After the terrorist attacks on the united states on September 11, 2001, the U.S. Government was looking for those responsible. They started a war against terror in Afghanistan in 2002. U.S. President George Bush wanted to find terrorists in Iraq too, and some suspect to settle old scores with Saddam Hussein from the desert storm conflict with Iraq in the 1990s.
A coalition of u.S.-led forces invaded Iraq on March 20th, 2003. The coalition was made up of the united states, the united kingdom, Australia, Poland and peshmerga militaries with support from the Netherlands. This action was referred to as “operation Iraqi freedom”. The coalition was assembled from supportive countries after an impassioned speech was given by Colin Powell, the u.S. Ambassador to the united nations. The speech, based on intelligence reports, declared that Saddam Hussein, dictator of Iraq, had been manufacturing weapons of mass destruction or WMD. Hussein had a history of using chemical weapons against his foe in the Iran-Iraq war between 1980-1988. He was also guilty of using nerve gas on the Kurdish minority population in his own country in 1988. Use of chemical weapons on the battlefield is against the Geneva convention, and use on civilian populations is considered a crime against humanity. Britain submitted a report to the united nations that the Iraqis could deploy chemical weapons within 45 minutes. At a later date, the u.S and u.K. Both admitted that the intelligence about the 45-minute time frame was found to be faulty. The WMD intelligence Powell based his speech on for the u.N. Supporting the invasion was later also discovered to be inaccurate. In mid-march of 2003, u.S. President George h.W. Bush issued an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein and his sons that they must leave the country within 48 hours or face military conflict. The coalition invaded Iraq with the goal of unseating Hussein. The initial coalition assault and the overthrow of the Iraqi government were rapid, but looting and chaos resulted. The Sunni Islamic sect had been in power under Hussein, when he was removed from power, there was a power vacuum that caused the Shia sect to rush into power. There was a settling of scores based on decades of history in the country, which led to revenge killings and looting. This allowed the al-Qaeda and later the Islamic state to garner support from the oppressed of each sect. Ultimately the drawn-out conflict caused the average Iraqi to want to oust the foreign invaders who threatened their Islamic culture. The conflict was characterized by a new style of violence. It was a contest between an established military force and guerilla-style tactics. The use of suicide bombers with the faces of women and children were sadly common. Improvised explosive devices or IEDs and roadside bombs were frequently and effectively used by the local fighters. These improvised explosives had sufficient power to blow up armored convoys. These new tactics and the advanced military medical treatment that the injured soldiers received saved many lives and left a huge group of amputee military veterans from the Iraq war. The trauma of the guerilla tactics and the fighting and bombings in the war created a generation of military veterans with the invisible, but devastating illness referred to as post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. Victims of PTSD have a great deal of difficulty returning to peacetime lives and suffer a very high incidence of violence and suicide when back in civilian life. The conflict known as the Iraq war continued until 2011. U.S. Ground forces withdrew on December 18, 2011. The conflict is considered to have lasted 8 years, 8 months and 28 days, however, to this day, there are u.S. Military “advisors” and drones active in Iraq. The u.S. Came into the conflict looking for Islamic terrorists and WMDs. By overthrowing the dictatorship, a power vacuum was created providing the perfect platform for militant Islamic terrorist groups to take root and recruit Iraqis tired of conflict. Islamic terror groups like al-Qaeda and later the Islamic state or isis took root and grew. In 2014 the u.S. Became re-involved in Iraq as a part of a new coalition to combat terrorism. Sources: Https://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/iraq_war Https://youtu.Be/84v9hpi0lvy Https://youtu.Be/aqplredw-ro Https://youtu.Be/gqmf3sleiro |