Price For A Barrel of Iraqi Oil Passes The $100 Mark

Iraq continues to benefit from the tight oil market and the war in Ukraine. For the first time in eight years oil prices crossed the $100 mark leading to the highest monthly revenues since 1972.

This Day In Iraqi History Apr 7

1915 UK Gen Nixon ordered to prepare attack on Nasiriya and Amara to protect Basra vilayet and Persian

oil concession

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq In World War I, From Ottoman Rule to British Conquest)

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

1917 Sir Percy Cox wrote UK Foreign Office Said Baghdad and Basra vilayets should be run

similarly instead of 2 separate provinces 1^st talk of uniting two under UK rule

1918 UK artillery and attack drove rebels out of area outside of Najaf city

1941 UK Mideast cmdr Gen Wavell told War Office military intervention in Iraq not possible and

diplomacy should be used UK Mideast Cmdr Gen Wavell thought Regent of Iraq could be restored to power by strong statement and show of force by Royal Air Force

(Musings On Iraq review Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad)

(Musings On Iraq review Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War)

1972 Soviet PM Kosygin inaugurated Russian company’s production at North Rumaila oil field Attempt to

develop oil outside Iraq Petroleum Company

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq Since 1958, From Revolution To Dictatorship)

1980 Iran withdrew all its diplomatic personnel from Iraq

1980 Iran put military on full alert after accusing Iraq of repeated attacks upon its border area

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1988 Start of 3^rd Anfal campaign focused upon Germian, Sulaymaniya Civilians in area rounded up and

many executed

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Anfal Campaign And The Destruction Of The Kurdish Opposition)

1991 Sec State Baker condemned Iraq crimes against its people but said US would not get involved

1991 US began humanitarian airdrops to Kurds

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

(Musings On Iraq review The United States And Iraq Since 1990: A Brief History with Documents)

1998 IAEA told UN Iraq not carrying out any prohibited nuclear activities at sites it had visited

(Musings On Iraq UN Inspectors Were Right Iraq Was Not A Threat)

2002 Blair and Bush met Blair pushed going to UN against Iraq Some claimed Blair okayed war with

Iraq at meeting Blair denied that

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Section 3.2 Development of UK Iraq Strategy and Options, January to April 2002 – “Axis of Evil” to Crawford)

2002 Bush told TV network he’d decided Saddam must go

(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 The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)

(Musings On Iraq Review Hubris, The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, And The Selling Of The Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Bush Administrations and Saddam Hussein, Deciding on Conflict)

(Musings On Iraq review Plan of Attack: The Definitive Account Of The Decision To Invade Iraq)

2003 US 3^rd Inf Div conducted 2^nd Thunder Run into Baghdad Iraq’s Info Min Mohammed Sahaf denied

U.S. forces were in Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq review Voices From Iraq, A People’s History, 2003-2009)

2003 US Marines entered east Baghdad which was empty of Iraqi forces

2003 US got intel Saddam in Mansour Baghdad Carried out air raid that killed 18 civilians

2003 British took Basra city

2003 Ayatollah Haeri named Moqtada al-Sadr his representative in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq A Divided Sadr Trend)

2003 Looting reported in Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq review The Fall Of Baghdad)

2003 NY Times reported 4 drums of possible nerve agents found near Karbala Story proved false

2003 Sec Def Rumsfeld opponents within military leaked details of Rumsfeld micromanaging invasion

plans to Seymour Hersh

2004 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)

2004 Mahdi Army attacked Polish patrols in Karbala and fought Spanish troops in Najaf

2004 Sadr claimed he was the military wing of Ayatollah Sistani

2004 Another marine unit arrived to take part in Op Vigilant Resolve 1^st Battle of Fallujah

(Musings On Iraq review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)

2004 Insurgents attacked Hawija Kirkuk

2004 PM 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)

2004 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)

2004 US report Iraq earned $10.1 bil by manipulating Oil for Food Program from 1997-2002

2004 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

2004 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)

2005 Talabani sworn in as Iraq president and named Jaafari as new premier Ended interim govt under

PM Allawi

(Musings On Iraq U.S. Army History of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 16 – Going West, April-August 2005)

2006 3 suicide bombers detonated in Buratha mosque Baghdad Attempted to assassinate ISCI MP

Saghir suspected of running Badr death squads 85 killed 160 wounded

(Musings On Iraq Badr Organization A View Into Iraq’s Violent Past And Present)

(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)

2006 Court papers showed Bush authorized leak of information on Iraq-Niger uranium story to support

administration

2006 Prosecutor claimed Cheney Chief of Staff Libby’s leaks to press were part of campaign to discredit

fmr Amb Wilson over Iraq-Niger story

(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Failed The Iraq-Niger Uranium Story)

(Musings On Iraq Review Hubris, The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, And The Selling Of The Iraq War)

2007 Islamic Army said it had tried working with ISI but failed Blamed ISI for killing anyone that didn’t

follow it

(Musings On Iraq The Demise But Not Death of Al Qaeda In Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)

(Musings On Iraq review The Caliphate At War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)

2008 Sadr said Mahdi Army would not disarm after demand by PM Maliki and threat to exclude him

from 2009 provincial elections Then said would consider it if Ayatollah Sistani and Iranian clerics suggested it

2008 Iran officially backed PM Maliki’s Charge of Knights Supported Mahdi Army during fighting and

then negotiated ceasefire

2009 Obama flew to Baghdad and met PM Maliki and Pres Talabani Said lots of political progress but

still issues in Iraq

2009 Report Schools falling apart across Iraq Wasit councilman said most money for schools stolen

by officials and contractors Principal in Baghdad said other principals kept money for themselves Education Min said it was Saddam’s fault

2010 Sadrist referendum on who movement wanted as new premier picked Jaafari after national vote

(Musings On Iraq The Sadrists Try To Have Their Say On Iraq’s Next Prime Minister)

2011 Report Oil companies running into problems working in Iraq with political disputes red tape logistical

problems lack of infrastructure

2012 Kurdish Alliance said committee put together to work out problems with PM Maliki

2012 Dep PM Shahristani complained about KRG oil contracts saying they were unrealistic

(Musings On Iraq Kurds May Be Fighting Losing Battle With Iraq’s Central Government Over Oil Exports)

2012 Report Integrity Comm member said Basra had wasted $20.6 mil from 09-11

2013 Cabinet said it was going to amend Accountability and Justice Law to meet demands of protesters

2013 PM Maliki said early elections should be considered to solve political stalemate in country

2013 KRG PM Nechirvan Barzani said PM Maliki was violating constitution and consensus politics with

dispute over budget

2013 Report claimed soldiers in army brigade were told to vote for PM Maliki in elections

2013 Report Chilcot Inquiry found UK intel told Blair early 02 Iraq had little WMD and Libya greater

threat Said threat came from Iraqi scientists with know how Found after PM Blair met Bush in Apr 02 decided to join Iraq war He pushed MI6 to find info to justify war Intel officials said Blair wanted stronger argument vs Iraq than WMD MI6 was against war Mar 02 intel report said Iraq couldn’t build a nuclear bomb with sanctions

(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)

2014 PM Maliki told National Alliance he was turning to militias for security because frustrated with ISF’s

performance Got backing for Popular Defense Brigades Made up of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah Given control of Baghdad belts

(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq Instrument Of Iran’s Power In Iraq And Syria Kataib Hezbollah)

2014 PM Maliki told National Alliance there was a Sunni-Turkish conspiracy against Shiites and Iran Said

Syria was blocking this conspiracy and if Syria fell Iraq would be next

2014 Naqshibandi leader and son killed by ISIS in Hamrin, Diyala ISIS had been kidnapping Naqshibandi

members in Diyala

(Musings On Iraq Infighting Between Iraq Insurgent Groups)

(Musings On Iraq Precarious Relationship Between The Islamic State of Iraq And The Baathist Naqshibandi)

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Resurgent Insurgency Interview With Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi)

2015 Cabinet said Hashd part of ISF and under premier as commander in chief

2015 Report Sunni tribes blamed for some of the looting in Tikrit after city freed

2015 Report MP from Albu Ajeel tribe said looting and burning in Albu Ajeel and Dour Salahaddin were

done out of revenge for Camp Speicher massacre

(Musings On Iraq Divisions Over Iraq War Exposed In Victory In Tikrit)

2015 Report 09 Hill new US amb to Iraq Had little knowledge of Mideast and Iraq US Iraq cmdr

Gen Odierno complained Hill did not keep contact with Iraqis Hill told staff meeting he didn’t like Iraq

2015 Report 2010 election PM Maliki came in 2^nd Claimed voting fraud Claimed Mujahdeen e-

Khalq tampered with voting computers Got recount Maliki advisor said he needed 2 seats to be biggest list either through recount or deBaathification otherwise PM would be blamed for losing Iraq for Shiites Maliki got Supreme Court to reinterpret constitution so largest bloc could be formed after vote US cmdr Gen Odierno said US shouldn’t pick winners just make sure process followed Odierno didn’t think winner Allawi could put together govt but had right to try Amb Hill said Iraq not ready for democracy and strongman like Maliki needed Iran got Shiite parties to unite behind Maliki US did nothing Iran pushed Syria to drop support for Allawi Used Hezbollah to pressure Sadr Iran backed Talabani as president VP Biden told Maliki US was behind his 2^nd term and Allawi had to accept defeat Obama admin wanted new Iraqi govt before US midterm elections and backing Maliki way to do that Allawi’s Iraqiya afraid if Maliki got 2^nd term he would go after them and he did charging VP Hashemi and Finance Min Issawi with terrorism

2016 Committee set up to handle cabinet reform said most ruling parties rejected changes

(Musings On Iraq interview with Reidar Visser on PM Abadi’s reform program)

(Musings On Iraq Complaints About Iraq PM Abadi Undermine His Cabinet Reshuffle)

2017 Report Rosneft agreed to pay KRG $1 bil in advance to buy KRG oil from 2017-19 KRG

desperate for cash due to oil and budget dispute with Baghdad Would increase KRG’s debts

2017 Report IS released video of Ninewa sheikhs giving it allegiance Included Hamadi brother of Ninewa

Governor

2018 People started two days of sit in protests in central Basra over lack of services corruption and jobs

2018 MP on parliament’s displacement committee said displaced only getting 10% of money meant for them Rest stolen by officials

(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)

2018 Report Turks moved 25km into KRG to fight PKK

2019 Report IS based in Mount Qarachogh in Makhmour dist of Ninewa Charging taxes and

extorting money from locals

2019 Report Peshmerga said 250 IS members settled in Hamrin Mts Came from Syria

2020 Report Iraq had no plan to deal with financial crisis Earned $2.989 bil in Mar from oil Needed $9

bil/mo Needed $4 bil/mo for govt salaries/pensions Can cut spending or borrow money Will start with borrowing from Central Bank of Iraq’s foreign reserves Asked for $2 bil from World Bank Basra Oil Company asked oil companies to cut budgets by 30% as long as didn’t reduce production Asked to delay paying them for 6 months

(Musings On Iraq Iraq Asks World Bank For Help During Financial Crisis)

2020 Shiite parties met at Badr Amiri’s house Picked intelligence chief Mustafa al-Kazemi

to be next PM candidate

2021 Report Rab Allah that threatened to cut ears off PM Kazemi part of Kataib Hezbollah Oct

2020 attacked KDP office in Baghdad Nov attacked massage parlors in Baghdad

2021 Report Quds Force Cmdr Gen Qani told Hashd leaders to stop attacks on US in Iraq Wanted to

revive nuclear deal Factions didn’t listen

2021 Joint Ops Command investigation into killing of protesters in Dhi Qar in Feb released 7 police

officers arrested as a result Said regimental commander should be sent to court

 View the Iraq History Timelines

Islamic State Continues To Fade Away In Iraq

While the number of incidents by the Islamic State in Iraq slightly increased from February to March 2022 its overall number of operations remains at an all-time low. This has lasted for six months now also a record for general inactivity. This all points to the insurgency finally fading away in Iraq. Attacks by pro-Iran groups also leveled off in March.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 6

 

1916 British attacked Sannaiyat by Kut British suffered 1,168 casualties

1919 Iraq political officer Wilson sent Eastern Affairs Comm outline of constitution for Iraq

Included rule by UK high commissioner and 4 provinces Basra Baghdad Euphrates and Mosul

1922 Fatwa said Saudi Wahabi Ikhwan were brigands and people could fight them published in Iraqi paper

1922 Shiite tribes mostly responded to fatwa against Wahabi Ikhwan Sunni ones thought Baghdad should

deal with Ikhwan

(Musings On Iraq review The Shi’is Of Iraq)

1941 British commander in Iraq asked for military reinforcements from Egypt but turned down

1941 Iraq banned British military from moving from Habaniya base Confiscated radios from British

Military Mission

(Musings On Iraq review Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War)

1948 Port of Basra protest against Anglo-Iraq Treaty Part of Wathba/Great Leap

1963 Iraq Syria Egypt started talks about uniting three countries Nasser didn’t want to share power with

Baath so talks stalled

1968 Arif govt set up military mission in France Signed deal to buy 54 Mirage jets and 46

Alouette helicopters Was in response to defeat in 1967 Arab-Israeli War and inability to put down Kurdish revolt Iraqi Air Force cancelled deal complaining jets were too expensive and training would take too long

(Musings On Iraq review Iraqi Mirages, The Dassault Mirage Family In Service With The Iraqi Air Force, 1981-1988)

1972 Soviet PM Kosygin visited Baghdad to sign strategic agreement with Bakr govt

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq Since 1958, From Revolution To Dictatorship)

1974 Govt mobilized army reserves in preparation for new campaign against Barzani

1979 Israeli agents sabotaged Osirak nuclear reactor while it was in France waiting to be shipped to Iraq

1980 Iraqi commandos fired rockets at Iranian oil field prelude to Iran-Iraq War

1984 Iran and Iraq announced end of 4^th round of war of cities Iran-Iraq War

1984 Report UK firms sold agents to Iraq to make mustard gas and sarin

(Musings On Iraq Origins Of Iraq’s WMD Programs)

1985 UN Sec Gen deCuellar announced he would go to Baghdad and Tehran to try to negotiate end to

Iran-Iraq War

1987 Iran Op Karbala 8 started in Fish Lake Iraqi defensive line in front of Basra city Only gained 1 mile

caused 2600 Iraqi casualties

(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 review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 1: The Battle for Khuzestan, September 1980-May 1982)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 3: Iraq’s Triumph)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)

1991 UNHCR est 750,000 Kurds fled to Iran and 280,000 to Turkey and 300,000 on Iraq-Turkey border

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

1991 Baghdad accepted UN resolution 687 that said Iraq had to recognize Kuwait sovereignty and

destroy WMD and missiles

1996 At conference in New York UN inspectors deducted that Iraq had biological weapons facility

at Hakam, Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq UN Inspectors Were Right Iraq Was Not A Threat)

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Rejection Of UN Inspectors Led To Mistrust Over WMD And 2003 Invasion)

2003 US 3^rd Inf Div attacked west Baghdad and seized bridges Iraqis counterattacked for next 60 hrs

2003 US marines joined US army in attacking east Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq review Voices From Iraq, A People’s History, 2003-2009)

2003 British raid into Basra City led to overall attack to take city Looting began

2003 US raided Salman Pak Claimed found foreign fighters there proving Iraq was connected to

terrorism Thousands of foreign fighters had come to Iraq to defend against a western invasion Weren’t terrorists

2003 Tarqi Azziz said Saddam finally realized his end was near

2003 Pentagon told ORHA about replacements for its staff Asked when they would arrive Said hadn’t

informed some of them yet

(Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General For Iraq Reconstruction Hard Lessons Chapter 4 Staging in Kuwait)

2003 Pentagon flew Chalabi and his Free Iraqi Forces into Nasiriya Sec Def Rumsfeld wanted him flown

to Baghdad but Gen Franks said no

2004 CPA Order 71 was to decentralize power to local councils

2004 1/3 of Civil Defense Forces in Baghdad Iraqi police and Civil Defense Forces in Fallujah and police

across south all AWOL Cmdr 2^nd Iraqi National Guard Battalion fired along with all company commanders for mass desertion and dismissals day before

2004 Marine reinforcements arrived for Op Vigilant Resolve in Fallujah US forces attacked center of

city

(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 12 Things Fall Apart Apr 2004)

2004 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)

2004 Qusaiba Anbar entire police force defected to insurgency Began attacking US forces

2004 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)

2004 500 Japanese soldiers in Samawa Muthanna told to halt work and retreat to camp out of fear of

attacks by Mahdi Army

2004 Based upon Gen Taguba’s report US army handed down 6 reprimands and 2 relief of duties over

Abu Ghraib prison scandal

2004 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

2004 Joint Sunni-Shiite march in Baghdad’s Adhamiya in support of Sadr and insurgents in Fallujah

2005 Talabani named president of Iraq, Mahdi and Yawar vice presidents in 1^st post-03 Iraqi govt

2006 Court documents showed that VP Cheney told aide to leak intelligence on Iraq trying to buy

uranium from Niger to press to discredit Fmr Amb Wilson

(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Failed The Iraq-Niger Uranium Story)

(Musings On Iraq Review Hubris, The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, And The Selling Of The Iraq War)

2007 Op Black Eagle US and Polish forces fought Mahdi Army in Diwaniya

2007 Report ISF claimed control of Ghaziliya and Amiriya in Baghdad but not true Ghaziliya surrounded

by ISF for a week Split between Sunni area run by insurgents that imposed Islamic law and Shiite area run by Mahdi Army Khadra Baghdad surrounded by ISF Split between Sunni-Shiite areas ISF didn’t allow young men into district during day At night insurgents had free reign Amiriya under ISI control ISF raided area and claimed it was cleared because arrested few Clashes along border of Amiriya and Abu Saifan run by militias

(Musings On Iraq Columbia University Charts Sectarian Cleansing Of Baghdad)

2008 PM Maliki said Mahdi Army needed to be disbanded if Sadrists wanted to run in 2009 provincial

elections

2008 PM Maliki deployed militias to checkpoints in Baghdad

2008 Green Zone and US base in south Baghdad hit by rockets by Mahdi Army Fighting continued in

Sadr City between Mahdi Army and US forces

(Musings On Iraq review Death of the Mehdi Army, The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Iraq’s Most Powerful Militia)

2008 Report US military believed that Iran had advisers in Basra helping Mahdi Army during Charge of

Knights

(Musings On Iraq Iran’s Policy Towards Iraq)

2008 69 sheikhs signed pact to support govt, rejected violence in effort by PM Maliki to

            build up patronage amongst tribes

(Musings On Iraq Argument For Maliki Being Iraq’s Next Strongman)

(Musings On Iraq Disputes Over Tribal Support Councils)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq After America, Strongmen, Sectarians, Resistance)

2008 Fmr UnderSecDef Feith interviewed on 60 Min Said US invaded Iraq to prevent next terrorist

attack after 9/11 Claimed Saddam’s record showed he was going to attack the US in the future Denied US invaded because Iraq imminent threat with its WMD Said didn’t think US should have based war on WMD Claimed Def Sec Rumsfeld predicted some of the major problems that would happen in Iraq Admitted US didn’t have enough forces to secure Iraq after invasion Denied he wrote deBaathification plan Claimed Iraq would have been better off if US had given power to INC’s Chalabi after invasion Blamed State CIA and Gen Franks for problems in Iraq

2009 PM Maliki had police raid 1^st meeting of new Diyala council Had warrants for 6 members accused

of supporting insurgency US stopped arrests Came after Maliki’s State of Law not included in new provincial govt

(Musings On Iraq New And Old Provincial Councils in Diyala Embroiled In Controversy)

(Musings On Iraq Old And New Alliances Argue Over Control of Diyala Provincial Council)

(Musings On Iraq New Political Crackdown In Diyala)

2009 Report Gangs running child trafficking rings Police said 15 kids sold a day Said increased since

2005 Corrupt officials filled out paperwork for kids to leave country Many went to Europe and Mideast

2010 7 bombs in Baghdad destroyed 7 buildings and killed 35 over 100 wounded

2010 Dir of Central Organization for Statistics said 25% of Iraqis lived below poverty level

2011 Iraqi Assoc of Defending Journalists accused govt of cracking down on reporters trying to cover

protests

2011 Gorran Islamic Union and Islamic Group said they wanted a transitional govt in Kurdistan

2011 Report Insurgents in Mosul ran legitimate business Extorted money from govt and businesses

Kidnapped for ransom Contractor said paid 10% of each contract to ISI Govt offices paid money to insurgents IS charged money on trucking from Syria and Turkey

2011 Report Integrity Comm still looking into purchase of fake bomb detectors Cost $25/ea Iraq paid

$40,000/ea Investigating $200 mil development plan in Sadr City Baghdad mayor said project would provide up to 100,000 jobs and another 50,000 afterward 1^st phase was to build 82,000 housing units Commission said money couldn’t be accounted for

(Musings On Iraq Fake Bomb Detectors At Center Of Corruption Case At Iraq’s Interior Ministry)

(Musings On Iraq Possible Corruption In Iraq’s Sadr City Development Project)

(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)

2011 Labor Min said it would make 50% of foreign companies’ workforce Iraqis 25% unemployment

Unofficially 40%

2012 Proposed national conference to deal with protests and problems with PM Maliki didn’t happen

2012 ISF closed off Tahrir Sq to try to stop protests

2013 Suicide bomber attacked political rally for provincial vote in Baquba killed 22 wounded more than

50

(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)

2013 Court issued arrest warrant for Finance Min Rafi Issawi on corruption

2014 ISIS governor of Kirkuk and another leader killed fighting Ansar al-Sunna in Kirkuk

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Resurgent Insurgency Interview With Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi)

(Musings On Iraq Infighting Between Iraq Insurgent Groups)

2014 ISIS closed Fallujah Dam causing flooding

2015 MP said Hashd were looting Tikrit after its liberation

(Musings On Iraq Divisions Over Iraq War Exposed In Victory In Tikrit)

2015 PM Abadi said 152 houses and shops burned in Tikrit but didn’t say by who

2015 3 Yazidi activists fled Kurdistan due to death threats from Kurdish officials Accused KDP

2016 Abadi’s nominee for Finance and Planning Minister Ali Allawi withdrew his name Said no

political consensus over changing cabinet

(Musings On Iraq interview with Reidar Visser on PM Abadi’s reform program)

2016 Ruling parties said they would submit 3 candidates for new ministers to undermine PM Abadi’s

candidates

2016 Supreme Council criticized PM Abadi for trying to determine new cabinet by himself

(Musings On Iraq Complaints About Iraq PM Abadi Undermine His Cabinet Reshuffle)

2016 Hashd spokesman said Fallujah could be freed in 1 week Blamed foreign countries meaning

US and certain politicians of blocking op

2016 Report Sadrists joined protests in Baghdad and took them over Used them to pressure PM

Abadi Communists who were leaders in protests made alliance with Sadr Hoped to use Sadr’s numbers and power to push reforms

(Musings On Iraq Complaints About Iraq PM Abadi Undermine His Cabinet Reshuffle)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Cambridge’s Michael Clark on Sadr, protests and PM Abadi’s reforms)

(Musings On Iraq Candidates For Iraq Cabinet Reshuffle Withdrawing)

2017 Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights obtained army paper Said Hit Haditha Baghdadi Barwana

in Anbar told not to accept any new displaced from IS areas and tell them to return to their homes Was partly due to lack of money and personnel for displaced

2018 Head of Azm district NE Diyala said IS rebuilding along Diyala-Salahadin border

2018 Human Rights Comm said candidates were paying displaced for their votes

2020 Pro-Iran groups fired rockets at oil camp in Basra

2020 Report Saudi-Russian price war led oil prices to drop to $20/barl Iraq could only pay

half its govt workers as a result Employees went from 1.2 mil in 2003 to 4 mil in 2020

2020 Report New Quds Force Cmdr Gen Qani came to Iraq to push Shiite parties to reject

PM candidate Adnan al-Zurfi and pick another Failed Ayatollah Sistani and Sadr refused to meet him 8 pro-Iran Hashd including Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and AL-Haq Hezbollah al-Nujaba issued statement rejecting Zurfi as a CIA candidate 

(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Sheikh Akram Al-Kaabi and Hezbollah al-Nujaba)

2021 PM Kazemi said he wouldn’t run in 2021 vote Still wanted to be PM

View the Iraq History Timelines

Sadr’s Alliance Begins Electing Parliamentary Committees Without Its Rival The Coordination Framework

The Coordination Framework made up of the major Shiite parties besides Moqtada al-Sadr’s has boycotted the last two sessions of parliament to block the election of a new president. Sadr’s National Salvation Alliance made up of his party, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi’s Taqadum and Khamis al-Khanjar’s Azm Alliance has taken advantage of that situation. It is naming members of parliamentary committees just from its list. On March 30 for instance the Alliance elected the Legal and Foreign Relations Committees. This is meant to punish the Framework for its boycott and also provide it with an incentive to appear.

This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 5

 

1916 Battle of Sannaiyat by Kut British attacked Ottomans Took Hanna and Fallahiya British had 1,885

casualties

1939 King Faisal II made king Ilah made Regent Asked Nuri al-Said to become PM again for 3^rd time

(Musings On Iraq interview with Western Kentucky’s Prof Romero on the Qasim govt)

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Chatham House Version and other Middle-Eastern Studies)

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

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Democratic Moment)

1955 UK joined Iraq-Turkey agreement that became anti-Communist Baghdad Pact PM Said didn’t inform

parliament

1965 Arif govt launched military offensive against Kurds

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

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Kurdish Revolt 1961-1970)

(Musings On Iraq review Journey Among Brave Men, Travels in Kurdistan)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq & the Kurdish Question, 1958-70)

1980 Saddam gave speech saying conflict with Iran was about Arabs vs Persians and denounced

Khomeini

1980 Funeral of those killed in Mustansiriya bombing hit by a bomb Both done by Islamic Action

Organization Iran again blamed

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

1984 Reagan issued NSDD 139 that US would help Iraq in Iran-Iraq War

(Musings On Iraq review The Saddam Tapes)

1985 Iranian delegation to Soviet Union said that Tehran would only accept complete Iraqi surrender to

end Iran-Iraq War

(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 review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

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

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 1: The Battle for Khuzestan, September 1980-May 1982)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 3: Iraq’s Triumph)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)

1990 Iraq said it would destroy its WMD if Israel did the same and signed 1968 nuclear non-proliferation

treaty

(Musings On Iraq Why Did Saddam Threaten Israel Before The 1990 Invasion of Kuwait?)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq in Wartime, Soldiering, Martyrdom, and Remembrance)

1991 Saddam declared that Kurdish and Shiite rebellions were crushed following Gulf War

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

(Musings On Iraq interview with National Univ of Singapore’s Fanar Haddad on the Impact of the 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq Remembering The 1991 Uprising In Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq Saddam’s View of Iraq’s 1991 Uprising)

(Musings On Iraq When The US Helped Start A Rebellion In Iraq That It Didn’t Want)

1991 Saddam article on 91 uprising Said south Shiites from marshes were isolated backwards unable

to integrate into Iraq Said Kurds were the same Said southern Shiites were criminal deviants If they ever came into power would destroy Iraq 

1991 Bush authorized airdrops of supplies to Kurds

1991 UN Resolution 688 condemned Saddam’s repression of its civilian population

1991 Some displaced Kurds began leaving mountains after govt appealed to them while Turkey let

80,000 into country

2002 PM Blair gave TV interview saying Saddam needed to go

2002 PM Blair and Bush met and talked about using UN inspections to pressure Saddam

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Section 3.2 Development of UK Iraq Strategy and Options, January to April 2002 – “Axis of Evil” to Crawford)

(Musings On Iraq Review The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, Executive Summary)

2003 US 3^rd Inf Div launched Thunder Run into Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq review Voices From Iraq, A People’s History, 2003-2009)

2003 US air strike in Basra attempted to kill Chemical Ali Missed Killed 17 civilians Most in Basra

believed Ali died

2003 National Intel Comm memo said docs claiming Iraq-Niger uranium purchase were fakes and 2002

report on deal was not credible

(Musings On Iraq How US Intelligence Failed The Iraq-Niger Uranium Story)

(Musings On Iraq Review Hubris, The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, And The Selling Of The Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)

2003 Sec State Powell said he was sure Iraq’s WMD would be found

(Musings On Iraq Iraq One Of The Worst Intelligence Failures In US History)

(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)

2003 DIA task force said Baathists made plans for an insurgency with help of jihadists Would later prove

false 

(Musings On Iraq Did Saddam Plan The Insurgency In Iraq?)

(Musings On Iraq review The U.S. Army In The Iraq War: Volume 1, Invasion, Insurgency, Civil

War, 2003-2006)

2004 Marines tried to cordon off as much of Fallujah as possible at start of 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 No True Glory, A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah)

2004 2^nd 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)

2004 Mahdi Army occupied Basra governor’s office

2004 Spanish cmdr Gen Coll started talks with Sadr Appointed Badr commander governor of Najaf Bremer

ordered stop to Coll’s moves

2004 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)

2004 CPA announced Iraqi judge issued arrest warrant for Sadr for murder of Khoei

2004 CPA official Kosnett Spanish cmdr Gen Coll Multi-national division cmdr Gen Bieniek pushed for

political solution to Sadr uprising

2004 Bremer met with Iraqi Governing Council It did not want to confront Sadr Justice Min wanted to give

concessions Def Min Allawi wanted to fight insurgents and leave Sadr alone Some said Sadr just wanted positions in govt but Bremer opposed

2004 Zarqawi recording released calling for more attacks upon US led Coalition and Shiites

(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) 

2004 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)

2006 Iraqi parties chose Maliki to be new PM over keeping PM Jaafari

2007 Islamic Army condemned ISI for imposing Islamic law and attacking other insurgent groups Also

attacking civilians and stealing women Forced women to cover themselves Banned satellite TV

(Musings On Iraq The Demise But Not Death of Al Qaeda In Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)

(Musings On Iraq review The Caliphate At War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)

2007 Al Qaeda told Ansar al-Sunnah that its complaints about ISI were unbelievable and it was still

under Al Qaeda’s leadership

2007 Pentagon Insp Gen report on fmr Dep Undersec of Def Feith’s Counterterrorism Task Force Feith’s

office claimed active Iraq-Al Qaeda ties CIA and DIA found no such ties Insp Gen said Feith’s work inappropriate Said postwar interviews found no Iraq-Al Qaeda relationship

(Musings On Iraq review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy

Tragedy)

2008 Meeting of ruling parties decided to back PM Maliki in Charge of Knights and criticized Sadr

2008 PM Maliki called on all political parties to disband their militias or they might get banned from

politics

2008 ISF and US forces cordoned off Sadr City as fighting continued between Mahdi Army and US

(Musings On Iraq review Death of the Mehdi Army, The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Iraq’s Most Powerful Militia)

2008 Iran’s Gen Suleimani met Pres Talabani and promised to stop arming militias Said Sadr was

uncontrollable

(Musings On Iraq Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Commander General Suleimani And His Role In Iraq, An Interview With The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins)

2008 British sent military trainers to Basra to help ISF during Charge of Knights op against Mahdi Army

2008 Fmr Under Sec of Def Doug Feith claimed US invasion of Iraq prevented next terrorist attack on US

2009 Basra Gov Waeli escaped IED probably done by Special Groups or Mahdi Army

2010 World Bank gave $250 mil loan to Iraq to help with budget

2010 UNAMI held meeting between Hadbaa and Kurdish Alliance in Ninewa to try to repair relations

(Musings On Iraq Tit For Tat In Ninewa)

(Musings On Iraq Arab-Kurdish Divide Over New Ninewa Provincial Council)

2011 Speaker Nujafi said parliament would work with provinces to deal with detainees in response to

protests

2011 PM Maliki said ministries could reform in 100 days to respond to protests Didn’t happen

2011 Govt talks with 5 insurgent groups broke down

2011 Islamic Union and Islamic Group in KRG called for govt to step down and interim one formed to

carry out reforms due to protests

(Musings On Iraq interview with journalist Wladimir Van Wilgenburg on 2011 KRG protests)

2012 Report US Amb Jeffrey met with PM Maliki 9 times since start of year to try to mediate Baghdad vs

Irbil argument

2012 New KRG cabinet under Premier Nechirvan Barzani sworn in Opposition boycotted ceremony

2012 Pres Barzani said Iraq could become a dictatorship again due to PM Maliki

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq From War To A New Authoritarianism)

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

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

2012 Report Shell was considered singing oil deal with KRG but backed out after decided to focus on

Basra Major oil companies more interested in KRG due to problems with Baghdad including red tape infrastructure bottlenecks

2013 Iran delivered bodies of Iraqi militiamen killed fighting for it in Syria

2013 National Alliance delegation went to KRG to try to end Kurds boycott of govt over budget

(Musings On Iraq What’s To Gain From the Kurdish Alliance’s Boycott Of Iraq’s Government?)

2013 PM Maliki said he was open to better ties with Turkey which US had been pushing

2013 Iraq threatened legal action against Turkey for oil deals with Kurdistan

2013 1^st shipment of Kurdish oil sold on international market

2013 PM Maliki said he would form a majority govt and not follow sectarian quotas anymore

2014 25 families fled Jurf al-Sakhr, Babil as ISIS moved into area from Anbar

2014 Sadrists began campaign for national elections calling for majority govt and end to sectarian quotas

2015 Tribes claimed 400 buildings burned in Tikrit after liberation Human Rights Watch found

evidence of 75 houses destroyed in Qadisiya neighborhood of Tikrit since it was freed

(Musings On Iraq Divisions Over Iraq War Exposed In Victory In Tikrit)

2015 Iraqi military spokesman said some Hashd took part in looting in Tikrit Said they were undermining

the victory

2015 Speaker Jabouri said there was looting in Tikrit Sadr called for end of looting in Tikrit

2015 KDP arrested Haider Sesho in Sinjar for forming his own militia and siding with Baghdad

2015 President and VPs said that tribes in Anbar and Ninewa should be armed to fight IS

2016 Supreme Council said Abadi’s technocratic cabinet was not serious move

(Musings On Iraq interview with Reidar Visser on PM Abadi’s reform program)

(Musings On Iraq Complaints About Iraq PM Abadi Undermine His Cabinet Reshuffle)

2016 Sadrists complained ruling parties not supporting reforms even though public had called for them

via protests

(Musings On Iraq interview with Cambridge’s Michael Clark on Sadr, protests and PM Abadi’s reforms)

2016 Report Kurdish official said security deteriorating in Tuz Kharmato due to Turkmen Hashd

killings and kidnappings

2017 Iraqi air force dropped leaflets over west Mosul again telling civilians to stay in their homes

during battle to free city

(Musings On Iraq Mosul Campaign Day 170-171, Apr 4-5, 2017)

2017 Head of Ninewa Ops Command said Iraqis using fewer aristrikes in west Mosul due to civilian

casualties

2017 Civil Defense officer said 278 bodies had been taken from building hit by US air strike in west

Mosul Spokesman for Golden Div said only 61 bodies had been recovered Defense Min claimed air strike not responsible

(Musings On Iraq Mosul Campaign Day 172-173, Apr 6-7, 2017)

2017 Report Hashd loyal to Ayatollah Sistani told to do social work Removing mines leftover from Iran-Iraq War tutoring students rebuilding school Helped rebuild Tikrit Univ Hashd leader Abu Muhandis tried to cut off pay to 1 of them Al Abbas Div for not following his orders

2018 Comm to Protect Journalists said 15 reporters assaulted 7 arrested for covering protests in KRG

2018 Pres Masum asked Turkey to withdrew its forces from Iraq Didn’t happen

2020 Report Nov 2018 US sanctioned Mohammed Abd al-Hadi Farhat of Lebanon Accused

of advising Hashd for Hezbollah Worked with Iranian Rev Guards Involved in money laundering for Iran in Iraq

2020 Female activist assassinated insider her house in Dhi Qar Came after 2 days of clashes

between protests and ISF that killed 3 protesters

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Security In Iraq Mar 22-28, 2022

There were only 6 incidents reported in Iraq from March 22-28. One was by a pro-Iran and the other 5 were by the Islamic State. This has been the general state of security in the country for the last 6 months.