Review Voices From Iraq, A People’s History, 2003-2009

Review Kukis, Mark, Voices From Iraq, A People’s History, 2003-2009, New York: Columbia University Press, 2011

Voices From Iraq is an important book that captured dozens of accounts of Iraqis about life after the 2003 invasion. Mark Kukis worked for Time magazine in Baghdad and was inspired by Studs Terkel’s books collecting stories of regular citizens to tell the history of America. In 2008, as security improved in the country, Kukis interviewed Iraqis about their experiences, which became the basis for the book, an oral history of the Iraq War. Many accounts of the war focus just upon Americans, and if Iraqis are included it is the elite like politicians and military officers. Kukis brings the lives of regular Iraqis to the table, many of which have heart wrenching accounts of just how bad things got as their country descended into civil war.

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 21

1914 British troops entered Basra after Ottomans abandoned city

1926 Jaffar al-Askari became PM of Iraq for 2^nd time

1927 King Faisal asked for full Iraqi independence and ending roll of British High Commissioner in

negotiations over new Anglo-Iraq Treaty

1946 PM Umari forced to resign in aftermath of Kirkuk Massacre where oil strikers killed

1946 Nuri al-Said became premier 4^th time

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

(Musings On Iraq book review of ‘Independent Iraq’ The Monarchy & British Influence, 1941-1958)

1983 Iran’s Op Wa al-Fajr 4 ended Took 180 sq mi of land in Iranian and Iraqi Kurdistan Iran lost

5000 dead 15,000 wounded Iraq lost 2800 dead

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War)

1997 UN weapons inspectors returned to Iraq

1998 Adviser to UN chief said could never 100% prove WMD disarmament and at some

            point inspections became political and impossible to prove negative

(Musings On Iraq article on UN weapons inspections)

2001 Bush told Natl Sec Adv Rice he wanted Def Sec Rumsfeld to start planning for Iraq

2001 Bush told Def Sec Rumsfeld to update war plans for Iraq Wanted it done secretly Was first

official step in Iraq invasion

(Musings On Iraq book review of Shaping the Plan for Operation Iraqi Freedom, The Role of Military Intelligence Assessment)

2002 NATO summit Bush was talking about war with Iraq and using new U.N. inspections as

catalyst for action

2003 UN turned over Oil for Food program to CPA

2003 UK intel report Badr Brigade maintained close ties to Iran that armed and funded it

(Musings On Iraq article on Iran using Badr in post-Saddam Iraq)

2004 Iraq Election Commission announced vote for transitional assembly to draft constitution would

happen 1/30/05 along with provincial vote

2006 Iraq and Syria announced renewal of diplomatic relations which were broken during Iran-Iraq

War

2006 UN reported 3,709 civilians killed in Oct 06 was highest since 2003 invasion

2006 Report US training mission for Iraqi forces full of problems Officers leading teams poorly

picked Many hadn’t seen combat Didn’t understand mission and weren’t prepared Didn’t have standardized guidelines for mission Didn’t get support from US military Didn’t get supplies and enough interpreters Didn’ get full teams

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Kirkuk Oil Fields And US Pressure Lead Iraq To Agree To Use Kurdish Pipeline Again

(Amirki)

Iraq’s central and regional governments have made a new deal to export oil via the Kurds’ pipeline to Turkey. This came about due to several factors. First, production is increasing at the Kirkuk fields after the federal government took them over in October 2017 from the Kurds, and there was no outlet for the oil. Second, the Trump administration put pressure upon Baghdad to follow its sanctions on Iran and increase exports to make up for the loss of Tehran’s oil. Finally, there was already an agreement on the table between Baghdad and Irbil left from the Abadi government. The question now is can this deal last as the previous ones have all broken down.

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 20

1914 Arab tribes told British forces Ottomans had abandoned Basra British forces set out to

take city

1920 US complained 3^rd time to UK about San Remo agreement that divided up Iraqi oil between

France and England

1920 British worked out ceasefire with Hachcham tribe last one fighting in 1920 Revolt

(Musings On Iraq book review of Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

1922 Abd Sadoun became Iraq’s 2^nd PM His orders were to organize elections for an assembly to

write constitution

1922 Lausanne conference convened to end WWI with Ottomans and decide whether British to

Turks got Mosul vilyat

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

1963 Tahir Yahya became premier, held office 2 times

1973 KDP and Communists agreed to end hostilities between the two KDP had been attacking

Communists for its alliance with Bakr govt

(Musings On Iraq book review Red Star Over Iraq, Iraqi Communism Before Saddam)

(Musings On Iraq Interview with Prof Johan Franzen on the history of the Iraqi Communist Party)

(Musings On Iraq book review of The Kurds, A Modern History)

(Musings On Iraq book review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)

1982 Tariq Aziz accused US and Soviet Union of allowing weapons to be sent to Iran during Iran-

Iraq War

1997 Russia brokered deal to allow US members of UN inspectors back into Iraq In return

inspections would be completed quickly and UN would begin talks over ending sanctions

1998 UN inspectors asked for 12 documents were told some documents never existed and would

only turn over edited version of others

(Musings On Iraq article on UN weapons inspections)

2001 US Embassy in Niger reported that Niger official said no way it could produce enough uranium

reports claimed Iraq bought from it

(Musings On Iraq article on Iraq-Niger uranium story)

2001 Wall St Journal OpEd by Eliot Cohen said Iraq helped Al Qaeda and had WMD so should be

attacked

2003 Suicide truck bomb hit PUK office in Kirkuk killing 5

2003 US army team with dogs arrived at Abu Ghraib prison which were used to abuse prisoners

2005 Report on how US relied upon Iraqi defector CURVEBALL for intel on Iraq’s WMD when

they were warned he was unreliable

2006 Joint Chiefs told to prepare plan for surge in troops in Iraq

2006 Pentagon claimed US carried out Marshall Plan in Iraq and accomplished minor miracle

rebuilding country

2006 Report Sec Def Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs were resistant to acknowledge insurgency in Iraq

            when it started

View the Iraq History Timelines 

New Iraq Public Opinion Piece On Iran Misses Point

The Washington Post recently published an article by Munqith al-Dagher the CEO of Almustakilla for Research in Baghdad on a public opinion survey his firm conducted on Shiite views of Iran. The poll found a large change in people’s views of Tehran and its role in Iraq. Dagher’s analysis of the poll however missed many important points about how Iraqi politics work and even undermines some of his own points at the end.

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 19

1914 British troops took Ottoman fort at Sahil in the city of Basra

1973 KDP and Communists began talks to end hostilities between two KDP had been attacking

Communists for its alliance with Bakr govt

(Musings On Iraq book review Red Star Over Iraq, Iraqi Communism Before Saddam)

(Musings On Iraq Interview with Prof Johan Franzen on the history of the Iraqi Communist Party)

(Musings On Iraq book review of The Kurds, A Modern History)

(Musings On Iraq book review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)

1991 UN report said Iraqi forces used torture and mass killings to put down Shiite uprising after Gulf

War

1997 KDP recaptured lost territory from PUK

1997 UN told that dramatic increase in Iraqi oil smuggling through Iran violating UN sanctions

1997 Wash Post OpEd by Wolfowitz and Khalilzad called for US to overthrow Saddam

1998 Iraqis refused to hand over documents to UN inspectors

(Musings On Iraq article on UN weapons inspections)

1999 UN Res 1275 extended Oil for Food program for Iraq

2002 UK Def Min official warned Blair’s office that without proper postwar planning Iraq war could

fail

2003 Car bomb at Sheikh Suleiman’s home after he made deal with US for police to take over

security in Ramadi

2004 Assoc of Muslim Scholars announced Sunni boycott of Jan 05 elections claiming results would

be fake and non-representative

2004 Gen Smith dep cmdr CENTCOM said insurgents were carrying out effective intimidation

campaign before Jan 05 elections

2005 Marines killed 24 civilians in revenge for Marine being killed by IED in Haditha

2006 Dep Health Min Saffar kidnapped by policeman Mahdi Army suspected of killing him under

orders of Dep Health Min Zamili

2006 Suicide car bomb hit day laborers in Hillah killing 22 woundign 40 3 car bombs hit bus station

            east Baghdad killing 10 injuring 45

2006 Syrian Foreign Minister visited Baghdad 1^st high ranking Syrian official to visit since 2003 Said

Assad backed Maliki govt and wanted foreign troops to withdraw

2006 Iraqi Islamic Party said warrant for Dhari head of Muslim Scholars Assoc ended Maliki’s

reconciliation program Iraqi Accordance Front demanded warrant be withdrawn 1,000 protested in Adhamiya against warrant

2006 AP reported more Iraqis died in first three weeks of Nov than all of Oct Nov 1-19 1,319 dead vs

1,216 in Oct

2008 PUK politburo created committees to discuss its internal divisions

View the Iraq History Timelines 

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 18

1914 British launched second attack on Ottoman forces in Zain, Basra

1963 Pres Arif and brother Gen Arif and army put down Baath National Guard militia in Baghdad

Mosul and Kirkuk

1963 Pres Arif removed Baathists from positions in govt including PM Bakr

1968 KDP called on UN to intervene in Iraq during Kurdish revolt

(Musings On Iraq book review of The Kurds, A Modern History)

(Musings On Iraq book review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)

1973 Communists said they would stop anti-KDP propaganda campaign attacking it as feudal party

and capitalist tool

(Musings On Iraq book review Red Star Over Iraq, Iraqi Communism Before Saddam)

(Musings On Iraq Interview with Prof Johan Franzen on the history of the Iraqi Communist Party)

1979 Naji Suwaidi became premier of Iraq

1997 Russian President Boris Yeltsin met with Iraqis trying to convince them to cooperate with

weapons inspectors

1998 UN inspections began again in Iraq with goal of causing a confrontation to justify US bombing

2002 New UN inspectors arrived in Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq article on UN weapons inspections)

2005 House Republicans attacked Democrats for trying to cut and run in Iraq by backing withdrawal

US policy was withdrawal

2005 Al Qaeda in Iraq bombed Shiite mosque in Khanaqin Diyala 74 dead

2005 Study 90-96% of insurgency were Iraqis only 4-10% foreign fighters

2006 Pentagon and Joint Chiefs papers on Iraq said US should follow Gen Casey plan to withdraw

turn things over to Iraqis Joint Chiefs paper said Iraq falling into civil war US strategy not working

(Musings On Iraq article on pre-Surge US Iraq strategy)

2006 US intel report on Iraq said US had no good options in Iraq

2006 VP Cheney’s office memo on Iraq said US should back Shiites and Kurds and forget about

Sunnis

2008 US signed Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq that set 12/31/11 withdrawal date for US

forces

View the Iraq History Timelines