This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 31 Foreign companies divided up Iraq’s petroleum concession

 

1918 UK oil expert Adm Slade wrote 1^st Lord of the Admiralty Sir Geddes that UK should seize as

much oil as possible which included fields in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

World Food Programme Warns About Impact Of Climate Change Upon Iraq

In July the World Food Programme released a report on the current drought in Iraq. It was the latest warning about the devastating affects climate change is having on the country.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 30 Pres Bakr accused PM Naif and Defense Minister of trying to overthrow govt PM Arrested Allowed Bakr to consolidate power Saddam appointed Dep Sec Gen of Baath Party

 

762 Construction of Round City of Baghdad began by Abbasid Empire

Security In Iraq July 22-28, 2024

The Islamic State was absent from Iraq for another week while pro-Iran groups focused back upon the United States.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 29 Assyrian leader Mar Shimun said he was being detained by govt and would go to League of Nations if Baghdad did nothing about Assyrian demands

 

1933 Assyrian leader Mar Shimun wrote letter to Interior Min Said he was being detained He would

help settle Assyrians If govt did nothing he would go to League of Nations and advocate for Assyrians to leave Iraq Letter sent to ambassadors in Iraq embarrassing govt

(Musings On Iraq review The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 28 Iranian Revolutionary Guard invaded Kurdistan to fight KDPI Left behind weapons and equipment for PUK to use against KDP

 

1823 Ottomans and Safavids signed peace treaty that set border between two empires after

Persian invasion of Iraq failed

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 27 VP Abdul Mahdi’s bodyguards robbed bank in Baghdad Executed 8 guards

 

1912 Work began building railway through Mesopotamia financed by Germany

This Day In Iraqi History Jul 26 Report Iraqi officer said order given to kill all Islamic State prisoners in Battle of Mosul

 

1920 Gertrude Bell wrote that Baghdad started the 1920 Revolt but lost control of it when tribes

rose up and they listened to no one Baghdad did not start revolt

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell And Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell, Explorer of the Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq movie review Letters from Baghdad)

(Musings On Iraq review Desert Queen, The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia)

Review Iraq’s Shia Warlords And Their Militias: Political And Security Challenges And Options

Cigar, Norman, Iraq’s Shia Warlords And Their Militias: Political And Security Challenges And Options, Strategic Studies Institute, 2015

 

Norman Cigar’s Iraq’s Shia Warlords And Their Militias: Political And Security Challenges And Options is a very short book about the emergence of the Hashd al-Shaabi in Iraq after the 2014 fall of Mosul. The author’s thesis is that the Hashd were here to stay in the country as a military, political and religious force although it was also deeply divided into rival factions.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 25 Saddam told Amb Glaspie US plotting against him and that he would act against Kuwait if it didn’t give into his demands Glaspie warned him not to use force

 

1915 British attack on Nasiriya restarted and took city

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 24 Treaty of Lusanne said League of Nations would decide whether Mosul vilayet went to Iraq or Turkey

 

1920 France occupied Syria Defeated King Faisal’s forces leading him to flee Would set sites on

Mesopotamia afterward

(Musings On Iraq review Empires of the Sand, The Struggle For Mastery In The Middle East 1789-1923)

Security In Iraq July 15-21, 2024

After being silent the week before Iraq’s Islamic Resistance returned during the 3^rd week of July. The Islamic State on the other hand was not active again.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 23 US envoy to Iraq McGurk told Congress when US warned Maliki govt ISI about to attack Mosul he said things under control

 

1401 Tamerlane and Tartars took Baghdad for 2^nd time Ordered his men to bring him the heads of 2

Baghdadis Were said to be 120 towers of skulls afterwards Ordered city to be flattened Was in revenge for city standing up to him

US Army In The Iraq War Volume 2 Ch 6 “The Darkness Has Become Pitch Black”

Chapter 6 of the U.S. Army’s second volume on the Iraq War is about the ups and downs during the heart of the Surge in the mid to late-2007. Continued U.S. operations were degrading the insurgency leading to a dramatic drop in violence. Part of that success was due to the continued expansion of the Sunni Sahwa which the government rejected. On the other hand PM Maliki’s administration remained plagued by problems while still relying upon militias. In the middle of all that the Iraqi ruling parties continued their machinations against each other.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 22 After assuming power Saddam claimed there was a Syrian coup against him and purged the Baath Party of his opponents by having them executed

 

1920 Albu Hassan took Kifil from British 1920 Revolt All of Mid-Euphrates under tribal control

except for Hillah Babil

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 21 Natl Sec Adv Hadley began review of US Iraq strategy Would take 6 months and lead to Surge

 

1920 Kufa was surrounded by rebels 1920 Revolt

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 20 Ayatollah Khomeini endorsed ceasefire in Iran-Iraq War

 

1920 Pro-Independence delegation of Iraqis met UK High Commissioner Wilson who invited 20

pro-British Iraqis Meeting went nowhere British later tried to arrest pro-independence delegates

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 19 Qasim started crackdown on Communists hoping to limit their power

 

1733 Safavid siege of Baghdad ended by Ottoman relief force

Review Saddam Hussein The Politics Of Revenge

Aburish, Said, Saddam Hussein The Politics Of Revenge, Bloomsbury, 2000

 

Said Aburish’s Saddam Hussein The Politics Of Revenge is full of ups and downs. He makes some astute observations about Saddam’s assumption of power and the U.S. and U.K. policy of regime change in the 1990s. On the other hand, he was a Baathist sympathizer up to the 1980s having worked for the Iraqi government. Second, Aburish’s writing is full of Saddam gossip about his excesses. Most importantly almost all major issues are explained via Western conspiracies which robs Iraqis of any agency and responsibility throughout history. The problems with his writing end up undermining any good points the author might have made.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 18 Iran and Iraq agreed to ceasefire to end Iran-Iraq War

 

1921 Christian Jewish Muslim notables had meeting at Grad Rabbi’s house in Baghdad Gave

support for Faisal to be king after much lobbying by Gertrude Bell

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell And Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell, Explorer of the Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq movie review Letters from Baghdad)

(Musings On Iraq review Desert Queen, The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 17 Gen Bakr led Baathist coup overthrowing Arif govt

 

869 Deposed Abbasid Caliph Mutazz executed by Turkish soldiers

(Musings On Iraq review when baghdad ruled the muslim world, the rise and fall of islam’s greatest dynasty)

KRG Says No To Baghdad’s Orders To Close Displacement Camps In Region

At the end of June the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed announced that the displaced (IDP) camps in the region would not be closed by July 30. That was the deadline set by the Displacement Ministry to have all the camps shuttered across the country. This follows a pattern of the KRG refusing to follow the orders of the Ministry.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 16 Saddam told chiefs of staff he was going to invade Iran

 

1919 UK India Office official Sir Hirtzel told chief political officer in Iraq Wilson there was

going to be an Arab state in Iraq or there would be a revolt

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

Security In Iraq July 8-14, 2024

During the second week of July the Islamic State returned to Iraq. Pro-Iran groups on the other hand launched no attacks upon Israel for the first time in months.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 15 PM Nuri al-Said killed in aftermath of 1958 coup

 

1914 US consulate in Baghdad reported Sayid Talib and Ottoman forces attacked Sheikh

Ajaimi of Montafiq Confederation in Zubayr Basra vilayet Talib won battle and took town Gave Talib de facto control of all of Basra Led to dismissal of Ottoman governor of vilayet

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 14 Gen Qasim and Col Arif overthrew the monarchy in a coup

 

1915 US consulate report Worried that sectarian war might start with Shiites turning on

Sunni Ottomans due to troubles in Karbala and Najaf

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 13 Iranian troops invaded Iraq 1st time in Iran-Iraq War

 

1920 Tribal forces surrounded British garrison at Abu Skhair during 1920 Revolt

Review Britain’s 2 Wars With Iraq 1941 1991

El-Solh, Raghid, Britain’s 2 Wars With Iraq 1941 1991, Garnet Publishing Limited, 1996

 

Raghid El-Solh’s Britain’s 2 Wars With Iraq 1941 1991 is a tale of two halves. It covers the Anglo-Iraq War which was part of the larger World War 2 conflict as well as the Gulf War. The author argues that England has historically attempted to maintain the status quo in the Middle East which came into conflict with various Iraqi leaders. The coverage of first war is quite good while the section on the Gulf War reads like Saddam era propaganda.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 12 Zarqawi told fmr mentor Maqdisi important to attack Shiites more than non-Muslims Accused Shiites of starting sectarian violence

 

1923 1^st Parliamentary elections resumed after protests by Shiite clergy led to delay

This Day In Iraqi History – Jul 11 Saddam took over leadership of Iraq after Pres Bakr resigned as head of Revolutionary Command Council

 

869 Abbasid Caliph Mutazz confronted by Turkish soldiers who wanted to be paid Mutazz beaten

and forced to resign Muhtadi became new caliph

(Musings On Iraq review when baghdad ruled the muslim world, the rise and fall of islam’s greatest dynasty)

Iraq’s Oil Exports Drop For 4th Month

Iraq’s oil exports and revenue dipped for a fourth month in June.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 10 PM Abadi declared Mosul freed from IS after 9 months Fighting continued in city

 

1920 Lead political officer in Iraq Wilson sent telegram to India Office Said threat to Iraq was

external coming from Turkey Syria Bolsheviks

Security In Iraq July 1-7, 2024

During the first week of July the Islamic State was once again absent in Iraq while Pro-Iran groups continued their campaign against Israel.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 9 Al Qaeda’s Zawahiri told Zarqawi should include more Iraqis in his group and warned against killing Iraqi civilians which could cost him support

 

1920 UK forces withdrew from Najaf turning over city to rebels who set up their own govt

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 8 Saddam survived assassination attempt in Dujail Would destroy town 1500 people arrested 150 executed

 

1920 Rebels derailed 6 trains going from Diwaniya to Samawa to disrupt flow of British troops and

supplies

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 7 Iraq’s concealment committee decided to reveal that Iraq had a nuclear program to UN inspectors while secretly destroying its WMD stockpiles Would prove long term problem because Baghdad could never prove it got rid of its weapons

 

1921 American consul in Baghdad wrote that Faisal would become King of Iraq even though he                          was unpopular in the country

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 6 Saddam Hussein told Baath leadership he was going to invade Iran

 

1915 UK took Suq al-Shuyuk, Dhi Qar after defeating Turk-Arab forces outside town day

before

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

Review Meltdown in Haditha, The Killing of 24 Iraqi Civilians by U.S. Marines and the Failure of Military Justice

Englade, Kenneth, Meltdown in Haditha, The Killing of 24 Iraqi Civilians by U.S. Marines and the Failure of Military Justice, McFarland & Company, 2015

 

Meltdown in Haditha, The Killing of 24 Iraqi Civilians by U.S. Marines and the Failure of Military Justice by Kenneth Englade deals with a deadly incident in November 2005 in the Iraqi town of Haditha in Anbar province. This eventually led to 8 Marines being charged with various crimes. The author claims there was a failure by the Marines to prosecute the cases because it was more interested in protecting its image. That’s not quite supported by the evidence presented. Instead it appears that Haditha was badly handled by Marine commanders leading to years of missteps that probably should’ve never happened. Most importantly Meltdown in Haditha is not an enjoyable read because it gets bogged down in the court proceedings.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 5 1920 Revolt leaders demanded full independence for Iraq

 

1915 British attacked Turk-Arab force outside Suq al-Shuyuk and defeated them

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 4 Islamic State’s Baghdadi declared caliphate from Mosul Said ISIS would now be Islamic State and he was Caliph Ibrahim

 

1917 Al-Arab paper established Said it was for Arabs but was actually run by British eventually

under Gertrude Bell

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell And Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell, Explorer of the Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq movie review Letters from Baghdad)

(Musings On Iraq review Desert Queen, The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 3 IS car bomb in Baghdad set off fire in mall Killed 324 Wounded 200 One of the deadliest bombings

 

1923 35 clerics and religious students left Iraq for Persia to protest deportation of cleric Khalisi for his

opposition to parliamentary elections  

Iraq Is Capturing More Natural Gas While Also Burning More Of It

In June the World Bank reported that Iraq was one of the largest gas burning countries in the world. Iraq and 8 others accounted for 75% of gas flaring. Iraq actually increased this practice in recent years. Gas is emitted from oil fields and if it isn’t captured to be used for commercial use it is burned off which contributes to global warming. This comes as Baghdad claims it is producing more natural gas and that flaring is soon going to come to an end.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 2 ISIS leader Baghdadi declared caliphate established

 

1922 Law passed to establish political parties in Iraq

Iraq’s Islamic Resistance Continued Its Campaign Vs Israel In June 2024

June was dominated by stories of Iraq’s Islamic Resistance launching attacks upon Israel for its war in Gaza. Some of these incidents were allegedly in conjunction with Yemen’s Houthis. The Islamic State was barely active during the month.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 1 IS released recording declaring a new caliphate

 

1920 British army facing revolt in Rumaitha told no reinforcements coming because railways

destroyed Railway fixed and reinforcements arrived later that day

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)