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.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 21 Coalition Provisional Authority created to run post-war Iraq

1802 Wahabi army from Arabia sacked Karbala 2,000-5,000 killed

Iraq’s Oil Exports Collapse Due To Iran War

  

In March Iraq’s oil exports hit the lowest volume since the 2003 invasion due to the Iran War. The conflict is not over yet threatening the industry’s attempt to restart production. This is causing a financial crisis for the most oil dependent country in the world.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 20 Iraq-Turkey agreement allowed each to conduct cross border raids to fight Kurds

 

1917 British military governor in Baghdad banned weapons and ammunition for public and

imposed curfew on city

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 19 San Remo Conference held with UK France Italy Japan Decided to split up Ottoman empire and create Iraq

 

1916 German commander of the Ottoman forces in Mesopotamia Gen Goltz died of typhoid in

Baghdad

This Day In Iraqi History – Apr 18 ISI Leader Baghdadi and War Minister Masri killed by US and Iraqi forces

 

1919 France and England signed Long-Berenger oil deal France got 20% of Iraqi oil via Turkish

Petroleum Company

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

Review Edited by Jeremy Brecher, Jill Cutler, Brendan Smith, In The Name Of Democracy, American War Crimes In Iraq And Beyond, Metropolitan Books, 2005

  

In The Name of Democracy, American War Crimes In Iraq And Beyond is an anti-war book edited by Jeremy Brecher, Jill Cutler and Brendan Smith. It’s an anthology of articles which starts off fine but then gets farther and farther away from Iraq. It also becomes more and more of a diatribe where at first it was more about presenting evidence against how the U.S. occupied Iraq.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 17 PM Gaylani asked Nazis for military aid in case of war with UK

 

1916 Battle of Bait Isa Turkish counterattack stopped British advance British suffered

1,600 casualties Ottomans 4-5,000 3^rd defeat in British effort to relieve siege at Kut

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 16 Shah of Iran started giving military aid to Barzani to pressure Iraq to give him control over Shatt al-Arab

 

1914 US consul in Baghdad reported rumors spread that all Christians and Jews in city would be

massacred due to start of 2^nd Balkans War Rumors started after newspaper asked Mufti and Shiite clergy what was duty of Muslims in war They said to protect Islam and raise money Said Christians were defiling Muslim women in Balkans

Iraq’s Kurdistan Continues To Be Hit By Iranian Drones

  

Iraq’s Kurds were one of the biggest victims of the Iran War and Kurdistan continues to be targeted by Tehran.

This Day In Iraqi History – Apr 15 Joint Chiefs presented postwar plan with divisions from UK Poland Gulf States along with foreign police White House thought countries would end opposition to war and offer troops

1915 UK War Ministry committee heard from Adm Slade leading UK oil expert Said if Ottoman

Empire divided UK had to get Mosul vilayet because had oil

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

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 14 Saddam wrote article saying Shiites and Kurds were untrustworthy since ancient times because worked for Persians and was reason they started 1991 uprising

 

1915 Ottoman campaign to try to retake Basra from British failed

PUK Maintains Iraq’s Presidency Setting Off New Dispute With KDP

  

On April 11 Iraq’s parliament finally elected a president six months after elections. That was Nizar Amedi from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). This happened despite a boycott by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Nuri al-Maliki’s State of Law.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 13 Gen Qasim made cover of Time magazine

 

1915 British won Battle of Shaiba Ottomans had 4200 casualties 700 captured UK 1232 casualties

            Ottoman commander Askari killed himself in disgrace British 1200 casualties

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 12 Gertrude Bell wrote that Shiite clergy were all Persians and should be deported for issuing fatwas not to help UK defend Mosul against Turkey

1915 Battle of Shaiba began in Basra Ottomans and tribesmen launched frontal assault upon

fortress despite German advisers warning against it British artillery decimated Ottoman forces

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 11 Sec Def Rumsfeld said “Stuff happens” to try to explain looting after US invasion of Iraq

  

1915 Ottomans and tribesmen began probing attack upon British outpost in Shaiba, Basra to try to

expel UK forces from vilayet

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

Iran War Day 40: Ceasefire In Iraq But No Economic Relief With Strait Of Hormuz Still Closed

  

The ceasefire between the United States and Iran brought back a sense of peace to Iraq. The Resistance following its Persian sponsors announced a two week halt to operations.

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)

Iran War Day 39: Explosions Across Baghdad

  

The news of the day was a series of strikes by the U.S. and Israel across Baghdad. The Federal Police’s 2^nd Division was hit in Sabi al-Bour in the north. This was likely a mistake as a nearby Hashd base was also struck. Five police were wounded. A rocket landed on a house in Amiriya killing two civilians while an airstrike blew up a home on Palestine Street. The latter was used to store weapons for the Resistance. Jets also targeted locations in Jamila and Maghreb Street in the east. Five Hashd were wounded at a camp in Taji outside of the city in the north.

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)