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Iraq Timeline
Wednesday, February 4th, 2004 03:30 amWhile arguing with some of my online American friends, I was flabberegasted when some of them claimed that they did not know about Saddam's behaviour towards the Kurds back when he was America's ally. I obligingly prepared a timeline, so I thought I'd share it. Most of it will be very old news to most of you, but I did manage to dig out a few gems that I wasn't aware of before.
1967 - Iraq breaks off diplomatic relations with America
1968 - The Ba'ath Party comes to power in a military coup.
1970 - Kurdish areas in Iraq promised autonomy (which does not materialise).
1972 - Mullah Mustafa Barzani declares independence of Kurdistan, and is supplied with arms by Iran, Israel and the CIA.
1975 - Shah of Iran and Saddam sign the Algiers agreement. Iran stops supporting the Kurds and the rebellion is defeated.
Mid-1970s - "Arabisation" of Kurdistan. Many Kurdish villages are destroyed. Around 250,000 Kurds are repopulated in "settlements" elsewhere in Iraq, where many die of starvation.
1977-78 Iraq establishes a cordon sanitaire around its northern border. More Kurdish villages are destoyed.
1979 - Iraq put on list of countries supporting terrorism.
1980 - DIA accuses Iraq of acquiring chemical weapons technology.
1980 - Iraq attacks Iran. The Kurdish Democratic Party starts to work with the Iranians.
1982 - Iraq removed from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism, thus allowing it to acquire American military and dual-use technology.
1983 - Between five and eight thousand Kurds are removed from a camp in N. Iraq and killed in reprisals for KDP co-operation with Iran.
1983 - Iraq uses chemical weapons against Iran on a regular basis (and vice versa, though the Iraqis made most of the running). Reagan urges support for Iraq, and Rumsfeld flies to Baghdad to reassure Saddam of American support.
1984 - Reagan meets Tariq Aziz to re-establish full diplomatic relations.
1985 - Talks between Saddam and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan break down. Iran agrees to arm the PUK, and open warfare breaks out in N. Iraq, with the Kurds eventually controlling most of the territory.
1986 - UN Security Council passes a non-binding statement condemning Iraq's use of chemical weapons. America votes against; Britain abstains.
1987 - Reagan accepts the Iraqi air strike on the USS Stark as an honest mistake.
1988 - Commerce Department approves exports to Iraq's SCUD missile programme.
1988 - End of Iran-Iraq war.
1988 - The Anfal campaigns. Iraq regains control over Kurdish areas. Kurdish villages and towns are bombed and gassed. Kurdish civilians are imprisoned in concentration camps where many die. Senate passes an act placing a military and commercial embargo on Iraq; Reagan opposes it, and it fails in the House.
1989 - International banks cut off credit to Iraq. Bush signs National Security Directive mandating closer links with Iraq, including a billion dollars in agricultural loan guarantees.
1990 - Iraq invades Kuwait.
1991 - Desert Storm. Kurds rebel against Saddam but recieve no aid and are crushed. No-fly zone established in N. Iraq.
Iraq, the Kurds and America
1967 - Iraq breaks off diplomatic relations with America
1968 - The Ba'ath Party comes to power in a military coup.
1970 - Kurdish areas in Iraq promised autonomy (which does not materialise).
1972 - Mullah Mustafa Barzani declares independence of Kurdistan, and is supplied with arms by Iran, Israel and the CIA.
1975 - Shah of Iran and Saddam sign the Algiers agreement. Iran stops supporting the Kurds and the rebellion is defeated.
Mid-1970s - "Arabisation" of Kurdistan. Many Kurdish villages are destroyed. Around 250,000 Kurds are repopulated in "settlements" elsewhere in Iraq, where many die of starvation.
1977-78 Iraq establishes a cordon sanitaire around its northern border. More Kurdish villages are destoyed.
1979 - Iraq put on list of countries supporting terrorism.
1980 - DIA accuses Iraq of acquiring chemical weapons technology.
1980 - Iraq attacks Iran. The Kurdish Democratic Party starts to work with the Iranians.
1982 - Iraq removed from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism, thus allowing it to acquire American military and dual-use technology.
1983 - Between five and eight thousand Kurds are removed from a camp in N. Iraq and killed in reprisals for KDP co-operation with Iran.
1983 - Iraq uses chemical weapons against Iran on a regular basis (and vice versa, though the Iraqis made most of the running). Reagan urges support for Iraq, and Rumsfeld flies to Baghdad to reassure Saddam of American support.
1984 - Reagan meets Tariq Aziz to re-establish full diplomatic relations.
1985 - Talks between Saddam and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan break down. Iran agrees to arm the PUK, and open warfare breaks out in N. Iraq, with the Kurds eventually controlling most of the territory.
1986 - UN Security Council passes a non-binding statement condemning Iraq's use of chemical weapons. America votes against; Britain abstains.
1987 - Reagan accepts the Iraqi air strike on the USS Stark as an honest mistake.
1988 - Commerce Department approves exports to Iraq's SCUD missile programme.
1988 - End of Iran-Iraq war.
1988 - The Anfal campaigns. Iraq regains control over Kurdish areas. Kurdish villages and towns are bombed and gassed. Kurdish civilians are imprisoned in concentration camps where many die. Senate passes an act placing a military and commercial embargo on Iraq; Reagan opposes it, and it fails in the House.
1989 - International banks cut off credit to Iraq. Bush signs National Security Directive mandating closer links with Iraq, including a billion dollars in agricultural loan guarantees.
1990 - Iraq invades Kuwait.
1991 - Desert Storm. Kurds rebel against Saddam but recieve no aid and are crushed. No-fly zone established in N. Iraq.
