This Day In Iraqi History – Apr 24

1916 British attempt to re-supply besieged garrison at Kut failed

1920 UK gave France 25% of Turkish Petroleum Company in return for agreeing to

            British mandate in Iraq

1941 PM Gaylani and Mufti of Jerusalem met with Italian amb Told him they were

            angry Axis had done nothing to help Iraq vs British

1974 Iraqi planes bombed Qala Diza during Kurdish rebellion killing 130

1991 Kurdish leaders announced tentative deal with Saddam over autonomy and

            returning refugees who fled during revolt

1999 Were clashes between Iraqi forces and Iraqi opposition in south

2002 Gen Franks me with commanders in Qatar Said they needed to start war

            preparations

2003 Bush said Iraq might have destroyed its WMD before invasion but US would

            find them

2003 NY Times article Iraqi scientists said Saddam expanded WMD programs and

            secret facilities but destroyed stocks Wasn’t true

2003 US seized warehouse in Baghdad thought to contain WMD agents Proved false 

2003 Trailer found near Mosul was suspected of being mobile WMD labs Turned out

            not to be

2003 Dep PM Tariq Aziz surrendered to US Said Iraq had no WMD

2003 INC’s Zubeidi declared himself mayor of Baghdad

2003 ORHA head Garner met with 60 Iraqis in Kut to talk about security and how city

            should pick city council

2003 ORHA head Garner blamed Iran for anti-US protests in Kut

2003 ORHA head Garner said INC’s Chalabi was not US’s choice to run Iraq and

            Iraqis could pick their own leaders

2003 Gen McKiernan ground commander in Iraq told ORHA’s Garner security #1

            priority for postwar Iraq

2003 Rumsfeld called Powell to propose Paul Bremer as new presidential envoy to Iraq

2003 Rumsfeld called Garner and told him he would be replaced by Bremer Garner said

            he would quit Rumsfeld asked him to stay

2003 Rumsfeld said that Iraqis could form any govt they wanted as long as it wasn’t

            a theocracy like Iran’s

2003 UN Res 1476 extended Oil For Food Program past US invasion

2003 2 drive by shootings on US base in Kut, Wasit

2003 Was anti-American march in Kut, Wasit

2003 UK cabinet agreed to expand control from Basra & Maysan to Dhi Qar and

            Muthanna despite warnings might not have capabilities to deal with them

2003 UN SecGen Annan said US Coalition had to follow intl law as occupying

            power in Iraq US rejected occupier title

2004 US reported that 40% of Iraqi police deserted during Sadrist uprising in

            Najaf and Kut

2004 Insurgents launched boat attack upon Basra oil terminal killing 2 US sailors

2006 Sunni politicians accused SIIC of taking over Interior Min and staffing it with

            Badr militiamen and killing civilians

2006 Zarqawi released video portraying himself as military commander in Iraq

2006 Fmr CIA officer Drumheller said Iraq war was a policy failure by White House

            not intel one Said Bush committed to war no matter what the intel

2006 Iraqiya MP said new Maliki govt wasn't national unity one but just Shiite

            Kurdish and Sunni parties dividing up ministries

2008 ISF gained full control of central Basra from militias during Charge of Knights

2008 Captured ISI letters showed complaints about War Min Masri not consulting

            with others and didn't take criticism

2008 Captured letters said ISI was passing off old Zarqawi videos as new operations

2009 2 suicide bombers targeted Baghdad’s Khadmiya shrine

2011 Ayatollah Haeri in Iran issued fatwa against extending US troop presence in

            Iraq past 2011

2011 Sadrists said they opposed any troops extension for US past end of year

2011 Kurd opposition parties said KRG could either negotiate with protesters or

            suppress them

2011 Press freedom group said 226 violations by KRG against media trying to cover

            Sulaymaniya protests

2011 Bomb at Sacred Heart church in Baghdad

2011 6,000 protested in Mosul demanding reform and releasing prisoners

2012 Sound bomb at offices of Ayatollah Najafi in wave of attacks upon leading

            ayatollahs

2012 Pres Barzani said that Exxon would follow through with its contracts to work

            with KRG despite threats from Baghdad

2013 Maliki called for dialogue with Sunni protests after raided and killed protesters in

            Hawija Also called for law and order

2013 Mutahidun complained Maliki allowing militias to operate in Iraq

2013 Insurgents took control of Suleiman Beq, Salahaddin after ISF attacked

            Hawija protest site

2013 Hawija protest group announced that it was joining Naqshibandi after ISF

            attacked protest site

2014 Was fighting between ISIS and Military Council in Fallujah

2015 report that ISF were charging displaced Anbaris money to get into Baghdad

View the Iraq History Timelines

Number Of Displaced Continues To Drop In Iraq

The war against the Islamic State that started in 2014 caused the second major displacement of Iraqis since 2003. Over 5 million people left their homes. Now that the conflict is over, more and more people are returning.

This Day In Iraqi History – Apr 23

1917 British Samarra Offensive ended in victory over Ottomans British suffered

            18,000 casualties

1920 Ataturk gave speech demanding Turkey’s southern territories include Mosul and

            Sulaymaniya

(Musings On Iraq article on how Mosul province became part of Iraq)

1941 PM Gaylani asked for German military intervention in case of war with England

1941 London decided to land an entire division from India in Basra

1948 Kirkuk oil workers protested against Anglo-Iraq Treaty

1989 Ali Hassan al-Majid’s special powers over northern Iraq for Anfal ended

(Musings On Iraq article on Anfal campaign)

2003 Iraq oil started flowing for fist time since US invasion Iraq shut down oil flow

            day war started Mar 20

2003 USAID official told Nightline rebuilding Iraq could cost US $1.7 bil and

            Iraqi oil and donors would pay for rest

2003 ORHA head Garner came up with list of 9 objectives to accomplish for postwar

            Iraq including paying salaries return police and ministries etc

2003 White House said confident Iraq’s WMD would be found

2003 NY Times article Iraqi scientists told US Iraq destroyed all its WMD equipment

            before invasion US now looking for programs rather than WMD stocks

2003 NY Times article US would be getting info on Iraq’s WMD from Chalabi and

            INC

2003 Up to 3 mil participated in Arbaeen ceremony that had been banned under

            Saddam

2003 Protest in Kut, Wasit blocked US convoy for 4 hours

2003 Report thousands of Arabs were being evicted from Kirkuk by Kurds and

            forming militias to protect themselves

2003 1^st US troops arrived in Fallujah 2 weeks after end of invasion

2004 Bremer said ex-soldiers welcomed back into army said complaints about

            deBaathification were legitimate US streamlining how it deal with prisoners

2004 US Cmdr in Iraq Gen Sanchez ordered investigation into military intel practices

            due to Abu Ghraib prison scandal

2005 UN Sec Gen Annan blamed US and UK for Iraq smuggling under Oil For Food

            program in 90s rather than UN

2009 KRG Premier Barzani criticized Hadbaa party for monopolizing all the seats

            on Ninewa council

2009 Iraq claimed it captured IS leader Abu Omar Baghdadi Didn’t happen

2010 5 car bombs hit Shiite mosques in Baghdad kill 72

2011 Karbala governor said province should think about becoming a federal region

2011 5,000 protested in Mosul demanding release of prisoners

2011 Sadrists marched in Baghdad against US occupation

2012 Iran tried to work out deal between Maliki and Sadr but failed Sadr moved

            into growing critic of Maliki’s rule

2012 Iraq’s Foreign Ministry called in Turkey’s ambassador complaining about

            Ankara’s interference in Iraqi politics

2013 Maliki ordered raid on Hawija protest camp run by Naqshibandi leading to over 40

            dead and 70 wounded

2013 Violence spiked in Iraq after Hawija raid and helped mark return of Iraqi

            insurgency

2013 Mohammed Abu Risha called for protesters to arm themselves after ISF attack

            upon Hawija protest site

2013 Clash between protesters and ISF in Ramadi 6 soldiers killed

2013 Fighting broke out between ISF and insurgents in Suleiman Beq

2013 British court found maker of fake bomb detectors guilty of 3 counts of fraud

2016 Fighting broke out again between Hashd, Turkmen vs Peshmerga Kurds in

            Tuz Kharmato

View the Iraq History Timelines

Musings On Iraq In The News

I was mentioned by Coline Clarke and Haroro Ingram in "Defeating the ISIS Nostalgia Narrative" in Foreign Policy Research Institute. The article was also republished by RAND.

Review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq

Review Foulk, Vincent, The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq, Jefferson and London: McFarland & Company, Inc.: 2007

The Battle for Fallujah is a bit misleading as the book is really about the period from 2003 when the U.S. forces first entered Fallujah until the 2^nd Battle of Fallujah at the end of 2004. Each chapter has a theme such as kidnappings, car bombs, Moqtada al-Sadr and his uprisings, etc. It’s a quick read on what the American military was facing during this period of the Iraq War.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 22

1915 Lord Curzon asked why British should promise Basra and Baghdad vilyats

            to Arabs if they were fighting on Ottoman side

1916 British attacked Sannaiyat but Ottomans turned them back British suffered

            1,200 casualties

1923 British troops occupied Rowanduz in military campaign to subdue Kurds opposed

            to being included in new Iraq Mandate

1969 After Shah ended 1937 border treaty with Iraq Iran sailed ship down Shatt al

            Arab waterway in violation of treaty

1969 Iraq retaliated by expelling 10,000 Iranians for Shah ending 1937 border treaty

            over Shatt al-Arab waterway

1980 Khomeini revealed that Ayatollah Baqir al-Sadr had been executed and called for

            overthrow of Saddam

1991 Report that Iranian intel and Revolutionary Guard working in Iraq to help revolts

1998 Tariq Aziz letter to UN Said inspectors ignored last 7 yrs of progress Said intrusive

            inspections work of US to create justification for US military strike

2003 ORHA head Garner went to KRG to talk with Barzani and Talabani about interim

            Iraqi govt

2003 Barzani and Talabani suggested group of Iraqi advisers to help Garner rather than

            interim Iraqi govt

2003 Sadrists held second day of protests after its cleric Fartusi was arrested by US

2003 Only 10% of Baghdad’s electricity restored since city fell to US forces

2003 US sent 1000 more experts to look for Iraq’s WMD

2003 Chief UN inspector Blix told BBC US tried to discredit inspections at the Security

            Council

2003 UK general warned that British military not trained for postwar operations called

            for in Iraq

2003 NYTimes’ Miller told PBS NewsHour US found info on Iraq’s WMD Had

            destroyed stocks right before invasion Fooled UN inspectors

2004 Bremer said some Baathist officials would be able to return to their jobs

2004 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

2006 Pres Talabani Asked Maliki to form new govt

(Musings On Iraq interview with Reuters’ Parker on Maliki’s biography)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Inside Iraqi Politics’ Sowell on whether Maliki became a dictator)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Historian Phebe Marr comparing PM Maliki with MP Said)

2007 ISI stopped bus and took 23 Yazidis off and executed them in Bashiqa, Ninewa

2008 Maliki promised $150 mil to rebuild Sadr City after fighting Mahdi Army was

            over

2009 16 Kurdish towns in Ninewa threatened to not cooperate with new Hadbaa run

            Ninewa council calling it Baathists

2010 Parliamentary election results were supposed to be certified but political disputes

            delayed that

2011 Protests in Baghdad, Mosul and other cities calling for release of prisoners better

services fighting corruption

2011 Sadr announced new social organizing project Munasiroon in Basra

2012 Attack on Najaf offices of Ayatollah Fayadh in wave of attacks against Iraq’s

            top clerics

2012 Turkey’s Erdogan compared Maliki to Saddam

2013 Tigris Ops Command stopped parliamentary delegation from visiting Hawija

            protest site after checkpoint attacked

2014 Pres Barzani threatened independence of Kurdistan if oil dispute with Baghdad

            continued

2015 Day after IS attacked Sahl al-Malih, Ninewa Peshmerga expelled Arab residents,

            looted and burned village

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Review America at the Crossroads, Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy

Review Fukuyama, Francis, America at the Crossroads, Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy, Yale University Press: New Haven and London, 2006

Neoconservatives were one of the main groups behind the 2003 invasion of Iraq providing much of the ideological justification for the war. The term was thrown around a lot in the media, yet few actually knew what it was about. For example, there was some talk about Leo Strauss and graduates from the University of Chicago where he taught, but what that meant in real terms or how it related to the Iraq war were largely left unexplained. That’s the reason why Francis Fukuyama’s America at the Crossroads, Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy is important because it provides a short and concise summary and analysis of just what neoconservatism is and how it was connected to Iraq.