Musings On Iraq interview with Reuters’ Parker on Maliki’s biography
Musings On Iraq interview with Inside Iraqi Politics’ Sowell on whether Maliki became a dictator
Musings On Iraq interview with Historian Phebe Marr comparing PM Maliki with MP Said
Musings On Iraq review The Endgame, The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from
George W. Bush to Barack Obama
Musings On Iraq review Iraq and the Politics of Oil, An Insider’s Perspective
Musings On Iraq review Iraq After America, Strongmen, Sectarians, Resistance
Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism
Musings On Iraq review The ISIS Reader, Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement
Musings On Iraq review The United States And Iraq Since 1990: A Brief History with Documents
Musings On Iraq review The Unraveling, High Hopes And Missed Opportunity In Iraq
Musings On Iraq review Voices From Iraq, A People’s History, 2003-2009
Jan 2 Arab League Report ranked Iraq 12th richest Arab country out of 16 nations based upon per
capita income
Jan 3 PM Maliki said Baghdad and Irbil should talk about oil contracts Maliki tried to win over
Kurds before 2010 election to get 2nd term
(Musings On Iraq Talk Of Renewed Kurdish Oil Exports)
(Musings On Iraq Maliki Reaches Out To Kurds Before March 2010 Vote)
(Musings On Iraq Kurdish Oil Exports To Start Again)
Jan 3 Chief Justice Mahmoud announced 3 judge anti-corruption panel Did nothing
Jan 3 Report attacks upon sahwa increasing Avg 10 per week and gone up since Nov 09 Part of ISI
revenge campaign
Jan 4 Chilcot Comm Gen Cross senior UK official at ORHA Said he was told not to commit any
money to postwar Iraq Claimed that was because PM Blair didn’t think London had any postwar policy
Jan 5 Report that US was in talks with Baathists in Iraq to try to get them to reconcile Maliki
govt criticized talks
(Musings On Iraq Is The U.S. Negotiating With Baathists?)
Jan 5 Chilcott Comm Sir Patey UK Amb to Iraq 05-06 said UK never committed to rebuilding Iraq
Jan 5 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq leader Qais Khazali released as part of US-UK-Iraq deal to get release of
kidnapped Brit Moore Ended talks with govt and ceasefire afterwards Went to Iran
(Musings On Iraq 2007 Political Kidnappings In Iraq Involving Asaib Ahl Al-Haq)
(Musings On Iraq Iranians Planned Kidnapping And Held British Captives Taken In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)
Jan 6 Chilcot Comm Chaplin UK Amb to Iraq 04-05 Said Allawi govt completely dysfunctional
Ministries didn’t work
Jan 6 Accountability and Justice Comm banned 511 candidates from 14 lists from election
for Baathist ties Iraqiya had most with 72 Was part of move by Shiite parties to make Baathists part of election
(Musings On Iraq Accountability And Justice Commission Attempts To Interfere In 2010 Elections)
(Musings On Iraq Return Of Sectarian Politics To Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 7 Chilcot Inquiry Dir of general operational policy said UK made truce with Mahdi Army so it
could withdraw from Basra Talks started Jun 07 Claimed withdrawal was a success and sowed dissension amongst Sadrists
Jan 7 Report UK felt it was in proxy war with Iran in Basra Heard commands to Special Groups in
Farsi Team that kidnapped 5 Brits from Finance Min in Baghdad also heard speaking Farsi Jun 07 Defense Min said it foiled Iranian plot to kidnap UK soldiers in Basra
Jan 7 Iranian with explosives communication and eavesdropping devices arrested in Wasit
Jan 8 Iraqiya held meeting over Accountability and Justice Comm banning its members from 2010
election for Baathist ties Rejected decision and threatened a boycott of parliament
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 8 UN sent letter to Election Comm calling for it to reject the banning of candidates for Baathist
ties
Jan 8 Gorran complained that PUK was attacking its followers 1 member killed in Halabja Dec 09
Jan 9 VP Abdul Mahdi reassured Ayatollah Sistani that candidate bans for Baathist ties were
unofficial and shouldn’t be discussed anymore
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 11 US general said 10,000 Sahwa had gotten jobs in ISF and 30,000 were employed in
ministries Left 78,000 unintegrated
(Musings On Iraq More Sons of Iraq Integrated While Others Walk Off The Job In Diyala)
(Musings On Iraq How Many Sons of Iraq Have Actually Been Integrated By Baghdad?)
(Musings On Iraq Continued Problems Integrating The Sons of Iraq)
Jan 12 US Amb Hill met with PM Maliki over banning of Salah al-Mutlaq from 2010 elections by
Accountability & Justice Comm Hill said no grounds for banning Mutlaq as he’d already served in parliament Maliki accused Mutlaq of working with Baathists in Syria in a conspiracy against him Claimed he was powerless to stop the ban
Jan 12 Survey 36% said economic issues most important Only 16% said security 44% said Iraq
going in right direction 46% said wrong direction
Jan 13 Joint Iraq-Peshmerga-US checkpoints opened in Diyala’s disputed territories to increase
cooperation amongst parties
(Musings On Iraq Joint Iraq-Peshmerga-U.S. Patrols Begin In Disputed Territories)
Jan 13 Dep head of Karbala council claimed Baathists were destabilizing Iraq MP said Baathists in
other countries were trying to disrupt 2010 election Part of push by Shiite parties to make Baathists main issue of 2010 election
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 13 Oil Min inspector general accused ISF of oil smuggling Found army units involved
Pipelines in Salahaddin and Ninewa being tapped into
Jan 14 Election Comm approved Accountability and Justice Comm banning of 511 candidates
before March parliamentary vote
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Election Commission Okays Ban On Mutlaq And Others From 2010 Vote)
(Musings On Iraq The Continuing Saga Of The Candidate Banning In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 14 Head of Accountability and Justice Comm told parliament he supported banning candidates
before 2010 election and more parties and politicians should be barred from running
Jan 14 VP Biden met with VP Abdul Mahdi Said banned candidates should be allowed to run
Jan 14 Members of Qadisiya council said they were working to stop Baathists from returning to
power Part of campaign by Shiite parties to make Baathists main issue of 2010 election
Jan 14 Demonstration in Mosul against banning candidates in 2010 election for Baathist ties
Jan 14 Joint U.S.-Iraqi-Peshmerga patrols announced for Mosul to increase cooperation between
Baghdad and Irbil on security
(Musings On Iraq Joint Iraq-Peshmerga-U.S. Patrols Begin In Disputed Territories)
Jan 14 Report new Iranian ambassador member of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force like
previous ones
Jan 15 Secretary Gen of Arab League arrived in Baghdad and lobbied for overturning banning of
candidates in 2010 election for Baathist ties
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 15 Report Conclusions of Chilcot Inquiry so far PM Blair determined to go to war with Iraq to
support Bush with or without UN approval Legality of war was major issue within govt Military couldn’t properly prepare for invasion because Blair wanted plans kept secret from public Didn’t plan for postwar situation
(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
Jan 15 Report Accountability and Justice Comm and Election Comm were trying to ban not only candidates but entire parties which was not in constitution or election law
Jan 16 PM Maliki said he favored banning candidates in 2010 election for Baathist ties Part of
push by Shiite parties to make Baathists main issue of vote
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 16 Protest in Qadisiya calling for expelling Baathists from govt Governor and council members
said they would work against Baathists
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 16 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq’s Khazali met Sadr in Iran Talked about peace between 2 groups Didn’t
happen
Jan 17 Chemical Ali sentenced to death for Halabja attack
Jan 17 Chilcot Inquiry Foreign Sec Straw wrote letter to PM Blair April 02 Said parliament not for
war Said Iraqi threat hadn’t changed No evidence Iraq linked to Al Qaeda Asked what were goals of war No postwar plans Said regime change wasn’t legal justification for war and new UN resolution required
Jan 18 KRG said it was willing to talk with Baghdad about oil Said it would publish deals it
signed with foreign companies in 2009 something Baghdad had demanded KRG wanted to restart its independent oil exports Kurds demanded that Baghdad pay the oil companies in KRG In return KRG would share profits from exports Maliki was trying to win over Kurds to get 2nd term
(Musings On Iraq Talk Of Renewed Kurdish Oil Exports)
(Musings On Iraq Maliki Reaches Out To Kurds Before March 2010 Vote)
Jan 18 Najaf council demanded that all Baathists leave province and fmr regime members would
be purged from council govt MP said there were Baathists in parliament and warned there might be more in next parliament Said banning candidates wasn’t enough Part of push by Shiite parties to make Baathists main issue of 2010 vote
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 18 UN asked Accountability and Justice Comm to reverse its banning of 511 candidates for
Baathist ties Commission told UN to stop interfering in Iraqi affairs
Jan 18 Report Many blamed Chalabi who headed Accountability and Justice Comm for banning 511
candidates from election
Jan 18 Fmr UK Defense Intel analyst said that his unit always argued against certainty that Iraq had
WMD stockpiles but their opinion overturned by senior officials
Jan 18 PM Blair’s chief of staff Powell testified to Chilcot Inquiry Said motivation for Iraq war
assumption Iraq had WMD Was not based upon intel but history with Saddam Were shocked when no WMD found after war
(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
Jan 18 VP Biden called Pres Talabani and Speaker Samarraie asking them to hold off on banning
candidates for Baathist pasts Head of Election Comm said no one was allowed to interfere in its work
Jan 19 Report Maliki govt claimed 15,000 Sahwa gotten jobs in ISF 33,000 positions in govt Said
by middle of 2010 all Sahwa would be integrated Never happened
(Musings On Iraq More Sons of Iraq Integrated While Others Walk Off The Job In Diyala)
(Musings On Iraq Continued Problems Integrating The Sons of Iraq)
Jan 19 Presidential Council had emergency meeting over banning candidates Pres Talabani said
commission created to look into matter Talabani asked Supreme Court to rule on matter
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 19 Def Sec Hoon told Chilcot Inquiry UK military officers in Wash DC repeatedly warned US
planning for Iraq war chaotic Hoon never felt adequate plans made UK didn’t allow adequate equipping of its army because govt afraid would undermine push for war Postwar planning started too late Complained to PM Blair about it
(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
Jan 19 Kurdish journalist said PUK tried to kidnap him but escaped Criticized PUK and KDP over
corruption
Jan 19 Report KRG said it would put profits from their oil exports into Baghdad bank In return KRG
wanted Baghdad to pay oil companies working in region
Jan 20 VP Hashemi said banning candidates for Baathist ties illegal Said Accountability and
Justice Comm had no authority because never approved by parliament
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 20 VP Biden criticized Accountability and Justice Comm Report that Obama admin told
Baghdad new govt wouldn’t be recognized if bans stayed in place
Jan 20 PM Maliki sent army unit to occupy Salahaddin govt building to stop new governor from
taking office
(Musings On Iraq Struggle Over Control of Salahaddin Province)
(Musings On Iraq Maliki Steps Into Middle of Governor Dismissal In Salahaddin)
Jan 20 PM Blair’s Communications Dir Campbell told Chilcot Inquiry Blair wrote letter to Bush
UK shared US concerns about Iraq and UK would join war if diplomacy failed Said Blair believed Iraq intl problem that needed to be confronted Denied he changed anything in WMD dossier
(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
Jan 20 US turned over Baghdad airport convention center to Maliki govt partially completed Never
finished Equipment stolen
Jan 20 Report Shiite parties couldn’t run in 2010 election on good govt because failed to do that
Tried to rally voters behind fear of Baathism instead Campaign started in 09 when Shiite parties criticized PM Maliki for courting Dep PM Mutlaq and was talk of bringing back Saddam era ISF Maliki then joined anti-Baathist campaign
Jan 21 Report Iraq reconciliation committee holding talks with insurgents and Baathists in Jordan
UAE Syria Before Maliki had criticized US for similar talks Came as Maliki and Shiite parties were campaigning on banning Baathists before 2010 vote
(Musings On Iraq Is The U.S. Negotiating With Baathists?)
Jan 21 Secretary general of cabinet passed resolution calling for Accountability and Justice Comm
to end work since never approved by parliament
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 21 Protests in Basra and Najaf in favor of banning candidates for Baathist ties Part of drive by
Shiite parties to make Baathists main issue of 2010 vote
Jan 21 PM Maliki dismissed Salahaddin Governor Alawi Day before Maliki had army take over
Salahaddin govt building Army officer in charge of running province
(Musings On Iraq Struggle Over Control of Salahaddin Province)
Jan 21 Sir Omand PM Blair’s security coordinator told Chilcot Inquiry that claim Iraq could deploy
WMD in 45 mins was just asking for trouble Said if all UK intel on Iraq was made public it wouldn’t have impressed anyone Said intel was shaped to make case for war and that was a mistake Believed UK security establishment had group think that stopped them from questioning whether Iraq had WMD Blamed Blair’s Communications Dir Campbell for plagiarizing college student’s journal paper on Iraq and releasing it as official document
(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
Jan 22 VP Biden visited Iraq Said all banned candidates should be allowed to run in 2010 election
as long as disavowed Baathism Said cases should be dealt with after vote Head of Accountability and Justice Comm rejected idea PM Maliki spokesman said US interfering in Iraqi politics
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 22 Report of 511 candidates banned for Baathist ties 72 were from Allawi’s Iraqiya and 67
from Interior Min Bolani’s Unity of Iraq Alliance
Jan 22 Interview with head of PUK Peshmerga Said they would not integrate into army PUK and
KDP peshmerga would merge Would get US training and weapons 4 camps set up Never fully happened
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Divided Kurds, Political Divisions Amongst The Peshmerga Interview With Wladimir van Wilgenburg)
Jan 22 Report New health study by Iraqi ministries found high levels of radiation and dioxins Included
areas in Baghdad by Tuwaitha nuclear facility and former research centers that were bombed during Gulf War and 03 invasion Scrapyards were another concern because of destroyed military ordinance Areas had high levels of cancer and birth defects Radiation thought to come from US depleted uranium munitions Dioxin affecting farmland in south Also soil contamination from attacks on oil pipelines Showed other sources of cancer besides US depleted uranium theory
Jan 23 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq kidnapped US contractor Issa Salomi which it swapped for 4 of its
members held in prison
(Musings On Iraq More Information On League Of The Righteous Kidnapping Of American Contractor)
(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)
Jan 23 Report Diyala Sahwa told to abandon posts by commanders due to Maliki govt crackdown
Sahwa sheikh claimed 425 Sahwa and 25 senior leaders had been arrested by govt on charges they belonged to ISI
(Musings On Iraq More Sons of Iraq Integrated While Others Walk Off The Job In Diyala)
(Musings On Iraq Government Tries To Disarm Diyala Sons of Iraq)
Jan 24 PM Maliki met with Speaker Samarrai and Presidential Council Said Cassation Panel under
Accountability and Justice Act would determine future of banned candidates for Baathist ties
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 24 Report Iraq bought $85 mil in bomb detectors that didn’t work for approx. $40,000 a piece Iraq
investigated devices Said they generally worked had no power source Was based upon water stick Still being used by ISF
Jan 24 Report MPs demanded ISF stop using fake bomb detectors PM Maliki ordered investigation
into devices after UK banned their export Parliament’s security comm said deal to buy devices was corrupt US military told Iraq devices didn’t work Interior Min said devices found 773 bombs
(Musings On Iraq Fake Bomb Detectors At Center Of Corruption Case At Iraq’s Interior Ministry)
Jan 25 3 international hotels bombed in Baghdad
Jan 25 Accountability and Justice Comm reinstated 59 banned candidates saying there were errors
in paperwork
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 25 Report 2nd time in 3 yrs Special Insp Gen for Iraq Recon criticized State Dept handling of
contract with DynCorp hired to train and supply Iraqi police DynCorp spent $43.8 mil on storage camp not used State spent $36.4 mil on weapons and equipment for Iraqi police that couldn’t be tracked Hired guards for $4.5 mil for 6 contractors that already had guards
Jan 26 Parliament passed Iraq’s budget for $72.4 bil up from last budget of $58.6 bil Largest budget
since 03 70% of spending was for govt salaries pensions food ration system services Cut salaries of top officials by 10-20% Was so large because politicians wanted to use in 2010 election
(Musings On Iraq 2010 Iraq Budget Passed)
Jan 26 Accountability and Justice Comm claimed Election Comm asked them to review 600
candidates to see if they had Baathist connections which led to banning 511 candidates
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 26 Human Rights Comm said on going abuses at Iraq’s jails/prisons due to justice system
relying upon confessions often obtained via torture Also overcrowding corruption lack of trials
(Musings On Iraq Report Of Continuing Abuse In Iraqi Prisons)
Jan 26 Parliament’s human rights comm said violations in Iraqi prison and jails Said torture increasing
Prisoners not released unless paid bribes
Jan 27 US CENTCOM cmdr Gen Petraeus said Accountability and Justice Comm was working for
Iranian Rev Guards Quds Force Commission accused Petraeus of working with Baathists
(Musings On Iraq Is The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Too Distracted By Internal Affairs To Be Meddling In Iraq Right Now?)
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Shiite Parties Turn To Blaming America Before The March Elections)
Jan 27 UN reported 167,740 displaced and 37,090 refugees had returned to home areas in 2009
Was down from 2008 figures 2009 Maliki govt tried to end displacement/refugee crisis but failed due to lack of policy
(Musings On Iraq 2009 Numbers On Displaced and Refugee Returns To Iraq)
Jan 27 Report Chilcot Inquiry found that Foreign Secretary Straw told PM Blair regime change not
justification for Iraq war Needed new U.N. resolution Foreign Office legal advisor told Straw Iraq war would not be legal without 2nd resolution Attorney Gen Lord Goldsmith initially said 2nd resolution needed
Jan 27 Fmr Attorney Gen Lord Goldsmith told Chilcot Inquiry that Foreign Sec Straw convinced
him Iraq war legal in Feb 03 1st Goldsmith said 2nd UN resolution needed to make war legal Feb 03 Goldsmith said war legal with just UN Res 1441
Jan 28 Report Gorran claimed its followers were attacked by PUK Dec 09 4 Gorran members attacked
1 killed House burned Pres Talabani blamed Gorran head Mustafa for betraying Kurds Ignored Halabja attack Blamed him for PUK-KDP civil war in 90s Mustafa said Talabani hadn’t stood for Kurdish interests in yrs Pres Barzani tried to mediate 2 sides agreed to stop attacks
Jan 29 Blair testified to Chilcot Inquiry that Saddam was a threat to the world that had to be dealt
with That if Iraq wasn’t invaded in 2003 world would have to deal with Saddam later and could have been more difficult Said 9/11 changed perceptions of Iraq in both US and England
(Musings On Iraq Was Iraq An Imminent Threat To The West?)
Jan 29 Southern Clans Council who supported Iraqiya threatened to boycott 2010
vote to protest banning 511 candidates for Baathist ties
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Jan 29 Ninewa Gov Nujafi started no confidence vote against KDP mayor of Sinjar who then sued
Nujafi
(Musings On Iraq Political Disputes Continue in Ninewa)
Jan 30 Sheikh Abu Risha of Anbar Awakening threatened boycott of 2010 election over 70
candidates from his party and Interior Min Bolani’s Unity of Iraq Alliance being banned for Baathist ties
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Feb 1 Accountability and Justice Comm banned another 57 candidates on top of 511 already due
to Baathist ties Part of push by Shiite parties to make Baathists main issue of 2010 vote
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Feb 1 Ninewa Gov Nujafi visited Wana Was met by Kurdish protest Nujafi’s convoy shot at Mayor
of Qosh who visited Nujafi harassed by Asayesh Nujafi’s bodyguards arrested people charging them with shooting at convoy Kurds responded by taking hostages Gen Odierno sent Emma Sky to negotiate end to confrontation
Feb 1 Report Oil companies in KRG held meeting Jan 2010 Biggest question was how would they be
paid Several companies invested billions and not got paid KRG made deal with Baghdad for it to export oil in return for Baghdad paying oil companies
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)
Feb 1 Transportation Min said it would lay cornerstone of Faw project in a few weeks Wasn’t laid
until Apr 2011 Never finished Project restarted 2022
Feb 2 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq claimed it held a British and an American hostage Brit was security guard
Alan McMeney they kidnapped in 07 raid on Finance Min Group had already killed him American was contractor Salomi kidnapped Jan 2010
(Musings On Iraq League Of The Righteous Break Off Talks With Baghdad Again)
(Musings On Iraq More Information On League Of The Righteous Kidnapping Of American Contractor)
(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)
Feb 2 Health Min said it arrested 2 rings of nurses who were kidnapping babies at hospitals and selling
them to another country 1 ring in Baghdad Other in Kirkuk
Feb 3 Cassation Panel unbanned 511 candidates PM Maliki spokesman Accountability and Justice
Comm and Sadr condemned decision Maliki said Panel working for US
(Musings On Iraq Accountability And Justice Commission Attempts To Interfere In 2010 Elections)
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
(Musings On Iraq Appeals Court To Go Through Banning Cases Before Iraq’s March Election)
(Musings On Iraq Candidates Unbanned From Running In March 2010 Election)
Feb 3 Report Iraq imported 60% of its refined oil needs Head of parliament’s oil comm said Iraq saw
huge increase in demand while having old refineries lacked investment and insurgent attacks Said some refineries only at 50% capacity and govt didn’t’ invest in new tech Oil Min Shahristani said he wanted Iraq to become self-sufficient in oil products and eventually export them Didn’t happen
Feb 4 PM Maliki called for parliament to meet to discuss unbanning 511 candidates for Baathist
ties Claimed Election Comm didn’t have to follow unbanning Maliki told US Amb Hill to stop interfering in Iraqi politics
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Shiite Parties Turn To Blaming America Before The March Elections)
(Musings On Iraq Appeals Court To Go Through Banning Cases Before Iraq’s March Election)
Feb 4 US Embassy cable PM Maliki tried to fire 36 from military intelligence Almost all were
Sunnis Maliki tried to replace them with Dawa members Maliki would fire 376 intel officers total in early 2010
Feb 5 PM Maliki govt spokesman said Cassation Panel’s decision to unban 511 candidates was
illegal Sadr also criticized decision VP Hashemi supported the panel
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Feb 5 Ninewa Gov Nujafi went to events in Tilkaif where Kurdish protesters threw things at him
Kurdish parties said they would not allow any provincial official to enter a disputed area without its permission
(Musings On Iraq Political Disputes Continue in Ninewa)
Feb 5 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq ended talks with Maliki govt Claimed govt had not released all its
followers from prison as promised Maliki was hoping to use group against Sadr in 2010 election
(Musings On Iraq League Of The Righteous Break Off Talks With Baghdad Again)
(Musings On Iraq More Information On League Of The Righteous Kidnapping Of American Contractor)
(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)
Feb 6 High Judicial Council said would review unbanning of 511 candidates and legality of
Accountability and Justice Comm PM Maliki pressured court to come to decision before Feb 9 special session of parliament that was to discuss issue
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Feb 6 Parliament said it wanted to withdraw support for Cassation Panel after it unbanned 511
candidates for Baathist ties
Feb 6 Iraqi National Alliance said some parties working with Baathists to return them to power
Claimed US behind unbanning 511 candidates for Baathist ties
Feb 6 Sadrist head of parliament’s legal comm said VP Hashemi should be banned from 2010 vote
for promoting Baathism
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Politicians Stepping Up Attacks On Each Other As Elections Near)
Feb 6 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq released video of US contractor Salomi they kidnapped in Baghdad in Jan
2010 Group demanded govt release
its men from prison
Feb 7 Election Comm said campaign in 2010 election delayed until Feb 12 so that deBaathification
crisis could be resolved
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Feb 7 Election Comm 1st agreed with unbanning 511 candidates and that they should be able to run
in 2010 vote Then agreed with Accountability and Justice Comm that candidates still banned
Feb 7 PM Maliki said Baathist crimes wouldn’t go unpunished Focus of his 2010 re-election
campaign
Feb 7 State of Law governor of Baghdad announced deBaathification drive Head of Baghdad
council said they would create deBaathification comm State of Law organized protests in Basra and Baghdad against Baathists and US
(Musings On Iraq Appeals Court To Go Through Banning Cases Before Iraq’s March Election)
Feb 7 Basra and Najaf govts said they would expel Baathists from govts Dhi Qar and Babil fired
ISF for Baathist ties Muthanna began arresting govt workers for Baathist ties Part of drive by Shiite parties to make Baathists main issue of 2010 vote
(Musings On Iraq Campaigning Officially Begins IN Iraq As Hunt For Baathists Spreads To The Local Level)
Feb 7 ISF arrested Diyala provincial council member as part of PM Maliki crackdown vs Iraqiya
before 2010 election Claimed he was connected to terrorism Released for lack of evidence
(Musings On Iraq The Fate Of Najm Harbi, Winning Iraqi National Movement Candidate In Diyala)
Feb 7 Report Army was still in Salahaddin blocking govt from working PM Maliki sent army to block
new Salahaddin governor from taking office
Feb 8 Judicial Council ruled that Cassation Panel only had jurisdiction over individual appeals of
banned candidates and couldn’t unban 511 candidates en masse
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Feb 8 Speaker Samarrai said parliament endorsed Cassation Panel so couldn’t have confidence
withdrawn as some threatened Said Panel was going through appeals of banned candidates
Feb 8 Cassation Panel went back to reviewing banned candidates Found half of 511 banned
candidates had been replaced by their parties and cases could no longer be dealt Only had 177 cases that could be appealed Only 37 of those had filed right papers rest were disqualified for technical reasons
(Musings On Iraq Only 37 Banned Candidates Can Appeal Their Cases)
Feb 8 Protest in Dhi Qar against Cassation Panel for unbanning candidates for Baathist ties
(Musings On Iraq Campaigning Officially Begins IN Iraq As Hunt For Baathists Spreads To The Local Level)
Feb 8 PM Maliki called for parliament to meet over Cassation Panel going back to reviewing
banned candidates
Feb 9 PM Maliki told meeting in Sadr City that he would stop Baathists from returning to power
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Feb 9 Aide to Ahmed Chalabi said US trying to bring Baathists back to power
Feb 9 Protest in Qadisiya against Baathists
(Musings On Iraq Campaigning Officially Begins IN Iraq As Hunt For Baathists Spreads To The Local Level)
Feb 9 Parliament’s legal comm called on parliament to ban VP Hashemi in 2010 election for being
a Baathist sympathizer
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Politicians Stepping Up Attacks On Each Other As Elections Near)
Feb 9 Army officer put in charge of Salahaddin govt by PM Maliki stopped provincial council
from entering offices Led to protest in Tikrit
(Musings On Iraq Struggle Over Control of Salahaddin Province)
Feb 10 Protests in Karbala against Baathists Claimed there were Baathists throughout the
provincial govt and ISF Part of drive by Shiite parties to make Baathists main issue of 2010 vote
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
(Musings On Iraq Campaigning Officially Begins IN Iraq As Hunt For Baathists Spreads To The Local Level)
Feb 10 Ninewa Gov Nujafi visited Takleef Locals threw rocks and tomatoes at his caravan leading
to shots being fired ISF with Nujafi arrested some peshmerga who retaliated by arresting some soldiers Eventually prisoners released Nujafi accused the Kurds of kidnapping KRG Pres Barzani suspended joint US-Iraqi-Kurdish patrols in Ninewa Called Nujafi a criminal Said he would be arrested if ever entered Kurdish areas of Ninewa
(Musings On Iraq U.S.-Iraqi-Peshmerga Joint Patrols Get Off To Rough Start)
Feb 10 Report MP Ahmed Chalabi accused Maliki govt of misspending money Said PM Maliki said he would make up deficit in food ration system but spent money inappropriaty Called for investigation
Feb 11 Iraqi Special Forces with US advisers raided Kataib Hezbollah in Maysan killing 8
Iraqi politicians condemned raid Afterward Maliki ordered all raids be authorized by him personally Led several Iraqi commands to suspend ops with US
(Musings On Iraq Instrument Of Iran’s Power In Iraq And Syria Kataib Hezbollah)
Feb 11 Head of Accountability and Justice Comm said Cassation Panel had gone through all
appeals of candidates banned for Baathist ties
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Feb 11 Karbala and Qadisiya announced they created own Accountability and Justice committees
to weed out Baathists in local govts Part of Shiite drive to make Baathists main issue of 2010 vote
(Musings On Iraq Campaigning Officially Begins IN Iraq As Hunt For Baathists Spreads To The Local Level)
Feb 11 Protests in Diyala against Baathists running in 2010 vote Claimed US interfering in Iraqi
politics
Feb 11 Election monitoring group said parties handing out heaters clothes blankets money in
return for votes Same thing happened in 2005
Feb 12 Election Comm banned 458 candidates for Baathist ties after Cassation Panel had
unbanned them Election Comm under pressure from PM Maliki to reban them
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Feb 12 Spokesman for Accountability and Justice Comm claimed anti-Baathist campaign would
motivate people to vote in 2010 Spokesman and head of commission Ahmed Chalabi were both running in election
(Musings On Iraq Will Baathism Bring Out The Votes In The March Election?)
Feb 12 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq said it held a US and a UK hostage Said would return them for its members
being released by US Summer 09 members started being released for 5 Brits it kidnapped PM Maliki supporter Sami Askari was middleman in talks with UK over hostages
(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Iranians Planned Kidnapping And Held British Captives Taken In Iraq)
Feb 12 Oil Min Shahristani said Iraq would produce 12 mil/bar/day in 6 yrs Said would provide huge
amount of jobs Labor Min said building infrastructure for oil could provide 1.3 mil jobs Came after signed 11 contracts with foreign oil companies Wanted to build pipeline to Mediterranean Companies were supposed to hire 85% Iraqis and train them None of this happened
Feb 13 Iraqiya suspended campaign for 2010 election after candidates rebanned for Baathist ties
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Feb 15 PM Maliki reversed order to have all raids authorized by him Came after he protested
US-Iraq raid on Kataib Hezbollah
(Musings On Iraq Instrument Of Iran’s Power In Iraq And Syria Kataib Hezbollah)
Feb 15 Report Oil Min said it would pay operating costs to oil companies in KRG but not profits Still
questioned legality of KRG energy deals Committee created of Baghdad and KRG officials to go over expenses of oil companies in KRG
Feb 15 Report Jan Election Comm said it supported Accountability and Justice Comm banning
candidates Was only body that could ban candidates Pres Talabani said upset with decision Allawi condemned decision VP Abdul Mahdi denied Sunni candidates were targeted Neither Election Comm nor Accountability and Justice Comm ever told candidates about their status Relied upon press statements Head and Dep head of Accountability and Justice Comm Chalabi and Lami candidates in election Presidential Council said commission would look into banning VP Biden came to Iraq to discuss matter PM Maliki said courts would decide on bannings 59 candidates appealed and were reinstated by Accountability and Justice Comm Feb Cassation Panel said banned candidates could run in election Election Comm agreed with Cassation Panel then asked whether decision legal Judicial Council ruled Cassation Panel couldn’t unban candidates just deal with individual appeals Only unbanned 26 candidates
Feb 15 Pentagon Iraq struggled to spend budget Bottlenecks Unclear rules Lack of capacity Security
Law between orders and getting credit all issues 2006 Iraq spent 68% of budget 2007 67% 2008 70%
Feb 15 Pentagon report Iraq asked Turkey to increase water flow down Euphrates and Tigris but little
progress
Feb 16 ISI set off 4 suicide car bombs targeting hotels in Baghdad where foreign press stayed
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
Feb 16 US Cmdr in Iraq Gen Odierno accused Ahmed Chalabi and Ali al-Lami leaders of
Accountability and Justice Comm of working for Iranian Revolutionary Guards
(Musings On Iraq Is The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Too Distracted By Internal Affairs To Be Meddling In Iraq Right Now?)
Feb 16 UN Human Rights Council meeting U.S. said Iraq had to improve prison conditions and
look into reports of abuse US worried about attacks on minorities gays lesbians and women UK called on Iraq to end death penalty Said too many on death row after quick trials Denmark talked about torture in Iraqi jails Canada France Germany talked about honor killings of women
(Musings On Iraq United Nations’ Human Rights Council Criticizes Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Review What Kind of Liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq)
Feb 17 PM Maliki speech in Qadisiya Said most banned candidates were former intel officers
under Saddam who were trying to infiltrate parliament
Feb 17 Report Dawa and ISCI TV stations running ads about crimes of Saddam as part of 2010
election campaign Maliki made Baathist return his main issue
Feb 17 PM Maliki called for majority govt instead of national unity one after 2010 election
Kurdish Alliance rejected idea Said govt was failing because Maliki an autocrat
(Musings On Iraq Maliki Flip Flops On Majority Rule)
(Musings On Iraq Argument For Maliki Being Iraq’s Next Strongman)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq After America, Strongmen, Sectarians, Resistance)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Inside Iraqi Politics’ Sowell on whether Maliki became a dictator)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Historian Phebe Marr comparing PM Maliki with MP Said)
Feb 17 Report US said security incidents down 83% from 2008 IED attacks down 80% from 2008 to
2010 Car bombs and suicide attacks down 92% from 2008 to 2010
Feb 19 Salah al-Mutlaq’s Iraqi National Dialogue Front announced boycott of 2010 election
because he was banned Said Iran behind banning of candidates
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Feb 19 Iraqiya said it would end its ban of 2010 election and go back to campaigning
Feb 19 Curfew imposed in Sulaymaniya city after violent clashes between Gorran and PUK
Gorran accused PUK security of attacking its followers
Feb 19 Report New health study in Amer Journal of Public Health Found leukemia in children in
Basra almost tripled in last 15 yrs Was higher than Kuwait and Oman Thought oil fires fumes from oil and gas pesticides and depleted uranium munitions used by US might be causes
Feb 21 Report US military got tip $4 mil in counterfeit US dollars sent to Maysan to buy votes in
2010 election Another report interviewed man in Sadr City who organized 100 people in his neighborhood to control their votes
(Musings On Iraq Vote Buying In Iraq’s 2010 Election)
Feb 23 Report Maliki gotv refused to withdraw fake bomb detectors Govt spokesman Dabbagh
said that 50% of the devices didn’t work and those would be replaced with working ones
Feb 23 Asst Dep Cmdr Saudi National Guard told US officials to marginalize PM Maliki because
he was an Iranian agent
Feb 23 Adv to Agriculture Min said drought and salinity problems with farming Said ministry trying
modern irrigation techniques and new seeds and building infrastructure
Feb 23 Asst Dep cmdr Saudi National Guard told US officials to marginalize PM Maliki because he
was an Iranian agent
(Musings On Iraq review A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, The Saudi Struggle For Iraq)
Feb 24 Report that Accountability and Justice Comm was going to ban 376 ISF for Baathist ties
Included fmr head of Baghdad Ops Command Deputy chief of staff of army Dep cmdr of infantry US and Iraqi govts had recruited thousands of fmr Baath era officers and soldiers back into ISF
(Musings On Iraq Maliki Reject DeBaathification Of Army And Police Officers)
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Feb 24 Report Christians fleeing Mosul again after threats and attacks Head of Syro-Catholic
Church sent letter to PM Maliki for help
(Musings On Iraq review Christianity in Iraq)
Feb 24 Report PUK hurt by 2009 KRG elections Gorran emerged as rival cut into PUK’s base and
won many of the PUK’s seats in KRG parliament KDP remained in power sharing deal with PUK but exerted itself as bigger party PUK wanted Natural Resource Min Hawrami replaced for questions about oil deals but ignored by KDP KDP was against reappointing PUK’s Rasul as VP Dep PM was supposed to go to PUK but KDP took it PUK tried to be more transparent and created more govt jobs
Feb 25 Iraqi National Dialogue Front said it ended boycott of 2010 election and would run as part
of Iraqiya after its leader Salah al-Mutlaq was banned
(Musings On Iraq Timeline of Iraq’s De-Baathification Campaign)
Feb 25 Report 8 Christians killed in Mosul over last 10 days Students and workers not going out
Community receiving threats
(Musings On Iraq review Christianity in Iraq)
Feb 25 State Dept memo said Saudis spending lots of money on political parties before 2010
election because opposed Shiite led govt
(Musings On Iraq Turkey, Saudi Arabia, And Iran’s Role In Putting Together A New Iraqi Government)
(Musings On Iraq review A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, The Saudi Struggle For Iraq)
Feb 25 PM Maliki’s office announced it was rehiring 20,000 former officers fired by the U.S. in
2003
(Musings On Iraq Maliki Reject DeBaathification Of Army And Police Officers)
Feb 25 Ayatollah Najafi said Education Water Electricity Agriculture Oil and Trade Ministries
corrupted
(Musings On Iraq Corruption Charges Thrown Around Before March Iraq Elections)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen on Iraq’s fight with corruption)
(Musings On Iraq interview with former anti-corruption official Vincent Foulk)
Feb 25 US military leaked report to Wash Post columnist Ignatius Said Iranian Rev Guards Quds
Force pushed for ISCI Sadrists Fadhila INC and fmr PM Jaafari to form the Iraqi National Alliance for the 2010 election Said Iran paid ISCI $9 mil/mo Sadr $8 mil/mo to help with campaigning Said Iran had list of 600 Iran-Iraq War veterans it wanted killed
(Musings On Iraq Is The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Too Distracted By Internal Affairs To Be Meddling In Iraq Right Now?)
Feb 25 Karbala fired 10 professors for Baathist ties Said 40 other educators employed by the govt
were also Baathists Part of campaign by Shiite parties to make Baathism main issue in 2010 election
Feb 25 Report 11 injured in fighting between Gorran and PUK supporters in Sulaymaniya Govt
imposed curfew Police deployed Supporters out every night driving around city and chanting slogans
Feb 26 Report 61 Christian families fled Mosul for Kurdistan due to threats and attacks
(Musings On Iraq review Christianity in Iraq)
Feb 26 Report 7 of 29 Diyala councilmen had warrants for them Didn’t attend sessions because afraid
of arrest Leading Sunni candidate in 2010 election arrested on terrorism charges Was a sahwa leader His list won 9 seats in Diyala in 2009 Escaped assassination attempts 23 members of his family killed Supporter accused PM Maliki of trying to eliminate opposition US said ISF had been carrying out large number of arrests in Diyala since Dec for political reasons
Feb 27 Report Saudis and Jordan backing Allawi in 2010 election and funding his party
(Musings On Iraq Turkey, Saudi Arabia, And Iran’s Role In Putting Together A New Iraqi Government)
Feb 27 Report Saudis backed Allawi in elections to oppose Shiite parties Allawimet with King
Abdullah and head of Saudi intel Syria upset with PM Maliki after accused it of being behind Aug 09 Baghdad bombings Also supported Allawi
Feb 28 State Dept cable said that Maliki had put 58 Dawa members into Interior Min intel agency
to try to control it
Feb 28 VP Hashemi said Iraq had gotten $300 bil in aid cut its debt gotten intl support but was still
poor and impoverished Blamed corruption
(Musings On Iraq Corruption Charges Thrown Around Before March Iraq Elections)
Feb 28 Maliki claimed new contracts with major oil companies would boost revenue and pay for
Iraq’s reconstruction and debts
(Musings On Iraq Analysts Say Impossible For Iraq To Reach Oil Production Goals)
Feb 28 Report Fmr spokesman for Iraqi Natl Intel accused PM Maliki of handing out guns and cash
for votes Said Maliki cancelled order for weapons for intel service and filed his own order which then distributed the weapons for his campaign Govt spokesman claimed guns were rewards for tribes helping with security Maliki gave guns to sheikhs in Maysan Qadisiya Wasit Nasiriya councilman said Maliki gave out guns and 1 mil dinars in envelopes to sheikhs Maliki had been feuding with intel service Aug 09 fired intel director Shahwani 190 other intel workers also fired Ex-spokesman said Maliki was getting rid of intel officers that didn’t follow his orders
Mar 1 Report Water Min said despite heavy rains and snows Turkey was withholding water flowing
down Euphrates Said Iraq needed 500 mil/cubic/meters per sec for agriculture but was only receiving 200-250 mil/cubic/meters/day
Mar 1 Report Candidates in Diyala handed out heating oil and rice for votes Babil gave sports
equipment and shoes Southern marshes politicians gave toys phone cards blankets No law about fund raising or spending by candidates Interior Min Bolani held rally in Baghdad Many attending were policemen One commander said he was ordered to attend along with his unit
Mar 1 KRG Pres Barzani said Ninewa Gov Nujafi was a criminal and would be arrested if he entered
any Kurdish area in province Came after Nujafi went to Tilkaif where he claimed someone tried to kill him after vegetables and rocks thrown at him by townspeople Peshmerga arrested Peshmerga then arrested ISF
Mar 2 Report Oil analyst said Iraq faced challenges reaching its 12 mil/bar/day production goal Said
were bottlenecks everywhere which would be hard to overcome
Mar 2 Fouad Ajami OpEd in Wall St Journal Said 2010 election showed democracy taking hold in
Iraq Claimed sign of success of U.S. invasion Said few elections in MidEast Said deBaathification of 500 candidates was unfortunate but Iraqis needed to run their own elections Said deBaathification misunderstood in US Claimed Wasn’t about sectarianism but rather to put off mass slaughter of all Baathists Claimed Bremer’s decision to ban Baath great benefit to Iraq to stop revenge killings Said remarkable how little violence vs Baathists Rejected claims Iraq under influence of Iran Said Iraqis rejected Iran Said US support for Shiite led govt in Iraq was changing MidEast Rejected idea that Saddam was buffer vs Iran saying Iran had influence in Lebanon and Syria in 1980s and 90s Thought Iraqi democracy would be real buffer to Iran Was attempt to justify his support of 2003 invasion
(Musings On Iraq Review The Foreigner’s Gift, The Americans, the Arabs, and the Iraqis in Iraq)
(Musings Om Iraq Fouad Ajami’s Flawed Argument For The Iraq War)
Mar 2 Report May 09 Sadr Hakim Chalabi met in Tehran to form Iraqi National Alliance Chalabi was
peacemaker between longtime rivals Sadr and Hakim Part of plan by Iran to keep Shiites united to run govt
Mar 3 Report State of Law candidate offered money and pistols for votes Another candidate offered
uniforms to a sports team PM Maliki said gifts were for those that helped with security Islamic Party handed out chickens in Diyala PUK offered former peshmerga land in return for family’s vote Some voters asked to swear on Koran that that they will vote for a certain list after given gifts Ayatollah Sistani said gifts were forbidden
Mar 3 Report Transparency Intl and World Bank put Iraq at bottom of their lists for corruption Comes
from weak institutions Quota system divides up ministries by parties Ministries could veto corruption investigations Ministries didn’t work Ministries protected from investigations by parties that ran them PM Maliki never did anything about graft Even in large public corruption cases are few prosecutions Trade Min Sudani from Dawa in high profile case was protected by Maliki Sudani signed contract with company owned by his son for $50 mil for old tea that cost $20 mil Fmr Culture Min Hashemi never prosecuted for using ministry for torture Was accused of assassination plot in 2007 Reportedly hid in VP Hashemi’s house in Green Zone to escape arrest Politicians interfered in arrests and detentions Oct 09 ISF arrested Mosul lawyer for bribing officials to release ISI members and destroy their records During 08 cholera epidemic officials in Babil bought expired chlorine from Iran One official arrested and then released because protected by ISCI Politicians got large salaries and protection MPs got $30,000/mo salaries and $9,000 for security Got $7200/mo pensions for 10 yrs Parliament voted to give each MP $60,000 loan to buy cars Gave families passports for 10 yrs and real estate
(Musings On Iraq Corruption In Iraq An Interview With Stuart Bowen Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Trouble Fighting Corruption Interview With Vincent Foulk Former US Anti-Graft Official)
Mar 4 Iraq one of most corrupt countries in world Cost $3000 for car license $5000 for police job
$300,000 to become colonel in army
(Musings On Iraq New Examples Of Corruption In Iraq)
Mar 4 Report World Bank est Iraq needed $1 bil in investment to maintain its current oil
production of around 2.4 mil/bar/day because ports pipelines etc are old and decrepit Said to upgrade to 5 mil/bar/day would cost around $30 bil over 8 yrs
(Musings On Iraq Analysts Say Impossible For Iraq To Reach Oil Production Goals)
Mar 4 Report US said Asaib Ahl Al-Haq was trying to get other militias to join with it and carry out
attacks on Americans Leader Qais Khazali was released after US-Iraq negotiations Afterward renounced violence and said would turn to politics Didn’t US general in charge of Baghdad said Asaib Ahl Al-Haq would increase attacks to take credit for US military withdrawal Khazali was student of Ayatollah Sadiq al-Sadr Then deputy to Moqtada al-Sadr 2004 two split Fall 08 US began talks with Khazlai and Baghdad to release him Khazali ordered ceasefire and 450 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq members released from prison Released Brits group kidnapped in return Iraqi officials said kidnapping worked because got members released After released Khazali stopped talking to US and Baghdad US said ceasefire ended Jan group kidnapped US contractor
(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)
Mar 4 Report Iranian Rev Guard’s Quds Force ran military ops in Iraq Trained anti-Saddam groups
many of which became ruling parties after 2003 Quds Force Gen Suleimani brokered ceasefire with Mahdi Army and Maliki in Mar 08 Mar 07-Jun 08 Kataib Hezbollah carried out attacks on US 2008 Lebanon’s Hezbollah played videos of Kataib Hezbollah’s attacks on US Kataib Hezbollah called Iranian proxy Feb 2010 US military accused Kataib Hezbollah of increasing arms smuggling from Iran Led by Abu Muhandis Was advisor to Gen Suleimani 1983 Muhandis bombed US and French embassies in Kuwait Carried out assassination attempt on Kuwait emir in 1985 Both were Quds Force ops to deter Kuwait France US from supporting Iran in Iran-Iraq War Jul 09 Kataib Hezbollah and Muhandis labeled terrorists by US Treasury Dep 2005 Muhandis elected MP as part of United Iraqi Alliance Ran again in 2010 Didn’t go to parliament and lived in Iran for over 20 yrs Joined Dawa in 70s 85 joined ISCI Became deputy cmdr of Badr Brigade Fought on Iranian side in Iran-Iraq War
(Musings On Iraq Instrument Of Iran’s Power In Iraq And Syria Kataib Hezbollah)
Mar 4 Report Govt jobs only thing keeping Iraqi society going 3/5 of jobs are from govt 70% of
budget goes to salaries and pensions Private sector small Few middle sized businesses since 2003 Most small or state run Private business accounted for 13% of GDP Rest of MidEast private sector up to 33% of GDP 240,000 Iraqis enter labor force each yr Population getting younger Foreign investment up but mostly in oil Foreign construction and service companies also opening in Iraq from MidEast and Asia Security main reason Western companies don’t operate in Iraq Also turned off by regulations corruption Iraq ranked 153rd in ease of doing business
Mar 4 Report Few solutions to refugees/displaced Around 2.8 mil displaced ½ displaced before 2003
1.5 mil displaced after Feb 06 Samarra bombing Lacked health power water sanitation Large returns didn’t happen as expected after violence dropped off Maliki govt didn’t offer solutions or adequate aid Iraq changed demographically during civil war Saddam’s Arabization policy Anfal campaign draining southern marshes displaced 1000s before 2003 Each province had different requirements to register as displaced
Mar 5 Report PM Maliki used state to help in election Hired temp workers as full time workers in
projects run by his office Tried to add 115,00 new workers in 2010 budget but was blocked Announced govt would re-hire 20,000 ex-soldiers Set up generators in Baghdad with his State of Law logo on them
Mar 5 Report All the major parties claimed voter fraud National Alliance said 800,000 false names
were added to voter roles Iraqiya said 7 mil extra ballots had been printed and could be used for cheating Parties distributed gifts for votes PM Maliki’s State of Law handed out pistols saying it was for people who helped with security Some accused Maliki of using state funds to finance his campaign
Mar 7 Parliamentary elections held leading to 2nd Maliki term Voter turnout was 62% vs 76% in
Dec 05
(Musings On Iraq General Voting Begins In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Voting Down In 2010, But Election Shows New Balance Of Power In Iraq)
Mar 7 Report Accountability and Justice Comm was considering banning more candidates for
Baathist ties and disqualifying votes for those politicians as well
(Musings On Iraq Another DeBaathification Crisis Seems To Have Been Averted)
Mar 7 Report Head of integrity comm said documents showed $4 bil missing from Trade Min Might
be as high as $8 bil Ministry bought old food but charged full prices and stole the difference Trade Min officials bought food at full price but took it for themselves and sold it on black market Bought cheap substitutes to replace stolen food worked with merchants to buy goods for double the price and took difference 2009 investigation found only 1/2 people were getting their full food rations from ministry
(Musings On Iraq Corruption In Iraq An Interview With Stuart Bowen Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Trouble Fighting Corruption Interview With Vincent Foulk Former US Anti-Graft Official)
Mar 8 Amara police chief said that Iranian Quds Force members used to come to Iraq every month
Now came every 6-7 months Said Quds Force busy dealing with suppressing opposition after Iran’s elections
(Musings On Iraq Is The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Too Distracted By Internal Affairs To Be Meddling In Iraq Right Now?)
Mar 8 Sulaymaniya police said 19 fights between PUK and Gorran supporters after voting
Mar 9 Kurdish Awene newspaper said electoral fraud in Irbil election and sued by KDP
Mar 10 Iran invited Shiite politicians to celebrate Nowruz and pushed them to reunite
behind Maliki
(Musings On Iraq Turkey, Saudi Arabia, And Iran’s Role In Putting Together A New Iraqi Government)
Mar 10 Ahmed Chalabi and Ali al-Lami heads of Accountability and Justice Comm and candidates
sued Election Comm for allowing votes for 55 candidates they banned for Baathist ties
(Musings On Iraq The Accountability And Justice Commission Tries To Have The Last Word)
Mar 10 Human Rights Min found out about secret prison at Muthanna Airport Baghdad Later
inspection found 431 prisoners who complained about bad conditions and torture Some were sodomized others electrocuted some raped All were arrested in Ninewa during Oct 09 security op
(Musings On Iraq Secret Baghdad Prison Discovered By Iraq’s Human Rights Ministry)
Mar 11 US captured ISI governor for Baghdad Rawi who provided intel that led to killing of ISI
leaders Masri and Baghdadi
(Musings On Iraq Al Qaeda In Iraq Takes More Losses, But Keeps On Ticking)
(Musings On Iraq How Long Can Al Qaeda In Iraq Last?)
Mar 11 State Dept annual human rights report said 09 PM Maliki went after Sunnis in Diyala
Warrants for 4 provincial council members dep governor MP Special Forces raided provincial govt and arrested council member Dep governor arrested
Mar 12 Report Pres of EU election observers said Iran interfered in election results Accused high
official in Election Comm of putting in false data for State of Law
Mar 15 Report election monitoring groups found ISF telling who to vote for at polling stations
People voting for absent or dead family members Families and tribes selling votes
Mar 15 Report Iraqi borders guards charging $1,500 per truck to enter with produce Some trucks
held at border for days until they paid
(Musings On Iraq New Examples Of Corruption In Iraq)
Mar 17 Report Syria asked Iran Saudis Egypt Turkey to oppose 2nd term for PM Maliki
Mar 18 Board of Supreme Audit reported that Salahaddin council was stealing money
(Musings On Iraq New Examples Of Corruption In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen on Iraq’s fight with corruption)
(Musings On Iraq interview with former anti-corruption official Vincent Foulk)
Mar 21 PM Maliki sent letter to Supreme Court to interpret what largest bloc meant Would lead to
him forming largest bloc after vote and gaining 2nd term
Mar 22 9 provinces from central and southern Iraq demanded recount in election
Mar 22 Iran got Shiite parties to agree to keep Talabani as president
Mar 22 Preliminary deal between Baghdad Shell and Mitsubishi to collect and exploit natural gas
from Basra oil fields expired 1st of many problems with deal Iraq didn’t have money to pay companies or infrastructure to deliver gas to power plants
(Musings On Iraq Shell Natural Gas Deal In Basra Delayed Again)
(Musings On Iraq Shell-Mitsubishi Natural Gas Deal May Be Delayed Indefinitely)
Mar 24 PM Maliki announced new anti-corruption campaign
(Musings On Iraq interview with Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen on Iraq’s fight with corruption)
(Musings On Iraq interview with former anti-corruption official Vincent Foulk)
Mar 25 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq released US contractor it kidnapped Issa Salomi in return for 4 of its
members being freed
(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)
Mar 25 State of Law threatened lawsuit unless Election Commission made a recount of national
vote
Mar 25 State of Law members protested in Basra, Najaf, Karbala, Kut calling for recount
Mar 25 Federal Supreme Court ruled that list that formed largest coalition after election had right
to form govt Allowed PM Maliki to outmaneuver Iyad Allawi who won most seats in election
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)
Mar 26 Election results announced Iraqiya 91 seats State of Law 89 National Alliance 70
Kurdish Alliance 43
(Musings On Iraq Allawi Wins Iraq’s Election, But Does It Matter?)
(Musings On Iraq review The Unraveling, High Hopes And Missed Opportunity In Iraq)
Mar 26 Pres Talabani and VP Mahdi went to Tehran to talk about national elections
Mar 26 State of Law met with Sadr in Qom to try to win his support for 2nd Maliki
administration
Mar 26 State of Law protest in Amara called for recount in national elections
Mar 26 Human Rights Min said it found 84 mass graves in Baghdad and Diyala all from
post-03 violence
Mar 28 4 Sunni winners from Iraqiya in Diyala targeted by Maliki govt 1 arrested 2 on the run 4th
fate unknown Accused of terrorism Maliki had been going after Sunni politicians in Diyala since 2008
Mar 29 Peshmerga withdrew from Jalawla, Diyala after argument over control of
disputed areas with Maliki govt
Mar 29 Panel of experts and oil executives said impossible for Iraq to reach 10-12 mil/bar/day in
production in 10 years as Oil Ministry claimed Iraq didn’t reach that mark
(Musings On Iraq More Analysts Say That Iraq’s Oil Goals Are Too Ambitious)
Mar 31 VP Hashemi said an Arab should be president no longer a Kurd
Apr 1 Iran said it would host Iraqi parties that wanted to talk about forming new govt
(Musings On Iraq Turkey, Saudi Arabia, And Iran’s Role In Putting Together A New Iraqi Government)
Apr 1 Gorran head Mustafa taken to court for defamation against Pres Talabani
Apr 1 Iraqiya announced regional tour of Egypt Qatar Turkey Syrian and Iran to drum
up support for forming new govt
Apr 2 Maliki said he was going to form alliance with Kurds and backed Talabani to
remain as president to form new govt
Apr 2 Sadrists began referendum amongst followers to see who they wanted to be new
premier
(Musings On Iraq The Sadrists Try To Have Their Say On Iraq’s Next Prime Minister)
Apr 2 PM Maliki’s talks with National Alliance failed as ISCI’s Hakim opposed Maliki’s 2nd term
Apr 4 3 car bombs on Iranian Egyptian and German Embassies in Baghdad killed 41
Apr 4 Housing Ministry claimed housing crisis in Iraq would be solved by 2014 through foreign
investment Didn’t happen
Apr 4 Transportation Min laid corner stone of Greater Faw Terminal Project Was supposed to be
finished in 4-5 yrs Only breakwater built Rest never completed
Apr 5 World Bank gave $250 mil loan to Iraq to help with budget
Apr 5 UNAMI held meeting between Hadbaa and Kurdish Alliance in Ninewa to try to
repair relations
(Musings On Iraq Tit For Tat In Ninewa)
(Musings On Iraq Arab-Kurdish Divide Over New Ninewa Provincial Council)
Apr 6 7 bombs in Baghdad destroyed 7 buildings and killed 35 over 100 wounded
Apr 6 Dir of Central Organization for Statistics said 25% of Iraqis lived below
poverty level
Apr 7 Sadrist referendum on who movement wanted as new premier picked Jaafari
after national vote
(Musings On Iraq The Sadrists Try To Have Their Say On Iraq’s Next Prime Minister)
Apr 9 Sadrists held demonstration in Najaf to mark fall of Saddam and protested US
occupation
Apr 10 Iranian Amb said next Iraqi govt should be national unity one with Sunnis
implying that Allawi’s Iraqiya should be included
Apr 10 Insurgents like 1920 Revolution Brigades held meeting in Istanbul to discuss
Iraq after US military withdrawal
Apr 10 Human Rights Min told PM Maliki about secret prison in Baghdad Maliki promised to shut
it down and arrest officers that worked there
(Musings On Iraq Secret Baghdad Prison Discovered By Iraq’s Human Rights Ministry)
Apr 11 State of Law called for recount in 5 provinces claiming voter fraud after national
elections PM Maliki believed US and Saudis responsible
(Musings On Iraq Maliki Tries To Cling To Power In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq The Conspiratorial Mind of Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki)
(Musings On Iraq review The Unraveling, High Hopes And Missed Opportunity In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, The Saudi Struggle For Iraq)
Apr 11 Sadr called Maliki a liar and blamed him for arresting Sadrists
(Musings On Iraq Maliki Tries To Woo Sadrists)
Apr 11 ISF withdrew from Salahaddin provincial council building after occupying it
for 2 months on orders from Maliki to block federalism move
Apr 12 KRG said it had reached agreement with Oil Ministry over oil exports Baghdad
would split revenues with it Maliki was trying to win over Kurds to get a 2nd term
(Musings On Iraq Maliki Reaches Out To Kurds Before March 2010 Vote)
(Musings On Iraq Kurdish Oil Exports To Start Again)
Apr 12 Maliki said Sahwa had a role in helping with securing country
Apr 12 CIA ranked Iraq 160th in world in per capita income 2nd lowest in Middle East
Apr 13 State of Law said it didn’t have any red lines with Iraqiya but said some members
were tied to Baathists
Apr 13 Basra announced free trade zone with Iran
(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)
Apr 13 KRG parliament passed regional budget Gorran and Islamic Group dissented
saying that no reforms included in it
Apr 14 State of Law complained about parties going to other countries to discuss
putting together new govt
Apr 14 Dep PM Issawi went to Iran to talk about forming new govt
Apr 14 Pres Talabani said when Shiite parties agreed on premier Kurds would support
them
Apr 14 Iraq asked to buy 24 F-16 fighters from US
Apr 14 Iranian Amb to Iraq said trade between two countries had reached $7 bil in 2009
Was almost all Iranian imports to Iraq
(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)
Apr 15 Report $4 mil in counterfeit US dollars circulating in Iraq since Dec 09 Some thought it was
printed by Iran and Hezbollah to influence Iraqi elections Others thought criminals responsible
(Musings On Iraq Counterfeit Dollars Used By Iran To Influence Election?)
Apr 16 Maliki said new government would include Allawi’s Iraqiya Iraqiya said it won so
it should be only party trying to put together new government
Apr 18 U.S. and Iraqi forces killed ISI leaders Abu Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi near Tikrit
(Musings On Iraq Al Qaeda In Iraq Takes More Losses, But Keeps On Ticking)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Naval War College’s Prof Whiteside on ISI leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi)
Apr 18 Kurdish Alliance announced of KDP PUK Gorran Kurdistan Islamic Union Kurdistan
Islamic Group Wanted to present united front to Shiite parties in govt formation talks Wanted 25% of all top posts Baghdad to pay peshmerga Implementation of Article 140 on disputed areas Broke apart in May
(Musings On Iraq Grand Kurdish Alliance Next Step In Forming A New Iraqi Government)
Apr 19 State of Law called for revote after lost to Iraqiya Charged fraud but no irregularities found
Manual recount ordered for Baghdad based upon PM Maliki complaint Maliki blamed US and Saudis for fraud
(Musings On Iraq Maliki Tries To Cling To Power In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review The Unraveling, High Hopes And Missed Opportunity In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, The Saudi Struggle For Iraq)
Apr 19 Report Secret prison found at Muthanna Airport in Baghdad Had over 400 prisoners All
were Sunnis arrested in Ninewa during Oct 09 security op
(Musings On Iraq Secret Baghdad Prison Discovered By Iraq’s Human Rights Ministry)
(Musings On Iraq Why Nothing Is Going To Be Done About Abuse In Iraq’s Prisons)
Apr 20 Abu Shuhabi ISI head of military operations in Kirkuk Ninewa Salahaddin killed in US-Iraq
operation
Apr 21 State of Law said Sadr reason no new govt after elections because Sadr opposed
to Maliki 2nd term
Apr 22 Parliamentary election results were supposed to be certified but political disputes
delayed that
Apr 23 5 car bombs hit Shiite mosques in Baghdad kill 72
(Musings On Iraq review The ISIS Reader, Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement)
Apr 24 Report Finance Min auditor warned pay and pensions of Iraqi politicians could eventually
wreck budget 2008 avg pay in Iraq $266/mo MP earned $7,700/mo Got 30 bodyguards Free accommodations that cost up to $10,000/mo Fmr MPs and officials got 80% of their salary Eligible for low interest loans worth up to $70,000 Auditor warned paying govt workers diverting money from investment
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Officials Becoming Drain On Budget)
Apr 25 Iraqi Airways flew to London for first time in 20 years
Apr 25 Court upheld Accountability and Justice Comm banning 52 winning candidates
for Baathist ties
Apr 25 Karbala council accused Trade Min of buying expired food Not providing basics in food
rations Said found expired sugar old tea and more in Mar
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Trade Ministry Still Corrupt?)
Apr 26 Kurdish member of Kirkuk council said displaced Arabs had to leave province
and go home
Apr 27 Report Obama not held NSC meeting on Iraq in months No plans to revise withdrawal plan
White House said Iraqis in lead now Said death of ISI leader showed ISF more competent US Iraq cmdr Gen Odierno asked for stay behind force past 2011 withdrawal White House didn’t approve
Apr 27 Human Rights Watch interviewed prisoners who were held at secret
prison at Baghdad Muthanna Airport and tortured by ISF
(Musings On Iraq Secret Baghdad Prison Discovered By Iraq’s Human Rights Ministry)
(Musings On Iraq Human Rights Watch Interviews Former Prisoners At Secret Baghdad Prison)
Apr 28 Court acquitted former Trade Min Sudani of corruption for lack of evidence after witnesses
disappeared or changed testimony under pressure from PM Maliki’s State of Law $4-$8 bil missing from ministry Bought expired food and charged Ministry full price Bought food and kept it for themselves to sell on black market Bought goods for double the prices Sudani signed contract with company owned by his son for $50 mil for old tea that was only worth $20 mil Bought contaminated milk from China Found $8 mil in expired food in warehouse Sudani’s brother and nephew got $40 in kickbacks from every ton of sugar imported by ministry Sudani used some of money to fund PM Maliki’s State of Law in 2009-10 elections
(Musings On Iraq Half Of Corruption Cases Against Iraq’s Former Trade Minister Dropped)
(Musings On Iraq Appeals Court Throws Out Case Against Iraq’s Former Trade Minister)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Special Inspector Gen for Iraq Reconstruction Bowen on corruption in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq interview with fmr anti-graft official Vincent Foulk on corruption in Iraq)
Apr 28 Accountability and Justice Comm banned Iraqiya members of Diyala council for Baath
past
Apr 28 Baathists held meeting in Damascus trying to unify two factions of Mohammed
Yunis and Izzat al-Duri
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Outlawed Baathists Try To Kiss And Make Up)
Apr 28 Report Secret Muthanna prison run by PM Maliki’s office He denied knowing anything
about it 3 army officers arrested for abuse Prisoners were tortured and raped
(Musings On Iraq Secret Baghdad Prison Discovered By Iraq’s Human Rights Ministry)
(Musings On Iraq Human Rights Watch Interviews Former Prisoners At Secret Baghdad Prison)
Apr 29 PM Maliki said that there were no secret prisons in Iraq after one at Muthanna Airport
prison was revealed Claimed that torture victims at Muthanna prison gave themselves scars to fake abuse
(Musings On Iraq Secret Baghdad Prison Discovered By Iraq’s Human Rights Ministry)
(Musings On Iraq Why Nothing Is Going To Be Done About Abuse In Iraq’s Prisons)
Apr 29 US accused Iran of using Hezbollah to carry out attacks against its forces in Iraq
(Musings On Iraq Hezbollah’s Role In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)
Apr 29 Sadrists said PM Maliki could not get a second term as premier
Apr 30 Def Min said that ISI had lost its direction after 2 leaders Masri and Baghdadi
killed
Apr 30 PM Maliki claimed foreign countries were plotting coup against him
(Musings On Iraq review The Unraveling, High Hopes And Missed Opportunity In Iraq)
Apr 30 Iraqiya threatened boycott after courts banned winning candidates for Baathist
past
Apr 30 Special Inspector Gen for Iraq Reconstruction report Said 37,041 sahwa had been given
govt jobs 4565 in ISF 32,476 in ministries Jan Maliki govt claimed it had given 50,000 sahwa jobs 15,000 in ISF 33,000 in ministries
(Musings On Iraq How Many Sons of Iraq Have Actually Been Integrated By Baghdad?)
(Musings On Iraq Continued Problems Integrating The Sons of Iraq)
May 1 200 people protested in Mosul against secret prison found in Baghdad Wanted all prisoners
released Hold ISF responsible for abuses Change Ninewa Ops Comm head
May 2 Report Pres Barzani said he believed in dividing Iraq into 3 federal areas along
ethnosectarian lines
May 2 Iran Iraq announced deal to develop 5 oil fields that straddled two countries
May 3 Abu Abdullah al-Shafi emir of Ansar al-Sunnah was captured in Baghdad
May 3 Baghdad started recount requested by PM Maliki after came in 2nd in election to
Allawi State of Law immediately complained about it
May 3 Report Anbar Awakening broken up into different factions to run in 2010 vote Under attack
by ISI
May 3 MP said no secret prisons in Iraq Said all prisons were under control of ministries or ISF
Came after secret prison found in Baghdad run by PM Maliki
May 4 Baathist leader apologized for mistakes of party Said wanted to join politics
Public needed to remember achievements of party
May 4 State of Law and National Alliance announced National Coalition after meetings organized
by Iran Maliki agreed to deal because lost election and wanted to remain PM
(Musings On Iraq Maliki Under Pressure By His Erstwhile Shiite Allies In Forming New Iraqi Government)
(Musings On Iraq Turkey, Saudi Arabia, And Iran’s Role In Putting Together A New Iraqi Government)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Shiite Parties Unite To Sideline Allawi, Up Next Maliki)
May 4 Kurdish journalist Osman kidnapped in Irbil Found shot in the head in Mosul few days later
Gorran blamed KRG for allowing death Some implied govt involved
(Musings On Iraq Kurdish Coalition Put On Hold Due To Internal Divisions)
May 4 Report State of Law member arrested in Switzerland with $275 mil that came from party’s
campaign Said it was to be deposited in Swiss account
May 5 Iran agreed to send fuel to Iraq each year for power plants Iran expected to earn $8 bil from
deal
May 5 Report Sadr’s militia becoming more active Fmr Mahdi Army cmdr said militia had been
reformed Said would work with ISF Said they would protect mosques
May 6 Oil Min said dispute between Baghdad and Irbil over oil resolved Was not Move by Maliki
during govt formation process to win over Kurds
(Musings On Iraq Kurdish Oil Exports To Start Again)
(Musings On Iraq Kurdish Oil Exports Placed On Hold Until New Iraqi Government Seated)
(Musings On Iraq Kurdish Oil Exports Still On Hold)
May 6 Election Comm announced Baghdad recount requested by PM Maliki found no fraud
May 6 Integrity Comm announced 5 yr anti-corruption plan Part of UN effort to fight graft Said
realistically wouldn’t end corruption Hoped it would decrease
(Musings On Iraq interview with Special Inspector Gen for Iraq Reconstruction Bowen on corruption in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq interview with fmr anti-graft official Vincent Foulk on corruption in Iraq)
May 6 Mahmoud Mohammad Salam ISI’s leader in Mosul captured by Iraqi army
May 8 Pres Barzani set up investigation into murder of journalist Zardasht Osman
KDP was accused of involvement
May 9 Protests in front of KRG parliament over murder of journalist Zardasht Osman
May 10 Kurdish list in Ninewa said open to deal with Hadbaa to join provincial council
which Kurds had boycotted since 09
(Musings On Iraq Tit For Tat In Ninewa)
May 10 ISI carried out coordinated car bombings in Baghdad Hillah Iskandiriya Basra 30 killed
226 wounded
May 10 Iranian helicopters attacked Kurdish villages and got into shootout with
Peshmerga trying to target PJAK
May 11 Report that Iran Rev Guards Quds Force’s Gen Suleimani helped negotiate State of Law-
National Alliance merger into National Coalition
(Musings On Iraq Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Commander General Suleimani And His Role In Iraq, An Interview With The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins)
May 11 Report Iraqi police and soldiers paid commanders not to show up to work
May 11 Report Major parties made deal to end deBaathification process Winning candidates
would not be banned
(Musings On Iraq Is The DeBaathification Crisis In Iraq’s Election Over?)
May 11 Dep Oil Minister said no final agreement between Baghdad and KRG over Kurdish oil
exports because Finance Min didn’t approve payments to oil companies in KRG
(Musings On Iraq Kurdish Oil Exports Placed On Hold Until New Iraqi Government Seated)
May 11 US announced arrest of Kataib Hezbollah cmdr Accused of smuggling weapons and
carrying out attacks on ISF and US
(Musings On Iraq Instrument Of Iran’s Power In Iraq And Syria Kataib Hezbollah)
May 12 US general warned Sadrists carrying out attacks extortion intimidation in southern
Iraq
May 13 Iraqi general said Sahwa were like a militia that needed to be disarmed and that
members of Maliki govt distrusted them
May 13 Christian party said insurgents were threatening Christians and Assyrians in
Mosul trying to drive them out of city
(Musings On Iraq review Christianity in Iraq)
May 14 Election Commission finished recount in Baghdad requested by Maliki who
claimed cheating Found no problems
(Musings On Iraq No Change in Iraq’s Election Results After Recount, But It Still Served Its Purpose)
(Musings On Iraq The Conspiratorial Mind of Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki)
(Musings On Iraq review The Unraveling, High Hopes And Missed Opportunity In Iraq)
May 14 Abu Suleiman became new War Minister for ISI after Masri killed by US April
2010
May 15 Iraqi general said 32 of 43 ISI commander had been killed
May 16 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi named new leader of ISI after Abu Omar al-Baghdadi
killed April 2010
May 16 China’s CNOOC and Turkey’s TPAO signed deal to develop Maysan oil field
(Musings On Iraq 12th Oil Deal Signed By Iraq)
May 16 Sadrists said they opposed 2nd term for PM Maliki Said not following agreements
Politicized security
May 17 KRG said it would not export oil again until after new Iraqi govt formed
(Musings On Iraq Kurdish Oil Exports Placed On Hold Until New Iraqi Government Seated)
May 18 Interior Ministry source claimed Iranian explosives and shells used in recent
bombing in southern Iraq
May 18 Sadrists said they supported Jaafari to be PM not Maliki
May 18 Cabinet approved deal to allow KRG to export oil again
(Musings On Iraq Kurdish Oil Exports Placed On Hold Until New Iraqi Government Seated)
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)
May 20 Sadrist leader said that Sadrists opposed 2nd term for Maliki
May 20 US said Iran training and arming militiamen to destabilize Iraq
(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Overview of Iran’s Influence In Iraq)
May 20 KRG said it would start oil exports the next day and Baghdad okayed it Demanded
Baghdad pay oil companies in KRG
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)
May 21 Reports that both Iran and US supported 2nd term for Maliki
(Musings On Iraq How Did The United States Do In Iraq? An Interview With Emma Sky)
May 21 Bombing in Khalis Diyala killed 30 wounded 80 6 policemen confessed to attack
(Musings On Iraq More Diyala Police Arrested For Alleged Ties to Al Qaeda In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Police In Diyala Province Infiltrated By Insurgents)
May 22 Report ISF in Basra accused Iranian Revolutionary Guard of drug smuggling
through city
May 23 ISF blamed U.S. releasing prisoners for increase in violence In 2008 Maliki had
negotiated quicker release of prisoners by US
May 25 Report US military afraid after withdrawal Embassy wouldn’t be able to handle its duties
Thought diplomats risk averse Wouldn’t intervene in Iraqi politics Wouldn’t be able to collect intel Counter Special Groups It didn’t
May 25 Report May Planning Min released 5 yr economic plan Called for diversifying economy
and decentralization Head of Iraqi Businessmen Union said plan was propaganda Didn’t have any details Economist said until electricity and infrastructure dealt with development impossible Said govt had failed at both Institute of Econ Reform said govt had to change laws to encourage private sector but not included in plan All said afraid govt wanted to increase its control of econ
May 26 Report ISF members said secret prison at Muthanna Army Base that held women and
children 2 women were wives of ISI leaders Other women held to pressure male prisoners Torture used
May 26 ISCI’s Hakim rejected Maliki’s claim that only State of Law would be able to name next
PM Said that was up to the National Alliance
May 27 Report situation of Iraq’s 1.5 mil displaced worsening 500,000 living in squatter camps up
from 2009
May 27 report 2008 oil was 56% of GDP Employed 1% of workers
May 27 Report State of Law asked Election Comm to dismiss 3 winning candidates that would
make it the largest party within the National Alliance
May 28 Report Bank of Iraq and Agricultural Bank gave trillions of dinars worth of loans to
community banks for investments Money ended up in Jordan Banks under investigation for corruption
May 28 Iraqi police helped rob Rafidain Bank branch in Najaf Took $5.5 mil
(Musings On Iraq Major Robberies In Baghdad and Najaf Likely Done By Iraqi Police)
May 29 Sadrists said they would not allow dictatorship or autocracy to return to Iraq
referring to Maliki
(Musings On Iraq Argument For Maliki Being Iraq’s Next Strongman)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq After America, Strongmen, Sectarians, Resistance)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Inside Iraqi Politics’ Sowell on whether Maliki became a dictator)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Historian Phebe Marr comparing PM Maliki with MP Said)
May 30 Diyala police chief said his force infiltrated by insurgents Arrested some as a result Trying
to do background checks
(Musings On Iraq More Diyala Police Arrested For Alleged Ties to Al Qaeda In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Police In Diyala Province Infiltrated By Insurgents)
Jun 1 Electricity Min doubled bills for users to cut consumption but Iraqis unused to
paying for power No effect
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Government Attempts to Reduce Power Consumption)
Jun 1 Report Pres Talabani made $700,000 VPs made $600,000 each PM Maliki made $360,000
Dep PMs made $170,000 each PM had benefits worth $4 mil/month 7 mil Iraqis earned $360/yr
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Top Politicians Make Almost 200 Times More Than Average Citizen)
Jun 1 Report 1920 Revolution Brigades Al-Rashideen Army and other insurgents met in Turkey in
Apr to discuss post-US withdrawal Iraq Baathists also met in Syria
Jun 1 Report Economists discussed high unemployment Govt jobs based upon sectarian loyalties
Oil 70% of GDP only 2% of workforce 50% of workforce in services that have low productivity and pay Lack of scientific and professional knowledge
Jun 1 30 Diyala police arrested for involvement in May bombing of market that left 110 casualties
(Musings On Iraq More Diyala Police Arrested For Alleged Ties to Al Qaeda In Iraq)
Jun 2 Adm Mullen said ISI had been devastated by deaths of leadership
Jun 2 Pres Barzani went to Turkey for first time in 6 years Said he would stop PKK operations
Jun 3 Chairman Property Disputes Resolving Comm said ISF under PM Maliki broke into HQ in
Baghdad and appointed new chairman
Jun 4 Gen Odierno US cmdr in Iraq said 34 of ISI’s 42 leaders had been killed or captured
(Musings On Iraq Al Qaeda In Iraq Takes More Losses, But Keeps On Ticking)
Jun 5 Iraqi army banned Sahwa in Diyala carrying weapons Sahwa replied they would
stop working with govt
(Musings On Iraq Government Tries To Disarm Diyala Sons of Iraq)
Jun 5 Iraqiya member killed in Mosul 3rd member of Iraqiya killed in city before and after elections
another Iraqiya member killed in Qaim Anbar
Jun 7 Oil Min said oil production would reach 12 mil/bar/day by 2017 Didn’t happen
Jun 10 State of Law merged back with other Shiite parties after elections in National
Coalition giving them 159 seats
Jun 10 Protests in Baghdad Babil Qadisiyah Nasiriya Najaf Kirkuk Karbala Ninewa
Basra Chanted against Maliki and for better services
Jun 10 Finance Min Jabr said he got letter from cabinet to pay oil companies operating in KRG Part
of move by PM Maliki to win over Kurds so he could get 2nd term
Jun 10 Sahwa in Hawija Kirkuk said Interior Min agreed to hire 1500 fighters into North Oil
Company police Head of Kirkuk police said if sahwa got jobs an equal number of Kurds and Turkmen should also get jobs with oil company Kirkuk governor and govt asked Interior Min to give 3000 police jobs to Kurds and Turkmen Said if didn’t get jobs ethnic balance in province would be unequal and cause problems
Jun 12 Report Iraq flooded with counterfeit dinars Financial expert said gangs foreign countries and
corrupt officials involved Police arrested Iranians with counterfeit money in south and Sulaymaniya
Jun 13 Iraq Central Bank attacked by ISI dressed in army uniforms Started with 7 suicide bombers
25 killed 50 wounded Fire started during attack that destroyed records on corruption scheme within bank that cost $711 mil MPs thought bank employees started fire as cover up
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
(Musings On Iraq Al Qaeda In Iraq Takes Responsibility For Central Bank Attack In Baghdad)
(Musings On Iraq Was Attack Upon Iraq Central Bank To Cover Up Corruption Case?)
Jun 14 New parliament seated 3 months after elections Only met for 18 minutes Was
supposed to start work on electing new president but didn’t Maliki adjourned session indefinitely to stall for time so he could return as PM
(Musings On Iraq Supreme Islamic Iraqi Party Comes Out Against Maliki)
Jun 16 Turkey sent troops into Kurdistan and bombed areas chasing PKK fighters
after attack on Turkish army base
(Musings On Iraq Turkish Raid Against Kurdish Rebels In Northern Iraq Likely)
Jun 16 Maliki met with Kurdish list claiming he would implement Article 140 on
Kirkuk and disputed areas if got 2nd term
Jun 18 3000 protested in Basra over lack of electricity
(Musings On Iraq Basra Protest Over Lack Of Electricity Reflects Twenty Years Of Problems)
Jun 19 Protest in Basra over power shortages Threw rocks and burned things at govt building 2
demonstrators killed by police
(Musings On Iraq Basra Protest Over Lack Of Electricity Reflects Twenty Years Of Problems)
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Government Banned Electricity Protests)
Jun 19 Report Sahwa leader in Diyala warned that ISI using carrot and stick against sahwa
members in attempted comeback in province
(Musings On Iraq Behind The Revival Of The Islamic State in Iraq, Interview With Naval War College Prof Craig Whiteside)
Jun 19 Report Dir North Oil Company said pipes old and in disrepair Said 500km of Iraq-Turkey
pipeline needed to be fixed urgently Oil Ministry said 1 bil cubic ft of natural gas burned off during oil production because of lack of means to capture and use it Iraq loses $50 every second as a result
Jun 20 2 ISI suicide car bombs in front of Trade Bank of Iraq in Baghdad 27 killed 55 wounded
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
Jun 20 Funeral for protester killed in Basra led to march calling for Maliki to step
down
(Musings On Iraq Basra Protest Over Lack Of Electricity Reflects Twenty Years Of Problems)
Jun 20 Ayatollah Najafi issued statement condemning electricity shortages and supported
right of people to protest problem
Jun 20 Report 2006 150-200 security incidents/day reported 2010 were 20 incidents/day Probably
half of actual violence Attacks hit a plateau 2010 attacks have gone up and down No improvement in security from 2009-2010
Jun 21 ISF broke up protests in Nasiriya over lack of electricity Protests in Basra too Electricity
Minister Hassan resigned due to protests
(Musings On Iraq Maliki Forced To Respond To Public Protests Over Lack Of Electricity In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Electricity Protests Continue In Iraq As Government Attempts To Crackdown On Them)
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Government Banned Electricity Protests)
Jun 21 Report Oil refineries not big money makers Sometimes lost money Made it hard to get
private investors Iraq had refinery capacity of 800,000 bar/day but only used 50-60% of that Meant Iraq had to import many refined products 2007 law opened refineries to investment but got little
Jun 21 Report Talked with experts about Iraq’s economy 1 said econ wouldn’t grow because too
dependent upon public money that came from oil Govt needed to support private sector Fmr Oil Min Uloom said if oil prices rose could invest in agriculture and industry but probably wouldn’t spend enough 1 said Iraq couldn’t finish basic projects Didn’t believe oil money could pay for development 1 said economy had structural problems that prevented any change
Jun 22 Army arrested sons of protest organizer in Basra demanding leader turn himself
in Basra council condemned Army’s move
(Musings On Iraq Basra Protest Over Lack Of Electricity Reflects Twenty Years Of Problems)
(Musings On Iraq Electricity Protests Continue In Iraq As Government Attempts To Crackdown On Them)
Jun 22 PM Maliki said at least 2 yrs to solve electricity crisis Protests in Ramadi and Nasiriya over
power shortages
Jun 23 Protests in Ramadi Basra Karbala Baquba Nasiriya over lack of electricity PM Maliki
claimed it would take 2 yrs to solve Iraq’s electricity problems Didn’t happen Maliki accepted resignation of Electricity Min Hassan
(Musings On Iraq Maliki Forced To Respond To Public Protests Over Lack Of Electricity In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Basra Protest Over Lack Of Electricity Reflects Twenty Years Of Problems)
(Musings On Iraq Electricity Protests Continue In Iraq As Government Attempts To Crackdown On Them)
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Government Banned Electricity Protests)
Jun 24 Report Resigned Electricity Minister Hassan claimed demonstrations over power shortages
had been politicized PM Maliki thought his opponents were behind the protests to remove him
Jun 25 Interior Min issued new rules to limit protests during demonstrations against electricity
shortages
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Government Banned Electricity Protests)
Jun 25 Ammar Hakim blamed PM Maliki for lack of electricity and said he should resign
(Musings On Iraq Supreme Islamic Iraqi Party Comes Out Against Maliki)
Jun 25 Report Pres Obama focused on Afghanistan Ignored Iraq Iraqi officials and US military
officers said White House only cared about 2011 withdrawal VP Biden in charge of Iraq policy Had monthly meetings Obama only had 1 meeting since 09
Jun 25 Report PM Maliki’s son head of govt procurement office Used it to enrich himself Invested
in real estate in foreign countries
(Musings On Iraq interview with Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen on Iraq’s fight with corruption)
(Musings On Iraq interview with former anti-corruption official Vincent Foulk)
Jun 26 Protest in Kut against power shortages
(Musings On Iraq Electricity Protests Continue In Iraq As Government Attempts To Crackdown On Them)
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Government Banned Electricity Protests)
Jun 28 Protests in Diyala and Babil over electricity shortages Some called for PM Maliki to step
down
(Musings On Iraq Electricity Protests Continue In Iraq As Government Attempts To Crackdown On Them)
(Musings On Iraq Maliki Forced To Respond To Public Protests Over Lack Of Electricity In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Government Banned Electricity Protests)
Jun 29 Fmr adv to Iraqi police in 2003 Brand testified to Chilcot Comm Said postwar plans for
Iraq’s police were unrealistic and lacked resources DeBaathification hurt rebuilding police US and UK didn’t prioritize effort
Jun 29 Iraq approved $17 bil deal with Shell and Mitsubishi to exploit natural gas in Basra
(Musings On Iraq Shell-Mitsubishi Natural Gas Deal Inches Ahead)
Jun 29 Report Foreign official said Um Qasr port worst in Mideast Ships lined up and waited No
machinery No service No system at work at port Oil companies struggled to get equipment to Iraq due to port Foreign companies complained about lack of capacity bad roads lack of infrastructure Govt had $6 bil plan for new port at Faw Never finished
(Musings On Iraq How Basra’s Port Holds Up Iraq’s Development)
Jun 30 Sadr called on followers of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq to give up on their leader Khazali and rejoin
Sadrist movement
(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)
Jun 30 Govt only paid 85% of sahwa Half of Baghdad sahwa not paid in Apr and May Police
stopped protests by Sahwa in Ninewa over not getting paid
Jun 30 Report Lancet study authors that est 655,000 Iraqis killed due to US invasion refused to
answer questions Amer Assoc for Public Opinion Research censured authors for ethical violations for refusing to release their survey data 1 author Burnham admitted that sampling methodology was different from how explained in report Johns Hopkins investigated and suspended Burnham for violating protocol
(Musings On Iraq Major Flaws With The Lancet Reports On Iraqi Deaths Part I)
(Musings On Iraq Major Flaws With The Lancet Reports On Iraqi Deaths Part II)
(Musings On Iraq New Survey On Estimated Deaths In Iraq Refutes Lancet Reports)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Mark Van Der Laan on Lancet Reports)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Michael Spagat on Lancet reports)
Jul 1 Report Transportation hindered by checkpoints Baghdad to Tikrit had more than 40
checkpoints ISF demanded bribes at each one Checkpoints business for officers Sold checkpoints Checkpoint with Jordan could be bought for $20,000
Jul 3 VP Biden made surprise visit to Iraq to try to help form new govt after elections
Jul 3 Report US spent $104 mil on six yr sewage system in Fallujah Never finished Hadn’t been
connected to a single house Baghdad hadn’t committed to running plant Didn’t have money to complete it US didn’t have money to train Iraqis to run facility
(Musings On Iraq Fallujah’s Wastewater Plant: Symbol Of America’s Failed Reconstruction Effort)
(Musings On Iraq Fallujah’s Wastewater Treatment Plant Update)
Jul 5 US-Iraqi op killed ISI military commander for northern Iraq
(Musings On Iraq Al Qaeda In Iraq Takes More Losses, But Keeps On Ticking)
Jul 5 Report ISI turning to organized crime as foreign support dropped off Robbing banks and
jewelry stores
Jul 5 Confrontation between Iraqi soldiers and Peshmerga in Qara Tapa Diyala left 3 wounded after
traffic accident Fist fights started at joint checkpoints Army stormed peshmerga HQ Led to more shooting
Jul 7 Report Member of Irbil Chamber of Commerce said of 1710 factories in Irbil 60% closed
Some closed because old Some because of cheap imports 80% of people in chamber involved in imports
Jul 7 Report UK Amb to Iran Dalton said PM Blair mischaracterized Iran’s role in Iraq Blair said
Iran opposed to democracy in Iraq to supported Al Qaeda in Iraq Dalton said exaggeration Said Iran wanted stable Iraq because instability would mean US would stay Said Iran allowed Al Qaeda in Iraq fighters to pass through country but otherwise didn’t support it
(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)
Jul 8 Report 1000s of oil tankers went from KRG to Iran each day Smuggling started in 90s Profits
went to PUK KDP oil companies and politicians and officials in Baghdad Kurds also sent oil to unlicensed refineries in KRG Ninewa Kirkuk KRG denied smuggling for years Talked with media to pressure Baghdad to let it export oil
(Musings On Iraq Kurdistan Admits To Smuggling Oil To Iran)
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)
Jul 10 Pres Barzani demanded that PKK leave Iraq Condemned PKK attacks on Turkey Said
Baghdad responsible for securing borders
Jul 11 Al Arabiya TV filmed dozens of fuel tanker trucks driving from KRG into Turkey KRG
denied this was happening
(Musings On Iraq Kurds Try To Deny Their Oil Smuggling With Iran)
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)
Jul 11 Report After NY Times wrote about KRG smuggling oil to Iran KRG said it would crackdown
on practice Didn’t do anything
(Musings On Iraq Kurdistan Admits To Smuggling Oil To Iran)
Jul 12 Fmr UK official at UN Carne Ross testified to Chilcot Inquiry Said UK didn’t want to
continue containment of Iraq US and UK didn’t try to make sanctions more effective Didn’t stop Iraq’s oil smuggling to Turkey and Syria Didn’t seize Iraqi accounts in Jordan Said no new intel to back claims about Iraq having large supplies of WMD Said Blair govt never considered any alternatives to war
Jul 12 UN report Iraq didn’t meter most of its oil production and exports Installing meters had been
delayed Was supposed to be completed by end of 2011
(Musings On Iraq How Much Oil And Refined Petroleum Products Does Iraq Actually Produce? No One Knows)
Jul 13 Report US cmdr in Iraq Gen Odierno said communications between ISI and Al Qaeda broke
down Said ISI in decline
Jul 13 US Iraq cmdr Gen Oderino said increased threat from Kataib Hezbollah which was carrying
out attacks on US Said group getting training from Iran
(Musings On Iraq U.S. General Warns Of Iranian Supported Attacks Upon American Forces In Iraq This Summer)
(Musings On Iraq Instrument Of Iran’s Power In Iraq And Syria Kataib Hezbollah)
Jul 13 Report Oil Min Shahristani wanted talks with KRG over smuggling oil to Iran but KRG
didn’t want to KRG official said Baghdad had no power over issue KRG Natural Resource Min Hawrami blamed Iraqi refineries for KRG smuggling along with fuel subsidies KRG smuggling oil to Iran since 90s
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)
Jul 13 Member of National Alliance said coalition with State of Law over Said it would only
nominate Maliki for PM and had given State of Law too many concessions Sadr opposed 2nd term for Maliki
Jul 16 Report Fire that broke out after ISI attacked Central Bank of Iraq in June done on purpose by
bank officials trying to cover up corruption involving ISI and senior govt officials
(Musings On Iraq Was Attack Upon Iraq Central Bank To Cover Up Corruption Case?)
Jul 17 Kurdish Alliance and Iraqiya agreed to limit power of next PM Didn’t happen Ended up
giving Maliki more authority
Jul 17 State of Law member said Iraq put together its alliance with National Alliance Solidified
Tehran’s role in Iraqi politics
Jul 18 Oil Min held 2 day conference with 16 oil companies that won contracts to operate Iraqi oil
fields Companies complained about lack of infrastructure security red tape Companies could not get personnel into Iraq because of visa delays Couldn’t set up offices because licenses and permits took so long Um Qasr port didn’t have capacity to handle traffic companies needed to bring in equipment Weren’t sure Baghdad would address any of those issues
(Musings On Iraq Oil Companies Voice Their Concerns About Doing Business In Iraq)
Jul 18 3 electricity towers blown up in Anbar Part of insurgent offensive to cut power supply during
summer heat
Jul 18 Suicide bomber killed more than 40 sahwa near Baghdad 3 Awakening killed in suicide
bombing in Anbar
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
Jul 19 Sadr met with Allawi in Syria Damascus against 2nd term for PM Maliki Report Iran pressured
ISCI to back Maliki ISCI was also against 2nd term
Jul 20 KRG said it respected Iraqi constitution and would end all illegal oil exports Also said KRG
would cooperate with Baghdad over oil exports Came after NY Times article and Al Arabiya report on KRG smuggling oil to Iran which had been going on since 90s KRG always denied it happened
(Musings On Iraq Kurds Continue With Their Oil Smuggling To Iran)
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)
Jul 20 Fmr MI5 head Manningham-Buller testified to Chilcot Inquiry Went over Mar 2002 memo
she wrote to Home Office that Iraq not connected to any anti-West terrorism since it tried to kill ex-Pres Bush in 1993 Found no evidence Iraq connected to 9/11 Were reports Al Qaeda and Iraq met no intel that two had cooperated MI5 chief said Iraq unlikely to use WMD unless Saddam was going to be deposed Found no evidence Iraq was planning on using WMD or that it was thinking of using terrorism
(Musings On Iraq 2002 British Memo Said Iraq Not A Threat To The West)
Jul 21 Report State Dept was going to use small army of contractors for security and transportation
after 2011 US military withdrawal Never happened due to lack of money
Jul 22 Reuters went to KRG-Iran border crossing and saw oil tankers driving into Iran with refined
oil products after KRG said it would stop Worked for company that had contract with KRG Natural Resource Min KRG said trade legal because wasn’t shipping oil
(Musings On Iraq Kurds Continue With Their Oil Smuggling To Iran)
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)
Jul 22 Report Industry Minister said better security allowed industry to rebuild Said needed $5-$7
bil Said less than $1 bil had been invested in sector After 2003 99% of factories shut down 2010 over 70% were working but below capacity Ministry controlled 70 state owned enterprises Other ministries controlled another 122 Said weren’t given adequate budgets Was looking for joint ventures but only made 10
Jul 22 Report Insurgents attacking electricity grid during summer offensive Iran-Diyala line
Hamrin-Muqdadiya Baghdad-Haditha lines all taken down
Jul 22 Report New Iranian ambassador Danafar member of Iranian Rev Guard Born in Baghdad
1962 Deported by Saddam for being Persian Joined Badr Then Quds Force Would help form next Iraqi govt
Jul 22 Report When VP Biden came to Iraq in July proposed Maliki remain PM Iraqis criticized him
and Amb Hill for not doing more to try to break deadlock between PM Maliki and Allawi
(Musings On Iraq How Did The United States Do In Iraq? An Interview With Emma Sky)
(Musings On Iraq Former Ambassador Robert Ford Reflects On U.S. Policy Towards Iraq And Syria)
(Musings On Iraq review The Unraveling, High Hopes And Missed Opportunity In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review The Endgame, The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from
George W. Bush to Barack Obama)
Jul 23 ISI’s Justice Minister Finance Minister a judge and another official escaped prison in
Baghdad
(Musings On Iraq Four Islamic State Members Escape From Prison)
Jul 23 KRG spokesman refuted Reuters story that KRG smuggling oil to Iran Claimed KRG had
committee that stopped all smuggling KRG was still smuggling and had done so since 90s
(Musings On Iraq Kurds Continue With Their Oil Smuggling To Iran)
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)
Jul 24 Report Survey in Fallujah found four fold increase in cancer and 12 fold increase in
childhood cancer Doctors blamed 2 battles of Fallujah and U.S. weapons
Jul 24 Report Mosul Dam held less than half its usual amount of water due to cut in supply from
Turkey Used to produce 320 mw of power for Mosul Now produced less than 100 mw and output is erratic
Jul 26 ISI bombed Al Arabiya TV station
Jul 26 Report ISI robbing blood banks and hospitals to get supplies to treat its wounded Robbed
Qaim’s blood bank Hospitals were closed because of ISI threats
Jul 27 Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction audit found Pentagon mismanaged
Development Fund for Iraq which collected Iraqi oil revenues Used fund in ad hoc manner Didn’t follow rules which meant it couldn’t account for almost all of its spending Might still be using Fund even though had no authority to
(Musings On Iraq Department Of Defense Didn’t Follow Accounting Rules During Iraq Reconstruction)
Jul 29 ISI overran checkpoint in Adhamiya Baghdad in middle of day Killed 10 ISF 4 sahwa 2
civilians
Jul 30 Fmr Dep PM Prescott testified to Chilcot Inquiry Said intel on Iraq WMD went beyond
evidence Said 04 Butler Inquiry found pre-war intel wrong Didn’t like Sep 02 WMD dossier that claimed Iraq could launch WMD in 45 mins Made him question intel overall Acknowledged that intel agencies might have made conclusions based upon intl because that’s how it worked Said Attn Gen Lord Goldsmith uncomfortable with Blair’s demand for legal ok for war Said VP Cheney considered Iraq unfinished business that needed to be taken care of Said Cheney set on invasion Rejected MI5 chief Manningham-Buller’s testimony no terrorist threat from Iraq before war She was on committee that put together Sep 02 dossier Said Blair never told him he committed to war with Iraq when met Bush in 02
Jul 30 US govt report Sahwa attacked by insurgency Around 41,000 of 94,000 sahwa offered govt
jobs Since May Def Min halted all hiring of sahwa on orders from Maliki govt Said would restart after elections Didn’t happen Jun govt only paid 85% of sahwa 50% of Baghdad sahwa not paid Apr-May Sahwa complained felt defenseless Got menial jobs Arrested by govt
(Musings On Iraq How Many Sons of Iraq Have Actually Been Integrated By Baghdad?)
(Musings On Iraq Continued Problems Integrating The Sons of Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Officials Claim 80% Or More Of Sons Of Iraq Integrated)
Jul 30 US govt report Govt and Central Bank of Iraq don’t keep good records of spending Didn’t
know what money used what misused what not spent
Aug 1 Report Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction investigated 54 projects Found 25%
were not completed or not maintained by Iraqis
Aug 2 Iraq signed memo of understanding to import natural gas from Iran for 7 yrs to fuel power
plants
Aug 2 Report Iraq had to invest in infrastructure and transportation before it could exploit natural
gas Executive said Baghdad offering confusing terms in bidding for gas fields Iraq was going to auction 3 gas fields Currently produced 1.65 bil/cubic/ft of gas/day
Aug 2 Report Iraq talked about exporting natural gas but had no infrastructure to do so Needed
pipelines reservoirs gathering stations
Aug 3 Report By Mar 2010 only 40% of sahwa integrated into govt All were supposed to be
integrated by end of 09 Govt didn’t have logistics or resources to integrate them PM Maliki didn’t trust sahwa Govt rejected many Arrested others
Aug 4 Report Obama sent letter to Ayatollah Sistani asking him to intervene with Shiite parties
and get them to compromise to form new govt
Aug 6 PM Maliki met with Pres Talabani Afterward Talabani said he had no reservations about
Maliki remaining PM
Aug 9 After meeting KRG Pres Barzani said no objections to Maliki remaining PM Said he was a
long time friend
Aug 10 Report ISI offering money to sahwa to return to insurgency Trying to exploit Maliki govt
not hiring them
Aug 12 Army Chief of Staff Gen Zebari said US military should stay in Iraq until 2020 Said ISF
may not be ready by that date
Aug 12 Demand for electricity in provinces reached such a level shut down entire power grid for 7
hrs
Aug 12 Head of National Reconciliation Comm in charge of Sahwa said no plans to end program
Claimed 80% of sahwa in Baghdad had been integrated into govt Then said 12,000 sahwa hadn’t gotten govt job yet
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Officials Claim 80% Or More Of Sons Of Iraq Integrated)
Aug 13 NPR went to KRG-Iran border Still found oil tanker trucks lining up to cross into Iran KRG
said it ended oil smuggling
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)
Aug 13 Report Both US and Iran supported PM Maliki for 2nd term US thought Maliki would
provide stability after military withdrew in 2011 Kurds also changed from opposing to supporting Maliki
(Musings On Iraq How Did The United States Do In Iraq? An Interview With Emma Sky)
(Musings On Iraq Former Ambassador Robert Ford Reflects On U.S. Policy Towards Iraq And Syria)
(Musings On Iraq review The Unraveling, High Hopes And Missed Opportunity In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review The Endgame, The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from
George W. Bush to Barack Obama)
Aug 16 MP said ISF lacked intel Depended upon US for intel No plans to solve problem Intel not
centralized and distributed throughout ISF units
Aug 16 Islamist group in Nasiriya attacked people for listening to pop music wearing Western
clothes trendy haircuts Attacked people at night Issued threats
Aug 16 Report Iran used both hard and soft power in Iraq Supported elections and political process
to keep Shiites in power Used militias but didn’t want chaos Increased economic and religious influence in Iraq Wanted stable Iraq that wasn’t threat to Tehran Report gave $8 mil/mo to Sadr for 2010 election Iranian Rev Guard Quds Force cmdr Gen Suleimani helped bring PM Maliki’s State of Law and National Alliance together to ensure Shiite power Brokered deals with Shiite leaders
(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Overview of Iran’s Influence In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Analysis Of Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq Interview With RAND’s Alireza Nader)
Aug 17 ISI suicide bomber hit army recruits in Baghdad killing 60
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
Aug 18 Report Abu Dura Mahdi Army leader called the Shiite Zarqawi returned to Baghdad from
Iran Now commander of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq in Sadr City Went back to carry out attacks
Aug 19 Report 2007 est $1-$2 bil/yr stolen from Baiji Refinery Up to 70% of output stolen 2010
down to around 5% Director of refinery got death threats Had to move to Jordan and run plant by phone Corrupt officials tried to get director arrested Director said political parties interfered with refinery
Aug 19 Natural Resource Min Hawrami said KRG would be producing 1 mil/bar/day in oil by 2014
Said KRG would join Nabucco natural gas pipeline and export gas to Europe Neither happened Said no oil had been smuggled to Iran KRG had been smuggling oil to Iran since 1990s
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Kurds Claim They Can Produce 1 Million Barrels Of Oil A Day)
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)
Aug 21 Kurdish MP said Peshmerga would remain in disputed areas until Article 140 implemented
Said constitutionally legal for them to stay
Aug 21 KRG made series of demands of Maliki govt Wanted revenue sharing law Oil law Wanted
KRG laws to trump federal laws in disagreements over KRG oil contracts In return Kurds said they would support 2nd term for PM Maliki
Aug 21 100s protested in Dhi Qar over lack of electricity Clashed with police
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Government Banned Electricity Protests)
Aug 22 Report US Iraq cmdr Gen Odierno said US troops could stay in Iraq past 2011 withdrawal
Aug 24 Report Syria working to form new Iraqi govt Got Allawi and Sadr to meet in Damascus
ISCI said Syria helped National Alliance and Iraqiya open talks
Aug 25 ISI coordinated attacks in Mosul Kirkuk Tikrit Dujail Baquba Muqtadiya
Ramadi Fallujah Karbala Kut Basra Baghdad
Aug 26 Report Tribal Affairs Dept head of Interior Min recorded as saying 20% of Sahwa got jobs
in Interior and Defense Mins and 75% had other govt jobs Jul Spec Insp Gen for Iraq reconstruction found only 41,000 of 94,000 sahwa had govt jobs Interior Min was probably exaggerating numbers
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Officials Claim 80% Or More Of Sons Of Iraq Integrated)
Aug 27 Report US military bought $1.9 mil in computers for Iraqi schools Iraqi officials auctioned
them off for less than $50,000 Port official said they were at port for 90 days after that they could be auctioned off
Aug 27 KRG signed deal with German firm to export natural gas via Nabucco gas line to Europe
KRG had no infrastructure to export Never happened
(Musings On Iraq Kurds Anger Baghdad Over Proposed Natural Gas Pipeline)
(Musings On Iraq Oil Ministry Threatens Kurdistan Over Natural Gas Deal)
Aug 28 Report 04 US built prison in Kahn Bani Saad Diyala Iraq didn’t want it Ran into cost
overruns Manager killed Stopped work 07 after $50 mil spent Example of US no bid contracts Poor planning and execution Cost overruns due to security US built projects too sophisticated for Iraqis to finish and maintain Planning Min said Iraq only took over 300 of 1500 projects US handed over Rest abandoned US built $5.6 mil slaughterhouse in Basra Not finished and not connected to water system US started building sewage treatment plant in Fallujah for $32.5 mil Rose to $104 mil Would only connect to 4300 homes out of 24,500 in city No contract to connect treatment plan to pipeline to houses 04 US built Children’s Hospital in Basra for $37 mil When finished cost $171 mil Still not finished in 2010
(Musings On Iraq Fallujah’s Wastewater Treatment Plant Update)
(Musings On Iraq review Hard Lessons, The Iraq Reconstruction Experience)
(Musings On Iraq review Blood Money, Wasted Billions, Lost Lives, and Corporate Greed in Iraq)
Aug 29 Est US wasted $5-$53 bil on reconstruction Many finished projects didn’t meet goals 05 US
started building prison at Kahn Bani Saad Diyala with Parsons Corp for $40 mil Violence stopped project Restarted Fell behind Jun 06 contract cancelled because of delays and overruns 3 more contracts given to finish prison Jun 07 all work stopped and turned over to Justice Min It refused to take on prison $1.2 mil in unused material was abandoned at site Prison abandoned US spent $5.7 mil on Baghdad airport convention center to help foreign investment Center not connected to power grid Given to Iraq and never finished Equipment stolen
(Musings On Iraq review Hard Lessons, The Iraq Reconstruction Experience)
Aug 29 Reports KRG signed contract with German company to provide natural gas to Nabucco
pipeline to Europe KRG didn’t have infrastructure and didn’t happen Baghdad condemned contract Said gas exports illegal
(Musings On Iraq Kurds Anger Baghdad Over Proposed Natural Gas Pipeline)
(Musings On Iraq Oil Ministry Threatens Kurdistan Over Natural Gas Deal)
(Musings On Iraq Baghdad Bans Kurdish Natural Gas Exports To Turkey)
Aug 31 US officially ended combat operations in Iraq
(Musings On Iraq review The United States And Iraq Since 1990: A Brief History with Documents)
Sep 2 Federal Appeals Court dismissed case against fmr Trade Min Sudani over lack of evidence
$4-$8 bil missing from ministry Bought expired food and charged Ministry full price Bought food and kept it for themselves to sell on black market Bought goods for double the prices Sudani signed contract with company owned by his son for $50 mil for old tea that was only worth $20 mil Bought contaminated milk from China Found $8 mil in expired food in warehouse Sudani’s brother and nephew got $40 in kickbacks from every ton of sugar imported by ministry Sudani used some of money to fund PM Maliki’s State of Law in 2009-10 elections
(Musings On Iraq Appeals Court Throws Out Case Against Iraq’s Former Trade Minister)
(Musings On Iraq Corruption In Iraq An Interview With Stuart Bowen Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Trouble Fighting Corruption Interview With Vincent Foulk Former US Anti-Graft Official)
Sep 2 Report US advisers said ISF logistics didn’t work Caught in red tape Had to get ok from
officers in Baghdad to get anything ISF medical center didn’t have electricity even though had its own generators Didn’t have staff to keep it running Army used expired medicine
Sep 2 Oil Min threatened to cut 50% of fuel deliveries to KRG in retaliation for it signing natural
gas deal with German company
(Musings On Iraq Oil Ministry Threatens Kurdistan Over Natural Gas Deal)
Sep 4 Report Maliki govt released lower casualty figures Some ISF commanders didn’t report
violence because would make them look bad Iraqi intel officer said he was under pressure from superiors to underreport violence
Sep 6 Report ISI turned to robbery for funding May robbed jewelry shops in Baghdad Jun attacked
Central Bank of Iraq in Baghdad Aug $400,000 stolen from convoy in Anbar
Sep 6 Report ISI extorted money from most businesses in Mosul Trucks into city paid fee to pass
checkpoints Controlled smuggling to Syria Charged taxes on people
Sep 7 US govt report Maliki govt only implemented Provincial Powers Law in provinces controlled
by his State of Law Baghdad wouldn’t give powers to provinces run by others
Sep 7 US govt report Constitutional Review Committee submitted final report Jun 09 Didn’t deal
with any major issues Didn’t know if govt would act on recommendations It didn’t
Sep 7 US govt report Iraq imported 18,500 mw from Iran and Turkey in May 12% of total Jan-May
Electricity Min added 190 mw to power grid Ministry had plans to add 20,000 mw over 5 yrs Didn’t have funding Owed foreign companies for existing contracts Signed contracts to install generators but no turbines
Sep 14 Report insurgents launched campaigns every Ramadan 2008 1st yr no major attacks 2010
were 20 mass casualty bombings by ISI in one month’s span from Aug-Sep Aug 25 launched attacks in 12 cities including ones in the south with over 300 casualties
Sep 14 PM Maliki adv went to Syria to try to convince Pres Assad to switch from backing Allawi for
PM to Maliki
(Musings On Iraq Sadr’s Decision To Support Maliki And Its Effect Within And Without Iraq)
Sep 17 Human Rights Watch PM Maliki moved to stop protests Interior Min issued new rules
limiting gatherings Required organizers to get written approval by Interior Min and governor and then ask police 72 hrs beforehand Interior also told police to use force to break up any protest that turned violence Maliki issued secret order to Interior to refuse protest permits
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Government Banned Electricity Protests)
Sep 18 Iraq signed deal with Syria to build 2 pipelines through Syria to Mediterranean Never
happened
Sep 18 Iranian Pres Ahmadinejad landed in Syria Met with Pres Assad to lobby for 2nd term for PM
Maliki Assad supported Allawi
(Musings On Iraq Sadr’s Decision To Support Maliki And Its Effect Within And Without Iraq)
Sep 19 Report Consultant to Central Bank of Iraq said country misusing resources 80% of economy
controlled by state 20% by private sector Said reason why economy was unproductive Said 90% of govt workers didn’t deserve jobs
Sep 20 Iraq and Turkey signed deal to stop KRG from exporting natural gas to Europe Aug KRG
signed contract with German company to build pipeline to Europe’s Nabucco pipeline Never happened
(Musings On Iraq Baghdad Bans Kurdish Natural Gas Exports To Turkey)
Sep 21 Ninewa Gov Nujafi announced his Hadbaa Party and Kurdish Ninewa Brotherhood List
reached agreement on all their issues except security Kurds boycotted Ninewa govt after 09 elections where Hadbaa took all the positions
Sep 22 Reporters Without Borders said KRG using lawsuits to silence critics Several papers facing
suits Editor magazine sued for calling for more press freedom Another paper sued for asking whether Pres Barzani should continue to be president
Sep 23 Head of Anbar council said nepotism responsible for failure of most development projects
in province Bids for projects usually went to friends of officials
(Musings On Iraq Corruption In Iraq An Interview With Stuart Bowen Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Trouble Fighting Corruption Interview With Vincent Foulk Former US Anti-Graft Official)
Sep 24 Report Quds Force cmdr Gen Suleimani met with State of Law and National Alliance Told
them they had to pick Maliki or Abdul Mahdi for PM Told they had to block Allawi becoming PM ISCI’s Hakim blamed State of Law for delaying forming govt because would only back PM Maliki for 2nd term
(Musings On Iraq Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Commander General Suleimani And His Role In Iraq, An Interview With The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins)
Sep 24 Iraqiya said they would not join any govt headed by PM Maliki Eventually did
Sep 25 Report US donated 8,080 computers worth $1.8 mil to schools in Babil Customs in Basra
refused to release them Investigation found 4,200 computers sold in Aug 2010 for $45,700 Rest of computers disappeared
(Musings On Iraq interview with Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen on corruption in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq interview with anti-graft US official Vincent Foulk)
Sep 25 Obama admin approved sale of F-16 jets to Iraq
Sep 26 Bin Laden wrote Libyan Al Qaeda member reputed story by Al Qaeda security chief Adil
about early cooperation between him and Zarqawi Adil claimed Zarqawi met bin Laden and Zawahiri in 1999 and agreed to work together Bin Laden said not true Zawahiri also wasn’t member in 1999
Sep 26 Report Oil Ministry asked oil companies if they wanted to help pay for upgrading
infrastructure Iraq needed several billion $ Wanted to build pipelines to Syria Turkey and in Basra
Sep 27 report Oil Min delayed Shell-Mitsubishi deal to develop natural gas in Basra Deal signed
Jun Ministry revised deal causing delay Forming new govt after 2010 election would mean another delay
Sep 27 Wasit govt ordered raid on Al-Ahdab oil field Charged officials with corruption
(Musings On Iraq Confrontation Between Wasit Provincial Council and Oil Ministry At Al-Ahdab Field)
Sep 28 Report Industry Min was going to offer 10 state owned enterprises to foreign investors
Eventually wants to sell 250 enterprises by 2020 Ministry owned 60 companies that ran 250 factories mainly in cement petrochemicals steel pharmaceuticals Dep Min said all poorly run and needed money and rehabilitation Only 5 companies had been sold since 03
(Musings On Iraq Iraq Attempting To Privatize Its State-Run Businesses Once Again)
Sep 29 Report Oil Min said it wanted to produce 10 mil/bar/day of oil by 2017 Would require
7000km of new pipeline and $12 bil have to repair northern and southern pipelines Build 2-3 new ones Analysis didn’t include additional infrastructure Never done
Sep 29 UN said refugee returns went from 15-20,000 in 18 months before 2010 election to 10,000
since Said people waiting for new govt
Sep 29 Report Iraqiya said that it and Kurds would support Abdul Mahdi for next PM to block PM
Maliki from 2nd term Didn’t happen
Sep 30 Report Nabucco group said Iraq would be a main supplier of natural gas exports to Europe
Said more reliable than Turkmenistan or Azerbaijan KRG also signed deal to export natural gas with German company Neither happened
Sep 30 Report Special Groups cmdr Sheibani back to work Supported by Iran to attack US before
2011 withdrawal Also backed by Hezbollah
(Musings On Iraq Iran Activates Another Shiite Special Group)
Sep 30 IMF asked Iraq where $40 bil from budget surplus went Maliki govt claimed it was for
repaying loans and advances Finance Min never gave details to IMF
Oct 1 National Alliance picked Maliki as its candidate for premier due to Sadr switching to
back Maliki under Iranian pressure
(Musings On Iraq Sadr’s Conditional Support For Maliki)
(Musings On Iraq Sadr’s Decision To Support Maliki And Its Effect Within And Without Iraq)
Oct 1 Report Ayatollah Haeri in Iran issued fatwa to support PM Maliki for 2nd term Believed that
was reason why Sadr switched from opposing Maliki to supporting him
Oct 1 KRG Natural Resource Min said KRG had enough natural gas for domestic use and export to
Europe via Nabucco pipeline Baghdad said it would provide natural gas for Nabucco Neither happened
Oct 2 KRG Natural Resource Min Hawrami said Kurds were ready to send 60 bil cubic
meters of natural gas to Turkey Didn’t happen
Oct 2 Flyers given to Arabs and Turkmen in Kirkuk Said “You don’t belong here Leave
unconditionally with 24 hours or else” Dep Governor accused Asayesh of posting flyers
(Musings On Iraq Threatening Flyers Distributed To Arabs and Turkmen In Kirkuk)
Oct 4 Report Govt docs showed Bush and Blair govt coordinated statements about Iraq US told UK
officials to remove anything from Sep 02 WMD dossier that might contradict US claims UK went through US white paper on Iraq UK included some claims about WMD because US said them
Oct 4 Report Iraq 5 yr development plan had no strategy on how to implement it Ministries and
provinces didn’t talk about it
Oct 5 Report 14 US companies visited Iraq Said Iraqi regulations impediment to investment 1 CEO
said rules weren’t clear Some seemed made up Were questions whether goods shipped to Um Qasr Port would arrive US Under Sec of Commerce said a lot had to change to improve business environment
Oct 5 Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum said producing 200 mil cubic ft/day of natural gas and
delivering 180 mil cubic ft/day to 2 power plants
Oct 6 Obama adm review of Iraq policy VP Biden said wanted Maliki to stay as PM Obama agreed
Would give Allawi presidency Talabani Foreign Min Biden believed Maliki would give US deal to keep US troops in Iraq past 2011 withdrawal Dep Sec of State didn’t believe plan would work Talabani refused plan
(Musings On Iraq Former Ambassador Robert Ford Reflects On U.S. Policy Towards Iraq And Syria)
(Musings On Iraq How Did The United States Do In Iraq? An Interview With Emma Sky)
(Musings On Iraq review The Unraveling, High Hopes And Missed Opportunity In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review The Endgame, The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from
George W. Bush to Barack Obama)
Oct 6 Report Insurgency went through 3 phases 1st led by Zarqawi 2nd Led by Abu Masri and Abu
Omar al-Baghdad 3rd by men who worked for Zarqawi Don’t have as much intl financing Not as many foreign fighters
Oct 11 Report IMF signed deal with Iraq in Feb to reform budgeting spending accounting Asked
Finance Min where $40.3 bil in outstanding advances went Ministry never responded
(Musings On Iraq Iraq Won’t Say Where Its Money Has Gone)
Oct 12 Turkey opened consulate in Irbil as part of improved relations with KRG
Oct 13 Report Planning Min Baban said 70% of govt workers didn’t have real jobs and didn’t
produce anything Blamed bureaucracy and corruption for blocking development projects
Oct 13 Report Security political instability poor infrastructure limited Iraq’s ability to increase oil
production Oil executives said production would increase but not to 12 mil/bar/day by 2017 that Oil Min set One consultant said that Iraq’s planned investment in drilling exceeded capabilities Executives said Iraq lacked money and political leadership to manage a large production increase
Oct 13 PM Maliki went to Syria to win its support for 2nd term Assad backed Allawi for PM but was
under Iranian pressure to back Maliki
(Musings On Iraq Sadr’s Decision To Support Maliki And Its Effect Within And Without Iraq)
Oct 14 Report AP looked into casualty figures collected by US under Freedom of Information
CENTCOM had 76,939 Iraqi civilians and ISF killed Jan04-Aug 08 121, 649 wounded Before US military consistently denied requests for its casualty figures Oct 09 Human Rights Min said 85,694 Iraqis killed from Jan 04-Oct 08 147,195 wounded
Oct 16 Maliki govt officials claimed members of sahwa rejoining insurgency Said active members
of sahwa were helping insurgents 1000s of sahwa have quit because govt arresting them and insurgents attacking them ISI offering cash to sahwa to quit and join them Govt tried to disarm some sahwa units claiming didn’t have right to carry weapons Head of National Reconciliation Comm said just because sahwa fought insurgency didn’t mean they were serving the people or govt and didn’t deserve anything for their service Diyala sahwa leader said dozens had rejoined ISI Diyala police accused sahwa of helping ISI Since Jan 90 Diyala sahwa arrested for helping insurgents and around 100 killed or wounded in insurgent attacks Half of those arrested released for lack of evidence
(Musings On Iraq Are The Sons Of Iraq Returning To The Insurgency?)
Oct 17 Report Diyala and Salahaddin sahwa leaders denied any of their fighters had joined
insurgency Claimed politicians who opposed sahwa went to press and spread stories
(Musings On Iraq Are The Sons Of Iraq Returning To The Insurgency?)
Oct 17 Report Iran worked out deal for 2nd PM Maliki term Got Sadr to support Maliki Got Maliki
chief of staff to meet with Sadr in Iran along with Quds Force cmdr Gen Suleimani and Hezbollah’s Kawtharani Also went to Syria who originally supported Allawi and got it to back Maliki
(Musings On Iraq Sadr’s Decision To Support Maliki And Its Effect Within And Without Iraq)
Oct 17 Report Sadr asked for 7 ministries Secretary of cabinet Deputy ministers in all security
agencies 25% of staff in each ministry Release of Sadrist prisoners to support PM Maliki’s 2nd term
Oct 18 Report South pipeline built 1975 Was supposed to only last 20 yrs without major upgrades
Inspected 1991 Found 76% of pipe corroded Iraq reduced capacity by 75% to keep using it Couldn’t be shut down because 75% of exports used it 2 assessments in 07 Said new export pipes needed to be added Found underwater section of pipe leaked and sea water collected in it increasing corrosion
Oct 18 Report US wanted PM Maliki and Allawi to form alliance to create new govt and shut Sadr
out US told Kurds to withhold support for Maliki as a result Sadr supported Maliki PM agreed to KRG’s demands
(Musings On Iraq Sadr’s Decision To Support Maliki And Its Effect Within And Without Iraq)
Oct 19 Report Iraq natural gas auctions not garnered a lot of interest Put up 3 fields for bids Hardly
any gas infrastructure No pipelines to export Govt had no plans for how to use gas
(Musings On Iraq Iraq To Hold Natural Gas Auction Today)
Oct 19 PM Maliki went to Iran Met Sadr in Qom along with Pres Ahmadinejad, Ayatollah
Khamenei Meant to ensure his 2nd
term
(Musings
On Iraq Sadr’s Conditional Support For Maliki)
(Musings On Iraq Sadr’s Decision To Support Maliki And Its Effect Within And Without Iraq)
Oct 20 Oil Min auction for 3 natural gas fields TPAO Kuwait Energy Kogas won Mansuriya field
Kuwait Energy and TPAO won Siba field KoGas and KazMunai Gas won auction for Akkas gas field in Anbar
(Musings On Iraq Iraq To Hold Natural Gas Auction Today)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq Successfully Auctions Off Three Gas Fields)
(Musings On Iraq First International Energy Company Pulls Out Of Iraq)
Oct 21 Report 700 killed with sticky bombs more than 600 killed with silencers in 2010 Most
targeted ISF at checkpoints US military thought sign insurgents couldn’t carry out large bombings anymore Believed attacking checkpoints to allow movement through areas
Oct 21 US Marathon Oil signed deal for four oil blocks with KRG
(Musings On Iraq Kurdistan Signs New Oil Deal With U.S. Firm)
Oct 21 Allawi’s Iraqiya said it supported ISCI’s Abdul Mahdi for PM to try to block 2nd term for PM
Maliki
Oct 21 Report Iraqi politicians said US losing influence in Iraq because of military withdrawal while
Iran increasing its power VP Biden was lobbying Iraqis over forming new govt US first told Iraqis they needed to quickly form govt Then said to slow down to try to block Sadr from having prominent role
(Musings On Iraq Sadr’s Decision To Support Maliki And Its Effect Within And Without Iraq)
Oct 22 Wikileaks released thousands of classified US reports on Iraq
Oct 22 Wikileaks docs show US didn’t understand Al Qaeda in Iraq initially US received 100s of
reports of attacks Some true others not US never sure of origin of foreign fighters captured Had false papers Zarqawi’s Tawhid wal Jihad not really mentioned until Jul 04 Zarqawi pledged allegiance to bin laden Oct 04 Al Qaeda in Iraq not mentioned until July 05 Knew more about Ansar al-Islam Syria and Saudi Arabia main sources of foreign fighters US reports complained about Syria allowing foreign fighters to enter Iraq 08 US said Syria was changing policy Early 08 Adm Smith said foreign fighters from Syria had been cut in half Foreign fighters began decreasing mid-07 Led ISI to turn to women for suicide bombings May 07 1st report of women bomber mentioned by US Al Qaeda in Iraq got money from Syria and Gulf States Also raised money in Iraq Kidnapping common money maker Extorted money Robbery Stole $1.6 mil from oil office in Mosul Dec 08
Oct 22 Report Wikileaks has 100s of reports of ISF abuses Reports of Iraqi soldiers cutting off
fingers of prisoners Burning them with acid Were mostly ignored by US Iraqis did nothing 1 Iraqi police chief said abuse was way to interrogate suspects
Oct 22 Report Wikileaks docs Dec 05 US military in Baghdad warned about Dulaimi of Mahdi
Army who orchestrated kidnapping of Educ Min officials Planned on kidnapping US soldiers Dulaimi trained by Hezbollah in Iran Was under Iranian Rev Guard Quds Force supervision May 07 Dulaimi tracked and killed in US raid in Sadr City Dulaimmi also worked with Asaib Ahl Al-Haq
Oct 22 Report Wikileaks showed many sahwa were fmr insurgents who abused positions One
report on low level sahwa leader who kidnapped and killed people Attacked US and ISF Many reports of sawha extorting money and arresting rivals Apr 08 report on sahwa leader who planted IED in Salahaddin that went off against US vehicle US thought he set off bomb over not getting contract 08 US thought sahwa were making up stories of finding bombs etc to inflate their importance Maliki govt arrested sahwa leaders in Diyala on thin charges Arrests complicated integration of sahwa into govt Arrests happened before 09 elections
Oct 22 Report Wikileaks showed Iranian intel working with Mahdi Army and Badr to attack govt
officials Iran wanted to assassinate Industry Minister in 06 Survived attempt on his life Oct 05 report Iranian intel gave weapons to militias in Basra
(Musings On Iraq A History Of Iranian Weapons Shipments To Iraq Interview With Arkenstone Blog’s Galen Wright)
Oct 22 Report Wikileaks showed Iran supplied sniper rifles and surface to air missiles to militias US
helicopter shot down with Iranian supplied missile in Baghdad Jul 07
Oct 22 Report Anbar govt rejected auction of Akkas gas field Said Oil Min needed to listen to
Anbar’s demands Said it would not allow company to work there until demands met Anbar wanted natural gas used locally first Oil Min rejected Anbar’s interference
Oct 22 Report Blair’s new biography said Bush admin thought about invading Syria because it
supported Iraqi insurgency Sep 04 US Asst Sec State for Near East Burns went to Syria and complained about Assad supporting insurgents Reports Syrian intel helped insurgents with making bombs
Oct 23 Report Wikileaks doc showed US thought head of Fadhila security given money from Iran to
kill and kidnap politicians in Basra
Oct 23 Report Wikileaks had 100s of cases of torture US found Iraqis pouring acid and cutting off
fingers of prisoners in Mosul US started spot checks of Iraqi detention facilities to check on abuses All US could do was tell Iraqis to stop Jun 04 US ordered to report abuses but not investigate them unless told by HQ Nov 05 US found secret prison in Baghdad with tortured prisoners US went to PM Jaafari about prison but nothing else done 07 Gen Petraeus pressured Interior Min to fire National Police battalion and brigade commanders accused of killing and torturing Sunnis in Baghdad
Oct 23 South Oil Company signed deal with Australian consortium led by Leighton Holdings to
extend 2 underwater pipelines Build 3 floating terminals Consortium paid bribes to get deal
(Musings On Iraq Corruption In Iraq An Interview With Stuart Bowen Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Trouble Fighting Corruption Interview With Vincent Foulk Former US Anti-Graft Official)
Oct 23 Report Wikileaks recorded 109,032 deaths from Jan 04-Dec 09 66,081 civilians 23,984
insurgents 15,196 ISF Baghdad deadliest with 45,497 deaths Worst month Dec 06 2566 deaths Worst year 2006 16,870 deaths
Oct 24 Report Oct 11 17 Iraqi soldiers arrested by US for robbing Sunnis in Mansour and Washash
in Baghdad Told Americans they were working for PM Maliki Defense Min official showed up and asked for their release Said he came under orders from Maliki
Oct 24 Report Wikileaks doc reported Oct 06 Sadr sent Mahdi Army death squad to assassinate
PM Maliki
Oct 24 Federal Court said parliament holding first session open for weeks had to end Was done so
ruling parties could ignore deadline to form new govt Parties ignored court decision
Oct 25 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 Maliki 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
Oct 25 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 interview with Jerry Burke police and Interior Min adviser on how US failed to develop the Iraqi police)
Oct 26 Transparency International ranked Iraq fourth most corrupt country in world in its
Corruption Index Was ranked #4 in 2009
(Musings On Iraq Iraq Ranked Fourth Most Corrupt Country In World)
(Musings On Iraq Corruption In Iraq An Interview With Stuart Bowen Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Trouble Fighting Corruption Interview With Vincent Foulk Former US Anti-Graft Official)
Oct 26 Report ISF said ISI mostly Iraqi Lost leaders and not as big as before 3rd generation of group
1st was mostly made up of foreigners 2nd was foreigners and Iraqis Aimed at attention grabbing attacks Wanted to return to former strongholds in Baghdad
Oct 26 Report PM Maliki used ISF to control Diyala May 09 sent special forces to arrest
councilmen and sahwa leader Nov 09 arrested deputy governor Some said Maliki wanted to pressure Accordance Front who were threatening investigations Report that Accordance Front made deal with Maliki Wouldn’t investigate Oil Min and Maliki would end arrests Before 2010 election more arrests Feb arrested Iraqiya candidate Was released for lack of evidence Anti-terrorism force arrested him again 3 other Iraqiys candidates went into hiding
Oct 26 Report US effort to rebuild ISF full of problems Different groups were in charge High Iraqi
desertion rate ISF infiltrated by insurgents and militias 04 US only focused on creating as many ISF as quickly as possible US didn’t start building ISF training planning logistics until 08 Ruling parties put followers into ISF Fmr Natl Sec Min said led to institutional problems that were hard to change US didn’t consider recruiting and political problems After 05 elections Shiites and Kurds put followers into command positions After 08 PM Maliki also put followers into commands Shiites afraid of Baathists Used deBaathification to eliminate officers saw as threats Militias infiltrated Interior Min After 05 elections more militias put into police Interior Min divided between KDP PUK ISCI Sadrists Jan 05 Badr got Interior Minister and accused of running death squads 06 Bolani made Interior Min Tried to centralize power Became more professional Cleaned up finances Became autonomous from Maliki CPA created Natl Sec Min under Rubaie PM Allawi believed Rubaie close to Iran so created rival Natl Sec Affairs Min Maliki controlled his own security forces like Baghdad Brigade Presidential Brigades Ran secret prison in Baghdad Maliki created operations commands that reported to him and not Defense or Interior Ministries
Oct 26 Karbala govt rejected Electricity Min plan to make citizens pay for electricity Said it was
unfair for poor Said only 2 hours of power provided by ministry Said people shouldn’t pay until service better
Oct 28 Reuters survey of oil experts predicted Iraq would reach 2.5 mil/bar/day in production by
2011 Predicted 4.6 mil/bar/day by 2015 Security and lack of infrastructure hindered production Oil Min Shahristani predicted 4 mil/bar/day by 2013 Oil Min said it would reach 12 mil/bar/day by 2017 after signed oil contracts in 09
Oct 28 Kurdish politician Othman said Kurdish Coalition came out for 2nd term for PM Maliki Held
talks with Iraqiya to form national unity govt Iraqiya still rejected Maliki
Oct 31 ISI attacked Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad Took 100 hostages Goal was publicity
and gain donations 68 killed
(Musings On Iraq review Christianity in Iraq)
Nov 1 Report Mid level govt workers got $600/mo MPs got $10,000/mo Got $12,500 mostly
allowances Got $600 during foreign trips Got 80% of their salaries for retirement
Nov 2 Report State Dept Inspector Gen did audit of Iraq Said US didn’t adequately plan for
transition from military to civilian led effort in Iraq after 2011 withdrawal Said diplomats might not be as influential as military with Iraqis Diplomats might not be able to control ethnosectarian divisions
Nov 2 ISI set off 16 bombs in 90 min in Baghdad Killed 91 Wounded around 250
Nov 2 Interior Min inspector general said fake bomb detectors were worthless Iraq spent $85 mil on
them in no-bid contract 2010 UK convicted manufacturer for fraud Company was banned from selling detectors abroad ISF was still using them Interior Min gave amnesty to official who bought detectors
Nov 3 KRG issued demonstration law saying protesters had to register 48 hours before any event
Nov 3 Report Jan UK jailed owner of fake bomb detectors for fraud Afterward parliament
demanded investigation into devices Interior Min Bolani said detectors worked Claimed they found 16,000 bombs Bolani gave amnesty to officer who bought detectors Interior Min inspector gen said Iraqis had died because of devices Iraq Paid up to $60,000 for each device 2008 US showed Iraq devices didn’t work
Nov 4 Intl Energy Agency said would take 20 yrs to reach Iraq’s goal of 12 mil/bar/day not 7 yrs as it
claimed Said Iraq needed $160 bil in investment to reach 12 mil/bar/day Could reach 6.5 mil/bar/day by 2030s if infrastructure improved Said Iraq needed roads bridges airports water supply not just oil infrastructure Said scale of project and political uncertainties meant increasing capacity would be slow Oil Min had $50 bil modernization and expansion plan for infrastructure
Nov 4 World Bank ranked Iraq 166 out of 183 countries in ease of doing business Was same rank as
last yr Was lowest in region
Nov 4 Pres Obama called Pres Talabani to convince him to give up presidency Obama wanted to
give position to Allawi Talabani said no
Nov 10 Pres Barzani called meeting and agreed on new govt Maliki would remain PM Talabani
stayed Pres Allawi would head new strategic council Nujafi would be speaker of parliament Called Irbil Agreement
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)
Nov 10 11 IEDs went off within 1 hr in 3 Christian neighborhoods in Baghdad 5 killed 33 wounded
Mortars fired at Christian neighborhood in Baghdad Done by ISI
Nov 10 London energy consultancy said would be 10 yrs before Iraq delivered natural gas to Europe
via Nabucco pipeline plan Executive from trading company said KRG would sign deal within a year to export natural gas Neither happened
Nov 11 New parliament had 2nd session in 5 months Elected Nujafi new speaker
Nov 12 Ruling parties agreed on power sharing deal for 2nd PM Maliki term Included creating
National Council for Allawi to head Committee to review political prisoners Power sharing to be codified Ended ban on 3 Iraqiya members Maliki never followed deal
Nov 13 Report VP Biden was in constant contact with Iraqi leaders to work out power sharing
agreement over next govt Also got Saudi Arabia to recognize 2nd Maliki term
Nov 21 Report IMF denied loan to Iraq to cover budget deficit IMF wanted major economic reforms
over Iraq’s spending govt workers supporting private sector
Nov 21 Report PM Maliki supposed to release Sadrist prisoners to support 2nd term
Nov 25 Report PM Maliki began freeing Sadrists in return for his support for 2nd term US officer
said he had list of 15 Mahdi Army commanders released 2 of which got jobs in police and Justice Min Mahdi Army said they were gaining positions in Interior Min Sadrists got dep speaker of parliament
Nov 28 Report Before 2003 40% of govt workers women Were mostly teachers After 2003 religious
and armed groups formed most women out of jobs 2007 Intl Women’s Resource Network report said govt wanted to keep women at home 2006 Interior Min issued warnings to women not to leave home alone due to security Religious leaders made similar statements about women’s place was at home
(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 What Kind of Liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq)
Nov 29 Report Iraq wanted to re-open oil pipeline to Saudi Arabia Was closed in 1990 after
invasion of Kuwait Didn’t happen
Nov 29 Adv to PM Maliki said Iraq could reach capacity of 8 mil/bar/day in oil by 2017 Was
revision down from original claim of 12 mil/bar/day by 2017 Analysts didn’t think either was realistic Iraq lacked infrastructure and security Analysts believed Iraq could reach 2.8 mil/bar/day by 2011 and 4.6 mil/bar/day by 2015 Govt spokesman Dabbagh said production would increase with KRG output even though Baghdad said its oil deals were illegal
Dec 1 Report After Oil Min Shahristani said KRG had to export 100,000 bar/day in oil for Baghdad
to get its share of budget KRG Natural Resource Min said Shahristani no longer had authority over issue
Dec 3 Report State Dept cables published 1 said that mayor in Baghdad province who
was banned under deBaathification told ban would end if he agreed not to run in next election Another candidate said his banning would end if paid $100,000 bribe
Dec 3 Report Maliki gained 2nd term as PM Obama admin said this was success but wasn’t Allawi was
supposed to head National Strategic Council that would play role in all major decisions Maliki’s State of Law said it was only advisory group Maliki promised Kurds that disputed territories and oil would be resolved Thought US never wanted Allawi to be PM and undermined his Iraqiya
Dec 3 Reports State Dept cables said PM fired 376 intel officers in 2010 under deBaathification
Replaced them with Dawa members with little experience Fired mostly Sunnis Said was going to harm intel agency Also fired ISF officers Many were exiles from Iran and worried about Iranian influence
Dec 5 Finance Min official said worried about new govt positions being created for 2nd PM Maliki
term Iraq had 38 ministries Half were called unnecessary New Maliki govt would have 41 ministries and a new dep PM
Dec 5 Report Sep 09 State Dept cable said PM Maliki told Amb Hill Iran trying to control
parliament Jul PM Maliki asked Pres Obama to get Saudis to stop interfering in Iraq Claimed Saudis backed Sunnis increasing sectarian tensions Mar King Abdullah told US he didn’t trust Maliki because he was Iranian agent Egypt supported US in Iraq Pres Mubarak told King Abdullah to try to work with Maliki Saudis supported Allawi and Sunni parties
(Musings On Iraq review A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, The Saudi Struggle For Iraq)
Dec 7 Report Maliki govt didn’t support sahwa Leaders said many sahwa who got govt jobs left
because weren’t paid or didn’t like work Sahwa leader in Baghdad said he went from 500 to 60 fighters and regretted trying to integrate them into govt Head of Natl Reconciliation Comm said integrating sahwa on hold until new govt formed
Dec 7 Report Education Min banned theater and music classes Baghdad’s Fine Arts Institute Also
removed statues Didn’t give reason 1 MP said part of religious crackdown
Dec 8 Report Sadr sent delegation to reconcile with Asaib Ahl Al-Haq Didn’t work
Dec 15 Report In return for supporting 2nd term for PM Maliki Kurds wanted oil concessions
Revenue sharing law in budget Oil law in 2011 Demanded KRG laws trump federal laws over energy
Dec 15 Report 2011 budget included KRG exporting 150,000 bar/day of oil in return for 17% of
budget and audit of KRG revenues which KRG agreed to but never allowed ot happen
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)
Dec 16 Report Iraqi officials said plan to integrate sahwa under threat Got copy of govt plan Said it
would include 24,000 sahwa who had high school diplomas into ISF Those with university degrees could get ministry jobs Those without degrees would work for provinces PM Maliki blamed Interior Min for opposing plan became didn’t have money to integrate sahwa Head of National Reconciliation Comm said plan unrealistic Said some governors opposed integrating sahwa Said no sahwa would be hired by ISF Interior Min turned down plan to hire 10,300 sahwa because of lack of money Budget had no money for sahwa Maliki opposed sahwa and blocked integration
Dec 17 Report UN said at least 1000 Christian families fled Baghdad and Mosul for KRG Another
133 families went to Syria and 109 to Jordan Assyrian Catholic priest in Lebanon said 450 families recently arrived Christians began fleeing Oct after IS attacked church in Baghdad
(Musings On Iraq review Christianity in Iraq)
Dec 18 Report Asaib Ahl Al-Haq asked to bury 2 fighters in Najaf cemetery Sadrists said no leading
to gun battle
Dec 20 Report KRG said it was ready to follow budget agreement to export oil for Baghdad but had
to work out differences 1st Wanted to ensure monthly payments and Baghdad to recognize KRG oil contracts
(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)
Dec 21 PM Maliki finally put together new govt 9 months after elections Cabinet approved by
parliament Maliki would be acting Defense Interior and Natl Sec Ministers Signed 19 point list of demands from Kurds Promised to resolve Article 140 over disputed territories and oil deals Maliki ignored demands
Dec 22 KRG passed Rally Law that said activists needed prior approval from security forces to hold
protest Was meant to stop demonstrations
Dec 25 Report Oil Min Luaibi said Baghdad would recognize KRG oil deals and pay companies
operating there but KRG exports and revenues had to go to Baghdad
Dec 26 Report PM Maliki released Mahdi Army members in deal with Sadr for 2nd term Maliki denied
any agreement
Dec 28 Report 1000s fled Iraq during war Hard to calculate exact number of refugees At peak MidEast
countries claimed 2.5 mil Iraqi refugees Some thought too high UN only registered 400,000 since 03 More still registering Member of UN said many Iraqis didn’t register Arab govts said 1.5 mil refugees Refugees Intl said only 500,000 Iraqis living in cities made it hard to count
Dec 30 Iraq Body Count 2008 saw 63% drop in deaths from 2007 2009 saw 50% drop in deaths from
2008 2010 saw 15% drop in deaths from 2009 Iraq stuck in low level insurgency that would probably kill civilians for yrs
Dec 30 Report Recent study linked rise in birth defects in Fallujah to US offensives there Birth
defects 11 times higher in city than normal rates 1 author said still hadn’t found actual cause Thought depleted uranium used by US could be cause but no studies have found actual link
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