Iraq Timeline.

[Xeric]

Iraq timeline: July 16, 1979 to January 31, 2004.

July 16 1979.

• Saddam Hussein become president of Iraq, after engineering the resignation of president Hasan-al-Bakr.

September 22, 1980.

• Border Dispute between Iran and Iraq escalates into full-scale war.
• War opened as Iraq is bombed.

March 16, 1988.

• Saddam Hussein’s administration uses chemical weapons against Kurds in Iraq: more than 5,000 die.

August 29, 1988.

• Iran-Iraq war ends; at least a million people are thought to have died, but neither side has achieved any significant territorial gain.

August 2, 1990.

• Iraq invades Kuwait. UN security council resolution 660 calls for full withdrawal.
• Superpower unite on Iraq.

August 6, 1990.

• UN imposes economic sanctions on Iraq.

January 06, 1991.

• Gulf War stats. US-led coalition begins air strikes against Iraq.
• Allied planes bomb Iraq: Kuwait’s liberation begun, says US.

February 27, 1991.

• Kuwait is liberated after three-day ground operation.

March 3, 1991.

• Iraq accepts terms of ceasefire.

April 6, 1991.

• Iraq accepts UN resolution requiring it to end production of weapons of mass destruction and to allow monitoring by the UN special commission inspection team (Unscom).

August 26, 1992.

• No-fly zone established in southern Iraq.

April 14, 1995.

• “Oil-for-food” programme begins, allowing Iraq to export oil to buy food and medicine.

February 23, 1998.

• Iraq promises Kofi Anan unrestricted access to UN inspectors.
• Back from the brink.

December 16, 1998.

• UN inspection team is withdrawn, after concluding that Iraq in no cooperating fully.

February 15, 2001.

• US and Britain bomb Iraq’s air defense network.
• US and British aircraft attack Iraq.

January 30, 2002.

• In the first state of the union address after the September 11 attacks on America, US president George Bush says Iraq is part of an ‘axis of evil’.

September 12, 2002.

• President Bush addresses UN to put the case for war against Iraq.

September 16, 2002.

• Iraq accepts ‘unconditional’ return of UN inspectors.
• Saddam caves in on inspectors.

September 24, 2002.

• Britain publishes dossier saying Iraq could not produce a nuclear weapon within one or two years, if it obtains fissile material and other components from abroad.
• Blair: we have the evidence.

November 18, 2002.

• US weapons inspectors arrive in Iraq.

November 27, 2002.

• UN inspectors welcome Iraqi cooperation.

December 8, 2002.

• Defiant Iraq on collision course.

March 17, 2003.

• The famous ‘non’ by France in the Security Council.

March 18, 2003.

• Bush gives Saddam and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq.

March 19, 2003.

• Bid to assassinate Saddam.

March 20, 2003.

• War begins.

December 12, 2003.

• Cheney oil firm accused of overcharging $61m in Iraq.
• Iraq splits EU summit as Blair backs US.

December 13, 2003.

• Saddam Hussein captured.

Points to ponder…

The factor fueling the insurgency…


1. The Baathists.
2. The Sectarianism.
3. The Nationalism.
4. The Extremist.
5. The private militants.
6. The unbridled powers of private US Security firms.
7. The arrogance of US Soldiers in Abu Ghraib and elsewhere.
8. The influence of Iran and Syria.
9. The Turkish factor.
10. Massive corruption.
11. The strangle for oil revenues among Shia’s, Sunnis and Kurds.


Possible Solutions….


1. The withdrawal timetable and the recent troop surge.
2. The role of UN / Muslim armies in the interim period.
3. Pacify all the warning factors.
4. Improve the law and order situation.
5. A new national unity government?
6. An equitable distribution of oil revenues.
7. The crucial role of Sunnis.
8. The role of Iran.
9. Jobs, socio-economic development etc.

Meanwhile….

1. US-Iran to discuss the security situation in Iraq in Dec 2007.
2. Turkey will continue to raid Northern Iraq whenever it suits her.

Courtesy: Mr. Jahanzeb Khan (4th position 2006).