Invasion Iraq

President George W. Bush informed several Senators in March 2002 about the planned fate of the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein—a full year before the American invasion of Iraq and a month after he requested troops in the Persian Gulf.

The Americans invaded Iraq in the spring of 2003, accomplished their immediate goals, but stayed in that country for years fighting insurgency with a massive Iraqi death toll. The Iraq War was America's first major conflict since the Cold War, and the region remains unstable two decades later.

Fig. 1 - U.S. Marines marching with Iraqi POWs, March 2003, by Lance Cpl. Brian L. Wickliffe, U.S. Marine Corps. Source: U.S. Marine Corps, Wikipedia Commons (public domain).

2003 Invasion of Iraq

The American invasion of Iraq began on March 19, 2003. The United States led a coalition comprising Britain, Australia, Poland, and the Netherlands. The American goal was to remove the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. U.S. President George W. Bush and his administration also publicly asserted that Iraq possessed WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) that could harm the U.S. and its allies. This claim was proven to be erroneous and discredited by the U.S.

2003 Invasion of Iraq: Background

The relationship between the U.S. and Iraq changed since the two countries established diplomatic relations in the 1930s.

Iran-Iraq War

The Iran-Iraq War was a Middle Eastern conflict between 1980 and 1988 that occurred for many reasons, for instance, a dispute over the Shatt al-Arab waterway. As a result, Iraq invaded Iran, and each side had supporters.

The United States' role was complicated:

• The U.S. backed Iraq.
• However, it also secretly sold weapons to Iran.

The latter came to be known as the Iran-Contra Affair.

• The Iran-Contra Affair (1981-1986) was a series of events during the Ronald Reagan administration that caused a major political scandal. At this time, the U.S. interfered in Latin American affairs by funding an extremist group, the Contras, in Nicaragua. The Congressional Boland Amendment did not allow the U.S. to support this organization further.
• Therefore, to generate the necessary funds, the U.S. simultaneously sold weapons to Iran by using Israel as the middleman. The sale was secret because Iran was subject to an arms embargo and was labeled a "State Sponsor of Terrorism" in 1984.
• Since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the relations between the U.S. and Iran deteriorated.
• The president had to testify before the Tower Commission when the details became public.

The Reagan administration supported Iraq and its leader, Saddam Hussein, in the following ways:

• providing intelligence information;
• supplying equipment;
• offering financial aid.

The war ended with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 598.

Fig. 2 - USAF planes flying over retreating Iraqi forces, Kuwait, Operation Desert Storm. Source: U.S. Air Force, Wikipedia Commons (public domain).

Gulf War

The relations between Iraq and United States changed dramatically in the early 1990s. In the summer of 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, presumably because an increase in Kuwaiti oil production harmed Iraq's economy. The conflict transformed into the Gulf War (1990-1991), in which Iraq faced off the United States and a coalition of over two dozen countries.

At this time, President George H. W. Bush decided to intervene as follows:

• Operation Desert Shield (August 1990 - January 1991);
• Operation Desert Storm (January - February 1991).

The U.S. achieved most of its goals, such as pushing Iraq out of Kuwait, but did not remove Saddam Hussein.

For Iraq, there were many negative consequences, including:

• sanctions;
• UNSC Resolution 687 defines the ceasefire;
• UNSC Resolution 689 to monitor the border;
• the start of attempts to disarm Iraq.

These policies continued during the Bill Clinton presidency.

Fig. 3 - a statue of Saddam Hussein being toppled, Iraq, April 2003. Source: U.S. Department of Defense, Wikipedia Commons (public domain).

Bush: Invasion of Iraq

President George W. Bush presided over the invasion of Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003) in the context of the war on terror after the September 11, 2011, terrorist attacks in the U.S. However, the terms of his global war on terror were broad and vague. For example, the terrorists belonged to the Al Qaeda group, and some were Saudi nationals. Whereas there were Al Qaeda enclaves in Afghanistan, these circumstances had little to do with Iraq.

Not everyone in the Bush administration supported the invasion of Iraq. Surprisingly, one of the moderate voices was the military man and Secretary of State Colin Powell. Powell's main concern was overextension. Yet, ultimately, it was Powell who presented a vial at the UNSC meeting in February 2003, claiming that Iraq had WMDs.

Historians also suggested that George W. Bush wanted to complete what his father failed to do during the Gulf War: topple Saddam Hussein. He also used religious-like language that some compared to the Crusades.

Iraq Invasion: Facts

The key points about the war in Iraq are:

• The relations between U.S. and Iraq deteriorated throughout the 1990s.
• The American-led forces invaded Iraq on March 19 and declared the end of major combat on May 1, 2003.
• The invasion was part of George W. Bush's war on terror.
• The invasion occurred using the false pretext of the WMDs.
• There were many U.S. and international protests against this war.
• The Americans used both boots on the ground and fighter bombers and cruise missiles.
• The insurgency continued for years despite toppling the Saddam Hussein government and initial military successes.

Iraq Invasion: Legal or Illegal?

No one likes war except the military-industrial complex. Yet even wars have rules of conduct.

• In the 20th century, countries increasingly began to rely on international law to define the parameters of war. The Second World War gave rise to the global peace organization United Nations (1945) and the military tribunals like Nuremberg and Tokyo. These war-crime trials further developed the legal framework around conducting war.

The United Nations Security Council is the body handling armed conflicts.

The 2003 American invasion of Iraq led to heated debates about its legality per international law. The backers of this war believed that the UNSC Resolution 1441 seeking to enforce Iraq's disarmament justified war. However, many critics argued that the resolution was limited to disarmament and could not be broadly interpreted as an invitation to invade. After all, Iraq did not attack the U.S. or its allies. Many experts concluded that the Iraq War was one of aggression.

2003 Invasion of Iraq: Timeline

The initial success of the U.S. campaign in Iraq in the first few months of the invasion was followed by years of insurgency.

Iraq Invasion: Casualties

The overall causality rate for American troops in the Iraq War (2003) exceeded 4,500, excluding private contractors. The death toll of Iraqis is estimated to be around 200,000.

This Iraqi death toll must be viewed in the greater context of the U.S. foreign policy toward Iraq. When that country was under sanctions during the 1990s, an estimated, half a million children died. The U.S. Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, had famously remarked that this price was worth it.

Fig. 4 - American soldiers watch Iraq’s paramilitary unit's headquarters, April 2003. Source: U.S. Army, Wikipedia Commons (public domain).

Invasion of Iraq: Significance

The American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 demonstrates:

• the overreach of President George W. Bush's global war on terror culminating in wars of aggression;
• toppling Saddam Hussein's government transformed into an insurgency, regional chaos, and extremism;
• foreign companies gained control of Iraq's nationalized oil industry;
• this was the first major military conflict for the U.S. after the Cold War.