Iraq War - 2003

Increased Attacks in No-Fly Zones (2002 - 2003): About mid-way through 2002, US and UK aircraft increase strikes against Iraqi military positions. Before this, US/UK aircraft would only fire when fired upon. But by about June of 2002, they increased strikes to include strictly offensive attacks, successfully compromising Iraq's military capability in advance of the anticipated invasion.

Note: What is meant by No-Fly Zone? An area in which Iraqi aircraft were prohibited from flying.

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Saddam Attempts to Negotiate (2002 - 2003): Saddam made several attempts through back channels to initiate diplomatic relations with the U.S. in the months before the invasion. None of these attempts were met with a response by the U.S.

CIA and Special Forces Enter Iraq (July, 2002): These units infiltrated Kurd territory in Northern Iraq to convince and prepare the Kurds to join the US-led coalition upon its invasion of Iraq. This proved crucial, since the U.S. was denied use of SE Turkey to stage an attack of its own from the north. They also convinced several Iraqi army officers beforehand to surrender their divisions once the invasion began, which facilitated the quick defeat in the initial phase of the war.

Further Understanding: U.S. Builds the Case to Invade Iraq

U.S. Claims Against Iraq:

WMDs: Claimed that Iraq still possessed dangerous stockpiles of Weapons of Mass Destruction, based on previous Iraqi attempts to deceive UN inspectors. In the aftermath of the invasion, it would be determined that remnants of the Iraqi WMD program were scarce and obsolete, largely destroyed during the 1991 Gulf War and subsequent disposals under UN supervision.
Continued Misleading of Inspectors: Iraq agreed to the resumption of inspections in late 2002. Lead inspector Hans Blix reported that Iraq was cooperative, but left open the possibility it was not 100% cooperative, giving the U.S. added justification to invade. Inspectors were instructed to leave Iraq before the invasion in March of 2003.
Yellowcake Uranium: In 2001, the Italian Military Itelligence agency provided documents implicating Saddam's regime in an attempt to purchase large quantities of uranium (needed to construct a nuclear bomb) from Niger. The Bush Administrations presented this as evidence that Saddam was still trying to devise a nuclear devise. The documents were later proved to be forgeries.

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Ties to Al Qaeda: The Bush Administration attempted to assimilate Iraq into the "War on Terror", by establishing a connection with Al Qaeda. It was alleged that the Iraqi Intelligent Service was holding meetings with a prominent Al Qaeda operative. Such claims were found to be dubious by the U.S. intelligence community, but the CIA was pressured to show a link existed, which was subsequently used in the U.S.'s case against Iraq. No evidence of such a connection has ever been furnished. Due to bin Laden's disdain for Saddam and the Iraqi government, any such cooperation is highly unlikely.
Human Rights Abuses: Saddam Hussein tortured and killed thousands during his reign, as the Bush Administration alluded to. However, during the run-up to the war, it was mentioned primarily as a footnote to the WMD concern. Plus, several nations had worse human rights records. Furthermore, western nations (including the U.S.) were complicit with many of these abuses, especially during the 1980s, supplying components for its chemical weapons program (used on Iranian and Kurdish citizens during the 1980s), while refusing to condemn or sanction Saddam after such abuses became widely known during the 80s.
Other Potential Motivations: Saddam had proven to be a destabilizing force in the Mid-East, a highly strategic region in the world, especially due to the fact that the majority of the world's proven oil reserves are in the Mid-East. No commodity is more crucial to modern economies and warfare than oil. Both Clinton and Bush publicly expressed concern that Saddam would wreck havoc with oil markets, especially if he managed to expand Iraq's sphere of control as he had twice attempted (invading Iran and Kuwait). In addition, with heightened paranoia surrounding "terrorism", and Saddam's proven penchant for extremism, U.S. citizens and officials alike feared that Saddam would seek to cooperate with terrorist groups, perhaps supplying them with a "dirty" nuclear device to use against U.S. interests. Although Saddam's link to Al Qaeda proved erroneous, it was undisputable that he provided financial support for Palestinian suicide bombers. All of this, along with the fact that Iraq was occasionally evasive with UN inspectors, made western peoples uneasy with the notion of continued Saddam rule over an oil-rich nation with the potential pieces in place for a WMD program, despite the fact that evidence for Iraqi WMD capabilities were feeble, and most ultimately proven false.

Turkey Refuses to Host US Troops (Mar, 2003): Just before the invasion, Turkey's Parliament voted against allowing US troops to use Turkey as a staging ground for an invasion from the north.

Operation Salvo (Mar 19, 2003): Just before the invasion began, the US military received intelligence that Saddam and his sons were visiting a family farm in the southern outskirts of Baghdad. US aircraft dropped four bunker-busting bombs on the compound, while Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from submarines in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. The intelligence proved faulty, as neither Saddam nor his son were at the compound. One civilian was killed, and 14 others were injured.

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Invasion Begins with Air Strikes (Mar 20): The U.S.-led coalition weakened the Iraqi military with an extensive air-bombing campaign focused in and around Baghdad, dubbed as "Shock and Awe".

Invasion Based Out of Kuwait (Mar 20): Shortly after the air-bombing campaign began, US-led coalition forces crossed the Kuwaiti border into Iraq, launching the ground invasion from the south. The southern city of Basra was quickly captured, while oil fields were quickly secured, a lesson learned from the 1991 Gulf War, when hundreds were set ablaze.

Note: Fighting in Northern Iraq. Upon the commencement of the invasion, the U.S.-trained Kurdish troops from Iraqi Kurdistan in the north attacked the Iraqi army forces just south of Kurdistan. Unable to use Turkish soil to launch a ground invasion, U.S. paratroopers were dropped in to supplement the Kurdish army. As a result, only a fraction of the originally-planned US troops were able to join the northern front.

Battle of Nasiriya (Mar 23-29): Heavy fighting took place until the Americans captured the Shi'ite city, while facing a continued insurgency after gaining control. It was in this battle that a supply convoy took a wrong turn into the city, and into a heavy ambush, resulting in the capture of Jessica Lynch and 5 others. Lynch would later be rescued.

Fall of Baghdad (Apr 9): The US-led coalition entered Baghdad on Apr. 5, officially occupying the city by Apr. 9 after heavy fighting, despite the fact that most of the Ba'athist political and military leadership had fled. Sectarian violence and insurgent activities would continue to plague Baghdad.

Note: Basra (Southern Iraq). After securing the port city of Umm Qasr to the south, British forces encounter significant resistance upon entering Basra on April 6. It took two weeks to bring the city under control.

Tikrit Captured (Apr 15): The Ba'athist stronghold (as well as Saddam's hometown) was expected to be a holdout for Iraqi top-brass. It was surprisingly easily captured. Saddam remained in hiding in and around Tikrit, with help of supporters and relatives, until his capture in December.

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Fallujah Protests (Apr 28): Entrance into Fallujah on Apr. 23 was unexpectedly easy for US-led forces. About 200 residents staged protests in response to the US-imposed kurfew just 5 days later, resulting in 15 Iraqi deaths when fired upon by US soldiers. Fallujah would later become a hotbed for the post-invasion insurgency.

Note: Widespread Looting. In the window of time after the invasion began, and before the US-led coalition took firm control, Iraqi citizens heavily looted items from government and military facilities, as well as from private businesses.

Note: Baghdad Cooperative. In 2003, Baghdad residents largely supported the US-led invasion, believing it the right thing to do (according to a 2003 Gallup poll). But support would diminish dramatically as time wore on.

Note: Anti-Shi'a Violence in Najaf. Car bombs killed 80 mostly Shi'a Muslims and a prominent Shi'a cleric was stabbed to death. No one claims responsibility.

Note: Multi-Ethnic Kirkuk. After falling to US-led occupation, Turks, Assyrians and Kurds exiled by Saddam returned. Along with the incumbent Arabs, they formed a multi-ethnic city government under coalition oversight. Ethnic tensions were prevelant, but the city remained more peaceful and functional than most of Iraq.

Pres. Bush Announces End of Major Combat Operations (May 1): Bush is criticized for banner in background that read: "Mission Accomplished".

Coalition-Run Interim Gov't Installed (May 12): The Coalition Provisional Authority was established by the US a few months before the invasion as a transitional government until a democratically-elected Iraqi government could take its place. An interim governing council was established on July 22, made up of Iraqis who helped decide important matters, such as instituting Shari'a law in place of secular law.

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Saddam's Sons Killed (July 22): Based on a tip, American forces located Uday and Qusay in Mosul, where a gunfight followed, resulting in the death of the two brothers.

Truck Bomb Targets UN (Aug 19): A truck bomb targeting UN personnel in Baghdad (killing 22) causes UN to leave Iraq.

Ramadan Offensive (Oct-Nov): Ba'athists (Saddam's political party) led an alarming increase in the number of insurgent attacks against coalition occupiers throughout Iraq. However, the US escalated counter-insurgency efforts, drastically reducing attacks by the end of November, eliciting a sense of optimism within the coalition.

Iraqi General Tortured and Killed Under US Army Custody (Nov 26).

Saddam Hussein Captured (Dec 13): Found in small foxhole ("spider hole") just outside his home town of Tikrit, dispelling rumors that he had been killed.

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