Musings On Iraq review The Assassins’ Gate, America In Iraq
Musings On Iraq review Baghdad at Sunrise, A Brigade Commander’s War in Iraq
Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq
Musings On Iraq review Black Flags, The Rise Of ISIS
Musings On Iraq review Children of War, Voices of Iraqi Refugees
Musings On Iraq review Compulsion In Religion, Saddam Hussein, Islam, and the Roots of Insurgencies In Iraq
Musings On Iraq review Confronting Al Qaeda, The Sunni Awakening the American Strategy In Al Anbar
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 The Fall of Baghdad
Musings On Iraq review Fiasco: The American Military Adventure In Iraq
Musings On Iraq review from storm to Freedom, America’s Long War with Iraq
Musings On Iraq review The Future of Iraq, Dictatorship, Democracy, or Division?
Musings On Iraq review Hard Lessons, The Iraq Reconstruction Experience
Musings On Iraq review Imagining The Nation, Nationalism, Sectarianism and Socio-Political Conflict in Iraq
Musings On Iraq review Imperial Life In The Emerald City, Inside Iraq’s Green Zone
Musings On Iraq review Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency In Iraq
Musings On Iraq review Iraq and Back, Inside The War To Win The Peace
Musings On Iraq review Iraq and the Politics of Oil, An Insider’s Perspective
Musings On Iraq review Iraq in Fragments, The Occupation and Its Legacy
Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Dysfunctional Democracy
Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Future: The aftermath of regime change
Musings On Iraq review The ISIS Reader, Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement
Musings On Iraq review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy
Musings On Iraq review Losing Iraq, Inside The Post War Reconstruction Fiasco
Musings On Iraq review The Man Who Pushed America To War, The Extraordinary Life, Adventures, and Obsessions of Ahmad Chalabi
Musings On Iraq review The Marines Take Anbar, The Four-Year Fight Against Al Qaeda
Musings On Iraq review Muqtada, Muqtada Al-Sadr, The Shia Revival, And The Struggle For Iraq
Musings On Iraq review My Year in Iraq, The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope
Musings On Iraq review The Next Attack, The Failure of the War on Terror and a Strategy for Getting it Right
Musings On Iraq review Nights in the Pink Motel, An American Strategist’s Pursuit of Peace in Iraq
Musings On Iraq review No True Glory, A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah
Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace
Musings On Iraq review The Occupation, War And Resistance In Iraq
Musings On Iraq review Overreach, Delusions of Regime Change In Iraq
Musings On Iraq review Patriotic Ayatollahs, Nationalism In Post-Saddam Iraq
Musings On Iraq review Reconstructing Iraq’s Budgetary Institutions Coalition State Building after Saddam
Tragedy
Musings On Iraq review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary
Musings On Iraq review Revolt On The Tigris, The Al-Sadr Uprising And The Governing Of Iraq
Musings On Iraq review Salam Pax: The Baghdad Blog
Musings On Iraq review Sectarianism In Iraq
Musings On Iraq review A Short History of Iraq
Musings On Iraq review Special Operations Forces in Iraq
Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq
Musings On Iraq review State of Denial, Bush At War, Part III
Musings On Iraq review State of War, The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration
Musings On Iraq review The Struggle For Iraq, A View from the Ground Up
Musings On Iraq review The Struggle For Iraq’s Future, How Corruption, Incompetence and Sectarianism Have Undermined Democracy
Musings On Iraq review Target Basra, The High Octane Story of the Royal Marine
Commandos In Iraq
Musings On Iraq review The Triumph of the Martyrs, A Reporter’s Journey into Occupied Iraq
Musings On Iraq review The U.S. Army In The Iraq War: Volume 1, Invasion, Insurgency, Civil
War, 2003-2006
Musings On Iraq review Understanding Iraq, the Whole Sweep of Iraqi History, from Genghis Khan’s Mongols to the Ottoman Turks to the British Mandate to the American Occupation
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
Musings On Iraq review Wanting War: Why the Bush Administration Invaded Iraq
Musings On Iraq review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008
Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception
Musings On Iraq on Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Chapter 3 The Department of Defense Takes Charge
Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General For Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Chapter 4 Staging in Kuwait
Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Chapter 6 Charting A New Course
Musings On Iraq Interview with State Dept’s Mines on being CPA Governor of Anbar
Musings On Iraq interview with Fmr CPA advisor Horne
Musings On Iraq interview with Fmr CPA official Swanson
Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Savage on US reconstruction effort in Iraq
Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm
Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004
Musings On Iraq US Army History of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 13 The Changing Of The Guard, Again Spring-Summer 2004
2004
Jan 1 Bremer met with Barzani and Talabani in Irbil to discuss Kurdish demands in new constitution
Bremer asked Kurds to disband Peshmerga abandon claims to Kirkuk oil accept authority of central govt Kurds said no
(Musings On Iraq The Coalition Provisional Authority’s Inauspicious End)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq After America, Strongmen, Sectarians, Resistance)
Jan 3 US and Iraqi forces raided KDP and PUK offices in Kirkuk after Arab Turkmen Kurd clashes in
city
Jan 3 Soldiers from 4th Inf Div told 2 Iraqis to jump into Tigris for violating curfew 1 died Cmdr told
soldiers to lie to investigators 2 soldiers found guilty but only given 45 days-6 mo in prison
Jan 4 Bin Laden said US war in Iraq attempt to control region’s oil and start of holy war in Middle East
Jan 4 Report Kirkuk councilman and member of Turkmen Front said Turkmen wanted to work out
differences with Kurds politically but if that didn’t work would use violence
Jan 4 Gen Sanchez’s Iraq command working on plan to hand over security to ISF allowing US withdrawal
(Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General For Iraq Reconstruction’s Hard Lessons Chapter 12 Reconstructing Iraqi Security Forces)
(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)
(Musings On Iraq review The U.S. Army In The Iraq War: Volume 1, Invasion, Insurgency, Civil
War, 2003-2006)
Jan 5 White House presented CPA’s reconstruction plan to Congress
Jan 5 3 US soldiers discharged after found guilty of abusing prisoners at Camp Bucca Basra
Jan 5 Zarqawi called on Muslims to join his jihad in Iraq
Jan 6 2 Frenchmen shot and killed in Fallujah after car broke down
Jan 7 Bremer met with Barzani and Talabani 2nd time over federalism Kurds objected to federalism based
upon provinces Wanted one based upon ethnicity so KRG maintained
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq After America, Strongmen, Sectarians, Resistance)
Jan 7 CPA southern coordinator Gfoeller argued Sadr and his henchmen should be arrested for murder of
Sayid Khoei
Jan 9 Maysan governor’s security fired into crowd protesting job program Killed 3 British army took over
security and killed 2 more Govt building looted
Jan 10 4 days of protests started in Kut Wasit over lack of jobs
Jan 11 Ayatollah Sistani rejected CPA’s plan for transition to Iraqi sovereignty and
constitution
(Musings On Iraq The Coalition Provisional Authority’s Inauspicious End)
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
(Musings On Iraq review Patriotic Ayatollahs, Nationalism In Post-Saddam Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq)
Jan 11 Blair told BBC he didn’t know whether he was wrong or not about Iraq’s WMD
(Musings On Iraq review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
Jan 11 Kurdish party headquarters bombed in Kirkuk city
Jan 11 Former Treasury Secretary O’Neill believed Bush admin was focused upon Saddam from
when it entered office Jan 2001
Jan 11 Mahdi Army kidnapped policeman in Najaf Took him to secret prison then religious court Bremer
said prison and court had to be ended but both were near Najaf shrine which was off limits to US forces
Jan 13 CPA meeting decided it had to push forward with its sovereignty transition plan
despite Ayatollah Sistani’s objections Bremer sent Sistani note that early elections not possible
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
(Musings On Iraq review Patriotic Ayatollahs, Nationalism In Post-Saddam Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Dysfunctional Democracy)
Jan 13 US soldier in 800th Military Police reported abuse by his unit at Abu Ghraib prison
and handed over photos
Jan 14 US Iraq cmdr Gen Sanchez told about abuses at Abu Ghraib prison and that there were pictures
Jan 14 US troops killed 2 civilians at anti-American protest in Fallujah
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Jan 14 US military report claimed US turning tide against insurgency Iraqis would soon blame insurgency
for their problems Militants would lose support and wither away
Jan 15 Report up to 100 Hezbollah fighters in Iraq helping Iranian intelligence
(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Hezbollah’s Role In Iraq)
Jan 15 Shiites demonstrated calling for direct elections for new Iraqi govt
Jan 15 Gen Craddock Def Sec Rumsfeld’s military aide and dir Joint Chiefs Adm Keating emailed
summary of CD with photos of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison
Jan 16 US military spokesman Gen Kimmit talked about allegations and investigations
into Abu Ghraib prison abuse
Jan 16 30,000 Protested in Basra against U.S. installing an unelected provincial govt
Jan 16 Report Shiite religious leaders on Iraqi Governing Council wanted to end Saddam
family laws that protected women’s rights and replace them with Sharia based ones Women protested move
(Musings On Iraq 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)
Jan 18 Truck bomb hit US headquarters at Republican Palace Baghdad Killed 20
wounded more than 100
Jan 18 Bremer memo to Def Sec Rumsfeld Argued US should take action against Sadr
Jan 19 Iraqi Governing Council went to UN to ask it for help with transition to
sovereignty against wishes of CPA
Jan 19 100,000 marched in Baghdad supporting Ayatollah Sistani’s call for early elections
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
(Musings On Iraq review Patriotic Ayatollahs, Nationalism In Post-Saddam Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq)
Jan 19 US Iraq cmdr Gen Sanchez ordered secret investigation into Abu Ghraib prison abuse
Jan 19 Report Many displaced Kurds returned to Kirkuk Many squatting Some Arabs fled fearing
retribution from Kurds KDP and PUK supported returns because helped their claims to annex province Parties believed Kirkuk needed to make KRG economically independent because of oil there Dec Arabs and Turkmen protested against Kurds wanting to annex Kirkuk Ended with shootings with 4 killed 24 wounded Led to US searching party offices looking for weapons which were found at KDP PUK Iraqi Turkmen Front
Jan 20 Bush’s State of the Union said US was committed to spreading democracy in Iraq
Said Iraq Survey Group found Iraq’s WMD programs and if US hadn’t invaded Iraq would still have them
(Musings On Iraq Iraq One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)
(Musings On Iraq How The Administration Reversed Itself On Finding Iraq’s WMD)
(Musings On Iraq review Overreach, Delusions of Regime Change In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)
(Musings On Iraq review Hoodwinked, The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War)
(Musings On Iraq review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Future The aftermath of regime change)
(Musings On Iraq review Wanting War: Why the Bush Administration Invaded Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Overview of America’s Policy Towards Iraq: From The Clinton Years To The
Sectarian War of 2006)
Jan 20 Ahmad Chalabi attached himself to Iraqi Governing Council Pres Pachachi to attend State of Union
(Musings On Iraq Ahmad Chalabi Was Not President Bush’s Man For Iraq)
Jan 20 CENTCOM emailed dir Joint Chiefs Adm Keating Def Sec Rumsfeld’s military aide Gen
Craddock US Iraq Cmdr Gen Sanchez that abuse happened at Abu Ghraib and were photos of it
Jan 20 Sadrists marched in Baghdad Najaf Karbala against Kurdish federalism and US occupation
(Musings On Iraq review The Triumph of the Martyrs, A Reporter’s Journey into Occupied Iraq)
Jan 21 VP Cheney said there was overwhelming evidence Iraq and Al Qaeda connected
(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)
Jan 21 Dep Def Sec Wolfowitz memo Argued ISCI best partner for US amongst Shiite parties Claimed it
could be weaned from Iran
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)
Jan 22 Cheney said Iraq had mobile WMD labs and WMD programs Said overwhelming evidence
Saddam linked to Al Qaeda Claimed Iraq behind 1993 World Trade Center bombing Based upon Laurie Mylroie conspiracy theories
(Musings On Iraq How Iraqi Defector CURVEBALL Became Basis For US Claims That Iraq Had WMD)
(Musings On Iraq Laurie Mylroie’s Convoluted Iraq-Terrorism Conspiracy Theory)
(Musings On Iraq Laurie Mylroie’s Iraq Conspiracy Theory Was Debunked By Captured Baath Documents)
(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)
(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)
Jan 23 Iraq Survey Group head Kay resigned saying didn’t think Iraq had any WMD
stocks or large programs since 1980s Thought Iraq had destroyed its WMD after Gulf War due to inspections and unilateral actions
(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Sec 1.1 UK Iraq Strategy 1990 To 2000)
Jan 23 White House said it believed Iraq had WMD and they would be found
Jan 24 Iraq Survey Group took Iraqi defector Haideri to sites he claimed were WMD
and found nothing Haideri had been source for US intelligence reports and various newspaper stories Was provided by INC May 02 DIA labeled him a fabricator but his story continued to be used
Jan 24 7,000 Kurds marched for a new federal Iraq
Jan 24 Sadr rejected UN supervised elections Said UN legalized US occupation Called for Shiite clergy to
oversee voting and Islamic constitution
(Musings On Iraq review The Triumph of the Martyrs, A Reporter’s Journey into Occupied Iraq)
Jan 25 Ex-Iraq Survey Group Head Kay US intelligence was wrong about state of Iraq’s
WMD Programs Said that intelligence agencies had to answer for how badly they failed Said Iraq tried to restart nuclear program in 2000-01 but didn't get far Iraq had an active biological weapons programs for Iraqi intelligence assassination program US bombing stopped Iraq’s chemical weapons programs in 1990s
(Musings On Iraq Iraq One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)
(Musings On Iraq How Operation Desert Fox Finished Off Iraq’s WMD Programs)
Jan 26 Japanese troops deployed to Iraq as part of Coalition of Willing
Jan 26 Report CPA officials were questioning influence of Ayatollah Sistani and whether
all major CPA decisions would have to get his approval Previous company contracted by Pentagon for Iraqi news outlet couldn’t find equipment Didn’t pay Iraqi workers Made poorly produced news
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
(Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq)
Jan 27 Ex-Iraq Survey Group head Kay Iraq told UN in 1995 it had destroyed WMD and
nuclear program but no one believed them
Jan 28 Ex-Iraq Survey Group’s Kay told Congress everyone wrong about Iraq Said found no stocks of WMD
No mobile WMD labs No WMD factories No nuclear program No connections with Al Qaeda Said CIA had no spies in Iraq Grown addicted to UN inspecdtors in 90s for info Said CIA analysts had become reliant upon assumptions Suffered group think on WMD Said US had to admit to failure on Iraq Called for investigation into intel failure on Iraq Didn’t believe White House pressured intel analysts
Jan 28 White House said that Iraq Survey Group needed more time to make conclusions about
whether Iraq had WMD or not Said Iraq was a threat and Bush made right decision invading
Jan 28 Hutton Inquiry said Sep 02 dossier on Iraq’s WMD had not been influenced by political pressure
from Blair govt
Jan 28 UN Secretary General Annan said UN delegation would
go to Iraq to look into elections
Jan 28 CPA Order 55 created Integrity Commission to investigate corruption
(Musings On Iraq Undermining Of The Integrity Commission Part II Of Washington And Baghdad’s Failed Attempt To Fight Corruption)
(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)
Jan 29 National Security Adviser Rice said what US predicted about Iraq WMD before
war not what found afterward Claimed Saddam deceived the world about his WMD
(Musings On Iraq Iraq One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)
(Musings On Iraq How The Administration Reversed Itself On Finding Iraq’s WMD)
(Musings On Iraq review Hoodwinked, The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War)
(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)
Jan 29 State Dept said failure to find out about Iraq’s WMD was not US failure but
international one
Jan 29 Ex-Iraq Survey Group head Kay told Bush Saddam wanted Iraqis to believe
country had WMD when it didn't Thought Saddam had destroyed his WMD stocks because they were so easy to find by inspectors Bush asked Kay why Saddam didn’t admit he had no WMD Kay said Saddam wanted Shiites and Kurds to believe he had them to stop any revolts
(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Sec 1.1 UK Iraq Strategy 1990 To 2000)
Jan 30 Congressional committee found CIA relied too much on circumstantial outdated and
satellite and intercept intel on Iraq WMD Found no evidence White House pressured intelligence community over Iraq’s WMD or ties with Al Qaeda
Jan 30 CIA inquiry found White House did not pressure intelligence community over
prewar Iraq intelligence reports
Feb 1 US Iraq cmdr Gen Sanchez complained to Dep Def Sec Wolfowitz about no military strategy in Iraq
Wolfowitz said goal was to win war Writing strategy waste of time
(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)
Feb 1 2 suicide bombers hit KDP and PUK offices in Irbil killed 117 injured 133
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
Feb 2 Secretary of State Powell told Wash Post if he knew Iraq had no WMD his
decision on Iraq invasion would have been different
Feb 2 Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld claimed Iraq Study Group head Kay’s Senate
testimony Iraq had no WMD stocks proved White House case
(Musings On Iraq Iraq One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)
(Musings On Iraq How The Administration Reversed Itself On Finding Iraq’s WMD)
(Musings On Iraq review Hoodwinked, The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War)
(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)
Feb 3 Bush complained he felt like he was the only one standing up for his decision to
go to war with Iraq
Feb 3 Rice told Powell he betrayed Bush and had to tell press he stood by decision to invade Iraq after
article said Powell would not have supported invasion if knew truth about Iraq’s WMD
Feb 3 Powell said Bush made right decision to invade Iraq
Feb 3 Blair agreed to inquiry about pre-war intel on Iraq’s WMD
(Musings On Iraq review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
Feb 4 Def Sec Rumsfeld told Congress that ex-Iraq Study Group chief David Kay’s conclusion that
everyone was wrong about Iraq’s WMD was just a hypothesis and Iraq’s weapons might be found
(Musings On Iraq Iraq One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)
(Musings On Iraq How The Administration Reversed Itself On Finding Iraq’s WMD)
(Musings On Iraq review Hoodwinked, The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War)
(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)
Feb 4 UK intelligence officer said British intelligence heads ignored warnings that Iraqi
WMD could not be confirmed before invasion
(Musings On Iraq review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
Feb 4 Future IS leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi arrested by Americans and sent to Camp Bucca
Feb 5 Ayatollah Sistani survived assassination attempt in Najaf
Feb 5 CIA Dir Tenet gave speech at Georgetown refuting Iraq Survey Group’s Kay claim everyone was
wrong about Iraq’s WMD Said US hadn’t found WMD it was expecting Said CIA might’ve over estimated nuke program Were differences over mobile WMD labs Said discrepenacies had been found with CURVEBALL source for mobile labs story They didn’t exist Natl Intel Est never said Iraq imminent threat Said Saddam dictator intent to build WMD Said didn’t know if Iraq produced WMD Hadn’t found any biological weapons yet Referenced Iraq Foreign Min Sabri who told CIA Iraq had nuke program stockpile of chemical weapons small biological weapons program Said US still needed time to find out about Iraq’s WMD Said in the end CIA would be proven not entirely right or wrong on pre-war Iraq intel
(Musings On Iraq How Iraqi Defector CURVEBALL Became Basis For US Claims That Iraq Had WMD)
(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Created An Iraqi Nuclear Threat In 2002)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)
(Musings On Iraq How The Administration Reversed Itself On Finding Iraq’s WMD)
(Musings On Iraq review Hoodwinked, The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War)
(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)
Feb 6 New UN Rep Brahimi arrived in Iraq Immediately began consultations with Iraqis to see whether
elections possible that year
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)
(Musings On Iraq The Coalition Provisional Authority’s Inauspicious End)
Feb 6 Bush announced Silberman-Robb commission to look into U.S. pre-war intel on
Iraq’s WMD after none found
Feb 6 Report DIA said CURVEBALL intel on Iraq mobile WMD labs was questionable
in 02 Never passed to rest of intel community
(Musings On Iraq How Iraqi Defector CURVEBALL Became Basis For US Claim That Iraq Had WMD)
(Musings On Iraq Look Who The LA Times Dug Up – CURVEBALL)
(Musings On Iraq Story of CURVEBALL And Iraq’s Mobile Biological Weapons Labs)
(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)
Feb 7 Bush and Cheney said Iraq war justified because Saddam could have made WMD
Gave up argument he had them
(Musings On Iraq Iraq One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)
(Musings On Iraq How The Administration Reversed Itself On Finding Iraq’s WMD)
(Musings On Iraq review Hoodwinked, The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War)
(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)
Feb 7 Rumsfeld said Iraq war Saddam’s fault for his deception and defiance
Feb 8 After Iraq Survey Group said it found no stockpiles of WMD Bush said they
could still be found and Saddam was still dangerous
Feb 8 Report British intel spied on UN Security Council in 2003 during deliberations
on 2nd resolution to authorize force vs Iraq
Feb 8 Japanese troops arrived in Iraq for first overseas deployment since WWII
Feb 9 US released Zarqawi letter to Al Qaeda Said goal to start sectarian war by attacking Shiites to
rally Sunnis to its cause
(Musings On Iraq The Rise And Rebirth Of The Islamic State Interview With Author Michael Weiss)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)
(Musings On Iraq interview with former CIA analyst Nada Bakos that tracked Zarqawi)
(Musings On Iraq review The Caliphate At War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)
(Musings On Iraq review The ISIS Reader, Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement)
(Musings On Iraq review Insurgent Iraq, Al Zarqawi and the New Generation)
Feb 9 Report White House 03 paper on Iraq WMD dropped qualifications and doubts from 02 Natl
Intel Est on Iraq
Feb 10 US Iraq cmdr Gen Sanchez briefed NSC official Blackwill on plans for US military to withdraw from
Iraqi cities as part of transition to Iraqi control
(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)
(Musings On Iraq review The U.S. Army In The Iraq War: Volume 1, Invasion, Insurgency, Civil
War, 2003-2006)
Feb 10 Report almost all of Secretary of State Powell’s 03 UN speech on Iraq WMD proved wrong
Feb 10 CPA Order 57 created Inspector Generals in each Iraqi ministry to fight corruption
(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)
Feb 10 Car bomb hit Iskandiriya Babil police station killed 50
Feb 11 Suicide bombing on army recruitment center in Baghdad killed 36
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
Feb 12 UN rep to Iraq Brahimi met with Ayatollah Sistani about why early elections
not possible Brahimi said Iraq had to go through process to organize vote
(Musings On Iraq The Coalition Provisional Authority’s Inauspicious End)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
(Musings On Iraq review Patriotic Ayatollahs, Nationalism In Post-Saddam Iraq)
Feb 12 CENTCOM cmdr Gen Abiziad visited ISF HQ in Fallujah Said US passing security to Iraqi control
Abizaid was supposed to walk streets but cancelled when insurgents opened fire on HQ Abizaid said things were still moving forward
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Feb 12 Interview with US brigade cmdr who was in charge of Kirkuk Entered Kirkuk city during invasion
and it was in chaos May 03 spike in violence when Arabs from south and southwest Kirkuk entered city and attacked Kurds May 03 500 armed Arabs attacked Kirkuk city for 3 days Kurds were also flowing into city Kurds felt US was there to help them claim city and disputed areas in Kirkuk Kurds wanted Arabs moved into province during Saddam to leave
Feb 12 Report Shiites aligned with US because felt was way to power after Saddam Militias became de
facto security forces in Shiite areas Badr worked with UK in Basra Trained Badr to be police ISCI took political control of many parts in south Badr assassinated Baathists US and UK appeared to ignore that Saw ISCI as Shiite partner to work with US didn’t think ISCI was pro-Iran even though was created in Iran
Feb 13 After talks with Sistani UN endorsed Ayatollah’s call for early elections but said
they couldn’t happen as soon as Sistani wanted
(Musings On Iraq The Coalition Provisional Authority’s Inauspicious End)
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
(Musings On Iraq review Patriotic Ayatollahs, Nationalism In Post-Saddam Iraq)
Feb 13 Report CIA review showed it relied upon too many unreliable exile sources for
intel on Iraq’s WMD Included INC defector Haideri May 02 DIA labeled him a fabricator but his story continued to be used
Feb 13 Insurgents attacked ISF HQ in Fallujah for 2nd day Freed 100 prisoners Killed 23 ISF Police in city
collapsed Iraqi defense forces retreated to base outside city
Feb 14 Fallujah police station and National Guard battalion attacked by insurgents dressed in ISF uniforms
Killed 23 and freed 75 prisoners
Feb 14 US intel report Al Qaeda captive al-Libi recanted story Iraq trained Al Qaeda in poisons and
explosives Libi’s story of Iraq training Al Qaeda in poisons and explosives was used in US intel reports and Powell’s UN speech
Feb 15 Marines fired Fallujah police chief Lt Col Nowar for not fighting insurgents day before and refusing
to wear uniform
Feb 16 Report Iraqi and US sources said Iraqi forces would not be able to provide security after
sovereignty transferred to Iraq
Feb 16 CIA said it still believed Iraqi defector CURVEBALL was credible source for intel that Iraq
had mobile WMD labs Was a false source
(Musings On Iraq How Iraqi Defector CURVEBALL Became Basis For US Claim That Iraq Had WMD)
(Musings On Iraq Look Who The LA Times Dug Up – CURVEBALL)
(Musings On Iraq Story of CURVEBALL And Iraq’s Mobile Biological Weapons Labs)
(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)
Feb 17 Sadrist representative Daraji said Sadr wanted peaceful protests against US occupation
(Musings On Iraq review The Triumph of the Martyrs, A Reporter’s Journey into Occupied Iraq)
Feb 19 UN endorsed CPA’s timetable for transferring power back to Iraqis in June 2004 CPA had
to abandon idea of unelected caucuses choosing interim govt to write new Iraq constitution due to objections of Ayatollah Sistani
(Musings On Iraq The Coalition Provisional Authority’s Inauspicious End)
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
(Musings On Iraq review Patriotic Ayatollahs, Nationalism In Post-Saddam Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Dysfunctional Democracy)
(Musings On Iraq review The Endgame, The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from
George W. Bush to Barack Obama)
Feb 20 Report CPA dropping caucus plan to elect Iraqi provisional govt and working
with UN for alternative Iraqi Governing Council wanted to expand membership from 25 to 125 and become new govt
Feb 20 Sadr responding to Bremer saying Iraqi constitution would not be based on Islam said Iraqis could
fight US like 1920 Revolt or 1991 Intifada Said Bremer was against Islam
Feb 21 Report US did not brief UN inspectors on 21 of 105 WMD sites in Iraq US
claimed it gave info on all sites
Feb 21 UN Secretary General Annan said UN was ready to assist Iraq with elections but
couldn’t happen before end of June 2004
Feb 23 UN representation Brahimi report said earliest Iraq could hold elections was late
2004-early 2005
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)
Feb 23 US killed Nidhal Mohammed Arabiyat Al Qaeda in Iraq’s top bombmaker Developed early car
bombs
Feb 25 Insurgents killed deputy police chief in Mosul
Feb 25 CPA press briefing Gen Kimmitt was asked why US helicopters flew so low and told it was scaring
kids Kimmitt replied Iraqis had to know that was the sound of freedom and they should be re-assured
Feb 26 Gen Taguba handed in his report on Abu Ghraib prison abuse case
Feb 26 Ayatollah Sistani dropped demand for elections to be held by 6/30/04 but said
they had to happen by end of year
(Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq)
Feb 27 Deadline to finish Iraq’s interim constitution Transitional Administrative Law
missed
(Musings On Iraq The Coalition Provisional Authority’s Inauspicious End)
Feb 27 Fmr chief UN inspector Blix told Guardian he thought US spied on him
Feb 28 Iraqi Governing Council said it would draft and approve an interim constitution
Couldn’t agree on role of Islam
Feb 28 Women’s delegation visited Iraqi Governing Council demanding interim
constitution protect women’s rights
Feb 29 Curfew in Kirkuk city after fighting between Kurds and Turkmen
Mar 1 Iraqi Governing Council agreed to text of Transitional Administration Law to be
Iraq’s interim constitution
(Musings On Iraq The Coalition Provisional Authority’s Inauspicious End)
(Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq)
Mar 1 Weekly Standard article talked with Mukhabarat officer who claimed he was emissary to Al Qaeda
Mukhabarat officer told Weekly Standard Zarqawi was Al Qaeda’s emissary in Iraq from the start Was false
(Musings On Iraq review Insurgent Iraq, Al Zarqawi and the New Generation)
Mar 1 Report Interviewed Kurdish squatters outside Kirkuk city Were 800 families All expelled by Saddam
from 1988-91 Said Kurdish officials told them to go back to Kirkuk after invasion Promised $100 to every family that went back Didn’t get money Couldn’t find work and relied upon food rations Asked for land to build housing on
Mar 2 5 Al Qaeda in Iraq suicide bombers hit Karbala and Khadimiya during Ashura killing 270
wounding 570 Marked beginning of Zarqawi’s attempt to stoke sectarian war in Iraq which he hoped would rally Sunnis to his cause
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
(Musings On Iraq review The ISIS Reader, Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement)
Mar 3 Gen Taguba’s investigation into abuses at Abu Ghraib prison sent to military
Mar 4 Ayatollah Sistani sent memo to Bremer Said unhappy with Transitional Administrative Law because
allowed three provinces to veto new constitution Then made 8 demands which delayed ratification of TAL
Mar 5 CENTCOM cmdr Gen Abizaid said ISF put together too quickly and lacked training equipment
command and control
(Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General For Iraq Reconstruction’s Hard Lessons Chapter 12 Reconstructing Iraqi Security Forces)
(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)
(Musings On Iraq review The U.S. Army In The Iraq War: Volume 1, Invasion, Insurgency, Civil
War, 2003-2006)
Mar 5 Former head weapons inspector Blix said Iraq war was not authorized by existing
UN resolutions
Mar 5 Shiite members of Iraqi Governing Council refused to sign Transitional
Administrative Law due to Sistani objections
(Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq)
Mar 5 Badr head in Najaf Hassan attempted to assassinate CPA provincial coordinator for trying to stop
Hassan from bribing Najaf council to control it
(Musings On Iraq Badr Organization A View Into Iraq’s Violent Past And Present)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)
Mar 6 Report US intel dismissed reports that said Iraq had no WMD
Mar 6 Report Bush chastised Sec Def Rumsfeld over Abu Ghraib abuse scandal White House leaked
story to blame Rumsfeld for scandal Bush thought it was disaster for U.S.’s image
Mar 8 Transitional Administrative Law signed into effect as temporary constitution
Shiites on Iraqi Governing Council who had objected to TAL finally signed it Sistani said it was illegitimate
(Musings On Iraq The Coalition Provisional Authority’s Inauspicious End)
(Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq)
Mar 8 Ayatollah Sistani said any further laws must be passed by an elected Iraqi parliament
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
(Musings On Iraq review Patriotic Ayatollahs, Nationalism In Post-Saddam Iraq)
Mar 8 National Security Adviser Rice said that UN rep Brahimi had to return to Iraq to
complete work on new Iraqi govt
(Musings On Iraq review State of Denial, Bush At War, Part III)
Mar 9 CIA Dir Tenet told Senate that he told Cheney trailers found in Iraq were not
conclusive evidence of Iraq WMD Said US intel still unsure about what trailers found in Iraq were used for Told Senate CIA did not agree with Pentagon paper that Iraq had long cooperation with Al Qaeda
(Musings On Iraq How Iraqi Defector CURVEBALL Became Basis For US Claim That Iraq Had WMD)
(Musings On Iraq Look Who The LA Times Dug Up – CURVEBALL)
(Musings On Iraq Story of CURVEBALL And Iraq’s Mobile Biological Weapons Labs)
(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)
Mar 9 3 killed 20 wounded in fighting between Arabs Kurds Turkmen in Kirkuk city
Mar 9 Gen Taguba report on Abu Ghraib prison Found systemic issues that led to prisoner abuse
Mar 10 82nd Airborne Div commander claimed insurgency in Anbar was in disarray Next month 1st
Battle of Fallujah would be fought
Mar 10 Nasiriya Citizens’ Security Group made up of militias attacked police station and CPA office Killed
5 police Italian army arrived Some in Security Group surrendered Arrested and tortured by police
Mar 11 UK envoy to Iraq John Drawers said US had no leadership strategy or coordination
(Musings On Iraq review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
Mar 11 Iran intel opened Office to Help Poor Shiites as front office in Najaf Recruited Iraqis
(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)
Mar 12 Sadrists destroyed Gypsy village of Qawliya, Qadisiya
(Musings On Iraq Forgotten Destruction Of Qawilya, Iraq By The Mahdi Army)
Mar 15 Bush told Blair Chalabi up to no good using deBaathification committee for
his own ends
Mar 16 UK Parliament report said British forces had bad intel on Iraq and govt limited
them due to fears of anti-war sentiment
Mar 16 Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz said Iraq invasion proved US view on Iraq’s
links to terrorism
Mar 16 INC Chalabi aide Sabah who worked at Finance Min accused of illegally recycling old dinars that
were supposed to be destroyed Bremer sent case to criminal court
(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)
Mar 17 Bombing of Mount Lebanon hotel in Baghdad killed 27 wounded 40
Mar 17 Iraqi Governing Council asked UN to return to Baghdad and advise the creation
of interim govt
Mar 18 Fmr OHRA head Garner said he was replaced in Iraq because wanted early
elections to return power to Iraqis
Mar 19 Justice Dept drafted opinion that Iraqis and foreigners in Iraq could be taken out
of the country by CIA Legal experts said violated Geneva Conventions
Mar 19 UN responded to reports that UN officials involved in fraud with Oil for Food
Program
Mar 19 Team arrived in Baghdad to try to come up with interagency plan for rebuilding
Iraq 1st time happened since invasion
Mar 19 BBC poll of Iraqis 56% said better than year ago 23% About the same 18%
worse 48% said right for US to invade Iraq, 39% wrong
Mar 20 Bombings against Shiite pilgrims in Karbala during Ashura left 165 dead more than 230
wounded Suicide bombers attacked Shiite pilgrims at Khadmiya shrine Baghdad
(Musings On Iraq review The ISIS Reader, Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement)
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
Mar 20 Protest in Khadimiya Baghdad against attacks aimed at pilgrims in Baghdad and
Karbala
Mar 20 Ayatollah Sistani blamed US occupation for not securing borders for bombings
of pilgrims in Baghdad and Karbala
Mar 20 6 US soldiers charged with prisoner abuse for Abu Ghraib scandal
Mar 21 11 U.S. soldiers suspended for prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib
Mar 22 Unemployed protest in Basra turned violent Stones and Molotov cocktails
thrown at British forces
Mar 22 Natl Sec Adv Rice Wash Post OpEd said would have been irresponsible not to look for link
between Iraq and 9/11
Mar 23 Former Clinton Defense Secretary Cohen testified to 9/11 Commission that head
of Al Qaeda run Sudan chemical plant met with Iraq chemical weapons scientist in 90s
Mar 24 Ex-White House counterterrorism chief Clarke told 9/11 Commission Iraq not
behind 1993 World Trade Center bombing
(Musings On Iraq Laurie Mylroie’s Convoluted Iraq-Terrorism Conspiracy Theory)
(Musings On Iraq Laurie Mylroie’s Iraq Conspiracy Theory Was Debunked By Captured Baath Documents)
Mar 24 INC Chalabi aide and Fin Min official Sabah arrested for allegedly recycling old dinars that were
supposed to be destroyed Sabah told officials INC scheming to get state property from Finance Min and illegally sell it for a profit Also found INC kidnapping and attacking rivals
(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)
Mar 25 UN proposed investigation into abuses of Oil for Food program
Mar 27 Marine patrol hit by IED leading to 36 hr gunfight in Fallujah Prelude to 1st Battle of Fallujah
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Mar 28 CPA shut down Sadr’s al-Hawza paper for inciting violence
(Musings On Iraq A Divided Sadr Trend)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)
Mar 29 20,000 Sadrists protested closing of their paper al-Hawza outside Green Zone Rocks thrown US
opened fire 2 Iraqis killed Sadrists also protested in Nasiriya
Mar 30 New Iraq Survey Group head Duelfer testified to Congress Said most important work not done Said
still looking for critical Iraqis involved in WMD program Said found equipment to make biological and chemical agents Couldn’t rule out what aluminum tubes were for Contradicted much of what Survey Group discovered 3 top inspectors quit to protest Duelfer’s remarks
Mar 31 Insurgents ambushed Blackwater convoy and killed 4 contractors in Fallujah 2
were strung up on bridge
(Musings On Iraq review No True Glory, A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)
Mar 31 Bush gave CPA 48 hours to resolve Blackwater attack in Fallujah
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Mar 31 Bush gave speech US would not give into violence in Iraq and fighting terrorism
Mar 31 Sadrists marched to Green Zone in Baghdad to protest US occupation
(Musings On Iraq review The Triumph of the Martyrs, A Reporter’s Journey into Occupied Iraq)
Apr 1 CPA adviser Larry Diamond told Bremer that there was a security vacuum in
southern Iraq being filled by militias
(Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq)
Apr 1 Mahdi Army attacked CPA compound in Nasiriya
Apr 1 Gen Kimmitt promised to pacify Fallujah after Blackwater contractors killed
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Apr 1 US intelligence officer told press Bush administration could have easily promoted
regime change in Iraq as part of the war on terror but the White House wanted something that would scare the public so used WMD
Apr 1 CENTCOM Cmdr Gen Abizaid argued to White House killing of Blackwater contractors in Fallujah
insignificant
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)
Apr 2 Sadr gave angry speech against US occupation after CPA closed his newspaper
(Musings On Iraq review The Triumph of the Martyrs, A Reporter’s Journey into Occupied Iraq)
Apr 2 Sadrists protested outside Green Zone demanding movement paper be re-opened
Apr 2 Mahdi Army began marching in Sadr City as tensions with US grew
Apr 2 Some Friday prayers in Fallujah condemned attack on Blackwater contractors in
city
Apr 2 Sec State Powell criticized US intel for giving him faulty claims about Iraq’s WMD for
his Feb 03 UN speech
(Musings On Iraq Iraq One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)
Apr 2 Natl Sec Adv Rice told Bremer that Chalabi was working against US interests by siding with Shiite
bloc in Iraqi Governing Council Rice wanted him out
(Musings On Iraq review The Man Who Pushed America To War, The Extraordinary Life, Adventures, and Obsessions of Ahmad Chalabi)
Apr 2 Marines ordered to go into Fallujah and arrest culprits behind killing Blackwater
Contractors Became Op Vigilant Resolve
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review No True Glory, A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah)
Apr 3 US arrested Sadr’s deputy Mustafa Yacoubi for murder of Sheikh Abdul Khoei
(Musings On Iraq A Divided Sadr Trend)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)
Apr 3 Sadr said that he wanted to unite with Hezbollah and Hamas
Apr 3 Secretary of State Powell said US intelligence gave him questionable intelligence
about Iraq mobile WMD labs
(Musings On Iraq How Iraqi Defector CURVEBALL Became Basis For US Claims That Iraq Had WMD)
(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)
Apr 4 Sadrists rose up in Baghdad Najaf Kut Karbala Kufa Nasiriya against US
Ambushed US patrol in Sadr City killing 8 Americans
(Musings On Iraq review Battle For The City Of The Dead)
(Musings On Iraq review Revolt On The Tigris, The Al-Sadr Uprising And The Governing Of Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq A Divided Sadr Trend)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)
Apr 4 80% of one Iraqi National Guard battalion and 70% of another deserted in
Baghdad in 1st day of fighting Mahdi Army 40% of police in Najaf and Kut fled when Sadrists rose up in 2 cities
Apr 4 Mahdi Army attacked Najaf Left 200 Iraqi casualties Spanish unit refused to fight and cmdr tried to
negotiate with Sadr
Apr 4 Polish battalion held Karbala city hall but rest of city fell to Mahdi Army
Apr 4 Italian governor of Dhi Qar made deal with Mahdi Army to stay in base
while militia took Nasiriyah
Apr 4 CPA created Ministerial Committee for National Security in Iraqi govt
Apr 4 Operation Vigilant Resolve launched by Marines starting 1st battle of Fallujah
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Fighting for Fallujah, a New Dawn for Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review First Fights In Fallujah, Marines During Operation Vigilante Resolve, in Iraq, April 2004)
(Musings On Iraq review No True Glory, A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)
Apr 5 Marines tried to cordon off as much of Fallujah as possible at start of Operation
Vigilant Resolve
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)
(Musings On Iraq review Fighting for Fallujah, a New Dawn for Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review First Fights In Fallujah, Marines During Operation Vigilante Resolve, in Iraq, April 2004)
(Musings On Iraq review No True Glory, A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah)
Apr 5 2nd Iraqi National Guard Battalion sent to Fallujah Attacked in traffic on trip there 28 deserted When
got to base more said they refused to fight and dismissed Total 106 of 695 soldiers deserted and 104 dismissed
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Apr 5 Mahdi Army occupied Basra governor’s office
Apr 5 Spanish cmdr Gen Coll started talks with Sadr Appointed Badr commander governor of Najaf Bremer
ordered stop to Coll’s moves
Apr 5 Bremer called Sadr an outlaw and promised to put down his revolt
(Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq)
Apr 5 CPA announced Iraqi judge issued arrest warrant for Sadr for murder of Khoei
Apr 5 CPA official Kosnett Spanish cmdr Gen Coll Multi-national division cmdr Gen Bieniek pushed for
political solution to Sadr uprising
Apr 5 Bremer met with security comm on Iraqi Governing Council It did not want to confront Sadr Justice
Min wanted to give concessions to Sadr Def Min Allawi wanted to fight insurgents and leave Sadr alone Some said Sadr just wanted positions in govt but Bremer opposed
Apr 5 Zarqawi recording released calling for more attacks upon US led Coalition and
Shiites
(Musings On Iraq The Rise And Rebirth Of The Islamic State Interview With Author Michael Weiss)
(Musings On Iraq review The Caliphate At War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)
(Musings On Iraq review The ISIS Reader, Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement)
(Musings On Iraq review Insurgent Iraq, Al Zarqawi and the New Generation)
Apr 5 Bremer referred INC officials to criminal court for illegally recycling old dinars that were supposed
to be destroyed Attempting to obtain state property via Finance Min and sell it Kidnapping and attacking rivals
(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 5 Mahdi Army attack closed CPA office in Wasit Attack in najaf killed 20 Iraqis 4 Salvadoran soldiers 7
US soldiers killed in Sadr City gun fight with Sadrists Health Dir in Maysan said UK soldiers killed 12 when fired into Sadr crowd
Apr 6 CPA Order 71 was to decentralize power to local councils
Apr 6 1/3 of Civil Defense Forces in Baghdad Iraqi police and Civil Defense Forces in Fallujah and police
across south all AWOL Cmdr 2nd Iraqi National Guard Battalion fired along with all company commanders for mass desertion and dismissals day before
Apr 6 Marine reinforcements arrived for Op Vigilant Resolve in Fallujah US forces
attacked center of city
(Musings On Iraq review First Fights In Fallujah, Marines During Operation Vigilante Resolve, in Iraq, April 2004)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)
Apr 6 Marines on way to Fallujah ambushed in Ramadi 12 killed and 25 wounded Start of insurgent attack
upon city
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Apr 6 Qusaiba Anbar entire police force defected to insurgency Began attacking US forces
Apr 6 Mahdi Army attacked Coalition forces in Amara Nasiriya Kut Karbala Najaf
Baghdad
(Musings On Iraq review Revolt On The Tigris, The Al-Sadr Uprising And The Governing Of Iraq)
Apr 6 500 Japanese soldiers in Samawa Muthanna told to halt work and retreat to camp
out of fear of attacks by Mahdi Army
Apr 6 Deputy to Bremer told White House Coalition was winning against Mahdi Army and its defeat would
lead other militias in Iraq to disarm and join the ISF
Apr 6 Based upon Gen Taguba’s report US army handed down 6 reprimands and 2 relief
of duties over Abu Ghraib prison scandal
Apr 6 Joint Sunni-Shiite march in Baghdad’s Adhamiya in support of Sadr and insurgents in Fallujah
Apr 7 Mahdi Army seized control of Kut forcing Ukrainian troops to withdraw Ukrainians refused
to evacuate CPA civilians from city during retreat
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)
(Musings On Iraq review Revolt On The Tigris, The Al-Sadr Uprising And The Governing Of Iraq)
Apr 7 Mahdi Army attacked Polish patrols in Karbala and fought Spanish troops in Najaf
Apr 7 Sadr claimed he was the military wing of Ayatollah Sistani
Apr 7 Another marine unit arrived to take part in Op Vigilant Resolve 1st Battle of Fallujah
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Apr 7 Insurgents attacked Hawija Kirkuk
Apr 7 Blair called White House over his concern about attacks upon civilians during Fallujah Battle
(Musings On Iraq review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
Apr 7 US intel memo said that Sunni areas were a lost cause Sunnis didn’t see
themselves having role in new Iraq US trying to create
(Musings On Iraq review Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency In Iraq)
Apr 7 US report Iraq earned $10.1 bil by manipulating Oil for Food Program from
1997-2002
Apr 7 Bremer and US cmdr in Iraq Gen Sanchez met with Iraqi Governing Council Hassani condemned
Battle of Fallujah Khufaji called for talks with Sadr Allawi dep Awadi said Sadr needed to be confronted Sumaidaie said had to stand firm
Apr 7 Bremer and Special Envoy Blackwill agreed US goal was to return Iraqi sovereignty not take Fallujah
(Musings On Iraq review No True Glory, A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah)
Apr 8 CENTCOM cmdr Gen Abizaid said that US would get Fallujah under control
Apr 8 Fighting in Fallujah left 460 Iraqis and 36 US troops dead
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review First Fights In Fallujah, Marines During Operation Vigilante Resolve, in Iraq, April 2004)
Apr 8 US 1st Armored Div retook Kut from Mahdi Army
Apr 8 Insurgents attacked Baquba Muqdadiya and Khalis in Diyala Baquba fell to militants
Apr 8 Several Japanese aid workers kidnapped
Apr 8 Inter Min Badran and Human Rights Min Turki resigned Sheikh Hatim from Amara suspended
membership in Iraqi Governing Council Pachachi considering resigning as well All over Sadr uprising and Battle of Fallujah
(Musings On Iraq review No True Glory, A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah)
Apr 8 UN Rep Brahimi threatened to end his work to create interim govt over Battle of Fallujah
Apr 8 Bremer asked US cmdr in Iraq Gen Sanchez for ceasefire in Battle of Fallujah and against Sadr
because Iraqi Governing Council coming apart
Apr 9 Human Rights Minister Abdul Turki resigned saying Battle of Fallujah was a
violation of human rights 1 other member of Iraqi Governing Council boycotted and two others threatened to resign over Battle of Fallujah
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)
(Musings On Iraq review No True Glory, A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah)
Apr 9 Bremer ordered end to 1st Battle of Fallujah because of negative publicly and
complaints by Iraqi politicians
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Fighting for Fallujah, a New Dawn for Iraq)
Apr 9 200,000 Shiites and Sunnis rallied at Um al-Qura mosque in Baghdad against US
occupation and in solidarity with Fallujah Shiites were followers of Sadr Um al-Qura mosque run by Harith al-Dhari of Association of Muslim Scholars
(Musings On Iraq Spiritual Leader To Iraq’s Insurgency Harith Dhari Dies In Exile)
(Musings On Iraq review The Triumph of the Martyrs, A Reporter’s Journey into Occupied Iraq)
Apr 9 Bush called leaders of Poland, Italy and El Salvador to make sure they would keep
troops in Iraq Were being attacked by Mahdi Army
Apr 9 US contractor fuel convoy attacked in Abu Ghraib leading Brown & Root to
suspend all its convoys in Iraq
Apr 10 Al Qaeda in Iraq kidnapped American Nick Berg and took him to Fallujah Would
later be beheaded by Zarqawi
(Musings On Iraq review ISIS The State of Terror)
Apr 10 Fallujah medical officials claimed 450 civilians killed 1,000 wounded 70,000
displaced during 1st Battle of Fallujah
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Apr 10 Marines ordered to halt 1st Battle of Fallujah
(Musings On Iraq review Fighting for Fallujah, a New Dawn for Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review No True Glory, A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah)
Apr 10 Fighting in Ramadi ended with Marines defeating insurgents
Apr 10 UK diplomat Sir Richmond wrote US carried out targeted attacks on Fallujah but to outside world
looked like collective punishment
(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Inquiry Section 9.2 23 May 2003 To June 2004)
Apr 11 Ceasefire announced in Fallujah after 2 members of Iraqi Governing Council
resigned in protest over battle
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)
(Musings On Iraq review No True Glory, A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah)
Apr 11 Iraqi 202nd Bn collapsed under insurgent attacks in Fallujah 710 of 750 soldiers quit
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Apr 11 US forces retook Samarra from insurgents
Apr 11 UK cmdr Gen Stewart wrote US Gen Metz Said understood anger over UK not closing Sadr offices
and attacking Mahdi Army Said talks better Would further goal of giving Iraqis political control Military ops without intel and preparation vs Sadr would be counter productive
Apr 11 Mahdi Army and Sunnis from Baghdad tried to deliver supplies to Fallujah Were turned back by
marines
Apr 12 US military said it would kill or capture Sadr
Apr 12 4 clerics met with Sadr to negotiate ceasefire to his uprising
Arp 12 CENTCOM Cmdr Gen Abizaid said ISF were huge disappointment so far
fighting insurgents and Mahdi Army Requested 7000-10000 additional US troops
Apr 12 CPA adv warned that Badr was stealing money from Housing Min and hiring militiamen into
ministry
(Musings On Iraq Badr Organization A View Into Iraq’s Violent Past And Present)
Apr 13 CENTCOM cmdr Gen. Abizadi said that US needed 7000-10000 more troops
in Iraq Bush agreed to increase
Apr 14 UN representative Brahimi outlined power of interim Iraqi govt including
positions
(Musings On Iraq US Army History of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 13 The Changing Of The Guard, Again Spring-Summer 2004)
(Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq)
Apr 14 5 bridges connecting central to southern Iraq destroyed limiting movement of US
forces
Apr 14 Russia announced it would withdraw 800 civilian contractors from Iraq due to
security concerns
Apr 14 Italian security guard became first foreign hostage executed by insurgents
Apr 15 Joint Chiefs head Gen Myers said Sadr uprising and battle of Fallujah signs
that US winning in Iraq
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Apr 15 Ansar al-Islam called on Iraqis to join the jihad against the US
Apr 15 UN Rep Brahimi announced plan to create interim Iraqi govt by May 04 and then conference to
elect parliament
(Musings On Iraq US Army History of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 13 The Changing Of The Guard, Again Spring-Summer 2004)
Apr 16 2 weeks 12,000 members of the Iraq Civil Defense Corps quit during insurgent
offensive and Sadrist uprising
Apr 16 PM Blair met Bush at White House Discussed Battle of Fallujah which British opposed
Apr 16 Fallujah Brigade first brought up in talks over ending 1st battle for city Ex-general came forward
offering to organize and lead force
Apr 17 3,000 police abandoned posts during insurgent and Sadrist uprisings
Apr 18 Bremer admitted that Iraqi forces would not be able to deal with insurgency
on their own when sovereignty returned in June 05
Apr 18 Spain’s new PM Zapatero announced he would withdraw 1300 troops from Iraq
Apr 18 British report said Coalition troops and Iraqi police would soon restore law and
order in Iraq
Apr 19 Marines and Fallujah leaders worked out deal for insurgents to turn over heavy
weapons They didn’t
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Apr 19 A 2nd ex-Iraqi general came forward and offered to organize Fallujah Brigade to secure city Was
agreed upon by Marines
Apr 20 US forces surrounded Najaf that was under control of Mahdi Army
Apr 21 5 car bombs in Basra and Abu al-Khasib 68 killed
Apr 21 CIA analyst told Congress no working relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda
Apr 21 Report Mar 04 CPA memo said Iraqi Governing Council a failure because
corruption and nepotism Called for removal of 4 corrupt ministers Criticized Bremer for trying to centralize power in his hands Said progress in Iraq made by Iraqis despite the CPA not because of it
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
(Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq)
Apr 21 Def Sec Rumsfeld and Dep Def Sec Wolfowitz told CENTCOM cmdr Gen Abizaid that another
attack upon Fallujah would begin soon Abizaid objected claiming it would inflame Sunnis
Apr 22 Bremer said some Baathist officials would be able to return to their jobs
(Musings On Iraq The Baathist Purge In Post-Saddam Iraq, A Short History Of DeBaathification)
Apr 22 After no real weapons turned over by insurgents in Fallujah Gen Conway said
militants had days to do so or city would be attacked again
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Apr 23 Bremer TV speech said CPA had made mistakes Welcomed back ex-soldiers into
army Said complaints about deBaathification were legitimate and 1000s of teachers would be brought back to work US streamlining how it dealt with prisoners Coalition would provide security Warned that if insurgents didn’t surrender heavy weapons in Fallujah would be attacked
(Musings On Iraq The Baathist Purge In Post-Saddam Iraq, A Short History Of DeBaathification)
(Musings On Iraq review My Year in Iraq, The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope)
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
Apr 23 Bush claimed most of Fallujah was returning to normal City was under insurgent control with
fighting around perimeter
Apr 23 US Cmdr in Iraq Gen Sanchez ordered investigation into military intel practices
due to Abu Ghraib prison scandal
Apr 23 PM Blair and foreign policy adv Manning told Bush and Natl Sec Adv Rice to delay another
attack upon Fallujah
(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Inquiry Section 9.2 23 May 2003 To June 2004)
(Musings On Iraq review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
Apr 24 US reported that 40% of Iraqi police deserted during Sadrist uprising in
Najaf and Kut
Apr 24 Insurgents launched boat attack upon Basra oil terminal killing 2 US sailors
Apr 24 US agreed to joint Marine-Iraqi National Guard patrols in and around Fallujah National Guard
refused
Apr 25 Rumsfeld said US troops in Iraq would have tours extended for 3 months
Apr 25 Marine generals met with Iraqis to discuss creating a Fallujah brigade after 1st
battle of Fallujah
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Apr 25 CPA South launched Op Phoenix to disband unofficial local councils and remove
them from govt buildings
Apr 25 Larry Diamond worked as democracy expert for CPA said US encouraged Iraqis
to participate in new Iraq but didn’t provide them security
Apr 25 Mahdi Army fired mortars at CPA office in Dhi Qar
Apr 26 Zarqawi announced his group Tawhid wal-Jihad
(Musings On Iraq interview with former CIA analyst Nada Bakos that tracked Zarqawi)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)
(Musings On Iraq review The Caliphate At War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)
(Musings On Iraq review The ISIS Reader, Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement)
Apr 26 Aid agencies claimed Geneva Convention was violated in Battle of Fallujah due
to civilian casualties
Apr 26 US announced Iraqi police returning to Fallujah and would start join patrols with Iraqi Civil
Defense Forces
Apr 26 Marine Expeditionary Force cmdr Gen Conway agreed to creating Fallujah Brigade of fmr Baathist
soldiers Were supposed to secure city
Apr 27 60 Minutes II showed pictures of Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal
(Musings On Iraq US Army History of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 13 The Changing Of The Guard, Again Spring-Summer 2004)
Apr 28 Fighting between US marines and insurgents continued in Fallujah while US
commander claimed ceasefire holding
Apr 28 Marines began forming Fallujah Brigade to take over security of city
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Apr 28 UK intel assessment said another attack upon Fallujah would make political and security
situation in Iraq worse
(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Inquiry Section 9.2 23 May 2003 To June 2004)
(Musings On Iraq review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
Apr 28 UN Rep Brahimi reported to Security Council that interim govt would serve
until elections held in late 2004-early 2005
(Musings On Iraq US Army History of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 13 The Changing Of The Guard, Again Spring-Summer 2004)
Apr 28 General Mark Kimmitt deputy director of Coalition operations in Iraq told CBS
News he was disappointed in a few soldiers for Abu Ghraib scandal
Apr 29 US announced end of Battle of Fallujah Would withdraw turn over security to
Fallujah Brigade
Apr 29 Sheikh Jabani’s brother and 3 kids kidnapped in Fallujah for fighting insurgents
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Apr 29 50 former UK Ambassadors and officials wrote open letter to PM Blair Said UK had no postwar
plan for Iraq Said experts predicted that occupation of Iraq would garner resistance Said had to consider Iraqi history Concluded that Coalition strategy in Iraq was doomed to fail
Apr 30 Marines withdrew from Fallujah turning over security to Fallujah Brigade proposed by Natl Sec Adv
Shirwani Bremer found out about it from CNN
(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)
Apr 30 US met with Iraqi officials US cmdr in Iraq Sanchez said not consulted about Fallujah
Brigade Def Min Allawi objected to it Natl Sec Adv Shirwani admitted head of Fallujah Brigade ex-Republican Guard Ayad Allawi said brigade could be model for rest of Iraq
Apr 30 Daily Mirror publishes what turns out to be fake pictures of UK forces abusing
Iraqi prisoners
Apr 30 Poll 71% of Iraqis saw US as occupiers 46% said invasion more harmful then
good
Apr 30 New Yorker publishes photos of Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal
(Musings On Iraq US Army History of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 13 The Changing Of The Guard, Again Spring-Summer 2004)
May 1 Bush announced that Bremer would select Iraqi transitional government
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Dysfunctional Democracy)
May 1 Reports of British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners
May 1 Secret report leaked that provided evidence of Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse and US
military leadership didn’t stop it
May 1 Fallujah Brigade began operating under command of ex-general Was supposed to secure city
May 2 Joint Chiefs head Gen Myers in TV interview fired Gen Salah head of Fallujah Brigade
May 3 Mahdi Army attacked US base and a convoy in Najaf setting off hour long
gun battle
May 3 Heavy fighting between insurgents and US forces closed down road to Baghdad
airport
May 3 UN outlined plan to create Iraqi Election Commission to run 2005 voting
May 3 US Marines said would replace Gen Latif head of Fallujah Brigade with Gen
Saleh because Latif a Baathist
May 3 UK military memo to US Iraq command Said real problem in Maysan criminals who exploited crises
Attacking Mahdi Army would only empower Sadr
May 3 Newsweek reported INC’s Chalabi told Iranians US broken Iranian intel codes and reading their
messages
(Musings On Iraq review Arrows of the Night: Ahmad Chalabi and the Selling of the Iraq War)
May 4 Shiite leaders called on Sadr to withdraw his Mahdi Army from Najaf and Karbala
May 4 US announced it would not be withdrawing forces from Iraq as planned
(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)
May 4 CIA started investigation into whether it kept undocumented prisoners in Iraq
It did
May 5 Gen Abizaid told Bush that security was getting under control after insurgent
and Sadr uprisings
May 5 Bush promised investigation into Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal Appeared
on 2 Arab TV channels condemning abuse
May 5 Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld told reporter Geneva Conventions didn’t exactly
apply to prisoners in Iraq but were more like basic rules
May 5 Def Sec Rumsfeld offered his resignation to Bush over Abu Ghraib prison abuse Bush declined
May 6 NSC meeting on how to frame and publicize the coming return of sovereignty to
Iraq
May 6 First large scale fight broke out between US forces and Mahdi Army in Najaf
(Musings On Iraq review Battle For The City Of The Dead)
May 6 Wash Post published new pictures of Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse
May 6 Gen Taguba who investigated Abu Ghraib abuse briefed Def Sec Rumsfeld Dep Sec Def Wolfowitz
others after scandal broke in press Said torture took place Rumsfeld denied publicly he knew anything after he’d been briefed
May 7 Zarqawi beheaded American Nick Berg and video taped it
(Musings On Iraq review ISIS The State of Terror)
May 7 Sec Def Rumsfeld testified to House and Senate about Abu Ghraib prison scandal Apologized for
abuse Claimed he and Pentagon knew nothing about it and no one in his office and Pentagon had seen the photos despite being briefed, receiving emails and getting the photos
May 7 New York Times called for Rumsfeld to resign over Abu Ghraib prison scandal
May 7 Bin Laden tape offered reward for killing US and UN officials or citizens of any
country that had troops in Iraq
May 7 Pro-Sistani Sheikh Qabanji gave sermon in Najaf telling Mahdi Army to go home and work to banish
the Americans and Baathists there instead of in Najaf
May 8 Bush said US goal was to build a free and peaceful Iraq that was not a threat to
its neighbors
(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)
(Musings On Iraq review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008)
May 8 Defense Secretary Rumsfeld told Congress that Iraqi victims of Abu Ghraib prison
abuse should be compensated
May 8 Pentagon estimated by end of 2005 Iraq war would cost US $150 bil 3 times higher
than White House prediction before war
May 8 Mahdi Army fought with British troops in downtown Basra
May 8 US forces moved into Karbala and Amarah setting off clashes with Mahdi Army
US forces seized a govt complex in Najaf fighting Mahdi Army
May 9 Think tank estimated that Iraq would could cost $300 bil in ten years when Bush
admin was pushing low numbers
May 9 Report some US officers worried winning militarily in Iraq but losing support of
Iraqi public
May 9 Def Sec Rumsfeld offered to resign 2nd time over Abu Ghraib prison abuse Bush turned him down
May 10 Bush told Sec Def Rumsfeld he was doing a super job and US owed him a debt in middle of Abu
Ghraib scandal
May 10 Human Rights Min Turki told Guardian Bremer warned in 2003 about prisoner
abuse by US soldiers
May 10 Blair denied he knew about British forces abusing Iraqi prisoners
May 10 Finance Min Chalabi sent letter to judge telling him to stop investigating ministry for corruption
May 11 Zarqawi released video of himself beheading US hostage Nick Berg Zarqawi
claimed revenge for Abu Ghraib abuses
(Musings On Iraq review ISIS The State of Terror)
May 11 Bush put training of new Iraqi security forces under CENTCOM
(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)
(Musings On Iraq review The U.S. Army In The Iraq War: Volume 1, Invasion, Insurgency, Civil
War, 2003-2006)
May 11 Bush signed NSPP 35 okayed 1st interagency plan to rebuild Iraq Happened year
after invasion ended
May 11 Bush signed NSPP 36 giving State Dept control of Iraq after CPA closed
May 11 Gen Taguba and Under Sec Def Cambone testified to Senate Armed Services Comm on Abu
Ghraib abuse Asked if Gen Miller’s visit to Iraq from Guantanamo Bay on interrogation techniques had led to abuse Cambone said no Taguba said yes
May 11 Conspiracy theorist Mylroie claimed 9/11 hijacker Atta met with Iraqi intel in
Prague in 2001 after story discredited
(Musings On Iraq Laurie Mylroie’s Convoluted Iraq-Terrorism Conspiracy Theory)
(Musings On Iraq Laurie Mylroie’s Iraq Conspiracy Theory Was Debunked By Captured Baath Documents)
May 11 Report Red Cross pointed out only 600 out of 43,000 Iraqis arrested by US in 03
went to court
May 11 Sadrists seized bridges in Nasiriya Police abandoned stations Attacked CPA office CPA called
Italian army for help who took away some wounded and left
May 12 1800 new pictures of prison abuse at Abu Ghraib released
May 12 Rumsfeld told Senate US interrogation methods used in Iraq were legal and
cleared by Pentagon lawyers
May 13 Joint Chiefs head Gen Pace told Senate US interrogation methods used in Iraq
violated Geneva Conventions
May 14 Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz and Gen Pace said prison abuse at Abu
Ghraib violated Geneva Convention
May 14 Daily Mirror admitted pictures it published of alleged prisoner abuse by UK
forces were fakes
May 14 US told Iraqi National Congress funding would end in June 2004
May 14 Maysan tribe set ambush for UK forces outside of Amara 20 tribesmen killed and others arrested
Head of tribe Hattab and brother of Maysan governor accused police chief of tipping off UK about ambush
May 15 US approved spending $1.9 bil in Iraqi funds for rebuilding weeks before CPA was to end
(Musings On Iraq The Coalition Provisional Authority’s Inauspicious End)
May 16 Sec of State Powell some sources on Iraq WMD were inaccurate wrong and
sometimes deliberately misleading
May 16 Maysan chief of police Kabir assassinated by members of governor’s tribe Many claimed
governor had chief assassinated because believed he tipped off British about ambush planned by tribe
May 17 Report Iraqi defector provided by INC Adnan Haideri’s stories about Iraq WMD
used by US pre-war proved false Iraq Survey Group took Haideri to sites he claimed were used for WMD but proved not to be Was used in CIA, DIA and White House reports White House used Haideri in reports after he’d been labeled fabricator by DIA
May 17 Report Mahdi Army recruiting Baathist security and intel officers in Kirkuk for
militia along with Shiite Arabs & Turkmen
May 17 CIA warned that political factionalism in Mosul leading to instability
May 17 Zarqawi killed Iraqi Governing Council head Salim with a suicide bomber in Baghdad
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
May 17 Report Rumsfeld authorized special interrogation program that helped lead to Abu Ghraib abuse
scandal
May 18 Sadr called on Iraqis to rise up against US in Najaf
(Musings On Iraq review Battle For The City Of The Dead)
May 18 Ayatollah Sistani called on all armed forces to withdraw from Najaf and not to join Sadr’s
uprising
May 18 Bremer sent note to Def Sec Rumsfeld Said Iraq needed 2 more divisions of troops
(Musings On Iraq review Days Of Fire, Bush and Cheney in the White House)
May 18 Pentagon announced it would end funding INC in June 2004
May 18 Dep Sec Def Wolfowitz wouldn’t give timetable for US withdrawal from Iraq
after sovereignty returned in Senate testimony
May 19 US soldiers involved in Abu Ghraib prison abuse sentenced one year in prison
May 20 Bush discussed Bremer’s request for 2 more divisions with advisers Def Sec Rumsfeld said Bremer
didn’t follow command because he didn’t answer to the Def Sec but to the president Natl Sec Adv Rice said Bremer was leaving office soon so Bush didn’t need to respond Rumsfeld said he would take care of it White House never discussed whether more troops needed
(Musings On Iraq review Days Of Fire, Bush and Cheney in the White House)
May 20 ISF and US raided INC offices looking for 6 members accused of crimes Were also looking for
evidence that Chalabi told Iran US broke its secret code INC members had been kidnapping and stealing US had warrant for INC intel head Habib who had fled
(Musings On Iraq review The Man Who Pushed America To War, The Extraordinary Life, Adventures, and Obsessions of Ahmad Chalabi)
(Musings On Iraq review Arrows of the Night: Ahmad Chalabi and the Selling of the Iraq War)
May 20 Chalabi held press conference over police Claimed police were Baathists working for US Said
Bremer and CIA were responsible Claimed he was being attacked for investigating corruption in oil for food program INC members had been robbing and kidnapping in Baghdad leading to raid
May 20 US called off assault on Mahdi Army in old city Karbala
May 20 NSC meeting asked what would happen if new sovereign Iraq asked US to leave
May 20 Report US interrogators told guards at Abu Ghraib prison to strip prisoners make them wear
women’s clothes before questioning
May 20 US army admitted lost Red Cross reports of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison due to bureaucracy
May 21 CPA set up group to integrate militias into ISF never happened
(Musings On Iraq How The Failure To Deal With Iraq’s Militias Caused The Breakdown Of The Country)
May 22 Neocon supporters of INC’s Chalabi told National Security Adviser Rice that US needed to stop
harassing him Came after US forces raided Chalabi’s house claiming he had passed intel to Iran
(Musings On Iraq review The Road to Iraq, The Making of a Neoconservative War)
(Musings On Iraq review America at the Crossroads, Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy)
(Musings On Iraq review Losing Iraq, Inside The Post War Reconstruction Fiasco)
(Musings On Iraq review The Man Who Pushed America To War, The Extraordinary Life, Adventures, and Obsessions of Ahmad Chalabi)
(Musings On Iraq review Arrows of the Night: Ahmad Chalabi and the Selling of the Iraq War)
May 22 INC met with Nat Sec Adv Rice complaining US had abandoned Chalabi
May 23 Sadr’s brother in law Riyadh Nouri arrested
May 24 Bush said US would stay the course in Iraq and move towards returning
sovereignty and creating democracy in Iraq
(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)
(Musings On Iraq review Overreach, Delusions of Regime Change In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Future The aftermath of regime change)
(Musings On Iraq review Wanting War: Why the Bush Administration Invaded Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Dysfunctional Democracy)
(Musings On Iraq review The War Within, A Secret White House History 2006-2008)
(Musings On Iraq review The Endgame, The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from
George W. Bush to Barack Obama)
(Musings On Iraq Overview of America’s Policy Towards Iraq: From The Clinton Years To The
Sectarian War of 2006)
May 26 NYTimes said some of its reporting on Iraq before war was questionable and not
sufficiently vetted
May 26 Bremer met with UN election expert Pirelli and UN rep Brahimi Decided on one national voting
constituency for Jan 05 election because no voter roles voting districts etc
May 26 CIA retracted all its reports based upon Iraqi defector CURVEBALL who claimed Iraq had mobile
WMD labs
(Musings On Iraq How Iraqi Defector CURVEBALL Became Basis For US Claim That Iraq Had WMD)
(Musings On Iraq Look Who The LA Times Dug Up – CURVEBALL)
(Musings On Iraq Story of CURVEBALL And Iraq’s Mobile Biological Weapons Labs)
(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)
May 27 Sadr agreed to deal to end fighting US forces in Najaf and other southern cities
(Musings On Iraq review Battle For The City Of The Dead)
(Musings On Iraq A Divided Sadr Trend)
May 28 Iraqi Governing Council agreed upon Iyad Allawi as head of interim govt
(Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq)
May 29 Report incoming interim PM Allawi had links to CIA and MI6 since 1980s as
opponent to Saddam
May 30 US Op Smackdown to probe Mahdi Army defenses of Kufa mosque began
May 30 7 US soldiers disciplined for not stopping Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal
May 30 Leaked parts of Ryder report on Abu Ghraib found 100s of Iraqi prisoners were
held despite lack of evidence
Jun 1 Iyad Allawi became interim PM Ghazi Yawere President in transitional Iraqi govt
(Musings On Iraq The Coalition Provisional Authority’s Inauspicious End)
Jun 1 CPA signed deal with Kurds INC ISCI and others to disband their militias
Never followed through with
(Musings On Iraq How The Failure To Deal With Iraq’s Militias Caused The Breakdown Of The Country)
Jun 1 CPA deadline for Iraq to produce 6,000 megawatts of power Only producing 4,300
(Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General For Iraq Reconstruction’s Hard Lessons Chapter
14 Rebuilding the Electricity Sector)
Jun 1 Gen Casey became new Coalition commander in Iraq Main goal was to withdraw US forces
Jun 1 CIA Dir Tenet letter to Congress said doubted 9/11 hijacker Atta met with Iraqi intelligence in
Prague in 2001 Story was false
Jun 2 Survey Iraqis seeing US as liberators went from 88% in Oct 03 to 43% in Apr 04
Wanted US to leave 17% Oct 03 to 57% Oct 04
Jun 2 Iranian intel officers arrested in Baghdad plotting attacks
(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)
Jun 2 Iraqi Governing Council convinced UN envoy Brahimi to include them in
Allawi’s interim govt
Jun 3 US began extending tours of US units serving in Iraq to maintain troop levels
Jun 3 US forces attacked Mahdi Army at Kufa mosque
Jun 3 KRG hired Barbour Griffith & Rogers to lobby US govt
Jun 4 George Tenet resigned as director of CIA in part due to failed Iraq intelligence
Jun 4 Pope criticized Bush over Abu Ghraib prison abuse and called for international
solution to Iraq
Jun 7 CPA Transition and Integration law banned militias All parties had to list militia
members to be integrated into govt Sadr refused to follow law saying Mahdi Army legitimate resistance movement to US Never implemented
(Musings On Iraq review Squandered Victory, The American Occupation And the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq)
Jun 8 UN Resolution 1546 endorsed Iraqi interim govt that would draft new constitution
and have it voted upon by 12/31/05 Set date for return of Iraqi sovereignty Said CPA would end Elections for permanent Iraqi govt would be held from Dec 04-Jan 05 Allowed Coalition forces to remain in Iraq
(Musings On Iraq review The Struggle For Iraq’s Future, How Corruption, Incompetence and Sectarianism Have Undermined Democracy)
Jun 9 Bush and Blair called for NATO to help in Iraq France rejected call
Jun 10 US gave up hope that NATO forces would be sent to help in Iraq
Jun 12 Insurgents killed Deputy Foreign Minister Kubba
Jun 14 VP Cheney said Saddam had long standing ties with Al Qaeda
(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)
Jun 14 Reports US soldiers and interrogators warned of abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in
Nov and Dec 03
Jun 15 Bush said Zarqawi was best evidence that Saddam had connections to Al Qaeda
(Musings On Iraq review Insurgent Iraq, Al Zarqawi and the New Generation)
(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)
Jun 15 Secretary of State Powell said White House stuck with claims of Iraq-Al Qaeda
connections
Jun 16 9/11 Commission said it found no operational relationship between Iraq and Al
Qaeda 1994 bin Laden asked for Iraq’s help with operations but never heard back 1996 Iraq and Al Qaeda talked about working together in Sudan but nothing came of it Didn’t believe story that 9/11 hijacker Atta met with Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague in 2001
Jun 16 CIA advisor told 9/11 Commission that 1999 indictment that charged Iraq and Al
Qaeda agreed to cooperate in Sudan was later proven false Said that Al Qaeda was suspicious of Saddam’s secular govt In 1990s Ira and Al Qaeda tried to work out non-interference pact and talked about cooperation Was also 1999 CIA report that said if Saddam wanted to attack the US he would use Al Qaeda
Jun 16 Secretary of State Powell said administration stuck by claim of Iraq-Al Qaeda
Relationship
Jun 16 White House said 9/11 Commission didn’t contradict administration’s claims
Because it never said Iraq behind 9/11 Said Zarqawi being in Iraq before 03 invasion proved Saddam gave safe haven to Al Qaeda operatives Zarqawi was not part of Al Qaeda before war
(Musings On Iraq review Insurgent Iraq, Al Zarqawi and the New Generation)
(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)
Jun 16 General Accounting Office report Pentagon didn’t have good planning or
oversight of reconstruction projects in Iraq leading to cost overruns
Jun 17 PM Allawi promised reprisals against insurgents after suicide bombing of Iraqi
army base
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
Jun 17 Natl Sec Adv Rice told Bremer Bush supported early end to CPA
(Musings On Iraq review State of Denial, Bush At War, Part III)
Jun 17 Bush refuted 9/11 Commission saying that Iraq and Qaeda had ties and that was
why Iraq was a threat
(Musings On Iraq review What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception)
Jun 17 Cheney said 9/11 Commission didn’t look at the overwhelming evidence of
Iraq-Al Qaeda connections Cheney claimed he had intelligence on Iraq-Al Qaeda ties that Commission didn’t Cheney was talking about captured Iraqi documents that had Iraqis with similar names to Al Qaeda members
Jun 18 Al Qaeda in Iraq suicide car bombing Army recruitment center Baghdad killed 35
wounded 145
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
Jun 18 9/11 Commission spokesman said it found no evidence of cooperation between
Iraq and Al Qaeda
Jun 20 Interim PM Allawi said special commando units would be created
Jun 20 Head of 9/11 Commission said Al Qaeda was closer to Iran and Pakistan than
Iraq
Jun 20 9/11 Commission member said captured Iraqi docs showed 1 Fedayeen Saddam
was an Al Qaeda member Attacked press for claiming Commission report contradicted Bush admin claims on Iraq-Al Qaeda connections
Jun 20 White House claimed 9/11 Comm proved its argument of Al Qaeda-Iraq
ties when Commission said no cooperation
Jun 21 9/11 Commission member claimed captured Iraqi documents showed 3 Fedayeen
Saddam were members of Al Qaeda Said one was an Al Qaeda facilitator in Malaysia in 2000 Story proved untrue Iraqis just had same names as Al Qaeda members
Jun 22 UN audit on reconstruction in Iraq found spending and contracts full of errors
and open to fraud Found State Organization for Marketing Oil had no records on tenders contracts who won bids etc
Jun 22 Report White House claimed that Saddam Fedayeen were in Al Qaeda probably
resulted over confusion over their names
Jun 23 Pentagon report said only 6% of Iraqi police had finished training Said ISF
lacked equipment
(Musings On Iraq Did the US Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Jerry Burke police and Interior Min adviser on how US failed to develop the Iraqi police)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)
(Musings On Iraq review The U.S. Army In The Iraq War: Volume 1, Invasion, Insurgency, Civil
War, 2003-2006)
Jun 23 Report cooperation found between Baathists and jihadist insurgents in Iraq and international terror
networks like Al Qaeda Also two waves of foreign fighters to Iraq one before and one after 2003 invasion
(Musings On Iraq review The U.S. Army In The Iraq War: Volume 1, Invasion, Insurgency, Civil
War, 2003-2006)
Jun 23 Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz said what was going on in Iraq was not an
insurgency Said it was former regime elements who didn't want to give up
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)
Jun 24 Al Qaeda in Iraq carried out multiple car bombs and attacks on police in Baghdad
Baquba Fallujah Ramadi and Mosul killing 92 wounding 285 Took over police station and city hall in Baquba and held city center for 6 hours
Jun 24 Sadr announced unilateral ceasefire with US in Sadr City
Jun 25 Iraqi National Congress turned over captured Iraqi intelligence files to Americans
showing in mid-90s Iraqi intelligence and bin Laden met Iraqis agreed to air bin Laden’s anti-Saudi tapes but request for joint operations against Riyadh went unanswered by Iraqis
Jun 27 Bremer got OK from Bush to close CPA Jun 28 to try to fool insurgency
Jun 28 CPA disbanded, Iraqi sovereignty returned to interim govt led by Premier Allawi
(Musings On Iraq The Coalition Provisional Authority’s Inauspicious End)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Dysfunctional Democracy)
(Musings On Iraq review The Endgame, The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from
George W. Bush to Barack Obama)
Jun 28 Bremer said CPA accomplished almost everything it set out to do including a
peaceful democratic and pluralistic society
(Musings On Iraq review Overreach, Delusions of Regime Change In Iraq)
Oct 5 Bremer said US never had enough troops in Iraq while he was running the CPA
Said military thought troop levels fine
(Musings On Iraq review Overreach, Delusions of Regime Change In Iraq)
2006
Sep 17 Report Pentagon tried to hire Republicans to staff CPA Hired many unqualified personnel
Thomas Foley in charge of privatizing state owned enterprises was a Republican donor who went to college with Bush Foley put Jay Hallen former real estate agent in charge of Iraq’s stock market Hallen tried to reform market that Iraqis didn’t want so change rejected
2007
Feb 6 Bremer testified to Congress 1st time Questioned about missing $8.8 bil Bremer said money given
to Iraqi ministries but didn’t follow what happened afterward Disputed claims CPA staffed by young inexperienced Republicans Said pre-war planning bad
May 13 Fmr CPA head Bremer wrote OpEd in Wash Post defending decisions to ban Baath Party and
disband military Said Iraqi army had disbanded itself and Shiite and Kurdish leaders wanted it gone Said right to ban Baath Party US was only doing what it did in Germany with Nazis after WW2 Said it was Iraqis that abused deBaathification but CPA stopped them
(Musings On Iraq The Baathist Purge In Post-Saddam Iraq, A Short History Of DeBaathification)
(Musings On Iraq Interview with CSU San Marco’s Prof Marashi Development And Setbacks Of The Current Iraqi Military)
(Musings On Iraq review My Year in Iraq, The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope)
Sep 6 Bremer wrote NYTimes OpEd Said most major decisions by CPA made in Washington and he got
blamed Disbanding Iraqi army came from DC Said Iraqi army disbanded itself which made all pre-war plans for it useless DeBaathification came from Pentagon
(Musings On Iraq review My Year in Iraq, The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope)
2008
Mar 12 Sir Synnott former CPA official in charge of south Iraq said UK wanted to portray stable Iraq
after invasion but didn’t spend time and money to rebuild country Said CPA focused on large projects but not small sustainable ones that would have benefited more Iraqis
2009
Mar 25 Spec Insp Gen for Iraq Reconstruction Bowen testified to Congress Said CPA wanted to reform Iraq
whether it wanted it or not but never had money personnel oversight or coordination to be successful Usually ignored needs of Iraqis and never adapted to situation
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