iraq war

The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War or the Occupation of Iraq,^[44] is an ongoing^{[45][46][47][48]} military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force now led by and composed almost entirely of troops from the United States and United Kingdom.^[49]

Prior to the war, the governments of the U.S., U.K, and Spain claimed that Iraq's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) posed a serious and imminent threat to their security and that of their coalition allies.^[50][51][52] United Nations weapons inspectors found no evidence of WMD, giving support to earlier criticism of poor intelligence on the subject.^{[53][54][55][56][57]} After the invasion, the U.S.-led Iraq Survey Group concluded that Iraq had ended its WMD programs in 1991 and had no active programs at the time of the invasion, but that they intended to resume production if the Iraq sanctions were lifted.^[58] Although some degraded remnants of misplaced or abandoned chemical weapons from before 1991 were found, they were not the weapons for which the coalition invaded.^[59] Some U.S. officials also accused Saddam Hussein of harboring and supporting Al-Qaeda,^[60] but no evidence of any collaborative relationship was ever found.^[61][62] U.S. President Bush allegedly told Palestinian officials either that God inspired him to end the tyranny in Iraq, or to hit Saddam.^[63] Other reasons for the invasion stated by U.S. officials included Iraq's financial support for the families of Palestinian suicide bombers,^[64] Iraqi government human rights abuses,^[65] and an effort on the part of the coalition forces to spread democracy in the country and region.^[66] Some officials said Iraq's oil reserves were a factor in the decision to invade,^{[67][68][69][70][71]} but other officials denied this.^[72][73][74]

The invasion led to the quick defeat of the Iraqi military, and the eventual capture and execution of Saddam Hussein. The U.S.-led coalition occupied Iraq and attempted to establish a new democratic government. However, violence against coalition forces and among various sectarian groups soon led to asymmetric warfare with the Iraqi insurgency, strife between many Sunni and Shia Iraqi groups, and al-Qaeda operations in Iraq.^[75][76] The number of Iraqis killed through 2007 ranges from "a conservative cautious minimum" of more than 85,000 civilians^[77][78] to a survey estimate of more than 1,000,000 citizens.^[37] UNHCR estimates the war uprooted 4.7 million Iraqis through April 2008 (about 16% of the population of Iraq), two million of whom had fled to neighbouring countries^[79] fleeing a humanitarian situation that the Red Cross described in March 2008 as "among the most critical in the world".^[80] In June 2008, U.S. defense officials claimed security and economic indicators began to show signs of improvement in what they hailed as significant and fragile gains.^[81][82] In August 2008, Iraq was fifth on the Failed States Index.^[83]

Member nations of the Coalition withdrew their forces as public opinion favoring troop withdrawals increased and as Iraqi forces began to take responsibility for security.^[84][85] In late 2008, the U.S. and Iraqi governments approved a Status of Forces Agreement effective through January 1, 2012.^[86] The Iraqi Parliament also ratified a Strategic Framework Agreement with the U.S.,^[87] aimed at ensuring international cooperation in constitutional rights, threat deterrence, education,^[88] energy development, and other areas.^[89] U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to announce a 19-month withdrawal window for "combat forces", leaving behind 30,000 to 50,000 troops "to advise and train Iraqi security forces and to provide intelligence and surveillance".^[90] Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said he supports the accelerated pullout of U.S. forces.

Following the 1991 Gulf War, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 mandated that Iraqi chemical, biological, nuclear, and long range missile programs be halted and all such weapons destroyed under United Nations Special Commission control. U.N. weapons inspectors inside Iraq were able to verify the destruction of a large amount of WMD-material, but substantial issues remained unresolved in 1998 when the inspectors left Iraq due to then current UNSCOM head Richard Butler's belief that U.S. and UK military action was imminent. Shortly after the inspectors withdrew, the U.S. and UK launched a four-day bombing campaign. Also, during this period the US Congress and US President William Clinton issued a resolution calling for regime change in Iraq.

In addition to the inspection regimen, the U.S. and UK (along with France until 1998) engaged in a low-level conflict with Iraq by enforcing non-UN mandated northern and southern Iraqi no-fly zones. These were known as Operation Provide Comfort in Iraqi Kurdistan in the north and Operation Southern Watch in the south, and were seen by the Iraqi government as an infringement of Iraq's sovereignty. The no-fly zones prohibited Iraqi fixed-wing aircraft but allowed Iraqi helicopters or Turkish bombing of Kurds^[92][93]. These overflights intensified one year before the Iraq war began when the U.S. initiated Operation Southern Focus in order to disrupt the military command structure in Iraq before the invasion.

Iraqi expatriate opposition groups

Following the Gulf War, President George H. W. Bush signed a presidential finding directing the Central Intelligence Agency to create conditions for Hussein's removal from power in May 1991. Coordinating anti-Saddam groups was an important element of this strategy and the Iraqi National Congress (INC), led by Ahmed Chalabi, was the main group tasked with this purpose. The name INC was reportedly coined by public relations expert John Rendon (of the Rendon Group agency) and the group received millions in covert funding in the 1990s, and then about $8 million a year in overt funding after the passage of the Iraq Liberation Act in 1998. Another opposition group was the Iraqi National Accord which continues to have influence in the current Iraqi government through its leader Ayad Allawi.

Presidential involvement

In late April 1993, the United States asserted that President Hussein had attempted to have former President George H. W. Bush assassinated during a visit to Kuwait on April 16.^[94] On June 16, as per order of then-President Clinton, a cruise missile was shot at the Iraq Intelligence Service building in downtown Baghdad. Clinton briefed President-elect George W. Bush in December 2000, expressing his regret that people he regarded as the world's two most dangerous individuals, including Hussein, were still alive and free. He warned Bush that Hussein will "cause you a world of problems.