Tuesday, May 8, 2018

This Day In Iraqi History – May 8


1941 British Arab Legion left Palestine to take back Fort Rutba, Anbar
from Iraqi police
1941 Arab Legion attacked by German aircraft and one regiment refused to cross
            Transjordan border into Iraq
1941 British air strikes destroyed most of Iraqi air force
1941 6 more British planes landed at Habaniya air base from Egypt
1941 Vichy France agreed to transfer weapons from Syria to Iraq to use its air fields and     okayed landing of German planes
1941 Iraq Def Min Shawkat went to Turkey for talks Ankara offered end of fighting
permission for UK to use bases in Iraq In return UK would recognize Gayalani’s govt
1941 Iraq Fin Min Suwaidi went to Saudi Arabia to explain conflict with England and
            ask for mediation Ibn Saud said Iraq should end war
1982 Iran announced it had reached pre-war border with Iraq Iran-Iraq War
1990 Saddam claimed Iraq could build high tech capacitors for use in nuclear triggers
2002 UK For Sec Straw told Sec of State Powell if Bush decided on military
            action against Iraq Blair would back him
2003 Sec State Powell said US and UK would go to UN to authorize occupation of
            Iraq
2003 Sec Def Rumsfeld told staff rebuilding Iraq would not be fast or easy and
            needed time
2003 UK parliament announced review of pre-war intelligence on Iraq
2003 ORHA met with ex-Iraqi army officers 2nd time Said they could bring back 137,000
            soldiers
2003 Def Min memo called for Iraqi soldiers to return to duty and cooperate with
            ORHA
2004 Bush said US goal was to build a free and peaceful Iraq that was not a threat to
            its neighbors
2004 Sec Def Rumsfeld told Congress that Iraqi victims of Abu Ghraib prison abuse
            should be compensated
2004 Pentagon est by end of 2005 Iraq war would cost US $150 bil 3 times higher than
            White House prediction before war
2004 Mahdi Army fought with British troops in downtown Basra
2004 US forces moved into Karbala and Amarah setting off clashes with Mahdi Army
            US forces seized a govt complex in Najaf fighting Mahdi Army
2005 Battle of Qaim
2009 Gov Nujafi stopped by Peshmerga from going to hot air balloon festival in Bashiqa
2009 KRG said they would start exporting oil from Taq Taq and Tawke fields after
            Oil Min okayed connecting them to Turkish pipeline
2010 Pres Barzani set up investigation into murder of journalist Zardasht Osman
            KDP was accused of involvement
2011 Anbar councilman complained that ISF continued arrest of former ISF members
            after Maliki promised to end them
2011 ISI members staged a prison revolt in Baghdad killing 6 police and 11 prisoners
2012 Maliki held cabinet meeting in Kirkuk to highlight problems between Arabs and
            Kurds
2012 Allawi said Maliki was becoming an autocrat
2013 Iraqiya said Maliki was allowing militias to operate in country
2014 US restarted training for Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service in Jordan
2014 Anbar council again denied stories that ISF launched operation to free
            Fallujah
2015 IS broke out 30 prisoners from facility in Diyala posing as inspectors


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