Category talk:Iraq

Massacres & mass graves
The news from Iraq tells of a stream of ISIS massacres. There is not even time to list these all. Maybe it is not even necessary, as the circumstances are not really questioned. ISIS usually takes responsibility for the killings.
 * ‘Women and children dumped in a well’: ISIS massacres 322 Sunni tribesmen in west Iraq – RT, November 02, 2014
 * ''The Iraqi government said Sunday that at least 322 members of the Al-Bu Nimr tribe were murdered by Islamic State fighters over the past week, including dozens of women and children whose bodies were found dumped in a well.
 * ''Tribal leader Sheikh Naeem al-Ga'oud said that 75 members of his tribe were killed on Sunday while trying to escape the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). They were gunned down and dumped near the town of Haditha.

-- Petri Krohn (talk) 22:53, 2 November 2014 (UTC)


 * It's true, or I think advisable, that we focus our energies on events that aren't just horrible but also contested or controversial (or should be!). So this isn't so much an area we need to cover. That said, there will be some mysteries and points of disagreement almost anywhere, and some value just in having a good grasp of events, so no reason to prioritize it right to zero either. --Caustic Logic (talk) 23:58, 29 November 2014 (UTC)

2020
Report: 3 missiles hit Baghdad airport, 8 killed and 12 wounded including Iraqi solders and civilians as of the time of the report Al-Hadath quoted by TASS --Resup (talk) 01:09, 3 January 2020 (UTC) (Qassem Soleimani killed; continued on Syria news page)--Resup (talk) 18:27, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

flightradar24; Marinetraffic

Iraq to vote on US troops presence

 * Iraq Prepares to Evict U.S. Troops - Foreign Policy , March 20, 2019
 * Adil Abd Al-Mahdi, Facebook, January 3, 2020
 * Iraq’s parliament may be about to do President Trump a big fat favor -Atlantic Council, January 3, 2020
 * US Secretary Pompeo: 9 tweets with word de-escalation 4 times after Soleimani (at the time of the writing first here)
 * + Iraqi Speaker al-Halbousi, with Iraqi President Salih
 * A Shocked Iraq Reconsiders Its Relationship With the U.S. -The New York Times, January 3, 2020
 * Mohammad Shabani: “If Iran can erase the U.S. military presence in Iraq and all it has to do is give up five Iranian military men, would Iran do it? I think the answer is yes.”
 * “One sure result of the U.S. strike is that the era of U.S.-Iraq cooperation is over,” Richard N. Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations and a former American diplomat, wrote on Twitter. “The U.S. diplomatic & mil presence will end b/c Iraq asks us to depart or our presence is just a target or both. The result will be greater Iranian influence, terrorism and Iraqi infighting.”
 * E J Magnier: The legislation has been approved by #Iraq MPs to terminate the presence of the US forces and for the government to implement the resolution.
 * --Resup (talk) 18:27, 3 January 2020 (UTC) last updated --Resup (talk) 14:40, 5 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Iraqi Parliament votes to expel U.S. troops from Iraq - Tehran Times, January 5, 2020
 * E J Magnier:
 * Last resolution:
 * -A complaint to UN for #US target assassinations in #Iraq
 * -Impose on the gov to terminate the request of support from the (international) coalition (all countries)
 * -End presence of ALL foreign forces and to prevent any country from using Iraq against another country
 * In TASS version, there is also prohibition of the use of airspace of the country
 * See also: a major claim on the preceding events at the end of Cassad's article (not verified) . --Resup (talk) 15:32, 5 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Same claimed by E J Magnier: The information that #Iran Qassem Soleimani had an appointment with the PM in Baghdad and came to #Iraq to meet him the next day with established appointment, following a request of Trump for mediation, has been read to all MPs today by the #Iraq/i PM himself.
 * CNN run this claim on Jan 6. IUVM Press had attributed their source as the National Iraqi News Agency


 * Breaking: Iraqi PM calls on Parliament to end US military presence in Iraq -Almasdar News, January 5, 2020
 * Speaking at an emergency parliament session on Sunday, Adil Abdul Mahdi said the American side notified the Iraqi military about the planned airstrike minutes before it was carried out. He stressed that his government denied Washington permission to continue with the operation.
 * Iraq began preparing a mechanism for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country-RIA, January 6, 2020, see also: Al Mawazin (Arabic), TASS (Rus).
 * Iraqi authorities began to prepare a mechanism for the withdrawal of American troops, said the representative of the commander of the armed forces of the country, Abdel Kerim Half.
 * "The activities of the international coalition in Iraq will be limited to consultations, armaments and training of military personnel, and the armed forces will leave Iraq. <...> Recent American attacks are stupidity that cannot be kept silent," said Half, whose statement was shown by Al Jazeera "
 * He pointed out that "the Iraqi government has limited the ground and air movement of the forces of the international coalition and will not allow them to move anywhere."
 * (noted, unclear/doubtful he can deliver what he says --Resup (talk) 12:30, 6 January 2020 (UTC) )


 * Qasem Soleimani: Iraqi MPs back call to expel US troops - BBC, January 5, 2020
 * ...The non-binding resolution...
 * Iraq’s prime minister says ‘urgent measures’ should be taken to remove foreign forces -The Washington Post, January 5, 2020
 * Iraqi legal expert Ali Tamimi said Sunday that Iraq's current caretaker government is not legally authorized to sign such a law. Abdul Mahdi resigned in November amid widespread anti-government protests. "The caretaker government can't do anything. Before starting these procedures, a new government should be formed," Tamimi said.
 * Trump threatens to slap sanctions on Iraq ‘like they’ve never seen before’ -CNBC, January 5, 2020
 * Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, the U.S. president said: “If they do ask us to leave, if we don’t do it in a very friendly basis, we will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever. It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame.”
 * “We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that’s there. It cost billions of dollars to build. Long before my time. We’re not leaving unless they pay us back for it,” Trump said.

Iraqi PM speech in parliament

 * Iraqi Prime Minister speech in parliament today | Adil Abdul-Mahdi speech today, Citizen TV on YouTube, 11:55 length with PM speaking for about 1:27 in the beginning, Jan 5, 2020
 * Iraq: Parliament votes to expel foreign troops, Ruptly on youtube, length 5:34, with PM speaking for about 3:27 in the beginning of the video, Jan 5, 2020

It is said that direct broadcast was cut.

Claims about this speech (see also above):
 * Why the Prime Minister of Iraq resigned -Cassad, January 7, 2020, robo-translation
 * Refers to a twitter account, in Arabic, here (twitter-dated 12:28 PM - 6 Jan 2020) it makes same claims. (However, this is 'not admissible in court' -he heard it from somebody, and does not (even) tell from whom; in any case, at most secondary evidence, or else, unreliable to fake)
 * Visit to China mentioned; here is a report about this
 * Sniper details: this is important (for us, including), however there is no guarantee that this is not inserted by somebody (Iraqis, Iranians, Russians, etc), and I guess it needs better confirmation (direct source, knowledgeable and reliable Arabic source, etc)
 * There are some bits of parliament session in some news reports, but I am unsure where to look and whether any of the important/claimed details are recorded
 * --Resup (talk) 10:27, 7 January 2020 (UTC)


 * CNN run this claim on Jan 6. IUVM Press had attributed their source as the National Iraqi News Agency--Diagonal (talk) 11:39, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

Nick Schifrin: @SecPompeo denies @IraqiPMO claim that #Soleimani was carrying a diplomatic message from Saudi Arabia. Says of the Saudis, "I can assure you they will share my view, that he was not there to represent some kind of agreement."
 * Yeah, Soleimani was not carrying a diplomatic message from Saudi Arabia, and nobody said he did, as it would be pretty ridiculous thing to say--Resup (talk) 18:07, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

TWO QUESTIONS IF YOU DON'T MIND. IRAN'S FOREIGN MINISTER SAID SOLEIMANI WAS ON A DIPLOMATIC VISIT TO IRAQ. THAT THE U.S. STRIKE TO TAKE HIM OUT WAS STATE TERRORISM. THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP IS PREPARED TO COMMIT WAR CRIMES AND IRANIANS ARE ENRAGED. THAT'S THE FIRST QUESTION I'D LIKE YOUR REACTION TO THAT.

Sec Pompeo: THE STATEMENT -- HIS FIRST STATEMENT WAS THAT SOLEIMANI WAS TRAVELING TO BAGHDAD ON A DIPLOMATIC MISSION. ANYBODY HERE BELIEVE THAT? IS THERE ANY HISTORY THAT WOULD INDICATE IT WAS REMOTELY POSSIBLE THAT THIS KIND GENTLEMAN, THIS DIPLOMAT OF GREAT ORDER, QASSEM SOLEIMANI, WAS TRAVELING TO BAGHDAD FOR A PEACE MISSION? I MADE YOU REPORTERS LAUGH. IT WAS NOT TRUE. HE (= Zarif) IS A PROPAGANDIST OF THE FIRST ORDER. MOST OF WHAT WAS SUGGESTED IN THAT MESSAGE WAS IRANIAN PROPAGANDA. MOST WHAT YOU SUGGESTED IN HIS TEXT MESSAGE OR EMAIL WAS IRANIAN PROPAGANDA. IT'S NOT NEW. WE HEARD THE SAME LIES BEFORE. IT'S FUNDAMENTALLY FALSE. HE WAS NOT THERE ON A DIPLOMATIC MISSION TRYING TO SOLVE A PROBLEM. I KNOW THERE WAS SOME STORY THERE WAS THERE REPRESENTING A SAUDI PEACE DEAL. I HAVE SPOKEN TO MY PARTNERS AT GREAT LENGTH I leave it to them what the content (or context?) of their message may be BUT I CAN ASSURE YOU THEY WILL SHARE MY VIEWS THAT HE WAS NOT THERE REPRESENTING SOME KIND OF AGREEMENT THAT WOULD REDUCE RISK OR REDUCE RISK TO THE LIVES OF AMERICANS ON THAT TRIP. AMERICANS ON THAT TRIP.
 * Evasive answer, meaning uncertain --Resup (talk)