Iraq War Background
Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 but was defeated by a group led by the United States in the Persian Gulf War from 1990 to 1991. Saddam Hussein’s party stayed in power by harshly stopping revolts by Kurds and Shiʿi Arabs. To prevent Kurds from leaving Iraq, the allies created a “safe haven” in the north and stopped Iraqi planes from flying in certain areas. The United Nations (UN) imposed economic sanctions on Iraq to stop its dangerous weapons programs, like nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.
In the mid-1990s, UN inspections found banned weapons and technology in Iraq. Despite this, Iraq didn’t follow the UN rules and blocked inspections. In 1998, U.S. President Bill Clinton ordered airstrikes on Iraq (Operation Desert Fox). After that, Iraq refused to let inspectors return, and nearby countries started trading with Iraq, weakening the sanctions.
In 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush said Iraq still had weapons of mass destruction and supported terrorists. This became a big deal after the 9/11 attacks. A UN resolution in 2002 asked Iraq to let inspectors back in. Iraq seemed to agree, but Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Iraq was still stopping inspections and keeping banned weapons. Some other leaders wanted more time for inspections, but Bush said no and gave Saddam Hussein an ultimatum to leave Iraq within 48 hours. Many leaders disagreed with this, but the war went ahead.
Iraq War: Summary, Causes, Dates & Facts
Iraq War: The Iraq War, which lasted from 2003 to 2011, had two main parts. First, there was a short war in March–April 2003. The United States and Great Britain, along with some other countries, invaded Iraq and quickly defeated Iraqi military forces.
Then, there was a longer phase where the United States led an occupation of Iraq, but faced opposition from insurgents. Violence started to decrease in 2007, and the United States began to bring its troops home, completing the withdrawal in December 2011. Around 4,500 American soldiers were killed, and about 32,000 were wounded during the conflict.
In this article, we will talk about the Iraq War: what happened, why it happened, when it took place, and some important facts about it.
Table of Content
- Iraq War: Overview
- Iraq War Background
- Iraq War: Interesting Facts
- The 2003 conflict
- Iraq War: Occupation and Continued Warfare
- Iraq War: Causes
- Iraq War: Timeline
- Iraq War: Consequences
- Iraq War: Summary
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