Key Facts
- Start date
- March 20, 2003
- US troop surge (2007)
- 170,000 additional troops deployed
- Estimated deaths
- 150,000 to over 1,000,000
- Civilian deaths
- Over 100,000
- Saddam Hussein executed
- 2006
- US combat withdrawal completed
- 2011
Strategic Narrative Overview
A US-led coalition including the UK, Australia, and Poland launched a 'shock and awe' bombing campaign on March 20, 2003, followed by a ground invasion that rapidly defeated Iraqi forces and toppled the Ba'athist regime. Saddam Hussein was captured in December 2003 and executed in 2006. The Coalition Provisional Authority's mismanagement and a post-invasion power vacuum fueled sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni factions and a sustained insurgency against coalition and Iraqi government forces.
01 / The Origins
The Iraq War grew from the Bush administration's post-September 11 war on terror. The US accused Saddam Hussein's government of possessing weapons of mass destruction and alleged ties to al-Qaeda. Congress authorized military force in October 2002. No WMD stockpiles were ever found, and the 9/11 Commission found no credible al-Qaeda link. The UN Secretary-General declared the invasion illegal under international law, and the 2016 Chilcot Report concluded peaceful alternatives had not been exhausted.
03 / The Outcome
A 2007 US troop surge of 170,000 helped stabilize parts of Iraq. In 2008, President Bush agreed to withdraw combat forces, a process completed by President Obama in 2011. Multi-party elections in 2005 and the premiership of Nouri al-Maliki from 2006 established a new political order, though sectarian tensions persisted. The war damaged US international standing and contributed to the rise of the Islamic State, which sparked renewed US military involvement from 2014 onward.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
4 belligerents
George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Tommy Franks.
Side B
2 belligerents
Saddam Hussein, Nouri al-Maliki.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.