Musings On Iraq In The News

Musings On Iraq was cited in the new book Rupturing Architecture, Spatial Practices of Refuge in Response to War and Violence in Iraq, 2003-2023 by Sana Murrani. 

 

For a full list of Musings On Iraq's citations click here.  

Review Jean Sasson, Mayada, Daughter Of Iraq, One Woman’s Survival Under Saddam Hussein, New American Library, 2004

Sasson, Jean, Mayada, Daughter Of Iraq, One Woman’s Survival Under Saddam Hussein, New American Library, 2004

 

Ahmed Chalabi and his allies promoted his book Republic of Fear as an expose of the horrors of life in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. The book is actually about how Chalabi mistakenly thought Saddam was a committed Baathist and his policies were what ruined Iraq. It symbolized how out of touch Chalabi was from Iraq which he left when he was very young. A much better book on the Baathist police state is Mayada, Daughter of Iraq, One Woman’s Survival Under Saddam Hussein. It tells the story of a woman of privilege who was arrested by the secret police for a crime she didn’t commit. She explained the evils of Saddam and his family along with the lives of the other innocents she was imprisoned with.

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)

(Musings On Iraq review A Quest in the Middle East, Gertrude Bell and the Making of Modern Iraq)

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)

Trump Puts New Tariffs On Iraq

 

On July 9 President Trump announced a new 30% tariff on Iraq. This was actually lower than the 39% tariff imposed in April. The tax did not include oil which is the main product the United States buys from Iraq. That caused confusion in Baghdad as to what the point of the action was.

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)

Iraq's Pro-Iran Factions Making Show Of Force At Start Of July

After not participating in the Iran-Israel War pro-Tehran factions in Iraq have started targeting the Kurds in July. At the start of the month there was also a rare incident by the Islamic State.

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

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 Assembly

wouldn’t meet until Mar 1924

Review Richard Lowry, Marines in the Garden of Eden, The True Story of Seven Bloody Days in Iraq, Berkeley Publishing Group, 2006

Lowry, Richard, Marines in the Garden of Eden, The True Story of Seven Bloody Days in Iraq, Berkeley Publishing Group, 2006

 

Nasiriya was the biggest battle the Americans fought during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Initially the Marines didn’t think the Iraqis would put up much resistance but it turned into a week-long operation. Richard Lowry tells the most comprehensive story of what happened.

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)

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 1920 Revolt had just started

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)

Iraq’s Oil Exports Up In June But Financial Worries Continue

Iraq’s oil exports and revenue were slightly up in June. They could’ve been higher if not for the Iran-Israel War.

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 Iraq 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)

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)

Review Jeanette Winter, The Librarian of Basra, A True Story from Iraq, Harcourt Children’s Books, 2005

Winter, Jeanette, The Librarian of Basra, A True Story from Iraq, Harcourt Children’s Books, 2005

 

I didn’t know there were children’s books about Iraq in English until I saw The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter. It’s a picture book telling the story of Alia Muhammad Baker during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. As you can guess it’s about how she saved the Basra city library during the war.

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)

Iraq Suffers Blackouts For 2nd Month Due To Cuts In Iranian Gas Exports

Iraq is suffering the second month of power outages due to cutbacks in Iranian energy exports.

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  

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

 

1922 Law passed to establish political parties in Iraq

Pro-Iran Factions Carried Out Limited Attacks In Iraq During Israel-Iran Conflict

June saw the return of pro-Iran factions which carried out a limited series of attacks in Iraq in support of Tehran during the Israel-Iran conflict.

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)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 30 Start of 1920 Revolt vs British Mandate in Iraq

 

1915 UK committee wrote paper advocating for break up of Ottoman Empire and creation of

Iraq to control its oil and agriculture Cabinet didn’t agree

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

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

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

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 29 Nouri mosque in Mosul liberated where IS’s Baghdadi declared the caliphate Iraqi forces claimed Mosul freed but fighting continued

 

1915 US consulate report on anti-Turk riot in Karbala

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 28 CPA disbanded and sovereignty returned to Iraq

 

1914 Ottomans agreed to oil concessions for British and Germans in Mosul and Baghdad

provinces Never happened because WWI

Review Patrick O’Donnell, We Were One, Shoulder To Shoulder With The Marines Who Took Fallujah, Da Capo Press, 2006

O’Donnell, Patrick, We Were One, Shoulder To Shoulder With The Marines Who Took Fallujah, Da Capo Press, 2006

 

Patrick O’Donnell went to Iraq in 2004 to witness the 2^nd Battle of Fallujah and tell the story of some of the Americans involved in the fight. He eventually came across the 1^st platoon of the 3^rd Battalion, 1^st Marine Regiment. He told their story in We Were One, Shoulder To Shoulder With The Marines Who Took Fallujah. It is a traditional combat story emphasizing the comradery and bravery of the Marines.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 27 Iraq’s Revolutionary Command Council approved invasion of Kuwait

 

1916 UK report on defeat at Kut published Led to Secretary of State for India Chamberlain to resign

Said campaign bad from the start because under split control of London and Delhi Blamed Political officer Cox for pushing taking Baghdad which led to expansion of original mission to protect Persian Gulf and oil fields in Persia Was lack of transportation troops and supplies India didn’t adequately fund war Blamed India for mismanagement

(Musings On Iraq review Desert Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 26 Iraqi intel rounded up Iraqi National Accord coup plotters backed by US Called CIA and told them to go home

 

1922 Commerce Min Timman resigned over proposed Anglo-Iraq Treaty King Faisal ordered PM

Gaylani not to accept resignation

Interview with Prof Nicole Watts Author of Republic of Dreams Ordinary People Extraordinary Struggles and the Future of Iraqi Kurdistan

San Francisco State Professor Nicole Watts recently came out with an excellent book about the life of a Kurdish family. Called Republic of Dreams, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Struggles, and the Future of Iraqi Kurdistan, the book follows Peshawa and his family from Halabja from the 1988 chemical attack upon the town during the Iran-Iraq War up to the present. Here is an interview with Professor Watts about her book and work on Iraqi Kurdistan.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 25 Gen Qasim ordered the military to come up with a Kuwait invasion plan

1915 British troops took Nasiriya Ottomans had 200 casualties British 500

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 24 Dozens killed 3000 arrested over protests when Ayatollah Sadiq al-Sadr put under house arrest

 

1923 Protests against voting on Anglo-Iraq treaty in Karbala

Security In Iraq Jun 14-21, 2025

In the middle of June there were two security incidents in Anbar province likely related to the on going Israel-Iran conflict.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 23 Faisal arrived in Iraq to become its first king

 

1921 Faisal arrived in Basra and then went to Najaf and Karbala as gesture towards Shiite

clergy as preparation to be crowned king Clerics opposed him

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

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 22 Gertrude Bell said that Shiites were under the pay of leading cleric Khalisi who was a Persian

1915 British troops began attack upon Nasiriya

(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 - Jun 21 Ayatollah Khomeini announced Iran would invade Iraq in Iran-Iraq War

1831 Ottoman governor of Aleppo entered Baghdad under orders of Sultan Mahmoud

Brought province under direct control of Empire again removing Mamluks

Review Kelly Kennedy, They Fought for Each Other: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Hardest Hit Unit in Iraq, St. Martin’s Griffin, 2011

Kennedy, Kelly, They Fought for Each Other: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Hardest Hit Unit in Iraq, St. Martin’s Griffin, 2011

 

On June 21, 2007, reporter Kelly Kennedy witnessed the worst attack upon Charlie Company of the 26^th Infantry Regiment when an IED killed several soldiers during its deployment to the Adhamiya district of Baghdad. Kennedy bonded with the unit afterwards and felt their pain. This experience led her to write They Fought for Each Other: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Hardest Hit Unit in Iraq which discusses not only their time in Iraq but the trauma they faced afterwards.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 20 General Qasim claimed Kuwait as part of Iraq

 

870 Abbasid Caliph Muhtadi killed in capital Samarra in revolt by Turkish soldiers over not being

paid

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

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 19 Trying to play down the security situation in Iraq Sec Def Rumsfeld said the murder rate in Wash DC was worse than violence in Baghdad

 

1914 Germany and Britain asked Ottomans for oil concessions in Mosul and Baghdad provinces

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 18 Assyrian leader Mar Shimun petitioned League of Nations asking for autonomy for his people

 

1932 Assyrian religious leader Mar Shimun presented petition to League of Nations Mandate

Commission demanding autonomy for his people

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

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

17 Year Anniversary Of Musings On Iraq

On 9/11 I saw former CIA Director James Woolsey on CBS say that the United States needed to strike Iraq even if it wasn’t involved in the terrorist attack. This stuck with me. In 2002 the Bush administration began its public campaign to build support for the invasion of Iraq. Together this motivated me to start researching the topic to try to understand why the U.S. was about to go to war. In 2008 this culminated in me starting the Musings On Iraq blog. 17 years later I’m still plugging away publishing something every day. I would like to thank all the people that helped me along the way and all the people that read my work.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 17 London approved Arab govt with UK advisers to run Iraq under British Mandate

1919 British force defeated Sheikh Barzinji near Chamchamal at Bazyan Pass Rebellion put down

(Musings On Iraq Explaining Kurdish Nationalism Interview With Teen Tech Univ Prof Michael Gunter)

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 16 Iraq protested border treaty with Iran by sending troops into Khuzistan province Led to 88 Iraqi soldiers being killed

 

1920 UK govt decided to cancel proposed UK run provisional govt in Iraq for an Arab govt under

British influence

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 15 PM Nuri al-Said made cover of Time magazine Was Prime Minister of Iraq 9 times

1920 War Min Churchill wrote UK Cabinet that he was ready to give up Mosul province to save

costs

(Musings On Iraq How The Ottoman Province Of Mosul Became Part Of Iraq)

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

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

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 14 Ayatollah Sistani said his call for Iraqis to defend country meant joining ISF not militias that became Hashd al-Shaabi Was too late

 

1920 UK military governor in Basra reported political agitation from Baghdad trying to raise

support for Iraqi independence in Basra

Review Gertrude Bell, The Letters of Gertrude Bell Volumes I and II, Benediction Books, 2009

Bell, Gertrude, The Letters of Gertrude Bell Volumes I and II, Benediction Books, 2009

 

The Letters of Gertrude Bell Volumes I and II collects together writings Ms Bell made to her family from 1874 until her death in 1926. It was put together and edited by her younger sister. Much of what Bell had to say was mundane such as commenting upon the hot weather in Iraq or asking for clothes to be sent from England. There are some insights into her strong character which set her apart from many of her contemporaries and her ideas about Iraq when it was formed by the British.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 13 Ayatollah Sistani called for men to defend Iraq after fall of Mosul to ISIS Led to Hashd al-Shaabi

 

1920 War Min Churchill wrote PM George that British army overextended in Mesopotamia

and asked whether UK should give up Mosul province because of costs

(Musings On Iraq How The Ottoman Province Of Mosul Became Part Of Iraq)

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

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