Summary

Introduction

The 2003 invasion of Iraq began on March 20, 2003, when forces belonging primarily to the United States and the United Kingdom invaded Iraq. After approximately three weeks of fighting, Iraq's Ba'athist government was toppled and a U.S.-led occupation of Iraq began.

Ground forces from Australia and Poland and naval forces from Denmark and Spain also took part. The international community was divided on the legitimacy of this invasion; see worldwide government positions on war on Iraq.

The start of hostilities came after the expiration of a 48-hour deadline which was set by U.S. President George W. Bush, demanding that Saddam Hussein and his two sons Uday and Qusay leave Iraq, ending the diplomatic Iraq disarmament crisis.

The US military operations in this war were conducted under the name of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The UK military operations in this war were conducted under the name of Operation Telic. The Australian codename was Operation Falconer.

250,000 United States troops, with support from approximately 45,000 British, 2,000 Australian and 200 Polish combat forces, entered Iraq primarily through their staging area in Kuwait. Plans for a invasion force from the north were abandoned when Turkey refused the use of their territory for such purposes.

Coalition forces also supported Iraqi Kurdish militia troops, estimated to number upwards of 50,000. Included in these forces were groups of Australian SAS and Commando Personnel who performed Recon and combat search and rescue mission along side American and British SF units.

Iraq War History

The George W. Bush administration announced a War on Terrorism, accompanied by the doctrine of preemptive military action dubbed the Bush doctrine. In 2002 the Iraq disarmament crisis arose primarily as a diplomatic situation. In October 2002, the United States Congress granted President Bush the authority to wage war against Iraq.

The Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq was worded so as to encourage, but not require, UN Security Council approval for military action. In November 2002, United Nations actions regarding Iraq culminated in the unanimous passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1441 and the resumption of weapons inspections.

The United States also began preparations for an invasion of Iraq, with a host of diplomatic, public relations and military preparations.

Invasion Goals

The stated justification for the invasion included Iraqi production and use of weapons of mass destruction, links with terrorist organizations and human rights violations in Iraq under the Saddam Hussein government.

To that end, the stated goals of the invasion, according to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, were: to end the Saddam Hussein government and help Iraq transition to representative self-rule; to find and eliminate weapons of mass destruction and terrorists; to collect intelligence on networks of weapons of mass destruction and terrorists; to end sanctions and to deliver humanitarian support; and to secure Iraq's oil fields and resources.

No weapons of mass destruction have been reported as found as of September 21, 2003, though Saddam Hussein's government collapsed, former Palestine Liberation Front leader Abu Abbas was captured, and the oil fields and resources were rapidly secured but have since suffered continued sabotage.

After the fall of Baghdad, U.S. officials claimed that Iraqi officials were being harbored in Syria, and several high-ranking Iraqis have since been detained after being expelled from Syria.

Support and Opposition

The U.S.-led coalition against Iraq included 49 nations, a group that was frequently referred to as the "coalition of the willing".

These nations provided combat troops, support troops, and logistical support for the invasion. The nations contributing combat forces were, roughly: United States (250,000), United Kingdom (45,000), Australia (2,000), Denmark (200), and Poland (54).

Ten other countries were known to have offered small numbers of noncombatant forces, mostly either medical teams and specialists in decontamination. In several of these countries a majority of the public was opposed to the war. In Spain polls reported at one time a 90% opposition to the war.

Popular opposition to war on Iraq led to global protests, and the war was criticized by Belgium, Russia, France, the People's Republic of China, Germany, and the Arab League.

There are some that claim the US intervention took place without any international legal framework. Others would counter by pointing out that the UN Security Council Resolutions authorizing the 1991 invasion gave legal authority to use "...all necessary means...", which is diplomatic code for going to war.

This war ended with a cease fire instead of a permanent peace treaty. Their view was that Iraq had violated the terms of the cease-fire by breaching two key conditions and thus made the invasion of Iraq a legal continuation of the earlier war.

To support this stance, one has to "reactivate" the war resolution from 1991; if a war resolution can be reactivated ten years after the fact, it would imply that almost any nation that has ever been at war that ended in a ceasefire (such as Korea) could have the war restarted if any other nation felt at any time that they were no longer meeting the conditions of the cease fire that ended that war.

Since the majority of the United Nations security council members (both permanent and rotating) did not support the attack, it appears that they viewed the attack as not being valid under the 1991 resolution.

However, a resolution drafted and accepted the year before the invasion fully endorsed the use of military action to force Iraq to comply with the United Nations desires, and every country that sat upon the Security Council voted to draft that resolution.

Several nations say the attack violated international law as a war of aggression since it lacked the validity of a U.N. Security Council resolution to authorize military force. The Egyptian former United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali called the intervention a violation of the UN charter.

The United States and United Kingdom claim it was a legal action which they were within their rights to undertake. Along with Poland and Australia, the invasion was supported by the governments of several European nations, including the Czech Republic, Denmark, Portugal, Italy, Hungary, and Spain.

Many people regarded the attack on Iraq to be hypocritical, when other nations such as Israel are also in breach of UN resolutions and have nuclear weapons; this argument is controversial.

Although Iraq was known to have pursued an active nuclear weapons development program previously, as well tried to procure materials and equipment for their manufacture, these weapons and material have yet to be discovered.

This casts doubt on some of the accusations against Iraq. However, some believe that the weapons were moved into Syria and Lebanon.

Iraq War Timeline

March 20, 2003

At approximately 02:30 UTC or about 90 minutes after the lapse of the 48-hour deadline, at 5:30 am local time, explosions were heard in Baghdad. At 03:15 UTC, or 10:15 pm EST, President George W. Bush announced that he had ordered the coalition to launch an "attack of opportunity" against specified targets in Iraq. According to The Pentagon, 36 Tomahawk missiles and two F-117 launched GBU-27 bombs had been used in this assault.

It has become clear that the targets were high-level Iraqi governmental officials, including Saddam Hussein himself, and were based on specific intelligence which led the U.S. government to believe it knew his movements. Later, Iraqi state television broadcast an address by Saddam Hussein.

The U.S. and U.K. analyzed the footage closely because they believed one of his body doubles may have been used, but the U.S. eventually said it believed the address was indeed delivered by Saddam Hussein himself.

It has not yet been ascertained when the address was recorded, however. Speculation started of the possible death of Saddam Hussein.

It was later announced that Special Forces troops were operating inside Iraq; Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. all have Special Forces troops in the area. Soon after the strike on Baghdad, Iraq launched a number of missiles at targets in Kuwait, including the coalition forces stationed there. The coalition reported that they caused no damage. Some have speculated that these may have been Scud missiles, but this has not yet been confirmed.

If true, this would be a material breach of UN Security Council Resolution 1441 and would be counter to what Iraqi officials had claimed. It is known that they carried conventional explosive warheads, not chemical or biological payloads. Later in the day, both U.K. and U.S. ground troops moved into the demilitarized zone between Iraq and its neighbor, Kuwait, and then into Iraq itself. During the night, eight British and four American troops were killed when a transport helicopter crashed. Official reports said the crash was not due to enemy action.

The coalition forces were commanded by General Tommy Franks. The Iraqis named commanders a few days before the invasion: General Izzat Ibrahim in the north, General Ali Hassan al-Majid in the south, Mizban Khadr Hadi in the central Euphrates area and Qusay Hussein in the central area including Baghdad and Tikrit.

Around 02:34 UTC, more than 40 satellite-guided Tomahawk cruise missiles are launched from U.S. warships in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, "surgically" striking a bunker in Baghdad believed to be holding top Iraqi officials.

At 03:15 UTC, President Bush said in addressing the nation, "On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign."

The military action is being dubbed "Operation Iraqi Freedom". Later, on May 29, 2003, CBS Evening News reports that the bunker never existed.

Protests take place around the world. In Australia, they take such forms as a "NO WAR" slogan being painted on the Sydney Opera House, Greenpeace demonstrators chaining themselves to the gates of the Australian Prime Minister's residence ( the Lodge) and a former Navy officer burning his uniform outside Australia's Parliament House.

In Denmark, Prime Minister Anders Fogh is sprayed with red paint for his US stand. In Great Britain, Tony Blair survives a rebellion within his own party to win parliamentary support of war actions in Iraq.

March 21, 2003

Early in the morning, British Royal Marines occupied the strategically important al-Faw peninsula in the south-eastern corner of Iraq. Later in the day, a combined force of Royal Marines and U.S. Marines were said by official sources to have captured the nearby town of Umm Qasr, Iraq's only deep-water port. Coalition forces were greeted with cheers from some Iraqi citizens as they took control of the city.

Earlier, the U.S. Marines had been forced to retreat by heavy gunfire after crossing the Iraqi border. They were able to cross the border again with the support of two M1 Abrams tanks. A BBC reporter with the troops said that the coalition forces were not in complete control of the town, and reported that helicopters had been called in to help establish control.

Throughout the day, U.S. and U.K. forces moved through the south of the country, with forces towards the East reportedly reaching the edge of Iraq's second city, Basra and the U.S. Third Infantry division towards the West reaching the outskirts of the strategically crucial town of Nasiriya on the river Euphrates, where they came under fire from Iraqi defenses. The British government claimed that the forces had all the major southern oil fields under control.

There was also fighting in the north of the country, with some reports that it involved U.S. Special Forces. During the day, a number of oil wells - seven, according to the British government - were reported to be on fire. Again according to the British government, two of the fires were extinguished by special firefighting troops. The Iraqi government denied that oil wells had been set on fire, saying that it had set fire to oil-filled trenches as a defensive measure against air strikes.

At around 18:00 UTC, Baghdad came under heavy aerial bombardment, in what appears to be the start of the promised massive aerial attack of Iraq intended to produce a "Shock and awe" effect on the population of the country. The Pentagon later reported that 320 Tomahawk missiles had been launched on targets in and around Baghdad. According to the Iraqi Minister for Information, the strikes wounded 207 civilians, although this has not been independently verified. Simultaneous air strikes were reported to have taken place in the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk.

Near midnight UTC, it was reported by the U.S. military that the commander and deputy commander of the Iraqi Army 51st Division had surrendered to U.S. Marines. It was not reported how many of the division's men had also surrendered. The Iraq government reported that no Iraqi troops had surrendered, and that reports to the contrary were US propaganda.

In Southern Iraq, Iraqi forces are reported to have fired on Allied lines with Russian made 122mm howitzers; weapons used by the US against Iraqi forces are reported to include 155mm howitzers, Hellfire missiles, Cobra helicopter gun ships, and bombardment by explosives and napalm.

During the day, the first U.S. combat casualties were reported - two U.S. Marines were killed in action in southern Iraq. Iraqi state television showed what it said was footage of Saddam Hussein meeting with one of his sons, in a further attempt to prove that he had not been killed in the previous day's attack on Baghdad.

United States and United Kingdom military forces advance into southern Iraq. British troops capture the Faw Peninsula in southern Iraq, and U.S. forces capture much of the southern port city of Umm Qasr. U.S. military officials confirm that oil wells have been set ablaze by Iraqi forces near the Kuwaiti border. A U.S. Marine CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter crashes in northern Kuwait early in the morning, killing all 8 British and four U.S. crew members on board.

The "shock and awe" bombardment of military targets in Iraq by cruise missiles and smart bombs began.

1,000 Turkish troops enter northern Iraq to reinforce units already there.

March 22, 2003

Air strikes on Baghdad continued, with the attacks now concentrated on the city's outskirts.

Around midnight UTC (early morning local time), the Turkish military stated that 1,500 Turkish troops had moved into northern Iraq. The intervention of Turkish troops had been opposed by the U.S. German government has announced that it will call back the German AWACS personnel watching NATO airspace above Turkey if Turkish troops engage in fights in northern Iraq.

At 1:15 UTC, a collision of two British Sea King helicopters over the Gulf killed six British soldiers and one American.

At 10:00 UTC, it was reported that U.S. forces were attempting to occupy the city of Basra, and were involved in a major tank battle on the western side of the city.

Kurdish officials report a US missile attack on territory held by the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam.

According to Iraqi government reports, there have been 2 civilians killed and 207 wounded, mostly women and children. There have been no defections or surrenders of Iraqi troops, and western footage to the contrary is showing kidnapped Iraqi civilians. Five US tanks and numerous vehicles have been destroyed by Iraqi fighters, and the coalition forces entered but been repelled from Um-Qasr.

Iraqi government puts a bounty of 50 million dinars ($33,000) for capture, 25 million dinars for the killing of each "mercenary".

Parts of the city of Basrah are entered by the British.

A hand grenade attack on a rear base of the 101st Airborne Division in Kuwait caused the death of one soldier and injuries to 13 others. An American soldier was arrested for the attack.

Two Royal Navy H-3 Sea King helicopters collide in mid-air over the Gulf killing seven crew. Both craft were based on the HMS Ark Royal (R07).

March 23, 2003

USA and British forces succeeded in taking the airport outside of Basra, and are in battle with Iraqi forces for control of the city itself.

US Marines battle Iraqi forces near the city of Nassiriya, a key crossing of the Euphrates River about 225 miles southeast of Baghdad.

A British Tornado fighter airplane was hit by an American Patriot missile resulting in the death of the two British pilots.

Media report about pictures of British and American soldiers wounded and killed by Iraqi forces, as shown by the Arabian Al Jazeera TV network.

In greater detail 16 American soldiers are missing, 5 of them were shown on Iraqi state TV as POWs and at least 4 were shown dead in what appeared to be a hospital room.

In another incident about 10 US Marines were confirmed to be killed, when they run into an ambush. CNN has shown pictures of two USMC armored personnel carriers and a number of other vehicles destroyed.

The British TV network ITV reports that its reporter Terry Lloyd was killed yesterday near Basra. Some media sources assume that he was killed by US or British soldiers shooting at Iraqi soldiers in cars next to his car.

Continued battle around the Iraqi cities of Basra and Nassiriya.

Iraq reports that it captured a number of American prisoners of war. The United States Military states that 12 mechanics were missing. A videotape of the captives and dead mechanics was released that show possible torture and execution-style killings. US officials charge that Iraqi treatment of the captives violates the Geneva Convention.

A RAF Panavia Tornado is brought down by "friendly fire" by a US Patriot missile battery.

Coalition forces took control of a large complex of buildings in the An Najaf province near the city of Najaf. Some news sources have proclaimed that this is a "huge chemical weapons plant" but Pentagon officials have called such announcements "premature" and say that no weapons of mass destruction have yet been found.

In Belgium legal complaints are filed against American officials for "crimes against humanity." It was reported that an Iraqi representing seven families deposited complaints for violation of human rights against former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Norman Schwarzkopf in Belgium. Supported by a socialist deputy and a non-governmental organization (NGO), the Iraqis denounce the bombing of a shelter which had made 403 civil victims in Baghdad in February 1991 during the Gulf War.

This is made possible by the Belgian law of universal competence, which provides justice on war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, and can apply to any nationalities. Colin Powell indicated the event was a "serious problem", affecting the ability to go to Belgium, in particular to NATO in Brussels. Colin Powell stated this law was a subject of worry.

March 24, 2003

An operation of about 30 attack helicopters against the Medina Division of Iraq's Republican guard, entrenched in the Karbala area, has taken place during the early hours of March 24. One US Apache helicopter which was captured by Iraqi civilians, along with its two crew members, appeared later in Arab satellite channels.

A CNN embedded reporter with a helicopter unit that participated in the raid, also reported the destruction of another helicopter and that helicopters were under heavy fire, with only two of them managing to achieve their objectives. Its crew however was safely recovered.

China has given the United States the address of its embassy in Baghdad in the hope of avoiding a repeat of the deadly 1999 bombing of its mission in Belgrade, diplomatic sources said on Monday. China passed on the details of its Iraq mission, at around the time US-led coalition aircraft started dropping bombs in and around Baghdad, to prevent any repeat of the 1999 bombing Washington said happened because of outdated maps, they said.

Tensions increase between the United States and Russia. The United States charged the Russians of supposed deliveries of Russian weapons in Iraq. The spokesman of the American President, Ari Fleischer, rejected denials of Moscow and assured that Washington has "evidence" of these deliveries, which could give the Iraqis invaluable assets against the Anglo-American forces. Devices listed are binoculars for night vision, GPS units, and anti-tank missiles.

Ari Fleischer said the American government ask the Russians to immediately put an end to its assistance. It reminded them that the deliveries of this type of materials and equipment in Iraq were the subject of sanctions by the United Nations.

The Russian government and the companies mentioned as having delivered armaments to Iraq have rejected these allegations on Monday, describing them as "inventions" and reaffirming that Moscow strictly respected the embargo imposed by UNO in Baghdad.

Russian president Vladimir Putin rejected the American charges himself during a telephone conversation with George W. Bush, the Presidential press secretary indicated Tuesday, quoted by the Interfax agency.

The Arab League voted 21-1 in favor of a resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of U.S. and British soldiers from Iraq. The lone dissenting vote was cast by Kuwait.

March 25, 2003

Coalition forces begin fighting Iraqi militia in Basra, second largest city in Iraq. British soldiers report that the Shiite population of Basra appears to be rebelling against the Iraqi militia. The anti-Saddam resistance group based in Iran, the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, confirmed that the Shiite revolt was taking place in Basra.

According to some sources, the Iraqi militia forces are attacking the local Basra civilians, attempting to stop the revolt, with artillery and mortars. The Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed al-Sahhaf denied that any uprising was taking place in Basra.

The Red Cross warned that a humanitarian crisis was emerging in the city. The Red Cross, Save the Children and other organizations are attempting to reach the city. Kuwait also has a caravan of supply trucks heading north into Iraq. Coalition forces announced that the port city of Umm Qasr was now "safe and open" and divers began searching for mines off shore.

Once the waters are clear, British ships, which are waiting off of the Iraqi coast, will land in Umm Qasr with additional medicine, food and water for the area. Coalition forces had a small supply of food and water that they began to pass out to the citizens of Umm Qasr.

While fighting in Nasiriya, coalition forces discovered and confiscated weapons caches and gear to protect against chemical weapons, including a T-55 tank, over 3,000 chemical suits with masks, and Iraqi munitions and military uniforms. All of this equipment was hidden in a Nasiriya hospital.

U.S. forces are advancing on Baghdad, hampered by extreme dust storms.

Thousands of chemical suits as well as a tank and a large stockpile of weapons are reportedly found by coalition forces in the An Nasiriyah hospital in Iraq. Coalition forces entered the hospital after being fired upon by Iraqi soldiers hiding in the building. U.S. officials report the possibility that chemical weapons would be deployed on coalition troops as they approach Baghdad.

British forces report what they believe to be a popular uprising in the city of Basra that provoked Iraqi troops to fire-up civilians with mortars. British troops then shelled the mortar position.

According to a U.S. officer, approximately 650 Iraqis were killed around Najaf "in the last twenty-four hours" while the American forces would not have, on their side, recorded any victim. This assessment, not confirmed by any independent source, could be the heaviest since the beginning of the offensive, the Thursday prior.

March 26, 2003

The American central command in Qatar admitted Wednesday to have carried out bombardments which could have killed civilians due to the fact that Iraqi military assets were being placed close to civilian areas (within 300 feet in some cases).

This occurred a few hours after two explosions occurred in on a commercial street of Baghdad which killed 14 Iraqi civilians and injured thirty more, according to Iraqi civil defense. Also on this day special units of the Iraqi Republican Guard, for the first time, took part in the fights against the American and British forces.

Just after the marketplace explosions in Baghdad, Russia called for "the immediate end of the war against Iraq" and discussions to resume within the Security Council.

March 27, 2003

U.S. forces have taken the bridge at Samawah.

March 28, 2003

Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution allowing the resumption of the program Oil-for-Food, suspended on March 18 and upon which depends the subsistence on 60 % of the Iraqi population. The Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan underlined that this vote should not be confused with a recognition of the war carried out and with a way to legitimize the military action afterwards.

The resolution makes clear that the chief responsibility for addressing humanitarian consequences of the war would fall to the United States and Britain if they take control of the country. This refers to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, which defines the responsibilities of the occupying power.

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accused Syria of supplying arms and material to Iraq; Syria denied these allegations. The first coalition forces humanitarian aid ship, the RFA Sir Galahad, is preparing to dock at the port of Umm Qasr in Iraq at 11.45 GMT.

The Lebanon TV network al-Minar crew say they found about 40 dead bodies of U.S. soldiers in the desert outside Maseriah. They accuse the U.S. of destroying all their equipment after they noticed the U.S. of the finding.

March 29, 2003

The Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf accused the US forces of killing 140 civilians during the last 24 hours and denied allegations that Iraqi soldiers are disguising themselves as civilians.

An explosion damaged a shopping center in Kuwait City before dawn. Initial reports suggested the cause was a malfunctioning U.S. cruise missile, but later reports focused on an Iraqi Silkworm missile as being responsible. No injuries are reported. A Iraqi military suicide bomber, driving a taxi, killed four US soldiers in an attack. "We will use any means to kill our enemy in our land and we will follow the enemy into its land," Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan said, "This is just the beginning. You'll hear more pleasant news later."

March 31, 2003

US troops kill 7 civilians including women and children in a car whose driver refuses to stop at a checkpoint. According to one account the driver ignored several warning shots, as well as gunfire into the vehicle's engine. According to another account, no warning shots were fired.

Journalist Peter Arnett is fired by NBC after giving an interview to Iraqi television, which some considered as unfairly critical of the Bush administration's war on Iraq. Later in the day, Arnett is hired by a British tabloid, the Daily Mirror. The Pentagon orders embedded FOX News reporter Geraldo Rivera from its troops and demands him to leave Iraq after accusing him of reporting United States troop positions.

April 1, 2003

A 32-year-old Iraqi lawyer, whose wife worked as a nurse at a hospital in Nasiriyah, risks his life to help coalition forces rescue prisoner of war Private First Class Jessica Lynch. The lawyer witnessed Lynch being tortured and decided to help her. The man immediately began searching for coalition forces to tell them about Lynch. Black Hawk helicopters flew in under cover of darkness, touched down next to the hospital, and a team of heavily-armed commandos stormed the building, using hand-drawn maps given to them by the lawyer and his wife. Lynch was successfully rescued and the lawyer and his family were flown to a refugee center in the southern port city of Umm Qasr.

The military did not confirm the Iraqi lawyer's involvement.

April 2, 2003

U.S. forces reach the outskirts of Baghdad and encounter fierce fighting from small units of Iraqi Republican Guard.

Kurdish militia, aided by U.S. forces, move into Kanilan near Mosul in Northern Iraq. Citizens living in the town tell reporters that they are happy that the Iraqi soldiers are gone.

April 3, 2003

U.S. forces take control of Saddam International Airport, in southern Baghdad.

April 4, 2003

MSNBC finds evidence of the deadly toxins ricin, and botulinum at a laboratory in northern Iraq, used as a training camp for Ansar al-Islam, a terrorist group with ties to the al-Qaida terrorist network. The tests conducted by MSNBC were the same type of tests used by U.N. weapons inspectors. U.S. officials said that they planned on conducting their own tests of the area.

U.S. forces search the Latifiyah Explosives and Ammunition Plant, south of Baghdad, and discover thousands of boxes full of vials of a white powdery substance, atropine (a nerve agent antidote) and Arabic documents on how to engage in chemical warfare. Early reports suggest that the powdery substance is an explosive, although additional tests are needed. Some vials contained a liquid. The facility had been identified by the International Atomic Energy Agency as a suspected chemical, biological and nuclear weapons site. U.N. weapons inspectors visited the plant at least nine times, including as recently as February 18, 2003.

Later tests show no forbidden weaponry.

April 8, 2003

U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed El Baradei reiterates a statement he made on March 31 that only the UN IAEA has a mandate to search out and destroy any nuclear weapons or parts of a nuclear weapons program found in Iraq.

Journalist deaths by U.S. fire: Two of American air to surface missiles hit the Qatar satellite station Al Jazeera's office in Baghdad and kill a reporter and wound a cameraman. The nearby office of Arab satellite channel Abu Dhabi is also hit by air strikes. Al Jazeera accuses the U.S. of attacking Arab media to hide facts. On the same day a U.S. army tank fires into the 15th floor of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, where almost all foreign journalists base on, and kills two cameramen and wounds three. In the Abu Dhabi case the station airs the picture of Iraqi fire from beneath of the camera. In the hotel case, however, other journalists on the scene deny any fire from or around the hotel.

April 9, 2003

Baghdad falls to U.S. forces. Some Iraqis cheer in the streets after American infantrymen seize deserted Ba'ath Party ministries and pull down a huge iron statue of Saddam Hussein, ending his 24-year rule of Iraq. Looting of government offices breaks out and Hussein's fighting forces melt away in large portions of the city.

April 10, 2003

Kurdish troops occupy the city of Kirkuk in Iraq with little resistance.

April 12, 2003

The looting and unrest, especially in major cities Baghdad and Basra are becoming a very serious issue. In Baghdad, with the notable exception of the Oil Ministry, which was guarded by American troops, the majority of government and public buildings were totally plundered, to the point there were nothing of any value left. This includes the National Museum of Iraq as well as most major hospitals. The damages of the wave of plunders to the Iraqi civilian infrastructure, economy and cultural inheritance, are getting higher than those from three weeks of U.S. bombing.

April 13, 2003

Tikrit, the home town of Saddam Hussein, and the last town not under control of the coalition, was taken by American marines. Perhaps to the surprise of many, there was little resistance.

April 15, 2003

With the fall of the Tikrit region, the coalition partners declared the war effectively over.

May 1, 2003

The U.S. declares an end to major combat operations.

May 12, 2003

A new civil administrator takes over in Iraq. U.S. diplomat Paul Bremer replaces Jay Garner, who was seen as ineffective in stemming the continuing lawlessness and violence taking place throughout Iraq.

May 22, 2003

UN Security Council votes to lift 13 years of sanctions on Iraq. Resolution 1483 also gives the U.S. and Britain broad power to run Iraq's government and economy until an Iraqi government is in place.

May 30, 2003

In separate speeches, U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell and British prime minister Tony Blair deny that intelligence about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was distorted or exaggerated to justify an attack on Iraq. Both administrations face mounting questions because no weapons of mass destruction (WMD) have been found. Each had claimed that Iraq's WMD were an imminent threat to world security.

July 13, 2003

Iraq's interim governing council, composed of 25 Iraqis appointed by American and British officials, is inaugurated. American administrator Paul Bremer, however, retains ultimate authority.

June 15–29, 2003

About 1,300 troops launch Operation Desert Scorpion, combating organized Iraqi resistance against American troops near Faluja. U.S. and British troops face continued attacks; about one American soldier has been killed per day since the end of combat was declared. It is the largest of several offensives.

July 7, 2003

Bush administration concedes that evidence that Iraq was pursuing a nuclear weapons program by seeking to buy uranium from Africa, cited in January State of the Union address and elsewhere, was unsubstantiated and should not have been included in speech. Over summer Tony Blair faces even stronger criticism than his American counterpart concerning flawed intelligence.

July 16, 2003

Gen. John Abizaid, commander of allied forces in Iraq who replaced retiring general Tommy Franks on July 7, calls continued attacks on coalition troops a “guerrilla-type campaign” and says soldiers who will replace current troops may be deployed for year-long tours.

July 22, 2003

Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay Hussein, die in firefight in a Mosul palace.

Aug. 9, 2003

U.S. combat and noncombatant casualties reach 255 at 100-day mark after declared end of combat on May 1; 43 British have died.

Aug. 19, 2003

Suicide bombing destroys UN headquarters in Baghdad, killing 24, including top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello, and wounding more than 100.

Aug. 29, 2003

A bomb kills one of Iraq's most important Shi'ite leaders, Ayatollah Muhammad Bakr al-Hakim, as well as about 80 others, and wounds 125.

Sept. 7, 2003

Continued violence and slow progress in Iraq lead to President Bush's announcement that $87 billion is needed to cover additional military and reconstruction costs.

Oct. 2, 2003

According to an interim report by David Kay, the lead investigator searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, no WMDs have been found as yet.

Oct. 5, 2003

White House reorganizes its reconstruction efforts in Iraq, placing National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice in charge and diminishing the role of the Pentagon.

Oct. 16, 2003

The UN Security Council unanimously approves the U.S. and UK resolution on Iraq's reconstruction, which supports an international force in the country under U.S. authority. Several countries originally opposed the resolution unless Washington agreed to a faster timetable for transferring power to the Iraqis, but in the end voted for the resolution without requiring changes.

Oct. 23–24, 2003

The Madrid Conference, an international donors' conference of 80 nations to raise funds for the reconstruction of Iraq, yielded $13 billion in addition to the $20 billion already pledged by the United States. This amount fell short of the overall target of raising $56 billion, the figure the World Bank and the UN estimated that Iraq needs over the next four years.

Oct. 27, 2003

Four coordinated suicide attacks in Baghdad kill 43 and wounded more than 200. Targets included the headquarters of the Red Crescent (Islamic Red Cross) and three police stations.

Nov. 2, 2003

In the single deadliest strike since the Iraq war began, guerrillas shoot down an American helicopter, killing 16 U.S. soldiers and injuring 21 others. Over the course of the month, additional attacks make it the bloodiest since the war began at least 75 U.S. soldiers die.

Nov. 14, 2003

The Bush Administration reverses policy. In a deal with the Iraqi Governing Council, it agrees to transfer power to an interim government in early 2004.

Dec. 9, 2003

Directive issued by Paul Wolfowitz, deputy secretary of defense, bars France, Germany, and Russia from bidding on lucrative contracts for rebuilding Iraq, creating a diplomatic furor.

Dec. 13, 2003

Iraq's deposed leader Saddam Hussein is captured by American troops. The former dictator was found hiding in a hole near his hometown of Tikrit and surrendered without a fight.

Jan. 11, 2004

The Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most influential Shiite cleric in Iraq, says members of the country's interim government must be selected by direct vote. He opposes the U.S. plan to hold regional caucuses. While caucuses are less democratic than direct elections, the United States has argued that it would be impossible to ensure free and safe elections on such a tight timetable—the U.S. plans to hand control of the government to Iraqis on June 30.

Jan. 15, 2004

Tens of thousands of Shiites hold a peaceful demonstration in Basra in support of direct elections.

Jan. 19, 2004

The United States asks the UN to intercede in the dispute over the elections process in Iraq. Shiite leader Ayatollah al-Sistani, at the center of the debate, has refused to meet with American officials. The UN weighs sending election experts to determine whether there is enough time to prepare for direct elections. About 100,000 Shiites march in Baghdad and other cities in support of Ayatollah al-Sistani's demand for direct elections. It is the largest protest since the occupation of Iraq.

Jan. 28, 2004

David Kay, the former head of the U.S. weapons inspection teams in Iraq, informs a senate committee that no WMD have been found in Iraq and that prewar intelligence was "almost all wrong" about Saddam Hussein's arsenal. His report sets off a firestorm of allegations: did the U.S. receive bad intelligence, or did the Bush administration manipulate the intelligence to build the case for war, or both? About 109 Iraqis are killed by suicide bombings in Erbil.

Feb. 2, 2004

Under pressure from both sides of the political aisle, President Bush calls for an independent commission to study the country's intelligence failures.

Feb. 10, 2004

About 54 Iraqis are killed in a car bombing while applying for jobs at a police station. The next day an attack kills about 47 outside an army recruiting center.

Feb. 12, 2004

UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, on a fact finding mission to Iraq to assess the feasibility of direct elections, meets with Ayatollah al-Sistani.

Feb. 19, 2004

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi announces the results of its report about Iraqi elections, concluding that “elections cannot be held before the end of June, that the June 30 date for the handover of sovereignty must be respected, and that we need to find a mechanism to create the caretaker government and then prepare the elections sometime later in the future.”

Feb. 23, 2004

UN envoy Brahimi issues a report to the Security Council concluding that the earliest that credible, direct elections could be held in Iraq would be late 2004 or early 2005. He outlined several possible options for structuring an interim government that would rule the country after the June 30 hand over and until the results of elections in 2004 or 2005. He recommended that Iraqis themselves draw up a plan for the makeup of this provisional government.

March 2, 2004

Suicide attacks in Karbala on Shiite Islam's most holy feast day killed more than 85 and wound 233 others. It is believed that the perpetrators are attempting to foment unrest between Shiites and Sunnis.

March 8, 2004

The Iraqi Governing Council signs interim constitution, which includes a bill of rights, a system of checks and balances, and a military subordinate to civilian rule. The signing was delayed by several days when Shiites objected that Kurds, a minority, were given too much power in the interim constitution.

March 17, 2004

At least 27 people are killed and 41 wounded in the car bombing of a hotel in Baghdad. The bombing came just two days before the anniversary of the first American attack on Baghdad that launched the war last year.

March 28, 2004

Coalition forces close radical cleric Moktada al-Sadr's rabidly anti-American newspaper, Al Hawaz.

March 31, 2004

Iraqi mob kills and mutilates four America civilian contract workers and then drags them through the streets of Falluja, a city west of Baghdad that is part of the Sunni triangle.

April 4, 2004

U.S. troops begin assault on Falluja in response to March 31 assassination of four U.S. civilian contractors.

Coordinated attacks by Shiites in several southern Iraqi cities are launched in Kufa, Karbala, Najaf, al-Kut, and Sadr City. The militias are led by radical cleric Moktada al-Sadr.

April 9, 2004

An American contract worker, Thomas Hamill, taken hostage. In all, more than 20 foreigners kidnapped in Iraq.

April 11, 2004

U.S. orders a cease-fire in Falluja to give political discussions a chance to break the cycle of violence. Two members of the Iraqi Governing Council resign in protest of American offensive in Falluja.

April 17, 2004

The number of hostages taken by various Iraqi guerrillas reaches about 40.

April 15, 2004

The Bush administration agrees to a UN proposal to replace the Iraqi Governing Council with a caretaker government when the U.S. returns sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30.

April 22, 2004

In policy shift, U.S. announces that some Iraqi Baath Party officials who had been forced out of their jobs after the fall of Saddam Hussein will be allowed to resume their positions. About 400,000 people lost their jobs, including teachers and members of the military, depleting Iraq of skilled and experienced workers to rebuild the country.

April 27, 2004

UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi reports to the UN Security Council that by the end of May he will select a transitional government to run Iraq until elections are held in 2005. Proposed government will include a president, two vice presidents, a prime minister, and a consultative conference made up of about 1,500 Iraqis. The government will have limited control over Iraq, and would not be authorized to enact news laws.

April 30, 2004

The appalling physical and sexual abuse and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad comes to light when photographs are released by the U.S. media. The images spark outrage around the world, especially in the Middle East. Abu Ghraib was a notorious prison and torture center during the rule of Saddam Hussein. The Pentagon has been investigating these and other allegations of abuse since January. Criminal charges have been filed against seven U.S. soldiers.

In an attempt to restore peace in Falluja, U.S. Marines transfer security of the volatile city to a former Iraqi general.

May 5, 2004

George Bush appears on two Arab television stations to condemn the prisoner abuse.

May 8, 2004

Nicholas Berg, an American contractor, is beheaded by Iraqi militants, who claim the grisly murder was in retaliation for the treatment of Iraqi prisoners.

May 17, 2004

A suicide bomber kills the head of Iraq's Governing Council, Izzedin Salim, and six other people.

May 27, 2004

After seven weeks of fighting in Najaf, U.S. forces and the militias loyal to Moktada al-Sadr reach a truce.

May 28, 2004

Iyad Allawi is designated prime minister of the Iraqi interim government. A Shiite neurologist, Alawi has close ties to the CIA, and many observers inside—and outside—Iraq say Alawi's selection is a sign of the U.S.'s continued attempt to assert control over the country.

June 1, 2004

A Sunni Muslim, Ghazi al-Yawer, is chosen president, a largely ceremonial post. The Governing Council decided to dissolve itself immediately rather than wait for the official handover of sovereignty on June 30, making way for a cabinet of 33 Iraqis, including Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, and Christians. New government includes former members of the governing council, former militants, professionals, and opponents of Saddam Hussein.

Iraq War Quotes

In this section we list some thought inspiring quotes from people involved in the Iraq War.

"My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger."

"On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign. More than 35 countries are giving crucial support -- from the use of naval and air bases, to help with intelligence and logistics, to the deployment of combat units. Every nation in this coalition has chosen to bear the duty and share the honor of serving in our common defense."

-- President Bush, in a televised address to the nation, officially announces the War on Iraq, on March 20, 2003.

"Today you are standing in a position that would please the friend and would anger the enemy and all the infidels.

You will be victorious against the enemies and you are causing them to suffer."

-- Saddam Hussein, on Iraqi television three hours after the beginning of U.S. Led Air-Strikes.

"There will be good moments, and there will be less good moments."

-- Donald Rumsfeld

"We're in fact on plan. And where we stand today is not, in my view, only acceptable but truly remarkable."

-- Commander of US forces Tommy Franks

"Long live jihad and long live Palestine."

-- Saddam Hussein.

“If we invade Iraq and the regime is very close to falling, I'm very, very concerned that the Iraqis will, in fact, use weapons of mass destruction.”

-- General Norman Schwarzkopf

"They are in a dilemma, they are in trouble now. Hate them and strike them."

-- Saddam Hussein.

“The United States of America is a threat to world peace. Because what (America) is saying is that if you are afraid of a veto in the Security Council, you can go outside and take action and violate the sovereignty of other countries. That is the message they are sending to the world. That must be condemned in the strongest terms.”

-- Nelson Mandela

"You will triumph, O Iraqis, and with you the sons of your Arab nation"

-- Saddam Hussein.

"We will respect carefully the international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions," "I hope that the American Army will respect (this) also."

-- Mohamed Aldouri, Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations

"Victory will be ours soon, Iraqis will strike the necks as God has commanded you."

-- Saddam Hussein.

"You know - the question of terrorists, when you fight an invader by whatever means available to you, you are not a terrorist, you are a hero."

-- Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz (30 March, BBC News)

"If you are ferocious in battle remember to be magnanimous in victory"

-- Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins

"It is our moral duty to intervene today, straight away, to help the Iraqi people in their difficulty. Iraq has to be given back to the Iraqi people."

-- Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini

"Strike them and strike evil so that evil will be defeated."

-- Saddam Hussein.

"After they underestimated you, you Iraqis, now they've come on land; this attempt is our chance to incur losses on them,"

-- Saddam Hussein.

"We go to liberate not to conquer. We will not fly our flags in their country"

-- Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins

"We pledge to you in our name... that we will resist the invaders."

-- Saddam Hussein.

"There may be people among us who will not see the end of this... We will put them in their sleeping bags and send them back, there will be no time for sorrow"

-- Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins

"We will pursue them until they lose their nerves... Now that they have indulged in their evil and crimes, they will suffer a defeat."

-- Saddam Hussein.

"Syria has chosen to align itself with the brotherly Iraqi people who are facing an illegal and unjustified invasion and against whom are being committed all sorts of crimes against humanity."

-- Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesperson

"The enemy should be in no doubt that we are his nemesis and that we are bringing about his rightful destruction."

-- Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins

"Albania has lined up alongside the U.S. in the global challenge of our times, the fight against terrorism and the dictatorial regimes nourishing it - as a partner willing to carry out its duties among the large family of civilized nations."

-- Albanian Minister of Defense, Pandeli Majko

"You're heroes. Children in our schools will learn about your heroism. You have come through missions that were complex and demanding, missions for which you have risked your own health and lives."

-- Czech Republic Minister of Defence Jaroslav Tvrdik

"I can take pride in our soldiers, who equal their western allies in courage, preparedness and patriotism."

-- President Rolandas Paksas of the Republic of Lithuania

"Iraq will triumph and with Iraq will our Arab nation and mankind also triumph."

-- Saddam Hussein.

"It is a big step to take another human life. It is not to be done lightly."

-- Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins

"In the wake of winning the war, Poland wants to help win peace with Iraq. I believe that the international community cannot leave Iraq without support."

-- Polish President Aleksander Kwas'niewsk.

"Today we confront the future with optimism from a founded hope for the Iraqi people - in freedom"

-- Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar

"All things are in God's hands and he doesn't want you for a sunbeam - he wants you for a soldier. He wants you to fight for truth and offer prayer for justice."

-- Father Nick Gosnell, chaplain to 16th Air Assault Brigade

"Saddam is neither friend, nor brother to us, and he will never pay off debts to us. It's the question of precedent: today the United States doesn't like Iraq, tomorrow Syria, then Iran, North Korea and then what: everyone else?"

-- Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov

"No one's killing more Iraqis right now than the Iraqi regime."

-- Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, at a Central Command news conference in Qatar

"When it is over, if it is over, this war will have horrible consequences. Instead of having one Bin Laden, we will have 100 Bin Ladens."

-- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (31 March, BBC News)

"Iraqis have taught Bush a lesson that turned his concept upside down."

-- Iraq's al-Thawra newspaper (31 March, BBC News)

"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country."

-- President Bush declares an end to Major Combat Operations in Iraq during his May 1 speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln

Iraq War Summary

Saying the "danger was clear" that the Iraqi regime would provide terrorists with biological, chemical or nuclear weapons, on March 13, 2003 President Bush gave Iraqi President Saddam Hussein 48 hours for him and his sons to leave Iraq before military action begins "at a time of our choosing."

The 48-hour deadline would arrive at 4 a.m. Thursday in Baghdad.

The ultimatum came in a 13-minute, televised speech from the White House.

Making his case for military action, Bush said the Iraqi regime had repeatedly defied the will of the international community since the end of the Persian Gulf War 12 years ago by violating numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding that it give up its weapons of mass destruction.

Iraq has consistently denied possessing such chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

Approximately 90 minutes after the lapse of the 48-hour deadline, at 5:30 am local time, explosions were heard in Baghdad. At 10:15 pm EST, President George W. Bush announced that he had ordered the coalition to launch an "attack of opportunity" against specified targets in Iraq.

According to The Pentagon, 36 Tomahawk missiles and two F-117 launched GBU-27 bombs had been used in the assault.

It was later announced that Special Forces troops were operating inside Iraq; Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. all have Special Forces troops in the area. Not long after the strike on Baghdad, Iraq launched several missiles at targets in Kuwait, including the coalition forces stationed there. The coalition reports indicated that they caused no damage.

On April 9, 2003, Baghdad fell to U.S. forces. Some Iraqis were seen cheering in the streets after American infantrymen seize deserted Ba'ath Party ministries and pull down a huge iron statue of former dictator Saddam Hussein.

Tikrit, the home town of Saddam Hussein, and the last town not under control of the coalition, was taken by American forces on April 13, 2003. Very little resistance was reported. With the fall of the Tikrit region, the coalition partners declared the war effectively over.

In his May 1, 2003 speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln, Bush declared: "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country." The headline on the White House site above Bush's May 1 speech is "President Bush Announces Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended."

Brothers Uday and Qusay Hussein died in a firefight with U.S. troops Tuesday in Mosul on June 22, 2003.

Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces on December 14, 2003.

Coalition Forces continue to occupy Iraq today, with sporadic guerilla fighting between Coalition Forces and Iraq Militia being reported.