Monday night I thought I had a stroke. My hands wouldn't work together, my speech was slurred and I couldn't answer questions. Went to the hospital for two days and found out this incident was caused by high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and was likely spurred by high stress. By chance they also found out that I have an aneurysm which is an enlarged aorta, one of the tubes that comes out of my heart.
As you can tell Musings On Iraq will be on leave for a bit. I have some old articles I wrote before I got sick that I will post and will eventually get back to Iraq full time but I'll need a little time off. Thank you to all the readers.
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Monday, February 3, 2020
Violence Continues Its Up And Down Pattern In Iraq
This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 3
1932 US diplomat said King Faisal would walk streets of
Baghdad and locals didn’t pay
attention nor acknowledge him
1941 Regent asked Gen Taha al-Hashemi to become premier
Hoped he could control pan-Arab
Golden Square officers
(Musings
On Iraq book review of Persian Gulf
Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)
(Musings
On Iraq book review of Rashid Ali
al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)
(Musings
On Iraq book review The Role of the
Military In Politics, A case study of Iraq to 1941)
1970 Iraq asked Turkey for help with dispute with Iran Shah
put troops on border after coup he
backed vs Pres Bakr failed
1970 Shah suggested both sides withdraw forces from border
as neither wanted war ending crisis
1987 Report US analysts said that Iraq would not be able to
reverse recent Iranian gains in southern Iraq
(Musings
On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings
On Iraq interview with author Tom Cooper 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)
1998 Report Al Qaeda’s Zawahiri met Iraq’s Vice President in
Baghdad to talk about setting up
camps Another story said Iraq gave
Zawahiri $300,000 False stories
1999 Qatar Oman UAE told US that outside interference in
Iraq wouldn’t help anyone
2003 UK issued paper on Iraqi deception campaign to hide its
WMD Later turned out 60% was
plagiarized from a journal article
2003 Sec State Powell OpEd in Wall St Journal said Iraq
hiding its WMD
(Musings
On Iraq article Iraq, One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)
2003 CIA asked Italian intel for more info on Iraq-Niger
deal but it had none
(Musings
On Iraq article on Iraq-Niger uranium story)
2004 Bush complained he felt like he was the only one
standing up for his decision to go to war
with Iraq
2004 Natl Sec Adv Rice told Sec State Powell he betrayed
Bush and had to tell press he stood by decision
to invade Iraq after article said
Powell wouldn’t have backed Iraq wr if knew truth about is WMD
2004 Sec State Powell said Bush made right decision to
invade Iraq
2004 PM Blair agreed to inquiry about pre-war intel on
Iraq’s WMD
(Musings
On Iraq Book Review The Report of the
Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)
2005 UK intel report on insurgency Said it threatened new
Iraq Military campaign not containing
insurgency Politics could bring in
some insurgents but not most Foreign jihadists were a small minority of
insurgency but carried out some of the biggest attacks Insurgents were not
unified Sunni hearts and minds were being lost due to lack of law and order
slow reconstruction few jobs poor quality of life
2007 Truck bomb in Baghdad market killed 137 wounded 305
(Musings
On Iraq book review Voices From Iraq,
A People’s History, 2003-2009)
2008 US military said more attacks in Jan 08 by Iran-backed
Special Groups then in last year
2010 Iraq appeals court ended ban of candidates for Baath
ties before parliamentary elections
2010 Sadr said court decision ending candidate bans betrayal
of Iraqi people
2010 PM Maliki said court ending bans on candidates was US
interference in Iraqi elections
(Musings
On Iraq article on banning candidates in 2010 election)
2011 Wasit Governor Tarfa dismissed on corruption charges
2014 Al Qaeda’s Zawahiri renounced ties to ISIS after it
killed Jabhat al-Nusra emir in Raqqa, Syria
(Musings
On Iraq book review The Caliphate At
War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)
2019 Trump said US spent so much money on a base in Iraq
that it owned it Said US would be staying in
Iraq to watch Iran Angered ant-US
parties
View the Iraq History Timelines
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Conflicts Between Protesters And Sadrists Over Their Return And New Interim Premier
 |
Protesters in Basra against PM designate Allawi (Al Mirbad) |
The naming of former Communications Minister Mohammed Allawi as the designate premier and the return of the Sadrists to the protest squares has led to new conflicts.
This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 2
1970 Iraq went to UN over Shah placing troops on border
after coup he backed vs Pres Bakr
failed
1987 Iran Op Karbala 5 withdrew from bridgehead on Iraqi
Fish Lake defensive line in Basra
(Musings
On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings
On Iraq interview with author Tom Cooper on Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings
On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War
Volume 3: Iraq’s Triumph)
(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)
2002 William Kristol told Senate invading Iraq would
transform Middle East
(Musings
On Iraq book review The Road to Iraq,
The Making of a Neoconservative War)
(Musings
On Iraq book review America at the
Crossroads, Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy)
(Musings
On Iraq book review Wanting War: Why
the Bush Administration Invaded Iraq)
(Musings
On Iraq review Losing Iraq, Inside The Post War Reconstruction Fiasco
by David Phillips)
2003 Sec State Powell and his deputy Armitage went to CIA to
go through Iraq intel to use in his UN
speech Powell decided to use 3
intercepts of Iraqi officers perhaps talking about hiding WMD and intel on
Zarqawi in Kurdistan CIA Dir Tenet told Powell no intel Saddam directly
involved with Zarqawi Powell decided to claim Iraq giving sanctuary to Zarqawi
2004 Sec State Powell told WashPost if he knew Iraq had no
WMD his decision on Iraq invasion would
have been different
2004 Sec Def Rumsfeld claimed Iraq Study Group head Kay’s
Senate testimony Iraq had no WMD stocks
proved White House case
(Musings
On Iraq article 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)
2004 Bremer and UK Rep Greenstock met with Barzani and
Talabani to convince them of federalism
included in Transitional Admin Law
Kurds objected to federalism by provinces but by region so KRG maintained
2005 Assyrians in Ninewa Plains accused Kurds of stopping
them from voting in Jan 30 election
2005 Bush said US in Iraq to create a democracy that could
defend itself and was not a threat to its
neighbors
(Musings
On Iraq article on pre-Surge US Iraq strategy)
(Musings
On Iraq book review Iraq’s Future The
aftermath of regime change)
2007 US Natl Intel Estimate ISF lacked training equipment
skills to replace US forces If US withdrew in
12-18 months violence would
increase in Iraq
2007 Def Sec Gates and Joint Chief head Gen Pace said Iraqis
behind schedule in sending troops to
Baghdad for Surge Said only 55-65%
of promised troops were in Baghdad
2008 Bombing 2 markets in Baghdad killed 99 wounded 145
(Musings
On Iraq book review Voices From Iraq,
A People’s History, 2003-2009)
2008 Accountability and Justice law passed to replace
deBaathification legislation
(Musings
On Iraq article on passing Accountability and Justice law)
2008 Interior Min Bolani said large drop in Saudi foreign
fighters coming to Iraq
(Musings
On Iraq article on Saudi role in insurgency)
2014 Al Qaeda publicly renounced ties with ISIS
(Musings
On Iraq book review The Caliphate At
War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)
2018 Pentagon Inspector General reported 9 Abrams tanks sold
to Iraqi army ended up with Pro-Iran
Hashd groups Some captured from IS
others not
(Musings
On Iraq article on Abrams tanks with pro-Iran Hashd factions)
2019 Pro-Iran Hashd fired rockets at US advisers at Al-Asad
air base in Anbar
View the Iraq History Timelines
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Sadr Returns To Iraq’s Protests After Betraying Them For Iran
 |
| (Reuters) |
Moqtada al-Sadr made another dramatic swing in direction. On January 24, Sadr held a rally in Baghdad against the U.S. presence in Iraq and told his followers to withdraw from the protests sites. The next day government forces began attacks on protest camps across the country with deadly results. Sadr had been supporting the demonstrations since their start in October, but reportedly abandoned them in return for Iranian backing. That deal fell apart, and Sadr reversed himself and is now trying to rejoin the protests. This is one of the biggest and quickest flip flops in Sadr’s career.
This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 1
1922 UK intel report said cabinet told Def Min to count time
in Arab Revolt in WWI double for
pensions vs officers that joined
afterward to privilege ex-Ottoman officers that originally joined King Faisal
Favored Iraqi leaders like Jaafar al-Askari and Nuri al-Said
1928 UK sent note to Iraqi govt saying opposed conscription
and if govt ran into problems over it
UK wouldn’t help
1958 Egypt and Syria created United Arab Republic PM Said
afraid pan-Arabists would overthrow
his govt so Iraq could join UAR
Syria suggested union with Egypt out of fear that Iraq was trying to forge coup
or overthrow govt and take over country
(Musings
On Iraq book review of Ropes Of Sand
that includes Iraq plots against Syria)
(Musings
On Iraq book review Killing Hope,
U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II)
1981 Iraq received 1st of 4 shipments of Mirage
jets from France despite Paris claiming neutrality in
Iran-Iraq War
(Musings
On Iraq book review Iraqi Mirages, The Dassault Mirage Family In Service
With The Iraqi Air Force, 1981-1988)
1984 Iraq said it was going to hit 11 Iranian cities near
border Iran threatened to shell Iraqi cities in
response
1984 US Middle East envoy Rumsfeld had second meeting with
Saddam to improve US-Iraq ties
(Musings
On Iraq book review The Saddam Tapes)
1985 Iranian counterattack pushed Iraqi forces out of
mountains overlooking Sumer around Qasr e-
Shirin central Iran across from Diyala
(Musings
On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War
Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)
1987 Iran Op Karbala 5 broke through Iraq’s Jassim Canal
defenses 7 miles away from Basra city
(Musings
On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings
On Iraq interview with author Tom Cooper on Iran-Iraq War)
(Musings
On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War
Volume 3: Iraq’s Triumph)
(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)
1999 NY Post claimed Saddam was making contacts with bin
Laden and Abu Nidal to strike US
False story
2001 2nd Bush NSC meeting again dealt with Iraq
policy State Dept said US policy should be to stop
Iraq from threatening Middle East
Sec State Powell talked again about smart sanctions Sec Def Rumsfeld said
removing Saddam and putting in pro-US govt could change Middle East and show
world what US policy about Pentagon talked about rebuilding Gulf War coalition
against Iraq CIA Dir Tenet talked about coup vs Saddam End of meeting Rumsfeld
said US objective was not getting rid of Saddam but his WMD
(Musings
On Iraq Chilcot Report Section 1.2 UK Iraq strategy September 2000 To
September 2001)
2002 Gen Franks briefed Sec Def Rumsfeld on war plans with
start time April 2002
(Musings
On Iraq book review of Shaping the
Plan for Operation Iraqi Freedom, The Role of Military Intelligence Assessment)
(Musings
On Iraq book review Leap of Faith,
Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy
Tragedy)
2003 US Army War College study said ehtnosectarian
differences could lead to civil war or fractured
state after fall of Saddam Said
longer US presence in Iraq the more resistance it would face Said
ethnosectarian parties would probably emerge in Iraq and increase divisions
Warned that there would be terrorism providing services would be difficult oil
could not pay for reconstruction Suggested 135 tasks US had to take care of to
ensure stability of postwar Iraq Said US would have to occupy Iraq for a long
time and building democracy a huge challenge Warned US could win the Iraq war
and lose the peace
(Musings
On Iraq book review Iraq’s Future The
aftermath of regime change)
(Musings
On Iraq article on Part I Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction
Hard Lessons Planning for Postwar
Iraq September 2001 to May 2003)
2003 Chief UN inspector Blix refused US claims that Iraq was
sending WMD and scientists outside
country to hide them
(Musings
On Iraq article UN Inspectors Were Right Iraq Was Not A Threat)
(Musings
On Iraq article Iraq’s Rejection of UN Inspectors Led To Mistrust Over WMD
and 2003 Invasion)
2003 Sec State Powell went to CIA HQ to go over Iraq-Al
Qaeda intel for UN speech Decided to focus upon
Zarqawi
2003 Cheney Chief of Staff Libby and DepNatSecADv Hadley
wanted Sec State Powell to use 9/11
hijacker Atta meeting with Iraqi
intel in 2001 Powell said no
2004 2 suicide bombers hit KDP and PUK offices in Irbil
killed 117 injured 133
2005 Report US analysts believed Jan 05 elections could
erode support for insurgency
(Musings
On Iraq article on pre-Surge US Iraq strategy)
2006 Saddam refused to appear in court claiming new judge
was biased against him
2007 Report Shiite officials were trying to blame Soldiers
of Heaven uprising in Najaf on Sunnis
Claimed that its leader was a Sunni
Wahabi from Basra Some claimed he was backed by ISI even though group was
Shiite Soldiers of Heaven wanted to kill Shiite clergy in Najaf claiming it
would lead to return of missing Mahdi
2007 Report Mahdi Army leaders going to Iran and Syria to
avoid Surge Militiamen told to lie low to
avoid confrontations with US forces
2007 Experts said Foreign Affairs and Water Mins were stable
and well run Oil and Finance Mins had
been purged and suffered from
political infighting Some ministries run by parties that use them to further
their political and sectarian goals more than govern like Health Min run by
Sadrists
2008 Female suicide bomber hit pet market in Baghdad 45
killed 82 wounded Followed by another
woman bomber hitting another market
27 dead 67 wounded
(Musings
On Iraq article on female suicide bombers)
(Musings
On Iraq book review Voices From Iraq,
A People’s History, 2003-2009)
View the Iraq History Timelines
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