THE US-IRAQ WAR20 March 2003 – 18 December 2011(8 years, 8 months and 3 weeks)

The Iraq War was a conflict triggered by an invasion of Iraq by the United States and the United Kingdom

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 regional allies

In 2002, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution which called for Iraq to completely cooperate with UN weapon inspectors to verify that Iraq was not in possession of WMD and cruise missiles

Prior to the attack, the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) found no evidence of WMD, but could not yet verify the accuracy of Iraq's declarations regarding what weapons it possessed, as their work was still unfinished.

A UN weapons inspector in Iraq.

On March 16, 2003, the U.S. government advised the U.N. inspectors to leave their unfinished work and exit from Iraq

On March 20 the U.S conducted a military invasion of Iraq without declaring war

The invasion 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

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

Yellowcake uraniumBefore the Gulf War, in 1990, Iraq had stockpiled 550 short tons (500 t) of yellowcake uranium at the Tuwaitha nuclear complex

In late February 2002, the CIA sent former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson to investigate reports (later found to be forgeries) that Iraq was attempting to purchase additional yellowcake from Niger. In the January 2003, State of the Union address, in which President Bush declared that Iraq had sought uranium, citing British intelligence sources

IRAQ WAR PREPARATIONS 

Before the war during 2002 US aircraft were patrolling the no-fly zone of Iraq and by August 2002 become an full air offensive it was designed to degrade the Iraqi air defense system

It was found that Iraq had the means of attacking US with biological or chemical weapon

Bush was allegedly floating the idea of painting a U‑2 spyplane in UN colors and letting it fly low over Iraq to provoke Iraqi forces into shooting it down, thereby providing a pretext for the United States and Britain to invade.

PROTESTS AGAINST THE IRAQ WAR

Beginning in 2002, and continuing after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, large-scale protests against the Iraq War were held in many cities worldwide, often coordinated to occur simultaneously around the world

In some Arab countries demonstrations were organized by the state. Europe saw the biggest mobilization of protesters, including a rally of three million people in Rome

The February 15, 2003 anti-war protest in London

Signs outside Brooklyn

OPERATION RED DAWN

Operation Red Dawn was the U.S. military operation conducted on 13 December 2003 in the town of ad-Dawr, Iraq that captured Iraq President Saddam Hussein

Operation Red Dawn was launched after gaining actionable intelligence identifying two likely locations of SaddamThe Forces involved in the operation consisted of approximately 600 soldiers including cavalry, artillery, aviation, engineer and special operations forces. The forces cleared the two objectives but initially did not find the target.

An additional suspicious site was identified and searched. The area was a small, walled, mud hut compound with a metal lean-to structure. Within the structure a "spider hole" entrance, camouflaged with bricks and dirt was located. The hole was about 6-8 feet deep with space allowing an individual to lie down.

Saddam Hussein was found hiding at the bottom of the hole. He was captured without resistance.Items confiscated during the raid include two AK-47 rifles, a pistol, $750,000.00 U.S. dollars and one white/orange taxi.

2004: Insurgency expands

The start of 2004 was marked by a relative lull in violence. Insurgent forces reorganized during this time, studying the multinational forces' tactics and planning a renewed offensive. However, violence did increase during the Iraq Spring Fighting of 2004 with foreign fighters from around the Middle East as well as al-Qaeda in Iraq

The most serious fighting of the war so far began on March 31, 2004, when Iraqi rebellion in Fallujah ambushed a Blackwater USA convoy led by four U.S. private military contractors who were providing security for food caterers 

The four armed contractors, were killed with grenades and small arms fire. Subsequently, their bodies were dragged from their vehicles by local people, and beaten and set ablaze

Photos of the event were released to news agencies worldwide, causing a great deal of indignation and moral outrage in the United States, and prompting an unsuccessful "pacification" of the city: the First Battle of Fallujah in April 2004.

Withdrawal of U.S. troops from IraqOn 27 February 2009 in North Carolina, President Barack Obama announced a deadline for the withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq.

According to the president, by 31 August 2010, after nearly seven and a half years of United States military engagement in Iraq, all but a "transitional force" of 35,000 to 50,000 troops would be withdrawn from the Middle Eastern nation

On 19 August 2010, the Stryker Brigade, was the last US combat brigade to withdraw from Iraq. About 50,000 US troops will remain in the country in an advisory capacity.

According to the US, they'll help to train Iraqi forces in a new mission dubbed by the US as "Operation New Dawn," which will run until the end of 2011

Last U.S. convoy crosses the border from Iraq into Kuwait on December 18, 2011

U.S. and Kuwaiti troops closing the gate between Kuwait and Iraq on December 18, 2011.

IRAQ WAR LOGS

The Iraq War documents leak is the WikiLeaks disclosure of a collection of 3 lakh U.S Army field reports, also called the Iraq War Logs, of the Iraq War from 2004 to 2009 to several international media organizations and published on the Internet by WikiLeaks on 22 October 2010

The leak resulted in the Iraq Body Count project adding 15,000 civilian deaths to their count, bringing their total to over 150,000, with roughly 80% of those civilians

Wikileaks made the documents available to a number of media organisations The Guardian, The New York Times, Al Jazeera, he Bureau of Investigative Journalism, and the Iraq Body Count project.

POPULAR CULTURE

Movies which are based on Iraq wars are

The A teamBody of liesThe hurt lockerThe Men Who Stare at Goats

CASUALTIES AND LOSSES

Killed: 4,805Wounded: 32,753+

U.S

CIVILIAN DEATH-1,18,917+

Journalists 1,976NGOs 732 

Source- http://www.iraqbodycount.org/