Iraq War

War in Iraq from 2003 to 2011

This article is about the 2003–2011 war. For other uses, see Iraq War (disambiguation).

Iraq War
حرب العراق (Arabic)

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, 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
(8 years, 8 months and 28 days)

|

Location|

Iraq

Result|  See § Aftermath
Belligerents
Invasion (2003)
Coalition of the willing

* United States
* United Kingdom
* Australia
* Poland

Kurdistan Region

* KDP
* PUK

Iraqi National Congress

* Free Iraqi Forces[3]

Invasion (2003)
Republic of Iraq

* MEK[4]

After invasion (2003–11)
Iraq
United States
United Kingdom
MNF–I (2003–09)
Kurdistan Region
Awakening Council|  After invasion (2003–11)
Al-Qaeda in Iraq
Islamic Army in Iraq
Islamic State of Iraq
Mahdi Army
Naqshbandi Army
Hamas of Iraq
Jaysh al-Mujahideen
1920 Revolution Brigades
Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna
Commanders and leaders

* Nouri al-Maliki
* George W. Bush
* Barack Obama
* Dick Cheney
* Donald Rumsfeld
* Robert Gates
* Tommy Franks
* David Petraeus
* Raymond T. Odierno
* Tony Blair

* Saddam Hussein
* Abu Musab al-Zarqawi †
* Abu Omar al-Baghdadi †
* Abu Ayyub al-Masri †
* Muqtada al-Sadr

Strength

Coalition forces (2003)
309,000–584,799
United States: 192,000–466,985 personnel[5][6]
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)[7]
Iraqi Security Forces
578,269[8]

* Iraqi Armed Forces: 191,957
* Ministry of Interior: 386,312

Awakening militias
≈103,000 (2008)[9]
Kurdistan Region
≈400,000 (Kurdish Border Guard: 30,000,[10] Peshmerga: 75,000)|

Iraqi Armed Forces: 375,000[a]
Special Iraqi Republican Guard: 12,000
Iraqi Republican Guard: 75,000
Fedayeen Saddam: 30,000

* * *

Sunni Insurgents
≈70,000 (2007)[11]
Mahdi Army
≈60,000 (2007)[12][13]
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[b]
Wounded: 40,000+[19]
Coalition forces
Killed: 4,826 (4,508 US,[c] 179 UK,[24] 139 other), of which 1/5 non-combat losses[25]
Missing/captured (US): 17 (9 died in captivity, 8 rescued)[26]
Wounded: 32,776+ (32,292 US,[27] 315 UK, 210+ other[d])[48][49][50][51]
Injured/diseases/other medical*: 51,139 (47,541 US,[52] 3,598 UK)[48][50][51]
Contractors
Killed: 3,650 [53][54][55]
Wounded & injured: 43,880[54][55]
Awakening Councils
Killed: 1,002+[e]
Wounded: 500+ (2007),[56] 828 (2008)[66]

Total dead: 27,163
Total wounded: 117,961|

Iraqi combatant dead (invasion period): 7,600–45,000[67][68]
Insurgents (post-Saddam)
Killed: 26,544+ killed by Coalition and ISF forces (2003–11), excludes inter-insurgent fighting and noncombat losses[f]
(4,000 foreign fighters killed by Sep. 2006, all causes)[72]
Detainees:
60,000 (US and Iraqi-held, peak in 2007)[11]
12,000 (Iraqi-held, in 2010 only)[73]
119,752 insurgents arrested (2003–2007),[74] of this about 1/3 were imprisoned for longer than four years[11]

Total dead: 34,144+–71,544+
Total captured: 120,000+

Documented deaths from violence:
Iraq Body Count (2003 – 14 December 2011): 103,160–113,728 civilian deaths recorded[75] and 12,438 new deaths added from the Iraq War Logs[76]
Associated Press (March 2003 – April 2009): 110,600 Iraqi deaths in total[77]

Statistical estimates
Lancet survey** (March 2003 – July 2006): 654,965 (95% CI: 392,979–942,636)[78][79]
Iraq Family Health Survey*** (March 2003 – July 2006): 151,000 (95% CI: 104,000–223,000)[80]
Opinion Research Business**: (March 2003 – August 2007): 1,033,000 (95% CI: 946,258–1,120,000)[81]
PLOS Medicine Study**: (March 2003 – June 2011): 405,000 (60% violent) (95% CI: 48,000–751,000)[82]

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.
**** Sukkariyeh, Syria was also affected (2008 Abu Kamal raid).

* v
* t
* e

Iraq War (Outline)

Timeline

* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011

Prelude

Invasion (2003)

* Umm Qasr
* Al Faw
* 1st Basra
* Nasiriyah
* Raid on Karbala
* Haditha Dam
* 1st Najaf
* Northern Delay
* Viking Hammer
* Samawah
* 1st Karbala
* Al Kut
* Hillah
* Green Line
* Karbala Gap
* Debecka Pass
* Kani Domlan Ridge
* Baghdad

Post-invasion insurgency (2003–2006)

* Al Anbar
* Killing of Qusay & Uday Hussein
* 1st Ramadan
* Latifiya
* Capture of Saddam Hussein
* Spring 2004
* City Hall
* Al Kut [uk]
* Iron Saber
* 1st Fallujah
* Sadr City
* 1st Ramadi
* Good Friday
* Husaybah
* Danny Boy
* 2nd Najaf
* CIMIC-House
* Samarra
* 2nd Fallujah
* Mosul
* Lake Tharthar
* Al Qa'im
* Hit
* Haditha
* Steel Curtain
* Tal Afar
* 2nd Ramadi
* Together Forward
* Diwaniya

Civil war (2006–2008)

* 2nd Ramadan
* Sinbad
* Amarah
* Turki
* Diyala
* Haifa Street
* Karbala Raid
* 3rd Najaf
* Imposing Law
* U.K. bases
* Black Eagle
* Baghdad belts
* Alljah
* Baqubah
* Donkey Island
* Shurta Nasir
* Phantom Strike
* 2nd Karbala
* Phantom Phoenix

Insurgency (2008–2011)

* 2008 Day of Ashura
* Nineveh
* Spring 2008
* 2nd Basra
* 2008 al-Qaeda Offensive
* Augurs of Prosperity
* Abu Kamal
* Palm Grove
* Camp Ashraf
* US withdrawal violence

* v
* t
* e

List of bombings during the Iraq War

‡ indicates attacks resulting in over 100 deaths
§ indicates the deadliest attack in the Iraq War
This list only includes major attacks.

2003
1st Baghdad
2nd Baghdad
Najaf
3rd Baghdad
1st Nasiriyah
1st Karbala

2004
‡ 1st Erbil
‡ Ashoura
1st Basra
1st Mosul
4th Baghdad
5th Baghdad
Karbala & Najaf
1st Baqubah
Kufa
Marez

2005
Suwaira bombing
‡ 1st Al Hillah
2nd Erbil
‡ Musayyib
6th Baghdad
‡ 7th Baghdad
1st Balad
Khanaqin

2006
‡ Karbala-Ramadi
1st Samarra
8th Baghdad
9th Baghdad
‡ 10th Baghdad

2007
11th Baghdad
12th Baghdad
‡ 13th Baghdad
14th Baghdad
15th Baghdad
‡ 2nd Al Hillah
‡ 1st Tal Afar
16th Baghdad
17th Baghdad
2nd & 3rd Karbala
2nd Mosul
‡ 18th Baghdad
Makhmour
Abu Sayda
2nd Samarra
19th Baghdad
‡ Amirli
1st Kirkuk
20th Baghdad
21st Baghdad
§ Qahtaniya
Amarah

2008
22nd Baghdad
2nd Balad
23rd Baghdad
4th Karbala
24th Baghdad
Karmah
2nd Baqubah
Dujail
Balad Ruz

2009
25th Baghdad
26th Baghdad
Baghdad-Muqdadiyah
Taza
27th Baghdad
2nd Kirkuk
2nd Tal Afar
‡ 28th Baghdad
‡ 29th Baghdad
‡ 30th Baghdad

2010
31st Baghdad
32nd Baghdad
3rd Baqubah
33rd Baghdad
34th Baghdad
35th Baghdad
‡ 1st Pan-Iraq
36th Baghdad
37th Baghdad
2nd Pan-Iraq
38th Baghdad
39th Baghdad
‡ 40th Baghdad

2011
41st Baghdad
‡ 3rd Pan-Iraq
Karbala-Baghdad
42nd Baghdad
Tikrit
3rd Al Hillah
3rd Samarra
Al Diwaniyah
Taji
4th Pan-Iraq
43rd Baghdad
4th Karbala
44th Baghdad
2nd Basra
45th Baghdad

* v
* t
* e

Persian Gulf Wars

* Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988)
* Gulf War (1990–1991)
* Invasion of Kuwait (1990)
* Iraqi Kurdish/Shi'a uprisings (1991)
* Iraq no-fly zones conflict (1991–2003)
* Iraq air strikes (January 1993)
* Iraq missile strikes (1993)
* Iraq missile strikes (1996)
* Iraq bombing (1998)
* 1999 Shia uprising in Iraq
* Iraqi conflict (2003–present)
* Iraq War (2003–2011)
* Iraqi insurgency (2003–2006)
* Iraqi civil war (2006–2008)
* Iraqi insurgency (2008–2011)
* Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013)
* War in Iraq (2013–2017)
* Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present)

Part of a series on

Ba'athism

Organizations

* Arab Ba'ath
* Arab Ba'ath Movement
* Ba'ath Party
* Baath Party (pro-Iraqi)
* Baath Party (pro-Syrian)

Variants

* Neo-Ba'athism
* Assadism
* Saddamism

People

* Aflaq
* al-Arsuzi
* Assad (Bashar)
* Assad (Hafez)
* al-Bakr
* Bitar
* al-Douri
* Ghanim
* Jadid
* al-Rikabi
* Rimawi
* Saddam

Literature

* On the Way of Resurrection
* The Battle for One Destiny
* The Genius of Arabic in Its Tongue

History

* Ba'athist Iraq

* Attempted assassination of Abdul-Karim Qasim
* Ramadan Revolution
* November 1963 coup d'état
* 17 July Revolution
* 1979 Ba'ath Party Purge
* Iran–Iraq War
* Gulf War
* Sanctions
* Iraq War
* De-Ba'athification

* Ba'athist Syria

* Syrian Committee to Help Iraq
* 1963 coup d'état
* 1966 coup d'état
* Syrian invasion of Jordan
* Corrective Revolution
* Intervention in Lebanon
* Syrian occupation of Lebanon
* Syrian civil war
* Fall of the Assad regime

Regional organizations

* Algeria
* pro-Iraq
* pro-Syria
* Bahrain
* pro-Iraq
* pro-Syria
* Egypt
* pro-Iraq
* pro-Syria
* Iraq
* pro-Iraq
* pro-Syria
* Jordan
* pro-Iraq
* pro-Syria
* Kuwait
* pro-Iraq
* Lebanon
* pro-Iraq
* pro-Syria
* Libya
* pro-Iraq
* Mauritania
* pro-Iraq
* pro-Syria
* Palestine
* pro-Iraq
* pro-Syria
* Sudan
* pro-Iraq
* pro-Syria
* Syria
* pro-Iraq
* pro-Syria
* Tunisia
* pro-Iraq
* pro-Syria
* Yemen
* pro-Iraq
* pro-Syria

Splinter groups

* Arab Socialist Revolutionary Ba'ath Party
* Socialist Lebanon
* Arab Revolutionary Workers Party
* Democratic Socialist Arab Ba'ath Party
* Sudanese Ba'ath Party

Armed groups

* Arab Liberation Front
* Al-Awda
* Al-Abud Network
* Jeish Muhammad
* Rejectionists
* Snake Party
* Supreme Command for Jihad and Liberation
* Naqshbandi Army
* General Military Council for Iraqi Revolutionaries
* Free Iraqi Army

Related topics

* Arab nationalism
* Arab socialism
* Assadist–Saddamist conflict
* Nasserism
* Pan-Arabism
* Waḥda, Ḥurriyya, Ishtirākiyya

* Politics portal
* Socialism portal

* v
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* e

The Iraq War (Arabic: حرب العراق, romanized: ḥarb al-ʿirāq), also referred to as the Second Gulf War,[83][84] was a prolonged conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict persisted as an insurgency that arose against coalition forces and the newly established Iraqi government. US forces were officially withdrawn in 2011. In 2014, the US became re-engaged in Iraq, leading a new coalition under Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, as the conflict evolved into the ongoing Islamic State insurgency.

The Iraq invasion was part of the Bush administration's broader war on terror, launched in response to the September 11 attacks. In October 2002, the US Congress passed a resolution granting Bush authority to use military force against Iraq. The war began on March 20, 2003, when the US, joined by the UK, Australia, and Poland, initiated a "shock and awe" bombing campaign. Coalition forces launched a ground invasion, defeating Iraqi forces and toppling the Ba'athist regime. Saddam Hussein was captured in 2003 and executed in 2006.

The fall of Saddam's regime created a power vacuum, which, along with the Coalition Provisional Authority's mismanagement, fueled a sectarian civil war between Iraq's Shia majority and Sunni minority, and contributed to a lengthy insurgency. In response, the US deployed an additional 170,000 troops during the 2007 troop surge, which helped stabilize parts of the country. In 2008, Bush agreed to withdraw US combat troops, a process completed in 2011 under President Barack Obama.

The primary rationale for the invasion centered around false claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and that Saddam Hussein was supporting al-Qaeda. The 9/11 Commission concluded in 2004 that there was no credible evidence linking Saddam to al-Qaeda, and no WMD stockpiles were found in Iraq. These false claims faced widespread criticism, in the US and abroad. Kofi Annan, then secretary-general of the United Nations, declared the invasion illegal under international law, as it violated the UN Charter. The 2016 Chilcot Report, a British inquiry, concluded the war was unnecessary, as peaceful alternatives had not been fully explored. Iraq held multi-party elections in 2005, and Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in 2006, a position he held until 2014. His government's policies alienated Iraq's Sunni minority, exacerbating sectarian tensions.

The war led to an estimated 150,000 to over a million deaths, including over 100,000 civilians, with most occurring during the post-invasion insurgency and civil war. The war had lasting geopolitical effects, including the emergence of the extremist Islamic State, whose rise led to the 2013–17 War in Iraq. The war damaged the US' international reputation, and Bush's popularity declined. UK prime minister Tony Blair's support for the war diminished his standing, contributing to his resignation in 2007.

## Background

[edit]

Main article: Prelude to the Iraq War

See also: Gulf War, Iraq and weapons of mass destruction, Iraqi no-fly zones conflict, and International sanctions against Iraq

Following the Gulf War, the United Nations passed 16 Security Council resolutions calling for the complete elimination of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Iraqi officials harassed inspectors and obstructed their work,[85] and in August 1998, the Iraqi government suspended cooperation with the inspectors completely, alleging that the inspectors were spying for the US.[86] The spying allegations were later substantiated.[87]

In October 1998, removing the Iraqi government became official US foreign policy with the enactment of the Iraq Liberation Act. The act provided $97 million for Iraqi "democratic opposition organizations" to "establish a program to support a transition to democracy in Iraq."[88] This legislation contrasted with the terms set out in United Nations Security Council Resolution 687, which focused on weapons and weapons programs and made no mention of regime change.[89]

One month after the passage of the Iraq Liberation Act, the US and UK launched a bombardment campaign of Iraq called Operation Desert Fox. The campaign's express rationale was to hamper Saddam Hussein's government's ability to produce chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, but US intelligence personnel also hoped it would help weaken Saddam's grip on power.[90]

Following the 2000 presidential election of George W. Bush, the US moved towards a more aggressive Iraq policy. The Republican Party's campaign platform in the 2000 election called for "full implementation" of the Iraq Liberation Act as "a starting point" in a plan to "remove" Saddam.[91] Little formal movement towards an invasion occurred until the September 11 attacks, although plans were drafted and meetings were held from the first days of his administration.[92][93]

### Pre-war events

[edit]

Main articles: Rationale for the Iraq War, Preparations for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and Failed Iraqi peace initiatives

Excerpt from Donald Rumsfeld memo dated 27 November 2001[94]

Following the September 11 attacks, the Bush administration's national security team debated an Iraq invasion. On the day of the attacks, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld asked his aides for "best info fast. Judge whether good enough hit Saddam Hussein at the same time. Not only Osama bin Laden."[95] The next day, Bush ordered White House counterterrorism coordinator Richard A. Clarke to investigate possible Iraqi involvement in the September 11 attacks, believing that a devastating attack like 9/11 involved a state sponsor.[96]

Bush spoke with Rumsfeld on 21 November and instructed him to conduct a confidential review of OPLAN 1003, the war plan for invading Iraq.[97][98] Rumsfeld met with General Tommy Franks, the commander of US Central Command, on 27 November to go over the plans. A record of the meeting includes the question "How start?", listing multiple possible justifications for a US–Iraq War.[94][99] Bush began laying the public groundwork for an invasion of Iraq in his January 2002 State of the Union address, calling Iraq a member of the Axis of Evil, and saying that the US "will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons."[100]

The intelligence community, however, indicated that there was no evidence linking Saddam Hussein to the September 11 attacks and there was little evidence that Iraq had any collaborative ties with Al Qaeda.[101][102]: 334 Ultimately, the rationale for invading Iraq as a response to 9/11 has been widely refuted, as there was no cooperation between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda.[103][104][105][106][107][108][109]

A 5 September 2002 report from Major General Glen Shaffer revealed that the Joint Chiefs of Staff's J2 Intelligence Directorate had concluded that the United States' knowledge on different aspects of Iraq's WMD program ranged from essentially zero to ~75%, and that knowledge was weak on aspects of a possible nuclear weapons program. "Our knowledge of the Iraqi nuclear weapons program is based largely… on analysis of imprecise intelligence," they concluded. "Our assessments rely heavily on analytic assumptions and judgment rather than hard evidence."[110][111] Similarly, the British government found no evidence that Iraq possessed nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq posed no threat to the West, a conclusion British diplomats shared with the US government.[112] The US intelligence community was of the opinion that Iraq had no nuclear weapons, and had no information about whether Iraq had biological weapons.[113][114][115][116]

Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld expressed skepticism toward the CIA's intelligence and accuracy to predict threats, and instead preferred outside analysis with intelligence supplied by the Iraqi National Congress, which alleged that Saddam was pursuing WMD development and had ties to al-Qaeda.[96] Bush began formally making his case to the international community for an invasion of Iraq in his 12 September 2002 address to the UN Security Council.[117]

A United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq in 2002

In October 2002, the US Congress passed the Iraq Resolution.[118] Key US allies in NATO, such as the United Kingdom, agreed with the US actions, while France and Germany were critical of plans to invade Iraq, arguing instead for continued diplomacy and weapons inspections. After considerable debate, the UN Security Council adopted a compromise resolution, UN Security Council Resolution 1441, which authorized the resumption of weapons inspections and promised "serious consequences" for non-compliance. Security Council members France and Russia made clear that they did not consider these consequences to include the use of force to overthrow the Iraqi government.[119] The US and UK ambassadors to the UN publicly confirmed this reading of the resolution.[120]

Resolution 1441 set up inspections by the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Saddam accepted the resolution on 13 November and inspectors returned to Iraq under the direction of UNMOVIC chairman Hans Blix and IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei. As of February 2003, the IAEA "found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq"; the IAEA concluded that certain items which could have been used in nuclear enrichment centrifuges, such as aluminum tubes, were in fact intended for other uses.[121] In March 2003, Blix said progress had been made in inspections, and no evidence of WMD had been found.[122]

US Secretary of State Colin Powell holding a model vial of anthrax while giving a presentation to the United Nations Security Council

On 5 February 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell appeared before the UN to present evidence that Iraq was hiding unconventional weapons. Despite warnings from the German Federal Intelligence Service and the British Secret Intelligence Service that the source was untrustworthy, Powell's presentation included information based on the claims of Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, codenamed "Curveball", an Iraqi emigrant living in Germany who later admitted that his claims had been false.[123] Besides claiming a relationship between al-Qaeda and Iraq, Powell also alleged that al-Qaeda was attempting to acquire weapons of mass destruction from Iraq.[124]

As a follow-up to Powell's presentation, the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, Australia, Denmark, Japan, and Spain proposed a resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq, but NATO members like Canada, France, and Germany, together with Russia, strongly urged continued diplomacy. Facing a losing vote as well as a likely veto from France and Russia, the US, the UK, Poland, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Japan, and Australia eventually withdrew their resolution.[125][126]

In March 2003, the United States, the UK, Poland, Australia, Spain, Denmark, and Italy began preparing for the invasion of Iraq with a host of public relations and military moves. In an address to the nation on 17 March 2003, Bush demanded that Saddam and his two sons, Uday and Qusay, surrender and leave Iraq, giving them a 48-hour deadline.[127]

The UK House of Commons held a debate on going to war on 18 March 2003 where the government motion was approved 412 to 149.[128] The vote was a key moment in the history of the Blair government, as the number of government MPs who rebelled against the vote was the greatest since the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. Three government ministers resigned in protest at the war, John Denham, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, and the then Leader of the House of Commons Robin Cook.

### Opposition to invasion

[edit]

Further information: Criticism of the Iraq War, Legitimacy of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Legality of the Iraq War, and Protests against the Iraq War

In October 2002, former US President Bill Clinton warned about the possible dangers of pre-emptive military action against Iraq. Speaking in the UK at a Labour Party conference he said: "As a preemptive action today, however well-justified, may come back with unwelcome consequences in the future... I don't care how precise your bombs and your weapons are when you set them off, innocent people will die."[129][130] Of 209 House Democrats in Congress, 126 voted against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, although 29 of 50 Democrats in the Senate voted in favor. Only one Republican Senator, Lincoln Chafee, voted against. The Senate's lone Independent, Jim Jeffords, voted against. Retired US Marine, former Navy Secretary and future US senator Jim Webb wrote shortly before the vote, "Those who are pushing for a unilateral war in Iraq know full well that there is no exit strategy if we invade."[131] Pope John Paul II also publicly condemned the military intervention, as well as saying directly to Bush privately: "Mr. President, you know my opinion about the war in Iraq... Every violence, against one or a million, is a blasphemy addressed to the image and likeness of God."[132]

Anti-war protest in London, September 2002. Organized by the British Stop the War Coalition, up to 400,000 took part in the protest.[133]

On 20 January 2003, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin declared "we believe that military intervention would be the worst solution".[134] Meanwhile, anti-war groups across the world organized public protests. According to French academic Dominique Reynié, between 3 January and 12 April 2003, 36 million people globally took part in almost 3,000 protests against the war in Iraq, with demonstrations on 15 February 2003 being the largest.[135] Nelson Mandela voiced his opposition in late January, stating "All that (Mr. Bush) wants is Iraqi oil," and questioning if Bush deliberately undermined the U.N. "because the secretary-general of the United Nations [was] a black man".[136]

In February 2003, the US Army's top general, Eric Shinseki, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that it would take "several hundred thousand soldiers" to secure Iraq.[137] Two days later, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the post-war troop commitment would be less than the number of troops required to win the war, and that "the idea that it would take several hundred thousand US forces is far from the mark." Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said Shinseki's estimate was "way off the mark," because other countries would take part in an occupying force.[138]

Germany's Foreign Secretary Joschka Fischer, although having been in favor of stationing German troops in Afghanistan, advised Federal Chancellor Schröder not to join the war in Iraq. Fischer famously confronted United States Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the 39th Munich Security Conference in 2003 on the secretary's purported evidence for Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction: "Excuse me, I am not convinced!"[139] Fischer also cautioned the United States against assuming that democracy would easily take root post-invasion; "You're going to have to occupy Iraq for years and years, the idea that democracy will suddenly blossom is something that I can't share. … Are Americans ready for this?"[140]

In July 2003, former US ambassador Joseph C. Wilson published an op-ed challenging the Bush administration's claim that Iraq sought uranium from Niger, a key justification for the war. In apparent retaliation, officials leaked the identity of Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA officer, exposing her covert status. The resulting investigation led to the conviction of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, for perjury and obstruction of justice, and his sentence was commuted by President Bush.[141]

There were serious legal questions surrounding the launching of the war against Iraq and the Bush Doctrine of preemptive war in general. On 16 September 2004, Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said of the invasion "...was not in conformity with the UN Charter. From our point of view, from the Charter point of view, it was illegal."[142]

## Course of the war

[edit]

### 2003 - Invasion

[edit]

See also: List of coalition military operations of the Iraq War, Iraq War order of battle, and Anbar campaign (2003–2011)

Map of the invasion routes and major operations/battles of the Iraq War through 2007

Main articles: 2003 invasion of Iraq, 2003 in Iraq, and Timeline of the 2003 invasion of Iraq

The first CIA team entered Iraq on 10 July 2002.[143] This team was composed of members of the CIA's Special Activities Division and was later joined by members of the US military's elite Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).[144] Together, they prepared for an invasion by conventional forces. These efforts consisted of persuading the commanders of several Iraqi military divisions to surrender rather than oppose the invasion, and identifying all the initial leadership targets during very high risk reconnaissance missions.[144]

US soldiers at the Hands of Victory monument in Baghdad

Most importantly, their efforts organized the Kurdish Peshmerga to become the northern front of the invasion. Together this force defeated Ansar al-Islam in Iraqi Kurdistan before the invasion and then defeated the Iraqi army in the north.[144][145] The battle against Ansar al-Islam, known as Operation Viking Hammer, led to the death of a substantial number of militants and the uncovering of a chemical weapons facility at Sargat.[143][146]

US Marines escort captured enemy prisoners to a holding area in the desert of Iraq on 21 March 2003

At 5:34 am Baghdad time on 20 March 2003[147] (9:34 pm, 19 March EST) the surprise[148] military invasion of Iraq began. There was no declaration of war.[149] The 2003 invasion of Iraq was led by US Army General Tommy Franks, under the code-name Operation Iraqi Freedom,[150] the UK code-name Operation Telic, and the Australian code-name Operation Falconer. Coalition forces also cooperated with Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the north. Approximately forty other governments, the "Coalition of the Willing", participated by providing troops, equipment, services, security, and special forces, with 248,000 soldiers from the United States, 45,000 British soldiers, 2,000 Australian soldiers and 194 Polish soldiers from Special Forces unit GROM sent to Kuwait for the invasion.[151] The invasion force was also supported by Iraqi Kurdish militia troops, estimated to number upwards of 70,000.[152]

According to General Franks, there were eight objectives of the invasion:

> "First, ending the regime of Saddam Hussein. Second, to identify, isolate, and eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Third, to search for, to capture, and to drive out terrorists from that country. Fourth, to collect such intelligence as we can relate to terrorist networks. Fifth, to collect such intelligence as we can relate to the global network of illicit weapons of mass destruction. Sixth, to end sanctions and to immediately deliver humanitarian support to the displaced and to many needy Iraqi citizens. Seventh, to secure Iraq's oil fields and resources, which belong to the Iraqi people. And last, to help the Iraqi people create conditions for a transition to representative self-government."[153]

The invasion was a quick and decisive operation encountering major resistance, though not what the US, British and other forces expected. The Iraqi regime had prepared to fight both a conventional and irregular, asymmetric warfare at the same time, conceding territory when faced with superior conventional forces, largely armored, but launching smaller-scale attacks in the rear using fighters dressed in civilian and paramilitary clothes.

Coalition troops launched air and amphibious assaults on the al-Faw Peninsula to secure the oil fields there and the important ports, supported by warships of the Royal Navy, Polish Navy, and Royal Australian Navy. The United States Marine Corps' 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, attached to 3 Commando Brigade and the Polish Special Forces unit GROM, attacked the port of Umm Qasr, while the British Army's 16 Air Assault Brigade secured the oil fields in southern Iraq.[154][155]

The US 3rd Infantry Division moved westward and then northward through the western desert toward Baghdad, while the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force moved more easterly along Highway 1 through the center of the country, and 1 (UK) Armoured Division moved northward through the eastern marshland.[156] The American 1st Marine Division fought through Nasiriyah in a battle to seize the major road junction.[157] The US 3rd Infantry Division defeated Iraqi forces entrenched in and around Talil Airfield.[158]

With the Nasiriyah and Talil Airfields secured in its rear, the 3rd Infantry Division supported by the 101st Airborne Division continued its attack north toward Najaf and Karbala, but a severe sand storm slowed the coalition advance and there was a halt to consolidate and make sure the supply lines were secure.[159] When they started again they secured the Karbala Gap, a key approach to Baghdad, then secured the bridges over the Euphrates River, and US Army forces poured through the gap on to Baghdad. In the middle of Iraq, the 1st Marine Division fought its way to the eastern side of Baghdad and prepared for the attack to seize the city.[160]

On 9 April, Baghdad fell, ending Saddam's 24‑year rule. US forces seized the deserted Ba'ath Party ministries and, according to some reports later disputed by the Marines on the ground, stage-managed[161] the tearing down of a huge iron statue of Saddam. Allegedly, though not seen in the photos or heard on the videos, shot with a zoom lens, was the chant of the inflamed crowd for Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric.[162] The abrupt fall of Baghdad was accompanied by gratitude toward the invaders, but also civil disorder, including the looting of public and government buildings and increased crime.[163][164]

According to the Pentagon, 250,000 short tons (230,000 t) (of 650,000 short tons (590,000 t) total) of ordnance was looted, providing a significant source of ammunition for the Iraqi insurgency. The invasion phase concluded when Tikrit, Saddam's home town, fell with little resistance to the US Marines of Task Force Tripoli on 15 April.

In the invasion phase of the war (19 March – 30 April), an estimated 9,200 Iraqi combatants were killed by coalition forces along with an estimated 3,750 non-combatants, i.e. civilians who did not take up arms.[165] Coalition forces reported the death in combat of 139 US military personnel[166] and 33 UK military personnel.[167]

### Post-invasion phase

[edit]

Main article: Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011)

Further information: Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)

#### 2003: Beginnings of insurgency

[edit]

Further information: Ramadi under US military occupation

A Marine Corps M1 Abrams tank patrols Baghdad after its fall in 2003 Humvee struck by an improvised explosive device attack in Iraq on 29 September 2004. Staff Sgt. Michael F. Barrett, a military policeman in Marine Wing Support Squadron 373, was severely injured in the attack Polish GROM forces in sea operations during the Iraq War Marines from D Company, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion guard detainees prior to loading them into their vehicle

Widespread looting and low-level criminal activity gripped the country in April 2003. By that point it was clear that there were not enough US forces to control the breakdown of order and little plan to restore it.[168][169]

On 1 May 2003, President Bush visited the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln operating a few miles west of San Diego, California and declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq. At sunset, he held his nationally televised "Mission Accomplished" speech, delivered before the sailors and airmen on the flight deck.[98] Ambassador Paul Bremer arrived in Iraq on May 12, 2003 and established the Coalition Provisional Authority. One of his first actions was to initiate the debaathification process.[168]

Nevertheless, Saddam Hussein remained at large, and significant pockets of resistance remained. After Bush's speech, coalition forces noticed a flurry of attacks on its troops began to gradually increase in various regions, such as the "Sunni Triangle".[170][171] Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of a large anti-American faction in Baghdad's Sadr City, issued a fatwa allowing his followers to partake in the looting provided a portion of their takings were gifted to the Sadrist Movement.[169]

##### Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraq Survey Group

[edit]

See also: Iraqi Governing Council, International Advisory and Monitoring Board, CPA Program Review Board, Development Fund for Iraq, and Investment in post-invasion Iraq

Shortly after the invasion, the multinational coalition created the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA; Arabic: سلطة الائتلاف الموحدة), based in the Green Zone, as a transitional government of Iraq until the establishment of a democratic government. Citing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483 and the laws of war, the CPA vested itself with executive, legislative, and judicial authority over the Iraqi government from the period of the CPA's inception on 21 April 2003 until its dissolution on 28 June 2004.

Occupation zones in Iraq as of September 2003

The CPA was originally headed by Jay Garner, a former US military officer, but his appointment lasted only until 11 May 2003, when President Bush appointed L. Paul Bremer. On 16 May 2003, his first day on the job, Paul Bremer issued Coalition Provisional Authority Order 1 to exclude from the new Iraqi government and administration members of the Baathist party. This policy, known as De-Ba'athification, eventually led to the removal of 85,000 to 100,000 Iraqi people from their jobs,[172] including 40,000 school teachers who had joined the Baath Party simply to stay employed. US army general Ricardo Sanchez called the decision a "catastrophic failure".[173] Bremer served until the CPA's dissolution in June 2004.

In May 2003, the US Advisor to Iraq Ministry of Defense within the CPA, Walter B. Slocombe, advocated changing the pre-war Bush policy to employ the former Iraq Army after hostilities on the ground ceased.[174] At the time, hundreds of thousands of former Iraq soldiers who had not been paid for months were waiting for the CPA to hire them back to work to help secure and rebuild Iraq. Despite advice from US Military Staff working within the CPA, Bremer met with President Bush, via video conference, and asked for authority to change the US policy. Bush gave Bremer and Slocombe authority to change the pre-war policy. Slocombe announced the policy change in Spring 2003. The decision led to the alienation of hundreds of thousands of former armed Iraq soldiers, who subsequently aligned themselves with various occupation resistance movements all over Iraq. In the week before the order to dissolve the Iraq Army, no coalition forces were killed by hostile action in Iraq; the week after, five US soldiers were killed. Then, on 18 June 2003, coalition forces opened fire on former Iraq soldiers protesting in Baghdad who were throwing rocks at coalition forces. The policy to disband the Iraq Army was reversed by the CPA only days after it was implemented. But it was too late; the former Iraq Army shifted their alliance from one that was ready and willing to work with the CPA to one of armed resistance against the CPA and the coalition forces.[175]

Another group created by the multinational force in Iraq post-invasion was the 1,400-member international Iraq Survey Group, who conducted a fact-finding mission to find Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs. In 2004, the ISG's Duelfer Report stated that Iraq did not have a viable WMD program.[176][177][178][179][180][181]

##### Ramadan Offensive 2003

[edit]

Coalition military forces launched several operations around the Tigris River peninsula and in the Sunni Triangle. A series of similar operations were launched throughout the summer in the Sunni Triangle. In late 2003, the intensity and pace of insurgent attacks increased. A surge in guerrilla attacks ushered in an insurgent effort that was termed the "Ramadan Offensive".

Fall 2003 saw major attacks at the Jordanian Embassy and the bombing of UN Headquarters in Baghdad in which Sérgio Vieira de Mello was killed.[168] The three governorates with the highest number of attacks were Baghdad, Al Anbar, and Saladin. Those three governorates account for 35% of the population, but by December 2006 they were responsible for 73% of US military deaths and an even higher percentage of recent US military deaths (about 80%).[182]

To counter this offensive, coalition forces began to use air power and artillery again for the first time since the end of the invasion, by striking suspected ambush sites and mortar launching positions. Surveillance of major routes, patrols, and raids on suspected insurgents was stepped up. In addition, two villages, including Saddam's birthplace of al-Auja and the small town of Abu Hishma, were surrounded by barbed wire and monitored.

#### Capturing former government leaders

[edit]

See also: Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal and Trial of Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein being pulled from his hideaway in Operation Red Dawn on 13 December 2003

In summer 2003, the multinational forces focused on capturing the remaining leaders of the former government. On 22 July, a raid by the US 101st Airborne Division and soldiers from Task Force 20 killed Saddam's sons (Uday and Qusay) along with one of his grandsons. In all, over 300 top leaders of the former government were killed or captured, as well as numerous lesser functionaries and military personnel.

Saddam Hussein was captured on 13 December 2003, on a farm near Tikrit in Operation Red Dawn.[183] The operation was conducted by the US 4th Infantry Division and members of Task Force 121. Intelligence on Saddam's whereabouts came from his family members and former bodyguards.[184]

With the capture of Saddam and a drop in the number of insurgent attacks, some concluded that multinational forces were prevailing in the fight against the insurgency. The provisional government began training the new Iraqi security forces intended to police the country, and the US promised over $20 billion in reconstruction money in the form of a credit against Iraq's future oil revenues. Oil revenue was also used for rebuilding schools and for work on the electrical and refining infrastructure.

Shortly after Saddam’s capture, elements left out of the Coalition Provisional Authority began to agitate for elections and the formation of an Iraqi Interim Government. Most prominent among these was the Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. The Coalition Provisional Authority opposed allowing democratic elections at this time.[185] The insurgents stepped up their activities. The two most turbulent centers were the area around Fallujah and the poor Shia sections of cities from Baghdad (Sadr City) to Basra in the south.

##### Looting of artifacts from Iraqi museums

[edit]

Main article: Archaeological looting in Iraq

Following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, large numbers of antiquities including the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet were stolen, both from museums, such as the Iraq National Museum, but also because of illegal excavations at archeological sites throughout the country. Many of them were smuggled into the United States through the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, contrary to federal law. Donald Rumsfeld rejected the claim that they were removed by US military personnel. In the 2020s, about 17,000 artifacts were returned to Iraq from the US and Middle Eastern countries. But according to an Iraqi archeology professor at the University of Baghdad, the repatriation of these items was only a partial success; the Baghdad office of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) continues to search for the loot worldwide. Many Iraqis blame the United States for the loss of so many pieces of their country's history.[186][187]

#### 2004: Insurgency expands

[edit]

Areas of Responsibility in Iraq as at 30 April 2004

Main article: 2004 in Iraq

See also: 2004 in Iraq, 2004 Iraq spring fighting, and Fallujah during the Iraq War

The start of 2004 was marked by a relative lull in violence. Violence increased during the Iraq Spring Fighting of 2004 with foreign fighters from around the Middle East as well as Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, an al-Qaeda-linked group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, helping to drive the insurgency.[188] As the violence intensified in March, there was a change in targeting from the coalition forces towards the new Iraqi Security Forces, as hundreds of Iraqi civilians and police were killed over the next few months in a series of bombings. In the bloodiest day of the war since the start, hundreds of Shi'a were killed when five bombs exploded on March 2 during Ashoura celebrations.[168]

The most serious fighting of the war so far began on 31 March 2004, when Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah ambushed a Blackwater USA convoy led by four US private military contractors who were providing security for food caterers Eurest Support Services.[189] The four armed contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerko Zovko, Wesley Batalona, and Michael Teague, were killed with grenades and small arms fire. Their bodies were dragged from their vehicles by locals, beaten, burned and their mutilated corpses hung over a bridge crossing the Euphrates.[190] Photos of the event were released to news agencies worldwide, causing indignation and moral outrage in the United States, and prompting an unsuccessful "pacification" of the city: the First Battle of Fallujah in April 2004.

Followers of the Shi'a mullah Muqtada al-Sadr known as the Mahdi militia paraded through multiple cities. In April 2004, the Shi'a demonstrators launched attacks on coalition targets in an attempt to seize control from Iraqi security forces. Southern and central Iraq began to erupt in urban guerrilla combat as multinational forces attempted to keep control and prepared for a counteroffensive. Several coalition troops died in Sadr City and Najaf. These clashes lasted until June 2004.[168]

Coalition Provisional Authority director L. Paul Bremer signs over sovereignty to the appointed Iraqi Interim Government, 28 June 2004

In June 2004, the CPA formally transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi government, headed by interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.[168] Allawi opposed the hasty de-baathification that would destabilize the political structure of the Iraqi government.[169] His secular rule of law agenda was unsuccessful as "instritutionalized sectarianism" developed in the escalating conflict with Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf and Sunni radicals in Fallujah.[191]

In one of the most significant single attacks of the war 49 newly trained Iraqi soldiers were executed by insurgents wearing police uniforms on 23 October 2004. Analysts note this supports the view that Iraqi police forces and Interior Ministry had been compromised by insurgents. Allawi blamed the attack on coalition forces.[168]

The offensive in Fallujah resumed in November 2004 in the bloodiest battle of the war: the Second Battle of Fallujah, described by the US military as "the heaviest urban combat (that they had been involved in) since the Battle of Hue City in Vietnam."[192] During the assault, US forces used white phosphorus as an incendiary weapon against insurgent personnel, attracting controversy. The 46‑day battle resulted in a victory for the coalition, with 95 US soldiers killed and approximately 1,350 insurgents. Fallujah was totally devastated during the fighting, though civilian casualties were low, as they had mostly fled before the battle.[193]

Another major event of that year was the revelation of widespread prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, which received international media attention in April 2004. First reports of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse, as well as graphic pictures showing US military personnel taunting and abusing Iraqi prisoners, came to public attention from a 60 Minutes II news report and a Seymour M. Hersh article in The New Yorker (posted online on 30 April).[194] Military correspondent Thomas Ricks claimed that these revelations dealt a blow to the moral justifications for the occupation in the eyes of many people, especially Iraqis, and was a turning point in the war.[195]

2004 also marked the beginning of Military Transition Teams in Iraq, which were teams of US military advisors assigned directly to New Iraqi Army units.

#### 2005: Elections and transitional government

[edit]

Further information: 2005 in Iraq and Military transition team

Convention center for Council of Representatives of Iraq

On 31 January, Iraqis elected the Iraqi Transitional Government to draft a permanent constitution. Although some violence and a widespread Sunni boycott marred the event, most of the eligible Kurd and Shia populace participated. On 4 February, Paul Wolfowitz announced that 15,000 US troops whose tours of duty had been extended in order to provide election security would be pulled out of Iraq by the next month.[196] February to April were relatively peaceful compared to the carnage of November and January, with insurgent attacks averaging 30 a day from the prior average of 70.

The Battle of Abu Ghraib on 2 April 2005 was an attack on US forces at Abu Ghraib prison, which consisted of heavy mortar and rocket fire, under which an estimated 80–120 armed insurgents attacked with grenades, small arms, and two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED). The US force's munitions ran so low that orders to fix bayonets were given in preparation for hand-to-hand fighting. It was considered to be the largest coordinated assault on a US base since the Vietnam War.[197]

Hopes for a quick end to the insurgency and a withdrawal of US troops were dashed in May, Iraq's bloodiest month since the invasion. Suicide bombers, believed to be mainly disheartened Iraqi Sunni Arabs, Syrians and Saudis, tore through Iraq. Their targets were often Shia gatherings or civilian concentrations of Shias. As a result, over 700 Iraqi civilians died in that month, as well as 79 US soldiers.

Summer 2005 saw fighting around Baghdad and at Tall Afar in northwestern Iraq as US forces tried to seal off the Syrian border. This led to fighting in the autumn in the small towns of the Euphrates valley between the capital and that border.[198]

A referendum was held on 15 October in which the new Iraqi constitution was ratified. An Iraqi National Assembly was elected in December, with participation from the Sunnis as well as the Kurds and Shia.[198]

Insurgent attacks increased in 2005 with 34,131 recorded incidents, compared to a total 26,496 for the previous year.[199]

#### 2006: Civil war and permanent Iraqi government

[edit]

Further information: Iraqi civil war (2006–2008), Sectarian violence in Iraq, Operation Together Forward, and Provincial Reconstruction Team

US Marines from 3rd Battalion 3rd Marines clear a house in Al Anbar Governorate.

The beginning of 2006 was marked by government creation talks, growing sectarian violence, and continuous anti-coalition attacks. Sectarian violence expanded to a new level of intensity following the al-Askari Mosque bombing in the Iraqi city of Samarra, on 22 February 2006. The explosion at the mosque, one of the holiest sites in Shi'a Islam, is believed to have been caused by a bomb planted by al-Qaeda.

Although no injuries occurred in the blast, the mosque was severely damaged and the bombing resulted in violence over the following days. Over 100 dead bodies with bullet holes were found on 23 February, and at least 165 people are thought to have been killed. In the aftermath of this attack, the US military calculated that the average homicide rate in Baghdad tripled from 11 to 33 deaths per day. In 2006 the UN described the environment in Iraq as a "civil war-like situation".[200]

On 12 March, five United States Army soldiers of the 502nd Infantry Regiment raped the 14-year-old Iraqi girl Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi, and then murdered her, her father, her mother Fakhriya Taha Muhasen, and her six-year-old sister Hadeel Qassim Hamza al-Janabi. The soldiers then set fire to the girl's body to conceal evidence of the crime.[201] Four of the soldiers were convicted of rape and murder and the fifth was convicted of lesser crimes for their involvement in the events, which became known as the Mahmudiyah rape and killings.[202][203]

On 6 June 2006, the US successfully tracked Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq who was killed in a targeted killing, while attending a meeting in an isolated safehouse approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) north of Baqubah. Having been tracked by a British UAV, radio contact was made between the controller and two US Air Force F-16C jets, which identified the house and at 14:15 GMT, the lead jet dropped two 500‑pound (230 kg) guided bombs, a laser-guided GBU‑12 and GPS-guided GBU‑38 on the building where he was located. Six others - three male and three female individuals - were also reported killed. Among those killed were one of his wives and their child.

The government of Iraq took office on 20 May 2006, following approval by the members of the Iraqi National Assembly. This followed the general election in December 2005. The government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government, which had continued in office in a caretaker capacity until the formation of the permanent government.

##### Iraq Study Group report and Saddam's execution

[edit]

Main articles: Iraq Study Group and Execution of Saddam Hussein

The Iraq Study Group Report was released on 6 December 2006. The Iraq Study Group made up of people from both of the major US parties, was led by co-chairs James Baker, a former Secretary of State (Republican), and Lee H. Hamilton, a former US Representative (Democrat). It concluded that "the situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating" and "US forces seem to be caught in a mission that has no foreseeable end." The report's 79 recommendations include increasing diplomatic measures with Iran and Syria and intensifying efforts to train Iraqi troops. On 18 December, a Pentagon report found that insurgent attacks were averaging about 960 attacks per week, the highest since the reports had begun in 2005.[204]

Coalition forces formally transferred control of a governorate to the Iraqi government. Military prosecutors charged eight US Marines with the murders of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in November 2005, 10 of them women and children. Four officers were also charged with dereliction of duty in relation to the event.[205]

Saddam Hussein was hanged on 30 December 2006, after being found guilty of crimes against humanity by an Iraqi court after a year-long trial.[206]

#### 2007: US troops surge

[edit]

Further information: 2007 in Iraq, Iraq War troop surge of 2007, Timeline of the Iraq War troop surge of 2007, and Strategic reset

President George W. Bush announces the new strategy on Iraq from the White House Library, 10 January 2007

On 10 January 2007, in a televised address to the US public, Bush proposed 21,500 more troops for Iraq, a job program for Iraqis, more reconstruction proposals, and $1.2 billion for these programs.[207] On 23 January 2007, in the 2007 State of the Union Address, Bush announced he was "deploying reinforcements of more than 20,000 additional soldiers and Marines to Iraq". On 10 February 2007, David Petraeus was made commander of Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF-I), the four-star post that oversees all coalition forces in the country, replacing General George Casey. In his new position, Petraeus oversaw all coalition forces in Iraq and employed them in the new "Surge" strategy outlined by the Bush administration.[208][209]

Map of the Islamic State of Iraq and its provinces on 7 April 2007

On 10 May 2007, 144 Iraqi Parliamentary lawmakers signed onto a legislative petition calling on the US to set a timetable for withdrawal.[210] On 3 June 2007, the Iraqi Parliament voted 85 to 59 to require the Iraqi government to consult with Parliament before requesting additional extensions of the UN Security Council Mandate for coalition operations in Iraq.[211]

Pressures on US troops were compounded by continued withdrawal of coalition forces.[212] In early 2007, British Prime Minister Blair announced that following Operation Sinbad, British troops would begin to withdraw from Basra Governorate, handing security over to the Iraqis.[212] In July Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen also announced the withdrawal of 441 Danish troops from Iraq, leaving only a unit of nine soldiers manning four observational helicopters.[213] In October 2019, the new Danish government said it would not re-open an official probe into the country's participation in the US-led military coalition in 2003 Iraqi war.[214]

##### Planned troop reduction

[edit]

In a speech made to Congress on 10 September 2007, Petraeus "envisioned the withdrawal of roughly 30,000 US troops by next summer, beginning with a Marine contingent [in September]."[215] On 13 September, Bush announced a limited withdrawal of troops from Iraq.[216][217]

Bush said 5,700 personnel would be home by Christmas 2007, and expected thousands more to return by July 2008. The plan would take troop numbers back to their level before the surge at the beginning of 2007.

##### Effects of the surge on security

[edit]

By March 2008, violence in Iraq was reportedly curtailed by 40–80%, according to a Pentagon report.[218] Independent reports[219][220] raised questions about those assessments. An Iraqi military spokesman claimed that civilian deaths since the start of the troop surge plan were 265 in Baghdad, down from 1,440 in the four previous weeks. The New York Times counted more than 450 Iraqi civilians killed during the same 28‑day period, based on initial daily reports from Iraqi Interior Ministry and hospital officials.

US soldiers take cover during a firefight with insurgents in the Al Doura section of Baghdad, 7 March 2007.

Historically, the daily counts tallied by The New York Times underestimated the total death toll by 50% or more when compared to studies by the UN, which rely upon figures from the Iraqi Health Ministry and morgue figures.[221]

The rate of US combat deaths in Baghdad nearly doubled to 3.14 per day in the first seven weeks of the "surge" in security activity, compared to the previous period. Across the rest of Iraq, it decreased slightly.[222][223]

On 14 August 2007, the deadliest single attack of the whole war occurred. Nearly 800 civilians were killed by a series of coordinated suicide bomb attacks on the northern Iraqi settlement of Kahtaniya. Over 100 homes and shops were destroyed in the blast. US officials blamed al‑Qaeda. The targeted villagers belonged to the non-Muslim Yazidi ethnic minority. The attack may have represented the latest in a feud that erupted earlier that year when members of the Yazidi community stoned to death a teenage girl called Du'a Khalil Aswad accused of dating a Sunni Arab man and converting to Islam. The killing of the girl was recorded on camera-mobiles and the video was uploaded onto the internet.[224][225][226][227]

On 13 September 2007, Abdul Sattar Abu Risha was killed in a bomb attack in the city of Ramadi.[228] He was an important US ally because he led the "Anbar Awakening", an alliance of Sunni Arab tribes that opposed al-Qaeda. The latter organization claimed responsibility for the attack.[229] A statement posted on the Internet by the shadowy Islamic State of Iraq called Abu Risha "one of the dogs of Bush" and described Thursday's killing as a "heroic operation that took over a month to prepare".[230]

A graph of US troop fatalities in Iraq from March 2003 to July 2010, the orange and blue months are the period of the troop surge and its aftermath

There was a reported trend of decreasing US troop deaths after May 2007, and violence against coalition troops had fallen to the "lowest levels since the first year of the American invasion".[231] These, and several other positive developments, were attributed to the surge by many analysts.[232]

Data from the Pentagon and other US agencies such as the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that daily attacks against civilians in Iraq remained "about the same" since February. The GAO also stated that there was no discernible trend in sectarian violence.[233] This report ran counter to reports to Congress, which showed a general downward trend in civilian deaths and ethno-sectarian violence since December 2006.[234] By late 2007, as the US troop surge began to wind down, violence in Iraq had begun to decrease from its 2006 highs.[235]

Entire neighborhoods in Baghdad were ethnically cleansed by Shia and Sunni militias and sectarian violence broke out in every Iraqi city where there was a mixed population.[236][237][238] Investigative reporter Bob Woodward cited US government sources according to which the US "surge" was not the primary reason for the drop in violence in 2007–08. Instead, according to that view, the reduction of violence was due to newer covert techniques by US military and intelligence officials to find, target, and kill insurgents, including working closely with former insurgents.[239]

In the Shia region near Basra, British forces turned over security for the region to Iraqi Security Forces. Basra was the ninth governorate of Iraq's 18 governorates to be returned to local security forces' control since the beginning of the occupation.[240]

##### Political developments

[edit]

Over half of the members of Iraq's parliament rejected the continuing occupation of their country for the first time. 144 of the 275 lawmakers signed onto a legislative petition that would require the Iraqi government to seek approval from Parliament before it requests an extension of the UN mandate for foreign forces to be in Iraq, which expires at the end of 2008. It also calls for a timetable for troop withdrawal and a freeze on the size of foreign forces. The UN Security Council mandate for US‑led forces in Iraq will terminate "if requested by the government of Iraq."[241] 59% of those polled in the US support a timetable for withdrawal.[242]

In mid-2007, the coalition began a controversial program to recruit Iraqi Sunnis (often former insurgents) for the formation of "Guardian" militias. These Guardian militias are intended to support and secure various Sunni neighborhoods against the Islamists.[243]

##### Tensions with Iran

[edit]

Further information: Iran–United States relations during the G.W. Bush administration and Karbala provincial headquarters raid

In 2007, tensions increased greatly between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan due to the latter's giving sanctuary to the militant Kurdish secessionist group Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PEJAK). According to reports, Iran had been shelling PEJAK positions in Iraqi Kurdistan since 16 August. These tensions further increased with a border incursion on 23 August by Iranian troops who attacked several Kurdish villages killing an unknown number of civilians and militants.[244]

Coalition forces also began to target alleged Iranian Quds force operatives in Iraq, either arresting or killing suspected members. The Bush administration and coalition leaders began to publicly state that Iran was supplying weapons, particularly EFP devices, to Iraqi insurgents and militias although to date have failed to provide any proof for these allegations. Further sanctions on Iranian organizations were also announced by the Bush administration in autumn 2007. On 21 November 2007, Lieutenant General James Dubik, who is in charge of training Iraqi security forces, praised Iran for its "contribution to the reduction of violence" in Iraq by upholding its pledge to stop the flow of weapons, explosives, and training of extremists in Iraq.[245]

##### Tensions with Turkey

[edit]

Further information: 2008 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq

Border incursions by PKK militants based in Northern Iraq have continued to harass Turkish forces, with casualties on both sides. In the fall of 2007, the Turkish military stated their right to cross the Iraqi Kurdistan border in "hot pursuit" of PKK militants and began shelling Kurdish areas in Iraq and attacking PKK bases in the Mount Cudi region with aircraft.[246][247] The Turkish parliament approved a resolution permitting the military to pursue the PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan.[248] In November, Turkish gunships attacked parts of northern Iraq in the first such attack by Turkish aircraft since the border tensions escalated.[249] Another series of attacks in mid-December hit PKK targets in the Qandil, Zap, Avashin and Hakurk regions. The latest series of attacks involved at least 50 aircraft and artillery and Kurdish officials reported one civilian killed and two wounded.[250]

Additionally, weapons that were given to Iraqi security forces by the US military were being recovered by authorities in Turkey after being used by PKK in that state.[251]

##### Blackwater private security controversy

[edit]

Main article: Nisour Square massacre

On 17 September 2007, the Iraqi government announced that it was revoking the license of the US security firm Blackwater USA over the firm's involvement in the killing of eight civilians, including a woman and an infant,[252] in a firefight that followed a car bomb explosion near a State Department motorcade.

#### 2008: Civil war continues

[edit]

Further information: 2008 in Iraq and Iraqi civil war (2006–2008)

An Iraqi Army battalion training for urban operations

Throughout 2008, US officials and independent think tanks began to point to improvements in the security situation, as measured by key statistics. According to the US Defense Department, in December 2008 the "overall level of violence" in the country had dropped 80% since before the surge began in January 2007, and the country's murder rate had dropped to prewar levels. They also pointed out that the casualty figure for US forces in 2008 was 314 against a figure of 904 in 2007.[253]

According to the Brookings Institution, Iraqi civilian fatalities numbered 490 in November 2008 as against 3,500 in January 2007, whereas attacks against the coalition numbered somewhere between 200 and 300 per week in the latter half of 2008, as opposed to a peak of nearly 1,600 in summer 2007. The number of Iraqi security forces killed was under 100 per month in the second half of 2008, from a high of 200 to 300 in the summer of 2007.[254]

Meanwhile, the proficiency of the Iraqi military increased as it launched a spring offensive against Shia militias, which Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had previously been criticized for allowing to operate. This began with a March operation against the Mahdi Army in Basra, which led to fighting in Shia areas up and down the country, especially in the Sadr City district of Baghdad. By October, the British officer in charge of Basra said that since the operation, the town had become "secure" and had a murder rate comparable to Manchester in England.[255] The US military also said there had been a decrease of about a quarter in the quantity of Iranian-made explosives found in Iraq in 2008, possibly indicating a change in Iranian policy.[256]

Progress in Sunni areas continued after members of the Awakening movement were transferred from US military to Iraqi control.[257] In May, the Iraqi army – backed by coalition support – launched an offensive in Mosul, the last major Iraqi stronghold of al-Qaeda. Despite detaining thousands of individuals, the offensive failed to lead to major long-term security improvements in Mosul. At the end of the year, the city remained a major flashpoint.[258][259]

In the regional dimension, the ongoing conflict between Turkey and PKK[260][261][262] intensified on 21 February, when Turkey launched a ground attack into the Quandeel Mountains of Northern Iraq. In the nine-day-long operation, around 10,000 Turkish troops advanced up to 25 km into Northern Iraq. This was the first substantial ground incursion by Turkish forces since 1995.[263][264]

Shortly after the incursion began, both the Iraqi cabinet and the Kurdistan regional government condemned Turkey's actions and called for the immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from the region.[265] Turkish troops withdrew on 29 February.[266] The fate of the Kurds and the future of the ethnically diverse city of Kirkuk remained a contentious issue in Iraqi politics.

US military officials met these trends with cautious optimism as they approached what they described as the "transition" embodied in the US–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement, which was negotiated throughout 2008.[253] The commander of the coalition, US General Raymond T. Odierno, noted that "in military terms, transitions are the most dangerous time" in December 2008.[253]

##### Spring offensives on Shiite militias

[edit]

An Iraqi soldier and vehicles from the 42nd Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division during a firefight with armed militiamen in the Sadr City district of Baghdad 17 April 2008

Further information: 2008 Iraq spring fighting, Siege of Sadr City, and Battle of Basra (2008)

At the end of March, the Iraqi Army, with coalition air support, launched an offensive, dubbed "Charge of the Knights", in Basra to secure the area from militias. This was the first major operation where the Iraqi Army did not have direct combat support from conventional coalition ground troops. The offensive was opposed by the Mahdi Army, one of the militias, which controlled much of the region.[267][268] Fighting quickly spread to other parts of Iraq: including Sadr City, Al Kut, Al Hillah and others. During the fighting Iraqi forces met stiff resistance from militiamen in Basra to the point that the Iraqi military offensive slowed to a crawl, with the high attrition rates finally forcing the Sadrists to the negotiating table.

Following intercession by the Iranian government, al‑Sadr ordered a ceasefire on 30 March 2008.[269] The militiamen kept their weapons.

By 12 May 2008, Basra "residents overwhelmingly reported a substantial improvement in their everyday lives" according to The New York Times. "Government forces have now taken over Islamic militants' headquarters and halted the death squads and 'vice enforcers' who attacked women, Christians, musicians, alcohol sellers and anyone suspected of collaborating with Westerners", according to the report; however, when asked how long it would take for lawlessness to resume if the Iraqi army left, one resident replied, "one day".[268]

In late April roadside bombings continued to rise from a low in January - from 114 bombings to more than 250, surpassing the May 2007 high.

##### Congressional testimony

[edit]

General David Petraeus in testimony before Congress on 8 April 2008

Speaking before Congress on 8 April 2008, General David Petraeus urged delaying troop withdrawals, saying, "I've repeatedly noted that we haven't turned any corners, we haven't seen any lights at the end of the tunnel," referencing the comments of then-President Bush and former Vietnam-era General William Westmoreland.[270] When asked by the Senate if reasonable people could disagree on the way forward, Petraeus said, "We fight for the right of people to have other opinions."[271]

Upon questioning by then Senate committee chair Joe Biden, Ambassador Crocker admitted that Al‑Qaeda in Iraq was less important than the Al Qaeda organization led by Osama bin Laden along the Afghan-Pakistani border.[272] Lawmakers from both parties complained that US taxpayers are carrying Iraq's burden as it earns billions of dollars in oil revenues.

##### Iraqi security forces rearm

[edit]

Iraq became one of the top purchasers of US military equipment with their army trading its AK‑47 assault rifles for the US M‑16 and M‑4 rifles, among other equipment.[273] In 2008 alone, Iraq accounted for more than $12.5 billion of the $34 billion US weapon sales to foreign countries (not including the potential F-16 fighter planes.).[274]

Iraq sought 36 F‑16s, the most sophisticated weapons system Iraq has attempted to purchase. The Pentagon notified Congress that it had approved the sale of 24 American attack helicopters to Iraq, valued at as much as $2.4 billion. Including the helicopters, Iraq announced plans to purchase at least $10 billion in US tanks and armored vehicles, transport planes, and other battlefield equipment and services. Over the summer, the Defense Department announced that the Iraqi government wanted to order more than 400 armored vehicles and other equipment worth up to $3 billion, and six C-130J transport planes, worth up to $1.5 billion.[275][276] From 2005 to 2008, the United States had completed approximately $20 billion in arms sales agreements with Iraq.[277]

##### Status of forces agreement

[edit]

Main article: US–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement

The US–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement was approved by the Iraqi government on 4 December 2008.[278] It established that US combat forces would withdraw from Iraqi cities by 30 June 2009, and that all US forces would be completely out of Iraq by 31 December 2011. The pact was subject to possible negotiations which could have delayed withdrawal and a referendum scheduled for mid-2009 in Iraq, which might have required all US forces to completely leave by the middle of 2010.[279][280] The pact required criminal charges for holding prisoners over 24 hours, and required a warrant for searches of homes and buildings that are not related to combat.[281]

Street fighting in Mosul in January 2008

US contractors working for US forces were to be subject to Iraqi criminal law, while contractors working for the State Department and other US agencies may retain their immunity. If US forces commit still undecided "major premeditated felonies" while off-duty and off-base, they will be subject to the still undecided procedures laid out by a joint US‑Iraq committee if the United States certifies the forces were off-duty.[282][283][284][285]

Some Americans have discussed "loopholes"[286] and some Iraqis have said they believe parts of the pact remain a "mystery".[287] US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates predicted that after 2011 he expected to see "perhaps several tens of thousands of American troops" as part of a residual force in Iraq.[288]

Several groups of Iraqis protested the passing of the SOFA accord[289][290][291] as prolonging and legitimizing the occupation. Tens of thousands of Iraqis burned an effigy of George W. Bush in a central Baghdad square where US troops five years previously organized a tearing down of a statue of Saddam Hussein.[161][287][292] Some Iraqis expressed skeptical optimism that the US would completely end its presence by 2011.[293] On 4 December 2008, Iraq's presidential council approved the security pact.[278]

A representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al‑Sistani expressed concern with the ratified version of the pact and noted that the government of Iraq has no authority to control the transfer of occupier forces into and out of Iraq, no control of shipments and that the pact grants the occupiers immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts. He said that Iraqi rule in the country is not complete while the occupiers are present, but that ultimately the Iraqi people would judge the pact in a referendum.[292] Thousands of Iraqis have gathered weekly after Friday prayers and shouted anti‑US and anti-Israeli slogans protesting the security pact between Baghdad and Washington. A protester said that despite the approval of the Interim Security pact, the Iraqi people would break it in a referendum next year.[294]

#### 2009: Coalition redeployment

[edit]

Further information: 2009 in Iraq

##### Transfer of the Green Zone

[edit]

Aerial view of the Green Zone, Baghdad International Airport, and the contiguous Victory Base Complex in Baghdad

On 1 January 2009, the United States handed control of the Green Zone and Saddam Hussein's presidential palace to the Iraqi government in a ceremonial move described by the country's prime minister as a restoration of Iraq's sovereignty. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he would propose 1 January be declared national "Sovereignty Day". "This palace is the symbol of Iraqi sovereignty and by restoring it, a real message is directed to all Iraqi people that Iraqi sovereignty has returned to its natural status", al‑Maliki said.[295]

The US military attributed a decline in reported civilian deaths to several factors including the US‑led "troop surge", the growth of US-funded Awakening Councils, and Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's call for his militia to abide by a cease fire.[296]

##### Provincial elections

[edit]

Main article: 2009 Iraqi governorate elections

On 31 January, Iraq held provincial elections.[297] Provincial candidates and those close to them faced some political assassinations and attempted assassinations, and there was also some other violence related to the election.[298][299][300][301]

Iraqi voter turnout failed to meet the original expectations which were set and was the lowest on record in Iraq,[302] but US Ambassador Ryan Crocker characterized the turnout as "large".[303] Of those who turned out to vote, some groups complained of disenfranchisement and fraud.[302][304][305] After the post-election curfew was lifted, some groups made threats about what would happen if they were unhappy with the results.[306]

##### Exit strategy announcement

[edit]

US President Barack Obama delivering a speech at Camp Lejeune on 27 February 2009

On 27 February, United States President Barack Obama gave a speech at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in the US state of North Carolina announcing that the US combat mission in Iraq would end by 31 August 2010. A "transitional force" of up to 50,000 troops tasked with training the Iraqi Security Forces, conducting counterterrorism operations, and providing general support may remain until the end of 2011, the president added. However, the insurgency in 2011 and the rise of ISIL in 2014 caused the war to continue.[307]

The day before Obama's speech, Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al‑Maliki said at a press conference that the government of Iraq had "no worries" over the impending departure of US forces and expressed confidence in the ability of the Iraqi Security Forces and police to maintain order without US military support.[308]

##### Sixth anniversary protests

[edit]

On 9 April, the 6th anniversary of Baghdad's fall to coalition forces, tens of thousands of Iraqis thronged Baghdad to mark the anniversary and demand the immediate departure of coalition forces. The crowds of Iraqis stretched from the Sadr City slum in northeast Baghdad to the square around 5 km (3.1 mi) away, where protesters burned an effigy featuring the face of US President George W. Bush.[309] There were also Sunni Muslims in the crowd. Police said many Sunnis, including prominent leaders such as a founding sheikh from the Sons of Iraq, took part.[310]

##### Coalition forces withdraw

[edit]

On 30 April, the United Kingdom formally ended combat operations. Prime Minister Gordon Brown characterized the operation in Iraq as a "success story" because of UK troops' efforts. Britain handed control of Basra to the United States Armed Forces.[311]

The withdrawal of US forces began at the end of June, with 38 bases to be handed over to Iraqi forces. On 29 June 2009, US forces withdrew from Baghdad. On 30 November 2009, Iraqi Interior Ministry officials reported that the civilian death toll in Iraq fell to its lowest level in November since the 2003 invasion.[312]

On 28 July, Australia withdrew its combat forces as the Australian military presence in Iraq ended, per an agreement with the Iraqi government.

##### Iraq awards oil contracts

[edit]

US Navy and Coast Guard personnel stand guard aboard the Al Basrah Oil Terminal in July 2009

On 30 June and 11 December 2009, the Iraqi ministry of oil awarded contracts to international oil companies for some of Iraq's many oil fields. The winning oil companies entered joint ventures with the Iraqi ministry of oil, and the terms of the awarded contracts included extraction of oil for a fixed fee of approximately $1.40 per barrel.[313][314][315] The fees will only be paid once a production threshold set by the Iraqi ministry of oil is reached.

#### 2010: US drawdown and Operation New Dawn

[edit]

Further information: 2010 in Iraq and Withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq (2007–2011)

On 17 February 2010, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that as of 1 September, the name "Operation Iraqi Freedom" would be replaced by "Operation New Dawn".[316]

On 18 April, US and Iraqi forces killed Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq in a joint American and Iraqi operation near Tikrit, Iraq.[317] The coalition forces believed al-Masri to be wearing a suicide vest and proceeded cautiously. After the lengthy exchange of fire and bombing of the house, the Iraqi troops stormed inside and found two women still alive, one of whom was al-Masri's wife, and four dead men, identified as al-Masri, Abu Abdullah al-Rashid al-Baghdadi, an assistant to al-Masri, and al-Baghdadi's son. A suicide vest was indeed found on al-Masri's corpse, as the Iraqi Army subsequently stated.[318] Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced the killings of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri at a news conference in Baghdad and showed reporters photographs of their bloody corpses. "The attack was carried out by ground forces which surrounded the house, and also through the use of missiles," Maliki said. "During the operation computers were seized with e-mails and messages to the two biggest terrorists, Osama bin Laden and [his deputy] Ayman al-Zawahiri", Maliki added. US forces commander Gen. Raymond Odierno praised the operation. "The death of these terrorists is potentially the most significant blow to al‑Qaeda in Iraq since the beginning of the insurgency", he said. "There is still work to do but this is a significant step forward in ridding Iraq of terrorists."

On 20 June, Iraq's Central Bank was bombed in an attack that left 15 people dead and brought much of downtown Baghdad to a standstill. The attack was claimed to have been carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq. This attack was followed by another attack on Iraq's Bank of Trade building that killed 26 and wounded 52 people.[319]

Iraqi commandos training under the supervision of soldiers from the US 82nd Airborne in December 2010

In late August 2010, insurgents conducted a major attack with at least 12 car bombs simultaneously detonating from Mosul to Basra and killing at least 51. These attacks coincided with the US plans for a withdrawal of combat troops.[320]

From the end of August 2010, the United States attempted to dramatically cut its combat role in Iraq, with the withdrawal of all US ground forces designated for active combat operations. The last US combat brigades departed Iraq in the early morning of 19 August. Convoys of US troops had been moving out of Iraq to Kuwait for several days, and NBC News broadcast live from Iraq as the last convoy crossed the border. While all combat brigades left the country, an additional 50,000 personnel (including Advise and Assist Brigades) remained in the country to provide support for the Iraqi military.[321][322] These troops were required to leave Iraq by 31 December 2011 under an agreement between the US and Iraqi governments.[323]

The desire to step back from an active counter-insurgency role did not however mean that the Advise and Assist Brigades and other remaining US forces would not be caught up in combat. A standards memo from the Associated Press reiterated "combat in Iraq is not over, and we should not uncritically repeat suggestions that it is, even if they come from senior officials".[324]

State Department spokesman P. J. Crowley stated "... we are not ending our work in Iraq, We have a long-term commitment to Iraq."[325] On 31 August, from the Oval Office, Barack Obama announced his intent to end the combat mission in Iraq. In his address, he covered the role of the United States' soft power, the effect the war had on the United States economy, and the legacy of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.[326]

On the same day in Iraq, at a ceremony at one of Saddam Hussein's former residences at Al-Faw Palace in Baghdad, a number of US dignitaries spoke in a ceremony for television cameras, avoiding overtones of the triumphalism present in US announcements made earlier in the war. Vice President Joe Biden expressed concerns regarding the ongoing lack of progress in forming a new Iraqi government, saying of the Iraqi people that "they expect a government that reflects the results of the votes they cast". Gen. Ray Odierno stated that the new era "in no way signals the end of our commitment to the people of Iraq". Speaking in Ramadi earlier in the day, Gates said that US forces "have accomplished something really quite extraordinary here, [but] how it all weighs in the balance over time I think remains to be seen". When asked by reporters if the seven-year war was worth doing, Gates commented that "It really requires a historian's perspective in terms of what happens here in the long run". He noted the Iraq War "will always be clouded by how it began" regarding Saddam Hussein's supposed weapons of mass destruction, which were never confirmed to have existed. Gates continued, "This is one of the reasons that this war remains so controversial at home".[327] On the same day Gen. Ray Odierno was replaced by Lloyd Austin as Commander of US forces in Iraq.

Alabama Army National Guard MP, MSG Schur, during a joint community policing patrol in Basra, 3 April 2010

On 7 September, two US troops were killed and nine wounded in an incident at an Iraqi military base. The incident is under investigation by Iraqi and US forces, but it is believed that an Iraqi soldier opened fire on US forces.[328]

On 8 September, the US Army announced the arrival in Iraq of the first specifically designated Advise and Assist Brigade, the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment. It was announced that the unit would assume responsibilities in five southern governorates.[329] From 10 to 13 September, Second Advise and Assist Brigade, 25th Infantry Division fought Iraqi insurgents near Diyala.

According to reports from Iraq, hundreds of members of the Sunni Awakening Councils may have switched allegiance back to the Iraqi insurgency or al-Qaeda.[330]

In October, WikiLeaks disclosed 391,832 classified US military documents on the Iraq War.[331][332][333] Approximately, 58 people were killed with another 40 wounded in an attack on the Sayidat al‑Nejat church, a Chaldean Catholic church in Baghdad. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Islamic State in Iraq organization.[334]

Coordinated attacks in primarily Shia areas struck throughout Baghdad on 2 November, killing approximately 113 and wounding 250 with around 17 bombs.[335]

##### Iraqi arms purchases

[edit]

M1 Abrams tanks in Iraqi service, January 2011

As US forces departed the country, the Iraq Defense Ministry solidified plans to purchase advanced military equipment from the United States. Plans in 2010 called for $13 billion of purchases, to include 140 M1 Abrams main battle tanks.[336] In addition to the $13 billion purchase, the Iraqis also requested 18 F-16 Fighting Falcons as part of a $4.2 billion program that also included aircraft training and maintenance, AIM‑9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, laser-guided bombs and reconnaissance equipment.[337] All Abrams tanks were delivered by the end of 2011,[338] but the first F-16s did not arrive in Iraq until 2015, due to concerns that the Islamic State might overrun Balad Air Base.[339]

The Iraqi Navy also purchased 12 US‑built Swift-class patrol boats, at a cost of $20 million each. Delivery was completed in 2013.[340] The vessels are used to protect the oil terminals at Basra and Khor al-Amiya.[337] Two US‑built offshore support vessels, each costing $70 million, were delivered in 2011.[341]

##### The UN lifts restrictions on Iraq

[edit]

In a move to legitimize the existing Iraqi government, the United Nations lifted the Saddam Hussein-era UN restrictions on Iraq. These included allowing Iraq to have a civilian nuclear program, permitting the participation of Iraq in international nuclear and chemical weapons treaties, as well as returning control of Iraq's oil and gas revenue to the government and ending the Oil-for-Food Programme.[342]

#### 2011: US withdrawal

[edit]

Main article: Withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq (2007–2011)

Further information: 2011 in Iraq

Muqtada al-Sadr returned to Iraq in the holy city of Najaf to lead the Sadrist movement after being in exile since 2007.[343]

US Army soldier on the roof of an Iraqi police station in Haqlaniyah, July 2011

June 2011, became the bloodiest month in Iraq for the US military since June 2009, with 15 US soldiers killed, only one of them outside combat.[344]

On 7 July, two US troops were killed and one seriously injured in an IED attack at Victory Base Complex outside Baghdad. They were members of the 145th Brigade Support Battalion, 116th Cavalry Heavy Brigade Combat Team, an Idaho Army National Guard unit base in Post Falls, Idaho. Spc. Nathan R. Beyers, 24, and Spc. Nicholas W. Newby, 20, were killed in the attack, Staff Sgt. Jazon Rzepa, 30, was seriously injured.[345]

In September, Iraq signed a contract to buy 18 Lockheed Martin F-16 warplanes, becoming the 26th nation to operate the F-16. Because of windfall profits from oil, the Iraqi government is planning to double this originally planned 18, to 36 F-16s. Iraq is relying on the US military for air support as it rebuilds its forces and battles a stubborn Islamist insurgency.[346]

With the collapse of the discussions about extending the stay of any US troops beyond 2011, where they would not be granted any immunity from the Iraqi government, on 21 October 2011, President Obama announced at a White House press conference that all remaining US troops and trainers would leave Iraq by the end of the year as previously scheduled, bringing the US mission in Iraq to an end.[347][348][349][350][351][352] The last American soldier to die in Iraq before the withdrawal, SPC. David Hickman, was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad on 14 November.[353]

In November 2011, the US Senate voted down a resolution to formally end the war by bringing its authorization by Congress to an end.[354]

US and Kuwaiti troops closing the gate between Kuwait and Iraq on 18 December 2011

On 15 December, an American military ceremony was held in Baghdad putting a formal end to the US mission in Iraq.[355]

The last US combat troops withdrew from Iraq on 18 December 2011, although the US embassy and consulates continue to maintain a staff of more than 20,000 including 100+ military personnel within the Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq (OSC-I),[356] US Marine Embassy Guards and between 4,000 and 5,000 private military contractors.[357][358] The next day, Iraqi officials issued an arrest warrant for the Sunni Vice-president Tariq al-Hashimi. He has been accused of involvement in assassinations and fled to the Kurdish part of Iraq.[359]

## Aftermath

[edit]

### Emerging conflict and insurgency

[edit]

Main articles: Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013), War in Iraq (2013–2017), and Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present)

Further information: US-led intervention in Iraq (2014–2021) and Iranian intervention in Iraq (2014–present)

June 2015 military situation:

Controlled by Iraqi government

Controlled by the Islamic State

Controlled by Iraqi Kurds

Controlled by Syrian government

Controlled by Syrian rebels

Controlled by Syrian Kurds

The invasion and occupation led to sectarian violence, which caused widespread displacement among Iraqi civilians. Since the beginning of the war, the first parliamentary elections were held in 2005 which brought greater representation and autonomy to Iraqi Kurds. By 2007 the Iraqi Red Crescent estimated 2.3 million Iraqis were internally displaced, with an estimated 2 million Iraqis fleeing to neighboring countries, mostly to Syria and Jordan.[360]

Sectarian violence continued in the first half of 2013. At least 56 people died in April when a Sunni protest in Hawija was interrupted by a government-supported helicopter raid and a series of violent incidents occurred in May. On 20 May 2013, at least 95 people died in a wave of car bomb attacks that was preceded by a car bombing on 15 May that led to 33 deaths; also, on 18 May 76 people were killed in the Sunni areas of Baghdad. Some experts have stated that Iraq could return to the brutal sectarian conflict of 2006.[361][362]

On 22 July 2013, at least five hundred convicts, most of whom were senior members of al-Qaida who had received death sentences, were freed from Abu Ghraib jail in an insurgent attack, which began with a suicide bomb attack on the prison gates.[363] James F. Jeffrey, the United States ambassador in Baghdad when the last American troops exited, said the assault and resulting escape "will provide seasoned leadership and a morale boost to Al Qaeda and its allies in both Iraq and Syria ... it is likely to have an electrifying impact on the Sunni population in Iraq, which has been sitting on the fence."[364]

By mid-2014 Iraq was in chaos with a new government yet to be formed following national elections, and the insurgency reaching new heights. In early June 2014 the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took over the cities of Mosul and Tikrit and said it was ready to march on Baghdad, while Iraqi Kurdish forces took control of key military installations in the major oil city of Kirkuk. The al-Qaida breakaway group formally declared the creation of an Islamic state on 29 June 2014, in the territory under its control.[365]

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki unsuccessfully asked his parliament to declare a state of emergency that would give him increased powers.[366] On 14 August 2014, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki succumbed to pressure at home and abroad to step down. This paved the way for Haidar al-Abadi to take over on 19 August 2014.

In September 2014, President Obama acknowledged that the US underestimated the rise of the Islamic State and overestimated the Iraqi military's ability to fight ISIL.[367] Obama announced the return of US forces, in the form of aerial support, in an effort to halt the advance of ISIL forces, render humanitarian aid to stranded refugees and stabilize the political situation.[368]

A civil war between ISIL and the central government continued for the next three years. Following the election of Donald Trump, the United States intensified its campaign against the Islamic State by January 2017.[369] Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said a tactical shift to surrounding Islamic State strongholds in Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, Syria, was devised not only to "annihilate" ISIL fighters hunkered down there, but also to prevent them from returning to their home nations in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In 2017, US-backed Kurdish forces captured Raqqa, which had served as the ISIL capital.[370] The Iraqi government declared victory against ISIL in December 2017.[371] By 2018, violence in Iraq was at its lowest level in ten years. This was largely a result of the defeat of ISIL forces and the subsequent calming-down of the insurgency.[372]

In January 2020, after the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the Iraqi parliament voted for all foreign troops to leave the country. This would end its standing agreement with the United States to station 5,200 soldiers in Iraq. Then-President Trump objected to withdrawing troops and threatened Iraq with sanctions over this decision.[373] In 2023, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani indicated his support for an indefinite US military presence in Iraq.[374]

## Casualties

[edit]

### Casualty estimates

[edit]

Main article: Casualties of the Iraq War

See also: Foreign hostages in Iraq and List of bombings during the Iraq War

Wounded US personnel flown from Iraq to Ramstein, Germany, for medical treatment, February 2007 Gun camera footage of the 12 July 2007, Baghdad airstrike, that killed 12 people, including Reuters employees Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh

For coalition death totals see the infobox at the top right. See also Casualties of the Iraq War, which has casualty numbers for coalition nations, contractors, non-Iraqi civilians, journalists, media helpers, aid workers, and the wounded. Casualty figures, especially Iraqi ones, are highly disputed.

There have been several attempts by the media, coalition governments and others to estimate the Iraqi casualties. The table below summarizes some of these estimates and methods.

Source  | Iraqi casualties  | March 2003 to ...

|
|

Iraq Family Health Survey | 151,000 violent deaths  | June 2006
Lancet survey | 601,027 violent deaths out of 654,965 excess deaths  | June 2006
PLOS Medicine Study | 460,000 excess deaths including 132,000 violent deaths from the conflict[82] | June 2011
Opinion Research Business survey | 1,033,000 violent deaths from the conflict  | August 2007
Iraqi Health Ministry | 87,215 violent deaths per death certificates issued
Deaths prior to January 2005 unrecorded
Ministry estimates up to 20% more deaths are undocumented.  | January 2005 to
February 2009
Associated Press | 110,600 violent deaths
Health Ministry death certificates plus AP estimate of casualties for 2003–04  | April 2009
Iraq Body Count | 105,052–114,731 violent civilian deaths
compiled from commercial news media, NGO and official reports
Over 162,000 civilian and combatant deaths  | January 2012
WikiLeaks. Classified Iraq War Logs | 109,032 violent deaths including 66,081 civilian deaths  | January 2004 to
December 2009

## Impacts

[edit]

### Economic impact

[edit]

#### Financial cost

[edit]

Main article: Financial cost of the Iraq War

A US Army soldier watching a burning oil well at Rumaila oil field in April 2003; the fire was later extinguished by coalition personnel

In 2013, the total cost of the war to date was estimated at $1.7 trillion by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University.[375] However, some economists argue the total cost to the US economy could range from $3[376] to $6 trillion, including long-term interest and veterans' costs, by 2053.[377] The upper ranges of these estimates include the long-term cost of disability compensation and medical care to US troops. Harvard's public finance expert, Linda J. Bilmes, estimated that these costs alone would amount to nearly $1 trillion over the next 40 years.[378] Bilmes also argued the war diverted resources from Afghanistan, raised oil prices, increased US federal debt, and contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.[379] The most recent estimates indicate costs will exceed $2.9 trillion by 2050. This figure includes direct costs such as military operations, veterans' care, and reconstruction, as well as long-term expenses, particularly for veterans' healthcare and disability benefits. As of 2023, $1.8 trillion had been spent, and costs will continue over the coming decades due to care for veterans and other war-related expenditures.[380]

A CNN report noted that the US-led interim government, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), lost track of $8.8 billion from the Development Fund for Iraq during its tenure.[381] Additionally, in 2011, CBS News reported that $6 billion in cash, was airlifted into Iraq by the Bush administration aboard military cargo planes. This was part of a total of $12 billion sent in cash over 21 separate flights by May 2004, much of which disappeared.[382] Stuart Bowen, director of the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, stated that the CPA had failed to establish sufficient controls to ensure the funds were used transparently, adding that the missing money might represent "the largest theft of funds in national history."[383]

#### Reparations

[edit]

By 2013, some human rights groups in both Iraq and the US had begun campaigning for reparations from the US for the devastation and health effects suffered by Iraqis during the war.[384][385]

### Humanitarian impact

[edit]

#### Humanitarian crisis

[edit]

Main articles: Humanitarian crises of the Iraq War and Refugees of Iraq

Child killed by a car bomb in Kirkuk, July 2011

According to a 2007 Oxfam report, the child malnutrition rate had risen to 28%, and the rate of people without access to clean drinking water had risen to 70%.[386] In 2007, Nasser Muhssin, a researcher on family and children's affairs affiliated to the University of Baghdad claimed that 60–70% of Iraqi children suffered from psychological problems.[387] A 2007 cholera outbreak in northern Iraq was thought to be the result of poor water quality.[388] As many as half of Iraqi doctors left the country between 2003 and 2006.[389]

### Environmental impact

[edit]

#### Oil pollution

[edit]

The war has led to oil spills, which increased carbon emissions and contaminated the surrounding water resources. During the invasion period, the retreating Iraqi army damaged the oil infrastructure and destroyed more than 736 oil wells in southern Iraq, resulting in fires and massive oil spills.[390] In 2003, more than 50 billion tonnes of carbon emissions were produced from burning oil fields.[391] Over 130 million gallons of oil leaked into surrounding water resources, such as Sawa Lake.[392] Between 2003 and 2010, more than 5,000 birds from three species died around Sawa Lake.[392]

#### Radioactive contamination

[edit]

The US army testing the harmful radiation fragments on the ground in Basra, Iraq

The US-led coalition used depleted uranium (DU) munitions during the war to pierce tank armour.[393] 1,000 to 2,000 tonnes (980 to 1,970 long tons; 1,100 to 2,200 short tons) of DU munitions were fired, which caused ammunition fragments containing radioactive material to spread across the country. According to a United Nations Environment Programme report, radioactive material contaminated air and soil; with the radioactive concentration found in Iraqi soil at 709.52 Bq in 2003 compared to 143.22 Bq in 2002.[394] The report states that high levels of radiation prevented plants, especially crop seeds, from sprouting; with about 22% (9.5 million ha) of the farmland in Iraq unable to grow barley.[392]

In addition, radiation contamination may have had harmful public health outcomes through poisoning and increased incidence of various cancers and birth defects.[394] Several studies have identified increased occurrence of deformities, cancers, and other serious health problems in areas where DU shells were used.[395] Some Iraqi doctors attributed these malformations to possible long-term effects of depleted uranium.[396] Studies disagree on whether DU ammunition has any measurable detrimental health effects.[397][394] According to research from the UK Atomic Energy Authority in 2005, the cancer rate had increased by 35% since 2003. As of 2013, 140,000 Iraqis were suffering from cancer, with between 7,000 and 8,000 new cases yearly.[394] According to a 2012 journal article by Al-Hadithi et al., existing studies and research evidence does not show a "clear increase in birth defects" or a "clear indication of a possible environmental exposure including depleted uranium". The article further states that "there is actually no substantial evidence that genetic defects can arise from parental exposure to DU in any circumstances."[398]

#### Ecosystem destruction

[edit]

The war has also led to damage to ecosystems though pollution and physical destruction. Approximately 25,000 tons of bombs were dropped by the US military during the war.[390] More than 250 chemical and armament factories were destroyed, which caused over 50,000 cubic meters of hazardous chemicals, such as fertilizer, and raw sewage to leak into water,[399] leading to surrounding freshwater ecosystem becoming polluted and species' habitat being impacted.[390] According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, 33 Iraqi wetlands, especially the Mesopotamian Marshland, have been contaminated by chemicals, which has caused 60 types of mammal species to lose their habitats, and more than 45 types of plants to become extinct.[392]

### Impact on the Global War on Terrorism

[edit]

Main article: Iraq War and the War on Terror

Further information: Criticism of the War on Terrorism, Saddam–al-Qaeda conspiracy theory, and Timeline of Saddam–al-Qaeda conspiracy allegations

Though explicitly stating that Iraq had "nothing" to do with 9/11 attacks,[400] erstwhile President George W. Bush consistently referred to the Iraq War as "the central front in the War on Terror", and argued that if the United States pulled out of Iraq, "terrorists will follow us here".[401][402][403] While other proponents of the war regularly echoed this assertion, as the conflict dragged on, members of the US Congress, the US public, and even US troops questioned the connection between Iraq and the fight against anti-US terrorism. In particular, a consensus developed among intelligence experts that the Iraq War actually increased terrorism. Counterterrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna frequently referred to the invasion of Iraq as a "fatal mistake".[404]

London's International Institute for Strategic Studies concluded in 2004 that the occupation of Iraq had become "a potent global recruitment pretext" for Mujahideen and that the invasion "galvanised" al-Qaeda and "perversely inspired insurgent violence" there.[405] The US National Intelligence Council concluded in a January 2005 report that the war in Iraq had become a breeding ground for a new generation of terrorists; David Low, the national intelligence officer for transnational threats, indicated that the report concluded that the war in Iraq provided terrorists with "a training ground, a recruitment ground, the opportunity for enhancing technical skills ... There is even… the likelihood that some of the jihadists who are not killed there will… go home, wherever home is, and will, therefore, disperse to various other countries." The council's chairman Robert Hutchings said, "At the moment, Iraq is a magnet for international terrorist activity."[406] And the 2006 National Intelligence Estimate, which outlined the considered judgment of all 16 US intelligence agencies, held that "The Iraq conflict has become the 'cause célèbre' for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement."[407]

A report by the Council on Foreign Relations, released on the 20th anniversary of the invasion analyzed the rationale to go to war and the subsequent decisions during the occupation. The report states that the "justification for going to war was based on scanty and deeply flawed intelligence" and that the invasion was an "error compounded by the absence of an agreed exit strategy and the decision to embark on a massive, open-ended nation-building project". The same report also ascertained that "the occupation authority's first acts were to disband the Iraqi army and the Ba'athist governing party, igniting what would become a lethal, long-running insurgency and eventually a multinational terrorist organization that took over most of the country".[408][98]

### Impact on geopolitics

[edit]

Further information: Russo-Ukrainian War and Russian invasion of Ukraine

From a geopolitical perspective, the war in Iraq has been interpreted as weakening the West's moral high ground and hampering its ability to effectively counter Russia and China. With regard to the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said in March 2022 that the US exerted similar pressures on Iraq in 2003, which the US invaded later for no reason other than "a vial of unidentified chemicals".[409] In March 2023, Tony Blair, former British prime minister rejected comparisons between Russia's war in Ukraine and the US-led invasion of Iraq, claiming that the Iraq War cannot be used as a justification by Russia to annex Russian-speaking zones in eastern Ukraine.[410]

## Criticism

[edit]

Main article: Criticism of the Iraq War

Further information: Opposition to the Iraq War, Legitimacy of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Legality of the Iraq War, Views on the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Protests against the Iraq War, International reactions to the prelude to the Iraq War, United Nations Security Council and the Iraq War, and Media coverage of the Iraq War

See also: Allegations of misappropriations related to the Iraq War, Habbush letter, and The Way of the World (book)

A city street in Ramadi heavily damaged by the fighting in 2006 A memorial in North Carolina in December 2007; US casualty count can be seen in the background[411]

The Bush administration's rationale for the Iraq War has faced heavy criticism from an array of popular and official sources both inside and outside the United States,[412][413][350] with many US citizens finding many parallels with the Vietnam War.[414] For example, a former CIA officer described the Office of Special Plans as a group of ideologues who were dangerous to US national security and a threat to world peace, and stated that the group lied and manipulated intelligence to further its agenda of removing Saddam.[415] The Center for Public Integrity stated that the Bush administration made a total of 935 false statements between 2001 and 2003 about Iraq's alleged threat to the United States.[416]

Both proponents and opponents of the invasion have also criticized the prosecution of the war effort along with a number of other lines. Most significantly, critics have assailed the United States and its allies for not devoting enough troops to the mission, not adequately planning for post-invasion Iraq, and for permitting and perpetrating human rights abuses. As the war has progressed, critics have also railed against the high human and financial costs. In 2016, the United Kingdom published the Iraq Inquiry, a public inquiry which was broadly critical of the actions of the British government and military in making the case for the war, in tactics and in planning for the aftermath of the war.[417][418][419]

Iraq

States participating in the invasion of Iraq

States in support of an invasion

States in opposition to an invasion

States with an uncertain or no official standpoint

Criticisms include:

* False allegations that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction
* Punishment of dissenters leading up to the war
* Legality of the invasion[420][421][422][423][424]
* Human casualties[425][426][427][428]
* Human rights violations such as the Iraq prison abuse scandals
* Insufficient post-invasion plans, in particular inadequate troop levels (A RAND Corporation study stated that 500,000 troops would be required for success.)[429]
* Financial costs with approximately $612 billion spent as of 4/09 the CBO has estimated the total cost of the war in Iraq to the United States will be around $1.9 trillion.[430]
* Adverse effect on US-led global "war on terror"[431][432]
* Damage to US' traditional alliances and influence in the region.[433][434]
* Endangerment and ethnic cleansing of religious and ethnic minorities by insurgents[237][435][436][437][438]
* Disruption of Iraqi oil production and related energy security concerns (the price of oil quadrupled between 2002 and 2008).[439][440]

## Human rights abuses

[edit]

Throughout the war, many human rights abuses and war crimes were committed.

### By coalition forces and private contractors

[edit]

See also: United States war crimes and British war crimes

This photograph from Abu Ghraib released in 2006 shows a pyramid of abused Iraqi prisoners

* Deaths of civilians as a result of bombing and missile strikes that fail to take feasible precautions with regards to civilians casualties.[441]
* Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse by US Army personnel,[442] involving the detention of thousands of Iraqi people. Torture at Abu Ghraib included rape, sodomy and extensive sexual abuse, waterboarding, pouring phosphoric acid on detainees, sleep deprivation and physical beatings.
* Haditha massacre of 24 civilians by US soldiers.
* Widespread use of the incendiary munition white phosphorus such as during the battle of Fallujah. The documentary Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre, claimed that Iraqi civilians, including women and children, had died of burns caused by white phosphorus during the battle, however, US Department of Defense spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Barry Venable denied that this was true but confirmed to the BBC that US forces had used white phosphorus as an incendiary weapon there against enemy combatants.[443][444][445] The use of white phosphorus against civilian populations is banned by international legislation.[446]
* Mahmudiyah rape and killings, where US soldiers raped and killed 14-year old Abeer Qasim Humza. They also killed 3 of her relatives.[447][448]
* The torture and killing of prisoner of war, Iraqi Air Force commander, Abed Hamed Mowhoush.
* The killing of Baha Mousa while in British Army custody.
* Mukaradeeb wedding party massacre, where 42 civilians were allegedly killed by coalition airstrikes.[449]
* Planting weapons on noncombatant, unarmed Iraqis by three US Marines after killing them.[450][451] According to a report by The Nation, other similar acts have been witnessed by US soldiers.[452]
* Nisour Square massacre by Blackwater Security Consulting personnel.
* Allegations of beatings, electrocution, mock executions, and sexual assault by British troops were presented to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) on 12 January 2014.[453]

### By insurgent groups

[edit]

Main article: List of bombings during the Iraq War

Further information: List of bombings during the Iraq War and Tactics of the Iraqi insurgency

Car bombing was a frequently used tactic by insurgents in Iraq

* Killing over 12,000 Iraqis from January 2005 to June 2006, according to Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr, giving the first official count for the victims of bombings, ambushes and other deadly attacks.[454] The insurgents have also conducted numerous suicide attacks on the Iraqi civilian population, mostly targeting the majority Shia community.[455][456] An October 2005 report from Human Rights Watch examines the range of civilian attacks and their purported justification.[457]
* Attacks against civilians by sectarian death squads primarily during the Iraqi Civil War. Iraq Body Count project data shows that 33% of civilian deaths during the Iraq War resulted from execution after abduction or capture. These were overwhelmingly carried out by unknown actors including insurgents, sectarian militias and criminals.[458]
* Attacks on diplomats and diplomatic facilities including; the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003 killing the top UN representative in Iraq and 21 other UN staff members;[459] beheading several diplomats: two Algerian diplomatic envoys Ali Belaroussi and Azzedine Belkadi,[460] Egyptian diplomatic envoy al-Sherif,[461] and four Russian diplomats[462]
* The February 2006 bombing of the al-Askari Mosque, destroying one of the holiest Shiite shrines, killing over 165 worshipers and igniting sectarian strife and reprisal killings[463]
* The publicised killing of several contractors; Eugene Armstrong, Jack Hensley, Kenneth Bigley, Ivaylo Kepov and Georgi Lazov (Bulgarian truck drivers.)[464] Other non-military personnel murdered include: translator Kim Sun-il, Shosei Koda, Fabrizio Quattrocchi (Italian), charity worker Margaret Hassan, reconstruction engineer Nick Berg, photographer Salvatore Santoro (Italian)[465] and supply worker Seif Adnan Kanaan (Iraqi.) Four private armed contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerko Zovko, Wesley Batalona and Michael Teague, were killed with grenades and small arms fire, their bodies dragged from their vehicles, beaten and set ablaze. Their burned corpses were then dragged through the streets before being hung over a bridge crossing the Euphrates.[466]
* Torture or killing of members of the New Iraqi Army,[467] and assassination of civilians associated with the Coalition Provisional Authority, such as Fern Holland, or the Iraqi Governing Council, such as Aqila al-Hashimi and Ezzedine Salim, or other foreign civilians, such as those from Kenya[468]

### By post-invasion Iraqi Government

[edit]

Main article: Human rights in post-invasion Iraq

The post-invasion Iraqi government used torture against detainees, including children. Some techniques of torture used included beatings, electric shocks, prolonged hanging by the wrists, food and water deprivation, and blindfolding for multiple days.[469] Iraqi police from the Interior Ministry were accused of forming death squads and committing numerous massacres of Sunni Arabs.[470] Many of these human rights abuses were carried out by Iraqi government-sponsored Shi'ite militias.[471]

## Foreign involvement

[edit]

### Suicide bombers

[edit]

Origins of suicide bombers in Iraq 2003–2007

Nationality |  |
Saudi Arabia |

| 53
Iraq |

| 18
Italy |

| 8
Syria |

| 8
Kuwait |

| 7
Jordan |

| 4
* Other |

| 26
* Three each from Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen; two each from Belgium, France, Spain; one each from Britain, Lebanon, Morocco, Sudan[472]

According to studies, most of the suicide bombers in Iraq were foreigners, especially Saudis.[472][473][474]

### Role of Iran

[edit]

Main article: Iranian involvement in the Iraq War

According to two unnamed US officials, the Pentagon is examining the possibility that the Karbala provincial headquarters raid, in which insurgents managed to infiltrate an American base, kill five US soldiers, wound three, and destroy three humvees before fleeing, was supported by Iranians. In a speech on 31 January 2007, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stated that Iran was supporting attacks against coalition forces in Iraq[475] and some Iraqis suspect that the raid may have been perpetrated by the Quds Force in retaliation for the detention of five Iranian officials by US forces in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil on 11 January.[476][477] In 2014, the legacy of Iran's presence in Iraq after the invasion had been mixed with regard to the fight against regional terrorist groups. The US occupation and subsequent regional instability had spawned the creation of the PMF (Popular Mobilization Forces), an Iranian militia that effectively fought the influence of emerging caliphates in the region.[478]

Later, a 1,300-page US Army Iraq War study, released in January 2019, concluded that "At the time of this project's completion in 2018, an emboldened and expansionist Iran appears to be the only victor" and that the outcome of the war triggered a "deep skepticism about foreign interventions" among America's public opinion.[424]

Hezbollah as Iran's proxy, formed Unit 3800 and sent elite Hezbollah operatives to Iraq to train local fighters. The unit's primary mission was to train and equip Iraqi Shiite militias, such as the Mahdi Army, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and Kataib Hezbollah, enhancing their capabilities in guerrilla warfare, kidnappings, and the use of sophisticated improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Some Iraqi militants also received advanced training in Lebanon. The unit then oversaw operations executed against US and coalition forces and provided funds, weapons, and logistical assistance to groups like the Badr Organization, Saraya al-Khorasani, and the al-Mahdi Army.[479][480]

### Role of Israel

[edit]

This section is an excerpt from International reactions to the prelude to the Iraq War § Israel.[edit]

Further information: Iraq-Israel relations

Israel did not support or take part in the Iraq War. According to former State Department official Lawrence Wilkerson and former Central Intelligence Agency official and Iran expert Robert Baer, Israeli officials warned the Bush administration against invading Iraq, saying that it would destabilize the region and empower the much more dangerous regime in Iran.[481][482][483][484] According to former U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith, Israeli officials did not push their American counterparts to initiate the war in Iraq. In an interview with Ynet, Feith stated that "what you heard from the Israelis was not any kind of advocacy of war with Iraq" and that "[w]hat you heard from Israeli officials in private discussions was that they were not really focused on Iraq... [t]hey were much more focused on Iran."[485]

Nonetheless, Israeli officials expressed concerns about Saddam Hussein. In August 2002, Haaretz reported that Israeli intelligence provided Washington with reports about Iraq's alleged program to develop weapons of mass destruction.[486] In the same month, the Washington Post reported that "Israel is urging United States' officials not to delay a military strike against Iraq's Saddam Hussein".[487] In September 2002, Benjamin Netanyahu, testifying under oath as a private citizen before the U.S. House of Representatives Government Reform Committee, lobbied for the invasion of Iraq and said: "There is no question whatsoever that Saddam is seeking and is working and is advancing towards the development of nuclear weapons…"[488][489][490] He also said, "If you take out Saddam, Saddam's regime, I guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region."[490]

In January 2007, The Forward reported that, before March 2003, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told Bush that Israel "would not push one way or the other" for or against an Iraq war.[491] According to this report, Sharon said that he believed that Iraq was a genuine threat to the Middle East and had weapons of mass destruction. However, he warned Bush that, if the US did go to war with Iraq, he should make sure to formulate a viable exit strategy, prepare a counterinsurgency strategy, and should not attempt to implant democracy in the Arab world.

After the invasion, Israel shared its expertise on counterinsurgency methods, such as utilizing drones and operating checkpoints.[492]

### Role of Russia

[edit]

The invasion of Iraq prompted a widespread wave of criticism from several world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.[493] Before and during the invasion of Iraq, the Russian government provided intelligence to Saddam Hussein about the location of US forces and their plans.[494]

## Public opinion on the war

[edit]

Main article: Public opinion on the Iraq War

Americans polled in January 2003 widely favored diplomacy over an invasion. Later that year, however, Americans began to agree with Bush's plan. The US government engaged in an elaborate domestic public relations campaign to promote the war to its citizens. Americans overwhelmingly believed Saddam did have weapons of mass destruction: 85% said so, even though the inspectors had not uncovered those weapons. By February 2003, 64% of Americans supported taking military action to remove Saddam from power.[495] In a March 2003 Gallup poll, the day after the invasion, 76% of Americans had approved of military action against Iraq.[496]

### International opinion

[edit]

Protesters on 19 March 2005, in London, where over 150,000 marched

In a March 2003 YouGov poll, 54% of Britons supported the military action against Iraq.[497] A remarkable aspect was the support for invasion expressed by many left-wing intellectuals such as Christopher Hitchens, Paul Berman, Michael Walzer and Jean Bethke Elshtain.[498][499] In a February 2003 poll by the national public research institute CIS, 91% of Spaniards opposed any military intervention in Iraq.[500]

According to a January 2007 BBC World Service poll of more than 26,000 people in 25 countries, 73% of the global population disapproved of US handling of the Iraq War.[501] A September 2007 poll conducted by the BBC found that two-thirds of the world's population believed the US should withdraw its forces from Iraq.[502]

In 2006 it was found that majorities in the UK and Canada believed that the war in Iraq was "unjustified" and – in the UK – were critical of their government's support of US policies in Iraq.[503]

According to polls conducted by the Arab American Institute, four years after the invasion of Iraq, 83% of Egyptians had a negative view of the US role in Iraq; 68% of Saudi Arabians had a negative view; 96% of the Jordanian population had a negative view; 70% of the population of the United Arab Emirates and 76% of the Lebanese population also described their view as negative.[504] The Pew Global Attitudes Project reports that in 2006 majorities in the Netherlands, Germany, Jordan, France, Lebanon, Russia, China, Canada, Poland, Pakistan, Spain, Indonesia, Turkey, and Morocco believed the world was safer before the Iraq War and the toppling of Saddam, while pluralities in the United States and India believe the world is safer without Saddam Hussein.[505]

#### Iraqi opinion

[edit]

A woman pleads with an Iraqi army soldier from 2nd Company, 5th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division to let a suspected insurgent free during a raid near Tafaria, Iraq

Directly after the invasion, an NDTV poll of Baghdad residents reported a slight majority of respondents supported the US invasion.[506] Polls conducted between 2005 and 2007 showed 31–37% of Iraqis wanted US and other coalition forces to withdraw once security was restored and that 26–35% wanted immediate withdrawal instead.[507][508][509] In 2006, a poll conducted on the Iraqi public revealed that 52% of the ones polled said Iraq was going in the right direction and 61% claimed it was worth ousting Saddam Hussein.[507] In a March 2007 BBC poll, 82% of Iraqis expressed a lack of confidence in coalition forces based in Iraq.[510] According to a 2009 poll conducted by the University of Maryland, 7 out of 10 Iraqis wanted US troops to withdraw within one year and also 78% felt that US military presence was "provoking more conflict than it is preventing".[511] Despite a majority having previously been opposed to the US presence, according to a poll conducted by the Asharq Research Centre, a private Iraqi company, 60% of Iraqis had believed it was "the wrong time" for a major withdrawal of American troops prior to the withdrawal in 2011, with 51% saying withdrawal would have a negative effect.[512][513]

## See also

[edit]

* Iraq portal
* Middle East portal

Main article: Outline of the Iraq War

* Foreign interventions by the United States
* United States involvement in regime change
* Criticism of United States foreign policy
* Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
* Iraq–United States relations
* The Iraq War: A Historiography of Wikipedia Changelogs
* Joint Special Operations Command Task Force in the Iraq War
* List of wars by death toll
* National Network to End the War Against Iraq
* Operation Iraqi Freedom documents
* United States military casualties of war

## Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ disbanded in 2003
2. ^ 260 killed in 2003,[14] 15,196 killed from 2004 through 2009 (with the exceptions of May 2004 and March 2009),[15] 67 killed in March 2009,[16] 1,100 killed in 2010,[17] and 1,067 killed in 2011,[18] thus giving a total of 17,690 dead
3. ^ The US DoD and the DMDC list 4,506 US fatalities during the Iraq War.[20][21] In addition to these, two service members were also previously confirmed by the DoD to have died while supporting operations in Iraq,[22][23] but have been excluded from the DoD and DMDC list. This brings the total of US fatalities in the Iraq War to 4,507.
4. ^ 33 Ukrainians,[28] 31+ Italians,[29][30] 30 Bulgarians,[31][32] 20 Salvadorans,[33] 19 Georgians,[34] 18 Estonians,[citation needed] 14+ Poles,[35][36][37] 15 Spaniards,[38][39][40][41] 10 Romanians,[42] 6 Australians,[43] 5 Albanians, 4 Kazakhs,[44] 3 Filipinos,[45] and 2 Thais,[46][47] for a total of 210+ wounded
5. ^ 185 in Diyala from June 2007 to December 2007,[56] 4 in assassination of Abu Risha, 25 on 12 November 2007,[57] 528 in 2008,[58] 27 on 2 January 2009,[59] 13 on 16 November 2009,[60] 15 in December 2009,[61] 100+ from April to June 2010,[62][63] 52 on 18 July 2010,[64][65] leaving a total of 1,002+ dead[56]
6. ^ 597 killed in 2003,[69] 23,984 killed from 2004 through 2009 (with the exceptions of May 2004 and March 2009),[15] 652 killed in May 2004,[70] 45 killed in March 2009,[16] 676 killed in 2010,[71] and 590 killed in 2011,[18] thus giving a total of 26,544 dead

## References

[edit]

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460. ^ "Kidnappers Kill Algerian Diplomats". Free Internet Press. 27 July 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
461. ^ "Captors kill Egypt envoy to Iraq". BBC News. 8 July 2005. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
462. ^ "Russian diplomat deaths confirmed". BBC News. 26 June 2006. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
463. ^ Alex Rodriguez, Iraqi shrine blast suspect caught Archived 2 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine (paid archive), The Chicago Tribune 29 June 2006.
464. ^ "Insurgents kill Bulgarian hostage: Al-Jazeera". CBC News. 14 July 2004.
465. ^ "Foreign hostages in Iraq". CBC News. 22 June 2006. Archived from the original on 7 August 2006.
466. ^ "4 Contractors murdered by al Qaeda". The Washington Post. 31 March 2004. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
467. ^ Sabrina Tavernise (19 June 2005). "Iraqis Found in Torture House Tell of Brutality of Insurgents". The New York Times.
468. ^ "Iraq kidnappings stun Kenya press". BBC News. 23 July 2004. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
469. ^ "Iraq: Torture Continues at Hands of New Government". Human Rights News. 25 January 2005.
470. ^ Dexter Filkins (29 November 2005). "Sunnis Accuse Iraqi Military of Kidnappings and Slayings". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
471. ^ "Torture by Iraqi militias: the report Washington did not want you to see". Reuters. 14 December 2015.
472. ^ a b Bernstein-Wax, Jessica (8 August 2007). "Studies: Suicide bombers in Iraq are mostly foreigners". McClatchy Newspapers. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
473. ^ Glasser, Susan B. (15 May 2005). "'Martyrs' In Iraq Mostly Saudis". The Washington Post.
474. ^ See also: Hafez, Mohammed M. Suicide Bomber in Iraq. United States Institute of Peace Press. ISBN 1601270046.
475. ^ "Al-Maliki: Iraq won't be battleground for U.S., Iran". CNN. 31 January 2007. Archived from the original on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
476. ^ "Iran involvement suspected in Karbala compound attack". CNN. 31 January 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
477. ^ Baer, Robert (30 January 2007). "Are the Iranians Out for Revenge?". Time. Archived from the original on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
478. ^ "This Iran-backed militia helped save Iraq from ISIS. Now Washington wants them to disband". pbs.org. Accessed 9 April 2023.
479. ^ "Hezbollah's Regional Activities in Support of Iran's Proxy Networks". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
480. ^ "Hezbollah in Iraq: A Little Help Can Go a Long Way | The Washington Institute". www.washingtoninstitute.org. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
481. ^ "POLITICS: Israel Warned US Not to Invade Iraq after 9/11 – Inter Press Service". www.ipsnews.net. 28 August 2007. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
482. ^ "terror and tehran". www.pbs.org. 2 May 2002. Archived from the original on 4 June 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
483. ^ "Interview" (PDF). fletcher.tufts.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2015.
484. ^ Rosenberg, MJ. "CIA veteran: Israel to attack Iran in fall". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
485. ^ "Doug Feith: Israel didn't push for Iraq War". Ynetnews. 13 May 2008. Archived from the original on 30 September 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
486. ^ Alon, Gideon (13 August 2002). "Sharon Panel: Iraq is our biggest danger". Haaretz.
487. ^ Kayer, J (16 August 2002). "Israel urges U.S. to attack". The Washington Post.
488. ^ "Israeli Perspective on Conflict with Iraq". C-SPAN. 12 September 2002. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
489. ^ Conflict With Iraq: An Israeli Perspective – Hearing Before the Committee on Government Reform of the United States House of Representatives One Hundred Seventh Congress Second Session (PDF) (Report). U.S. Government Printing Office. 12 September 2002. 107–139. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
490. ^ a b "Kerry Reminds Congress Netanyahu Advised U.S. to Invade Iraq". The New York Times. 25 February 2015. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
491. ^ "Sharon Warned Bush". 13 January 2007. Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
492. ^ "MSN – Outlook, Office, Skype, Bing, Breaking News, and Latest Videos". NBC News. 13 December 2003. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
493. ^ "Putin warns on Iraq war". CNN. 28 March 2003.
494. ^ "Russia 'gave Saddam intelligence on invasion'". The Independent. 25 March 2006. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
495. ^ "Poll: Talk First, Fight Later". CBS.com, 24 January 2003. Retrieved on 23 April 2007.
496. ^ "Seventy-Two Percent of Americans Support War Against Iraq". Gallup. 24 March 2003.
497. ^ "Surveys reveal how we remember opposing the Iraq war – but at the time we supported it". The Independent. 5 June 2015.
498. ^ Stephen Eric Bronner, Kurt Jacobsen (Fall 2004). "Dubya's Fellow Travellers: Left Intellectuals and Mr. Bush's War". Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
499. ^ Judt, Tony (September 2006). "Bush's Useful Idiots". London Review of Books. 28 (18).
500. ^ "Un 91% de los españoles son contrarios a la intervención en Irak | Noticias de actualidad" [91% of Spaniards are against the intervention in Iraq]. El País (in European Spanish). 27 March 2003. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
501. ^ "World View of U.S. Role Goes from Bad to Worse" (PDF). BBC World Service. 23 January 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
502. ^ "Most people 'want Iraq pull-out'". BBC News. 7 September 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
503. ^ "Guardian July Poll" (PDF). ICM Research. July 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2008.
504. ^ Zogby, James (March 2007). "Four Years Later: Arab Opinion Troubled by Consequences of Iraq War" (PDF). Arab American Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 January 2015.
505. ^ "India: Pro-America, Pro-Bush". Pew Global Attitudes Project. Pew Research Center. 28 February 2006. Archived from the original on 8 May 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
506. ^ Most Iraqis in Baghdad welcome US: NDTV poll The Indian Express
507. ^ a b "The Iraqi Public on the U.S. Presence and the Future of Iraq" (PDF). World Public Opinion. 27 September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 August 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
508. ^ Iraq Poll conducted by D3 Systems for the BBC, ABC News, ARD German TV and USA Today. More than 2,000 people were questioned in more than 450 neighbourhoods and villages across all 18 provinces of Iraq between 25 February and 5 March 2007. The margin of error is + or – 2.5%.
509. ^ Iraqis Oppose Oil Development Plans, Poll Finds (6 August 2007) (Oil Change International, Institute for Policy Studies, War on Want, Platform and Global Policy Forum)
510. ^ "Iraq poll March 2007: In graphics". BBC. 19 March 2007.
511. ^ "Poll: Most Iraqis Want US Troops to Leave Within a Year". VOA. 31 October 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
512. ^ Most Iraqis in Baghdad welcome US: NDTV poll The Indian Express
513. ^ US under 50,000 – Iraqis 'down' on drawdown Arab Times Archived 21 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine

## Further reading

[edit]

* Bellavia, David (2007). House to House: An Epic Memoir of War. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1416574712.
* A Bitter Legacy: Lessons of Debaathification in Iraq (Report). International Center for Transitional Justice.
* Alshaibi, Wisam H. (2024). "The Anatomy of Regime Change: Transnational Political Opposition and Domestic Foreign Policy Elites in the Making of US Foreign Policy on Iraq". American Journal of Sociology. 130 (3): 539–594.
* Butt, Ahsan. 2019. "Why did the United States Invade Iraq in 2003?" Security Studies
* Dexter Filkins (17 December 2012). "General Principles: How good was David Petraeus?". The New Yorker. pp. 76–81.
* Gates, Robert M. (2014). Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0307959478. 318 pages
* Gordon, Michael R. (2006). Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq. Pantheon. ISBN 978-1557782328. "michael gordon cobra II."
* Larson, Luke S. (2008). Senator's Son: An Iraq War Novel. Phoenix, Arizona: Key Edition Incorporated. ISBN 978-1449969868.
* MacDonald, Michael. 2014. Overreach: Delusions of Regime Change in Iraq. Harvard University Press.
* Mikulaschek, Christoph and Jacob Shapiro. (2018). Lessons on Political Violence from America's Post-9/11 Wars. Journal of Conflict Resolution 62(1): 174–202.
* North, Richard (2009). Ministry of Defeat: The British War in Iraq 2003–2009. Continuum Publishing Corporation. ISBN 978-1441169976.
* Payne, Andrew. 2019/2020. "Presidents, Politics, and Military Strategy: Electoral Constraints during the Iraq War." International Security 44(3):163–203
* Bruce R. Pirnie; Edward O'Connell (2008). Counterinsurgency in Iraq (2003–2006). Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation. ISBN 978-0-8330-4297-2.
* Thomas E. Ricks (2006). Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq. Penguin. ISBN 978-1594201035.
* Robben, Antonius C.G.M., ed. (2010). Iraq at a Distance: What Anthropologists Can Teach Us About the War. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-4203-4.
* Siracusa, Joseph M., and Laurens J. Visser, "George W. Bush, Diplomacy, and Going to War with Iraq, 2001–2003." The Journal of Diplomatic Research/Diplomasi Araştırmaları Dergisi (2019) 1#1: 1–29 online
* Wertheim, Stephen, "Iraq and the Pathologies of Primacy: The Flawed Logic That Produced the War Is Alive and Well", Foreign Affairs, vol. 102, no. 3 (May/June 2023), pp. 136–140, 142–152. "Washington is still in thrall to primacy and caught in a doom loop, lurching from self-inflicted problems to even bigger self-inflicted problems, holding up the latter while covering up the former. In this sense, the Iraq war remains unfinished business for the United States." (p. 152.)

## External links

[edit]

Iraq War at Wikipedia's sister projects

* Media from Commons
* News from Wikinews
* Quotations from Wikiquote
* Data from Wikidata

* International Center for Transitional Justice, Iraq
* Dollar cost of war: total US cost of the Iraq War
* "Bleak Pentagon study admits 'civil war' in Iraq", by Rupert Cornwell, The Independent, March 2007
* High resolution maps of Iraq, GulfWarrior.org
* Presidential address by George W. Bush on the evening of 19 March 2003, announcing war against Iraq.
* Bibliography: The Second US–Iraq War (2003– )
* 1st Major Survey of Iraq. Zogby International, 10 September 2003.
* Iraq at Polling Report.com. Chronological polls of Americans 18 and older
* Just War in Iraq 2003 (PDF) – Legal dissertation by Thomas Dyhr from University of Copenhagen.
* Iraq war stories, a Guardian and Observer archive in words and pictures documenting the human and political cost, The Guardian, April 2009.
* Iraq: The War Card Archived 3 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Center for Public Integrity.
* Jargin SV. "Health care in Iraq: 2013 vs. 2003". CMAJ. 17 September 2013.
* Mather-Cosgrove, Bootie (17 March 2005). "The War with Iraq: Changing Views". CBS News.

* v
* t
* e

Iraq War (2003–2011)

Beginning of the Iraqi conflict

Prelude

| Background|

| Pre-1990|

* 17 July Revolution
* Iranian Revolution
* 1979 Ba'ath Party Purge
* Iran–Iraq War
* British / U.S. support for Iraq
* Chemical attacks against Iran
* Anfal campaign
* Iran–Contra affair

|

1990–2003|

* Gulf War
* Invasion of Kuwait
* Nayirah testimony
* Sanctions against Iraq
* No-fly zones
* 1991 uprisings
* UNSCOM
* Arms-to-Iraq affair
* Oil-for-Food Programme
* Investigations
* September 11 attacks
* Aftermath
* War on terror
* 2001 anthrax attacks
* U.S. War in Afghanistan
* Invasion

Rationale|

* WMD claims
* Yellowcake uranium
* Aluminum tubes
* Biological weapons
* Chemical weapons
* "Curveball"
* Mobile weapon labs
* Saddam–al-Qaeda conspiracy theory
* Anthrax claims
* Prague
* Ricin claims
* Oil as a possible rationale

Issues|

* American imperialism
* Bush Doctrine
* Wolfowitz Doctrine
* Colin Powell's UN presentation
* Disarmament crisis
* UNMOVIC
* Failed peace initiatives
* Iraq resolution / UK parliament's support for invasion
* Iraqi–Kurdish conflict
* Legality
* Legitimacy of the invasion
* Media coverage
* Military analyst program
* Rapid response operation
* Saddam's alleged shredder
* Preemptive war
* Saddam Hussein and human rights

Dossiers
and memos|

* Habbush letter
* Downing Street memo
* September Dossier
* Vilnius letter
* Letter of the eight
* Bush–Blair 2003 memo
* February Dossier
* Bush–Aznar memo

Overview

| Key events|

* Invasion (2003)
* Occupation (2003–2011)
* Insurgency
* 2003–06 period
* Anbar campaign
* Fallujah
* Capture of Saddam Hussein
* Interrogation
* Trial
* Execution / Reactions
* 2006 al-Askari mosque bombing
* Civil war (2006–08)
* 2007 U.S. troop surge
* timeline
* U.S. withdrawal
* Status of forces agreement

|

Invasion
(2003)|

* Timeline
* Preparations for invasion
* Multi-National Force
* Battle of Nasiriyah
* Fall of Baghdad
* Battle of Debecka Pass
* Firdos Square statue
* Mission Accomplished speech
* US public opinion

Occupation
(2003–2011)|

* Occupation of Ramadi
* De-Ba'athification
* 100 Orders
* CPA Order 2
* CPA Order 17
* U.S. military bases
* Blackwater
* Reconstruction
* Development Fund
* Economic reform
* UNAMI
* Al Qa'qaa high explosives
* U.S. kill or capture strategy

| Replacement
governments|

* Coalition Provisional Authority
* Iraqi Governing Council
* Interim Government
* 2005 parliamentary elections
* Transitional Government
* Constitution
* Ratification

|

Participants

| Countries|

* Australia
* Ba'athist Iraq
* Denmark
* El Salvador
* Georgia
* Iran
* Italy
* Japan
* Poland
* South Korea
* Thailand
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* United States

|

Insurgent
groups|

| Sunni
groups|

* Islamic Army in Iraq
* 1920 Revolution Brigades
* Jaish al-Rashideen
* Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance
* Hamas of Iraq
* Jeish Muhammad
* Mujahideen Shura Council
* Islamic State of Iraq
* Al-Qaeda in Iraq
* Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah
* Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
* Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna
* Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan
* Black Banner Organization
* Wakefulness and Holy War
* Abu Theeb's group
* Abu Bakr Al-Salafi Army
* Mujahideen Army

|

Shia
groups|

* Mahdi Army
* Abu Deraa's militia
* Badr Organization
* Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq
* Sheibani Network
* Soldiers of Heaven
* Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq
* Promised Day Brigade
* Kata'ib Hezbollah

Ba'ath
loyalists|

* Fedayeen Saddam
* Al-Awda
* Popular Army
* Al-Abud Network
* Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order
* Supreme Command for Jihad and Liberation

Battles and operations

| Operations|

| 2003|

* Ancient Babylon
* Catalyst
* Desert Scorpion
* Desert Thrust
* Falconer
* Iron Hammer
* Iron Justice
* Ivy Blizzard
* Northern Delay
* Airborne Dragon
* Panther Squeeze
* Peninsula Strike
* Planet X
* Capture of Saddam Hussein (Red Dawn)
* Telic

|

2004|

* Baton Rouge
* Bulldog Mammoth
* Iron Saber
* New Dawn (Al Fajr)
* Phantom Fury
* Phantom Linebacker
* Plymouth Rock
* Vigilant Resolve
* Warrior's Rage

2005|

* Cyclone
* Iron Hammer
* Matador
* New Market
* Spear (Romhe)
* Squeeze Play
* Steel Curtain

2006|

* Al Majid
* Gaugamela
* Iron Triangle
* Sinbad
* Swarmer
* Together Forward

2007|

* Alljah
* Arbead II
* Ardennes
* Black Eagle
* Commando Eagle
* Forsythe Park
* Imposing Law
* Leyte Gulf
* Marne Avalanche
* Marne Torch
* Mawtini
* Phantom Strike
* Phantom Thunder
* Saber Guardian
* Sledgehammer
* Stampede 3
* Tiger Hammer
* Valiant Guardian (Harris Ba'sil)

2008|

* Defeat Al Qaeda in the North
* Augurs of Prosperity
* Phantom Phoenix

2009–2011|

* New Dawn

Battles|

| 2003|

| Invasion|

* Umm Qasr
* Al Faw
* Basra I
* Nasiriyah
* Karbala I
* Haditha Dam
* Najaf I
* Samawah I
* Karbala II
* Al Kut
* Hillah
* Karbala Gap
* Debecka Pass
* Baghdad I

|

* Majar al-Kabir
* Ramadan Offensive

2004|

* Spring fighting
* Karbala City Hall
* Fallujah I
* Siege of Sadr City
* Ramadi I
* Good Friday ambush
* Baghdad International Airport
* Husaybah
* Danny Boy
* Najaf II
* CIMIC House
* Samarra
* Fallujah II
* Mosul

2005|

* Lake Tharthar
* Abu Ghraib
* Al-Qa'im
* Hit convoy
* Haditha
* Tal Afar

2006|

* Baghdad II
* Ramadi II
* Diwaniya
* Al Rumaythah
* Amarah
* Turki

2007|

* Haifa Street
* Karbala provincial HQ
* Najaf III
* Shurta Nasir
* Basra II
* Baqubah
* Route Bismarck
* Donkey Island
* Karbala III

2008|

* Spring fighting
* Iraqi Day of Ashura
* Nineveh
* Basra III
* Al-Qaeda offensive

2009–2011|

* Palm Grove (2010)

Related events|

* Turkish incursions into northern Iraq
* 2007
* 2008
* Abu Kamal raid

War crimes

| Occupation forces|

| Killings and
massacres|

* During the 2003 invasion
* U.S. killings of journalists
* Fallujah killings
* Killing of Nadhem Abdullah (2003)
* Murder of Muhamad Husain Kadir
* Mukaradeeb wedding party massacre (2004)
* Haifa Street helicopter incident (2005)
* Tal Afar shootings (2005)
* Basra prison incident (2005)
* Haditha massacre (2005)
* Mahmudiyah rape and killings (2006)
* Ishaqi massacre (2006)
* Baghdad detainee killings (2006)
* Hamdania incident (2006)
* Iraqi bodyguard killing (2006)
* Iron Triangle Murders (2006)
* Baghdad airstrike (2007)
* Nisour Square massacre (2007)
* Iraq War Logs (2010)

|

Chemical
weapons|

* Use of white phosphorus by the United States (2004–05)

Torture
and abuse|

* Abu Ghraib prison (2003–06)
* Camp Bucca (2003–09)
* Camp Nama (2003–04)
* Balad Air Base (2003–2011)
* Death of Nagem Hatab (2003)
* Killing of Baha Mousa (2003)
* Death of Abed Hamed Mowhoush (2003)
* Killing of Manadel al-Jamadi (2003)
* Death of Fashad Mohamed (2004)

§ Other killings
and bombings|

| 2003|

* Jordanian embassy
* Canal Hotel
* Imam Ali mosque bombing
* Baghdad October 2003

|

2004|

* Erbil 2004
* Ashura massacre
* Basra 2004
* Mosul 2004
* 2004 church bombings
* Baghdad bombings
* 14 September
* 30 September
* Karbala and Najaf bombings
* Baqubah 2004
* Kufa mosque bombing

2005|

* Al Hillah 2005
* Erbil 2005
* Musayyib bombing
* Baghdad bombings
* August
* September
* Balad 2005
* Khanaqin bombings

2006|

* Karbala and Ramadi
* Al-Askari mosque 2006
* Buratha mosque bombing
* Sadr City bombings
* July
* November
* Hayy Al-Jihad massacre

2007|

* Mustansiriya University
* Baghdad bombings
* 22 January
* 3 February
* 12 February
* 18 February
* 29 March
* 18 April
* 26 July
* 1 August
* Al Hillah 2007
* Tal Afar 2007
* Iraqi Parliament
* 2007 Karbala mosque bombings
* Massacres of Yazidis
* April massacre
* Qahtaniyah bombings
* Makhmour
* Abu Sayda
* Al-Askari mosque 2007
* Al-Khilani mosque bombing
* Amirli bombing
* Kirkuk 2007
* Al Amarah bombings

2008|

* Bagdad bombings
* February
* March
* June
* Balad 2008
* Karbala 2008
* Al-Karmah
* Dujail bombing
* Balad Ruz bombing
* Attacks on Christians in Mosul

2009|

* Bagdad bombings
* March
* 6 April
* June
* August
* October
* December
* Baghdad–Miqdadiyah
* Taza bombing
* Kirkuk 2009
* Tal Afar 2009

2010|

* Nationwide attacks
* 10 May
* 25 August
* Bagdad bombings
* January
* February
* April
* August
* September
* November
* Baqubah 2010
* Baghdad church massacre

2011|

* Nationwide attacks
* January
* August
* Bagdad bombings
* January
* August
* October
* Arba'een bombings
* Tikrit assault
* Al Hillah 2011
* Samarra bombing
* Al Diwaniyah bombing
* Taji bombings
* Karbala 2011
* Basra 2011

Other war crimes|

* Raid on Camp Ashraf (2011)
* Archaeological looting
* Chlorine bombings
* Torture by the Wolf Brigade (2004–2011)

Prosecution|

* United States and the International Criminal Court
* Hague Invasion Act
* Prosecution for the 2003 invasion
* Abtan v. Blackwater
* Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
* Saleh v. Bush
* Taguba Report

§ All attacks listed in this group were either committed by insurgents, or have unknown perpetrators

Impact

| General|

* Casualties
* Iraq Body Count
* Iraq Family Health Survey
* Lancet surveys
* ORB survey
* Damage to Baghdad
* Al-Aimmah Bridge disaster
* Human rights
* Humanitarian crisis
* 2007 cholera outbreak
* Financial cost
* Refugees
* Iraqi Christians
* Mandaeans
* Violence against Iraqi academics

|

Political
controversies|

* Post-invasion WMD conjecture
* Iraq scandal in Finland
* Dixie Chicks comments
* Plame affair
* Hood event
* Death of David Kelly
* Hutton Inquiry
* Kidnapping of Angelo dela Cruz
* 2004 document leak
* Al Jazeera bombing memo
* Scott Thomas Beauchamp controversy
* MoveOn.org ad controversy
* Six Days in Fallujah
* Role of Canada
* War resisters

| Investigations|

* Senate Report on WMD Intelligence
* Duelfer Report
* Chilcot Inquiry

|

Reactions|

| Pre-war|

* Pre-war international reactions
* Khuy Voyne!
* Saddam Hussein interview

|

* Views on the invasion
* U.S. public opinion
* Opposition
* Criticism
* United Nations
* Oprah's Anti-war series
* Iraqi map pendant
* Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan
* Photo Op
* A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq
* Bush shoe-throwing incident

Protests|

* Halloween 2002
* February 15, 2003
* March 20, 2003
* Bring Them Home Now Tour
* January 20, 2005
* September 24, 2005
* January 27, 2007
* March 17, 2007
* 2007 Port of Tacoma
* September 15, 2007
* March 19, 2008

Aftermath in Iraq|

* The rise of ISIL
* Insurgency (2011–13)
* War in Iraq (2013–17)
* War against ISIL (2014–present)
* U.S.-led intervention in Iraq (2014–2021)
* Insurgency (2017–present)

Miscellaneous

| Terminology|

* Axis of evil
* Outposts of tyranny
* "Baghdad Bob"
* "Chemical Ali"
* Coalition of the willing
* Dead checking
* Embedded journalism
* Freedom fries
* Friedman Unit
* "Mother of All Bombs"
* "Mrs. Anthrax"
* Old Europe and New Europe
* Regime change
* Shock and awe
* "Sixteen Words"
* "Smoking gun / mushroom cloud"
* Star Spangled Ice Cream
* Strategic reset
* "There are unknown unknowns"
* Triangle of Death
* "Yo, Blair"

| Critical|

* Global arrogance
* Inverted totalitarianism
* "The wrong war, at the wrong place, at the wrong time"

|

Memorials|

* Afghan–Iraqi Freedom Memorial (Salem, Oregon)
* Al-Shaheed Monument
* Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial (London)
* Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial
* Old North Memorial Garden
* Saving Iraqi Culture

Lists|

* Assassinations
* Aviation shootdowns and accidents
* Bombings
* Coalition military operations
* Documentaries
* Iraqi security forces fatality reports
* Most-wanted Iraqi playing cards
* Private contractor deaths

Timeline|

* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011

Related

* Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
* Chelsea Manning
* CIA black sites
* Efforts to impeach George W. Bush
* "Enhanced interrogation techniques"
* Torture in the United States
* Extraordinary rendition
* Green Zone
* Guantanamo Bay detention camp
* Gulf of Tonkin incident
* Resolution
* Military–industrial complex
* Neoconservatism
* Patriot Act
* Petrodollar warfare theory
* Post-9/11
* Special Relationship
* The Iraq War: A Historiography of Wikipedia Changelogs
* Unilateralism
* Unitary executive theory
* U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East
* WikiLeaks
* Ba'ath Party archives

Outline / Category / Wikinews / Multimedia

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Japan
* Czech Republic
* Spain
* Israel

Other|

* NARA
* Yale LUX

Links to related articles

* v
* t
* e

War on terror

* September 11 attacks
* War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) (Withdrawal)
* Iraq War (2003–2011) (Withdrawal)

Participants|

| Operational|

* ISAF
* Operation Enduring Freedom participants
* Afghanistan
* Northern Alliance
* Iraq (Iraqi Armed Forces)
* NATO
* Pakistan
* United Kingdom
* United States
* European Union
* Philippines
* Ethiopia

|

Targets|

| Individuals|

* Osama bin Laden
* Hamza bin Laden
* Anwar al-Awlaki
* Sirajuddin Haqqani
* Jalaluddin Haqqani
* Anas Haqqani
* Khalil Haqqani
* Hafiz Saeed
* Mahmoud Mohamed Ahmed Bahaziq
* Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

|

Factions|

* al-Qaeda
* al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
* Abu Sayyaf
* Al-Shabaab
* Boko Haram
* Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami
* Hizbul Mujahideen
* Islamic Courts Union
* Jaish-e-Mohammed
* Jemaah Islamiyah
* Lashkar-e-Taiba
* Taliban
* Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
* Islamic State

Conflicts|

| Operation
Enduring Freedom|

* War in Afghanistan
* OEF – Philippines
* Georgian involvement in the Iraq War
* OEF – Horn of Africa
* OEF – Trans Sahara
* Drone strikes in Pakistan

|

Other|

* Operation Active Endeavour
* Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
* Insurgency in the North Caucasus
* Moro conflict in the Philippines
* Iraq War
* Iraqi insurgency
* Operation Linda Nchi
* Terrorism in Saudi Arabia
* Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
* War in Somalia (2006–2009)
* 2007 Lebanon conflict
* al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen

Policies|

* Patriot Act (2001)
* Torture Memos (2002)
* Military Commissions Act of 2006
* Military Commissions Act of 2009
* President's Surveillance Program
* Protect America Act of 2007
* Terrorist Surveillance Program

Related|

* Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse
* Axis of evil
* Bush Doctrine
* Clash of Civilizations
* Cold War
* Combatant Status Review Tribunal
* Criticism of the war on terror
* CIA black sites
* Killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri
* Killing of Osama bin Laden
* Enhanced interrogation techniques
* Extrajudicial prisoners
* Extraordinary rendition
* Guantanamo Bay detention camp
* Iranian Revolution
* Islamic terrorism
* Islamism
* North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
* Operation Noble Eagle
* Operation Eagle Assist
* Situation Room photograph
* State Sponsors of Terrorism
* Targeted killing
* Targeted Killing in International Law
* Targeted Killings: Law and Morality in an Asymmetrical World
* Unitary executive theory
* Unlawful combatant
* CAGE

* Category
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Armed groups in the Iraqi conflict

Iraqi government|

* Iraqi Armed Forces
* Iraqi Army
* Iraqi Air Force
* Iraqi Navy
* Iraqi security forces
* Iraqi Police
* Iraqi Police Service
* National Police
* Supporting Forces
* Facilities Protection Service

Ba'athists|

* Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order
* Fedayeen Saddam
* General Military Council for Iraqi Revolutionaries
* Al-Awda
* General Command of the Armed Forces, Resistance and Liberation in Iraq
* Popular Army
* New Return
* Patriotic Front
* Political Media Organ of the Ba'ath Party
* Popular Resistance for the Liberation of Iraq
* Al-Abud Network
* Free Iraqi Army

Militias and others|

| Shia Islamic militias|

* Popular Mobilization Forces
* Mahdi Army
* Abu Deraa's Mahdi Army faction
* Badr Organization
* Sheibani Network
* Soldiers of Heaven
* Free Iraqi Forces
* Special Groups (Iraq)
* Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq
* Promised Day Brigade
* Kata'ib Hezbollah
* Saraya Ansar al-Aqeeda
* Kata'ib al-Imam Ali
* Kata'ib Jund al-Imam
* Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba
* Saraya al-Jihad
* Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Forces
* Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya
* Quwwat Sahl Ninawa
* Mukhtar Army
* Hezbollah
* Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas
* Jaysh al-Mu'ammal
* Liwa Ali al-Akbar
* Islamic Resistance in Iraq
* Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada

|

Sunni Islamic militias|

* Tribal Mobilization
* Awakening groups
* 1920 Revolution Brigades
* Jaish al-Rashideen
* Islamic Army in Iraq
* Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance
* Hamas of Iraq
* Harakat Ahrar al-Iraq

Kurdish militias|

* Peshmerga
* Kurdistan Workers' Party
* Kurdistan Freedom Hawks
* Asayîşa Êzîdxanê

Turkmen militias|

* Iraqi Turkmen Front
* 16Brigade
* 52nd Brigade
* 92nd Brigade
* Brigade of Imam Hussein
* Sayyid al-Shuhada
* Bashir Regiment

Assyrian militias|

| Nineveh Plains|

* Nineveh Plain Protection Units
* Nineveh Plain Forces
* Qaraqosh Protection Committee
* Dwekh Nawsha

|

* Syriac Military Council
* Kataib Rouh Allah Issa Ibn Miriam
* Babylon Brigade

Yazidi militias|

* Asayîşa Êzîdxanê
* Êzîdxan Protection Force
* Sinjar Alliance

* Sinjar Resistance Units
* Êzîdxan Women's Units

Insurgents|

| Nationalist Salafis|

* Mujahideen Army
* Mujahideen Battalions of the Salafi Group of Iraq
* Islamic Salafist Boy Scout Battalions
* Mohammad's Army

|

Salafi Jihadists|

* Al-Mustafa Army in Iraq
* Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan
* Black Banner Organization
* Abu Theeb's group
* Abu Bakr Al-Salafi Army
* Hassan Al-Basri Brigades
* Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna
* Jamaat Jaysh Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamaah
* Islamic State
* Mujahideen Shura Council
* Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah
* Al-Qaeda in Iraq
* Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
* Shield of Islam Brigade
* Wakefulness and Holy War
* White Flags
* Jaysh al-Fatiheen

* v
* t
* e

List of modern conflicts in the Middle East

1910s|

* World War I
* Italo-Turkish War
* Middle Eastern theatre
* Battle of Robat Karim
* Arab Revolt
* Armenian genocide
* Assyrian genocide
* Mount Lebanon starvation
* Unification of Saudi Arabia
* Simko Shikak revolt
* 1919 Egyptian revolution
* Turkish War of Independence
* Anglo-Turkish War
* Al-Jazeera Front
* Greco-Turkish War
* Turkish–Armenian War
* Franco-Turkish War
* Revolts
* United States
* Mahmud Barzanji revolts

1920s|

* Franco-Syrian War
* Iraqi Revolt (1920)
* Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine
* 1922 Dhabyani coup d'état
* Adwan Rebellion
* Arab separatism in Khuzestan
* Great Syrian Revolt
* 1926 Dhabyani coup d'état
* 1928 Dhabyani coup d'état
* Sheikh Said rebellion

1930s|

* Ararat rebellion
* Ahmed Barzani revolt
* Simele massacre
* Saudi–Yemeni war (1934)
* Goharshad Mosque rebellion
* 1935–1936 Iraqi Shia revolts
* 1935 Yazidi revolt
* 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine
* Dersim rebellion

1940s|

* World War II
* Italian bombing of Palestine
* Allied invasion of Iraq
* Syria–Lebanon campaign
* Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
* 1943 Barzani revolt
* Al-Waziri coup
* Al-Wathbah uprising
* Kurdish separatism in Iran
* Iran crisis of 1946
* Arab–Israeli conflict
* 1948 Arab–Israeli War
* Suez Crisis
* 1967 Six-Day War
* 1973 Yom Kippur War
* 1982 Lebanon War

1950s|

* Buraimi dispute
* 1952 Egyptian revolution
* 1953 Iranian coup d'état
* Jebel Akhdar War
* Cyprus Emergency
* Suez Crisis
* Yemeni–Adenese clan violence
* 1958 Lebanon crisis
* 1958 Iraqi revolution
* 1959 Mosul uprising

1960s|

* Cyprus crisis of 1963–1964
* Iraqi–Kurdish conflict
* First Iraqi–Kurdish War
* Second Iraqi–Kurdish War
* Dhofar rebellion
* North Yemen civil war
* Feb. 1963 Iraqi coup
* Mar. 1963 Syrian coup
* Nov. 1963 Iraqi coup
* Aden Emergency
* 1964 Hama riot
* Israeli–Palestinian conflict
* 1948 Palestine war
* First Intifada
* Second Intifada
* 1965 Sharjawi coup d'état
* 1966 Syrian coup d'état
* 1966 Dhabyani coup d'état
* 1969 Saudi Arabian coup attempt

1970s|

* Black September in Jordan
* 1972 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt
* Yemenite War of 1972
* Turkish invasion of Cyprus
* Shatt al-Arab clashes
* Lebanese Civil War
* Political violence in Turkey
* Islamist uprising in Syria
* 1977 Shia uprising in Iraq
* NDF Rebellion
* Yemenite War of 1979
* Iranian revolution
* Consolidation of the Iranian revolution
* 1979 Qatif Uprising
* Grand Mosque seizure
* 1979–1980 Shia uprising in Iraq

1980s|

* Iran–Iraq War
* 1980 Turkish coup d'état
* Kurdish–Turkish conflict
* Turkey–PKK conflict
* South Yemen civil war
* 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot
* 1986 Damascus bombings
* 1987 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt
* Mecca massacre
* Abu Nidal's executions

1990s|

* Gulf War (1990–1991)
* 1991 Iraqi uprisings
* Terror campaign in Egypt (1990s)
* Yemeni civil war (1994)
* Iraqi Kurdish Civil War
* Islamic insurgency in Saudi Arabia (2000–present)
* Operation Desert Fox
* al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
* 1999 Shia uprising in Iraq

2000s|

* Iraq War
* Balochi insurgency in Iran
* 2004 Qamishli riots
* Houthi insurgency in Yemen
* Iran–Israel proxy conflict
* 2006 Lebanon War
* Fatah–Hamas conflict
* South Yemen insurgency

2010s|

* 2011 Bahraini uprising
* Egyptian Crisis
* Sinai insurgency
* Insurgency in Egypt (2013–present)
* Syrian civil war
* Turkish involvement in Syria
* Syrian War spillover in Lebanon
* Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013)
* War in Iraq (2013–2017)
* Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present)
* Yemeni crisis
* Yemeni civil war (2014–present)

2020s|

* 2021 Beirut clashes
* Gaza war
* Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)
* Red Sea crisis
* 2024 Iran–Israel conflict
* Iran–Israel war

This list includes World War I and later conflicts (after 1914) of at least 100 fatalities each
Prolonged conflicts are listed in the decade when initiated; ongoing conflicts are marked italic, and conflicts with +100,000 killed with bold.

* v
* t
* e

Armed conflicts involving the Armed Forces of the United States

Listed chronologically

Domestic|

* Shays' Rebellion
* Whiskey Rebellion
* Fries's Rebellion
* 1811 German Coast uprising
* Turner's Rebellion
* Dorr Rebellion
* Bleeding Kansas
* Utah War
* Harpers Ferry raid
* American Civil War
* New York City draft riots
* American Indian Wars
* Colfax Riot
* Brooks–Baxter War
* Battle of Liberty Place
* Vicksburg riot
* Range War
* Hamburg riot
* Great Railroad Strike of 1877
* Lincoln County War
* Rock Springs Riot
* Seattle riot of 1886
* Johnson County War
* Coal Creek War
* Homestead strike
* Pullman Strike
* Colorado Coalfield War
* Red Summer
* Battle of Blair Mountain
* Tulsa riot
* Bonus Army
* Puerto Rican revolts
* Ole Miss riot of 1962
* 1960s ghetto rebellions
* 1969 Greensboro uprising
* Kent State shootings
* Wounded Knee Occupation
* 1992 Los Angeles riots
* 2020 racial unrest
* 2021 U.S. Capitol attack
* 2025 Los Angeles protests

Foreign|

* American Revolutionary War
* American–Algerian War (1785–1795)
* Quasi-War
* First Barbary War
* War of 1812
* Second Barbary War
* First Sumatran expedition
* Second Sumatran expedition
* 1840 Fiji expedition
* Ivory Coast expedition
* Mexican–American War
* 1855 Fiji expedition
* Second Opium War
* 1858 Fiji expedition
* Formosa Expedition
* Korean Expedition
* Spanish–American War
* Philippine–American War
* Boxer Rebellion
* Banana Wars
* Border War
* World War I
* Russian Civil War
* World War II
* Korean War
* Bay of Pigs Invasion
* Vietnam War
* Dominican Civil War
* Iranian Revolution (Operation Eagle Claw)
* Invasion of Grenada
* Lebanese Civil War (1983 Beirut barracks bombings)
* Invasion of Panama
* Gulf War
* Somali Civil War (Operation Gothic Serpent)
* Intervention in Haiti
* Bosnian War
* Kosovo War
* War in Afghanistan
* Iraq War
* War in North-West Pakistan
* First Libyan Civil War
* War against the Islamic State
* Iraq
* Syria
* Cameroon
* Libya
* Yemeni civil war

Related|

* Conflicts in the U.S.
* Wars involving the U.S.
* Timeline of U.S. military operations
* Length of U.S. participation in major wars
* Territorial evolution
* Military history
* History of the Central Intelligence Agency
* Casualties of war
* Peace movement
* List of anti-war organizations
* Conscientious objector
* Cold War
* War on terror
* War crimes

* v
* t
* e

Iraq topics

History

| Chronology|

* Ubaid period
* Hassuna culture
* Halaf culture
* Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period
* Samarra culture
* Uruk period
* Jemdet Nasr period
* Sumer
* Subartu
* Akkadian Empire
* Gutian dynasty
* Neo-Sumerian Empire
* Isin-Larsa period
* First Babylonian Empire
* Old Assyrian Period
* Middle Assyrian Empire
* Kassite dynasty of the Babylonian Empire
* Simurrum culture
* Babylonia
* Assyria
* Neo-Assyrian Empire
* Neo-Babylonian Empire
* Babylonian captivity
* Fall of Babylon
* Achaemenid Assyria
* Seleucid Babylonia
* Parthian Babylonia
* Sassanid Asorestan

|

638–1958|

* Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia
* Umayyad Caliphate
* Abbasid Caliphate
* Buyid dynasty
* Qara Qoyunlu
* Aq Qoyunlu
* Safavids
* Ottoman Iraq (incl. Mamluk dynasty)
* Mandate for Mesopotamia
* Mandatory Iraq
* Kingdom of Iraq
* Kings
* Arab Federation

Republic|

* 1958–1968
* 1968–2003
* 2003–2011
* 2011–present

* Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region (National Command)
* Saddam Hussein
* Iraqi–Kurdish conflict
* 1974–1975 Shatt al-Arab clashes
* 1977 Shia uprising in Iraq
* 1979–1980 Shia uprising in Iraq
* Weapons of mass destruction
* Iran–Iraq War
* Operation Opera
* Invasion of Kuwait
* Gulf War
* 1991 uprisings
* Sanctions
* Iraq War
* U.S. invasion
* Iraqi insurgency
* U.S. troop withdrawal
* Insurgency (2011–2013)
* War (2014–2017)
* Fall of Mosul
* Mosul liberation
* Insurgency
* 2019–2021 protests
* 2021–2022 Iraqi political crisis

Geography

* Faw peninsula
* Upper Mesopotamia
* Lower Mesopotamia
* Borders
* Euphrates river
* Hamrin Mountains
* Iraqi Kurdistan
* Lakes
* Islands
* Mesopotamia
* Mesopotamian Marshes
* Persian Gulf
* Places
* Shatt al-Arab
* Syrian Desert
* Tigris river
* Umm Qasr
* Zagros Mountains
* Wildlife
* Sinjar Mountains

Politics

* Administrative divisions
* Constitution
* Council of Representatives (legislative)
* Democracy
* Elections
* Foreign aid
* Foreign relations
* Government
* Council of Ministers
* Presidency Council
* President
* List
* Prime Minister
* List
* Human rights
* in pre-Saddam Iraq
* in Saddam Hussein's Iraq
* in post-invasion Iraq
* in ISIL-controlled territory
* LGBT
* Freedom of religion
* Women
* Law
* Law enforcement
* Military
* Chief of the General Staff
* Political parties
* Judiciary
* Wars and conflicts

Economy

* Banks
* Central Bank
* Companies
* Corruption
* Dinar (currency)
* Infrastructure
* Foreign Investment
* Oil Industry
* Oil reserves
* Reconstruction
* Stock Exchange
* Telecommunications
* Transportation
* Airlines
* Railways
* Tourism

Society

| Demographics|

* Iraqis
* Languages
* Mesopotamian Arabic
* Aramaic
* Kurdish
* Iraqi Turkmen/Turkoman dialects
* Persian
* Minorities
* Armenians
* Assyrians
* Circassians
* Kurds
* Mandaeans
* Marsh Arabs
* Persians
* Solluba
* Iraqi Turkmen/Turkoman
* Jews
* Religion
* Secularism
* Islam
* Christianity
* Mandaeism
* Yazidis
* Irreligion

|

General|

* Art
* Cinema
* Cuisine
* Culture
* Literature
* Education
* Health
* Media
* Television
* Music
* Smoking
* Sports
* Squatting
* Public holidays
* Mesopotamian spring festival (Akitu)
* Mandaean New Year

* Category
* Portal
* WikiProject
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

United States

History|

| By period|

* 1776–1789
* 1789–1815
* 1815–1849
* 1849–1865
* 1865–1917
* 1917–1945
* 1945–1964
* 1964–1980
* 1980–1991
* 1991–2016
* 2016–present

|

By event|

* Pre-colonial era
* Colonial era
* Stamp Act Congress
* Thirteen Colonies
* Continental Congress
* Continental Association
* United Colonies
* military history
* Founding Fathers
* Halifax Resolves
* Lee Resolution
* Declaration of Independence
* American Revolution
* War
* Treaty of Paris
* Articles of Confederation
* Perpetual Union
* Confederation period
* American frontier
* Constitution
* drafting and ratification
* Bill of Rights
* Federalist Era
* War of 1812
* Territorial evolution
* Mexican–American War
* Civil War
* Reconstruction era
* Indian Wars
* Native genocide
* Gilded Age
* Progressive Era
* Women's suffrage
* Civil rights movement
* 1865–1896
* 1896–1954
* 1954–1968
* Spanish–American War
* Imperialism
* World War I
* Roaring Twenties
* Great Depression
* World War II
* home front
* American Century
* Cold War
* Korean War
* Space Race
* Feminist Movement
* LGBTQ Movement
* Vietnam War
* Post-Cold War (1991–2016)
* September 11 attacks
* War on Terror
* War in Afghanistan
* Iraq War
* Great Recession
* COVID-19 pandemic

By topic|

* Outline of U.S. history
* Demographic
* Discoveries
* Economic
* Inventions
* Military
* Postal
* Technological and industrial

Geography|

* Territory
* Contiguous United States
* counties
* federal district
* federal enclaves
* Indian reservations
* insular zones
* minor outlying islands
* populated places
* states
* Earthquakes
* Extreme points
* Islands
* Mountains
* peaks
* ranges
* Appalachian
* Rocky
* Sierra Nevada
* National Park Service
* National Parks
* Regions
* East Coast
* West Coast
* Great Plains
* Gulf
* Mid-Atlantic
* Midwestern
* New England
* Pacific
* Central
* Eastern
* Northern
* Northeastern
* Northwestern
* Southern
* Southeastern
* Southwestern
* Western
* Longest rivers
* Arkansas
* Colorado
* Columbia
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Red (South)
* Rio Grande
* Yukon
* Time
* Water supply and sanitation
* World Heritage Sites

Politics|

| Federal|

| Executive|

* President of the United States
* powers
* Executive Office
* Vice President
* Cabinet
* Executive departments
* Independent agencies
* Intelligence Community
* Director of National Intelligence
* Central Intelligence Agency
* National Security Agency
* National Reconnaissance Office
* Law enforcement
* ATF
* CBP
* Diplomatic Security
* DEA
* FBI
* ICE
* Marshals
* Secret Service
* TSA
* Inspector generals
* Civil service
* Public policy

|

Legislative|

* House of Representatives
* current members
* Speaker
* Senate
* current members
* President pro tempore
* President
* Capitol Police
* Library of Congress
* Congressional Budget Office
* Government Accountability Office
* Government Publishing Office

Judicial|

* Supreme Court
* Chief Justice
* Associate Justices
* list
* Courts of appeals
* list of judges
* District courts/Territorial courts
* list of courts
* list of judges
* Other tribunals
* U.S. attorney

Law|

* Bill of Rights
* civil liberties
* Code of Federal Regulations
* Constitution
* federalism
* preemption
* separation of powers
* civil rights
* United States Code

Uniformed|

* Armed Forces
* Army
* Marine Corps
* Navy
* Air Force
* Space Force
* Coast Guard
* National Guard
* NOAA Corps
* Public Health Service Corps

State,
Federal District,
and Territorial|

| Executive|

* Governor
* list
* Lieutenant governor
* list
* Secretary of state
* Attorney general
* Treasurer
* Auditor/Comptroller
* Agriculture commissioner
* Insurance commissioner
* Public utilities commission
* State police
* list

|

Legislative|

* List of legislatures
* List of legislators

Judicial|

* Supreme courts
* Chief justices
* District attorney
* list

Law|

* State constitutions
* Statutory codes
* Uniform act
* Comparison of governments

Tribal|

* Tribal sovereignty
* Native American recognition in the United States
* Federally recognized tribes
* Federally recognized Alaska Native tribes
* State-recognized tribes
* Indian reservation
* list
* Hawaiian home land

Local|

| County|

* List of counties and county equivalents
* County executive
* Sheriff
* Clerk

|

Cities|

* Consolidated city-county
* Independent city
* Coterminous municipality
* Charter
* Mayor–council government
* Council–manager government
* City commission government
* Mayor
* City manager
* City council

Minor divisions|

* Township
* Town meeting

Special district|

* School district
* list

* Corruption
* Democratic backsliding
* Elections
* Electoral College
* Red states and blue states
* Foreign relations
* foreign policy
* Imperial presidency
* Ideologies
* Anti-Americanism
* exceptionalism
* nationalism
* Parties
* Democratic
* Republican
* Third parties
* Scandals

Economy|

* By sector
* Agriculture
* Banking
* Communications
* Companies
* Energy
* Insurance
* Manufacturing
* Mining
* Science and technology
* Tourism
* Trade
* by state
* Currency
* Exports
* Federal budget
* Greenhouse gas emissions by the United States
* Federal Reserve System
* Financial position
* Labor unions
* Public debt
* Social welfare programs
* Taxation
* Unemployment
* Wall Street

Transport|

* Aviation
* Driving
* Public transportation
* Rail transportation
* Transportation policy
* Transportation safety
* Trucking industry

Society|

| Culture|

* Americana
* Architecture
* Cinema
* Crime
* Cuisine
* Dance
* Demographics
* Economic issues
* affluence
* eviction
* homeownership
* household income
* income inequality
* middle class
* personal income
* poverty
* standard of living
* wealth
* working class
* Education
* attainment
* literacy
* Family
* Fashion
* Flag
* list
* Folklore
* Holidays
* Federal holidays
* Homelessness
* Housing
* Human rights
* Languages
* American English
* Indigenous languages
* ASL
* Literature
* Media
* journalism
* internet
* newspapers
* radio
* television
* Music
* Names
* National anthem
* National symbols
* Columbia
* Mount Rushmore
* Statue of Liberty
* Uncle Sam
* People
* Philosophy
* Political ideologies
* Race
* Religion
* Sexuality
* Social class
* Society
* Sports
* history
* Theater
* Transportation
* Video games
* Visual art

|

Social class|

* Affluence
* American Dream
* Educational attainment
* Homelessness
* Homeownership
* Household income
* Income inequality
* Middle class
* Personal income
* Poverty
* Standard of living

Health|

* Aging
* Healthcare
* Abortion
* Birth control
* Prenatal care
* Hospice care
* Immigrant health care
* Rationing
* Health care finance
* Health insurance costs
* Health care prices
* Prescription drug prices
* Disability
* Health insurance
* Food safety
* Physician shortage
* Poverty and health
* Race and health
* Obesity
* Medical deserts
* Women's reproductive health
* Life expectancy

Issues|

* Capital punishment
* Crime
* incarceration
* Criticism of government
* Discrimination
* affirmative action
* antisemitism
* intersex rights
* Islamophobia
* LGBTQ rights
* racism
* Native American
* African American
* Energy policy
* Environmental issues
* Environmental movement
* Climate change
* Gun politics
* Mass shootings
* Hunger
* Smoking
* Human rights
* Immigration
* illegal
* National security
* Terrorism
* Opioid epidemic
* Separation of church and state
* Xenophobia

* Outline
* Index

Category

* v
* t
* e

History of the United States

* Timeline
* Outline

Events

| Pre-Colonial|

* Geological
* Pre-Columbian era

|

Colonial|

* Exploration of North America
* European colonization
* Native American epidemics
* Settlement of Jamestown
* Thirteen Colonies
* Atlantic slave trade
* King William's War
* Queen Anne's War
* Dummer's War
* First Great Awakening
* War of Jenkins' Ear
* King George's War
* Prelude to Revolution
* American Enlightenment
* French and Indian War
* Proclamation of 1763
* Sugar Act
* Stamp Act Congress
* Sons of Liberty
* Boston Massacre
* Boston Tea Party
* Intolerable Acts
* First Continental Congress
* Continental Association

1776–1789|

* American Revolution
* War
* Second Continental Congress
* Lee Resolution
* Declaration of Independence
* Treaty of Paris
* Confederation period
* Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union
* Pennsylvania Mutiny
* Shays' Rebellion
* Northwest Ordinance
* Drafting and ratification of the Constitution

1789–1815|

* Bill of Rights
* Federalist Era
* Whiskey Rebellion
* Quasi-War
* Jeffersonian era
* Louisiana Purchase
* War of 1812

1815–1849|

* Era of Good Feelings
* Missouri Compromise
* Monroe Doctrine
* Jacksonian era
* Trail of Tears
* Nat Turner's slave rebellion
* Nullification crisis
* Westward expansion
* Mexican–American War
* Seneca Falls Convention
* First Industrial Revolution
* Second Great Awakening

1849–1865|

* Antebellum Era
* California Gold Rush
* Greater Reconstruction
* Prelude to War
* Compromise of 1850
* Fugitive Slave Act
* Kansas–Nebraska Act
* Bleeding Kansas
* Dred Scott decision
* Election of Lincoln
* Secession
* Civil War
* Emancipation Proclamation
* Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

1865–1917|

* Reconstruction era
* Amendments
* First transcontinental railroad
* Ku Klux Klan
* Enforcement Acts
* Compromise of 1877
* Second Industrial Revolution
* Gilded Age
* The Gospel of Wealth
* Assassination of James A. Garfield
* Chinese Exclusion Act
* Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act
* Haymarket affair
* Sherman Antitrust Act
* Progressive Era
* Spanish–American War
* Imperialism
* Assassination of William McKinley
* Square Deal
* Nadir of American race relations

1917–1945|

* World War I
* Paris Peace Conference
* First Red Scare
* Roaring Twenties
* Prohibition
* Women's suffrage
* Tulsa race massacre
* Second Klan
* Bath School disaster
* Harlem Renaissance
* Great Depression
* Wall Street crash of 1929
* Dust Bowl
* New Deal
* World War II
* Pearl Harbor
* home front
* Manhattan Project
* Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

1945–1964|

* Strike wave of 1945–1946
* Start of Cold War
* Truman Doctrine
* Early Cold War
* North Atlantic Treaty
* Korean War
* Ivy Mike
* McCarthyism
* Post-war boom
* Project Mercury
* Civil Rights Movement
* Early–mid Cold War
* Cuban Missile Crisis
* Assassination of John F. Kennedy

1964–1980|

* Great Society
* Space Race
* Project Gemini
* Apollo program
* Mid Cold War
* Détente
* Vietnam War
* Fall of Saigon
* Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
* Counterculture
* Second-wave feminism
* Gay liberation
* Stonewall riots
* Watergate scandal
* Pardon of Richard Nixon
* Iran hostage crisis
* Moral Majority

1980–1991|

* Reagan era
* Reaganomics
* Iran–Contra affair
* Crack epidemic
* Late Cold War
* Invasion of Grenada
* Reagan Doctrine
* End of the Cold War
* Space Shuttle program
* War on drugs
* Invasion of Panama

1991–2016|

* Gulf War
* NAFTA
* Los Angeles riots
* WTC bombing
* Waco siege
* Republican Revolution
* Oklahoma City bombing
* Columbine
* Bush v. Gore
* September 11 attacks
* War on terror
* War in Afghanistan
* Iraq War
* Hurricane Katrina
* Virginia Tech shooting
* Great Recession
* Killing of Osama bin Laden
* Rise in mass shootings
* Tucson
* Aurora
* Sandy Hook
* Orlando
* Black Lives Matter
* Obergefell v. Hodges

2016–present|

* Unite the Right rally
* Continued rise in mass shootings
* Las Vegas
* Parkland
* El Paso
* Uvalde
* COVID-19 pandemic
* recession
* George Floyd protests
* January 6 insurrection
* Afghanistan withdrawal
* Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
* Support of Ukraine
* Indictments of Donald Trump

Topics

* American Century
* Antisemitism
* Cultural
* Cinema
* Music
* Newspapers
* Sports
* Demography
* Immigration
* Economy
* Banking
* Education
* Higher education
* Flag
* Government
* Abortion
* Capital punishment
* Civil Rights
* Corruption
* The Constitution
* Debt ceiling
* Direct democracy
* Foreign policy
* Law enforcement
* Postal service
* Taxation
* Voting rights
* Journalism
* Merchant Marine
* Military
* Army
* Marine Corps
* Navy
* Air Force
* Space Force
* Coast Guard
* Party Systems
* First
* Second
* Third
* Fourth
* Fifth
* Sixth
* Religion
* Genocide
* Slavery
* Sexual slavery
* Technology and industry
* Agriculture
* Labor
* Lumber
* Medicine
* Railway

Groups

* African American
* Asian American
* Chinese American
* Filipino American
* Indian American
* Japanese American
* Korean American
* Thai American
* Vietnamese American
* European American
* Albanian American
* English American
* Estonian American
* Finnish American
* Irish American
* Italian American
* Lithuanian American
* Polish American
* Serbian American
* Hispanic and Latino American
* Mexican American
* Jewish American
* Middle Eastern American
* Egyptian American
* Iranian American
* Iraqi American
* Lebanese American
* Palestinian American
* Saudi American
* Native Americans
* Cherokee
* Comanche
* Women
* LGBTQ
* Gay men
* Lesbians
* Transgender people

Places

| Territorial evolution|

* Admission to the Union
* Historical regions
* American frontier
* Manifest destiny
* Indian removal

|

Regions|

* New England
* The South
* The West Coast

States|

* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

Federal District|

Washington, D.C.

Insular areas|

* American Samoa
* Guam
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Puerto Rico
* U.S. Virgin Islands

Outlying islands|

* Baker Island
* Howland Island
* Jarvis Island
* Johnston Atoll
* Kingman Reef
* Midway Atoll
* Navassa Island
* Palmyra Atoll
* Wake Island

Cities|

* Urban history
* Cities

* List of years
* Historiography
* Category
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

Post–Cold War conflicts in Asia

South Asia|

| India|

* Kashmir conflict (1947–present)
* 2013 India–Pakistan border skirmishes
* 2014–2015 India–Pakistan border skirmishes
* 2016–2018 India–Pakistan border skirmishes
* Kargil War (1999)
* Jammu and Kashmir insurgency (1989–present)
* Insurgency in Northeast India (1964–present)
* Insurgency in Punjab (1981–1995)
* Naxalite–Maoist insurgency (1967–present)
* Religious violence in India

|

Pakistan|

* Afghanistan–Pakistan border skirmishes
* Kashmir conflict (1947–present)
* 2013 India–Pakistan border skirmishes
* India–Pakistan border skirmishes (2014–2015)
* India–Pakistan border skirmishes (2016–2018)
* Kargil War (1999)
* Jammu and Kashmir insurgency (1989–present)
* Insurgency in Balochistan (2004–present)
* Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (2004–present)
* Insurgency in Sindh (2010–present)
* Religious violence in Pakistan

Sri Lanka|

* JVP insurrection (1971)
* Sri Lankan civil war (1983–2009)
* JVP insurrection (1987–1989)

Others|

* Maldives political crisis (2011–2013)
* Nepalese Civil War (1996–2006)
* Operation All Clear

East Asia|

| China|

* Taiwan Strait Crisis (1996)
* Xinjiang conflict (1960s–present)
* Tibetan unrest (2008)

|

Korea (North
and South)|

* Korean conflict
* Maritime border incidents
* 1994 North Korean nuclear crisis
* 2017–2018 crisis

Taiwan|

* Taiwan Strait Crisis (1996)

Southeast Asia|

| Cambodia|

* Cambodian–Thai border
* 2008–2013 crisis
* 2025–present conflict

|

Indonesia|

* Papua conflict (1962–present)
* Insurgency in Aceh (1976–2005)
* East Indonesia Mujahideen insurgency (2015–2022)

Myanmar|

* Myanmar conflict (1948–present)
* Karen conflict
* Kachin conflict
* Rohingya conflict
* Civil war (2021–present)

Philippines|

* Moro Conflict (1968-2019)
* ISIL Insurgency (2014-present)
* New People's army conflict (1969-present)

Thailand|

* South Thailand insurgency (2004–present)
* Cambodian–Thai border
* 2008–2013 crisis
* 2025–present conflict

East Timor|

* Indonesian occupation (1975–1999)
* East Timor genocide
* 1999 crisis
* 2006 crisis

Others|

* Cambodian Conflict (1979–1998)
* FULRO insurgency (1964–1992)
* Laotian insurgency (1975–2022)
* 2013 Lahad Datu standoff

Central Asia|

| Afghanistan|

* Afghanistan–Pakistan border skirmishes
* Afghan conflict
* Civil War
* 1989–1992
* 1992–1996
* 1996–2001
* 2001–2021 War
* Republican insurgency

|

Kazakhstan|

* Ethnic conflicts

Kyrgyzstan|

* 1990 Osh clashes
* 2010 Kyrgyz Revolution
* 2010 South Kyrgyzstan ethnic clashes

Tajikistan|

* Tajikistani Civil War (1992–1997)
* Insurgency in Gorno-Badakhshan (2010–2015)

Uzbekistan|

* Fergana massacre (1989)
* Andijan massacre (2005)

West Asia|

| Azerbaijan|

* Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (1988–2024)
* First War
* 2016 conflict
* Second War

|

Bahrain|

* Bahraini uprising (2011)

Iran|

* Kurdish separatism in Iran
* KDPI insurgency (1989–1996)
* Iran–PJAK conflict (2004–2011)
* Western Iran clashes (2016–present)
* Arab separatism in Khuzestan (1922–2020)
* Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict (1979–present)
* Qatif conflict
* Iran–Israel (1985–present)
* South Lebanon (1985–2000)
* Lebanon War (2006)
* Syrian arena (2012–2024)
* Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency (2004–present)

Iraq|

* Iraqi–Kurdish conflict (1918–2003)
* Iraqi Kurdish Civil War (1994–1997
* Iraqi conflict
* Iraqi Kurdistan conflict (2001–2003)
* Iraq War (2003–2011)
* Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013)
* War in Iraq (2013–2017)
* ISIL insurgency (2017–present)

Israel|

* Israeli–Palestinian (1948–present)
* Second Intifada (2000–2005)
* Gaza–Israel (2006–present)
* Iran–Israel (1985–present)
* Syrian arena (2012–2024)

Lebanon|

* South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000)
* Lebanon War (2006)
* Conflict in Northern Lebanon (2007)
* Lebanon conflict (2008)

Palestine|

* Israeli–Palestinian (1948–present)
* Second Intifada (2000–2005)
* Gaza–Israel (2006–present)
* Fatah–Hamas conflict (2006–2008)

Saudi Arabia|

* Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict (1979–present)
* Qatif conflict
* Persian Gulf crisis (2019–2021)

Syria|

* Syrian Civil War (2011–present)
* Regional spillover

Turkey|

* Maoist insurgency
* DHKP/C insurgency
* Kurdish–Turkish conflict
* Turkey–ISIL conflict

Yemen|

* Civil war (1994)
* al-Qaeda (1998–2015)
* Houthi (2004–2015)
* South Yemen (2009–2015)
* Yemeni crisis (2011–present)
* Houthi takeover (2014–2015)
* Civil War (2014–present)

Inter-continental
conflict|

* Sinai insurgency (2011–present)

Related topics|

* War on terror
* Operation Inherent Resolve
* Arab Spring
* Arab Winter
* Colour revolutions

* v
* t
* e

Islamic State

Names of the Islamic State

Members
(List of leaders)|

| Current|

*   * Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
* Abu Hudhayfah Al-Ansari
* Abdul Qadir Mumin
* Abu Yusaf
* Abu al-Baraa el-Azdi
* Abu Habib al-Libi
* Abu Jandal al-Masri
* Bajro Ikanović
* Faysal Ahmad Ali al-Zahrani
* Fatiha Mejjati
* Ahlam al-Nasr
* Issam Abuanza
* Musa Baluku
* Abu Fatima al-Jaheishi
* Zulfi Hoxha

|

† Former|

* Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
* Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
* Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
* Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi
* Abu Ahmad al-Alwani
* Haji Bakr
* Abu Usamah al-Maghrebi
* Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi
* Abu Muhannad al-Suwaydawi
* Abdul Rauf Aliza
* Abu Sayyaf
* Ali Awni al-Harzi
* Tariq al-Harzi
* Abu Khattab al-Tunisi
* Maher Meshaal
* Abu Muslim al-Turkmani
* Abu Saleh
* Mohammed Emwazi
* Abu Nabil al-Anbari
* Abu Ali al-Anbari
* Abu Waheeb
* Ali Aswad al-Jiburi
* Abu Omar al-Shishani
* El-Hassen Ould Khalill Jouleibib
* Abu Mohammad al-Adnani
* Abu Hamza Al-Qurashi
* Abu Muhammad al-Furqan
* André Poulin
* Abu Jandal al-Kuwaiti
* Abu Bilal al-Harbi
* Ahmad Abousamra
* Turki al-Binali
* Tareq Kamleh
* Lavdrim Muhaxheri
* Abu Osama al-Masri
* Abul-Hasan al-Muhajir
* Abu Muhammad al-Shimali
* Gulmurod Khalimov
* Abdul Nasser Qardash (captured)
* Abu Yasser al-Issawi
* Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi
* Abu Hamza Al-Qurashi
* Yusuf al-Hindi
* Abu Omar al-Muhajir (captured)
* Othman al-Nazih
* Jamal Udeen Al-Harith
* Aine Davis (captured)
* Alexanda Kotey (captured)
* El Shafee Elsheikh (captured)
* Denis Cuspert
* Abdelhamid Abaaoud
* Boubaker El Hakim
* Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

History|

* Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (1999–2004)
* Al-Qaeda in Iraq (2004–2006)
* Mujahideen Shura Council (2006)
* Islamic State of Iraq (2006–2013)
* Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2013–2014)
* Islamic State (2014–present)

Timeline of events|

* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Groups|

| International branches|

* Khorasan Province (Afghanistan and Pakistan)
* Libyan Provinces (Libya)
* Caucasus Province (North Caucasus, Russia)
* Sinai Province (Sinai, Egypt)
* Algeria Province (Algeria)
* Yemen Province (Yemen)
* Abnaa ul-Khilafah (Somalia and Somaliland)
* Bengal Province (Bangladesh)
* Boko Haram (Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Mali) (2015–2016)
* West Africa Province (Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger)
* Central Africa Province (DR Congo and Uganda)
* Sahil Province (Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso)
* Hind Province (India)
* Tunisia Province
* Pakistan Province (Pakistan)
* Turkey Province (Turkey)
* Azerbaijan Province (Azerbaijan)
* Islamic State – Philippines Province (Philippines)
* Mozambique Province (Mozambique)
* Khalid ibn al-Walid Army (Syria) (2016–2018)
* Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade (Gaza)
* Abu Sayyaf (Philippines) (2014–2024)
* Ansar Khalifa (Philippines) (2014–2021)
* Ansar al-Khilafah Brazil (Brazil) (2016–2018)
* East Indonesia Mujahideen (Indonesia) (2014–2022)

|

Unorganized cells|

* Jammu and Kashmir Province (Jammu and Kashmir)
* Kurdistan Province (Kurdistan)
* Haramayn Province (Saudi Arabia and Bahrain)
* Lebanon Province (Lebanon)
* Brussels Islamic State terror cell (Belgium)

Wars|

* War on terror
* Iraq War
* Insurgency (2003–2011)
* Iraqi civil war (2006–2008)
* Insurgency (2011–2013)
* War in Iraq (2013–2017)
* Insurgency (2017–present)
* Syrian civil war
* Spillover
* Spillover in Lebanon
* Opposition–Islamic State conflict
* Sinai insurgency
* Second Libyan Civil War
* Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
* Mozambique
* Islamist insurgency in the Sahel
* Mali War
* War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
* Conflict with Taliban
* Moro conflict (1968–2019)
* al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
* Yemeni civil war (2014–present)
* Boko Haram insurgency
* Military intervention against IS
* US intervention in Iraq
* US intervention in Syria
* Russian intervention in Syria
* Turkish operation
* Somalia

Battles|

| 2013|

* Akashat
* Hawija
* Raqqa
* Al-Shabah
* Ras al-Ayn
* Tell Abyad
* Latakia
* Menagh
* Sidi Ali Ben Aoun
* Sadad
* Qalamoun
* Aleppo
* Al-Yaarubiyah
* Tell Hamis and Tell Brak
* Anbar

|

2014|

* Fallujah
* N Aleppo
* Markada
* N Iraq (Jun)
* Mosul
* Salahuddin
* Baiji (Jun)
* Tikrit
* N Iraq (Aug)
* Kobanî
* Sinjar (Aug)
* Derna
* Ramadi
* Deir ez-Zor
* Baiji (14–15)
* Sinjar (Dec)
* Zumar
* Amirli

2015|

* Nofaliya
* W Africa
* Egyptian airstrikes in Libya
* Niger raid
* E al-Hasakah
* Tikrit
* Sirte
* Hama & Homs (Mar–Apr)
* Sarrin (Mar–Apr)
* Yarmouk
* Qalamoun
* Palmyra (May)
* W al-Hasakah
* Al-Hasakah city
* Tell Abyad
* Sarrin (Jun–Jul)
* Al-Hasakah
* Kobani
* Palmyra (Jul–Aug)
* Ramadi (15–16)
* Al-Qaryatayn
* Al-Hawl
* Homs (Nov–Dec)
* Sinjar
* E Aleppo (15–16)
* Niveneh Plains
* Tishrin Dam

2016|

* Deir ez-Zor (Jan)
* Fallujah (Feb–May)
* Nangarhar
* Ben Guerdane
* Ithriyah-Raqqa (Feb–Mar)
* Al-Shaddadi
* Khanasir
* Al-Qaryatayn (Mar–Apr)
* Palmyra (Mar)
* N Aleppo (Mar–Jun)
* Hīt
* Tipo-Tipo
* Sirte
* Ar-Rutbah
* N Raqqa
* Fallujah (May–Jun)
* Manbij
* Ithriyah-Raqqa (Jun)
* Abu Kamal
* al-Rai (Aug)
* N al-Bab (Sep)
* W al-Bab (Sep)
* Dabiq
* W al-Bab (Oct–Nov)
* Al-Bab
* Aleppo
* Palmyra

2017|

* Mosul (16–17)
* Raqqa (16–17)
* Palmyra
* Deir ez-Zor (Jan–Feb)
* E Aleppo (Jan–Apr)
* E Homs
* Hama
* W Nineveh
* Tabqa
* Syrian Desert (Dec 16–Apr 17)
* Syrian Desert (May–Jul)
* Maskanah
* Marawi
* Raqqa
* S Raqqa
* C Syria
* Tal Afar
* Deir ez-Zor (17–19)
* Hawija
* E Syria (Sep–Dec)
* NW Syria (Oct 17–Feb 18)
* Abu Kamal
* W Iraq

2018|

* As-Suwayda (Jun)
* S Syria
* As-Suwayda (Aug–Nov)

2019|

* Hajin
* Baghuz Fawqani
* Barisha raid

2020|

* Chinagodrar
* Danag
* Mocímboa da Praia
* Al Bayda

2021|

* Tessit
* Palma
* Sambisa
* Dangarous

2022|

* Al-Hasakah
* Atme raid
* Andéramboukane
* Talataye

2023|

* Falagountou
* Tin-Akoff

Attacks|

| 2014|

* Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting (May)
* Badush prison massacre (Jun)
* Camp Speicher massacre (Jun)
* Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu ramming (Oct)

|

2015|

* Hypercacher kosher supermarket siege (Jan)
* Corinthia Hotel (Jan)
* Baghdad bombings (Feb)
* Beheading of Copts in Libya (Feb)
* Al Qubbah bombings (Feb)
* Bardo National Museum (Mar)
* Sanaa bombings (Mar)
* Jalalabad bombing (Apr)
* Killing of Christian migrants in Libya (Apr)
* Curtis Culwell Center (May)
* Qatif & Dammam bombings (May)
* 26 June
* Kobanî massacre
* Saint-Quentin-Fallavier (Jun)
* Kuwait mosque bombing
* Sousse
* Khan Bani Saad bombing (Jul)
* Suruç bombing
* Baghdad bombing (Aug)
* Sanaa bombing (Sep)
* Ankara bombings
* Saihat shooting
* Metrojet Flight 9268
* Beirut bombings (Nov)
* Paris (Nov)
* Tunis bombing (Nov)
* San Bernardino (Dec)
* Qamishli bombings (Dec)

2016|

* Zliten truck bombing
* Hurghada (Jan)
* Baghdad–Miqdadiyah attacks (Jan)
* Istanbul bombing (Jan)
* Jakarta (Jan)
* Ramadi bombing (Jan)
* Mahasin mosque
* Sayyidah Zaynab (Jan)
* Mosul massacre
* Dikwa bombings (Feb)
* Homs bombings (Feb)
* Sayyidah Zaynab bombings (Feb)
* Baghdad bombings (Feb)
* Istanbul bombing (Mar)
* Brussels bombings
* Aden bombing
* Iskandariya bombing
* Baghdad bombing (Apr)
* Samawa bombing
* Gaziantep bombing (May)
* Baghdad bombings (11 May)
* Real Madrid fan club massacres
* Baghdad gas plant
* Yemen police bombings (15 May)
* Baghdad bombings (17 May)
* Jableh & Tartous bombings (May)
* Yemen bombings (23 May)
* Aktobe shootings
* Pulse nightclub shooting
* Magnanville stabbing
* Mukalla (Jun)
* Movida Bar
* Atatürk Airport
* Dhaka (Jul)
* Karrada bombing
* Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hadi Mausoleum
* Nice truck
* Würzburg train
* Kabul bombing (Jul)
* Ansbach bombing
* Normandy church
* Qamishli bombings (Jul)
* Charleroi stabbing
* Shchelkovo Highway police station
* Aden bombing (Aug)
* Syria bombings (5 Sep)
* Baghdad bombings (9 Sep)
* Baghdad bombings (Oct)
* Quetta police college
* Hamam al-Alil massacre
* Khuzdar bombing
* Samarinda bombing
* Hillah bombing (Nov)
* Aden bombings (Dec)
* Botroseya bombing
* Al-Karak
* Berlin truck
* Murders of Sefter Taş and Fethi Şahin
* Baghdad bombings (Dec)

2017|

* Istanbul nightclub shooting
* Baghdad bombings (2 Jan)
* Azaz bombing (Jan)
* Sehwan bombing
* Kabul (Mar)
* Westminster
* St Petersburg Metro bombing
* Egypt church bombings
* Mastung bombing
* Manchester Arena bombing
* Jakarta bombings
* Minya
* Al-Faqma bombing
* London Bridge
* Brighton siege
* Tehran
* Pakistan attacks (Jun)
* Hurghada
* Quetta bombing (Aug)
* Barcelona
* Brussels (Aug)
* Nasiriyah
* Afghanistan (20 Oct)
* New York City truck
* Sinai mosque
* Kabul bombing (28 Dec)
* Saint Menas church

2018|

* Baghdad bombings
* Save The Children Jalalabad
* Kizlyar church shooting
* Kabul bombing (Mar)
* Carcasonne & Trèbes
* Kabul bombing (22 Apr)
* Kabul bombings (30 Apr)
* Tripoli
* Mako Brimob standoff
* Paris knife
* Surabaya bombings
* Liège
* Jalalabad bombing (Jul)
* Mastung & Bannu bombings
* Quetta bombing
* As-Suwayda
* Tajikistan attack
* Kabul (Sep)
* Ahvaz military parade
* Minya bus
* Melbourne stabbing
* Murders of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen and Maren Ueland

2019|

* Jolo Cathedral bombings
* Sri Lanka Easter bombings
* Sainthamaruthu shootout
* Kabul bombing (17 Aug)

2020|

* Kabul shooting (6 Mar)
* Kabul gurdwara
* Xitaxi
* Afghanistan (May)
* Jalalabad prison
* Jolo bombings
* Kabul University
* Vienna
* Afghanistan (Dec)

2021|

* Machh
* January Baghdad bombings
* Kabul school bombing
* Kabul airport
* Kunduz bombing
* Kandahar bombing
* Kampala bombings
* Kabul hospital

2022|

* Diyala massacre
* Peshawar mosque
* Hadera shooting
* Mazar-i-Sharif mosque bombing
* Mazar-i-Sharif minivan bombings
* Bourasso and Namissiguima
* Kuje prison break
* 5 August Kabul bombing
* August Kabul mosque bombing
* Bombing of the Russian embassy in Kabul
* Shah Cheragh
* Kabul hotel

2023|

* Kabul airport bombing
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan bombing
* Al-Sukhnah
* Hama
* Khar bombing
* Arras school stabbing
* Pul-i-Khumri bombing
* Brussels shooting
* Kabul bombing (Nov)
* Paris
* Mindanao State University bombing

2024|

* Kerman bombings
* Istanbul church shooting
* Balochistan bombings
* Sibi bombing
* Mucojo attack
* Karabulak clash
* Kandahar New Kabul Bank bombing
* Tillabéri attack
* Crocus City Hall attack
* 2024 Guzara Attack
* 2024 Bamyan shooting
* 2024 Beirut US embassy shooting
* Rostov-on-Don pre-trial detention center hostage crisis
* 2024 Dagestan attacks
* 2024 attack on the Israeli embassy in Belgrade
* 2024 Muscat mosque shooting
* 2024 Kabul bus bombing
* Surovikino penal colony hostage crisis
* 2024 Solingen stabbing
* 2024 Qala Bakhtiar bombing
* 2024 Afghanistan bus shooting

2025|

* 2025 New Orleans truck attack
* Malam-Fatori Suicide Bombing
* Kasanga massacre
* 2025 Villach stabbing attack
* 2025 Darul Uloom Haqqania bombing
* Fambita mosque attack
* 2025 Southern Syria bombings

Politics and organization|

* Finances
* Education
* Ideology
* Medicare
* Military
* Armoured warfare
* Human rights
* Genocide of Christians
* Genocide of Shias
* Genocide of Yazidis
* Genocide of Turkmen
* Persecution of gay and bisexual men
* Killing of captives
* Beheading incidents
* Destruction of cultural heritage
* Occupation of Mosul
* Executions in Mosul

Relations|

* Iran and the Islamic State
* Philippines and the Islamic State
* United Kingdom and the Islamic State
* Trinidad and Tobago and the Islamic State
* Foreign fighters
* Name changes due to the Islamic State
* Portrayal of the Islamic State in American media
* Connection with Saddam Regime and Baath Party

Society|

* Members
* Terrorist cell in Brussels
* Territorial claims
* al-Barakah district
* Collaboration

Media|

* A Second Message to America
* Al-Bayan
* Al-Fatihin
* Al-Furat Media Center
* Al-Hayat Media Center
* Al-I'tisam Media Foundation
* Al-Naba
* Al-Raud
* Amaq News Agency
* Dar al-Islam
* Dabiq
* Dawlat al-Islam Qamat
* Flames of War: The Fighting Has Just Begun
* Huroof
* I'lam foundation
* Istok
* Konstantiniyye
* Rumiyah
* Salil al-Sawarim
* The End of Sykes-Picot
* Turkey and the Fire of Racism
* Voice of Khorasan

Related topics|

* Defeating ISIS
* The Islamic State (documentary)
* ISIS-chan
* Islamism
* Millenarianism
* Sexual violence in the Iraqi insurgency
* Shia–Sunni relations
* Slavery in 21st-century jihadism
* Theocracy

* v
* t
* e

Armed conflicts involving the Armed Forces of the United States

Listed chronologically

Domestic|

* Shays' Rebellion
* Whiskey Rebellion
* Fries's Rebellion
* 1811 German Coast uprising
* Turner's Rebellion
* Dorr Rebellion
* Bleeding Kansas
* Utah War
* Harpers Ferry raid
* American Civil War
* New York City draft riots
* American Indian Wars
* Colfax Riot
* Brooks–Baxter War
* Battle of Liberty Place
* Vicksburg riot
* Range War
* Hamburg riot
* Great Railroad Strike of 1877
* Lincoln County War
* Rock Springs Riot
* Seattle riot of 1886
* Johnson County War
* Coal Creek War
* Homestead strike
* Pullman Strike
* Colorado Coalfield War
* Red Summer
* Battle of Blair Mountain
* Tulsa riot
* Bonus Army
* Puerto Rican revolts
* Ole Miss riot of 1962
* 1960s ghetto rebellions
* 1969 Greensboro uprising
* Kent State shootings
* Wounded Knee Occupation
* 1992 Los Angeles riots
* 2020 racial unrest
* 2021 U.S. Capitol attack
* 2025 Los Angeles protests

Foreign|

* American Revolutionary War
* American–Algerian War (1785–1795)
* Quasi-War
* First Barbary War
* War of 1812
* Second Barbary War
* First Sumatran expedition
* Second Sumatran expedition
* 1840 Fiji expedition
* Ivory Coast expedition
* Mexican–American War
* 1855 Fiji expedition
* Second Opium War
* 1858 Fiji expedition
* Formosa Expedition
* Korean Expedition
* Spanish–American War
* Philippine–American War
* Boxer Rebellion
* Banana Wars
* Border War
* World War I
* Russian Civil War
* World War II
* Korean War
* Bay of Pigs Invasion
* Vietnam War
* Dominican Civil War
* Iranian Revolution (Operation Eagle Claw)
* Invasion of Grenada
* Lebanese Civil War (1983 Beirut barracks bombings)
* Invasion of Panama
* Gulf War
* Somali Civil War (Operation Gothic Serpent)
* Intervention in Haiti
* Bosnian War
* Kosovo War
* War in Afghanistan
* Iraq War
* War in North-West Pakistan
* First Libyan Civil War
* War against the Islamic State
* Iraq
* Syria
* Cameroon
* Libya
* Yemeni civil war

Related|

* Conflicts in the U.S.
* Wars involving the U.S.
* Timeline of U.S. military operations
* Length of U.S. participation in major wars
* Territorial evolution
* Military history
* History of the Central Intelligence Agency
* Casualties of war
* Peace movement
* List of anti-war organizations
* Conscientious objector
* Cold War
* War on terror
* War crimes

* v
* t
* e

George W. Bush

* 43rd President of the United States (2001–2009)
* 46th Governor of Texas (1995–2000)

Presidency
(timeline)|

* Transition
* Inaugurations
* 2001
* 2005
* Timeline
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* January 2009
* Domestic policy
* Legislation and programs
* Economic policy
* Foreign policy
* International trips
* Bush Doctrine
* Russia summits
* Slovenia
* Slovakia
* War in Afghanistan
* Patriot Act
* No Child Left Behind Act
* 2003 invasion of Iraq
* Status of Forces Agreement
* Relations with Iran
* Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act
* USA Freedom Corps
* Department of Homeland Security
* Space policy
* Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty
* "War on Terror"
* President's Council on Service and Civic Participation
* award
* Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy
* Email controversy
* Judicial appointments
* Supreme Court candidates
* John Roberts
* Harriet Miers
* Samuel Alito
* controversies
* Cabinet
* Cheney vice presidency
* Pardons
* Impeachment efforts
* Executive orders
* Presidential proclamations
* State funeral of Ronald Reagan
* State funeral of Gerald Ford
* Obama transition

Life and
legacy|

* Childhood home
* Early life and career
* Presidential library
* Official White House portrait
* Military service controversy
* Killian documents controversy
* authenticity issues
* Professional life
* Governorship of Texas
* Prairie Chapel Ranch
* Walker's Point Estate
* Clinton Bush Haiti Fund

Speeches|

* Joint session of Congress (Feb 2001)
* Remarks at the Islamic Center of Washington (2001)
* Joint session of Congress (September 11 attacks) (2001)
* Mission Accomplished (2003)
* State of the Union addresses
* 2002 ("Axis of evil")
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008

Elections|

| U.S. House|

* 1978

|

Gubernatorial|

* 1994
* 1998

Presidential|

* 2000 campaign
* primaries
* running mate selection
* convention
* debates
* election
* Bush v. Gore
* 2004 campaign
* primaries
* convention
* debates
* election

Public image|

* Bushisms
* Nicknames
* As the subject of books and films
* Fictionalized portrayals
* Miss Me Yet?
* "Yo, Blair"

Books|

* A Charge to Keep (1999)
* Decision Points (2010)
* 41: A Portrait of My Father (2014)
* Portraits of Courage (2017)
* Out of Many, One (2021)

Popular
culture|

* Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004 documentary)
* W. (2008 film)

Family|

* Laura Bush (wife)
* Barbara Pierce Bush (daughter)
* Jenna Bush Hager (daughter)
* George H. W. Bush (father
* presidency)
* Barbara Bush (mother)
* Robin Bush (sister)
* Jeb Bush (brother)
* Neil Bush (brother)
* Marvin Bush (brother)
* Dorothy Bush Koch (sister)
* Barney (dog)
* Miss Beazley (dog)
* India (cat)
* Spot Fetcher (dog)

* ← Bill Clinton
* Barack Obama →

* Category

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