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| (ISIS) |
1922 New cabinet formed under PM Abd al-Rahman al-Gaylani
1968 Bakr govt said willing to follow through with Arif govt’s 12 point program for Kurds
(Musings On Iraq review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurds, A Modern History)
(Musings On Iraq review The Kurdish Revolt 1961-1970)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq Since 1958, From Revolution To Dictatorship)
1982 Iran called off Op Ramadan invasion of Basra At its peak Iran seized 300 sq km of Iraqi territory By
end only held 80 sq km US est Iran lost 14,000 casualties Iraq lost 8700 casualties and 1700 prisoners
(Musings On Iraq Remembering The Iran-Iraq War Interview With Author Anthony Tucker-Jones)
(Musings On Iraq The Iran-Iraq War Interview with Author Tom Cooper)
(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 Last Kuwaiti resistance to Iraqi invasion ended
(Musings On Iraq review Desert Storm, Volume 1)
1990 Iraqi troops crossed into Saudi territory three times by accident
1990 Iraq ambassador to US denied Kuwait invasion happened Claimed it was internal affair
1990 Amnesty Intl said Iraqi army had arrested Iraqi exiles in Kuwait
1990 Arab League said it would mediate dispute between Iraq and Kuwait after invasion
1990 2nd NSC meeting on Kuwait invasion Bush said he agreed with Thatcher that Iraq’s
actions could not stand and regional leaders were just talking about accepting the situation even though didn’t like it Natl Sec Adv Scowcroft said US would not accommodate Iraq Def Sec Cheney said Iraq was close to Saudi oil fields and if didn't take them would threaten them in the future Dep Sec State Eagleburger said US couldn’t allow seizing countries in post-Cold War world Joint Chiefs head Powell said US could bomb Iraq or deploy troops to protect Saudi Arabia CIA Dir Webster said Iraq would invade Saudi Arabia Powell didn’t believe that Agreed force would be used if necessary and sanctions would probably fail Bush ordered CIA to come up with destabilization plan against Saddam
(Musings On Iraq review from storm to Freedom, America’s Long War with Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review The Bush Administrations and Saddam Hussein, Deciding on Conflict)
1990 Bush met Saudi Amb to US Bandar and convinced him to support US troops being sent to his
country
1998 Tariq Aziz met UN inspectors Complained they were focusing upon minor issues not important to
disarmament Said dragging out process at behest of US Demanded that Iraq be certified WMD free and inspections end Aziz said Iraq had nothing else to declare about its weapons programs Chief UN inspector Butler said Iraq had not provided evidence to prove claim it had declared all of its weapons programs
(Musings On Iraq review The Saddam Tapes)
(Musings On Iraq review Out Of The Ashes, The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein)
(Musings On Iraq review The Greatest Threat, Iraq, Weapons of Mass Destruction, And The Growing Crisis Of Global Security)
(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)
2004 Sadr ordered his followers to seize Najaf shrine and attack Coalition forces in south starting 2nd
Battle of Najaf
(Musings On Iraq A Divided Sadr Trend)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 14 Fighting To The Elections, August-December 2004)
(Musings On Iraq review Battle For The City Of The Dead)
(Musings On Iraq review US Marines in Battle An-Najaf August 20014)
2004 Mahdi Army kidnapped 18 police demanding release of their militiamen in return for freeing
officers
2005 Integrity Commission investigated corrupt deals made by Allawi’s Def Min One deal was
with Poland’s Bumar that included helicopters that turned out to be 28 yrs old Another deal was for ammunition which cost four times more than it was worth
(Musings On Iraq review The Occupation of Iraq, Winning The War, Losing The Peace)
(Musings On Iraq Corruption In Iraq An Interview With Stuart Bowen Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction)
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Trouble Fighting Corruption Interview With Vincent Foulk Former US Anti-Graft Official)
2005 Report Defense Min lacked capacity to pay supply recruit and replace personnel and carry out
promotions or deliver spare parts
2006 CENTCOM Cmdr Gen Abizaid told Senate Iraq could fall into civil war if violence continued
2006 Report outgoing UK Amb to Iraq said Iraq would be unstable for 5-10 yrs Said Iraq could breakup
along ethnosectarian lines Said had to stop Mahdi Army from becoming like Hezbollah
2006 Inter Min Bolani said rogue elements within his ministry Told parliament new uniforms and IDs
would be made to distinguish between real and fake police Inter Min only ordered 25,000 new uniforms for force of 145,000 Said he would root out corrupt police and those accused of torture and would show results by end of August
(Musings On Iraq US Army History of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 20 Baghdad Burns, Summer-Fall 2006)
(Musings On Iraq interview with Jerry Burke police and Interior Min adviser on how Badr took over Interior Ministry)
2006 Report some neighborhoods in Baghdad set up checkpoints and refused to allow police in without
US troops accompanying them
(Musings On Iraq review Voices From Iraq, A People’s History, 2003-2009)
2006 Report of 14,000 planned reconstruction projects in Iraq more than 500 had not been started
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction said start of US reconstruction effort was confused overwhelmed lacked coordination and planning
2007 Reports Iraqi parties talking about replacing PM Maliki after Iraqi Accordance Front and Sadrists
boycotted cabinet and parliament
2007 Report Maliki govt intentionally releasing lower casualty figures for violence in Iraq to downplay
insurgency Govt said 25 dead and 100 wounded in car bombing in Baghdad Later local officials said 92 dead and 127 wounded
2008 Report UK made ceasefire deal with Sadrists in Basra Would release all Mahdi Army prisoners and in
return UK would withdraw from city Allowed Mahdi Army to take over most of city
2009 Report PM Maliki met with Asaib Ahl Al-Haq Claimed group renounced violence and wanted to run
in 2010 elections Agreed to release AAH members held by US Part of plan for Maliki to undermine Sadr before vote
(Musings On Iraq League Of Righteous Breaks Off talks With Baghdad)
(Musings On Iraq Asaib Ahl Al-Haq From A Breakaway Sadr Militia To Defenders Of Iraq)
2009 VP Abdul Mahdi criticized Interior Min for announcing his bodyguards robbed Rafidain
Bank Claimed he led to their arrests They stole $6.8 mil and killed 8 guards Hid money in Abdul Azzi al-Hakim’s office
2010 Report By Mar 2010 only 40% of sahwa integrated into govt All were supposed to be
integrated by end of 09 Govt didn’t have logistics or resources to integrate them PM Maliki didn’t trust sahwa Govt rejected many Arrested others
(Musings On Iraq How Many Sons of Iraq Have Actually Been Integrated By Baghdad?)
2012 Report 1st Batt of 4th Iraqi Army Div mainly Kurds Deployed in Diyala Said commander corrupt
discriminated against them stole their salaries Asked KRG to transfer them to peshmerga
2012 Kurdish Coalition demanded that Baghdad pay oil companies working in KRG Said would be
concession for KRG restarting oil exports for Baghdad
2013 Was shootout between Sadrists and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq in Sadr City Asaib Ahl Al-Haq stormed a
Sadrist mosque Killed 1 Wounded another Afterward Asaib Ahl Al-Haq leader shot and killed Mahdi Army leader Then Mahdi Army kidnapped Asaib Ahl Al-Haq leader Led to further shooting Sadr attacked Asaib Ahl Al-Haq for being murderous group with no religion
2014 IS seized Sinjar Zumar Wana in Ninewa Peshmerga withdrew without a fight Began massacre and
enslavement of Yazidis 20 Yazidis killed in Solagh 50-60 executed in Qahtanya 85-90 killed in Qiniyah
(Musings On Iraq Kurdish Government Tries to Create New Narrative Of What Happened To Iraq’s Yazidis)
(Musings On Iraq interview with AUIS’s Christine van den Toorn on what happened to Yazidis when IS invaded Sinjar)
2014 IS attacked north into Irbil
2014 Report Iranian Rev Guard colonel killed in Iraq in Samarra Was 3rd Guard to die since fall of Mosul
2014 Democratic Union Party (PYD) said it sent its fighters People’s Protection Units (YPG) to help fight
IS in Ninewa
2015 Protest in Pirzin Irbil over power cuts and water shortages
2015 KRG Natural Resource Min said it would pay expenses of oil companies operating in region
Said it would start paying past bills start of 2016
2015 PM Abadi said officials rejected his idea of cutting salaries of top officials to deal with
budget problems
2015 Pres Barzani gave speech on anniversary of IS seizing Sinjar Said would be revenge vs IS
Said Sinjar would be liberated Said Peshmerga was reason IS stopped Peshmerga fled Sinjar without a fight in 2014
2016 Report Peshmerga commander in Sinjar said he withdrew his men when he heard IS were
approaching dist in 2014
2017 Sadr called for mass demonstrations over passage of provincial council law
2017 Iraq Human Rights Observatory said Fallujah blocked IS families from returning Said tribes
and locals wanted revenge
2017 Report Hashd emptied Jurf al-Sakhr dist in Babil of people and wouldn’t allow anyone back
2018 Protests in Baghdad 2 in Basra Najaf Karbala Qadisiya Muthanna Babil Dhi Qar Maysan for better
services
2018 IS began two days of blowing up power towers in Kirkuk Ninewa Salahaddin Diyala
2019 Hikma MP said he had docs showing Def Min Shammari appointed his brother
director of military housing dept Water Min appointed his nephews to jobs in ministry
2020 Defense Min said it would take legal action against those that killed protesters Did nothing
(Musings On Iraq UN Report On Violence Against Iraqi Protesters)
(Musings On Iraq United Nations Faults Iraq For Failing To Protect Protesters)
2020 Protests in Dhi Qar Muthanna over services
View the Iraq History Timelines
Musings On Iraq has been mentioned several times in articles dealing with the current political crisis. Paul Iddon asked me about the leaked Nouri al-Maliki tapes in "Al-Maliki audio leaks hold clues to Iraq's failed process of government formation" in the Arab News. Wladimir van Wilgenburg mentioned me in "UN envoy meets with Qais Al-Khazali on Iraq government formation" for Kurdistan 24. Finally I was quoted in "Who is Moqtada Al Sadr? The Iraqi warlord who claims to fight corruption" in The National.
 |
| (BBC) |
1914 Ottomans signed alliance with Germany that would bring Mesopotamia into WW1
1922 Iraqi National Party formed 1 of 1st in country Rejected UK Mandate and Anglo-Iraq Treaty
1924 Yasin al-Hashemi became 4th PM Would be PM twice Was ordered to organize elections
for an assembly to draft a constitution Keep Mosul from Turkey Deal with govt being broke
(Musings On Iraq review The Chatham House Version and other Middle-Eastern Studies)
1933 Iraqis met with French Told Assyrians couldn’t stay in Syria Assyrians had been disarmed
voluntarily Only 415 had gone to Syria Were another 350 on border on Iraqi side Iraqis asked whether Assyrians would be given back weapons when returned but French said nothing
(Musings On Iraq review The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review State and Society in Iraq)
1933 King Faisal returned to Iraq from UK to find daily protests calling for the elimination
of Assyrians
1954 Regent asked Nuri al-Said to be Iraq’s PM 8th of 9 times Immediately went after opposition
Deported and took away citizenship from leaders Outlawed joining Peace Partisans and Democratic Youth Banned unions in govt offices Police could ban any meetings
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq Under General Nuri, My Recollections of Nuri al-Said, 1954-1958)
(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)
(Musings On Iraq review A History of Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Is Iraq’s Prime Minister Maliki More Like Premier Nuri al-Sa’id Than Saddam? An Interview With Historian Phebe Marr)
(Musings On Iraq Revolutionary Times, Gen. Qasim And Iraq’s 1958 Coup, Interview With Western Kentucky’s Prof. Juan Romero)
1968 Iraq announced it would seek better ties with Soviet Union and China
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq Since 1958, From Revolution To Dictatorship)
1983 Iraqi forces retreated 15 mi south of Mehran Iran central front back to Iraqi border Iraq launched
counterattack stopping Iranian Op Wa al-Fajr 3 Iranian forces dug in around Mehran
(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)
1986 Saddam offered peace agreement to Iran Was rejected by Tehran
1987 Iraq bombed Oshnaviyah, Iran with mustard gas wounding 2,680 people
(Musings On Iraq Remembering The Iran-Iraq War Interview With Author Anthony Tucker-Jones)
(Musings On Iraq The Iran-Iraq War Interview with Author Tom Cooper)
(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)
1989 Ahmed Chalabi’s Petra Bank in Jordan closed and books seized by govt for having faked its books
Would uncover other bad practices by bank including embezzlement bad investments and more
(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)
1990 Saddam invaded Kuwait originally claiming there was a coup and emir called on Iraq for help
Saddam then changed justification for invasion by saying an opposition govt had overthrown Sabah family and asked for help
(Musings On Iraq review the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait)
(Musings On Iraq review Desert Storm, Volume 1)
(Musings On Iraq review Out Of The Ashes, The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein)
(Musings On Iraq review Unholy Babylon, The Secret History of Saddam’s War)
(Musings On Iraq review The Outlaw State, Saddam Hussein’s Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis)
(Musings On Iraq Review The Weight of a Mustard Seed, The Intimiate Story of an Iraqi General and His Family During Thirty Years of Tyranny)
1990 Iraq said it would only be in Kuwait for days-weeks until Provisional Free Kuwait Govt asked it to
leave
1990 Iraq accused Kuwait of being involved in foreign and Zionist plots
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq in Wartime, Soldiering, Martyrdom, and Remembrance)
1990 Foreign Min Tariq Aziz called in ambassadors from US USSR UK France China Told them talks
with Kuwait failed Iraqi troops entered Kuwait at request of Kuwaitis Said would withdraw when new govt set up
1990 Most of Arab world did not report on Iraq’s Kuwait invasion until 2 days later
1990 Kuwait’s ruling Sabah family tipped off about invasion US flew them to Bahrain and then Saudi
Arabia Called for resistance against the Iraqis
1990 Iraq could not find any credible Kuwaitis to establish a provisional govt to run country for it
1990 Iraq banned foreign travel for its nationals
1990 Bush NSC meeting focused on how Iraq invasion of Kuwait would allow Baghdad to control oil
market Wondered if Iraq would invade Saudi Arabia to seize its oil Made no decision on what overall policy to take Decided to go to UN gain international support impose sanctions
(Musings On Iraq review from storm to Freedom, America’s Long War with Iraq)
1990 Natl Sec Adv Scowcroft talked to Bush said he wanted to address next NSC meeting and express
steadfastly that US would not allow Kuwait invasion to stand Bush agreed Discussed using force to expel Iraq from Kuwait
(Musings On Iraq review The Bush Administrations and Saddam Hussein, Deciding on Conflict)
1990 NSC’s Near East Dir Haas drafted memo on using sanctions and military options to deal with Iraq’s
invasion of Kuwait
1990 Bush met PM Thatcher who said Kuwait invasion couldn't stand and troops had to be sent to Middle
East Bush agreed Thatcher said that if Iraq’s aggression was allowed to stand no small country could ever feel safe
1990 US stopped loan guarantees to Iraq due to Kuwait invasion Froze Iraqi and Kuwait assets in US
1990 Bush told reporters he was not thinking of using force in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait
1990 Joint Chiefs chairman Gen Powell told Gen Schwarkopf he thought US would go to war over Saudi
Arabia but not Kuwait
1990 UN Resolution 660 demanded Iraq’s immediate withdrawal from Kuwait Said Iraq and Kuwait had to
use talks to resolve problems
1990 Joint US-USSR statement condemned Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait
1990 King Hussein met with Mubarak Talked about face saving means for Iraq to withdraw
from Kuwait
1990 Mubarak wanted to keep Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait an Arab only affair Called other
regional leaders
1990 King Fahd tried calling Saddam 5 times When Saddam finally answered said invasion
was not a big deal and not to worry Fahd called for Iraq to withdraw and offered talks
1992 Kuwait and Saudi officials argued that Iraq should be divided along ethnosectarian lines to stop threat
of country to Persian Gulf
2002 DIA report on debate over aluminum tubes Iraq tried to buy DIA sided with CIA that tubes were for
centrifuges Said matched 1950s German centrifuge design Were for rockets
(Musings On Iraq How A Contested Aluminum Tubes Story Became The Basis For War With Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)
2004 Marines just given control of Najaf came under attack 1st time by Mahdi Army in city as passed near
Sadr’s house Led to attacks by Mahdi Army in Baghdad, Kuwat, Nasiriya, Amara, Basra
(Musings On Iraq review US Marines in Battle An-Najaf August 20014)
(Musings On Iraq A Divided Sadr Trend)
(Musings On Iraq US Army History of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 14 Fighting To The Elections, August-December 2004)
2004 Al Qaeda in Iraq War Min Abu Masri executed Turkish civilian Murat Yuce
2007 Saudis told Sec State Rice and Def Sec Gates that they were not funding Iraqi insurgency Said
wouldn’t support Iraqi govt Said Iraq was a threat because terrorists could come from there into Saudi Arabia
(Musings On Iraq The Saudi Role In The Iraqi Insurgency)
(Musings On Iraq review A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, The Saudi Struggle For Iraq)
2008 Report on wave of female suicide bombers in Iraq Most had family member killed or arrested and
wanted revenge or maintain family honor Main target Sahwa and Iraqi forces
(Musings On Iraq The Rise of Female Suicide Bombers)
(Musings On Iraq Motivations Behind Female Suicide Bombers)
(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)
2009 Maliki govt transitioned 1st batch of 3,331 sahwa Were assigned to ministries and had to apply for
jobs instead of given them as promised
2009 PM Maliki went to Kurdistan Met Pres Barzani Ended war of words between two over KRG’s
oil policy for a short period
2010 Iraq signed memo of understanding to import natural gas from Iran for 7 yrs to fuel power plants
2010 Report Iraq had to invest in infrastructure and transportation before it could exploit natural
gas Executive said Baghdad offering confusing terms in bidding for gas fields Iraq was going to auction 3 gas fields Currently produced 1.65 bil/cubic/ft of gas/day
2010 Report Iraq talked about exporting natural gas but had no infrastructure to do so Needed
pipelines reservoirs gathering stations
2011 Car bomb at Holy Family Syriac Church in Kirkuk 2 other car bombs defused at other churches in
city
2011 Joint Chiefs head Adm Mullen visited Iraq Urged Iraq to allow troop extension Demanded US troops
have immunity
(Musings On Iraq review The Endgame, The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from
George W. Bush to Barack Obama)
2011 Report Demand was for 14,000 mw Supply dropped from 6000 mw to 5000 mw Reduce power
supply to under 8 hrs a day 1 cause was Oil Min not delivering fuel to power plants
2012 Turkey’s Foreign Min Davotoglu visited Kirkuk City which Iraq’s Foreign Ministry called
interference in Iraqi affairs
2012 Report KRG said it would export oil for one month for Baghdad If didn’t pay its outstanding debts
KRG would stop Oil companies in KRG said didn’t want to export because hadn’t been paid for 2009 and 2011 exports
2012 Report Iraqi court turned down request for US to extradite Hezbollah operative Daqduq He was
liaison between Iranian Rev Guard Hezbollah and militias
2012 Report PM Maliki deployed army to northern Ninewa to try to pressure Pres Barzani to stop arming
and training Syrian Kurds Army confronted by Peshmerga
2013 PM Maliki interview on TV blamed Dep PM Shahristani for blackouts Said Shahristani gave him
false info about electricity industry Blamed Sadr for attacks upon cafes in Baghdad and prisons
2013 100s protested in Baghdad over decline in security Some activists arrested and beaten by army
2014 Report IS took control of 2 oil fields in Ninewa Helped fund group
2014 IS started attack upon Sinjar Ninewa KDP withdrew without a fight
2014 Report Head of KRG presidential council went to Turkey and asked for help fighting IS Got nothing
PM Barzani said Turkey was sending some aid but Iran immediately came in after fall of Mosul and provided aid Iranian Rev Guard’s Gen Suleimani went to Irbil several times Helped Peshmerga in Salahaddin
2015 Protests in Seysaib in Irbil and Dhi Qar Babil and Najaf over lack of services
2017 Kirkuk govt filed lawsuit against Maliki and PM Abdi for not implementing Art 140 over
disputed areas
2017 PM Abadi said return of displaced was his top priority Govt had no plan to help
2017 Asaib Ahl Al-Haq said it would run in next elections
2018 Protesters blocked road to West Qurna 1 oil field in Basra Gave govt 48 hours to answer their
demands
2018 UN Human Rights Comm condemned Abadi’s handing of protests Demonstrators had been
attacked shot and more
2018 PM Abadi signed executive order demanding Hashd leave Mosul and Ninewa Plains Hashd
were to be under control of Ninewa Ops Command Hashd ignored order
2018 Report Rising salinity in Basra shut down water purification system Destroyed agricultural
land Killed fish and livestock Iraq only able to farm 1/3 of arable land because of water shortages salinity politics Cut production of rice and wheat due to water shortages Iraq tried to make deals with Iran and Turkey to increase water supply on Tigris and Euphrates but did little
2018 Report Salahaddin govt asked PM Abadi to have Hashd withdraw from province Head of
council said Hashd caused instability Came after 3 sheikhs killed in Dujail and blamed on Hashd
2019 Report Agriculture Min said Iraq self-sufficient in wheat 1st time since 2003 Due to
tariffs on imports
2020 Protests in Diwaniya Dhi Qar Wasit Muthanna over poor services and attack upon an activist
2021 Kazemi govt announced it would continue monthly payments to the KRG even though it
wasn’t complying with the 2021 budget
(Musings On Iraq Baghdad To Send Budget Payment To KRG For 2nd Time)
View the Iraq History Timelines
Coordination Framework followers protesting outside Baghdad's Green Zone (Al-Masalah)
Iraq’s political forces escapade
an explosive situation on Monday. The Coordination Framework called
out its followers to take to the streets threatening to seize control of
government buildings to counter the Sadrists’ occupation of the parliament
building. The idea of two mobs of hundreds of people possibly leading to clashes
and armed confrontations scared the leaders of the Framework who backed down.
1921 Gertrude Bell wrote US diplomat that England carried King Faisal on its shoulders into power
(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell And Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell, Explorer of the Middle East)
(Musings On Iraq movie review Letters from Baghdad)
(Musings On Iraq review Desert Queen, The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia)
1928 1st Iraqi students sent to Royal Air Force college in England for training to form first pilots of
Royal Iraqi Air Force
(Musings On Iraq review Wings of Iraq, Volume 1: The Iraqi Air Force, 1931-1970)
1958 Gen Qasim announced Popular Resistance Force as popular militia to support govt Communists took
over organization and went after pan-Arabists
(Musings On Iraq Revolutionary Times, Gen. Qasim And Iraq’s 1958 Coup, Interview With Western Kentucky’s Prof. Juan Romero)
1963 Army took Zebar during Barzani revolt
(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)
1979 22 coup plotters sentenced to death 33 others given prison time
1982 Iran made final attack in Basra as part of Op Ramadan Failed
(Musings On Iraq Remembering The Iran-Iraq War Interview With Author Anthony Tucker-Jones)
(Musings On Iraq The Iran-Iraq War Interview with Author Tom Cooper)
(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)
1982 Dawa bombed Planning Ministry in Baghdad
(Musings On Iraq Interview with Lowy Institution’s Shanahan on history of the Dawa Party)
(Musings On Iraq review The Shi’ite Movement in Iraq)
1990 Iraq walked out on talks with Kuwait held in Saudi Arabia Kuwait offered to cancel Iraq’s oil debts
worth $14-$15 bil and lease Werba Island Kuwait and Saudis offered to pay $10 bil to Iraq for ending dispute Iraq said no and demanded $27 bil
(Musings On Iraq review Unholy Babylon, The Secret History of Saddam’s War)
(Musings On Iraq review The Outlaw State, Saddam Hussein’s Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis)
1990 Revolutionary Command Council and Regional Command met to hear about meeting with Kuwait
No progress Invasion order given
(Musings On Iraq review Out Of The Ashes, The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein)
1990 US intelligence found Iraq moved divisions within 3 miles of Kuwait border
1990 Chief DIA analyst for Middle East believed Iraq would invade Kuwait CIA thought invasion
imminent
1990 Pentagon meeting Agreed Iraq would not invade Kuwait Joint Chiefs head Powell said since Iraq
totalitarian govt and US didn’t have any good intel inside regime couldn’t tell Saddam’s intentions Thought deploying troops posturing by Baghdad and not for an invasion Def Sec Cheney said couldn’t tell whether Iraq meant to pressure Kuwait or use military force
(Musings On Iraq review The Bush Administrations and Saddam Hussein, Deciding on Conflict)
1990 US Central Command cmdr Gen Schwarzkopf told Def Sec Cheney and Joint Chiefs staff Iraq was
going to invade Kuwait
1990 NSC Deputies Committee decided Iraq was going to invade Kuwait after artillery units detected
Committee said Bush should send Saddam warning not to invade Kuwait
1990 NSC’s Haas convinced Natl Sec Adv Scowcroft to talk to Bush about warning Saddam not to
invade Kuwait
1990 NSC’s Haas and NatlSecAdv Scowcroft convinced Bush to call Saddam to warn him about invading
Kuwait Then got news of invasion
1990 Egyptian intelligence said Iraqi invasion of Kuwait imminent
2001 NSC meeting Sec Def Rumsfeld presented plan for US to back Iraqi opposition and possible
military action Included backing INC’s revolt plan
2002 Senate Foreign Relations Committee began hearings on possible postwar Iraq scenarios Senator
Biden warned that unless US gained international support it could spend $70-$80 bil rebuilding Iraq
(Musings On Iraq review Leap of Faith, Hubris Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy
Tragedy)
2002 Iraq invited Chief UN Inspector Blix to Baghdad for talks about new inspection regime
(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)
2002 CIA made 1st paper explaining assessment of aluminum tubes Said they were for nuclear program
Said high specifications showed they were for centrifuges Were for rockets
(Musings On Iraq How A Contested Aluminum Tubes Story Became The Basis For War With Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq review The WMD Mirage, Iraq’s Decade of Deception and America’s False Premise for War)
2002 Clinton’s National Security Adviser Sandy Berger OpEd in Washington Post said just because US
could overthrow Iraq didn't mean it should do it Berger said power did not mean legitimacy
2003 CIA Iraq station chief showed Bremer document from Saddam’s secret police calling for
sabotage looting ambushes Suggested Saddam planned insurgency Later proven false Was for guerrilla tactics against invasion
(Musings On Iraq Did Saddam Plan The Insurgency In Iraq?)
2003 New US training program to rebuild Iraq’s army began
(Musings On Iraq Special Inspector General For Iraq Reconstruction’s Hard Lessons Chapter 12 Reconstructing Iraqi Security Forces)
(Musings On Iraq review The U.S. Army In The Iraq War: Volume 1, Invasion, Insurgency, Civil
War, 2003-2006)
2003 After trip to Iraq DepDefSec Wolfowitz said most Iraqis glad US liberated them from Saddam
Said US commanders rejected more troops to help secure Iraq Said Iraq could pay for its own reconstruction using oil and frozen assets Said invading Iraq was crucial to fight international terrorism Said invasion of Iraq and creating democracy could be start of transforming entire Middle East
(Musings On Iraq review Overreach, Delusions of Regime Change In Iraq)
(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)
2004 Al Qaeda in Iraq bombed 6 churches in Baghdad and Mosul 12 killed 71 wounded
2005 Battle of Haditha began
2005 Oil Minister Uloom announced gas cooking gas and kerosene rationing to ease to help with
shortages
2005 Constitution commission said it was deadlocked because didn’t have authority to make major
decisions
(Musings On Iraq How Faults With Iraq’s Constitution Undermines The Country, Interview with Constitutional Scholar Zaid Al-Ali)
2005 Ex-CIA officer claimed spring 01 received intelligence that Iraq had ended its uranium enrichment
program years ago
2007 Iraqi Accordance Front withdrew 6 ministers from cabinet claiming PM Maliki was excluding them
from govt that PM was sectarian and no reconciliation
(Musings On Iraq Sunni Accordance Front Returns To Maliki’s Government Amidst Recriminations and Challenges)
2007 US intel report Iraq polarized State and ISF weak Increased extremism US needed to increase ISF
loyal to govt Sectarian politics likely to continue Iraqi elite unlikely to agree upon reconciliation Shiites insecure about holding power Led to mistrust and lack of reconciliation Many Sunnis didn’t accept minority status Sunnis thought Shiites Iranian tools ISF short on equipment and couldn’t handle security
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq After America, Strongmen, Sectarians, Resistance)
2007 US Govt Accountability Office found Pentagon couldn’t account for $19.2 bil worth of equipment it
gave to ISF Pentagon also said it only delivered 1/3 of equipment meant for Iraqi army and less than half of equipment for police
2007 Saudi Prince Faisal said Saudi delegation would go to Baghdad to talk about re-
opening embassy that had been closed since 1990 Didn’t happen
(Musings On Iraq review A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, The Saudi Struggle For Iraq)
2008 PM Maliki issued one month ultimatum for squatters to vacate houses Part of govt plan to get
displaced to return by kicking out people living in their homes
2008 Kurdish parties in Kirkuk asked for KRG to annex province as symbolic protest of provincial
election law that included power sharing in Kirkuk
(Musings On Iraq Kurds Come Out Swinging)
(Musings On Iraq review Iraq After America, Strongmen, Sectarians, Resistance)
2008 PM Maliki offered Musawiya tribe limited autonomy in return for joining Tribal Support Councils
2010 Report Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction investigated 54 projects Found 25%
were not completed or not maintained by Iraqis
2012 Russia’s Gazprom signed deal for 2 oil blocks in KRG Russia’s Bashneft and UK’s Premier Oil
signed deal with Oil Ministry for 1 block
2012 KRG said it would restart oil exports for Baghdad to try to get a new revenue deal with the central
govt
2012 Baghdad blacklisted France’s Total for singing 2 oil deals with KRG
2012 ISI attacked Taji prison Tried to break its members out to help rebuilding group
2012 Maliki govt had highest casualty figures since Aug 2010 Reported 325 killed 697 wounded Govt
underreported casualties to claim security improved Sign that ISI was returning
2013 Dep PM Shahristani admitted to corruption in electricity industry Said companies were ripping off
govt Claimed it was part of a foreign plot against Iraq
2014 IS set deadline for women to follow Islamic dress code in Sadiya Diyala Burned 3 hair salons in area
Also killed 7 Naqshibandi in dispute to control area
(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Resurgent Insurgency Interview With Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi)
(Musings On Iraq review The Caliphate At War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)
2014 Report KRG paid $75,000 day to keep 3 tankers with its oil out to sea Baghdad threatened buyers
with legal action Led ships to stay at sea US’s Lyndell Basell said it wouldn’t buy anymore KRG oil Was largest buyer in US 1 tanker wen tto Texas US court said to seize the boat Sat in intl waters in Gulf of Mexico 1 tanker in South China Sea offloaded some of its oil to another tank to get around legal problems Meant sold for low price KRG spent est $5 mil on 3 tankers so far
2014 Reports Hezbollah commander killed in Iraq end of Jul in Ninewa Hezbollah sent advisors to help
Iraq vs IS Eset 250-500 Hezbollah advisers in Iraq
(Musings On Iraq Hezbollah’s Role In Iraq)
(Musings On Iraq Interview Iran And Its Shiite Militias Mobilize In Iraq Interview With Phillip Smyth)
2014 Golden Div Army Federal Police volunteers launched new op to clear Jurf al-Sakhr Diyala Day after
district declared freed for 3rd time
2015 Protests in Basra and Karbala over lack of electricity and services PM Abadi announced 4 day
holiday due to rising temperatures
2015 KRG said PKK should leave Kurdistan Also called for PKK-Turkey peace talks to resume
2016 Def Min Obeidi accused senior MPs of corruption Accused Speaker Jabouri and Solution
bloc head Karbuli of corruption in armaments and HUMVEE contracts Also accused MPs of appointing officers in army
2016 Anbar councilman said 70% of Ramadi infrastructure destroyed Said Anbar didn’t have
much budget to pay for it
2017 Report Towards end of Mosul Battle Hashd got into argument with PM Abadi and stopped op
to clear Iraq-Syrian border in Anbar Army was supposed to complete op but didn’t Clearing border put on hold
2017 Ninewa govt said 85% of infrastructure and govt buildings in WMosul destroyed 65-70% in
EMosul Old City over 90%
2018 Protests in Dhi Qar Basra Muthanna Najaf 4th day of sit in protest in Muthanna
2018 Auditing report done by private firm released by KRG After expenses KRG earned $3.8 bil
last 6 months of 2017 Same time advanced $83.8 bil by oil traders for future oil exports Sold its oil for below market price
2018 Regiment of Saraya al-Salam arrived in Dujail to help tribes against Asaib Ahl Al-Haq 3
sheikhs kidnapped at checkpoint Were killed Salahaddin governor attacked Asaib Ahl Al-Haq for deaths
2019 Report Hashd wanted to create its own command center PM Abadi and PM Abdul
Mahdi said no Wanted to create military academy
2019 Report Pro-Iran Hashd made demands of PM Abdul Mahdi to follow his executive
order Said Peshmerga had to be treated the same as Hashd Law had to be passed to remove US forces Hashd needed representation within security and military institutions Hashd never followed executive order
2019 Report Iraqis and companies linked to Iran used Central Bank of Iraq auctions to get
around US sanctions Used middlemen to buy dollars then sent to Iran using money exchanges
2019 Report Iran moved some of its armaments like missiles to Iraq after Israeli air strikes
upon pro-Iran groups in Syria
2020 Protests in Wasit Basra Dhi Qar Basra Video posted of teen arrested by ISF and beaten and
tortured for protesting
(Musings On Iraq UN Report On Violence Against Iraqi Protesters)
(Musings On Iraq United Nations Faults Iraq For Failing To Protect Protesters)
2021 Report Lukoil ExxonMobile BP tried to divest from oil investments in Iraq Part of majors
leaving Iraq due to red tape lack of infrastructure etc
View the Iraq History Timelines
1914 Sheikh of Islam called for jihad against British and French during WWI Call was repeated in all Sunni mosques in Mosul, Baghdad a...
