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The Iraq War[nb 1] was an armed conflict in Iraq [1] that began, after several years of prior unofficial aerial action, with an invasion of Iraq on 20 March 2003 by forces led by the United States.[2][3][4] An insurgency soon emerged to oppose coalition forces and the newly formed Iraqi government.[1] The U.S. completed its withdrawal of military personnel in December 2011.[5][6] However, the Iraqi insurgency continues and caused thousands of fatalities in 2012.[7]
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In 1998 the Clinton administration and large bipartisan majorities in Congress made regime change official American policy citing past Iraqi behavior and non-compliance with the post-Gulf War weapon inspection process mandated in the Gulf War cease-fire resolution. The U.S. and U.K., initiated aerial hostilities against Iraq in December 1998 which continued for the next several years in the "no-fly zones" in northern and southern Iraq. In 2002 the U.S. began to threaten a ground invasion if Iraq did not readmit U.N. weapon inspectors and complete the disarmament process. Most governments and inspectors believed that Iraq had not disarmed, although there was disagreement over whether Iraq posed a serious threat. The U.S. and U.K. pointed out that Iraq had violated U.N. Security Council Resolutions and claimed it still possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that posed a growing threat to their security and that of their coalition/regional allies. [8][9]
Some U.S. officials also accused Iraqi President Saddam Hussein of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda,[10] but no evidence of an operational connection was ever found.[11][12] Other proclaimed reasons for the invasion included Iraq's financial support for the families of Palestinian suicide bombers,[13] Iraqi government human rights abuses,[14] and an effort to spread democracy to the country.[15][16]
Under heavy pressure Iraq agreed to readmit inspectors in September 2002. In November 2002, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1441 which declared Iraq in material breach of the disarmament paragraphs of Gulf War cease-fire resolution and gave Iraq a "final opportunity" to completely and immediately cooperate with UN weapon inspectors to verify that Iraq was not in possession of WMD and long-range missiles, threatening "serious consequences" if these demands were not met. Prior to the attack, the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) found no conclusive evidence of WMD, but chief inspector Hans Blix reported in January 2003 that Iraq had not accounted for missing WMD material and thus had not arrived to "genuine acceptance" of disarmament.[17] In February and March France, Germany and Russia nevertheless argued that Iraq's disarmament could still be achieved by prioritizing disarmament tasks and setting a tight timetable. [18] Facing opposition by France and Russia in the UN Security Council to a further resolution setting a deadline for Iraqi compliance, the United States and United Kingdom formed the nucleus of a "coalition of the willing." Many have thus regarded the use of force as illegitimate, but the coalition argued that they were justified in enforcing the Gulf War cease-fire under Resolution 678 of 1990 which authorized all necessary means in upholding prior and subsequent resolutions against Iraq. [19]
On 17 March 2003, Bush demanded that Saddam and his sons go into exile, explaining that "We are now acting because the risks of inaction would be far greater. In 1 year, or 5 years, the power of Iraq to inflict harm on all free nations would be multiplied many times over. With these capabilities, Saddam Hussein and his terrorist allies could choose the moment of deadly conflict when they are strongest." [20] An invasion began on 19 March 2003, leading to the fall of Baghdad and destruction of Saddam's regime on 9 April.
After investigation following the invasion, the U.S.‑led Iraq Survey Group concluded that Iraq had missile programs that violated U.N. range restrictions, that Iraq had the capability of producing mustard gas and anthrax, and that its dual-use infrastructure was expanding despite debilitating sanctions. But Iraq had no active chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons programs and its past WMD programs had either been dismantled by prior U.N. inspections or had been secretly destroyed by Iraq in the summer of 1991 in an attempt to conceal WMD capabilities from the U.N. They intended to resume production if the Iraq sanctions were lifted or otherwise disintegrated.[21] Some degraded remnants of misplaced or abandoned chemical weapons from before 1991 were also found.[22][23]
The invasion led to the occupation of Iraq and the eventual capture of Saddam Hussein, who was later tried in an Iraqi court of law and executed by the new Iraqi government. A predominately Sunni-based insurgency quickly began conducting attacks on coalition and Iraqi government troops. Serious fighting with Shi'a militias also occurred in 2004 and 2008. The occupation ended in June 2004 as power was transferred to an Iraqi interim government, but American and British troops did not withdraw due to ongoing insurgent violence that threatened Iraq's stability. Elections were held in 2005, resulting in the formation of a Shi'a led government under Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki. In 2006 sectarian violence steadily mounted between many Sunni and Shia Iraqi groups, and a new faction of Al-Qaeda in Iraq emerged.[24][25]
In 2007 Bush ordered over 20,000 reinforcements to Iraq in an effort to tamp down the growing violence and by mid-2008 security had improved and violence dropped sharply.[26] As public opinion in Coalition countries favoring troop withdrawals increased and as Iraqi forces began to take responsibility for security, member nations of the Coalition withdrew their forces.[27][28] In late 2008, the U.S. and Iraqi governments approved a Status of Forces Agreement effective through 1 January 2012.[29] The Iraqi Parliament also ratified a Strategic Framework Agreement with the U.S.,[30] [31] [32]
UK forces ended combat operations on 30 April 2009.[33] In August 2010 Barack Obama announced that the U.S. combat role in Iraq had ended. [34][35][36] The remaining 50,000 U.S. troops were designated as "advise and assist brigades" assigned to non-combat operations while retaining the ability to revert to combat operations as necessary. Two combat aviation brigades also remain in Iraq.[37]
On 21 October 2011, President Obama announced that all U.S. troops and trainers would leave Iraq by the end of the year, bringing the U.S. mission in Iraq to an end.[38] On 15 December 2011, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta officially declared the Iraq War over, at a flag lowering ceremony in Baghdad.[39] The last U.S. troops left Iraqi territory on 18 December 2011 at 4:27 UTC.[40]