Friday, October 25, 2024

This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 25 Jaafar Askari made Defense Min Began creation of Iraqi army


 

1920 Jaafar al-Askari former Ottoman officer Faisal’s military commander during Arab Revolt

and officer in Arab Kingdom of Syria made Defense Minister Used 10 officers including brother in law Col Nuri al-Said to begin creation of new Royal Iraqi Army

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

 

1922 Gertrude Bell wrote that King Faisal was trying to create his own party but was being

played by politicians

(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)

1936 Gen Sidqi met with Gen Abd al-Latif chief of staff Talked about coup vs PM Hashemi

1937 Nuri al-Said’s son told him to return from exile in Egypt after made contact with pan-Arab

Circle of Seven officers

(Musings On Iraq review The Role of the Military In Politics, A case study of Iraq to 1941)

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

1949 Zionist general strike of kosher butchers led chief Rabbi Khadouri to protest to Dep PM

Nadhimi Demanded end to restrictions on Jewish travel Stop the dismissal of Jews from the bureaucracy End limits on Jews buying and selling property No more discrimination against Jewish businesses getting licenses Got no concessions Rabbi Khadouri then resigned

(Musings On Iraq review Iraqi Jews, A History of Mass Exodus)

(Musings On Iraq review Last Days in Babylon, The Exile of Iraq’s Jews, the Story of My Family)

1980 Iraq fired missiles at Dezful, Iran

1983 Iran renewed attacks in Op Wa al-Farj 4 in Sulaymaniya Claimed Iraqi troops destroyed

Kurdish town of Penjwin

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

1984 Iranian troops recaptured Mehran, Iran central front ending Op Dawn 7

(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)

1992 Report Sec State Baker okayed $1 bil trade deal with Iraq in 89 even though told included

kickbacks hiking prices buying weapons and tech because US wanted better relations with Saddam

(Musings On Iraq review Spider’s Web, The secret history of how the White House illegally armed Iraq)

2000 Congress authorized increase in support for Iraqi opposition groups to $25 mil in 2001 $18

            mil would go to INC

2002 VP Cheney met with Russian Foreign Min Told him countries that sided with US in war

            would get preferential treatment in contracts afterward

2003 Iraqi prisoners were stripped handcuffed and piled in pyramid on top of each other by US

jailers in Abu Ghraib

(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 9 Down The Spider Hole, October-December 2003)

2003 Report Pipelines attacked Oil equipment old and outdated Looting power shortages attacks

slowed production Analysts said Iraq nowhere near returning to pre-invasion production of 2.8 mil/bar/day Interim Oil Min Ghabban told Geneva conference oil industry would be fixed by early spring 04 Said would open 4 new oil fields in 2004  Didn’t happen

2004 Report top contracting official at US Army Corps of Engineers questioned Halliburton’s

            no-bid Iraq contracts

2004 Report 380 tons of high grade explosives looted from Al Qaqaa site

2004 Kurds marched in Kirkuk demanding Kurdish control of city

2004 Iraq Election Comm Regulation 03/2004 said parties associated or financed by armed

            forces or militias couldn’t register to run in elections Never enforced

2005 Results of Constitutional referendum announced 79% voted for constitution Anbar and

Salahaddin overwhelmingly voted no Overall 70% of Sunnis rejected it

(Musings On Iraq US Army History of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 18 – Defeated By Democracy, Winter 2005-2006)

(Musings On Iraq How Faults With Iraq’s Constitution Undermines The Country, Interview with Constitutional Scholar Zaid Al-Ali)

(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)

2005 Death toll for Americans in Iraq reached 2,000 since 03 invasion

2005 Iraq Body Count est 26,690-30,051 Iraqi civilians and police died since 03 invasion

2005 Bush speech said US strategy in Iraq was Clear Hold Build Def Sec Rumsfeld tried to have

            it removed because Sec State Rice came up with plan without consulting with Pentagon

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

(Musings On Iraq 2006 Clear Hold Build: An Iraq Strategy That Wasn’t A Strategy)

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

2005 Chalabi claimed Supreme Contracts Comm he headed ended 98% of corruption in big govt contracts

2006 Bush speech Iraq challenge of our time Knew people weren’t happy with Iraq war and

neither was he Said US winning in Iraq Said he didn’t believe in timetables for Iraq but Gen Casey and Amb Khalilzad issued a timetable the day before Said there were benchmarks and not a timetable At time he thought strategy failing and working on new one

(Musings On Iraq review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008)

(Musings On Iraq review The Gamble, General David Petraeus And The American Military Adventure In Iraq, 2006-2008)

2006 CNN poll found 34% of Americans supported Bush on Iraq 64% disapproved

2006 PM Maliki criticized US timetable for his govt Said no one had right to impose deadlines

on Iraqi govt Said timetable was created for US consumption before Nov elections Amb Khalilzad said Maliki agreed to idea of a timetable

2006 US and ISF raided Mahdi Army areas in east Baghdad PM Maliki complained about raids

            saying they wouldn’t happen again

(Musings On Iraq US Army History Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 22 – The Failed Transition)

(Musings On Iraq The Life Of Nouri al-Maliki An Interview With Journalist Ned Parker)

2006 Report British military wanted to withdraw from Iraq within a year British officials told US

that British military near breaking point with long deployments to Iraq

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

(Musings On Iraq review A War Of Choice, The British In Iraq 2003-9)

2006 Special Insp Gen for Iraq Recon audit found some US reconstruction contracts had 55%

overhead costs Main reason was long delay between signing contracts assembling teams and actual work starting US wrote poor contracts bad to no oversight needless delays poor practices

2006 Report US raid in Washash Baghdad found Mahdi Army papers listing 65 houses that had

Sunni families in them replaced by Shiites Also draft of threats to Sunnis to drive them out

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

(Musings On Iraq Columbia University Charts Sectarian Cleansing Of Baghdad)

2006 Report Feb 05 Gen Casey said US would transfer security to ISF by end of 05 Jun 06

Casey sent plan to White House saying that US troops would start withdrawing by Sep 06 and have 50% out by Dec 07 Oct 24 Casey said that ISF would take over security in 12-15 months

(Musings On Iraq US Army History of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 20 Baghdad Burns, Summer-Fall 2006)

(Musings On Iraq US Army History Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 22 – The Failed Transition)

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

(Musings On Iraq review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008)

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

War, 2003-2006)

2008 Iranian Pres Ahmadinejad said Iraq-US Status of Forces Agreement would weaken Iraq

Iranian Interior Min said it was a threat to Iraq Sec State Rice said Iranians were being hypocrites because interfered with Iraq all the time

2009 ISI car bombed Justice and Public Works Ministries in Baghdad 155 dead 645 wounded 2nd

mass casualty bombing by ISI in Baghdad in 2009

(Musings On Iraq Fall 09 When Maliki Blamed Islamic State Bombings In Baghdad On Baathists)

2009 Iraq Communications and Media Comm gave satellite news channels 24 hrs to get license

            for their trucks or be banned Was way to control media and extort money from them

2010 Report 9 of 17 Sunni members of Diyala govt arrested or warrants for them Looked like

campaign by PM Maliki State Dep adv to Diyala govt said Maliki’s actions threatened Sunnis belief in democracy Said Malik made Sunnis think Shiite would never share power Diyala governor said campaign retaliation for not giving State of Law better positions in govt Aug 08 Maliki ordered raid on Diyala govt to arrest head of security committee Man who made charges against official later said he made them up Official still got life in prison Apr 09 new Diyala govt met to pick governor Maliki sent Baghdad Brigade to arrest 5 Sunni councilmen US intervened and got Brigade to leave May 09 Maliki sent soldiers again with warrant for another councilman

2010 Special Inspector Gen for Iraq Recon report on US police training program Rebuilding

police chaotic start Intl police team sent to CPA to assess police Said they had been neglected for years Were corrupt unprofessional untrustworthy Recommended restructuring police US underestimated rebuilding police CPA said 6600 police adv needed Couldn’t provide them because of costs and logistics Only 50% of adv that were hired showed up 6 months after invasion 1 yr after invasion only 375 police adv Looters destroyed Interior Min and police stations leaving little for police 04 US changed plan for police Went from long term rebuilding to getting as many police on duty as quickly as possible to deal with insurgency CPA got Jordan to help with training Under Saddam were 58,000 police May 2010 were 412,000 police Unsure how many trained Eventually training went from numbers to skills No assessments of police 2010 US training mission report said police were only competent in 3 or fewer provinces When Defense Dep ran training only cared about numbers Was no strategy for training ever Police still corrupt ghost employees full of militia

(Musings On Iraq American Negligence In Iraq Or How The United States Failed To Plan For Security The Country Part One Of A Two Part Interview With Jerry Burke Former Advisor To The Baghdad Police And Interior Ministry)

2012 PM Maliki said Saddam era soldiers in northern and southern Iraq could be reinstated into

the ISF Was concession to Sunnis Defense Min Dulaimi set up committee to bring back 209 ex-officers in Ninewa More than 950 brought back in Diyala

2012 Interior Min raided Central Bank of Iraq offices in Baghdad Arrested 36 staff members for

corruption Move by PM Maliki to control bank

2012 Head of Shiite Endowment said didn’t want repeat of Samarra shrine bombing in Syria

with Sayida Zainab mosque outside Damascus Badr official said militias got heavy weapons to strike back if shrine attacked Said 200 fighters from Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah were protecting shrine funded by Iran Lebanon’s Hezbollah also involved Was story to justify militia support for Assad

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

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

2012 Sadr said US interfering in Iraq after its withdrawal by controlling bases and Iraqi

institutions Said PM Maliki was a threat to democracy Called him an autocrat Didn’t think Pres Talabani could mediate conflict

2013 Report PM Maliki was coming to US in Nov to ask for aid vs ISIS Lack of intel major

problem Iraq had different intel agencies that didn’t have good leadership or training Had millions in weapons contracts with US but process slow Also political interference from Congress

2013 Report US agreed to $2.6 bil deal with Iraq for integrated air defense system and F-16 jets

            Air defense never went through

2014 Sr Interior Min official said Iraq bought modern US bomb detectors to be used in Karbala

Said fake bomb detectors were going to be removed

2014 Peshmerga freed 13 villages and then Zummar in Ninewa

2014 Report As ISF transferred from Basra to north to fight IS criminals and Hashd asserted

power in province Basra councilman said kidnappings and crime up Asaib Ahl Al-Haq blamed for kidnapping Kurdish businesswoman who was cousin of Dep PM Shaways in Basra

2014 IS destroyed Yazid shrine on Mount Sinjar Ninewa

2015 Yazidi militia Sinjar Alliance blocked Peshmerga from entering East Mount Sinjar Ninewa

2015 Report VPs were still getting full salaries after PM Abadi announced they would be cut

2016 Report 07 ISI was pushed out of Anbar and relocated in Diyala 2014 Diyala not a priority

for IS Captured docs showed IS cells were running deficit Was fighting Ansar al-Sunna and Naqshibandi in summer 2014 5th Div Badr Asaib Ahl Al-Haq Kataib Hezbollah Saraya al-Salam Sayid al-Shuhada all in province Jun 2014 PM Maliki made Badr’s Amiri head of Diyala security Iran provided support to Iraqi forces and Peshmerga Iran set up 50 km security zone in east Diyala and conducted air strikes to support Hashd Summer 2014 IS threatened Baquba Police executed 40 prisoners at police station fearing city would fall Insurgents took Burhiz but forced out by Hashd backed by attack helicopters Afterwards Hashd burned homes and mosques 30 men executed Most people forced out IS focused on Muqdadiya and Khanaqin dist in center and NE Aug took Jalawla from Peshmerga IS made deals with tribes Jun 2014-Jan 2015 Hashd and army worked to recapture province Jan 2015 Tigris Ops Command declared all of Diyala liberated IS fell back to rural areas Oct 2016 IS worked to isolate towns 2015 areas in north under de facto IS control Used Diyala to attack Baghdad Badr took over Diyala govt Badr co-opted some Sunni tribes Allowed displaced returns

(Musings On Iraq review A Stranger in Your Own City, Travels in the Middle East’s Long War)

2016 MP from Kirkuk said 170 Arab homes in Ghosh and Dibs destroyed by security forces Gov

Karim said no effort to kick out displaced Kirkuk was kicking them out

2016 Southern front in Mosul battle came from Qayara airbase Under command of Ninewa Ops

Command US artillery at Qayara base provided fire support East front came from Khazir led by Peshmerga and Golden Div Southeast front came from Gwar led by Peshmerga and army Backed by French artillery in Makhmour Northeast front came from Bashiqa led by army Golden Div Peshmerga Hashd and police Western front was to be led by Hashd towards Tal Afar Didn’t come until after Mosul freed

2016 Human rights group said Asayesh and Peshmerga came to area in south Kirkuk City with

bulldozers and excavators to destroy Arab homes

2017 Pres Barzani offered to resign and form new govt under Nechirvan Barzani KDP then denied story

2017 KRG offered to freeze results of independence referendum in return for ceasefire and talks

Led to halt in fighting between federal and Kurdish forces PM Abadi demanded full cancellation of referendum

(Musings On Iraq Baghdad Ups Ante Attempting To Seize Control Of Kurds’ Oil Pipeline)

(Musings On Iraq review The Great Betrayal, How America Abandoned The Kurds And Lost The Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq review Quicksilver War, Syria, Iraq and the Spiral of Conflict)

2017 Kataib Hezbollah said it was part of Iran’s axis of resistance Said Foreigners and US had to

leave Iraq Said Hashd would remain as long as there were threats to Iraq

2017 Diyala councilman said IS was holding out along Salahddin-Diyala border

2017 PUK said Shiites were trying to impose control over Salahaddin Said 100s of homes looted

in Tuz Kharmato

2017 Mayor of Tuz Kharmato Salahaddin said 50-60 homes blown up 400 burned 2000 homes

and 1000 businesses looted Came after Hashd forced Peshmerga out of area

2018 Adel Abdul Mahdi sworn in as prime minister Didn’t have full cabinet Said Iraq would

follow its own interests on Iran sanctions

2019 42 protesters killed in Diwanaiya Maysan Dhi Qar Baghdad Basra Muthanna Were

peaceful protests in Najaf and Karbala People tried to march on Green Zone in Baghdad Sadr sent his Saraya al-Salam to Tahrir Square to protect protesters even though organizers rejected his help Govt offices in Baghdad Basra Nasiriya Diwaniya Samawah, Qadisiya Kut destroyed Reform Movement State of Law ISCI and 3 politicians offices attacked in Babil Kataib Hezbollah Asaib Ahl Al-Haq Badr Sayid al-Shuhada Dawa Imam Ali Brigades offices sacked in Nasiriya Badr Dawa offices burned in Amara Dawa Fadhila Fatah Asaib Ahl Al-Haq Hikma Badr Saraya Al-Khorasani Islah ISCI Sayid al-Shuhada and others had offices attacked in Samawah Dawa Badr Asaib Ahl Al-Haq Saray al-Khorasani Sayid al-Shuhada offices sacked in Qadisiya 12 died in burning of Badr office in Qadisiya Dawa and Atta party offices burned in Kut Asaib Ahl Al-Haq guards fired into crowds in Maysan Nasiriya Dhi Qar killing several

(Musings On Iraq 42 Killed First Day Of Renewed Protests In Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq Death Toll Rises As Govt Tries To Break Up Iraq Protests)

(Musings On Iraq More Confrontations Between Protesters And Govt 3rd Day Of Renewed Demonstrations)

(Musings On Iraq UN Report On Violence Against Iraqi Protesters)

(Musings On Iraq United Nations Faults Iraq For Failing To Protect Protesters)

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

(Musings On Iraq Khorasani Brigade Another Iraq Militia That Returned Home From Syria To Fight The Insurgency)

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

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

2019 Sadrists attacked Asaib Ahl Al-Haq office in Amara Asaib Ahl Al-Haq guards fired

into crowd Asaib Ahl Al-Haq commander wounded and then killed at hospital Showed Shiite parties settling scores during protests

2019 Joint Operations Command said saboteurs were using protests to destroy property

2019 PM Abdul Mahdi said political system facing a crisis Promised changing his cabinet

Cutting salaries of top officials to try to appeal to protesters

2019 Ayatollah Sistani’s representative said change only came through peaceful means and

called for calm in new demonstrations

2019 Report Anbar source said IS operating along Salahaddin-Ninewa border

2020 Report Hashd blocked people from returning to Baaj Ninewa Took over houses 

2020 Demonstrations in Baghdad Basra Maysan Muthanna Diwaniya Najaf Karbala Dhi Qar

Babil Wasit to commemorate 1 yr anniversary of protest movement Clashes and looting in Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq Anniversary Of Iraq’s Protest Movement Highlights Divisions)

(Musings On Iraq Swan Song Of Iraq’s Protest Movement?)

2020 Sadr said infiltrators tried to push protests towards violence

2020 2 Diwaniya activists kidnapped in Baghdad

2020 Parliament’s finance committee said it would start talks with Kazemi govt to cut amount it

was borrowing Govt in economic crisis due to drop in oil prices Had to borrow from Central Bank of Iraq Parliament was against borrowing

2021 Election Commission began manual recount in Ninewa after complaint accepted over

            results

2021 Protests in Wasit Maysan Basra Dhi Qar to commemorate 2 yr anniversary of protest

movement

(Musings On Iraq Marches Commemorate Anniversary Of Iraq’s Protest Movement)

2022 Iraq restarted work on Grand Faw Port in Basra Started in 2010 and never finished

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