US Expects Action From Iraq Against Pro-Iran Resistance Not Words

  

The Trump administration is keeping up the pressure upon the Iraqi elite to disband the Resistance and curtail Iranian influence. That’s been seen in new statements and sanctions.

This Day In Iraqi History - May 11 2nd time Sec Def Rumsfeld claimed roughly 10,000 troops could invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam

 

1925 UK Colonial Secretary wrote Arab elites knew Iraq was being held together by British

This Day In Iraqi History - May 10 Army forced PM Talib to resign Pres Arif became PM

 

1920 Nationalist Haras al-Istiqlal decided to increase campaign for independence in

Baghdad Agreed on joint Sunni-Shiite events during annual religious ceremonies

This Day In Iraqi History - May 9 German and Italian planes started landing in Iraq for Anglo-Iraq War

 

1919 UK approved Iraq political officer Wilson’s plan for mandate in Iraq run by a high

commissioner Foreign Office told Wilson to treat Mosul as an Arab province of Iraq Meant Mosul would be included in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq review Britain In Iraq, Contriving King and Country)

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

Review Edited by Farhang Rajaee, The Iran-Iraq War, The Politics of Aggression, University Press of Florida, 1993

  

The Iran-Iraq War, The Politics of Aggression was the result of a conference held in Tehran in the summer of 1988. It’s a collection of papers that were presented. Reading an anthology is always risky because the quality of writing and topics will often shift from chapter to chapter. That’s especially true for this one. The main benefit of the book is that most but not all of the writers are Iranian giving their perspective of the war.

This Day In Iraqi History - May 8 Def Sec Rumsfeld gave CPA head Bremer draft of DeBaathification order Pentagon would later deny it wrote order

 

1927 Iraqi cabinet resolution said Assyrians would be settled in the country

(Musings On Iraq review Assyrians in Modern Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)

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

This Day In Iraqi History - May 7 Fmr intelligence head Kazemi became interim PM

 

1918 British took Kirkuk based on false idea that it would stop Germans from organizing Persians

to attack India British would later leave Kirkuk Abandoned Kurds that flocked to British to oppose Turks

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

Iraq’s Oil Exports Take Another Hit As Strait Of Hormuz Remains Closed

  

Iraq’s main oil export route through the Strait of Hormuz remains closed due to the U.S.-Iran conflict. This is having a deleterious effect upon Iraq’s petroleum industry and economy.

This Day In Iraqi History May 6 Iraq launched largest air attack upon Habaniya air base during Anglo-Iraq War while army withdrew 409 Iraqi soldiers captured

 

1920 UK High Commissioner Wilson statement Said was aware of Kurdish anxiety about joining

Iraq Said Kurdistan connected to Iraq Would be Kurdish districts in Mosul province Would have representatives in assembly Sulaymaniya would be a subprovince

Gulf States Weary Of Continued Threats From Iraq's Resistance

  

Pro-Iran Resistance attacks upon the Gulf States and Jordan during and after the Iran War have strained relations between Iraq and its neighbors. Before Baghdad was courting them for investment, but now that’s in jeopardy.

This Day In Iraqi History - May 5 British mandate in Iraq announced

 

1920 British mandate announced in Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq interview with Princeton’s Sara Pursley on Sykes-Picot and creation of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Britain In Iraq, Contriving King and Country)

(Musings On Iraq review The Creation of Iraq 1914-1921)

(Musings On Iraq review Dictatorship, Imperialism & Chaos, Iraq since 1989)

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

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

(Musings On Iraq review A Short History of Iraq)

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

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq Since 1958, From Revolution To Dictatorship)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Democratic Moment)

Iraq Facing Electricity Crisis This Summer Due To Iran War

  

The Iran War is having far reaching affects upon Iraq. The latest is a looming electricity crisis. This is caused by a cut in Iranian natural gas exports to Baghdad as well as a decline in its own gas production.

This Day In Iraqi History - May 4 UK bombed Iraqi airfields and destroyed most of Iraqi air force WWII

 

1918 Najaf revolt ended after rebels gave up to UK after 2 month blockade Ended Zuqurt

and Shumurt control of city

This Day In Iraqi History May 3 Saddam had Algerian Foreign Min assassinated after accusing Algeria of siding with Iran in Iran-Iraq War

 

1913 US consulate in Baghdad reported Ottomans ordered documents to be published in

Arabic and Turkish in Baghdad vilayet as concession to Arab demands

This Day In Iraqi History - May 2 King Faisal became of age and took power

 

1854 Riot in Mosul versus Ottoman reforms Attacked Christians and Jews for businesses they ran

and control of taxes that caused resentment

(Musings On Iraq review Christianity in Iraq)

Musings On Iraq In The News

  

I was quoted in this article by Paul Iddon “Iraq’s western pipeline gambit faces a wall of risk amid export crisis” in Amwaj Media.

 

For a full list of Musings On #Iraq’s citations look here.

Review Tim Trevan, Saddam’s Secrets: The Hunt For Iraq’s Hidden Weapons, Harper Collins, 1999

  

Tim Trevan was a British expert in weapons of mass destruction (WMD). In 1992 he joined the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) weapons inspectors in Iraq. His Saddam’s Secrets is one of the better books on the subject. He goes into great detail about all of the jobs the inspectors carried out but focuses upon the biological weapons program which Iraq tried to hide. It’s the coverage of each inspection team that went to Iraq that reveals how Baghdad lied about its program until UNSCOM ended in 1998.

This Day In Iraqi History - May 1 British decided on pre-emptive attack upon Iraqi army outside Habaniya airbase in Anbar

 

1919 War Min Churchill wrote PM George that British army was overstretched with new

additions like Mesopotamia

(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)

Iraq Nominates Businessman Zaidi As Next Prime Minister

  

The ruling Coordination Framework surprised everyone by nominating businessman Ali al-Zaidi to be the next prime minister.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 30 Iraqi army surrounded UK Habaniya airbase hoping to force British troops out of Iraq

 

1915 Ottoman mayor murdered in Najaf for trying to draft men for war and taking money

from shrines

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 29 Ottomans defeated British at Kut 2nd biggest loss for UK during WWI

 

1916 Gen Townshend surrendered at Kut 13,309 soldiers and followers taken prisoner 

7,000 died in captivity British lost 33,000 casualties One of largest defeats for UK in WWI

Iran And Its Iraqi Allies Continue Attacks During Ceasefire

  

On April 8 the ceasefire went into effect between the U.S. and Iran. Hostilities were supposed to stop in Iraq as well as the Resistance announced a two week halt to operations but they have not. Iranian Kurdish groups have been attacked again and again and most recently a Kuwait border post was hit by an Iraqi drone.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 28 PM Gaylani and pan-Arab Golden Square officers decided to go to war with UK Asked Axis for military aid again

1922 UK Iraq Commissioner Cox said King Faisal racially weak for disagreeing with him

Musings On Iraq In The News

  

I was cite din this article by Paul Iddon in the New Arab “Dollar blockade: Will US pressure on Iraq’s militias backfire?”

 

For a full listing of Musings On Iraq’s citations look here.

US Cuts Off Iraq’s Oil Revenues To Force It To End Iranian Influence

  

The Trump administration dramatically increased the pressure upon Iraq to curtail Iranian influence in the country.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 27 Pres Arif said Kurds would never have autonomy in Iraq

1916 UK offered Ottomans all the artillery and 1 mil pounds in return for letting British forces

leave Kut UK forces had been under siege in Kut since Dec Ottomans refused offer

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 26 PM Gaylani asked Axis for aid to fight British

 

1916 Gen Townshend cmdr at Kut wrote Turks about surrendering Townshend told to offer

money to allow his troops to go Turks wanted unconditional surrender

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 25 British Mandate in Iraq created Was start of Iraq as a nation state

 

1920 San Remo Agreement created British Mandate in Iraq France agreed to give up Mosul vilayet

in return for oil concessions in Iraq

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

(Musings On Iraq interview with Princeton’s Sara Pursley on Sykes-Picot and creation of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Britain In Iraq, Contriving King and Country)

(Musings On Iraq review The Creation of Iraq 1914-1921)

(Musings On Iraq review Dictatorship, Imperialism & Chaos, Iraq since 1989)

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

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

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq Since 1958, From Revolution To Dictatorship)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Democratic Moment)

Review Nemir Kirdar, Saving Iraq, Rebuilding A Broken Nation, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2009

     

Nemir Kirdar was born in Iraq but left in 1969 due to the Baathist dictatorship. He went into business and became a multi-millionaire running his own investment firm. His book Saving Iraq, Rebuilding A Broken Nation represents everything that was wrong with Iraqi exiles. They had no idea what happened in Iraq since they left and valorized the past as an idyllic period that could be recreated in the present.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 24 Kurds announced tentative deal with Saddam for Kurdish autonomy Would lead to Kurdistan Regional Government

 

1916 British attempt to re-supply besieged garrison at Kut failed Last attempt to relieve forces there

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 23 PM Maliki ordered raid on Hawija protest site leaving 110 casualties Led to revival of the insurgency

 

1915 UK Gen Townshend ordered by Mesopotamia cmdr Gen Nixon to take Qurna and Amara

(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 22 Ayatollah Khomeini revealed Ayatollah Baqir al-Sadr executed by Iraq Called for Saddam to be overthrown

 

1915 Lord Curzon asked why British should promise Basra and Baghdad vilayets to Arabs if they

were fighting on Ottoman side

KDP Frustrated With Defeat Over Iraq’s Presidency

     

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) finds itself on the defensive after the election of Iraq’s president. The party believed it was on the ascendency due to the disarray of its partner the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) but that trend has been reversed recently.