This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 10 Sadrists killed Sayid Abdul Majid al-Khoei Surrounded Ayatollah Sistani’s house in Najaf Driven off by tribesmen

 

1917 US consulate report Economy in Baghdad collapsing after British took city Trade cut off No

business

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 9 Baghdad fell during the 2003 invasion

 

1915 New UK cmdr in Iraq Gen Nixon arrived Ordered to take all of Basra Secure Tigris to protect

Anglo-Persian Oil Company in Persia Plan for advance on Baghdad 1^st step in escalating war from protecting oil concession to taking all of Mesopotamia

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

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq In World War I, From Ottoman Rule to British Conquest)

(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 - Apr 8 France approved Sykes-Picot agreement Baghdad and Basra vilayets would go to UK Mosul to France Independent Arab state would also be created under UK-French influence

 

1915 PM Asquith ordered committee created to determine which parts of Ottoman Empire

UK should get Would lead to creation of Iraq

(Musings On Iraq review U.S. Policy In Post-Saddam Iraq)

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 7 PM Maliki said he was turning to Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah to secure Baghdad because disappointed with Iraqi security forces

 

1915 UK Gen Nixon ordered to prepare attack on Nasiriya and Amara to protect Basra vilayet and

Persian oil concession

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq In World War I, From Ottoman Rule to British Conquest)

(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 - Apr 6 Fatwa said Wahabi Ikhwan were brigands Rallied Shiite tribes to fight the invaders

 

1916 British attacked Sannaiyat by Kut British suffered 1,168 casualties

Apr 5 - This Day In Iraqi History - Faisal II made king Cousin Ilah made Regent

 

1916 Battle of Sannaiyat by Kut British attacked Ottomans Took Hanna and Fallahiya British had

1,885 casualties

Del Wilber, In The Shadow Of The Swords, The Baghdad Police Academy, Casemate, 2020

Wilber, Del, In The Shadow Of The Swords, The Baghdad Police Academy, Casemate, 2020

 

In The Shadow Of The Swords by D.W. Wilber might be one of the only 1^st hand accounts about the Americans’ attempt to rebuild the Iraqi police. Wilber was a former St. Louis police officer who volunteered to be a trainer. It’s a very interesting read even though less than half of it is about the actual police academy. It points out some of the major flaws with the strategy.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 4 King Ghazi’s death announced to public Queen Aliya said it was Ghazi’s wish that his cousin Ilah be made regent

 

1927 UK official wrote Foreign Sec Chamberlain saying UK got Mosul by trick Promised 25 yr Iraq

Mandate Now pushing Iraq independence

Sadr Won’t Participate In Iraq’s Upcoming Elections

After much speculation Moqtada al-Sadr announced that he would not take part in this year’s parliamentary elections. This is good news for the ruling Coordination Framework because it doesn’t have to worry about its biggest rival. On the other hand it will be a hit for the country’s political system as it will likely result in the lowest voter turnout since 2003.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 3 King Ghazi died in a car accident King Faisal II took power but was only 3 His cousin Abd al-Ilah became Regent

 

1929 Shah and King Faisal passed notes that legal barriers over Persian nationals In Iraq had been

lifted

March 2025 Only 1 Insurgent Incident In Iraq

The Islamic State continued its slow death in Iraq in March 2025. There was only one incident during the month by the militants.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 2 Iraq closed border with Iran declared Kurdish revolt over Barzani and 150,000 people fled to Iran

 

1941 Regent of Iraq arrived at UK airbase at Habaniya Anbar after Golden Square officers tried to

arrest him after coup Regent tried and failed to organize resistance to coup in Basra Then fled to Jordan

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s First Battle Of Fallujah 1941)

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

(Musings On Iraq review Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)

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

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

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

Pro-Iran Factions And Tehran Planning Attacks Upon Syria?

There are worrying reports that pro-Iran groups in Iraq want to intervene in Syria again to undermine or overthrow the new government in Damascus. This is because many were invested in defending the Assad government and Tehran’s interests and want to re-establish their influence in the country.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 1 PM Taha Hashemi overthrown in coup by pan-Arab Golden Square officers Regent fled along with leading politicians

 

872 Brother of the Caliph Muwafaq defeated by Zanj slave rebellion in Basra

Musings On Iraq review The Revolt Of African Slaves In Iraq in the 3^rd/9^th Century

Iraq’s Hashd Bill Will Bring No Real Changes

A new Hashd bill is in parliament right now which is supposed to introduce reforms but will make no real changes. This is part of a process of empty promises by Iraq to curb pro-Iran armed factions to try to appease the new Trump administration.

This Day In Iraqi History – Mar 31 Iraqi Communist Party founded

 

1915 UK Foreign Office wrote India Viceroy Lord Hardinge Agreed UK should take Basra

province and perhaps make Baghdad a protectorate

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 30 UK Cairo Conference decided on indirect rule in Iraq Faisal would be made king with pro-UK govt allowing British forces to withdraw

 

1921 Cairo Conference decided on indirect rule in Iraq Would make Faisal King of a pro-British

Iraqi govt allowing withdrawal of British forces 

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 29 Sayid Salih Jabr became Iraq’s first Shiite PM

 

1946 Iraq-Turkey Friendship Treaty Would cooperate over Tigris and Euphrates security

education communication economies

Review Nicholas Schlosser, U.S. Marines in Battle, Al-Qaim, September 2005-March 2006, Marine Corps University, 2014

Schlosser, Nicholas, U.S. Marines in Battle, Al-Qaim, September 2005-March 2006, Marine Corps University, 2014

 

U.S. Marines in Battle, Al-Qaim, September 2005-March 2006 is one of the better volumes in the Marine history of the Iraq War series. That’s because it includes both background and the aftermath to the Marine deployment to western Iraq. It’s main argument is that how the Marines stayed in cities while working with the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and local tribes starting in 2005 created a new dynamic that would dramatically change the security situation in Anbar province in the following years.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 28 2 truck bombs in Tal Afar left 499 casualties Militias and police killed 70 in revenge

 

1918 British took Ana

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 27 Saddam said he was going to get a nuclear bomb with help of the Soviets so he could go to war with Israel

 

1918 British took Haditha

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 26 Iyad Allawi won 2010 election PM Maliki came in 2nd

 

1918 Battle of Khan Baghdadi between Ottomans and British started

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 25 Iraq’s Information Min Sahaf began telling media US losing during invasion of Iraq

 

1915 British infantry brigade and artillery landed at Basra as reinforcements

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 24 Ayatollah Khamenei Pres Khatami decided to send Badr Brigade into Iraq to carry out ops vs US during invasion

 

1915 Gen Nixon made UK cmdr in Mesopotamia Told to hold Basra vilayet and all outlets to

sea

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 23 Nuri al-Said became PM 1st of 9 times Went after opposition Closed newspapers Took control of parliament to assure passage of Anglo-Iraq Treaty

 

1915 French Amb to UK Cambon suggested that UK and France begin discussions on

dividing Ottoman Empire Would lead to creation of Iraq

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 22 Over 200 civilians killed in US airstrike on building used by IS in west Mosul Abadi govt would launch disinformation campaign denying that it happened

 

1921 UK Cabinet approved Colonial Sec Churchill’s choice of Faisal as new ruler in

Mesopotamia

(Musings On Iraq Churchill In His Own Words On Mesopotamia/Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Cairo 1921, Ten Days That Made the Middle East)

(Musings On Iraq review Churchill’s Folly, How Winston Churchill Created Modern Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Inventing Iraq: The Failure of Nation Building and a History Denied)

(Musings On Iraq review Imagining The Nation, Nationalism, Sectarianism and Socio-Political Conflict in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review The Chatham House Version and other Middle-Eastern Studies)

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

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

Review Chief Warrant Officer 4 Timothy McWilliams, with Schlosser, Nicholas, U.S. Marines in Battle, Fallujah, November-December 2004, Marine Corps University, 2014

McWilliams, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Timothy, with Schlosser, Nicholas, U.S. Marines in Battle, Fallujah, November-December 2004, Marine Corps University, 2014

 

U.S. Marines in Battle, Fallujah, November-December 2004 was part of a series of books released by the Marine Corps to document its involvement in the Iraq War. It is a detailed military history covering the fighting by Marines and soldiers during Operation Phantom Fury the 2^nd Battle of Fallujah. That is also its drawback as there is nothing on the politics or impact of the battle.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 21 Shock and Awe bombing campaign started during 2003 invasion of Iraq

 

1920 Iraq political officer Wilson wrote India Secretary Montague Said no connection between Iraq and Syria

and would reject rule by Faisal who’d been declared king of both before overthrown by France Said Iraq should have its own govt

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 20 Start of 2003 invasion of Iraq

 

1933 Rashid al-Gaylani became PM 1^st of 3 times Included opposition Ikha Party who got Yasin

al-Hashemi as Finance Min and Hikmat Sulaiman as Interior Min

(Musings On Iraq review The Chatham House Version and other Middle-Eastern Studies)

New Iraqi Armed Factions Threaten Attacks Upon US And Syria

Recent violence in Syria along with U.S. strikes against the Houthis in Yemen has led to new armed factions in Iraq threatening America and Syria.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 19 Bush ordered attack on farm in Baghdad hoping to kill Saddam as opening blow in Iraq invasion

 

1914 Ottomans agreed to merger of Turkish Petroleum Company that was to get oil concession in Mosul

vilayet with Anglo-Persian Oil Company

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 18 4 pro-Najaf Hashd units asked to join Defense Min to protest pro-Iran groups control of Hashd Commission

 

1914 US consulate in Baghdad reported Ottomans had reconciled with Sayid Talib and Sheikh

Ajaimi of Montafiq Confederation They had de facto control of Basra vilayet

Iraq Continues To Import Iranian Energy Despite Losing US Waiver To Do So

In February President Trump signed a new presidential memorandum restarting his Maximum Pressure campaign against Iran. Iraq was actually the first country to feel the effects as Washington ended its waiver to buy natural gas and electricity from Tehran at the start of March.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 17 Yasin al-Hashemi became PM 2nd time Was widely feared that he wanted to become dictator of Iraq

 

1639 Treaty of Zuhab ended Ottoman-Safavid War and gave Ottomans most of Mesopotamia

(Musings On Iraq review An Analysis of Hanna Batatu’s The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq)

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 16 Iraqi WMD attack upon Halabja 5,000 killed

 

1917 UK War Cabinet created Mesopotamia administration committee to decide on form of

govt in captured areas

(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 - Mar 15 Ayatollah Khomeini called on Iraqis to rise up and overthrow Saddam

 

1915 Viceroy of India wrote UK interests were protecting Persian oil concession which meant Basra

vilayet should be controlled by UK while Baghdad vilayet should be ceded by Turkey and given native administration under UK influence

(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)

Review Timothy Andrews Sayle, Engel, Jeffrey, Brands, Hal and Inboden, William, Edited by, The Last Card, Inside George W. Bush’s Decision To Surge In Iraq, Cornell University Press, 2019

Sayle, Timothy Andrews, Engel, Jeffrey, Brands, Hal and Inboden, William, Edited by, The Last Card, Inside George W. Bush’s Decision To Surge In Iraq, Cornell University Press, 2019

 

The Last Card, Inside George W. Bush’s Decision To Surge In Iraq provides the most comprehensive view of how the Bush administration decided to order the Surge in 2007. It consists of two halves. The first is interviews with 28 members of the White House starting with President Bush himself along with Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and various members of the National Security Council, State Department, and Pentagon. The second part is a series of articles by academics trying to evaluate the decision making process and giving some views of whether the Surge worked or not. It’s those firsthand accounts of most of the major players within the government that makes this a must read for those interested in the Surge.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 14 Operation to free Tikrit stalled due to high Hashd casualties

 

1921 Colonial Sec Churchill wrote PM Lloyd George Said making Faisal king of Iraq best

chance for UK to save money in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq review Cairo 1921, Ten Days That Made the Middle East)

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

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 13 Barzani officially ended his revolt after Shah of Iran cut off aid

 

1910 Ottoman army defeated Montafiq tribal confederation in present day Maysan province for rejecting

taxes

US Ends Waiver For Iraq To Buy Natural Gas and Electricity From Iran

The Trump administration is beginning to enforce its Maximum Pressure campaign against Iran and Iraq is paying the price. In March the U.S. refused to renew Iraq’s waiver from sanctions to buy natural gas and electricity from Tehran. This is throwing the government into panic as it has no alternative and the hot summer months are fast approaching.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 12 Colonial Sec Churchill began Cairo Conference to determine future of Mesopotamia

 

1914 UK sent ultimatum to Ottomans If they wanted to increase tariffs had to allow merger

of Turkish Petroleum Company that was going to get oil concession in Mosul vilayet with Anglo-Persian Oil Company 1^st sign UK wanted to control Mesopotamian oil

Talks Over Restarting KRG Oil Exports Stall

On February 28 Iraq’s Oil Ministry announced that Kurdish petroleum exports would start within hours. Then nothing happened. While Baghdad and Irbil had been holding negotiations for months over the issue neither side included the energy companies. In March there have been several meetings with the corporations but no breakthrough.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 11 British captured Baghdad WWI

 

1917 British army captured Baghdad Led to widespread looting Driven off by soldiers

Population then celebrated arrival of British

(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 Mar 1-7, 2025

There was another incident by the Islamic State in Iraq during the 1^st week of March.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 10 Barzani wrote letter to Sec State Kissinger reminding him of Nixon’s promise of aid Barzani said Kurds being destroyed by Iraqi govt Kissinger didn’t reply

 

865 Abu Ahmad’s army from Samarra reached gates of Baghdad to overthrow Abbasid Caliph

Mutasim

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 9 Russian price war with Saudi Arabia led to collapse in oil prices leading to economic crisis for Iraq the most oil dependent country in world

 

1916 British retreated from Dujail after failed attack on Ottomans

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 8 International Women’s Day Iraqi women at university in 1970s

 

(Musings On Iraq Interview Iraqi Women Before And After The 2003 Invasion, Interview With Prof Nadje Al-Ali Univ of London)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraqi Women, Untold Stories from 1948 to the Present)

(Musings On Iraq review What Kind of Liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq)

Review Peter Svoboda, Headhunter, 5-73 CAV and Their Fight for Iraq’s Diyala River Valley, Casemate, 2020

Svoboda, Peter, Headhunter, 5-73 CAV and Their Fight for Iraq’s Diyala River Valley, Casemate, 2020

 

Most books on the U.S. war in Iraq focus upon Anbar because of the Awakening there and Baghdad since it was the capital and the major sight of the civil war. Peter Svoboda’s Headhunter covers the 5^th Squadron of the 82^nd Airborne Division’s deployment to Diyala in eastern Iraq from 2006-07. The book focuses almost exclusively upon kinetic operations against the insurgency and the bond between the soldiers especially when they suffered losses.

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 7 Fighting broke out in Mosul between Communists who supported Gen Qasim and his opponents Mosul cmdr announced coup

 

1916 British forces attacked Ottomans at the Dujaila Redoubt

This Day In Iraqi History - Mar 6 Shah and Bakr govt signed agreement on Shatt al-Arab waterway Iran cut off aid to Barzani and his revolt collapsed

 

1922 King Faisal threatened to end Anglo-Iraq treaty talks if term mandate wasn’t dropped

from Iraq

(Musings On Iraq review Supremacy And Oil, Iraq, Turkey, and the Anglo-American World Order, 1918-1930)