Saddam Hussein is found by US troops in a cellar south of Tikrit, his home town. Saddam captured. Insurgents in Iraq begin targeting US-backed forces and fighting erupts between rival militias.
The Hutton Report into David Kelly's death is published, clearing ministers of wrongdoing and saying that Dr Kelly took his own life. Key points: Hutton Report.
The Butler Review on military intelligence finds key information used to justify the war in Iraq has been shown to be unreliable.
MI6 did not check its sources well enough and sometimes relied on third-hand reports, it adds. It also says the dossier should not have included the claim Iraq could use weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes without further explanation. Key points: Butler Report. Suicide bombings increase, with attacks during the year.
Iraq is beset by sectarian fighting. Maliki endorsed as PM. Saddam Hussein is hanged, after being found guilty of the killings of Shias from the town of Dujail in the s. Saddam hanged. In the face of mounting attacks by insurgents, the US sends in a "surge" of fresh troops while extending tours for troops stationed in volatile areas.
The plan marks a new direction for the war, with more emphasis placed on "winning hearts and minds". But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! In an attempt to lift the state out of the hard times of the Great Depression, the Nevada state legislature votes to legalize gambling. Located in the Great Basin desert, few settlers chose to live in Nevada after the United States acquired the territory at the end of the Mexican This marked the first time an all-black starting five had won the NCAA championship.
The top-ranked University of In the spring of , Elvis Presley was completing his second Hollywood movie, Loving You, and his first movie soundtrack album. He had two studio albums and 48 singles already under his belt and two years of nearly nonstop live appearances behind him.
If his life had taken a Conceivably, global oil production could increase significantly after the war. This CRS report provides information and analysis with respect to the war with Iraq, reviews a number of war-related issues, and provides links to additional sources of information.
It will not be further updated. Table 1. For a day-by-day summary of Iraq-related developments through the end of the combat phase of the war, see Iraq-U. This report was created to provide information and analysis on the buildup to the war with Iraq and on the war itself.
Since the combat phase of this conflict has ended, the report will not be further updated. The Background section of this report outlines the evolution of the conflict with Iraq after September 11, This section is followed by a more detailed description and analysis of U. The report then reviews a range of issues that the Iraq situation has raised for Congress. These issue discussions have been written by CRS experts, and contact information is provided for congressional readers seeking additional information.
In this section and elsewhere, text boxes list CRS products that provide in-depth information on the topics under discussion or on related topics. The final section links the reader to additional sources of information on the Iraq crisis. Bush Administration concerns about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction programs intensified after the September 11, terrorist attacks. Vice President Cheney, in two August speeches, accused Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein of seeking weapons of mass destruction to dominate the Middle East and threaten U.
Security Council to meet the "common challenge" posed by Iraq. On November 8, , the Security Council, acting at U. Prelude to War. During January-March , the U. Officials maintained that it would be possible to attack later, even in the extreme heat of summer, but military experts observed that conditions for fighting a war would be far better in the cooler months before May. Statements by President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and other top officials during January, February, and March expressed a high degree of dissatisfaction over Iraq's compliance with Security Council disarmament demands.
The President said on January 14, that "time is running out" for Iraq to disarm, adding that he was "sick and tired" of its "games and deceptions. On February 5, , Secretary of State Powell detailed to the United Nations Security Council what he described as Iraq's "web of lies" in denying that it has weapons of mass destruction programs. On February 26, President Bush gave a major address on Iraq. He said that the end of Hussein's regime would "deprive terrorist networks of a wealthy patron And other regimes will be given a clear warning that support for terror will not be tolerated.
Final Diplomatic Efforts. Despite the resolve of U. President Jacques Chirac of France was a leading critic of the U. Security Council, maintaining that he was not convinced by the evidence presented by Secretary of State Powell.
On February 10, at a press conference in Paris with President Putin of Russia, Chirac said "nothing today justifies war. Security Council, stating that Iraq had failed "to take the final opportunity afforded to it by Resolution " to disarm.
The proposed resolution was regarded as authorizing the immediate use of force to disarm Iraq. On March 10, President Chirac said that his government would veto the resolution, and Russian officials said that their government would likely follow the same course. Chirac's stance, and the Administration's lack of success in garnering other support for the "second resolution," seemed to convince U.
President Bush flew to the Azores for a hastily-arranged meeting with the prime ministers of Britain and Spain on Sunday, March 16, The meeting resulted in a pledge by the three leaders to establish a unified, free, and prosperous Iraq under a representative government. At a press conference after the meeting, President Bush stated that "Tomorrow is the day that we will determine whether or not democracy can work. EST that evening to declare that unless Saddam Hussein fled Iraq within 48 hours, the result would be "military conflict, commenced at the time of our own choosing.
The war began on the night of March 19, , with an aerial attack against a location where Saddam Hussein was suspected to be meeting with top Iraqi officials. The northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul fell shortly afterward, and on April 14, U. Public Reactions. In mid-January , polls showed that a majority of Americans wanted the support of allies before the United States launched a war against Iraq.
The polls shifted on this point after the State of the Union message, with a majority coming to favor a war even without explicit U. Security Council vote. Major anti-war demonstrations had also occurred on the weekends of January and February , and there were demonstrations in support of Administration policy as well. Many reports have noted that U. Demonstrations against the war in European cities on February were widely described as "massive," and, as in the United States, large demonstrations also took place on March Large demonstrations were reported in many cities worldwide after the fighting began, and efforts to launch boycotts of U.
Some observers dismiss foreign protests as of little lasting significance, but others argue that rising anti-Americanism could complicate U. Some reports suggest that European opposition to the war is moderating in light of the successful overthrow of the Iraqi dictator, and the welcome given to coalition troops in some places. On March 17, , as noted above in Background , President Bush addressed the American people and announced that Iraq would face conflict with the United States if Saddam Hussein and his sons, Uday and Qusay, did not leave Iraq within 48 hours.
On March 19, , after the expiration of the hour ultimatum, President Bush told the American people that military operations against Iraq had been authorized, and the effort began that evening. On April 11, , two days after Iraq's regime had fallen from power in Baghdad, President Bush said he would declare a U.
As of April 22, combat had wound down and the main focus of U. In making its case for confronting Iraq, the Bush Administration characterized the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq as a grave potential threat to the United States and to peace and security in the Middle East region.
The Administration maintained that the Iraqi regime harbored active weapons of mass destruction WMD programs that could be used to attain Saddam Hussein's long-term goal of dominating the Middle East.
These weapons, according to the Administration, could be used directly against the United States, or they could be transferred to terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda. The Administration said that the United States could not wait until Iraq made further progress on WMD to confront Iraq, since Iraq could then be stronger and the United States might have fewer military and diplomatic options.
In January , the Administration revived assertions it had made periodically since the September 11, attacks that the Baghdad regime supported and had ties to the Al Qaeda organization and other terrorist groups. According to the Administration, Iraq provided technical assistance in the past to Al Qaeda to help it construct chemical weapons. A faction based in northern Iraq and believed linked to Al Qaeda, called the Ansar al-Islam, had been in contact with the Iraqi regime, according to the Administration.
Other experts are said to believe that there might have been some cooperation when Osama bin Laden was based in Sudan in the early s but that any Iraq-Al Qaeda cooperation trailed off after bin Laden was expelled from Sudan in and went to Afghanistan. Bin Laden issued a statement of solidarity with the Iraqi people on February 12, exhorting them to resist any U. In attempting to win international support for its policy, the Administration asserted that Iraq was in material breach of 17 U.
Security Council resolutions - including Resolution of November 8, - mandating that Iraq fully declare and eliminate its WMD programs. A number of U. Diplomatic negotiations to avert war ended after the United States and Britain could not muster sufficient support for a proposed U. Security Council resolution that would have authorized force if Iraq did not meet a final deadline for Iraq to fully comply with WMD disarmament mandates.
The Bush Administration's September decision to seek a U. The purpose of downplaying this goal may have been to blunt criticism from U. The United States drew little separation between regime change and disarmament: the Administration believed that a friendly or pliable government in Baghdad was required to ensure complete elimination of Iraq's WMD.
As the U. Since the war began, senior officials have stressed the goal of liberating the Iraqi people and downplayed the hunt for alleged WMD stockpiles.
Policy Debate. Several press accounts indicate that there were divisions within the Administration on whether to launch war against Iraq, and some of these divisions re-emerged on post-war issues such as the degree to which the United Nations should be involved in political and economic reconstruction. Secretary of State Powell had been said to typify those in the Administration who believed that a long-term program of unfettered weapons inspections could have succeeded in containing the WMD threat from Iraq.
However, after January , Secretary Powell insisted that Iraq's failure to cooperate fully with the latest weapons inspections indicated that inspections would not succeed in disarming Iraq and that war would be required, with or without U. Press reports suggest that Vice President Cheney and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, among others, were consistently skeptical that inspections could significantly reduce the long-term threat from Iraq and reportedly have long been in favor of U.
These and other U. In a speech before the American Enterprise Institute on February 26, , President Bush said that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein by the United States could lead to the spread of democracy in the Middle East and a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Congress was overwhelmingly supportive of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Members expressed their strong backing for U. On March 20, , the House of Representatives, by a vote of in favor to 11 opposed, passed H.
That same day, the Senate passed a similar resolution, S. Congress also backed the war effort by approving the largest supplemental appropriations bill in U. On April 3, , both the House and the Senate approved a supplemental funding measure, H.
For more information, see below, Cost Issues. After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in , Congress played an active role in supporting U. Security Council resolutions. Congress restricted aid and trade in goods to some countries found to be in violation of international sanctions against Iraq. Congress also called for the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime from power and the establishment of a democratic Iraqi state in its place. On October 16, , the President signed H.
The resolution conferred broad authority on the President to use force and required the President to make periodic reports to Congress "on matters relevant to this joint resolution. In the months after the passage of H. Many Members who voted in favor of the resolution offered strong support for President Bush's attempts to force Iraq into compliance with U. Other lawmakers, including some who supported the resolution, commended the Administration for applying pressure on Saddam Hussein's regime but called on the Administration to be more forthcoming with plans for the future of Iraq and to be more committed to achieving the broadest possible international coalition of allied countries.
Still others, including some Members who voted in favor of H. Finally, many Members who voted against H. In one instance, several Members initiated a lawsuit to curtail the President's ability to authorize the use of force. During the diplomatic phase of the confrontation with Iraq, a period that covered the beginning of the th Congress until mid-March , bills introduced ranged from measures that would forestall military action to calls for punitive action against European nations that did not support the use of military force against Iraq.
Many analysts suggested that these proposals were mostly symbolic gestures and had insufficient support for passage. The Senate did pass S. The Senate also passed S. Neither S. After the start of the war, the House of Representatives passed H. The House also passed H.
A number of other proposed resolutions on the Iraq war may or may not see floor action during the post-war phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Congress and Post-War Iraq. With the transition of Operation Iraqi Freedom from a military to a reconstruction phase, Congress started to become more vocal in requesting specific information from the Bush Administration on plans for the post-war future of Iraq.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee was particularly active in trying to obtain credible reconstruction costs from Bush Administration officials. In addition, many analysts believe that the costs of rebuilding Iraq will require Congress to appropriate additional funds in the future. In testimony before Congress, Andrew S. Natsios, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, remarked that supplemental funding for Iraq's reconstruction will not carry very far into fiscal year At the international level, several Members submitted a letter to President Bush, expressing their support for widening the role of the international community in helping to rebuild Iraq.
The letter noted that by engaging the United Nations in the immediate aftermath of the war, the United States could help bridge rifts in our international relationships while "strengthening ties with our allies as we continue in the war against international terrorism. However, lawmakers have questioned how long Iraq will require U.
All organized Iraqi military resistance has ceased, and coalition forces are in control of all major cities and oilfields. The operations of the U. Central Command CENTCOM , which has overseen the war in Iraq, are now focused on establishing public order, restoring basic services in urban areas, tracking down former regime leadership members, and locating chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. Until Baghdad is more stabilized, Garner and his upporting personnel will be based in the south of Iraq.
Oilfields and port facilities have been secured, as have air bases in northern and western Iraq. Though a few oil wells were set afire, all fires were quelled, and there has been no widespread environmental sabotage. Allied forces did not encounter the mass surrenders characteristic of the campaign; however DOD reports that over 6, Iraqis have been taken prisoner, and believes that many more simply deserted their positions.
Iraqi paramilitary forces, particularly the Saddam Fedayeen, engaged in guerrilla-style attacks from urban centers in the rear areas, but did not inflict significant damage.
Nevertheless, greater attention than anticipated had to be paid to protecting extended supply lines and securing urban centers, particularly around an-Nasiriyah and Najaf, and in the British sector around Umm Qasr and Basra. The anticipated support for the invasion from the Shiia population in southern Iraq was slow in developing, but now some cooperation is forthcoming throughout Iraq, despite some outbreaks of factional fighting and some popular opposition to the U. Cooperation with Kurdish militias in the north has been excellent.
Even a mistaken airstrike against a Kurdish vehicle convoy, killing or wounding senior Kurdish leaders, did not adversely affect this cooperation. Turkish miliary spokesmen have indicated that no additional Turkish forces will move into Iraq at this time. The United States has assured Turkey that the Kurdish forces involved in seizing Mosul and Kirkuk will be withdrawn and replaced with U.
With the onset of widespread looting and some breakdown of public services electricity, water in the cities, coalition forces are confronted with the challenges of restoring public order and infrastructure. Though U. Harsh reactions risk alienation of the population, yet inaction reduces confidence in the ability of coalition forces to maintain order.
The situation is further complicated by continuing small-scale attacks on coalition troops in relatively secure areas. Increased patrols, the return of many Iraqi policemen to duty, and the emergence of civilian "watch groups" are assisting what appears to be a natural abatement of looting. Coalition forces will also have to ensure that factional violence and retribution against former government supporters do not derail stabilization efforts.
The United States continues to introduce new ground force units in the Persian Gulf region, while withdrawing some air and naval units. The Department of Defense has released limited official information on these deployments; but press leaks have been extensive, allowing a fairly good picture of the troop movements underway. The statistics provided below, unless otherwise noted, are not confirmed by DOD and should be considered approximate.
The number of U. Additional units that have been alerted for deployment, and elements of which have begun to transit, include the 1st Armored Division, and 1st Mechanized Division. The 4th Mechanized Infantry Division, originally intended to attack through Turkey, has arrived in Iraq and deployed north of Baghdad. Some airborne elements rd Airborne Brigade have moved into positions in northern Iraq, and the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment has started deployment from the United States.
The U. Air Force units throughout the theater are also beginning to re-deploy to home bases. In addition to U. Poland has approximately special operations troops augmenting British forces in the Basra region. DOD has announced that, as of April 16, , more than , National Guard and Reservists from all services are now called to active duty. See below, Burden Sharing. Because of significant popular opposition to this support in some countries, governments have sought to minimize public acknowledgment of their backing.
Only the United Kingdom, Australia, and Poland offered combat force contributions. The United States is actively seeking military forces from other countries to assist in the post-conflict stabilization effort. To date, the following additional countries have indicated a willingness to participate: Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Turkey.
As military operations shift from combat to stabilization, the issues that move to center stage are how many ground forces will be required to maintain order while the reconstruction of the Iraqi state is undertaken and how long this process will take. There has been no consensus on either of these issues. Estimates of troop requirements have ranged from 75, to over ,, and estimates for the length of the operation have ranged from several months to a decade.
The key element, and currently the most unpredictable, is the willingness of the Iraqi population to cooperate not only with coalition forces but also among themselves. The March 17, announcement by the United States, Britain, and Spain that they were withdrawing their proposed "second resolution" at the United Nations Security Council see above, Background , was followed that evening by President Bush's nationwide address giving Saddam Hussein an ultimatum to flee or risk military conflict.
These events marked the end of a major U. Relations with European Allies. The end of the diplomatic phase of the confrontation left a bitter aftermath among many U. After the war was launched on March 19, Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin charged that "This military action cannot be justified in any way. As the war went forward, however, European rhetoric moderated as leaders sought to avoid deepening the rift with the United States. President Bush telephoned Putin on April 5, and the two leaders agreed on continued dialog with respect to Iraq.
After 22 policemen were arrested for killing Sunnis, the Interior Ministry launched an investigation into its personnel who had allegedly ran death squads. The arrests brought attention to a pattern of extrajudicial killing by Iraqi forces targeting minority Sunnis. On February 22, the famous golden dome of the al Askari Shrine in Samarra, one of the holiest Shia shrines, was destroyed in a bombing widely blamed on Sunni jihadis of AQI.
The shrine bombing triggered violence by Shia and Sunni militias that killed more than a 1, people. On March 26, U. Ambassador Khalizad charged that violence by Shia militias exceeded killings by Sunni terrorists or insurgents. He urged the prime minister to reign in militias and end extrajudicial killings by people with links to the government. On April 7, a triple suicide bombing at the Shia Buratha mosque in Baghdad killed 85 and wounded The attack came amid a post-election political crisis and related sectarian violence.
His cabinet included representatives from most Iraqi sects and ethnic groups, although three key cabinet positions remained unfilled due to sectarian disagreements.
Jawad al-Bolani, a Shia, became interior minister. Sherwan al-Waili, a Shia, became national security minister. He was succeeded by Abu Ayyub al-Masri. On June 14, Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki released his security plan, Operation Together Forward, to improve conditions in the Baghdad area amid increasing sectarian bloodletting.
It introduced curfews, checkpoints, and joint Iraqi-U. On June 25, Prime Minister Maliki delivered his point plan to restore order and reduce sectarian violence in Iraq. The reconciliation plan promised amnesty for those imprisoned on charges unrelated to crime, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Videos of three Russian diplomats kidnapped on June 3 being executed was released online.
On July 1, at least 66 people were killed in a car bombing at an outdoor market in the Shia Sadr City area of Baghdad. Mahdi Army militiamen killed at least 40 Sunnis during house searches and at phony checkpoints in Baghdad. On July 11, a double suicide bombing near the entrance to the Green Zone killed more than 50 people.
Prime Minister Maliki rejected suggestions that Iraq was falling into civil war despite deepening violence. On July 17, a shooting and mortar attack in Mahmoudiyah, a predominantly Shia city, killed at least 40 people. The attack marked several days of intensifying violence in retaliation for the July 9 Mahdi Army killings. July was the deadliest month for civilians since violence erupted, according to the Iraqi Health Ministry.
Nearly 3, Iraqis—or an average of Iraqis per day—were killed that month, although the United Nations said the body count was higher. More than half of the deaths occurred in the Baghdad area. The United States increased troop deployments on an emergency basis, despite hopes earlier in the year for a partial withdrawal. Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, another al-Zarqawi successor, led the new group. On October 20, the U. In an act of revenge, Shia militiamen burned six Sunnis alive after they left Friday prayers.
An Iraqi special tribunal sentenced Saddam Hussein to death for the killing of Shias in the town of Dujail. On December 30 , Hussein was executed by hanging for crimes against humanity. The parallel was to give Iraqi leaders time and space to forge political reconciliation.
Between January 16 and March 27, a wave of sectarian bombings in Baghdad killed hundreds of Sunnis and Shias. On March 30, the U. Senate set March 31, as a goal for the complete withdrawal of U. On April 1, President Talabani said al-Sadr had ordered his Mahdi Army to stand down after six weeks of the new security push by joint U.
On April 18,car bombings by ISI killed more than people. On June 10, U. The al Askari mosque in Samarra was bombed for the second time, destroying its minarets. More than were killed in the deadliest attack to date. Shia and Kurdish leaders formed a political coalition to support Prime Minister Maliki after a Sunni faction quit the coalition government on August 1.
On August 29, al-Sadr suspended military operations by his Mahdi Army militia for six months after street battles with Iraqi forces in Karbala.
Seven Americans were killed, making the deadliest year for U. On December 16, British forces handed over security for Basra province to Iraqi forces, ending five years of British control of southern Iraq. After the surge of U. The organization lost the majority of its leaders, cells, and capabilities. Fighting broke out between the government and militias.
On May 11, the government agreed to a ceasefire with al-Sadr. The United States transferred administrative and operational control over the Sunni Awakening Council militias to the Iraqi government.
The government also assumed security control over Anbar province. But the security situation worsened in the neighboring city of Mosul. In October, some 13, Christians fled threats and killings attributed to Sunni extremists.
On January 5, the United States opened a new embassy in the Green Zone, one of the largest it had ever built. President Obama announced a plan to end the U. By June 30, U. On July 31, the last British troops withdrew from Iraq to Kuwait. ISI claimed responsibility for a series of bombings. Among the biggest was an August 19 bombing in Baghdad that killed more than An October 25 bombing in Baghdad killed more than On December 10, five suicide bombings in Baghdad killed at least Iraq held its second parliamentary elections since the U.
No single coalition came close to winning majority seats. A new government was not formed because of political gridlock that played out over several issues for eight months.
Maliki served as a caretaker prime minister. Iraqi security forces, with the support of U. Baghdadi had participated in the Sunni insurgency against U.
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