before 30 MPs were Gen Sidqi supporters Only 13 MPs were reformers leading to anger by al-Ahali group Senate appointed and the same as last govt

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Democratic Moment)

1937 King Ghazi gave speech to new parliament promising reforms

1964 Cabinet passed resolution giving Oil Ministry right to enter into talks with oil

companies

1982 US removed Iraq from list of terrorist countries in step towards restoring relations

(Musings On Iraq review The Saddam Tapes)

(Musings On Iraq Review The Twilight War, The Secret History Of America’s Thirty-Year Conflict With Iran)

1984 Iran captured Majnoon Islands Basra Iraqi counterattack began Iran built pontoon

bridges from Iran to Majnoon to supply 2 divisions defending area Was turning point in war

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

1984 Iraq bombed Iran’s main oil terminal Kharg Island Said it would continue to attack oil

industry until Iran agreed to end war Warned shipping companies northern Persian Gulf war zone

1984 Iraq claimed it used leased French Super Etendard jets for 1st time attacking two Iranian

tankers Was propaganda and no attacks took place

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

1988 Iraq fired missiles on Saqqez Iran killing 26 Also bombed Tehran refinery Iran bombed Baghdad in

retaliation

(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 Battle of Medina, Basra US 1st Armored Div and 3rd Inf Div defeated Iraq’s Medina and Adnan Divs in

largest tank battle of Gulf War

(Musings On Iraq review M1 Abrams vs T-72 Ural, Operation Desert Storm 1991)

1991 Battle of Kuwait Airport US 1st Mar Div took airport

1991 Pres Bush declared Kuwait liberated

1991 Iraq’s Amb to UN Al-Anbari said Iraq would comply with all UN Resolutions and all Iraqi forces out of

Kuwait

1991 Voice of Free Iraq radio station aired broadcast calling on Iraqis to rise up against Saddam Was

            financed by US and Saudis

(Musings On Iraq When The US Helped Start A Rebellion In Iraq That It Didn’t Want)

(Musings On Iraq review The United States And Iraq Since 1990: A Brief History with Documents)

(Musings On Iraq review Out Of The Ashes, The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein)

1991 Joint Chiefs head Gen Powell said he was ready to recommend end of Gulf War in 24

hrs Bush said should end it now

1991 Bush offered ceasefire in Gulf War Iraq accepted it

(Musings On Iraq review Crusade, The Untold Story Of The Persian Gulf War)

1995 Car bomb in Zakho killed 76 PUK blamed Baghdad KDP blamed PUK

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

1996 Iraq provided new declaration on missile program with more info to UN inspectors

(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)

2001 Sec State Powell got Arab states to agree to new smart sanctions on Iraq

2001 DepDefSec Wolfowitz told Senate US reviewing Iraq policy and how to work with

groups like INC

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

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

2002 UK Def Min said govt had to consider military action against Iraq

2003 DepSecDef Wolfowtiz told House Comm admin had no estimates of costs of

reconstructing Iraq and wouldn’t know until it got there Said calls for more troops to handle postwar Iraq were “outlandish” Said crazy to think postwar Iraq would take more troops than invasion Said Iraqis would greet US as liberators and that meant didn’t need more troops Said there would be large numbers of Free Iraqi Forces to restore order Said Iraq had no history of ethnic violence like in Bosnia that required long term peace keepers

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

Policy Tragedy)

(Musings On Iraq review Fiasco: The American Military Adventure In Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Hard Lessons, The Iraq Reconstruction Experience)

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

The Sectarian War of 2006)

2003 ORHA head Garner learned he only had $27 mil to run postwar Iraq

(Musings On Iraq on Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Chapter 3 The Department of Defense Takes Charge)

2003 UK Attorney General Goldsmith changed his position that UN Resolution 1441

alone could be legal basis for action against Iraq Said UK could refer to UN Res 678 that authorized Gulf War as justification for new war

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

2003 UK oil firms met with govt officials saying they thought US firms were getting deals for

postwar Iraq over them

2003 State Dept paper said multiple sources claimed Iraq had mobile WMD labs Didn’t exist

(Musings On Iraq How Iraqi Defector CURVEBALL Became Basis For US Claims That Iraq Had WMD)

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

2003 State Dept analysis said creating democracy in Iraq would be difficult and likely

undermined by internal and external issues

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

The Sectarian War of 2006)

2003 CIA told Sen Levine that it didn’t believe Iraq-Niger uranium deal made but Iraq might

have been interested in one in 1999 Niger deal 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)

2003 Saddam agreed to destroy Samoud 2 missiles found to violate range limitations by UN

inspectors US and UK said Iraq playing games

(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)

2004 Deadline to finish Iraq’s interim constitution Transitional Administrative Law missed

(Musings On Iraq The Coalition Provisional Authority’s Inauspicious End)

2004 Fmr chief UN inspector Blix told Guardian he thought US spied on him

2006 Amb Khalilzad announced new draft oil law as a major accomplishment Was never

passed

2007 Bombing at Municipalities Ministry aimed at VP Mahdi 7 killed including Dep

Municipalities Min Anbari and 31 wounded Mahdi blamed Sadrists

2007 Mahdi Army began attack on UK bases in Basra

2007 Report US carrying out talks with factions of Mahdi Army Military and intelligence

sources said claims of rogue elements of Mahdi Army were not true and just used to excuse it actions

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

2007 Report Mahdi Army men turning up dead in north and east Baghdad Allegedly killed

by special teams sent from Najaf to eliminate criminals and disloyal militiamen

2007 US National Intel Dir McConnell told Senate Iraq in civil war Security/political trends

in Iraq going in negative direction and would be nearly impossible for Iraqi leaders to change things Said Samarra bombing had increased polarization Said Iran training Iraqi militias in Iran and Lebanon

2007 DIA Dir Gen Maples told Senate avg 180 attacks per day Jan 07 Same as previous high

in Oct 06 US officials claimed immediate decrease in violence when Surge started in Jan

(Musings On Iraq review Surge, My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq Inside The Surge An Interview With Prof Peter Mansoor Former Executive Officer To Gen Petraeus)

(Musings On Iraq Reassessing The US Surge, And Recognizing Iraqi Agency In Ending The 2005-2008 Civil War In Iraq An Interview With New America Foundation’s Douglas Ollivant)

2007 US announced it would meet with Iran and Syria to talk about Iraq

2007 Draft oil bill passed by cabinet Never approved by parliament

2008 Iraq’s intel chief accused Iran of sabotaging Sahwa

2008 Amnesty Law passed Was supposed to speed up release of prisoners Released many people accused of

corruption

2009 Pres Obama announced withdrawal plan for US forces from Iraq by 2011 Obama would

not be keeping stay behind force as original planned and would not ask Iraqis about issue

(Musings On Iraq on Obama’s withdrawal announcement and US public opinion)

(Musings On Iraq review The United States And Iraq Since 1990: A Brief History with Documents)

2009 Incoming Ninewa Gov Nujafi said he would work with Kurds if they stuck to Ninewa

issues If not he would not cooperate Dep Ninewa Gov Goran said Nujafi’s Al-Hadbaa party wanted to get rid of Kurds in Mosul

(Musings On Iraq Al-Hadbaa Party Leader’s Vision For Ninewa)

2009 Displacement Minister Sultan said ministry ran out of money to pay refugees who returned

to Iraq Said govt had not helped refugees overall Said ministry lacked plans and resources to help refugees back to their original homes

(Musings On Iraq review Children of War, Voices Of Iraqi Refugees)

(Musings On Iraq Refugees International Report On Iraq’s Refugees and Displaced)

(Musings On Iraq January 2009 U.N. Report On Iraq Refugee Returns)

2010 Report Saudis backed Allawi in elections to oppose Shiite parties Allawi met with King

Abdullah and head of Saudi intel Syria upset with PM Maliki after accused it of being behind Aug 09 Baghdad bombings Also supported Allawi

2010 Report Saudis and Jordan backing Allawi in 2010 election and funding his party

(Musings On Iraq Turkey, Saudi Arabia, And Iran’s Role In Putting Together A New Iraqi Government)

2011 PM Maliki set 100 day deadline to reform government in response to national protests

Didn’t do anything

(Musings On Iraq Prime Minister Maliki’s 100-Day Deadline For Iraq’s Ministries, Not What It Seems To Be)

(Musings On Iraq Maliki’s 100-Day Deadline To Improve Iraq’s Government Leads To Nothing)

2011 After Imam gave speech at Sulaymaniya protest was arrested and beat by peshmerga

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

(Musings On Iraq How Iraq’s Kurdistan Broke Up Two Months Of Protests)

2011 Babil Gov Zarkani resigned after protests and pressure from PM Maliki

2011 Report PUK and KDP said political parties tried to exploit Feb 25 Day of Rage protests Said govt

buildings were attacked in Kirkuk Hawija and other areas Claimed they were Baathists and terrorists in crowd Said it was part of a coup to overthrow the KRG Blamed Arab politicians in Kirkuk

2011 Finance Min Issawi said he made deal with PM Maliki to stop arrests of protesters Didn’t stop

2012 Diyala governor forced to resign after supported autonomy for province

2012 Head of Election Commission said that it got forms to register voters for referendum on

Salahaddin autonomy

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)

2013 Wissam al-Hardan elected new head of Awakening Was move against Ahmed Abu Risha who

supported Anbar protests Hardan aligned with PM Maliki

2013 Sec Gen of Kataib Hezbollah announced Mukhtar Army in Feb Said it would help govt fight militants

Said it fired rockets at Mujahadeen e-Khalq camp Said he was allied with Hezbollah and Iran Said he followed Ayatollah Khamenei Claimed responsibility for 1200 attacks on US before it withdrew in 2011

2013 Report KRG PM Barzani criticized PM Maliki’s threats against energy companies in region Said

Baghdad should be working with companies not threatening them Baghdad said KRG didn’t have right to sign independent oil deals or export oil KRG said is right under constitution Jan Oil Min Luaibi said Exxon had to choose between working with Baghdad or KRG Adv to Dep PM said if KRG signed its own deals and exported oil what would stop Basra from doing the same Said undermined central planning Also meant Baghdad would not get revenues because each province and region would keep profits Said that was unconstitutional Adv demanded KRG have all its contracts approved by Oil Min first Dispute over oil held up 2013 budget Dec 2012 KRG stopped exporting oil for Baghdad Then started trucking oil to Turkey so could keep money KRG Natural Resource Min Hawrami said wanted to reach 500,000 bar/day in exports by end of 2013 and 1 mil/bar/day by 2014 Didn’t happen

(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)

2013 PM Maliki said if rebels won in Syria would be civil war in Lebanon Conflict in Jordan Sectarian

fighting in Iraq

2014 Report 3 rounds of talks between KRG and Baghdad over oil exports and budget 2014 draft

budget said KRG to export 400,000 bar/day of oil for Baghdad Maliki govt wanted control over KRG’s independent pipeline KRG had 700,000 govt workers Govt main employer Not been paid for 50 days due to dispute with Baghdad Led to protests in KRG Businessman gave loan to KRG to cover salaries KRG PM Barzani asked Turkey for loans Economist blamed poor planning by KRG for problems KRG didn’t save much money to deal with crises

2014 Report Head of Baghdad council said 700 unfinished projects in province Blamed corrupt officials

Also unfit contractors that weren’t supervised Some companies delayed work to demand more money

2015 Report Tanker with KRG oil that was turned away from US docked in Israel Sold oil there

2016 Sadr led demonstrations in Baghdad calling for ending corruption and reforming govt

(Musings On Iraq interview with Cambridge’s Michael Clark on Sadr, protests and PM Abadi’s reforms)

2019 Report Almost 20,000 doctors left Iraq due to low wages and threats

2020 Report Hashd had meeting before demonstration at US Embassy in Green Zone

happened at farm owned by Imam Ali Brigades 2 Iranians were present Included Abu Muhandis Badr’s Amiri Nat Sec Adv Fayad Khazali from Asaib Ahl Al-Haq Kataib Hezbollah Told Fayad to tell US Embassy there would be a protest but wouldn’t storm building Amiri told UK and EU ambassadors wouldn’t be protests at their embassies Told head of Green Zone security not to stop protesters Head of Babylon Brigades and Imam Ali Shibl al-Zaidi Brigades were to provide logistics

2021 Resistance factions of pro-Iran Hashd threatened to retaliate against US for strike against

Kataib Hezbollah camp Gave ultimatum to PM Kazemi to take action against US

2021 Head of Harakat Al-Nujaba’s political council threatened Foreign Min Hussein Said he didn’t

understand politics or the Resistance and didn’t want to be part of Iraq because he was a Kurd Was response to Hussein saying there was no resistance in Iraq

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

2021 Report PM Kazemi said appointing Nat Sec Adv Asadi governor of Dhi Qar would bring

about major changes Said would investigate protests and attacks on demonstrators Activists said since Crisis Cell Kazemi created in Dec 2020 were 35 bombings and assassinations in province

2022 Report Ericsson paid bribes to IS in Iraq 2011-19 created slush fund Took Def Min officials on

foreign trips Member of Barzani family paid $1.2 mil by company

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