2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq غزو العراق ( Kurdish) | |||||||
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Part of the War on terror and the Iraq War | |||||||
Clockwise from top-left: American troops from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, escort Iraqi prisoners of war to a holding area in the desert; American convoy of Humvees in northern Iraq during a sandstorm; Iraqi civilians cheer as American soldiers topple Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad's Firdos Square; American troops from the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, watch an Iraqi paramilitary's headquarters burn in Samawah | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Coalition of the willing Iraqi National Congress |
Republic of Iraq PMOI[4] Islamic Emirate of Byara | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Saddam Hussein Qusay Hussein Uday Hussein Abid Hamid Mahmud Ali Hassan al-Majid Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri Ra'ad al-Hamdani Taha Yassin Ramadan Tariq Aziz Massoud Rajavi (MIA) Maryam Rajavi | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
Total: 589,799 466,985 personnel[10] 50,000 troops 2,000 troops 194 special forces[11] 70,000 troops[12] 620 troops |
Total: 1,311,000 Arab volunteers: 6,000[17] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Total: 747+
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Total: 30,000+
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Estimated Iraqi civilian fatalities: |
The
The coalition sent 160,000 troops into Iraq during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from 19 March to 1 May.[citation needed] 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.[29] The coalition forces also received support from the Peshmerga in Iraqi Kurdistan.
According to U.S. President George W. Bush and
In 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.[35] The invasion was strongly opposed by some long-standing U.S. allies, including the governments of France, Germany, and New Zealand.[36][37][38] Their leaders argued that there 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 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 the government's invasion rationale.[39][40] 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.[41]
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 the largest-ever anti-war rally.[42] 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.[43]
The invasion was preceded by an
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 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.
Prelude to the invasion
Hostilities of the
In October 1998, removing the Iraqi government became official
With the election of George W. Bush as
Despite the Bush administration's stated interest in invading Iraq, little formal movement towards an invasion occurred until the
On 20 September 2001, Bush addressed a
Preparations for war
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 a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August."[60] 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.[61]
Key U.S. allies in
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 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.[64] UNMOVIC "did not find evidence of 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 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.[65][66][67]
In October 2002, the U.S. Congress passed the "
The
SAD teams also conducted missions behind enemy lines to identify leadership targets. These missions led to the initial
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 the south.[72] Four of these CIA officers were awarded the Intelligence Star for their actions.[69][70]
In the
Powell also presented false assertions alleging Iraq had ties to al-Qaeda. As a follow-up to Powell's presentation, the United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, Australia, Denmark, Japan, and Spain proposed a resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq, but NATO members like 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.[74][75]
Opposition to the invasion coalesced in the worldwide
On 16 March 2003, Spanish Prime Minister,
In March 2003, the United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Australia, Spain, Denmark, and Italy began
The UK
Attempts to avoid war
In December 2002, a representative of the head of Iraqi Intelligence, the General
Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's national security advisor, Osama El-Baz, sent 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,
In January 2003, Hage met with 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.[81]
Later that month, Hage met with General Habbush and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz. He 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 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.[81]
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 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.′"[83]
Casus belli and rationale
According to
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 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."
Weapons of mass destruction
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,[87][88] 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 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 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.[89]
In September 2002, Tony Blair stated, in an answer to 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..."[90] 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 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."[91]
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 the sake of peace, we, along with others, will go disarm Saddam Hussein."[92] 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."[93]
In September 2002, 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 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."[94][95][96]
The Bush administration asserted that the Saddam government had sought to purchase yellowcake uranium from Niger.[97] On 7 March 2003, the U.S. submitted intelligence documents as evidence to 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".
Since the invasion, the U.S. government statements concerning Iraqi weapons programs and links to al-Qaeda have been discredited,[98] though chemical weapons were found in Iraq during the occupation period.[99] While the debate of whether Iraq intended to develop chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons in the future remains open, no WMDs have been found in Iraq since the invasion despite comprehensive inspections lasting more than 18 months.[100] In Cairo, on 24 February 2001, Colin Powell had predicted as much, saying, "[Saddam] has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbours."[101]
Connection to terrorists
Another justification included the alleged connection between the regime of Saddam Hussein and that of terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda that had attacked the United States during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
While it never made an explicit connection between Iraq and the 11 September attacks, the George W. Bush administration repeatedly insinuated a link, thereby creating a false impression for the U.S. public. Grand jury testimony from the
While not explicitly declaring Iraqi culpability in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, administration officials did, at various times, imply a link. In late 2001, Cheney said it was "pretty well confirmed" that attack mastermind Mohamed Atta had met with a senior Iraqi intelligence official. Later, Cheney called Iraq the "geographic base of the terrorists who had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11."[102]
Steven Kull, director of the
The BBC has also noted that, while President Bush "never directly accused the former Iraqi leader of having a hand in the attacks on New York and Washington", he "repeatedly associated the two in keynote addresses delivered since 11 September", adding that "Senior members of his administration have similarly conflated the two." For instance, the BBC report quotes Colin Powell in February 2003, stating that "We've learned that Iraq has trained al-Qaeda members in bomb-making and poisons and deadly gases. And we know that after September 11, Saddam Hussein's regime gleefully celebrated the terrorist attacks on America." The same BBC report also noted the results of a recent opinion poll, which suggested that "70% of Americans believe the Iraqi leader was personally involved in the attacks."[104]
Also in September 2003, The Boston Globe reported that "Vice President Dick Cheney, anxious to defend the White House foreign policy amid ongoing violence in Iraq, stunned intelligence analysts and even members of his own administration this week by failing to dismiss a widely discredited claim: that Saddam Hussein might have played a role in the 11 Sept. attacks."[105] A year later, presidential candidate John Kerry alleged that Cheney was continuing "to intentionally mislead the American public by drawing a link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11 in an attempt to make the invasion of Iraq part of the global war on terror."[106]
Since the invasion, assertions of operational links between the Iraqi regime and al-Qaeda have largely been discredited by the intelligence community, and Secretary Powell himself later admitted he had no proof.[98]
Iraqi drones
In October 2002, a few days before the
In fact, Iraq had no offensive UAV fleet or any capability of putting UAVs on ships.
Human rights
Additional justifications used at various times included Iraqi violation of UN resolutions, the Iraqi government's repression of its citizens, and Iraqi violations of the 1991 cease-fire.[30]
As evidence supporting U.S. and British charges about Iraqi Weapons of mass destruction and links to terrorism weakened, some supporters of the invasion have increasingly shifted their justification to the
Legality of invasion
The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (July 2016) |
US domestic law
The
The resolution "supported" and "encouraged" diplomatic efforts by President George W. Bush to "strictly enforce through the U.N. Security Council all relevant Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq" and "obtain prompt and decisive action by the Security Council to ensure that Iraq abandons its strategy of delay, evasion, and noncompliance and promptly and strictly complies with all relevant Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq." The resolution authorized President Bush to use the
International law
The legality of the invasion of Iraq under international law has been challenged since its inception on a number of fronts, and several prominent supporters of the invasion in all the invading nations have publicly and privately cast doubt on its legality. It has been argued by US and British governments that the invasion was fully legal because authorization was implied by the United Nations Security Council.[114] International legal experts, including the International Commission of Jurists, a group of 31 leading Canadian law professors, and the U.S.-based Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, have denounced this rationale.[115][116][117]
On Thursday 20 November 2003, an article published in The Guardian alleged that Richard Perle, a senior member of the administration's Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee, conceded that the invasion was illegal but still justified.[118][119]
The United Nations Security Council has passed nearly 60 resolutions on Iraq and Kuwait since Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The most relevant to this issue is Resolution 678, passed on 29 November 1990. It authorizes "member states co-operating with the Government of Kuwait ... to use all necessary means" to (1) implement Security Council Resolution 660 and other resolutions calling for the end of Iraq's occupation of Kuwait and withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Kuwaiti territory and (2) "restore international peace and security in the area." Resolution 678 has not been rescinded or nullified by succeeding resolutions and Iraq was not alleged after 1991 to invade Kuwait or to threaten to do so.
Resolution 1441 was most prominent during the run-up to the war and formed the main backdrop for Secretary of State Colin Powell's address to the Security Council one month before the invasion.[120] According to an independent commission of inquiry set up by the government of the Netherlands, UN resolution 1441 "cannot reasonably be interpreted (as the Dutch government did) as authorising individual member states to use military force to compel Iraq to comply with the Security Council's resolutions." Accordingly, the Dutch commission concluded that the 2003 invasion violated international law.[121]
At the same time, Bush Administration officials advanced a parallel legal argument using the earlier resolutions, which authorized force in response to Iraq's 1990
Critics and proponents of the legal rationale based on the U.N. resolutions argue that the legal right to determine how to enforce its resolutions lies with the Security Council alone, not with individual nations and therefore the invasion of Iraq was not legal under international law, and in direct violation of Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter.
In February 2006, Luis Moreno Ocampo, the lead prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, reported that he had received 240 separate communications regarding the legality of the war, many of which concerned British participation in the invasion.[122] In a letter addressed to the complainants, Mr. Moreno Ocampo explained that he could only consider issues related to conduct during the war and not to its underlying legality as a possible crime of aggression because no provision had yet been adopted which "defines the crime and sets out the conditions under which the Court may exercise jurisdiction with respect to it." In a March 2007 interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Moreno Ocampo encouraged Iraq to sign up with the court so that it could bring cases related to alleged war crimes.[123]
United States Ohio Congressman
Military aspects
Multilateral support
In November 2002, President George W. Bush, visiting Europe for a NATO summit, declared that, "should Iraqi President Saddam Hussein choose not to disarm, the United States will lead a coalition of the willing to disarm him."[124] Thereafter, the Bush administration briefly used the term coalition of the willing to refer to the countries who supported, militarily or verbally, the military action in Iraq and subsequent military presence in post-invasion Iraq since 2003. The original list prepared in March 2003 included 49 members.[125] Of those 49, only six besides the U.S. contributed troops to the invasion force (the United Kingdom, Australia, Poland, Spain, Portugal, and Denmark), and 33 provided some number of troops to support the occupation after the invasion was complete. Six members have no military, meaning that they withheld troops completely.
Invasion force
A U.S. Central Command, Combined Forces Air Component Commander report, indicated that, as of 30 April 2003, 466,985 U.S. personnel were deployed for the invasion of Iraq. This included;[10]
Ground forces element: 336,797 personnel
- U.S. Army, 233,342
- U.S. Army Reserve, 10,683
- Army National Guard, 8,866
- U.S. Marines, 74,405
- U.S. Marine Reserve, 9,501
Air forces element: 64,246 personnel
- U.S. Air Force, 54,955
- U.S. Air Force Reserve, 2,084
- Air National Guard, 7,207
Naval forces element: 63,352 personnel
- U.S. Coast Guard)
- U.S. Navy Reserve, 2,056
Approximately 148,000 soldiers from the United States, 50,000 British soldiers, 2,000 Australian soldiers and 194 Polish soldiers from the special forces unit
Canada discreetly
Plans to open a second front in the north were severely hampered when Turkey refused the use of its territory for such purposes.[130] In response to Turkey's decision, the United States dropped several thousand paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade into northern Iraq, a number significantly less than the 15,000-strong 4th Infantry Division that the U.S. originally planned to deploy to the northern front.[131]
Preparation
CIA
SAD teams also conducted high-risk special reconnaissance missions behind Iraqi lines to identify senior leadership targets. These missions led to the initial strikes against Saddam Hussein and his key generals. Although the initial strikes against Saddam were unsuccessful in killing the dictator or his generals, they were successful in effectively ending the ability to command and control Iraqi forces. Other strikes against key generals were successful and significantly degraded the command's ability to react to and maneuver against the U.S.-led invasion force coming from the south.[68][70]
MI6 conducted Operation Mass Appeal which was a campaign to plant stories about Iraq's WMDs in the media and boost support for the invasion. MI6 also went on to bribe many of Saddam's closest allies to turn over information and intelligence.
SAD operations officers were also successful in convincing key Iraqi army officers to surrender their units once the fighting started and/or not to oppose the invasion force.[69] NATO member Turkey refused to allow its territory to be used for the invasion. As a result, the SAD/SOG and U.S. Army Special Forces joint teams and the Kurdish Peshmerga constituted the entire northern force against government forces during the invasion. Their efforts kept the 5th Corps of the Iraqi army in place to defend against the Kurds rather than moving to contest the coalition force.
According to
Defending force
The number of personnel in the
Another estimate numbers the Army and Republican Guard at between 280,000 and 350,000 and 50,000 to 80,000, respectively,[
During the invasion, foreign volunteers traveled to Iraq from Syria and took part in the fighting, usually commanded by the Fedayeen Saddam. It is not known for certain how many foreign fighters fought in Iraq in 2003, however, intelligence officers of the U.S. First Marine Division estimated that 50% of all Iraqi combatants in central Iraq were foreigners.[135][136]
In addition, the Kurdish Islamist militant group
Military equipment
Depleted uranium
According to information provided to the
Incendiary weapons
US forces used white phosphorus and Napalm as incendiary weapons during the Battle of Mosul and Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004. On the March 2005, Field artillery, a magazine published by the US Army, published reports of the use of white phosphorus in the battle for Fallujah. the British Ministry of Defence confirmed the use of Mark 77 bomb by US forces during the war.[140]
Cluster munitions
US-led coalition forces used 61,000 cluster munitions, containing 20 million submunitions during the 1991 Gulf War, and 13,000 cluster munitions, containing two million submunitions during the 2003 invasion and subsequent insurgency.[141][142] Thousands of unexploded munitions from the invasion and previous wars, including cluster munitions, mines and other unexploded ordnance, still pose a threat to civilians.[143]
Invasion
Since the 1991
The amount of
The 5 September attacks included a 100+ aircraft attack on the main air defense site in western Iraq. According to an editorial in New Statesman this was "Located at the furthest extreme of the southern no-fly zone, far away from the areas that needed to be patrolled to prevent attacks on the Shias, it was destroyed not because it was a threat to the patrols, but to allow allied special forces operating from Jordan to enter Iraq undetected."[148]
Tommy Franks, who commanded the invasion of Iraq, has since admitted that the bombing was designed to "degrade" Iraqi air defences in the same way as the air attacks that began the 1991 Gulf War. These "spikes of activity" were, in the words of then British Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, designed to 'put pressure on the Iraqi regime' or, as The Times reported, to "provoke Saddam Hussein into giving the allies an excuse for war". In this respect, as provocations designed to start a war, leaked British Foreign Office legal advice concluded that such attacks were illegal under international law.[149][150]
Another attempt at provoking the war was mentioned in a leaked memo from a meeting between George W. Bush and Tony Blair on 31 January 2003 at which Bush allegedly told Blair that "The US was thinking of flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in UN colours. If Saddam fired on them, he would be in breach."[151] On 17 March 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave the country, along with his sons Uday and Qusay, or face war.[152]
Preceding special forces mission in al-Qa'im
On the night of 17 March 2003, the majority of B and D squadron
Opening salvo: the Dora Farms strike
In the early morning of 19 March 2003, U.S. forces abandoned the plan for initial, non-nuclear
One bomb missed the compound entirely and the other three missed their target, landing on the other side of the wall of the palace compound.[159] Saddam Hussein was not present, nor were any members of the Iraqi leadership.[154][160] The attack killed one civilian and injured fourteen others, including four men, nine women and one child.[161] Later sources indicated that Saddam Hussein had not visited the farm since 1995,[158] while others claimed that Saddam had been at the compound that morning, but had left before the strike, which Bush had ordered delayed until the 48-hour deadline had expired.[155]
Opening attack
On 19 March 2003 at 21:00, the first strike of the operation was carried out by members of the
On 20 March 2003 at approximately 02:30
Before the invasion, many observers had expected a longer campaign of aerial bombing before any ground action, taking as examples the 1991 Persian Gulf War or the
Following Turkey's decision to deny any official use of its territory, the coalition was forced to modify the planned simultaneous attack from north and south.[166] Special Operations forces from the CIA and U.S. Army managed to build and lead the Kurdish Peshmerga into an effective force and assault for the North. The primary bases for the invasion were in Kuwait and other Persian Gulf nations. One result of this was that one of the divisions intended for the invasion was forced to relocate and was unable to take part in the invasion until well into the war. Many observers felt that the coalition devoted sufficient numbers of troops to the invasion, but too many were withdrawn after it ended, and that the failure to occupy cities put them at a major disadvantage in achieving security and order throughout the country when local support failed to meet expectations.
The United States launched its invasion of Iraq as an effective operational continuation of the First Gulf War. Their main objectives were to destroy the Iraqi army, cripple their ability to fight, and dismantle the Iraqi government.[167] However, the Iraqis immediately adapted and began using unconventional tactics. Already on March 22, just two days into the war, the Americans encountered their first taste of the insurgency tactics that would later define the war. Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Broadhead, a platoon sergeant in the Crazy Horse troop of the 3rd Infantry Division's cavalry unit, was in a tank heading towards a bridge in Samawah on the invasion route. He waved at a group of Iraqis, but instead of waving back, they began attacking the American tanks with AK-47 rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortars. Because these types of paramilitary forces were well-armed, but indistinguishable from civilians, they would come to pose a significant challenge for U.S. forces throughout Iraq War.[168]
The invasion itself was swift, leading to the collapse of the Iraqi government and the
In the meantime, Royal Air Force Tornados from 9 and 617 Squadrons attacked the radar defence systems protecting Baghdad, but lost a Tornado on 22 March along with the pilot and navigator (Flight Lieutenant Kevin Main and Flight Lieutenant Dave Williams), shot down by an American Patriot missile as they returned to their air base in Kuwait.[172] On 1 April, an F-14 from USS Kitty Hawk crashed in southern Iraq reportedly due to engine failure,[173] and a S-3B Viking plunged off the deck of the USS Constellation after a malfunction and an AV-8B Harrier jump jet went into the Gulf while it was trying to land on the USS Nassau.[174]
British
In keeping with the rapid advance plan, the
During the first week of the war, Iraqi forces fired a
Battle of Nasiriyah
Initially, the
On 23 March, a convoy from the 3rd Infantry Division, including the female American soldiers
On the evening of 24 March, the
With the Nasiriyah and Tallil Airfields secured, coalition forces gained an important logistical center in southern Iraq and established FOB/EAF Jalibah, some 10 miles (16 km) outside of Nasiriyah. Additional troops and supplies were soon brought through this forward operating base. The 101st Airborne Division continued its attack north in support of the 3rd Infantry Division.
By 28 March, a severe sandstorm slowed the coalition advance as the 3rd Infantry Division halted its northward drive halfway between Najaf and Karbala. Air operations by helicopters, poised to bring reinforcements from the 101st Airborne, were blocked for three days. There was particularly heavy fighting in and around the bridge near the town of Kufl.
Battle of Najaf
Another fierce battle was at
The 1st Brigade Combat Team's air defense battery moved in and after heavy fighting with entrenched Iraqi Fedayeen seized a strategic bridge in Najaf, known as "Objective Jenkins". They then came under fierce counterattacks by Iraqi forces and Fedayeen, who failed to dislodge U.S. forces from their positions. After 36 hours of combat at the bridge at Najaf, the Iraqis were defeated, and the key bridge was secured, isolating Najaf from the north.[citation needed]
The
Battle of Basra
The Iraqi port city of Umm Qasr was the first British obstacle. A joint Polish-British-American force ran into unexpectedly stiff resistance, and it took several days to clear the Iraqi forces out. Farther north, the British 7 Armoured Brigade ("The Desert Rats"), fought their way into Iraq's second-largest city, Basra, on 6 April, coming under constant attack by regulars and Fedayeen, while 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment cleared the 'old quarter' of the city that was inaccessible to vehicles. Entering Basra was achieved after two weeks of fierce fighting, including a tank battle when the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards destroyed 14 Iraqi tanks on 27 March. A few members of D Squadron, British SAS, were deployed to southern Iraq to support the coalition advance on Basra. The team conducted forward route reconnaissance and infiltrated the city and brought in strikes on the Ba'athist loyalist leadership.[181][182]
Elements of 1 (UK) Armoured Division began to advance north towards U.S. positions around Al Amarah on 9 April. Pre-existing electrical and water shortages continued throughout the conflict and looting began as Iraqi forces collapsed. While coalition forces began working with local Iraqi Police to enforce order, a joint team composed of Royal Engineers and the Royal Logistic Corps of the British Army rapidly set up and repaired dockyard facilities to allow humanitarian aid to begin to arrive from ships arriving in the port city of Umm Qasr.
After a rapid initial advance, the first major pause occurred near Karbala. There, U.S. Army elements met resistance from Iraqi troops defending cities and key bridges along the Euphrates River. These forces threatened to interdict supply routes as American forces moved north. Eventually, troops from the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army secured the cities of Najaf and Karbala to prevent any Iraqi counterattacks on the 3rd Infantry Division's lines of communication as the division pressed its advance toward Baghdad.
Eleven British soldiers were killed, while 395–515 Iraqi soldiers, irregulars, and Fedayeen were killed.
The efforts of the British Army facilitated the re-establishment of the rail lines from the port to Baghdad.
Battle of Karbala
The Karbala Gap was a 20–25-mile wide strip of land with the Euphrates River to the east and
Special operations
Initial infiltration
B Squadron,
Operation Row and Falconer
On 18 March 2003, B and D Squadrons of the British 22nd SAS Regiment had now infiltrated Iraq in full strength (D Squadron by air and B Squadron by ground) along with 1 Squadron Australian SASR and headed for H-2 and H-3 Air Base. They set up observation posts and called in airstrikes that defeated the Iraqi defenders. The combined British and Australian Squadrons took H-2 virtually unopposed. H-3 was secured on 25 March with the assistance of members of Delta Force and by Green Beret ODAs from Bravo company, 1st Battalion 5th SFG; a company of Rangers and Royal Marines from 45 Commando flew from Jordan to the bases and the base was handed over to them. The SAS teams moved to the next objective – the intersection of the two main highways linking Baghdad with Syria and Jordan,[187][188] where both squadrons were involved in conducting interdictions of fleeing Iraqi leadership targets heading for Syria.[182]
Previously, 16 (Air) Troop of D squadron conducted mounted reconnaissance of an Iraqi army facility near the Syrian border, followed by a harassing attack on the site, two other troops had conducted mobile ambushes on Iraqi units in the area, although they themselves were being hunted by a large Fedayeen Saddam unit mounted in technicals.[182]
In northern Iraq in early March, a small reconnaissance team from M Squadron of the British Special Boat Service mounted on Honda ATVs inserted into Iraq from Jordan. Its first mission was to conduct reconnaissance of an Iraqi air base at al-Sahara. The team was compromised by an anti-special forces Fedayeen unit and barely escaped thanks to a U.S. F-15E that flew air cover for the team and an RAF Chinook that extracted the team from out under the Fedayeen's "noses". A second larger SBS operation was launched by M Squadron in full strength in a mix of land rovers and ATVs into northern Iraq from H-2 air base, the objective was to locate, make contact and take the surrender of the Iraqi 5th Army Corps somewhere past Tikrit and to survey and mark viable temporary landing zones for follow-on forces. However the Squadron was compromised by a goat herder; the SBS drove for several days whilst unknown to them anti-special forces Fedayeen units followed them. At an overnight position near Mosul, the Fedayeen ambushed the Squadron with DShK heavy machine guns and RPGs, the SBS returned fire and began taking fire from a T-72, the Squadron scattered and escaped the well-constructed trap. A number of Land Rovers became bogged down in a nearby wadi, so they mined the vehicles and abandoned them – though several did not detonate and were captured and exhibited on Iraqi television. The SBS was now in three distinct groups: one with several operational Land Rovers was being pursued by the Iraqi hunter force, a second mainly equipped with ATVs was hunkered down and trying to arrange extraction, the third with just 2 operators on an ATV raced for the Syrian border. The first group tried to call in coalition strike aircraft but the aircraft could not identify friendly forces because the SBS were not equipped with infra-red strobes – although their vehicles did have Blue Force Tracker units, they eventually made it to an emergency rendezvous point and were extracted by an RAF Chinook. The second group was also extracted by an RAF Chinook and the third group made it to Syria and was held there until their release was negotiated, there were no SBS casualties.[189]
Operation Viking Hammer
In the early hours of 21 March 2003, as part of
On 28 March 2003, the ground element of Operation Viking Hammer was finally launched with a six-pronged advance, each prong was composed of several ODAs from 3rd Battalion, 10th SFG and upwards of 1,000 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters. The main advance set off towards Sargat – the location of the suspected chemical and biological weapons site; the force was soon pinned down by DShK heavy machine-gun fire from the surrounding hills. A pair of
Special operations in northern Iraq
Also in the North, the
On 26 March 2003, the 173rd Airborne Brigade augmented the invasion's northern front by parachuting into northern Iraq onto Bashur Airfield, controlled at the time by elements of 10th SFG and Kurdish peshmerga. The fall of Kirkuk on 10 April 2003 to the 10th SFG, CIA Paramilitary Teams and Kurdish peshmerga precipitated the 173rd's planned assault, preventing the unit's involvement in combat against Iraqi forces during the invasion.[197]
Following the Battle of Haditha Dam, Delta Force handed the dam over to the Rangers and headed north to conduct ambushes along the highway above Tikrit, tying up Iraqi forces in the region and attempting to capture fleeing high-value targets trying to escape to Syria.[198]
On 2 April, Delta was engaged by half a dozen armed technicals from the same anti-special forces Fedayeen that had previously fought the SBS. Two Delta operators were wounded (one serious); the squadron requested an urgent aeromedical evacuation and immediate close-air support as a company of truck-borne Iraqi reinforcements arrived. Two MH-60K Blackhawks carrying a para jumper medical team and two MH-60L DAPs of the 160th SOAR responded and engaged the Iraqis, which allowed the Delta operators to move their casualties to an emergency HLZ and they were medevaced to H-1 escorted by a pair of A-10As, however
Task Force Viking launched an operation to seize the town of Ain Sifni. The town was strategically important because it straddles the main highway into Mosul. Once the town fell, it would be clear for the coalition to advance on Mosul. ODAs from the 3rd and 10th SFG called in airstrikes on the Iraqi garrisons in and around the town, causing many of the Iraqi conscripts to flee. By 5 April 2003, there appeared to be only two Iraqi platoons left in the town. On 6 April, ODAs 051, 055, and 056 assaulted the town – ODAs 055 and 056 provided fire support along with Peshmerga heavy weapons teams, whilst ODA 51 made the actual assault on the town. As ODA 51 cautiously advanced on the village, it came under intense fire – the two platoons of Iraqis turned out to be closer to battalion strength and equipped with heavy weapons like 82 mm mortars, anti-aircraft guns, and an artillery piece. After 4 hours of F/A-18 airstrikes and constant heavy weapons fire from ODA 055 and 056, the assault force entered Ain Sifni; soon afterward, Iraqi infantry counterattacked, supported by several mortars, attempting to retake the town, but it was beaten back by ODA 51 and the Kurds.[200]
On 6 April 2003, ODA 391 and ODA 392 from the 3rd SFG and ODA 044 from 10th SFG with about 150 Kurdish fighters were the main force involved in the Battle of Debecka Pass.[201]
On 9 April, nine ODAs from FOB 103 encircled
The successful occupation of Kirkuk came after approximately two weeks of fighting that included the Battle of the Green Line (the unofficial border of the Kurdish autonomous zone) and the subsequent Battle of Kani Domlan Ridge (the ridgeline running northwest to southeast of Kirkuk), the latter fought exclusively by 3rd Battalion, 10th SFG and Kurdish peshmerga against the Iraqi 1st Corps. The 173rd Brigade would eventually take responsibility for Kirkuk days later, becoming involved in the counterinsurgency fight and remain there until redeploying a year later.[197]
On 11 April an advanced element from FOB 102 numbering no more than 30 Green Berets advanced into Mosul. The advance had followed several days of heavy airstrikes on three Iraqi divisions defending Mosul. On 13 April, 3rd Battalion 3rd SFG and a battalion from the
Special operations in southern Iraq
On 21 March, ODA 554 of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion 5th SFG crossed the border with the United States Marines to support the seizure of the Rumaylah oil fields which was later secured by UK forces; half the team later drove to the outskirts of Basra and successfully picked up four Iraqi oil industry technicians who had been recruited by the CIA to assist in safeguarding the oil fields from destruction. They later rejoined the other half of the team and fought roving bands of Fedayeen. The ODAs next mission was to work with a CIA-recruited Sheikh and assist British forces in identifying targets around Basra. The ODA soon established an informant network, they eventually assisted the British in rounding up some 170 Fedayeen in the city; they were eventually replaced by members of G Squadron 22nd SAS Regiment.[207]
Battle of Haditha Dam
The
On 1 April, C squadron, Delta Force and 3/75th Ranger Regiment conducted a night-time ground assault in their
Objective Beaver
Intelligence indicated that chemical and biological weapons stocks may have been located at a complex known as al Qadisiyah Research Centre along the shore of the
Operations in western Iraq
Bravo and Charlie companies of 1st Battalion 5th SFG crossed the Kuwait border at H-Hour with ODA 531 using breaching demolition charges to clear a path through the sand berms. Charlie company's seven ODAs in 35 vehicles took the southeastern operation box of the western desert heading towards the towns of Nukyab, Habbariya and Mudyasis, ODA's 534 and 532 split off to head for the area surrounding Nukyab searching for mobile Scud-B TEL launch sites. ODA 532 also inserted a mobile weather station that provided planners with vital real time weather updates of the battle space. Bravo company set out for the central town of Ar Rutba and H-3 Air Base with six ODAs and a support ODB (Operational Detachment Bravo). ODAs 523 and 524 searched a suspected Scud-B storage facility while ODAs 521 and 525 were tasked with clearing several abandoned airfields, with no sign of Scud launchers, ODA 525 deployed a Special Reconnaissance team to conduct pattern of life surveillance on the town of Ar Rutba. A two-man team called in a pair of nearby F-16C Fighting Falcons to destroy an Iraqi Army radio direction-finding facility they had identified. A second reconnaissance team from ODA 525 deployed to cover the two highways leading to Ar Rutbah, however as the team was compromised by roving Bedouins who informed the Iraqi Army garrison at Ar Rutbah of the teams presence and location, armed Iraqi technicals crewed by the Fedayeen drove out to search for them, so the Green Berets mounted their GMVs, left their hide and found a position to ambush the Fedayeen, under the weight of fire the Fedayeen retreated. ODA 525 attempted to link up with the two-man reconnaissance team and extract it to safety but large numbers of Iraqi vehicles began driving out of the town to them, the ODAs called in immediate air support. While waiting, the reconnaissance team and Target Acquisition Marines fired on the Fedayeen leaders with their suppressed MK12 sniper rifle and contacted ODA 521 (who were clearing suspects east of the town) and they reinforced ODA 525. Within minutes, F-16Cs arrived and engaged the Fedayeen vehicles, another Fedayeen convoy attempted to outflank ODA 525 but ran into the guns of ODA 524, after 4 hours of constant and punishing airstrikes on the encircling Fedayeen, eight GMVs of ODA 521 and 525 managed to extract the exposed reconnaissance team under the cover of a B-1B strategic bomber, the vehicles withdrew to ODB 520s staging area south of Ar Rutbah. Over 100 Fedayeen fighters were killed and four armed technicals were destroyed. To the west ODA 523 reinforced ODA 524, but ran into a pair of armed technicals on the highway, both were destroyed by the GMVs, the Green Berets ceased fire when a civilian station wagon full of Iraqi children drove into the middle of the firefight. ODA 522 also identified two Fedayeen armed technicals proceeding down the highway toward ODA 523, they set an ambush for them, destroying the vehicles and killing 15 Fedayeen.[210]
The strategic intent of the US Army Special Forces ODAs had been to shut down the main supply routes and deny access around Ar Rutbah and the strategically important H-3 air base, which was defended by a battalion of Iraqi troops and significant numbers of mobile and static anti aircraft guns. On 24 March 2003, the surrounding ODAs supported by Task Force 7 (British
Bravo company turned its attention to Ar Rutbah, signals intercepts by SOT-A (Support Operations Team – Alpha) and an informer network among the Bedouins as well as inhabitants of the town indicated that around 800 Fedayeen remained in the town; Fedayeen patrols from the town were engaged by surrounding Green Berets and captured. ODAs guided precision airstrikes on Fedayeen anti aircraft guns on the outskirts of the town and on top of the airstrikes, they also struck large groups of Fedayeen militia with Javelin missiles. On 9 April, nine ODAs secured the main roads into the town and commenced a day of near continuous final airstrikes from fix-wing aircraft and Apache helicopters. Civilians from the town approached the Green Berets asking them to stop the bombing, the Green Berets struck a deal with the civilians and they entered the town the next day. A B-52 and 2 F-16Cs flew show of force flights over the town as the Green Berets entered, the Fedayeen blended in with the population. Within days, the Green Berets helped the town to elect a mayor and set up markets, get sixty percent of the electricity grid working and repair water supplies. ODA 521 and 525 continued to operate in the region, stopping several trucks carrying foreign fighters, they disarmed them, took their details and warned them not to come back before sending them to Syria; in late May, the teams were replaced by the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment.[212]
Other special operations
The 2nd
After Sargat was taken, Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 10th SFG and CIA paramilitary officers along with their Kurdish allies pushed south towards Tikrit and the surrounding towns of Northern Iraq.[214] Previously, during the Battle of the Green Line, Bravo Company, 3/10 with their Kurdish allies pushed back, destroyed, or routed the 13th Iraqi Infantry Division.[215] The same company took Tikrit. Iraq was the largest deployment of the U.S. Special Forces since Vietnam.[216]
ODA 563 worked in support of the US Marines around Al Diwaniyah with local Sheikhs and their militias supported by AV-8Bs and F/A-18s; managing to capture the city of Qwam al Hamza. The following day ODA 563, their local Sheikh and his militia and a small Force Recon team captured the bridge leading to Diwaniyah and the militia attacked Iraqi positions over the bridge, forcing the Iraqi army and Fedayeen to flee toward Baghdad whilst being harassed by Marine Corps aircraft.[217]
Jessica Lynch rescue
This section should include only a brief summary of Jessica Lynch. (December 2016) |
At 0100 on 1 April 2003, the Marines commenced their deception mission, CIA elements cut the city's power as the helicopters approached their objective, the AH-6s led the way, behind them the MH-6s dropped off Task Force 20 sniper teams at strategic locations around and on the hospital. The DAPs and the AH-6s covered the MH-60Ks as they dropped off assault teams on the hospital roof and another by the front door, the ground assault convoy arrived and the assaulters raced inside and onto the second floor where Lynch was located. 13 minutes later, a MH-60K touched down near the hospital entrance with a team of PJs and SOAR medics on board and transported Lynch to Tallil where it rendezvoused with a standby medical flight and then onto Kuwait and finally the United States. The hospital was devoid of any Fedayeen, although evidence suggested they were using it as a base; the Ranger blocking teams experienced some sporadic direct fire, the SEALs and the Rangers eventually recovered the remains of eight members of Lynch's unit that had been killed or died of their wounds. Task Force 20 carried out the first successful US
Fall of Baghdad (April 2003)
Three weeks into the invasion, the Army's
This plan soon became unnecessary, as an initial engagement of armored units south of the city saw most of the Republican Guard's assets destroyed and routes in the southern outskirts of the city occupied. On 5 April, Task Force
The next day, another brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division attacked downtown Baghdad and occupied one of the palaces of Saddam Hussein in fierce fighting. U.S. Marines also faced heavy shelling from Iraqi artillery as they attempted to cross a river bridge, but the river crossing was successful. The Iraqis managed to inflict some casualties on the U.S. forces near the airport from defensive positions but suffered severe casualties from air bombardment. Within hours of the palace seizure and with television coverage of this spreading through Iraq, U.S. forces ordered Iraqi forces within Baghdad to surrender, or the city would face a full-scale assault. Iraqi government officials had either disappeared or had conceded defeat, and on 9 April 2003, Baghdad was formally occupied by coalition forces. Much of Baghdad remained unsecured however, and fighting continued within the city and its outskirts well into the period of occupation. Saddam had vanished, and his whereabouts were unknown.
On 10 April, a rumor emerged that Saddam Hussein and his top aides were in a mosque complex in the Al Az'Amiyah District of Baghdad. Three companies of Marines were sent to capture him and came under heavy fire from rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, and assault rifles. One Marine was killed and 20 were wounded, but neither Saddam or any of his top aides were found. U.S. forces supported by mortars, artillery, and aircraft continued to attack Iraqi forces still loyal to Saddam Hussein and non-Iraqi Arab volunteers. U.S. aircraft flying in support were met with Iraqi anti-aircraft fire. On 12 April, by late afternoon, all fighting had ceased. A total of 34 American soldiers and 2,320 Iraqi fighters were killed.
Many Iraqis celebrated the downfall of Saddam by vandalizing the many portraits and statues of him together with other pieces of his cult of personality. One widely publicized event was the dramatic toppling of a large statue of Saddam in Baghdad's Firdos Square. This attracted considerable media coverage at the time. As the British Daily Mirror reported,
For an oppressed people this final act in the fading daylight, the wrenching down of this ghastly symbol of the regime, is their Berlin Wall moment. Big Moustache has had his day."[221]
As Staff Sergeant Brian Plesich reported in On Point: The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom,
The Marine Corps colonel in the area saw the Saddam statue as a target of opportunity and decided that the statue must come down. Since we were right there, we chimed in with some loudspeaker support to let the Iraqis know what it was we were attempting to do... Somehow along the way, somebody had gotten the idea to put a bunch of Iraqi kids onto the wrecker that was to pull the statue down. While the wrecker was pulling the statue down, there were Iraqi children crawling all over it. Finally they brought the statue down.[222]
The fall of Baghdad saw the outbreak of regional, sectarian violence throughout the country, as Iraqi tribes and cities began to fight each other over old grudges. The Iraqi cities of
U.S. General Tommy Franks assumed control of Iraq as the supreme commander of the coalition occupation forces. Shortly after the sudden collapse of the defense of Baghdad, rumors were circulating in Iraq and elsewhere that there had been a deal struck (a "safqua") wherein the U.S.-led coalition had bribed key members of the Iraqi military elite and/or the Ba'ath party itself to stand down. In May 2003, General Franks retired, and confirmed in an interview with Defense Week that the U.S.-led coalition had paid Iraqi military leaders to defect. The extent of the defections and their effect on the war are unclear.
U.S.-led coalition troops promptly began searching for the key members of Saddam Hussein's government. These individuals were identified by a variety of means, most famously through sets of
Other areas
U.S. special forces had also been involved in the extreme south of Iraq, attempting to occupy key roads to Syria and air bases. In one case two armored platoons were used to convince Iraqi leadership that an entire armored battalion was entrenched in the west of Iraq.[citation needed]
On 15 April, U.S. forces took control of Tikrit, the last major outpost in central Iraq, with an attack led by the Marines' Task Force Tripoli. About a week later the Marines were relieved in place by the Army's 4th Infantry Division.
Coalition aircraft flew over 41,000 sorties,[223] of which over 9,000 were tanker sorties.[224]
Aftermath of the invasion
After the invasion, several factors contributed to the destabilization of Iraq. On 23 May,
Bush declares "End of major combat operations" (May 2003)
On 1 May 2003, Bush landed on the aircraft carrier
Coalition and Allied contingent involvement
Members of the coalition included Australia: 2,000 invasion, Poland: 200 invasion—2,500 peak, Spain: 1,300 invasion, United Kingdom: 46,000 invasion, United States: 150,000 to 250,000 invasion. Other members of the coalition were Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Tonga, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.[238] BBC News said 15 other countries were "providing assistance, such as over-flight rights, but which do not want to declare support."[239]
Australia
Australia contributed approximately 2,000
Poland
The
United Kingdom
British troops, in what was codenamed Operation (or Op) TELIC participated in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. The 1st Armoured Division was deployed to the Persian Gulf and commanded British forces in the area, securing areas in southern Iraq, including the city of Basra during the invasion. A total of 46,000 troops of all the British services were committed to the operation at its start, including some 5,000 Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary sailors and 4,000 Royal Marines, 26,000 British Army soldiers, and 8,100 Royal Air Force airmen. The British special forces deployment was codenamed Operation Row and were known as Task Force 7 under Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-West (Task Force Dagger).[243]
Summary of the invasion
The U.S.-led coalition forces toppled the government and captured the key cities of a large nation in only 26 days. The invasion did require a large army build-up like the 1991 Gulf War, but many did not see combat and many were withdrawn after the invasion ended. This proved to be short-sighted, however, due to the requirement for a much larger force to combat the irregular Iraqi forces in the
The Iraqi army, armed mainly with older Soviet and Eastern European built equipment,
The Iraqi army suffered from poor morale, even amongst the elite Republican Guard. Entire units disbanded into the crowds upon the approach of invading troops, or actually sought out U.S. and UK forces to surrender to. Many Iraqi commanding officers were bribed by the CIA or coerced into surrendering. The leadership of the Iraqi army was incompetent – reports state that Qusay Hussein, charged with the defense of Baghdad, dramatically shifted the positions of the two main divisions protecting Baghdad several times in the days before the arrival of U.S. forces, and as a result the units were confused, and further demoralized when U.S. forces attacked. The invasion force did not see the entire Iraqi military thrown against it; U.S. and UK units had orders to move to and seize objective target points rather than seek to engage Iraqi units. This resulted in most regular Iraqi military units emerging from the war without having been engaged, and fully intact, especially in southern Iraq. It is assumed that most units disintegrated to return to their homes.
According to a declassified Pentagon report, "The largest contributing factor to the complete defeat of Iraq's military forces was the continued interference by Saddam." The report, designed to help U.S. officials understand in hindsight how Saddam and his military commanders prepared for and fought the invasion, paints a picture of an Iraqi government blind to the threat it faced, hampered by Saddam's inept military leadership and deceived by its own propaganda and inability to believe an invasion was imminent without further Iraqi provocation. According to the BBC, the report portrays Saddam Hussein as "chronically out of touch with reality – preoccupied with the prevention of domestic unrest and with the threat posed by Iran."[248]
Casualties
Death toll
Estimates on the number of casualties during the invasion in Iraq vary widely. Estimates on civilian casualties are more variable than those for military personnel. According to Iraq Body Count, a group that relies on press reports, NGO-based reports and official figures to measure civilian casualties, approximately 7,500 civilians were killed during the invasion phase.[249] The Project on Defense Alternatives study estimated that 3,200–4,300 civilians died during the invasion.[21]
War crimes and allegations
Fedayeen Saddam militia, Republican Guard and Iraqi security forces were reported to have executed Iraqi soldiers who tried to surrender on multiple occasions, as well as threatening the families of those who refused to fight.[250][251][252] One such incident was directly observed during the Battle of Debecka Pass.[253]
Many incidents of Fedayeen fighters using
After the ambush of the 507th Maintenance Company during the Battle of Nasiriyah on 23 March, the bodies of several U.S. soldiers who had been killed in the ambush were shown on Iraqi television. Some of these soldiers had visible gunshot wounds to the head, leading to speculation that they had been executed. Except for Sgt. Donald Walters, no evidence has since surfaced to support this scenario and it is generally accepted that the soldiers were killed in action. Five live prisoners of war were also interviewed on the air, a violation of the Third Geneva Convention.[259][260] Sergeant Walters was initially reported to have been killed in the ambush after killing several Fedayeen before running out of ammunition. However, an eyewitness later reported that he had seen Walters being guarded by several Fedayeen in front of a building. Forensics work later found Walters' blood in front of the building and blood spatter suggesting he died from two gunshot wounds to the back at close range. This led the Army to conclude that Walters had been executed after being captured, and he was posthumously awarded the Prisoner of War Medal in 2004.[261][262] It was alleged in the authorized biography of Pfc. Jessica Lynch that she was raped by her captors after her capture, based on medical reports and the pattern of her injuries, though this is not supported by Ms Lynch.[263] Mohammed Odeh al-Rehaief, who later helped American forces rescue Lynch, stated that he saw an Iraqi Colonel slap Lynch while she was in her hospital bed.[264] The staff at the hospital where Lynch was held later denied both stories, saying that Lynch was well cared for.[265] While Lynch suffers from amnesia due to her injuries, Lynch herself has denied any mistreatment whilst in captivity.
Also on 23 March, a British Army engineering unit made a wrong turn near the town of Az Zubayr, which was still held by Iraqi forces. The unit was ambushed and Sapper Luke Allsopp and Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth became separated from the rest. Both were captured and executed by Iraqi irregular forces. In 2006, a video of Allsopp lying on the ground surrounded by Iraqi irregular forces was discovered.[266]
During the Battle of Nasiriyah, Iraqi irregulars feigned surrender to approach an American unit securing a bridge. After getting close to the soldiers, the Iraqis suddenly opened fire, killing 10 soldiers and wounding 40.[255] In response, American forces reinforced security procedures for dealing with prisoners of war.[267]
Marine Sergeant Fernando Padilla-Ramirez was reported missing from his supply unit after an ambush north of Nasiriyah on 28 March. His body was later dragged through the streets of
On 20 March 2023, on the 20th anniversary of the invasion, Amnesty International released a report calling for accountability and reparations for human rights violations perpetrated by the US-led coalition during the invasion and subsequent occupation between 2003 and 2011. They cited violations of international humanitarian law including secret prisons, torture and other cruel treatment of detainees, indiscriminate attacks that killed and injured civilians, and forced disappearances.[271] The report stated that both President Bush[272] and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld[273] had publicly confessed to involvement in secret detentions and faced no criminal accountability. The report also noted that despite the conclusions of the International Criminal Court in 2020 that British forces had committed war crimes in Iraq, including deliberate killings, rape and torture, no senior British officials have been held criminal accountable.[271]
Security, looting and war damage
Massive looting took place in the days following the 2003 invasion.[274] According to U.S. officials, the "reality of the situation on the ground" was that hospitals, water plants, and ministries with vital intelligence needed security more than other sites. There were only enough U.S. troops on the ground to guard a certain number of the many sites that ideally needed protection, and so, apparently, some "hard choices" were made.
It was reported that
"Two great libraries, with priceless ancient collections"—the Awqaf Library (Library of the Ministry of Religious Endowments) and the National Library of Iraq and National Centre for Archives (the House of Wisdom)—"have been burned," The Boston Globe reported in 2003, adding that the libraries at the University of Mosul and University of Basra had been looted. András Riedlmayer, a specialist in Islamic architecture at Harvard University,[276] said the U.S. State Department had asked him for advice before the invasion, and that "everybody warned them that the greatest danger was not from Tomahawk missiles but from looting." Noting that Iraq had been unified only in 1922 and that relatively little attention had been paid to this local history, Keith D. Waterpaugh, a specialist in Ottoman history, said, "Imagine if we could not go back and read The New York Times from 1922 on. If we are going to help the Iraqi people build a new nation, we don't do it by letting their past be destroyed."[277]
More serious for the post-war state of Iraq was the looting of cached weaponry and ordnance which fueled the subsequent insurgency. As many as 250,000 tons of explosives were unaccounted for by October 2004.
Zainab Bahrani, professor of Ancient Near Eastern Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University, reported that a helicopter landing pad was constructed in the heart of the ancient city of Babylon, and "removed layers of archeological earth from the site. The daily flights of the helicopters rattle the ancient walls and the winds created by their rotors blast sand against the fragile bricks. When my colleague at the site, Maryam Moussa, and I asked military personnel in charge that the helipad be shut down, the response was that it had to remain open for security reasons, for the safety of the troops."[281] Bahrani also reported that in the summer of 2004, "the wall of the Temple of Nabu and the roof of the Temple of Ninmah, both sixth century BC, collapsed as a result of the movement of helicopters."[281] Electrical power is scarce in post-war Iraq, Bahrani reported, and some fragile artifacts, including the Ottoman Archive, would not survive the loss of refrigeration.[281]
Media coverage
U.S. media coverage
The U.S. invasion of Iraq was the most widely and closely reported war in military history.[282] Television network coverage was largely pro-war and viewers were six times more likely to see a pro-war source as one who was anti-war.[283] The New York Times ran a number of articles describing Saddam Hussein's attempts to build weapons of mass destruction. The 8 September 2002 article titled "U.S. Says Hussein Intensifies Quest for A-Bomb Parts" would be discredited, leading The New York Times to issue a public statement admitting it was not as rigorous as it should have been.[284]
At the start of the war in March 2003, as many as 775 reporters and photographers were traveling as
In 2003, a study released by
A September 2003 poll revealed that seventy percent of Americans believed Saddam Hussein was involved in the attacks of 9/11.[289] 80% of Fox News viewers were found to hold at least one such belief about the invasion, compared to 23% of PBS viewers.[290] Ted Turner, founder of CNN, charged that Rupert Murdoch was using Fox News to advocate an invasion.[291] Critics have argued that this statistic is indicative of misleading coverage by the U.S. media since viewers in other countries were less likely to have these beliefs.[292] A post-2008 election poll by FactCheck.org found that 48% of Americans believe Saddam played a role in the 9/11 attacks, the group concluded that "voters, once deceived, tend to stay that way despite all evidence."[293]
Independent media coverage
The Israeli Military Censor have released gag orders to Fresh and Rotter news platforms preventing them releasing any information about events and action related to the invasion.[294]
On the other side, among media not opposing to the invasion, The Economist stated in an article on the matter that "the normal diplomatic tools—sanctions, persuasion, pressure, UN resolutions—have all been tried, during 12 deadly but failed years" then giving a mild conditional support to the war stating that "if Mr Hussein refuses to disarm, it would be right to go to war".[295]
Australian
International media coverage
International coverage of the war differed from coverage in the U.S. in a number of ways. The Arab-language news channel Al Jazeera and the German satellite channel Deutsche Welle featured almost twice as much information on the political background of the war.[297] Al Jazeera also showed scenes of civilian casualties rarely seen in the U.S. media.
Criticism
Opponents of the military intervention in Iraq have attacked the decision to invade Iraq along a number of lines, including the human cost of war,[298] calling into question the evidence used to justify the war, arguing for continued diplomacy, challenging the war's legality, suggesting that the U.S. had other more pressing security priorities, (i.e., Afghanistan and North Korea) and predicting that the war would destabilize the Middle East region. In 2010, an independent commission of inquiry set up by the government of the Netherlands, maintained that UN resolution 1441 "cannot reasonably be interpreted (as the Dutch government did) as authorising individual member states to use military force to compel Iraq to comply with the Security Council's resolutions." Accordingly, the Dutch commission concluded that the invasion violated international law.[121]
Rationale based on faulty evidence
The central U.S. justification for launching the war was that Saddam Hussein's alleged development of nuclear and biological weapons and purported ties to al-Qaeda made his regime a "grave and growing"
Similarly, alleged links between Iraq and al-Qaeda were called into question during the lead-up to the war, and were discredited by a 21 October 2004 report from U.S. Senator
During his 2003–2004 interrogation, Saddam asserted that the majority of Iraq's WMD stockpiles had been destroyed in the 1990s by UN inspectors, and the remainder were destroyed unilaterally by Iraq; the illusion of maintaining a WMD program and WMDs was maintained as a deterrent against possible Iranian invasion.[310] An FBI agent who interrogated Saddam during this time also believes that while Iraq may not have possessed WMDs after the 1990s, Saddam likely intended to restart the WMD program if given the opportunity to do so.[310]
Lack of a U.N. mandate
One of the main questions in the lead-up to the war was whether the United Nations Security Council would authorize military intervention in Iraq. It became increasingly clear that U.N. authorization would require significant further weapons inspections. Many criticized their effort as unwise, immoral, and illegal. Robin Cook, then the leader of the United Kingdom House of Commons and a former foreign secretary, resigned from Tony Blair's cabinet in protest over the UK's decision to invade without the authorization of a U.N. resolution. Cook said at the time that: "In principle I believe it is wrong to embark on military action without broad international support. In practice I believe it is against Britain's interests to create a precedent for unilateral military action."[311] In addition, senior government legal advisor Elizabeth Wilmshurst resigned, stating her legal opinion that an invasion would be illegal.[citation needed]
Military intervention vs diplomatic solution
Criticisms about the evidence used to justify the war notwithstanding, many opponents of military intervention objected, saying that a diplomatic solution would be preferable, and that war should be reserved as a truly last resort. This position was exemplified by French Foreign Minister
Distraction from the war on terrorism and other priorities
Both supporters and opponents of the Iraq War widely viewed it within the context of a post–
Critics within this vein have further argued that containment would have been an effective strategy for the Saddam government, and that the top U.S. priorities in the Middle East should be encouraging a solution to the
Potential to destabilize the region
Besides arguing that Iraq was not the top strategic priority in the war on terrorism or in the Middle East, critics of the war also suggested that it could potentially destabilize the surrounding region. Prominent among such critics was
Public opinion
In a March 2003
By July 2007, opposition to the Iraq war had increased to 62 percent among Americans in a USA Today\Gallup poll.[330] On the tenth anniversary of the invasion, in March 2013, a Gallup poll found that 53 percent of Americans surveyed believed the Iraq War was a mistake.[331]
On the 20th anniversary of the invasion, in March 2023, an Axios/Ipsos poll found that 61 percent of Americans surveyed stated that the U.S did not make the right decision by invading Iraq.[332]
Related phrases
This campaign featured a variety of new terminology, much of it initially coined by the U.S. government or military. The military official name for the invasion was Operation Iraqi Freedom. Also notable was the usage "
Terminology introduced or popularized during the war include:
- "Axis of evil", originally used by Bush during a State of the Union address on 29 January 2002 to refer to the countries of Iraq, Iran, and North Korea.[333]
- "Coalition of the willing", a term that originated in the Clinton era (e.g. an ABC interview with Clinton dated 8 June 1994), and used by the Bush administration for the countries contributing troops in the invasion, of which the U.S. and UK were the primary members.
- "Decapitatingthe regime", a euphemism for killing Saddam Hussein.
- "Embedding", United States practice of assigning civilian journalists to U.S. military units.
- "Freedom fries", a euphemism for French fries invented to protest the non-participation of France
- "
- "Old Europe", Rumsfeld's term for European governments not supporting the war: "You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe."
- "Regime change", a euphemism for overthrowing a government.
- "Shock and Awe", the strategy of reducing an enemy's will to fight through displays of overwhelming force.
Many slogans and terms coined came to be used by Bush's political opponents, or those opposed to the war. For example, in April 2003
George W. Bush's press secretary Ari Fleischer talked about "Operation Iraqi liberation" in a 2003 press briefing,[336] and "Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL)" was also used by David Rovics, a popular folk protest singer.
See also
- Governmental positions on the Iraq War prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
- Investment in post-invasion Iraq
- Occupation of Iraq timeline
- Protests against the Iraq War
- Popular opinion in the United States on the invasion of Iraq
Intrigues:
- Iraq disarmament crisis
- The UN Security Council and the Iraq war
Lists:
- List of invasions in the 21st century
- List of aviation accidents and incidents during the Iraq War
- List of wars and disasters by death toll
- 2003 invasion of Iraq order of battle
- Operation Telic order of battle
General:
- Carter Doctrine
- Democracy in the Middle East
- Jus ad bellum
- Petrodollar
Notes
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Further reading
- Stieb, Michael. 2021. The Regime Change Consensus: Iraq in American Politics, 1990-2003. Cambridge University Press.
- "The Gulf in 2003" Archived 29 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine Gulf States Newsletter, complete 2003 PDF archive
- The Three Trillion Dollar War by Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard professor Linda Bilmes
- Shadow Warriors: The Untold Story of Traitors, Saboteurs, and the Party of Surrender by Kenneth R. Timmerman. Three Rivers Press. 2008. ISBN 978-0-307-35209-5(Paperback edition)
- Lessons on Political Violence from America’s Post–9/11 Wars by Christoph Mikulaschek and Jacob Shapiro (2018). Journal of Conflict Resolution 62(1): p. 174-202. JSTOR 48597293
- Spring 2007 Dissent, "Exporting Democracy: Lessons from Iraq," a symposium featuring Paul Berman, Mitchell Cohen, Seyla Benhabib and others.
- Masters of Chaos: The Secret History of the Special Forces by Linda Robinson (2009) Public Affairs ISBN 9780786738151
- Heavy Metal a Tank Company's Battle to Baghdadby Captain Jason Conroy and Ron Martz
- Cobra II : The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and Bernard E. Trainor
- Iraq and the Evolution of American Strategy by ISBN 978-1-59797-196-6
- The Iraq War by Williamson Murray and Robert H. Scales, Jr. (2003) ISBN 9780674012806
- The Iraq War by ISBN 9781407064383
- ISBN 978-3-900704-22-3,
- Bibliography: The Second U.S.–Iraq War (2003–) by Edwin Moise
- Williams, C (2011). "Learning to redress preemptive deceit: The "Iraq Dossier". SAGE Open. 1 (3). . Based on analysis submitted to the Iraq Inquiry. See: Jones, Brian (2009) 'Dossier demolished', Iraq Digest www.iraqinquirydigest.org/?p=5355
External links
- H.J.Res. 114 U.S. Senate results to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq.
- "Operation Iraqi Freedom – The Invasion of Iraq". PBS Frontline. Retrieved 28 October 2011. Chronology of invasion.
- Occupation of Iraq Archived 17 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine Timeline at the History Commons
- War in Iraq: Day by Day Guide
- Frontline: "The Dark Side" PBS documentary on Dick Cheney's remaking of the Executive and infighting leading up to the war in Iraq
- 1999 Desert Crossing War Game to Plan Invasion of Iraq and to Unseat Saddam Hussein
- "War in Iraq". CNN. May 2003.
- "Military Resources: War in Iraq". The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. 15 August 2016.