Iraq War
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For fighting between insurgent groups, see Civil war in Iraq. Commanders and leaders George W. BushBarack Obama Paul Bremer Tommy Franks David D. McKiernan Ricardo Sanchez George W. Casey, Jr. David Petraeus Raymond Odierno Lloyd Austin Tony Blair Gordon Brown David Cameron Jeremy Greenstock Richard Shirreff John Cooper Andy Salmon Iraqi Governing Council Ghazi al-Yawer Tariq Al-Hashimi Iyad Allawi Ibrahim al-Jaafari Nouri al-Maliki Jalal Talabani Massoud Barzani Masrour Barzani Abdul Sattar Abu Risha † Ahmad Abu Risha Saddam Hussein (POW)Qusay Hussein † Uday Hussein † Tariq Aziz Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri Abu Omar al-Baghdadi † Abu Musab al-Zarqawi † Abu Ayyub al-Masri † Abu Suleiman † Abu Dua Muqtada al-Sadr Abu Deraa Ishmael Jubouri Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i (POW) Strength Invasion Forces (2003–2004) ~300,000Coalition Forces (2004–2009) 176,000 at peak United States Forces – Iraq (2010–2011) 112,000 at activation Security contractors 6,000-7,000 (estimate) Iraqi Security Forces 805,269 (military and paramilitary: 578,269, police: 227,000) Awakening militias ~103,000 (2008) Iraqi Kurdistan ~400,000 (Kurdish Border Guard: 30,000, Peshmerga 375,000) Iraqi Army: 375,000 (disbanded in 2003)Sunni Insurgents ~70,000 (2007) Mahdi Army ~60,000 (2007) al-Qaeda ~1,300 (2006) Islamic State of Iraq ~1,000 (2008) Casualties and losses Iraqi Security Forces (post-Saddam)Killed: 16,623 Wounded: 40,000+ Coalition Forces Killed: 4,805 (4,487 U.S., 179 UK, 139 other) Missing/captured (U.S.): 10 (9 rescued) Wounded: 32,753+ (32,226 U.S., 315 UK, 212+ other) Injured/diseased/other medical:* 51,139 (47,541 U.S., 3,598 UK) Contractors Killed: 1,554 Wounded & injured: 43,880 Missing/captured: 16 (U.S. 5) Awakening Councils Killed: 1,002+ Wounded: 500+ (2007), 828 (2008) Total dead: 24,219 Total wounded: 117,961 Iraqi combatant dead (invasion period): 7,600–10,800Insurgents (post-Saddam) Killed: 21,221–26,405 (2003-2011) Detainees: 12,000 (Iraqi-held) 1 (U.S.-held) Total dead: 28,736-37,120 Documented civilian deaths from violence, Iraq Body Count – 2003 through December 14, 2011: 103,160–113,728 recorded and 15,114 new deaths added from the Iraq War LogsEstimated excess deaths, (Lancet) – March 2003 – July 2006: 654,965** (95% CI: 392,979–942,636) Estimated violent deaths, Iraq Family Health Survey - March 2003 – July 2006: 151,000 (95% CI: 104,000-223,000) For more information see: Casualties of the Iraq War * "injured, diseased, or other medical" – required medical air transport. UK number includes "aeromed evacuations" ** Total deaths include all additional deaths due to increased lawlessness, degraded infrastructure, poorer healthcare, etc.Phases
‡ indicates attacks resulting in over 100 deaths § indicates the deadliest attack in the Iraq War
Arab Ba'ath (1940–1947) Arab Ba'ath Movement (1940–1947) Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party (1947–1966) Iraqi-led Ba'ath Party (1966–present) Syrian-led Ba'ath Party (1966–present) People Zaki al-Arsuzi Michel Aflaq Salah al-Din al-Bitar Fuad al-Rikabi Salah Jadid Hafez al-Assad Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr Saddam Hussein Bashar al-Assad Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri Literature Ba'ath Constitution On the Way of Resurrection The Battle for One Destiny The Genius of Arabic in its Tongue History Syrian Committee to Help Iraq Ramadan (8 February) Revolution 8 March Revolution November 1963 Iraqi coup d'état 1966 Syrian coup d'état 17 July Revolution Corrective Revolution Iran–Iraq War Ba'athist Iraq Ba'athist Syria Gulf War Iraq War Syrian uprising Regional organisations Algeria (pro-Iraqi) Bahrain (pro-Iraqi) Iraq (pro-Iraq · pro-Syria) Jordan (pro-Iraq · pro-Syria) Lebanon (pro-Iraqi · pro-Syrian) Libya (pro-Iraqi) Mauritania (pro-Iraqi) Palestine (pro-Iraqi · pro-Syrian) Sudan (pro-Iraqi · pro-Syrian) Syria (pro-Iraq · pro-Syria) Yemen (pro-Iraqi · pro-Syrian) Related topics Arab nationalism Arab socialism, Nasserism Pan-Arabism Saddamism Politics portalThe Iraq War, or the War in Iraq (also referred to as the Occupation of Iraq, the Second Gulf War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States military), was a conflict that occurred in Iraq from March 20, 2003 to December 18, 2011, though sectarian violence continues since and caused hundreds of fatalities. Prior to the war, the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom claimed that Iraq's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) posed a threat to their security and that of their coalition/regional allies. In 2002, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1441 which called for Iraq to completely cooperate with UN weapon inspectors to verify that Iraq was not in possession of WMD and cruise missiles. The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) found no evidence of WMD, but could not verify the accuracy of Iraq's weapon declarations. Lead weapons inspector Hans Blix advised the UN Security Council that while Iraq was cooperating in terms of access, Iraq's declarations with regards to WMD still could not be verified. After investigation following the invasion, the U.S.-led Iraq Survey Group concluded that Iraq had ended its nuclear, chemical, and biological 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. Although some degraded remnants of misplaced or abandoned chemical weapons from before 1991 were found, they were not the weapons which had been the one of the main arguments for the invasion. Some US officials also accused Iraqi President Saddam Hussein of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, but no evidence of a meaningful connection was ever found. Other proclaimed reasons for the invasion included Iraq's financial support for the families of Palestinian suicide bombers, Iraqi government human rights abuses, and an effort to spread democracy to the country. The invasion of Iraq led to an occupation and the eventual capture of President Hussein, who was later tried in an Iraqi court of law and executed by the new Iraqi government. Violence against coalition forces and among various sectarian groups soon led to the Iraqi insurgency, strife between many Sunni and Shia Iraqi groups, and the emergence of a new faction of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. In June 2008, U.S. Department of Defense officials claimed security and economic indicators began to show signs of improvement in what they hailed as significant and fragile gains. Iraq was fifth on the 2008 Failed States Index, and sixth on the 2009 list. As public opinion favoring troop withdrawals increased and as Iraqi forces began to take responsibility for security, member nations of the Coalition withdrew their forces. In late 2008, the U.S. and Iraqi governments approved a Status of Forces Agreement effective through January 1, 2012. The Iraqi Parliament also ratified a Strategic Framework Agreement with the U.S., aimed at ensuring cooperation in constitutional rights, threat deterrence, education, energy development, and other areas. In late February 2009, newly elected U.S. President Barack Obama announced an 18-month withdrawal window for combat forces, with approximately 50,000 troops remaining in the country "to advise and train Iraqi security forces and to provide intelligence and surveillance". General Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, said he believes all U.S. troops will be out of the country by the end of 2011, while UK forces ended combat operations on April 30, 2009. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said he supports the accelerated pullout of U.S. forces. In a speech at the Oval Office on 31 August 2010 Obama declared "the American combat mission in Iraq has ended. Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country." Beginning September 1, 2010, the American operational name for its involvement in Iraq changed from "Operation Iraqi Freedom" to "Operation New Dawn." The remaining 50,000 U.S. troops were designated as "advise and assist brigades" assigned to non-combat operations while retaining the ability to revert to combat operations as necessary. Two combat aviation brigades also remain in Iraq. In September 2010, the Associated Press issued an internal memo reminding its reporters that "combat in Iraq is not over," and "U.S. troops remain involved in combat operations alongside Iraqi forces, although U.S. officials say the American combat mission has formally ended." On October 21, 2011, President Obama announced that all U.S. troops and trainers would leave Iraq by the end of the year, bringing the U.S. mission in Iraq to an end. On December 15, 2011, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta officially declared the Iraq War over, at a flag lowering ceremony in Baghdad. The last U.S. troops left Iraqi territory on December 18, 2011 at 4:27 UTC. Since U.S. withdrawal, a new wave of sectarian violence erupted across Iraq, raising concerns over a full blown civil war between the main factions of Iraq, most notably the Sunni and the Shia Arabs. From Wikipedia under the
GNU Free Documentation License Matching Results for Iraq War:Iraq WarThe Iraq War, also known as the Occupation of Iraq, the Second Gulf War, or Operation ... "The option of war can appear initially to be the most rapid. ... Iraq Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror. ... For in Iraq itself, the war has gone from bad to worse for Washington. ... War on Terrorism President Bush has consistently argued that Iraq is the central front in the War on Terror. ... I felt that waging war in Iraq would have the consequence of harming America, ... From Wikiquote under the
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