Iraq War

The Iraq War was an armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein.

Iraq War
Part of the Iraqi conflict and the War on Terror
Clockwise from top left: Iraqi National Guard troops, 2004; toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad by US forces, 2003; destroyed Iraqi Type 69 tank, 2003; U.S soldier during a leaflet drop from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, 2008; British armored vehicles on patrol in Basra, 2008; destroyed headquarters of the Ba'ath Party in Baghdad, 2003
Date 20 March 2003 – 18 December 2011 (2011-12-18) (8 years and 8 or 9 months) Location Iraq Result Inconclusive Invasion and occupation of Iraq Overthrow of Ba'ath Party government and execution of Saddam Hussein Emergence of significant insurgency, rise of al-Qaeda in Iraq, severe sectarian violence Subsequent reduction in violence and depletion of al-Qaeda in Iraq[1][2] Establishment of democratic elections and formation of new Shia led government Coalition failure to defeat Iraqi insurgency[3][4][5][6] Withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq in 2011 Stronger Iranian influence in Iraq[7][8][9] Escalation of sectarian insurgency after U.S. withdrawal leading to the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the successor of al-Qaeda in Iraq[10][11]
Belligerents
Invasion phase (2003)  United States  United Kingdom  Australia  Poland Peshmerga Supported by:  Canada[12]  Netherlands[13]	Invasion phase (2003)  Iraq
Post-invasion (2003–11)  United States  United Kingdom  Iraq MNF–I (2003–09)  United States (2003–09)  United Kingdom (2003–09)  Australia (2003–-09)  Azerbaijan (2003–08)  Kuwait (2003–08)  Estonia (2003–09)  El Salvador (2003–09)  Bulgaria (2003–08)  Moldova (2003–08)  Albania (2003–08)  Ukraine (2003–08)  Denmark (2003–08)  Czech Republic (2003–08)  South Korea (2003–08)  Singapore (2003–08)  Brunei (2003–04)  Croatia (2003–08)  Bosnia and Herzegovina (2003–08)  Macedonia (2003–08)  Latvia (2003–08)  Poland (2003–08)  Kazakhstan (2003–08)  Mongolia (2003–08)  Georgia (2003–08)  Tonga (2004–08)  Japan (2004–08)  Armenia (2005–08)  Slovakia (2003–07)  Lithuania (2003–07)  Italy (2003–06)  Norway (2003–06)  Hungary (2003–05)  Netherlands (2003–05)  Portugal (2003–05)  New Zealand (2003–04)  Thailand (2003–04)  Philippines (2003–04)  Honduras (2003–04)  Dominican Republic (2003–04)  Spain (2003–04)  Nicaragua (2003–04)  Iceland (2003–unknown) Supported by: Iran[14][15]  Iraqi Kurdistan	Post-invasion (2003–11) Ba'ath loyalists Supreme Command for Jihad and Liberation Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order Sunni insurgents Al-Qaeda in Iraq (2004–06) Islamic State of Iraq[16] (from 2006) Islamic Army of Iraq Ansar al-Sunnah (2003–07) Shia insurgents Mahdi Army Special Groups Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq Others supported by:  Iran Quds Force[17] For fighting between insurgent groups, see Sectarian violence in Iraq (2006–08).
Commanders and leaders
Ayad Allawi Ibrahim al-Jaafari Nouri al-Maliki Ricardo Sanchez George W. Casey, Jr. David Petraeus Raymond T. Odierno Lloyd Austin George W. Bush Barack Obama Tommy Franks Donald Rumsfeld Robert Gates Tony Blair Gordon Brown David Cameron John Howard Kevin Rudd Silvio Berlusconi Walter Natynczyk José María Aznar Anders Fogh Rasmussen Aleksander Kwaśniewski	Ba'ath Party Saddam Hussein (POW) Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri Qusay Hussein † Uday Hussein † Abid Hamid Mahmud (POW) Ali Hassan al-Majid (POW) Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti (POW) Taha Yasin Ramadan (POW) Tariq Aziz (POW) Mohammed Younis al-Ahmed Sunni insurgency Abu Musab al-Zarqawi † Abu Ayyub al-Masri † Abu Omar al-Baghdadi † Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Ishmael Jubouri Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i (POW) Shia insurgency Muqtada al-Sadr Abu Deraa Qais al-Khazali Akram al-Kaabi Qasem Soleimani[18]
Strength
Invasion forces (2003) 309,000  United States: 192,000[19]  United Kingdom: 45,000  Australia: 2,000  Poland: 194 Peshmerga: 70,000 Coalition forces (2004–09) 176,000 at peak United States Forces – Iraq (2010–11) 112,000 at activation Security contractors 6,000–7,000 (estimate)[20] Iraqi security forces 805,269 (military and paramilitary: 578,269,[21] police: 227,000) Awakening militias ≈103,000 (2008)[22] Iraqi Kurdistan ≈400,000 (Kurdish Border Guard: 30,000,[23] Peshmerga 375,000)	Iraqi Armed Forces: 375,000 (disbanded in 2003) Special Iraqi Republican Guard: 12,000 Iraqi Republican Guard: 70,000–75,000 Fedayeen Saddam: 30,000 Sunni Insurgents ≈70,000 (2007)[24] al-Qaeda ≈1,300 (2006)[25] Islamic State of Iraq ≈1,000 (2008) Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order ≈500–1,000 (2007)
Casualties and losses
Iraqi security forces (post-Saddam) Killed: 17,690[26] Wounded: 40,000+[27] Coalition forces Killed: 4,815[28][29] (4,496 U.S.,[30] 179 UK,[31] 139 other)[28] Missing/captured (U.S.): 17 (8 rescued, 9 died in captivity)[32] Wounded: 32,776+ (32,252 U.S.,[30] 315 UK, 212+ other[33])[34][35][36][37] Injured/diseases/other medical*: 51,139 (47,541 U.S.,[38] 3,598 UK)[34][36][37] Contractors Killed: 1,554[39][40] Wounded & injured: 43,880[39][40] Awakening Councils Killed: 1,002+[41] Wounded: 500+ (2007),[42] 828 (2008)[43] Total dead: 25,285 (+12,000 policemen killed 2003–2005) Total wounded: 117,961	Iraqi combatant dead (invasion period): 7,600–10,800[44][45] Insurgents (post-Saddam) Killed: 26,544 (2003–11)[46] Detainees: 12,000 (Iraqi-held)[47] Total dead: 34,144–37,344
Estimated deaths: Lancet survey** (March 2003 – July 2006): 654,965 (95% CI: 392,979–942,636)[48][49] Iraq Family Health Survey*** (March 2003 – July 2006): 151,000 (95% CI: 104,000–223,000)[50] PLOS Medicine Study**: (March 2003 – June 2011): 405,000 (95% CI: 48,000–751,000), in addition to 55,000 deaths missed due to emigration.[51] Documented deaths from violence: Iraq Body Count (2003 – 14 December 2011): 103,160–113,728 civilian deaths recorded,[52] and 12,438 new deaths added from the Iraq War Logs[53] Associated Press (March 2003 – April 2009): 110,600[54] For more information see: Casualties of the Iraq War
* "injured, diseased, or other medical": required medical air transport. UK number includes "aeromed evacuations". ** Total excess deaths include all additional deaths due to increased lawlessness, degraded infrastructure, poorer healthcare, etc. *** Violent deaths only – does not include excess deaths due to increased lawlessness, poorer healthcare, etc.

The conflict continued for much of the next ten years as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government.^[55] An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict. The United States officially withdrew from the country in 2011 but left private security contractors in its place to continue the war.^[56] In 2014 the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant conquered much of northern Iraq. An American-led new coalition sent troops to help the government of Iraq.

Australia, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and Poland were also involved in the war with support from the Kurdish Peshmerga.

Background

After the Gulf War of 1990-1991 during which a US-led coalition retook Kuwait after the Iraqi invasion, Iraq was severely damaged both economically and socially. Numerous penalties were imposed on the crumbling state of Iraq, including a no-fly zone (essentially barring any civilian and military planes from flying over Iraq), along with UN weapon inspections to ensure that Saddam was not stockpiling WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction). In 1998, the Iraqi government stopped allowing these inspections to continue after allegations that the inspectors were spying for the US.

Notes

References

1. Michael Petrou (9 September 2011). "The decline of al-Qaeda". Maclean's. George W. Bush gambled on surging thousands more troops to the embattled country. It paid off. Al-Qaeda in Iraq is now a diminished force without territory.
2. Tucker, Spencer C. (2015-12-14). U.S. Conflicts in the 21st Century: Afghanistan War, Iraq War, and the War on Terror. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-3879-8. Al Qaeda in Iraq was decimated by the end of the Iraq War in 2011
3. Krepinevich, Andrew F.; Jr (2005-09-01). "How to Win in Iraq". Foreign Affairs. No. September/October 2005. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
4. Georgy, Michael (2023-03-16). "Iraqi ambush of Americans made a mockery of 'Mission Accomplished'". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
5. Mazzetti, Mark (2004-07-06). "U.S. Response to Insurgency Called a Failure". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
6. Cordesman, Anthony H. (2020-01-02). "America's Failed Strategy in the Middle East: Losing Iraq and the Gulf".
7. Galbraith, Peter W. (2007). The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-9424-9.^{[page needed]}
8. "Iran expands regional 'empire' ahead of nuclear deal". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
9. "How to Stop Iran's Growing Hegemony – National Review Online". National Review Online. 10 April 2015.
10. "The JRTN Movement and Iraq's Next Insurgency | Combating Terrorism Center at West Point". Ctc.usma.edu. Archived from the original on 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
11. "Al-Qaeda's Resurgence in Iraq: A Threat to U.S. Interests". U.S. Department of State. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
12. Greg Weston (16 May 2011). "Canada offered to aid Iraq invasion: WikiLeaks". CBC News.
13. Regering (12 January 2010). "Rapport Commissie-Davids". rijksoverheid.nl. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
14. Elaheh Rostami-Povey, Iran's Influence: A Religious-Political State and Society in Its Region, pp. 130–154, Zed Books Ltd, 2010.
15. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
16. President Barack Obama Speaks With VICE News. YouTube. 16 March 2015.
17. "Operations By Iran's Military Mastermind – Business Insider". Business Insider. 9 July 2014. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
18. "Operations By Iran's Military Mastermind – Business Insider". Business Insider. 9 July 2014.
19. "A Timeline of Iraq War, Troop Levels". The Huffington Post.
20. "Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Programs Charlene Lamb's Remarks on Private Contractors in Iraq". U.S. Department of State. 17 July 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
21. International Institute for Strategic Studies (3 February 2010). Hackett, James (ed.). The Military Balance 2010. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-85743-557-3.^{[page needed]}
22. Rubin, Alissa J.; Nordland, Rod (29 March 2009). "Troops Arrest an Awakening Council Leader in Iraq, Setting Off Fighting". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
23. "The Kurdish peshmerga forces will not be integrated into the Iraqi army: Mahmoud Sangawi — Interview". Ekurd.net. 22 January 2010. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
24. The Brookings Institution Iraq Index: Tracking Variables of Reconstruction & Security in Post-Saddam Iraq Archived 2 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine 1 October 2007
25. Pincus, Walter. "Violence in Iraq Called Increasingly Complex". The Washington Post, 17 November 2006.
26. 260 killed in 2003,260 Iraqi police killed in attacks: official - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) 15,196 killed from 2004 through 2009 (with the exceptions of May 2004 and March 2009),Iraq war logs reveal 15,000 previously unlisted civilian deaths | World news | The Guardian 67 killed in March 2009,News352 - La actualidad de Luxemburgo en hispano Archived 26 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine 1,100 killed in 2010, Archived 16 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine and 1,067 killed in 2011, thus giving a total of 17,690 dead
27. "Iraq War" (PDF). U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
28. "Operation Iraqi Freedom". iCasualties. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
29. "Home and Away: Iraq and Afghanistan War Casualties". CNN. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
30. "Casualty" (PDF). Retrieved 29 June 2016.
31. "Fact Sheets | Operations Factsheets | Operations in Iraq: British Fatalities". Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 11 October 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
32. "POW and MIA in Iraq and Afghanistan Fast Facts". CNN. Retrieved 5 June 2014.; As of July 2012, seven American private contractors remain unaccounted for. Their names are: Jeffrey Ake, Aban Elias, Abbas Kareem Naama, Neenus Khoshaba, Bob Hamze, Dean Sadek and Hussain al-Zurufi. Healy, Jack, "With Withdrawal Looming, Trails Grow Cold For Americans Missing In Iraq", The New York Times, 22 May 2011, p. 6.
33. 33 Ukrainians , 31+ Italians Attack on Italian police kills 26 in Iraq / Gasoline truck crashes into compound - SFGate Archived 28 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine, 30 Bulgarians BBC NEWS | Europe | Bulgaria mourns its dead soldiers 3 Bulgarian Soldiers Wounded in Iraq - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency, 20 Salvadorans El Salvador withdraws last soldiers from Iraq - USATODAY.com, 19 Georgians Civil.Ge | Georgian Soldier Killed in Iraq Archived 2011-05-13 at the Wayback Machine, 18 Estonians Estonian troops may go to Afghanistan, not Iraq, 16+ Poles 3 Bulgarian Soldiers Wounded, Driver Shot Dead in Iraq - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency "The Iraq Page: Tomasz Jura". Archived from the original on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2011. "Two Polish Soldiers Dead, Five Injured in Iraq -PAP". Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011. "Three Polish soldiers injured in patrol skirmish in Iraq". Archived from the original on 2011-05-01., 15 Spaniards Archived 29 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine Archived 2019-04-02 at the Wayback Machine Five Spanish soldiers, four US troops injured in Iraq bomb attacks | Al Bawaba Three Spanish soldiers wounded in Iraq, 10 Romanians Romania's last contingent in Iraq returns home - People's Daily Online, 6 Australians "Combat troops pull out of Iraq - Local News - News - General - the Canberra Times". Archived from the original on 28 April 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2011., 5 Albanians, 4 Kazakhs "The Iraq Page: Bomb blast kills 7 Ukrainians, 1 Kazakh serving with coalition in Iraq". Archived from the original on 30 January 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2011., 3 Filipinos "ASIAN JOURNAL a San Diego original. The 1st Asian Journal in Ca,USA. A Filipino American weekly. Online | Digital | Print Editions". Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2011. and 2 Thais First Thai soldier injured in Iraq - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) for a total of 212+
34. Many official U.S. tables at "Military Casualty Information" Archived 3 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine. See latest totals for injury, disease/other medical Archived 2 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
35. "Casualties in Iraq".
36. iCasualties.org (was lunaville.org). Benicia, California. Patricia Kneisler, et al., "Iraq Coalition Casualties" Archived 21 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine
37. "Defence Internet Fact Sheets Operations in Iraq: British Casualties" Archived 14 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine. UK Ministry of Defense. Latest combined casualty and fatality tables Archived 4 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
38. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
39. "Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) – Defense Base Act Case Summary by Nation". U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
40. T. Christian Miller (23 September 2009). "U.S. Government Private Contract Worker Deaths and Injuries". Projects.propublica.org. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
41. 185 in Diyala from June 2007 to December 2007,Attacks Imperil U.S.-Backed Militias in Iraq - The New York Times 4 in assassination of Abu Risha, 25 on 12 November 2007,Iraq Allies Claim Friendly Fire Killed 25 - CBS News Archived 2013-05-14 at the Wayback Machine 528 in 2008, Archived 2016-12-10 at the Wayback Machine 27 on 2 January 2009,Suicide Attack Kills 24 at Iraqi Tribal Gathering - The New York Times 53 From 6 to 12 April 2009, Archived 2011-05-13 at the Wayback Machine 13 on 16 November 2009,"Thirteen anti-Qaeda tribe members killed in Iraq - FRANCE 24". Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2011. 15 in December 2009,4 Sunni Guards at Checkpoint in Baghdad Are Found Dead - The New York Times 100+ from April to June 2010,Iraq disarms Sunni tribal militias | News | Al Jazeera Bitterness Grows Amid U.S.-Backed Sons Of Iraq : NPR 52 on 18 July 2010,Suicide bomber kills dozens of US-backed militia in Baghdad | World news | The Guardian Bloomberg - Are you a robot?total of 1,002+ dead Archived 18 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
42. Moore, Solomon; Oppel, Richard A. (24 January 2008). "Attacks Imperil U.S.-Backed Militias in Iraq". The New York Times.
43. Greg Bruno. "Finding a Place for the 'Sons of Iraq'". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
44. Press release (28 October 2003). "New Study Finds: 11,000 to 15,000 Killed in Iraq War; 30 Percent are Non-Combatants; Death Toll Hurts Postwar Stability Efforts, Damages US Image Abroad". Project on Defense Alternatives (via Common Dreams NewsCenter). Retrieved 2 September 2010. Archived 17 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
45. Conetta, Carl (23 October 2003). "The Wages of War: Iraqi Combatant and Noncombatant Fatalities in the 2003 Conflict — Project on Defense Alternative Research Monograph #8" Archived 2009-09-02 at the Wayback Machine. Project on Defense Alternatives (via Commonwealth Institute). Retrieved 2 September 2010.
46. 597 killed in 2003,19,000 insurgents killed in Iraq since '03 - USATODAY.com, 23,984 killed from 2004 through 2009 (with the exceptions of May 2004 and March 2009),Iraq war logs reveal 15,000 previously unlisted civilian deaths | World news | The Guardian 652 killed in May 2004, 45 killed in March 2009, Archived 2009-09-03 at the Wayback Machine 676 killed in 2010,Bloomberg - Are you a robot? and 590 killed in 2011, thus giving a total of 26,544 dead
47. "Amnesty: Iraq holds up to 30,000 detainees without trial". CNN. 13 September 2010. Archived from the original on 23 October 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
48. "Mortality after the 2003 invasion of Iraq: a cross-sectional cluster sample survey" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 September 2015. (242 KB). By Gilbert Burnham, Riyadh Lafta, Shannon Doocy, and Les Roberts. The Lancet, 11 October 2006
49. "The Human Cost of the War in Iraq: A Mortality Study, 2002–2006" (PDF). (603 KB). By Gilbert Burnham, Shannon Doocy, Elizabeth Dzeng, Riyadh Lafta, and Les Roberts. A supplement to the October 2006 Lancet study. It is also found here: "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2007. Retrieved 2012-05-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
50. "Iraq Family Health Survey" New England Journal of Medicine 31 January 2008
51. Hagopian, Amy; Flaxman, Abraham D.; Takaro, Tim K.; Esa Al Shatari, Sahar A.; Rajaratnam, Julie; Becker, Stan; Levin-Rector, Alison; Galway, Lindsay; Hadi Al-Yasseri, Berq J.; Weiss, William M.; Murray, Christopher J.; Burnham, Gilbert; Mills, Edward J. (15 October 2013). "Mortality in Iraq Associated with the 2003–2011 War and Occupation: Findings from a National Cluster Sample Survey by the University Collaborative Iraq Mortality Study". PLOS Medicine. 10 (10): e1001533. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001533. PMC 3797136. PMID 24143140.
52. "Iraq Body Count". Retrieved 27 April 2014.
53. "Iraq War Logs: What the numbers reveal". Iraq Body Count. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
54. Kim Gamel (23 April 2009). "AP Impact: Secret tally has 87,215 Iraqis dead". Fox News. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
55. "Iraq War". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
56. "The war of rape". Washington Monthly. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.