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114-454: Invasion (2003) Post-invasion insurgency (2003–2006) Civil war (2006–2008) Insurgency (2008–2011) Operation Imposing Law , also known as Operation Law and Order ( Arabic : عملية القانون والنظام , romanized :  amaliat al-qaanoon wa an-nazaam ), Operation Fardh al-Qanoon ( Arabic : فرض القانون ) or Baghdad Security Plan (BSP), was a joint Coalition - Iraqi security plan conducted throughout Baghdad . Under

228-588: A crowd crush on Al-Aimmah Bridge , while coming from the opposing shore of Kadhimiyah , began jumping from the bridge in an attempt to escape the crush, only to face drowning in the Tigris below. Adhamiyah residents dove into the waters, pulling hundreds of Shi'ites to the shore, where their fellow residents transported them to hospitals and mosques. In some cases, residents used mattresses from their own beds as makeshift stretchers. A teenage Sunni called " Othman Ali Abdul-Hafez " drowned while rescuing people. According to

342-539: A joint session of Congress (simulcast live to the world), and announced his new " War on Terror ". This announcement was accompanied by the doctrine of "pre-emptive" military action, later termed the Bush Doctrine . Allegations of a connection between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda were regularly made by several senior officials in the Bush administration , who asserted that a highly secretive relationship existed between Saddam and

456-541: A 16 February 2007, press conference, United States Major General Joseph Fil described the operational design of the Baghdad Security Plan as follows: "This new plan involves three basic parts: clear, control and retain . The first objective within each of the security districts in the Iraqi capital is to clear out extremist elements neighborhood by neighborhood in an effort to protect the population. And after an area

570-551: A 48-hour deadline. The UK House of Commons held a debate on going to war on 18 March 2003 where the government motion was approved 412 to 149 . The vote was a key moment in the history of the Blair administration , as the number of government MPs who rebelled against the vote was the greatest since the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. Three government ministers resigned in protest at the war, John Denham , Lord Hunt of Kings Heath , and

684-427: A January 2003 CBS poll, 64% of Americans had approved of military action against Iraq; however, 63% wanted Bush to find a diplomatic solution rather than go to war, and 62% believed the threat of terrorism directed against the U.S. would increase due to war. The invasion was strongly opposed by some long-standing U.S. allies, including the governments of France, Germany, and New Zealand. Their leaders argued that there

798-792: A design that Iraq stated did not exceed the permitted 150 km range, but which had traveled up to 183 km in tests. Shortly before the invasion, UNMOVIC stated that it would take "months" to verify Iraqi compliance with resolution 1441. In October 2002, the U.S. Congress passed the Iraq Resolution , which authorized the President to "use any means necessary" against Iraq. Americans polled in January 2003 widely favored further diplomacy over an invasion. Later that year, however, Americans began to agree with Bush's plan. The U.S. government engaged in an elaborate domestic public relations campaign to market

912-608: A dozen in a Shiite neighborhood and a bomb detonated near the Green Zone killing two and wounded a dozen civilians. On 25 February, the Iraqi military announced that during heavy fighting in Baghdad, 13 Iraqi soldiers, including one officer, and 11 militants were killed and 219 militants were captured. The next day a bomb under a podium where the Sunni Iraqi Vice President was making a speech exploded. The bombing happened in

1026-672: A founder of the Sunni Awakening Council , a new American ally, in Adhamiya at the offices of the Sunni Endowment . He was a close aide and security adviser to the leader of the Sunni Endowment, Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al-Samarrai , who held Al Qaeda responsible. Electricity has improved. Six or seven hours a day is the quota, although people still rely heavily on private generators. Americans guarded fuel convoys going through

1140-452: A heavy rocket barrage hit the fortified Green Zone killing four Filipino contractors working for the U.S. government. This happened after three straight days of rocket and mortar attacks on the Green Zone. Also, on the same day, Colonel B.D.Farris, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, was wounded by small arms fire and taken out of action while conducting a survey of

1254-568: A marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August." Bush began formally making his case to the international community for an invasion of Iraq in his 12 September 2002 address to the United Nations General Assembly . The United Kingdom agreed with the U.S. actions, while France and Germany were critical of plans to invade Iraq, arguing instead for continued diplomacy and weapons inspections. After considerable debate,

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1368-514: A message to the U.S. State Department that the Iraqis wanted to discuss the accusations that the country had weapons of mass destruction and ties with Al-Qaeda. Iraq also attempted to reach the U.S. through the Syrian, French, German, and Russian intelligence services. In January 2003, Lebanese-American Imad Hage met with Michael Maloof of the U.S. Department of Defense 's Office of Special Plans . Hage,

1482-506: A mosque suicide bombing. It was thought to be an inside job, like the attempt on the Vice President the previous month. On 24 March, a massive suicide truck bombing completely destroyed a police station killing 33 police officers and wounding 44 others, including 20 policemen, in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Doura. Heavy fighting continued the next day in the city with another 12 members of

1596-494: A parliamentary question, that "Regime change in Iraq would be a wonderful thing. That is not the purpose of our action; our purpose is to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction..." In November of that year, Blair further stated that, "So far as our objective, it is disarmament, not regime change – that is our objective. Now I happen to believe the regime of Saddam is a very brutal and repressive regime, I think it does enormous damage to

1710-427: A political solution was necessary in addition to the enhanced security operation in Iraq, and that the process of establishing peace would take months. On 15 March, the Iraqi military said that since the start of the operation 265 civilians were killed in Baghdad in comparison to 1,440 the month before the start of the operation. Also they stated that there was significant reduction in assassinations and kidnappings, and

1824-576: A resident of Beirut , had been recruited by the department to assist in the war on terror . He reported that Mohammed Nassif, a close aide to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad , had expressed frustrations about the difficulties of Syria contacting the United States, and had attempted to use him as an intermediary. Maloof arranged for Hage to meet with civilian Richard Perle , then head of the Defense Policy Board . In January 2003, Hage met with

1938-508: A routine search operation. Apache attack helicopters were called in but most of them had to return to base because the anti-aircraft fire they received was too heavy. In the daylong battle that ensued 4 Iraqi Army soldiers, 14 insurgents and one child were killed, 16 American soldiers were wounded, including one Apache pilot, and three Apache and one Black Hawk helicopter were damaged enough that they had to return to base in mid-battle. Two days later an insurgent suicide truck bomb attack destroyed

2052-592: A threat to the U.S. and the world community. George W. Bush, speaking in October 2002, said that "The stated policy of the United States is regime change. ... However, if Saddam were to meet all the conditions of the United Nations, the conditions that I have described very clearly in terms that everybody can understand, that in itself will signal the regime has changed." Citing reports from certain intelligence sources, Bush stated on 6 March 2003 that he believed that Saddam

2166-581: Is a prominent landmark, built around the tomb of Abū Ḥanīfah an-Nuʿmān. Adhamiyah neighborhood dates back to the Abbasid period and is one of the oldest areas of Baghdad. Although Adhamiyah has been the site of many clashes between Iraqi insurgents and US forces as well as tensions between Shi'ite security forces and Sunni residents, in September 2005, the residents of Adhamiyah were credited with saving hundreds of Shi'ite lives. Shi'ite pilgrims, who were caught in

2280-401: Is cleared, we’re moving to what we call the control operation. Together with our Iraqi counterparts, we’ll maintain a full-time presence on the streets, and we’ll do this by building and maintaining joint security stations throughout the city. This effort to re-establish the joint security stations is well under way. The number of stations in each district will be determined by the commanders on

2394-473: Is now nearly totally Sunni in its religious composition. The base of the population consists of people with a high intellectual background, whether it be politicians, artists, scholars and even sports figures. The name is a reference to Abū Ḥanīfah an-Nuʿmān , known as al-Imām al-Aʿẓam ( Arabic : الإِمَـام الأَعـظَـم , "The Great Imam"), a renowned scholar and founder of the prominent Sunni Hanafī school of Islamic religious jurisprudence. Abu Hanifa Mosque

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2508-535: The 173rd Airborne Brigade was airdropped near the northern city of Kirkuk , where they joined forces with Kurdish rebels and fought several actions against the Iraqi Army , to secure the northern part of the country. The main body of coalition forces continued their drive into the heart of Iraq and were met with little resistance. Most of the Iraqi military was quickly defeated and the coalition occupied Baghdad on 9 April. Other operations occurred against pockets of

2622-530: The 32nd Parallel (extended to the 33rd Parallel in 1996) as well as using economic sanctions. It was revealed that a biological weapons (BW) program in Iraq had begun in the early 1980s with help from the U.S. and Europe who were unaware of Iraq's intentions, in violation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) of 1972. Details of the BW program—along with a chemical weapons program—surfaced after

2736-540: The Doura district in the south, where car-bombs were set off in their advance. In two incidents, car-bombs blew up as U.S. and Iraqi patrols passed and there were at least four civilian casualties. The operation began with very little resistance, and was hailed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as a "brilliant success." There was a steep decline in violence during the first few days, but American generals were more cautious about making judgments on its success early on, stating that

2850-528: The Interior Ministry , upwards of 900 Shi'ite pilgrims died in the crush, with over 400 wounded. Shi'ite families forced out in 2006 post-Samarra fled to surrounding Shiite neighborhoods like Shaab . Sunni families displaced from these Shiite areas moved in. Many long-established Sunni residents went abroad and either locked their homes or arranged for trusted Sunni neighbors to guard them against displaced Sunni newcomers, fearing people who might break into

2964-672: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Saddam accepted the resolution on 13 November and inspectors returned to Iraq under the direction of UNMOVIC chairman Hans Blix and IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei . As of February 2003, the IAEA "found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq"; the IAEA concluded that certain items which could have been used in nuclear enrichment centrifuges, such as aluminum tubes, were in fact intended for other uses. UNMOVIC "did not find evidence of

3078-399: The International Atomic Energy Agency . These documents were dismissed by the IAEA as forgeries, with the concurrence in that judgment of outside experts. At the time, a US official stated that the evidence was submitted to the IAEA without knowledge of its provenance and characterized any mistakes as "more likely due to incompetence not malice". Adhamiyah Adhamiyah neighborhood, or

3192-546: The Mansour district while Adil Abdul-Mahdi was talking to municipal officials. The bomb missed him by a minute as he had just finished the speech and left the podium. The explosion left Abdul-Mahdi injured and at least ten people dead. On 3 March, insurgents captured Iraqi Lieutenant General Thamer Sultan. Sultan was working as an adviser to the Iraqi Defence Minister, and he himself was considered to take up that post in

3306-609: The National Military Command Center on that day, Rumsfeld asked for: "best info fast. Judge whether good enough hit Saddam Hussein at same time. Not only Osama bin Laden ." A memo written by Rumsfeld in November 2001 considers an Iraq war. The rationale for invading Iraq as a response to 9/11 has been widely questioned, as there was no cooperation between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda . On 20 September 2001, Bush addressed

3420-557: The Peshmerga in Iraqi Kurdistan . According to U.S. President George W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair , the coalition aimed "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction [WMDs], to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism , and to free the Iraqi people", even though the UN inspection team led by Hans Blix had declared it had found no evidence of the existence of WMDs just before

3534-503: The Surge plan developed in late 2006 , Baghdad was to be divided into nine zones, with Iraqi and American soldiers working side by side to clear each sector of Shiite militias and Sunni insurgents and establish Joint Security Stations so that reconstruction programs could begin in safety. The U.S. military commander in Iraq, David Petraeus , went so far as to say Iraq would be "doomed" if this plan failed. Numerous members of Congress stated

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3648-489: The 101st Airborne Division, started with a seminar on military operations in urban terrain, because that was viewed as the decisive event in the takedown of the regime in Iraq — that and finding and destroying the weapons of mass destruction." While there had been some earlier talk of action against Iraq, the Bush administration waited until September 2002 to call for action, with White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card saying, "From

3762-483: The Army and police forces in the whole country. However, over 1,000 suspected insurgents were captured and many weapons caches were discovered. The government stated that tens of thousands of Iraqis were returning to Baghdad and their old neighborhoods because the security situation had improved and the rate of families leaving the city also dropped from 350 to 25 families per day. But according to an article published by Newsweek,

3876-655: The Azores to discuss the invasion of Iraq and Spain's potential involvement in the war, as well as the beginning of the invasion. This encounter was extremely controversial in Spain, even now remaining a very sensitive point for the Aznar government. Almost a year later, Madrid suffered the worst terrorist attack in Europe since the Lockerbie bombing , motivated by Spain's decision to participate in

3990-531: The Bush administration said attempts by Iraq to acquire thousands of high-strength aluminum tubes pointed to a clandestine program to make enriched uranium for nuclear bombs. Powell, in his address to the UN Security Council just before the war, referred to the aluminum tubes. A report released by the Institute for Science and International Security in 2002, however, reported that it was highly unlikely that

4104-608: The Gulf War (1990–91) following investigations conducted by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) which had been charged with the post-war disarmament of Saddam's Iraq. The investigation concluded that the program had not continued after the war. The U.S. and its allies then maintained a policy of " containment " towards Iraq. This policy involved numerous economic sanctions by the UN Security Council ;

4218-488: The Iraq war, prompting some Spaniards to accuse the Prime Minister of being responsible. In March 2003, the United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Australia, Spain, Denmark, and Italy began preparing for the invasion of Iraq , with a host of public relations and military moves. In his 17 March 2003 address to the nation, Bush demanded that Saddam and his two sons, Uday and Qusay , surrender and leave Iraq, giving them

4332-497: The Iraqi Army, including the capture and occupation of Kirkuk on 10 April, and the attack on and capture of Tikrit on 15 April. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and the central leadership went into hiding as the coalition forces completed the occupation of the country. On 1 May, President George W. Bush declared an end to major combat operations: this ended the invasion period and began the period of military occupation . Saddam Hussein

4446-520: The Iraqi Security Forces and Provincial Police. In some cases, Combat Outposts (COP) were enlarged to become JSS. On 12 April 2007, MG William Caldwell IV announced that fifty-four of the 75 outposts and stations were operating in the capital, and the number could rise to 102. JSS were set up in the following neighborhoods: On the second day of the operation U.S. and Iraqi forces pushed deeper into Sunni militant strongholds in Baghdad, mainly

4560-463: The Iraqi people ... so I have got no doubt Saddam is very bad for Iraq, but on the other hand I have got no doubt either that the purpose of our challenge from the United Nations is the disarmament of weapons of mass destruction, it is not regime change." At a press conference on 31 January 2003, Bush again reiterated that the single trigger for the invasion would be Iraq's failure to disarm, "Saddam Hussein must understand that if he does not disarm, for

4674-399: The Iraqi security forces and 125 coalition soldiers, all American except three, were killed in heavy fighting throughout the country. 2003 invasion of Iraq [REDACTED] Republic of Iraq Invasion (2003) Post-invasion insurgency (2003–2006) Civil war (2006–2008) Insurgency (2008–2011) Main phase Later phase The 2003 invasion of Iraq was

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4788-414: The Iraqi security forces killed and 26 more wounded, 6 insurgents were killed. On 24 March, also, heavy mortar and rocket attacks opened up on the heavily fortified Green Zone. These attacks were some of the most sustained attacks on the Green Zone during the war. By 29 March, one American soldier and one American contractor were killed in the shelling and another 15 people were wounded, some seriously. By

4902-609: The Iraqi-Kuwaiti border. While special forces launched an amphibious assault from the Persian Gulf to secure Basra and the surrounding petroleum fields, the main invasion army moved into southern Iraq, occupying the region and engaging in the Battle of Nasiriyah on 23 March. Massive air strikes across the country and against Iraqi command and control threw the defending army into chaos and prevented an effective resistance. On 26 March,

5016-668: The Mahdi Army and held three ministries, quit the government on orders from al-Sadr, in response to growing insecurity in Baghdad and the refusal of al-Maliki's government to set a timetable for the American military withdrawal. The Maliki government said that this will not bring down the government and new replacements would be appointed who would work to unify the Iraqi people. On 18 April, five massive car bombs , including two suicide bombers, exploded in mostly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad killing 198 people and wounding 251 others. The deadliest

5130-477: The Pentagon issued an order that an extra 2,200 military police be sent to Baghdad because of the growing number of captured insurgents. The same day a suicide bomber attacked a police checkpoint in southern Baghdad killing 12 police commandos and 10 civilians. On 8 March, General David Petraeus stated that: "There is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq, to the insurgency of Iraq." He went on to say that

5244-512: The U.S. moved towards a more aggressive policy toward Iraq. The Republican Party's campaign platform in the 2000 election called for "full implementation" of the Iraq Liberation Act as "a starting point" in a plan to "remove" Saddam. After leaving the George W. Bush administration , Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said that an attack on Iraq had been planned since Bush's inauguration and that

5358-615: The UK ambassador, Jeremy Greenstock , publicly confirmed this reading of the resolution, assuring that Resolution 1441 provided no "automaticity" or "hidden triggers" for an invasion without further consultation of the Security Council. Resolution 1441 gave Iraq "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" and set up inspections by the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and

5472-466: The UN Security Council contained a computer-generated image of a "mobile biological weapons laboratory". However, this information was based on claims of Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, codenamed "Curveball" , an Iraqi emigrant living in Germany who later admitted that his claims had been false. Powell also presented false assertions alleging Iraq had ties to al-Qaeda . As a follow-up to Powell's presentation,

5586-429: The UN Security Council adopted a compromise resolution, UN Security Council Resolution 1441 , which authorized the resumption of weapons inspections and promised "serious consequences" for non-compliance. Security Council members France and Russia made clear that they did not consider these consequences to include the use of force to overthrow the Iraqi government. Both the U.S. ambassador to the UN, John Negroponte , and

5700-448: The UN said that despite the initial drop in violence civilian deaths and violence in Baghdad had not dropped. By the end of April more than 300 members of the Iraqi security forces, around 100 U.S. soldiers and around a dozen British servicemen were reported to have been killed in the whole country during that month. On 2 May 2007 another U.S. military brigade with around 3,700 soldiers arrived in Baghdad as reinforcements. On 3 May 2007

5814-472: The United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, Australia, Denmark, Japan, and Spain proposed a resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq, but Canada, France, and Germany, together with Russia, strongly urged continued diplomacy. Facing a losing vote as well as a likely veto from France and Russia, the US, UK, Poland, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Japan, and Australia eventually withdrew their resolution. Opposition to

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5928-456: The administration prepared Operation Desert Badger to respond aggressively if any Air Force pilot was shot down while flying over Iraq, but this did not happen. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld dismissed National Security Agency (NSA) intercept data available by midday of the 11th that pointed to al-Qaeda 's culpability, and by mid-afternoon ordered the Pentagon to prepare plans for attacking Iraq. According to aides who were with him in

6042-634: The barrier being built around a Sunni neighborhood on 1 May. From 1 May 2007 to 11 May 2007 a total of 234 bodies were dumped around Baghdad, up 70.8 percent from the 137 bodies dumped around the capital during the first 11 days of April. It clearly showed that the Mahdi Army and the Shia death squads were back in action after the self-imposed ceasefire they went into with the start of the operation back in February. On 18 May 2007 U.S. forces were involved in clashes in northern Baghdad in which they killed Azhar al-Dulaimi,

6156-416: The blast. As the offensive entered its second month, on 12 April reports indicated that 1,586 civilians were killed in Baghdad since the start of the offensive which represented a sharp drop from the 2,871 civilians who died violently in the capital during the two months that preceded the security crackdown. However, various reports over the next twelve days indicated another rise in sectarian killings, beside

6270-586: The chief of Iraqi intelligence's foreign operations, Hassan al-Obeidi. Obeidi told Hage that Baghdad did not understand why they were targeted and that they had no WMDs. He then made the offer for Washington to send in 2000 FBI agents to confirm this. He additionally offered petroleum concessions but stopped short of having Saddam give up power, instead suggesting that elections could be held in two years. Later, Obeidi suggested that Hage travel to Baghdad for talks; he accepted. Later that month, Hage met with General Habbush and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz . He

6384-420: The coming months. Sultan, a Sunni, was a general during Saddam's era. He was rescued the next day when Iraqi agents stormed a house in western Baghdad where he was being held and four of his captors were arrested. On 4 March, U.S. and Iraqi forces entered Sadr City , the primary stronghold of the Mahdi Army. On 5 March, a suicide bomber killed 38 and wounded 105 civilians at a Baghdad book market. On 7 March,

6498-399: The continuation or resumption of programs of weapons of mass destruction" or significant quantities of proscribed items. UNMOVIC did supervise the destruction of a small number of empty chemical rocket warheads, 50 liters of mustard gas that had been declared by Iraq and sealed by UNSCOM in 1998, and laboratory quantities of a mustard gas precursor, along with about 50 Al-Samoud missiles of

6612-539: The conversation to senior levels of the state department and I was told to stand aside and they would handle it." Cannistraro stated that the offers made were all "killed" by the George W. Bush administration because they allowed Saddam to remain in power, an outcome viewed as unacceptable. It has been suggested that Saddam Hussein was prepared to go into exile if allowed to keep US$ 1 billion. Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak 's national security advisor, Osama El-Baz , sent

6726-472: The daily car bombings that have been taking a heavy toll on civilians since the start of the operation, with more than 540 civilians being killed in Baghdad. Deaths outside of Baghdad increased as militants were flushed out of the city, with 1,504 civilians deaths reported compared with 1,009 deaths during the two months preceding the operation. Overall, the total reported civilian dead in Iraq decreased by about 20%. On 16 April, cabinet members, who belonged to

6840-492: The deadliest day since The Associated Press began recording daily nationwide deaths in May 2005. The Department of Defense said the following, "It's been a very bad day in Iraq, obviously, with the number of casualties that have taken place. ... But we've always said that there are going to be good days and bad days ahead. With respect to casualties, this had been a very bad day," according to their spokesman, Bryan Whitman . On 25 April,

6954-663: The displaced and to many needy Iraqi citizens. Seventh, to secure Iraq's oil fields and resources, which belong to the Iraqi people. And last, to help the Iraqi people create conditions for a transition to a representative self-government." Throughout 2002, the Bush administration insisted that removing Saddam from power to restore international peace and security was a major goal. The principal stated justifications for this policy of "regime change" were that Iraq's continuing production of weapons of mass destruction and known ties to terrorist organizations , as well as Iraq's continued violations of UN Security Council resolutions, amounted to

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7068-457: The end of March, despite claims by the Iraqi government that the situation was improving in Baghdad and the rest of the country as a result of the operation, Sunni insurgents continued to inflict massive casualties on Iraqi security forces and civilians, as well as U.S. forces with a constant rate of three soldiers dying per day for the past six months. During the month of March, more than 2,400 civilians were killed as well as more than 300 members of

7182-602: The enforcement of Iraqi no-fly zones declared by the U.S. and the UK to protect the Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan and Shias in the south from aerial attacks by the Iraqi government; and ongoing inspections. Iraqi military helicopters and planes regularly contested the no-fly zones. In October 1998, removing the Iraqi government became official U.S. foreign policy with enactment of the Iraq Liberation Act . Enacted following

7296-558: The expulsion of UN weapons inspectors the preceding August (after some had been accused of spying for the U.S.), the act provided $ 97 million for Iraqi "democratic opposition organizations" to "establish a program to support a transition to democracy in Iraq." This legislation contrasted with the terms set out in United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 , which focused on weapons and weapons programs and made no mention of regime change. One month after

7410-456: The fighting started. NATO member Turkey refused to allow the U.S. forces across its territory into northern Iraq . Therefore, joint SAD and Army Special forces teams and the Peshmerga constituted the entire Northern force against the Iraqi army. They managed to keep the northern divisions in place rather than allowing them to aid their colleagues against the U.S.-led coalition force coming from

7524-471: The first United States National Security Council meeting involved discussion of an invasion. O'Neill later backtracked, saying that these discussions were part of a continuation of foreign policy first put into place by the Clinton administration . Despite the Bush administration's stated interest in invading Iraq, little formal movement towards an invasion occurred until the 11 September attacks . For example,

7638-478: The first days of the operation and another three are besieged by insurgents. On 21 March the Washington Post reported on the precarious conditions of many of the new outposts. The subsequent day several artillery rounds were fired into Al Malaki's office nearly striking the prime minister and the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon . On 23 March, the deputy prime minister Salam al-Zubaie was seriously injured in

7752-466: The first nine days of April, 22 American soldiers were killed in fighting in and around Baghdad alone. In the whole country 43 American and 6 British soldiers were killed in the first nine days of April at a rate of around 5 soldiers per day. 10 April saw some of the most intense street fighting of the operation when U.S. and Iraqi troops encountered heavily armed Iraqi insurgents in the Fadhil district during

7866-592: The first stage of the Iraq War . The invasion began on 20 March 2003 and lasted just over one month, including 26 days of major combat operations, in which a United States-led combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded the Republic of Iraq . Twenty-two days after the first day of the invasion, the capital city of Baghdad was captured by coalition forces on 9 April after

7980-634: The government's invasion rationale. In September 2004, Kofi Annan , United Nations Secretary-General at the time, called the invasion illegal under international law and said it was a breach of the UN Charter . On 15 February 2003, a month before the invasion, there were worldwide protests against the Iraq War , including a rally of three million people in Rome, which the Guinness World Records listed as

8094-479: The ground who control that area. An area moves into the retain phase when the Iraqi security forces are fully responsible for the day-to-day security mission. At this point, coalition forces begin to move out of the neighborhood and into locations where they can respond to requests for assistance as needed. During these three phrases, efforts will be ongoing to stimulate local economies by creating employment opportunities, initiating reconstruction projects and improving

8208-441: The high level of violence in Iraq despite a drop in the overall death toll in Baghdad during the U.S.-Iraqi security sweep that had entered its eighth week. The month of April saw more intense fighting between U.S. forces and insurgents in and around Baghdad. The rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on his Mahdi Army to stop attacking the Iraqi security forces and redouble their efforts to attack American and other foreign forces. In

8322-453: The house and stay there. As of 2015, Adhamiyah remains one of the few majority Sunni districts in Baghdad. On April 10, 2007, Coalition forces began to construct a 5-kilometre-long (3 mi), 3.7-metre-high (12 ft) wall around the Adhamiyah neighborhood in an attempt to reduce Sunni-Shi'a violence. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called for a halt to construction on April 22, but it

8436-495: The infrastructure. These efforts will be spearheaded by neighborhood advisory councils, district advisory councils and the government of Iraq." The nine Baghdad security districts corresponded to Baghdad administrative districts and were named as follows: Adhamiyah , Karkh , Karadah (Kharadah), Kadhimyah , Mansour , Sadr City (Thawr), Al Rashid , Rusafa and Tisa Nissan (9 Nissan). The Joint Security Sites (JSS, also known as Joint Security Stations) were occupied by both

8550-471: The initial air strikes against Saddam and his generals. Although the strike against Saddam was unsuccessful in killing him, it effectively ended his ability to command and control his forces. Strikes against Iraq's generals were more successful and significantly degraded the Iraqi command's ability to react to, and maneuver against, the U.S.-led invasion force. SAD operations officers successfully convinced key Iraqi Army officers to surrender their units once

8664-581: The invasion coalesced in the worldwide 15 February 2003 anti-war protest that attracted between six and ten million people in more than 800 cities, the largest such protest in human history according to the Guinness Book of World Records . On 16 March 2003, Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar , UK Prime Minister Tony Blair , President of the United States George W. Bush , and Prime Minister of Portugal José Manuel Durão Barroso as host met in

8778-588: The invasion of Iraq was presented in detail by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to the United Nations Security Council on 5 February 2003. In summary, he stated, We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction; he's determined to make more. Given Saddam Hussein's history of aggression ... given what we know of his terrorist associations and given his determination to exact revenge on those who oppose him, should we take

8892-548: The largest-ever anti-war rally. According to the French academic Dominique Reynié , between 3 January and 12 April 2003, 36 million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000 protests against the Iraq war. The invasion was preceded by an airstrike on the Presidential Palace in Baghdad on 20 March 2003. The following day, coalition forces launched an incursion into Basra Governorate from their massing point close to

9006-521: The main bridge in north Baghdad's Waziriyah district . The bridge spanning over the Tigris River had been the primary transit point for United States vehicles operating in north Baghdad. On the same day insurgents managed to penetrate the extensive security and fortifications of U.S.-protected Green Zone and detonate a suicide bomb in the Iraqi parliament. The resulting blast killed one member of parliament, with seven more lawmakers being seriously wounded by

9120-554: The mastermind behind the Karbala raid in which five U.S. soldiers were killed by Iraqi insurgent commandos, four of which were first captured and then later executed. By the end of May, 155 civilians were reported killed in the country during the whole month, 30 percent more than in April, around the same number as in March and an increase against 1,911 killed in January. Also more than 335 members of

9234-469: The matter further with people in Washington (both have acknowledged the meeting). A few days later, he informed Hage that Washington refused to let him meet with Habbush to discuss the offer (Hage stated that Perle's response was "that the consensus in Washington was it was a no-go"). Perle told The Times , "The message was 'Tell them that we will see them in Baghdad.′" According to General Tommy Franks ,

9348-407: The mortar attacks were down by 50 percent but roadside and car bombings remain at a high level. The Iraqi military said that "the statistics are key indications that the security crackdown is bearing fruit". By 17 March a total of 15 joint US-Iraqi security stations were set up in Baghdad. Another 15 were planned to be built. Of the 15 that were built one was almost destroyed in an insurgent attack in

9462-507: The objectives of the invasion were, "First, end the regime of Saddam Hussein. Second, to identify, isolate and eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Third, to search for, to capture, and to drive out terrorists from that country. Fourth, to collect such intelligence as we can related to terrorist networks. Fifth, to collect such intelligence as we can related to the global network of illicit weapons of mass destruction. Sixth, to end sanctions and to immediately deliver humanitarian support to

9576-415: The option of invading without it. General David Petraeus recalled in an interview his experience during the time before the invasion, stating that "When we were getting ready for what became the invasion of Iraq, the prevailing wisdom was that we were going to have a long, hard fight to Baghdad, and it was really going to be hard to take Baghdad. The road to deployment, which was a very compressed road for

9690-635: The paramilitary operations officers and 10th Special Forces Group soldiers, were the first U.S. forces to enter Iraq, in July 2002, before the main invasion. Once on the ground, they prepared for the subsequent arrival of U.S. Army Special Forces to organize the Kurdish Peshmerga . This joint team (called the Northern Iraq Liaison Element (NILE)) combined to defeat Ansar al-Islam , a group with ties to al-Qaeda, in Iraqi Kurdistan. This battle

9804-416: The passage of the Iraq Liberation Act, the U.S. and UK launched a bombardment campaign of Iraq called Operation Desert Fox . The campaign's express rationale was to hamper Saddam Hussein's government's ability to produce chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, but U.S. intelligence personnel also hoped it would help weaken Saddam's grip on power. With the election of George W. Bush as president in 2000 ,

9918-521: The plan was a critical period for the U.S. presence in Iraq. In mid-October 2006, al-Qaeda announced the creation of Islamic state of Iraq (ISI), replacing the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC) and its al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). On 10 February 2007, General David Petraeus replaced General Casey as the commander of Multi National Force-Iraq and Admiral William Fallon replaced General Abizaid as CENTCOM Commander on 16 March 2007. The operation

10032-479: The radical Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda from 1992 to 2003, specifically through a series of meetings reportedly involving the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS). Some Bush advisers favored an immediate invasion of Iraq, while others advocated building an international coalition and obtaining United Nations authorization. Bush eventually decided to seek UN authorization, while still reserving

10146-423: The reinforcements were in place at this time. The U.S. command had stated that killings from death squads were going down notwithstanding the continued bombings. By the end of March, a total of 2,762 Iraqi civilians and policemen were killed, a small 3.6% decrease on the monthly death toll from before the crackdown, when 2,864 were killed. U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell expressed disappointment at

10260-409: The results will be seen over the course of months. On 17 February, Iraqi Army spokesman Qasim al-Musawi announced that attacks and killings in Baghdad had already declined by 80%. He also added that the Baghdad morgue usually received 40-50 bodies per day but had received only 20 in the past 48 hours. On 18 February, car bombings in a crowded market killed 63, which was the first major bombing since

10374-461: The risk that he will not some day use these weapons at a time and the place and in the manner of his choosing at a time when the world is in a much weaker position to respond? The United States will not and cannot run that risk to the American people. Leaving Saddam Hussein in possession of weapons of mass destruction for a few more months or years is not an option, not in a post–September 11 world. In September 2002, Tony Blair stated, in an answer to

10488-494: The sake of peace, we, along with others, will go disarm Saddam Hussein." As late as 25 February 2003, it was still the official line that the only cause of invasion would be a failure to disarm. As Blair made clear in a statement to the House of Commons, "I detest his regime. But even now he can save it by complying with the UN's demand. Even now, we are prepared to go the extra step to achieve disarmament peacefully." In September 2002,

10602-508: The same day the Prime Minister gave the statement, insurgents stormed a checkpoint near Baghdad International Airport , killing eight policemen. Also, two suicide bombers struck in Baghdad, one in the southern part killing one person and another outside the SCIRI compound killing three. The next day a female bomber killed at least 41 and wounded 50 at Baghdad's Mustansiriyah University , while several Katyusha rockets simultaneously killed at least

10716-547: The security plan went in place. The insurgent counterattack continued the next day as bombs continued to go off in Baghdad and a U.S. post was destroyed by a bombing which killed two troops and wounded 29. On 24 February, the Iraqi Prime Minister stated that 400 militants were killed in the operation which was contradictory to the statement given two days before by a senior Iraqi Brigadier, General Qassim Atta al-Mussawi, who said 42 militants were killed and 246 captured. On

10830-465: The shrine district, is located north-west of the city center and is an upscale area. This is not to be confused with a much larger Adhamiyah district of Baghdad, which is nearly 9 times larger and has as many times the inhabitants. The shrine area, Adhamyiah proper, has about 100,000 inhabitants. This area was 95% Sunni , 5% Shi'ite before 2003 and the Iraqi invasion. After the Iraqi civil war (2006–2008) , it

10944-450: The situation on the ground was different: only a handful of Iraqi families had returned to their homes, and most of them had only done so because of payments from the Iraqi government. According to the Newsweek article, the government offered a bounty of 250,000 dinars to each family that returned to its home, and they also paid a small benefit to families who were displaced. Only about 40% of

11058-538: The six-day-long Battle of Baghdad . This early stage of the war formally ended on 1 May when U.S. President George W. Bush declared the "end of major combat operations" in his Mission Accomplished speech , after which the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was established as the first of several successive transitional governments leading up to the first Iraqi parliamentary election in January 2005. U.S. military forces later remained in Iraq until

11172-547: The south. Four of these CIA officers were awarded the Intelligence Star for their actions. In the 2003 State of the Union address , President Bush said "we know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several mobile biological weapons labs". On 5 February 2003, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations General Assembly , continuing U.S. efforts to gain UN authorization for an invasion. His presentation to

11286-512: The start of the invasion. Others place a much greater emphasis on the impact of the September 11 attacks , on the role this played in changing U.S. strategic calculations, and the rise of the freedom agenda. According to Blair, the trigger was Iraq's failure to take a "final opportunity" to disarm itself of alleged nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that U.S. and British officials called an immediate and intolerable threat to world peace. In

11400-524: The then Leader of the House of Commons Robin Cook . In a passionate speech to the House of Commons after his resignation, he said, "What has come to trouble me is the suspicion that if the 'hanging chads' of Florida had gone the other way and Al Gore had been elected, we would not now be about to commit British troops to action in Iraq." During the debate, it was stated that the Attorney General had advised that

11514-514: The trip. Maloof reports having brought the proposal to Jaymie Duran. The Pentagon denies that either Wolfowitz or Rumsfeld, Duran's bosses, were aware of the plan. On 21 February, Maloof informed Duran in an email that Richard Perle wished to meet with Hage and the Iraqis if the Pentagon would clear it. Duran responded "Mike, working this. Keep this close hold." On 7 March, Perle met with Hage in Knightsbridge, and stated that he wanted to pursue

11628-463: The tubes could be used to enrich uranium. Powell later admitted he had presented an inaccurate case to the United Nations on Iraqi weapons, based on sourcing that was wrong and in some cases "deliberately misleading." The Bush administration asserted that the Saddam government had sought to purchase yellowcake uranium from Niger . On 7 March 2003, the U.S. submitted intelligence documents as evidence to

11742-499: The war to its citizens. Americans overwhelmingly believed Saddam did have weapons of mass destruction: 85% said so, even though the inspectors had not uncovered those weapons. Of those who thought Iraq had weapons sequestered somewhere, about half responded that said weapons would not be found in combat. By February 2003, 64% of Americans supported taking military action to remove Saddam from power. The Central Intelligence Agency 's Special Activities Division (SAD) teams, consisting of

11856-562: The war was legal under previous UN Resolutions. In December 2002, a representative of the head of Iraqi Intelligence, the General Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti , contacted former Central Intelligence Agency Counterterrorism Department head Vincent Cannistraro stating that Saddam "knew there was a campaign to link him to 11 September and prove he had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)." Cannistraro further added that "the Iraqis were prepared to satisfy these concerns. I reported

11970-556: The withdrawal in 2011. The coalition sent 160,000 troops into Iraq during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from 19 March to 1 May. About 73% or 130,000 soldiers were American, with about 45,000 British soldiers (25%), 2,000 Australian soldiers (1%), and ~200 Polish JW GROM commandos (0.1%). Thirty-six other countries were involved in its aftermath. In preparation for the invasion, 100,000 U.S. troops assembled in Kuwait by 18 February. The coalition forces also received support from

12084-470: Was captured by U.S. forces on 13 December. Hostilities of the Gulf War were suspended on 28 February 1991, with a cease-fire negotiated between the UN coalition and Iraq. The U.S. and its allies tried to keep Saddam in check with military actions such as Operation Southern Watch , which was conducted by Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) with the mission of monitoring and controlling airspace south of

12198-491: Was billed as a major neighborhood-to-neighborhood sweep to quell sectarian violence in the city of 6 million. In conducting the Baghdad Security Plan (BSP) (Fardh al-Qanoon in Arabic), coalition forces "erected security walls around public gathering spots like markets, rounded up weapons caches, and detained suspected Sunni insurgents and Shiite death squads" and set up "'joint security sites' and even smaller 'combat outposts'." In

12312-399: Was finished anyway in May. By late fall 2007, life in Adhamiya had begun to resemble a city again with traffic jams, the reopening of shops, and an abatement of violence. Security efforts of the 2-319th AFAR 82nd Airborne Division, 3rd Squadron 7th Cavalry Regiment and cooperation of the local law enforcement and military. However, in January 2008 terrorists killed Col. Riyadh al-Samarrai ,

12426-460: Was for control of the territory that was occupied by Ansar al-Islam. It was carried out by Paramilitary Operations Officers from SAD and the Army's 10th Special Forces Group. This battle resulted in the defeat of Ansar and the capture of a chemical weapons facility at Sargat. Sargat was the only facility of its type discovered in the Iraq war. SAD teams also conducted missions behind enemy lines to identify leadership targets. These missions led to

12540-545: Was in the mainly Shiite Sadriyah neighborhood in an attack on a market, which had already been hit by car bombs in previous attacks, where 140 people were killed and 148 were wounded. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the arrest of the Iraqi army colonel who was in charge of security in the area around the Sadriyah market . On the national level the Associated Press reported nearly 240 confirmed civilian fatalities making it

12654-559: Was led by Iraqi General Abboud Qanbar , a veteran of the Iran-Iraq and Gulf wars. General Qanbar was a compromise choice because General Mohan al-Furayji , the first choice of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki , to head the operation, was rejected by the U.S. Army. On the first day of the operation new checkpoints were erected and increased vehicle inspections and foot patrols were reported in some neighborhoods. The operation

12768-486: Was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that invading that country was not justified in the context of UNMOVIC 's 12 February 2003 report. About 5,000 largely unusable chemical warheads , shells or aviation bombs were discovered during the Iraq War, but these had been built and abandoned earlier in Saddam Hussein 's rule before the 1991 Gulf War . The discoveries of these chemical weapons did not support

12882-562: Was not complying with UN Resolution 1441 . The main allegations were: that Saddam possessed or was attempting to produce weapons of mass destruction , which Saddam Hussein had used in places such as Halabja , possessed, and made efforts to acquire, particularly considering two previous attacks on Baghdad nuclear weapons production facilities by both Iran and Israel which were alleged to have postponed weapons development progress; and, further, that he had ties to terrorists, specifically al-Qaeda. The Bush administration's overall rationale for

12996-505: Was offered top priority to U.S. firms in oil and mining rights, UN-supervised elections, U.S. inspections (with up to 5,000 inspectors), to have al-Qaeda agent Abdul Rahman Yasin (in Iraqi custody since 1994) handed over as a sign of good faith, and to give "full support for any U.S. plan" in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process . They also wished to meet with high-ranking U.S. officials. On 19 February, Hage faxed Maloof his report of

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