This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 17 PM Gaylani asked Nazis for military aid in case of war with UK

 

1916 Battle of Bait Isa Turkish counterattack stopped British advance British suffered

1,600 casualties Ottomans 4-5,000 3^rd defeat in British effort to relieve siege at Kut

 

1921 UK High Commissioner in Iraq Sir Cox exiled Sayid Talib al-Naqib to Ceylon because he

threatened revolt against UK if Faisal made king of Iraq Talib wanted to be king

1941 PM Gaylani asked Germany for military aid in case of war with British

(Musings On Iraq interview World War II In Iraq and Syria Interview With Case Western’s Prof Broich)

1941 British naval convoy moved towards Shatt al-Arab waterway in Basra prepared to drop off

troops to test PM Gaylani govt

1941 British battalion from India started arriving at Shaiba air base in Basra for confrontation with PM

Gaylani

(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)

1963 Iraq and Egypt signed initial agreement to unite Said needed to align two countries

first before actual union

1966 Abd Rahman Arif elected president to replace his dead brother PM Bazzaz formed

new govt Disagreed on how to deal with Mullah Mustafa Barzani Arif had ulcer and cancer limiting his activities Relied upon loyal officers

(Musings On Iraq review 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)

1983 Iran’s Op Wa al-Fajr 1 to cut Basra-Baghdad road in Maysan failed Iran lost 15,000 casualties

            Iraq lost 6,000-8,000

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

1983 Saddam invited Ayatollah Khomeini to Baghdad for Islamic conference to try to end Iran-Iraq

War

1988 Iraq launched Op Ramadan al-Mubarak to recapture Faw Peninsula in Basra Started with

chemical attack but wind blew it back towards Iraqi lines killing 200 Iraq gained 20 miles

(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)

1989 US Energy Dept official presented findings in memo to Energy Sec Watkins Said Iraq

tried to build nuclear bomb Already had know how Was trying to get tech form US Wanted Energy Sec Watkins to bring up issue with Sec State Baker and Natl Sec Adv Scowcroft Memo never given to Watkins because deemed to alarming

1991 Sec State Baker said US had to make sure Saddam contained Said relations would not be

normalized as long as he was in power and sanctions would not be lifted either

(Musings On Iraq review The Regime Change Consensus, Iraq In American Politics 1990-2003)

(Musings On Iraq How Did America Move From Containing Saddam To Removing Him? Interview With Joseph Stieb Asst Prof at the US Naval War College)

1991 British intel report said Iraq had around 600 ballistic missiles left after Gulf War

1991 Op Provide Comfort US forces began moving into Kurdistan to set up camps for displaced

(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)

1991 Germany agreed to $262 mil in humanitarian aid to Kurds

1993 During military operation against Kurds Iraqi army arrested 7,000 people including members of

Kurdistan parliament

2001 US Dept of Energy report said didn’t have enough info to tell whether Iraq had restarted its

nuclear program

(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Created An Iraqi Nuclear Threat In 2002)

2003 Chief UN inspector Blix cited Iraqi scientist who said Iraq had no WMD

(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)

2003 CENTCOM head Gen Abizaid said no organized military left in Iraq Plan was for Iraqi military

to impose order after invasion

2003 CENCTOM head Gen Abizaid suggested US create 3 divisions of interim Iraqi army from

soldiers and opposition groups

2003 USAID signed $680 mil deal with Bechtel to repair Iraq’s electricity water sewage education

sectors

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

14 Rebuilding the Electricity Sector)

(Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General For Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Chapter 4 Staging in Kuwait)

(Musings On Iraq Only 3 of 13 Reconstruction Contracts Were Signed Before War)

(Musings On Iraq Rebuilding Iraq’s Electrical Network In A Warzone 2003-2005)

2003 ORHA head Garner got into argument with Gen Franks who didn’t want Garner going to

Baghdad Garner warned of vacuum in country

(Musings On Iraq review State of Denial, Bush At War, Part III)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq and Back, Inside The War To Win The Peace)

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

2003 US forces called for people to return to work in Kirkuk City after days of unrest after invasion

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

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

2003)

2003 US forces captured Saddam’s half brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti

2003 Anti-US protest in Mosul Demonstrators began shooting at Marines Led to gun battle

2003 Defense Min adv Slocombe claimed he had video conference with US military commanders

and told them Iraqi army disappeared and it was impractical calling it back

2003 US 6^th Fleet cmdr ordered end of Marine deployment to Iraq Meant Marine unit in Mosul

only got half its men deployed None of its heavy equipment

2004 3,000 police abandoned posts during insurgent and Sadrist uprisings

2006 Ret Gen Newbold former Director of Ops at Joint Chiefs wrote Time OpEd saying Iraq war

unnecessary

2006 Over 100 insurgents attacked 12 US and Iraqi positions from west Ramadi to Khaldiiya at 1pm

Led by Al Qaeda in Iraq cmdr Abu Khattab

2007 Report Islamic Army complained ISI was trying to take over Diyala by threats and killings

(Musings On Iraq Diyala Province Backgrounder)

2007 ISI head Abu Omar Baghdadi issued message calling for unity amongst insurgents Said ISI

would remain despite any criticism

(Musings On Iraq The Demise But Not Death of Al Qaeda In Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Naval War College’s Prof Whiteside on ISI leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)

(Musings On Iraq review The Caliphate At War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)

2007 3^rd day of protests against Basra governor over lack of services and corruption Set up tent city

outside of governor’s office

2007 UN Report 70% of Iraqis lacked clean water 80% lacked toilets with clean water Diarrhea and

respiratory infections accounted for 2/3 of children under 5 deaths 70% of critically injured patients died in hospitals due to lack of staff equipment drugs Violence driving away nurses and doctors

2007 Saudis agreed to forgive 80% of Iraq’s $15 bil debt Most came from Iran-Iraq War

2007 Interview ISCI head Hakim Said Badr turned into civil organization in 2003 and no longer

militia Said Iran gave ISCI political support but no money Said fmr Interior Min Jabr had nothing to do with police abuses and Badr didn't run secret Jadriya prison discovered by US forces in Baghdad Said Baathists not Badr controlled police Denied Badr head Amiri said militias would exist until ISF could protect public All claims were false

(Musings On Iraq From Bad To Worse How Military Moved Into The Iraqi Police Force And The United States Failed At Nation Building Part Two Of An Interview With Jerry Burke Former Advisor To The Baghdad Police And Interior Ministry)

(Musings On Iraq history of Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq)

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

2008 Report Army officer said Mahdi Army constantly called him and threatened him during Charge

of Knights Said senior officers were pro-Sadr and gave intel to Mahdi Army Complained Mahdi Army often outgunned army units in Basra

2008 Badr’s Hadi Amiri said that only Al Qaeda and Mahdi Army were fighting govt

2008 Suicide bomber at funeral of 2 Sahwa members in Albu Mohammed killed 50 Part of ISI

campaign vs sahwa

(Musings On Iraq Behind The Revival Of The Islamic State in Iraq, Interview With Naval War College Prof Craig Whiteside)

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

2008 Report by US House Comm said US had no reconstruction strategy in Iraq Many projects ad hoc

uncoordinated with others and result of individuals rather than overall plan Also meant couldn’t measure whether rebuilding working or not

2011 Ninewa Gov Nujafi joined anti-govt protests in Mosul and broke curfew imposed by Ninewa

Ops Command to try to stop demonstration

2011 Around 80 injured in clashes between Kurdish security forces and protesters in Sulaymaniya 7

shot

(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 Sadrist MP said ISF was capable of defending country without US help and blamed US for all

of Iraq’s problems Claimed there were CIA and Mossad agents working out of US embassy

2012 Sadrists accused State of Law of trying to cancel elections so it could stay in power Said was

why Election Comm head was arrested

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Prime Minister Takes On Election Commission Once Again)

2012 PM Maliki’s adviser on Kurdish Affairs Adel Barwari removed from post

2012 PM Maliki accused Kurds of smuggling oil to Iran

2013 KRG said it was ready to export oil to Turkey directly when it finished its pipeline

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

2014 IS attacked Al Qaeda saying that it was no longer leader of jihad

(Musings On Iraq review The Caliphate At War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)

2014 Insurgents blew up pipeline in Baiji leading to large oil spill contaminating water all the way to

Baghdad

2014 KDP and Gorran said they had agreement to form new government in KRG

2014 Report Militias returning to fight insurgency May 2013 militias blamed for assassinations in

Baghdad Feb 2014 Asaib Ahl al-Haq Badr Sadrists operating openly and working with ISF Killed civilians in Diyala after ISIS seized a town People fled town in Diyala due to militias

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

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

2015 Police and councilman in Ramadi said IS had almost taken center of city

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Ramadi Has Not Fallen But The Islamic State Has Gained Ground)

(Musings On Iraq interview The Political Fallout From The Loss Of Iraq’s Ramadi Interview With EPIC’s Ahmed Ali)

2016 Sadrists restarted protests in Baghdad demanding new cabinet to be voted on

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

(Musings On Iraq Complaints About Iraq PM Abadi Undermine His Cabinet Reshuffle)

2016 Report IS’s revenues dropped 30% since mid-2015 Led to new taxes Oil production down

mostly due to US and Russian air strikes

2017 Report From 2016-17 1.7 tril dinars for medicines disappeared from Health Min

(Musings On Iraq Corruption In Iraq An Interview With Stuart Bowen Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction)

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Trouble Fighting Corruption Interview With Vincent Foulk Former US Anti-Graft Official)

2019 Iraq and Saudi Arabia signed political and economic deals Made during PM Abdul

Mahdi’s trip to Riyad

View the Iraq History Timelines