New Kurdish Govt Moving Forward Despite KDP-PUK Split

Nechirvan Barzani the new KRG President (KRG)

On June 10 Nechirvan Barzani was named as the new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) president. The next day his cousin Masrour Barzani was named as the regional prime minister. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) boycotted the session where the president was elected because of its continued disputes with the Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Since the 1990s when Kurdistan became an autonomous region the KDP and PUK have shared power. Now however, the KDP no longer believes in that arrangement, which is holding up the formation of the new KRG.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 19

1914 Germany and Britain asked Ottomans for oil concessions in Mosul and Baghdad provinces

1935 UK Ambassador to Iraq said King Ghazi was a playboy who was completely absorbed by his hobbies

and neglected his country

1937 Pan-Arab military officers withdrew their support for head of army Gen Bakr Sidqi

(Musings On Iraq book review The Role of the Military In Politics, A case study of Iraq to 1941)

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

1981 UN Resolution 487 condemned Israel’s destruction of Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor

1985 Iran attacked Qasr e-Shirin central Iran across form Diyala Diversionary attack before Op Al Quds 2

1988 Iraq captured Mehran Iran then handed it over to Mujahedeen e-Khalq’s National Liberation Army

(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)

1996 UN and Iraq began talks on allowing UN inspectors access to sensitive sites

1996 Dep PM Aziz told UN inspectors they got most of their intel from US and UK that were trying to

remove Saddam and that inspectors were making sensitive visits to provoke a crisis on US-UK’s behalf

(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)

1996 CIA was hoping to cause a crisis between Iraq and UN inspectors to justify military action against

Saddam that would start coup CA working with ex-Gen Shawani and his sons in Republican Guard

1996 Iraqi intelligence had captured an Iraqi operative involved in CIA coup and rounded up everyone in

plot

(Musings On Iraq article on how US used UN inspectors in coup plot)

(Musings On Iraq book review of Iraq In The Eye of the Storm)

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

1998 UN Res 1175 increased Iraq’s oil export quota to $5.3 bil under Oil For Food program Allowed

importation of equipment to maintain oil industry

2002 US told UK that it was ready for its input on military planning against Iraq

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

2002 Gen Franks briefed Bush on war plans

(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 Def Sec Rumsfeld said that US only fighting small groups of dead enders in Iraq Tried to

compare insurgency in Baghdad to murder rate in Wash DC to say it wasn’t bad

2003 Dep Sec Def Wolfowitz told Congress insurgents were “last remains of a dying cause”

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)

2003 US forces found an old buried centrifuge Claimed proof that Iraq had a nuclear weapons program

(Musings On Iraq article on how poor US intel work led to claim Iraq rebuilt its nuclear weapons program)

2003 US denied that captured Iraqi trailers were anything but mobile weapons labs Inspections showed

they werent

2003 White House acknowledged that State Dep intel questioned whether captured trailers were WMD labs

(Musings On Iraq article on mobile labs story)

2003 Report on Iraq-Niger uranium deal Said VP Cheney got docs on deal from UK Asked for more info

leading to Fmr Amb Wilson’s trip to Niger Article used Wilson as unnamed source who said White House knew Niger story was a lie

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

2006 Bodies of 2 US soldiers kidnapped by Mujahedeen Shura Council in Baghdad found

2007 Iraq ranked No 2 on failed states list by Fund for Peace/Foreign Policy due to civil war Was No 4 in

2006

2008 ISF launched Op Promise of Peace against Sadrists in Maysan

(Musings On Iraq article on Op Promise of Peace)

(Musings On Iraq article on Sadr’s strategy)

2009 Speaker of KRG parliament said KDP and PUK taking $30 mil of KRG budget for themselves

2009 2 British guards kidnapped and killed by Asaib Ahl Al-Haq returned to British embassy In return

AAH members released from prison

(Musings On Iraq article on history of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq)

2010 Protest in Basra over power shortages 1 demonstrator killed by police

2010 Sahwa leader in Diyala warned that ISI using carrot and stick against sahwa members in attempted

comeback in province

2011 Def Sec Gates blamed Iran for giving weapons to Special Groups who were attacking US forces

before withdrawal

(Musings On Iraq article on Iran’s Iraq policy)

2011 1^st Iraqi army unit received artillery from US

2011 PM Maliki govt accused Communist party and civil groups for protests in Baghdad

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

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

2011 2 killed in electricity protests in Basra

2012 Report Iran trying to stop no confidence vote against PM Maliki

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

2012 PM Maliki said Exxon deal with KRG could lead to break up of Iraq Baghdad asked US for help to

stop deal

2012 PM Maliki’s media adv said Baghdad would stop any KRG-Exxon oil deal that involved disputed

areas

2013 Pres Barzani sent draft constitution back to KRG parliament for discussion and passage

2013 Iraqi army claimed it was responsible for split between ISIS and Al Nusra in Syria because it

controlled Iraq-Syria border

2013 Iraqiya Diyala-Sadr list formed new govt in Diyala shutting out State of Law State of Law held

protests against new govt in Diyala Militias blocked roads around Baquba

2013 State of Law and local lists alliance formed new govt in Karbala Sadrists and SIIC shut out

2013 State of Law won head of council in Karbala Sadrists boycotted session

2013 All 12 provinces that had elections formed new govts

2014 PM Maliki ordered govt to pay salaries and benefits to Hashd

2014 State Dept’s McGurk denied US was pushing for removal of PM Maliki

2014 ISIS set up 8 courts in Mosul to run city Was pushing out other insurgent groups that helped take city

2014 Sadr offices announced taking volunteers for new Peace Brigades to fight insurgency

(Musings On Iraq Moqtada al-Sadr And Iraq’s Militia Mobilization)

2014 Fighting in Saqlawiya Anbar after it was declared freed Ishaqi Salahaddin declared freed 2^nd time

but fighting continued

(Musings On Iraq Security In Iraq’s Anbar Shows Battle Against Insurgents Will Be Long And Often Futile)

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Western Front Is Anbar Next To Fall?)

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Northern Front Stalemate In Salahaddin)

View the Iraq History Timelines 

US Sanctions Iraqi Company For Being Front For Iranian Revolutionary Guard

The U.S. Treasury Department recently sanctioned an Iraqi company for helping Iran break sanctions, smuggling weapons to its allies in Iraq, and for funneling money to Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis the deputy commander of the Hashd al-Shaabi who is on America’s terrorist list.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 18

1932 Assyrian religious leader Mar Shimun presented petition to League of Nations Mandate

Commission demanding autonomy for his people

(Musings On Iraq book review of The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq book review State and Society in Iraq)

1972 Iraq and France signed deal to allow France to keep its share of Iraq Petroleum Company in return for

technical aid to run industry France also allowed to buy Iraqi oil at lower prices Agreed to major arms deal

1988 Iraq Op Fury starts working with Mujahadeen e-Khalq started attacking Iranian

            forces using nerve gas to capture Mehran

1988 Iraq Op Fury killed nearly 3500 Iranians and destroyed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard

Division Hit 10 oil fields

(Musings On Iraq interview with Naval Postgraduate School’s Ostovar on history of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard)

(Musings On Iraq book review Vanguard of the Imam, Religion, Politics, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard)

(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)

1990 Intl Islamic Popular Conf backed Iraq against Zionist aggression and conspiracy led by US and

England

1998 Inspectors report to UN Said Iraq not come clean on VX program 1^st denied it worked with it Then

said produced experimental amount that was destroyed Later admitted it produced 1.7 tons of VX but didn’t weaponize it

(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)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Saddam Tapes)

(Musings On Iraq article on the origins of Iraq’s WMD programs)

(Musings On Iraq Chilcot Report Sec 1.1 UK Iraq Strategy 1990 To 2000)

2002 CIA Dir Tenet told Congress couldn’t find evidence for story 9/11 hijacker Atta met with Iraqi intel

officer in Prague in 01

2003 Gen Odierno 4^th Inf Div commander said US wasn’t facing an insurgency in Iraq because wasn’t

organized opposition Said there were attacks on US troops but were insignificant overall

2003 DepSecDef Wolfowitz told Congress US facing an insurgency in Iraq but U.S. could beat it

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraq’s Sunni Insurgency)

2003 Bremer talked with Bush about troop levels in Iraq Bremer didn’t object to drawdown plan but said

they shouldn’t go too low

2003 Bush said plan was to rotate troops into and out of Iraq not to withdraw Said troops levels had to be

maintained

2003 2,000 fired Iraqi soldiers protested outside of Green Zone demanding pensions 1 speaker said they

would attack US forces for humiliating them Threw rocks US soldiers shot and killed 2

2003 Ex-ORHA head Garner met Def Sec Rumsfeld in Washington complained about CPA policies Garner

told Rumsfeld deBaathifiaction disbanding military and Iraq leadership group all wrong but could be fixed

2003 Def Sec Rumsfeld told ex-ORHA head Garner couldn't fix mistakes made by CPA could

            only move forward in Iraq

2003 Def Sec Rumsfeld held press conference for ex-ORHA head Garner who said everything

            going well in Iraq Bremer doing good job

2003 Ex-ORHA head Garner met with Bush said that Iraq going well and Bremer doing good job

2003 David Kay new head of Iraq Survey Group looking for Iraq WMD left for Qatar to run search

2003 Kay switched Iraq Survey Group from search teams going to suspected WMD

            sites to intel op going through Iraqi docs

2003 CIA informed House and Senate Intel committees that it no longer believed Iraq-

            Niger uranium story

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

2004 Al Qaeda in Iraq suicide car bombing at army recruitment center Baghdad killed 35

            wounded 145

2004 9/11 Commission spokesman said it found no evidence of cooperation between

            Iraq and Al Qaeda

2007 US started Operation Arrowhead Ripper to clear Baquba

2008 Los Angeles Times interview with CURVEBALL Iraqi defector in Germany who claimed Iraq had

mobile WMD labs Claimed everything he said was true and he should be treated like a king for helping overthrow Saddam

(Musings On Iraq article on CURVEBALL)

(Musings On Iraq article on mobile labs story)

2011 Shooting between Sadrists and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq in Sadr City

(Musings On Iraq article on history of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq)

2012 Report Gov Nujafi and Hadbaa made deals with Kurds in Ninewa after two opposed each other

2012 2 suicide bombers hit Shiite funeral in Baquba killing 22

2014 Tal Afar, Ninewa declared cleared but wasn’t

2014 PM Maliki said he would not step down in return for U.S. military aid

2014 Joint Chiefs head Gen Dempsey and Def Sec Hagel told congress Iraqi govt had to reach out to Sunnis

to end insurgency

2014 Insurgents kidnapped 17 Shiites from Tuz Kharmato and executed them

2014 Insurgents began attack upon Baiji refinery

2014 New security operation in Jurf al-Sakhr, Babil began

View the Iraq History Timelines 
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Musings On Iraq 11 Year Anniversary!

There used to be dozens and dozens of blogs on Iraq. There was even a blog that documented all the other blogs. Most were by Iraqis in both English and Arabic. Then two things happened. First, Iraqis discovered Facebook and they stopped blogging. Second, when the British and then the Americans withdrew from Iraq all the westerners stopped writing as well. I started researching Iraq in early 2002 to try to discover why the United States was about to go to war, but got into the blogging game late in 2008.

Today is the 11 year anniversary of Musings On Iraq. I’m still going strong and adding more things to write about. In February 2011 I did my first interview and since then I’ve done 138 total. In August 2017 I began the Iraq history timeline. Finally in March 2018 I began writing book reviews and now there are 80 of those. My writings and research have brought me into contact with hundreds of people who I have learned so much from. I’ve been able to go to Japan and Austria as well. I’d like to thank everyone that has helped me over the years and all the readers. Hopefully I’ll still be writing 11 years from now.

Security In Iraq Jun 8-14, 2019

(Iraqi News)

Security remained stable from the first to the second week of June in Iraq. There was no real change in the number of security incidents. However, two of the major Iraqi media outlets that cover security have gone off line and the news has stopped reporting on the Islamic State burning farms. That means there are probably more incidents than were reported so far in June. That is likely as the Islamic State has just begun its annual spring-summer offensive Revenge of the Levant.

This Day In Iraqi History - Jun 17

1927 Lord Cecil said British public opinion was overwhelmingly against staying in Iraq

1954 PM Umari resigned so he could go on annual vacation to Turkey to escape summer heat in Iraq

1981 Col Qaddafi announced he would go to Tehran and Baghdad to try to negotiate

            ceasefire in Iran-Iraq War Libya supported Iran 

1987 Iran Op Fath 7 Iranian Rev Guard and PUK attacked Iraqi 27^th Div supplylines in Kurdistan

(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)

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

1996 UN said Iraq smuggling oil through Iranian waters breaking sanctions

2003 CIA report to Dir Tenet said that Niger-Iraq uranium story was dropped because based upon fake docs

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

2003 CIA report that it found docs at Iraqi scientist’s home that proved Saddam had nuke program Proved

false

2004 PM Allawi promised reprisals against insurgents after suicide bombing of Iraqi army base

2004 Natl Sec Adv Rice told Bremer Bush supported early end to CPA

2004 Bush refuted 9/11 Comm Said Iraq-Al Qaeda had connections and that was why Iraq was a threat

2004 Cheney said 9/11 Comm didn’t look at the overwhelming evidence of Iraq-Al Qaeda connections

Claimed he had intel on Iraq-Al Qaeda ties that 9/11 Comm didn’t That intel later proved false

2005 Constitutional Committee agreed to expand number of Sunnis from 2 to 17 with another 10 as

advisers under heavy US and UK pressure

(Musings On Iraq interview with constitutional scholar Zaid al-Ali on Iraq’s constitution)

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

2007 Report PM Maliki complained to US Cmdr in Iraq Gen Petraeus about Sahwa program

2008 Truck bomb by Mahdi Army or Special Group in Baghdad killed 63 wounded 70 US forces claimed

bombing meant to stop return of displaced Sunnis and provoke sectarian fighting

(Musings On Iraq article on Hurriya bombing)

2009 US held talks with Syria to try to stop foreign fighters travelling through country to Iraq

2011 ISI took responsibility for killing deputy head of deBaathification Comm Lami

2011 Anbar councilman said Syria still supported insurgency

2011 PM Maliki organized second march for his government in Baghdad and Karbala

2011 Protests held in Baghdad and Dhi Qar against corruption Baghdad protesters attacked by PM Maliki

supporters 2^nd time

2012 Sadr said he would not accept a 3^rd term for PM Maliki

2012 PUK’s MP Othman said that KDP wanted PM Maliki out while PUK didn’t

2013 Kataib Hezbollah attacked Mujahedeen e-Khalq camp with rockets

2013 Badr said one of its men died fighting in Syria before its presence officially announced

(Musings On Iraq article on the history of Badr Organization)

2013 Exxon signed 3^rd contract with KRG to explore for oil in Sulaymaniya

2013 Sadrists maintained control of Maysan governorship in new govt

2013 State of Law-SIIC-Sadr alliance formed new govt in Qadisiyah SIIC got governorship 

2014 Security operation to clear Qaim, Anbar began

2014 Tuz Kharmato declared freed

2014 Rawa Ana Saqlawiya Amiriya Fallujah Ramadi Khalidiya in Anbar all declared freed half of them

weren’t

(Musings On Iraq Security In Iraq’s Anbar Shows Battle Against Insurgents Will Be Long And Often Futile)

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Western Front Is Anbar Next To Fall?)

2014 Insurgents attacked 3 neighborhoods in Baquba, Diyala along with Hit and Garma in Anbar

2014 Prisoner that was wounded when Hashd executed 43 prisoners in Baquba was taken from hospital by

police and killed

2014 PM Maliki dismissed Gen Gharawi head of Ninewa Ops Command for fall of Mosul

2014 Hezbollah’s Nasrallah said that Shiite shrines in Iraq needed to be protected from insurgents Said that

Hezbollah would send men to fight in Iraq

(Musings On Iraq Iran And Its Shiite Militias Mobilize In Iraq Interview With Phillip Smyth)

2015 Sadr blamed PM Maliki’s authoritarianism for return of insurgency

2016 PM Abadi prematurely announced liberation of Fallujah

2017 KRG Pres Barzani held meeting and announced that Kurdish independence referendum would happen

9/25/17

View the Iraq History Timelines