weeks and increase political tensions between anti- and pro-Syrian factions in
Lebanon.
December 6:The Iraq Study Group issues a detailed report on the failures of U.S. pol-
icy in Iraq, characterizing the situation there as “grave and deteriorating.” The panel
offers dozens of recommendations for policy changes, notably, the opening of diplo-
matic talks with Iran and Syria. President Bush thanks the group for its work but
makes clear that he will not embrace most of its recommendations.
December 16:Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas threatens to call early elections
to break a political deadlock between Fatah, which he leads, and Hamas, which con-
trols the government.
December 23:The UN Security Council adopts Resolution 1737, demanding that
Iran halt its work to enrich uranium and imposing an international freeze on
the assets of individuals and agencies linked to Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons
program.
December 30:Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is executed by hanging in Bagh-
dad. Videos showing Saddam being taunted by guards cause widespread outrage.
December 31:The toll of U.S. service personnel killed since the beginning of the Iraq
war reaches 3,000.
2007
January 10:President George W. Bush announces that he plans to sends an additional
21,000-plus soldiers to Iraq as part of a “surge” intended to suppress violence, par-
ticularly in Baghdad. He also says that he will hold the Iraqi government account-
able for meeting several “benchmarks,” such as adoption of a law governing oil pro-
duction.
February 8:After negotiations mediated by Saudi Arabia, Fatah and Hamas agree to
form a unity Palestinian government. The Palestinian legislature will approve the
deal on March 17.
February 21:British prime minister Tony Blair announces that about 1,600 of the
7,000 British troops remaining in Iraq will be withdrawn in the coming months.
Britain has had principle responsibility for securing the area around Basra, Iraq’s
second-largest city.
March 24:The UN Security Council adopts Resolution 1696, tightening sanctions
against Iran because of its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment. The sanctions
include a ban on Iranian arms exports and financial sanctions against officials asso-
ciated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
March 27:About 200 people are killed in several attacks or found dead in Iraq. Tal
Afar, in northwestern Iraq, suffers the greatest toll when truck bombs explode in
markets, killing more than 150 people.
March 29:At an Arab League summit, leaders reaffirm the 2002 Saudi-sponsored plan
offering to recognize Israel provided that it relinquish the territories it captured in
the June 1967 War.
April 9:Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his country can now produce
enriched uranium on an industrial scale. Most experts say his claim is exaggerated.
April 12:A suicide bomber attacks the Iraqi parliament, killing eight people, includ-
ing two legislators. It is the deadliest attack to date inside the heavily fortified Green
Zone of Baghdad.
696 CHRONOLOGY OF THE MIDDLE EAST, 1914–2007