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121-464: Invasion (2003) Post-invasion insurgency (2003–2006) Civil war (2006–2008) Insurgency (2008–2011) The Second Battle of Fallujah , initially codenamed Operation Phantom Fury , Operation al-Fajr ( Arabic : الفجر , lit.   ' The Dawn ' ) was an American-led offensive of the Iraq War that began on 7 November 2004 and lasted about six weeks. A joint military effort of

242-550: A joint session of Congress (simulcast live to the world), and announced his new " War on Terror ". This announcement was accompanied by the doctrine of "pre-emptive" military action, later termed the Bush Doctrine . Allegations of a connection between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda were regularly made by several senior officials in the Bush administration , who asserted that a highly secretive relationship existed between Saddam and

363-536: A strafing run or area bombing . The importance of precision targeting cannot be overstated: by some statistics, over a hundred raids were necessary to destroy a point target in World War 2; by the Persian Gulf War , the U.S. Air Force was able to release to media precise footage of television- or radar-guided bombs directly hitting the target without significant collateral damage (using, for example,

484-560: A 48-hour deadline. The UK House of Commons held a debate on going to war on 18 March 2003 where the government motion was approved 412 to 149 . The vote was a key moment in the history of the Blair administration , as the number of government MPs who rebelled against the vote was the greatest since the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. Three government ministers resigned in protest at the war, John Denham , Lord Hunt of Kings Heath , and

605-427: A January 2003 CBS poll, 64% of Americans had approved of military action against Iraq; however, 63% wanted Bush to find a diplomatic solution rather than go to war, and 62% believed the threat of terrorism directed against the U.S. would increase due to war. The invasion was strongly opposed by some long-standing U.S. allies, including the governments of France, Germany, and New Zealand. Their leaders argued that there

726-809: A design that Iraq stated did not exceed the permitted 150 km range, but which had traveled up to 183 km in tests. Shortly before the invasion, UNMOVIC stated that it would take "months" to verify Iraqi compliance with resolution 1441. In October 2002, the U.S. Congress passed the Iraq Resolution , which authorized the President to "use any means necessary" against Iraq. Americans polled in January 2003 widely favored further diplomacy over an invasion. Later that year, however, Americans began to agree with Bush's plan. The U.S. government engaged in an elaborate domestic public relations campaign to market

847-522: A documentary titled " Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre ", which reported that the United States had used white phosphorus as a weapon in Fallujah, and which showed that insurgents and civilians had been killed or injured by chemical burns. Included were graphic video and photos of severe and deep chemical burns that penetrated the flesh and bones of men, women, and children. The filmmakers claimed that

968-841: A larger scale in Ramadi and the surrounding area, led to what became known as " the Great Sunni Awakening ." After four years of bitter fighting, Fallujah was turned over to the Iraqi Forces and the Iraqi Provincial Authority during the autumn of 2007. Al Qaeda-linked Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant subsequently took over Fallujah and parts of Ramadi in early 2014 and

1089-585: A marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August." Bush began formally making his case to the international community for an invasion of Iraq in his 12 September 2002 address to the United Nations General Assembly . The United Kingdom agreed with the U.S. actions, while France and Germany were critical of plans to invade Iraq, arguing instead for continued diplomacy and weapons inspections. After considerable debate,

1210-522: A message to the U.S. State Department that the Iraqis wanted to discuss the accusations that the country had weapons of mass destruction and ties with Al-Qaeda. Iraq also attempted to reach the U.S. through the Syrian, French, German, and Russian intelligence services. In January 2003, Lebanese-American Imad Hage met with Michael Maloof of the U.S. Department of Defense 's Office of Special Plans . Hage,

1331-447: A parliamentary question, that "Regime change in Iraq would be a wonderful thing. That is not the purpose of our action; our purpose is to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction..." In November of that year, Blair further stated that, "So far as our objective, it is disarmament, not regime change – that is our objective. Now I happen to believe the regime of Saddam is a very brutal and repressive regime, I think it does enormous damage to

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1452-580: A remote trigger that could be set off by an insurgent when troops entered the building. They blocked streets with Jersey barriers and even emplaced them within homes to create strong points behind which they could attack unsuspecting troops entering the building. Insurgents were equipped with a variety of advanced small arms, and had captured a variety of U.S. armament, including M14s, M16s, body armor, uniforms and helmets. They booby-trapped buildings and vehicles, including wiring doors and windows to grenades and other ordnance. Anticipating U.S. tactics to seize

1573-529: A resident of Beirut , had been recruited by the department to assist in the war on terror . He reported that Mohammed Nassif, a close aide to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad , had expressed frustrations about the difficulties of Syria contacting the United States, and had attempted to use him as an intermediary. Maloof arranged for Hage to meet with civilian Richard Perle , then head of the Defense Policy Board . In January 2003, Hage met with

1694-420: A screen of fire that cannot be extinguished with water. Insurgents reported being attacked with a substance that melted their skin, a reaction consistent with white phosphorous burns." The article also reported, "The corpses of the mujaheddin which we received were burned, and some corpses were melted." On November 8, 2005, the national public broadcasting company of Italy, Radiotelevisione Italiana S.p.A. aired

1815-604: A threat to the U.S. and the world community. George W. Bush, speaking in October 2002, said that "The stated policy of the United States is regime change. ... However, if Saddam were to meet all the conditions of the United Nations, the conditions that I have described very clearly in terms that everybody can understand, that in itself will signal the regime has changed." Citing reports from certain intelligence sources, Bush stated on 6 March 2003 that he believed that Saddam

1936-444: A total of 5,685 high-explosive 155mm artillery rounds during the battle. The 3rd Marine Air Wing (aviation assets only) expended 318 precision bombs, 391 rockets and missiles, and 93,000 machine gun and cannon rounds. Fallujah suffered extensive damage to residences, mosques, city services, and businesses. The city, once referred to as the "City of Mosques", had over 200 mosques prior to the battle; approximately 60 were destroyed in

2057-512: Is to fire a white phosphorus round into the position because the combined effects of the fire and smoke – and in some case the terror brought about by the explosion on the ground – will drive them out of the holes so that you can kill them with high explosives." On November 16, 2005, BBC News reported that an article published in the March–April 2005 issue of Field Artillery , a U.S. Army magazine, noted that white phosphorus had been used during

2178-593: The 173rd Airborne Brigade was airdropped near the northern city of Kirkuk , where they joined forces with Kurdish rebels and fought several actions against the Iraqi Army , to secure the northern part of the country. The main body of coalition forces continued their drive into the heart of Iraq and were met with little resistance. Most of the Iraqi military was quickly defeated and the coalition occupied Baghdad on 9 April. Other operations occurred against pockets of

2299-545: The 32nd Parallel (extended to the 33rd Parallel in 1996) as well as using economic sanctions. It was revealed that a biological weapons (BW) program in Iraq had begun in the early 1980s with help from the U.S. and Europe who were unaware of Iraq's intentions, in violation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) of 1972. Details of the BW program—along with a chemical weapons program—surfaced after

2420-605: The Battle of Hue City and the Pacific campaign of World War II were made. Coalition forces suffered a total of 107 killed and 613 wounded during Operation Phantom Fury. U.S. forces had 54 killed and 425 wounded in the initial attack in November. By 23 December when the operation was officially concluded, the casualty number had risen to 95 killed and 560 wounded. British forces had 4 killed and 10 wounded in two separate attacks in

2541-578: The Euphrates River along Fallujah's western edge. Marines from 1/3 fired 81mm mortars in an operation in south Fallujah. The same unit then moved to the western approaches to the city and secured the Jurf Kas Sukr Bridge . These initial attacks, however, were a diversion intended to distract and confuse insurgents holding the city, preceding the all-out offensive. Two Marines died in the initial attacks when their bulldozer fell into

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2662-693: The F-4U Corsair and North American P-51 Mustang fighters that fought during the Korean War, albeit at the cost of the R&;D of the aircraft itself, the weapons, and, most important to the man on the ground, fuel and loiter time, though this situation was slightly alleviated with the introduction of aircraft like the Cessna A-37 Dragonfly , LTV A-7 Corsair II , and Lockheed AC-130 gunships. Today, airstrike terminology has extended to

2783-690: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Saddam accepted the resolution on 13 November and inspectors returned to Iraq under the direction of UNMOVIC chairman Hans Blix and IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei . As of February 2003, the IAEA "found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq"; the IAEA concluded that certain items which could have been used in nuclear enrichment centrifuges, such as aluminum tubes, were in fact intended for other uses. UNMOVIC "did not find evidence of

2904-458: The International Atomic Energy Agency . These documents were dismissed by the IAEA as forgeries, with the concurrence in that judgment of outside experts. At the time, a US official stated that the evidence was submitted to the IAEA without knowledge of its provenance and characterized any mistakes as "more likely due to incompetence not malice". Air strikes In close air support , air strikes are usually controlled by trained observers on

3025-534: The LANTIRN pod). Paul Fussell noted in his seminal work The Great War and Modern Memory the popular 20th century tendency to assume an errant bomb hitting a church, for example, was completely deliberate and reflective of the inherent evil of the enemy; over time, expectations for reduced collateral damage have increased to the point that developed countries engaging in war against less technologically advanced countries approach near-zero in terms of such damage. In

3146-522: The Mahdi army fought alongside Sunni and Ba'athist groups against the United States. The Iraqi insurgents and foreign Mujahideen present in the city prepared fortified defenses in advance of the anticipated attack. They dug tunnels, trenches, prepared spider holes , and built and hid a wide variety of IEDs . In some locations, they filled the interiors of darkened homes with large numbers of propane bottles, large drums of gasoline, and ordinance, all wired to

3267-606: The Malayan Emergency of the 1950s, British and Commonwealth Avro Lincoln heavy bombers, de Havilland Vampire fighter jets, Supermarine Spitfires , Bristol Brigands , de Havilland Mosquitos , and a host of other British aircraft were used in Malaya in operations against guerillas. However, the humid climate played havoc with the Mosquito's wooden airframe, and they were soon deployed elsewhere. This period also marked

3388-575: The National Military Command Center on that day, Rumsfeld asked for: "best info fast. Judge whether good enough hit Saddam Hussein at same time. Not only Osama bin Laden ." A memo written by Rumsfeld in November 2001 considers an Iraq war. The rationale for invading Iraq as a response to 9/11 has been widely questioned, as there was no cooperation between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda . On 20 September 2001, Bush addressed

3509-572: The Peshmerga in Iraqi Kurdistan . According to U.S. President George W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair , the coalition aimed "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction [WMDs], to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism , and to free the Iraqi people", even though the UN inspection team led by Hans Blix had declared it had found no evidence of the existence of WMDs just before

3630-728: The US ambassador to the United Kingdom , Robert Tuttle , wrote to The Independent denying that the United States used white phosphorus as a weapon in Fallujah. However, later the same day, US Department of Defense spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Barry Venable confirmed to the BBC that US forces had used white phosphorus as an incendiary weapon there. Venable also stated "When you have enemy forces that are in covered positions that your high explosive artillery rounds are not having an impact on and you wish to get them out of those positions, one technique

3751-797: The United States , the Iraqi Interim Government , and the United Kingdom , the battle was the war's first major engagement fought solely against the Iraqi insurgency , not the military forces of the Ba'athist Iraq government. Operation Phantom Fury took place seven months after the First Battle of Fallujah , an attempt to capture or kill insurgent elements involved in the 2004 Fallujah ambush that killed four employees of

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3872-493: The 101st Airborne Division, started with a seminar on military operations in urban terrain, because that was viewed as the decisive event in the takedown of the regime in Iraq — that and finding and destroying the weapons of mass destruction." While there had been some earlier talk of action against Iraq, the Bush administration waited until September 2002 to call for action, with White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card saying, "From

3993-723: The Army Task Force 2-2 Infantry was awarded the Medal of Honor . Ten Marines were awarded the Navy Cross : Corporal Esquibel refused the award, citing "personal reasons". The following were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for actions during the battle: The battle proved to be the bloodiest of the war and the bloodiest battle involving U.S. Marines since the Vietnam War . Comparisons with

4114-828: The Army of the Mujahedeen and the Secret Islamic Army of Iraq. Three groups, (AQI, IAI and the National Islamic Army (1920 Revolution Brigade) ) had their nationwide headquarters in Fallujah. An estimated 2,000 insurgents were from the Army of Mohammed (made up of ex Fedayeen Saddam fighters), Ansar al-Sunna and various smaller Iraqi groups. Unlike what most cities in Iraq saw, the Battle of Fallujah did not have internal disputes between insurgents. The fighters consisted of both Sunnis and Shi'as; Soldiers of

4235-676: The Azores to discuss the invasion of Iraq and Spain's potential involvement in the war, as well as the beginning of the invasion. This encounter was extremely controversial in Spain, even now remaining a very sensitive point for the Aznar government. Almost a year later, Madrid suffered the worst terrorist attack in Europe since the Lockerbie bombing , motivated by Spain's decision to participate in

4356-545: The Bush administration said attempts by Iraq to acquire thousands of high-strength aluminum tubes pointed to a clandestine program to make enriched uranium for nuclear bombs. Powell, in his address to the UN Security Council just before the war, referred to the aluminum tubes. A report released by the Institute for Science and International Security in 2002, however, reported that it was highly unlikely that

4477-474: The Euphrates River. 42 insurgents were killed along the Fallujah riverside. After Navy Seabees from I MEF Engineer Group (MEG) and Army Civil Affairs soldiers interrupted and disabled electrical power at two substations located just northeast and northwest of the city, two Marine Regimental Combat Teams, Regimental Combat Team 1 (RCT-1) and Regimental Combat Team 7 (RCT-7) launched an attack along

4598-635: The Gulf War (1990–91) following investigations conducted by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) which had been charged with the post-war disarmament of Saddam's Iraq. The investigation concluded that the program had not continued after the war. The U.S. and its allies then maintained a policy of " containment " towards Iraq. This policy involved numerous economic sanctions by the UN Security Council ;

4719-495: The Iraq war, prompting some Spaniards to accuse the Prime Minister of being responsible. In March 2003, the United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Australia, Spain, Denmark, and Italy began preparing for the invasion of Iraq , with a host of public relations and military moves. In his 17 March 2003 address to the nation, Bush demanded that Saddam and his two sons, Uday and Qusay , surrender and leave Iraq, giving them

4840-503: The Iraqi Army, including the capture and occupation of Kirkuk on 10 April, and the attack on and capture of Tikrit on 15 April. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and the central leadership went into hiding as the coalition forces completed the occupation of the country. On 1 May, President George W. Bush declared an end to major combat operations: this ended the invasion period and began the period of military occupation . Saddam Hussein

4961-463: The Iraqi people ... so I have got no doubt Saddam is very bad for Iraq, but on the other hand I have got no doubt either that the purpose of our challenge from the United Nations is the disarmament of weapons of mass destruction, it is not regime change." At a press conference on 31 January 2003, Bush again reiterated that the single trigger for the invasion would be Iraq's failure to disarm, "Saddam Hussein must understand that if he does not disarm, for

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5082-574: The Iraqi-Kuwaiti border. While special forces launched an amphibious assault from the Persian Gulf to secure Basra and the surrounding petroleum fields, the main invasion army moved into southern Iraq, occupying the region and engaging in the Battle of Nasiriyah on 23 March. Massive air strikes across the country and against Iraqi command and control threw the defending army into chaos and prevented an effective resistance. On 26 March,

5203-498: The Marine Corps Reserve's 1st Battalion, 23rd Regiment , and supported by Combat Service Support Company 122. 2nd Infantry Division, Manchu, Charlie Co 1-9 Infantry Mechanized with 1st and 2nd platoons, (US Army) SEAL Sniper Task Elements from Naval Special Warfare Task Group Central and the U.S. Marine Corps Scout Platoons, captured Fallujah General Hospital, Blackwater Bridge, ING building, and villages opposite of

5324-605: The Navy Seabees of NMCB 4 and NMCB 23 who bulldozed the streets clear of debris from the bombardment that morning. The Seabees used armored bulldozers to plow the streets while remaining safe and protected from enemy fire. Shortly after nightfall on 9 November 2004, Marines had reportedly reached Phase Line Fran at Highway 10 in the center of the city. While most of the fighting subsided by 13 November 2004, U.S. Marines and Special Operations Forces continued to face determined isolated resistance from insurgents hidden throughout

5445-478: The U-2 Dragon Lady high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft for intelligence collection, surveillance and reconnaissance before, during, and after the battle. The six battalions of U.S. and Iraqi forces, aided by Marine Corps Scout and Target Acquisition, SEAL Sniper, and JTAC elements pre-fire operations, moved into the city under the cover of darkness; and once aligned with the reconnaissance elements, began

5566-525: The U.S. moved towards a more aggressive policy toward Iraq. The Republican Party's campaign platform in the 2000 election called for "full implementation" of the Iraq Liberation Act as "a starting point" in a plan to "remove" Saddam. After leaving the George W. Bush administration , Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said that an attack on Iraq had been planned since Bush's inauguration and that

5687-637: The UK ambassador, Jeremy Greenstock , publicly confirmed this reading of the resolution, assuring that Resolution 1441 provided no "automaticity" or "hidden triggers" for an invasion without further consultation of the Security Council. Resolution 1441 gave Iraq "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" and set up inspections by the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and

5808-471: The UN Security Council contained a computer-generated image of a "mobile biological weapons laboratory". However, this information was based on claims of Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, codenamed "Curveball" , an Iraqi emigrant living in Germany who later admitted that his claims had been false. Powell also presented false assertions alleging Iraq had ties to al-Qaeda . As a follow-up to Powell's presentation,

5929-429: The UN Security Council adopted a compromise resolution, UN Security Council Resolution 1441 , which authorized the resumption of weapons inspections and promised "serious consequences" for non-compliance. Security Council members France and Russia made clear that they did not consider these consequences to include the use of force to overthrow the Iraqi government. Both the U.S. ambassador to the UN, John Negroponte , and

6050-709: The United States used incendiary MK-77 bombs in violation of Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons , a convention to which the United States was not a party until 2009. According to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons , quoted in the documentary, white phosphorus is permitted for use as an illumination device and as a weapon with regard to heat energy, but not permitted as an offensive weapon with regard to its chemical properties. On November 15, 2005,

6171-401: The United States' tactics during the battle, including the weapons used, civilian casualties, and collateral damage. The use of white phosphorus during the battle was first reported on November 10, 2004, by Washington Post reporters who were embedded with Task Force 2-2, Regimental Combat Team 7 reported that they witnessed artillery guns firing white phosphorus projectiles which "create

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6292-475: The United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, Australia, Denmark, Japan, and Spain proposed a resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq, but Canada, France, and Germany, together with Russia, strongly urged continued diplomacy. Facing a losing vote as well as a likely veto from France and Russia, the US, UK, Poland, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Japan, and Australia eventually withdrew their resolution. Opposition to

6413-456: The administration prepared Operation Desert Badger to respond aggressively if any Air Force pilot was shot down while flying over Iraq, but this did not happen. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld dismissed National Security Agency (NSA) intercept data available by midday of the 11th that pointed to al-Qaeda 's culpability, and by mid-afternoon ordered the Pentagon to prepare plans for attacking Iraq. According to aides who were with him in

6534-415: The assault in the early hours of 8 November 2004, preceded by an intense artillery barrage firing some 2500 155mm projectiles and air attack. This was followed by an attack on the main train station, which was then used as a staging point for follow-on forces. By that afternoon, under the protection of intense air cover, Marines entered the Hay Naib al-Dubat and al-Naziza districts. The Marines were followed by

6655-457: The assault with about 2,500 Navy personnel in operational and support roles. U.S. troops were grouped in two Regimental Combat Teams: Regimental Combat Team 1 comprised 3rd Battalion/1st Marines, 3rd Battalion/5th Marines, and U.S. Army 2d Battalion/7th Cavalry. Regimental Combat Team 7 comprised the 1st Battalion/8th Marines, 1st Battalion/3rd Marines, U.S. Army 2d Battalion/2d Infantry, 2d Battalion/12th Cavalry About 2,000 Iraqi troops assisted with

6776-416: The assault. All were supported by Marine fixed and rotary-winged aircraft, Navy and Air Force fixed-wing aircraft; and USSOCOM Sniper Elements. The 850-strong 1st Battalion of the Black Watch was ordered to help U.S. and Iraqi forces with the encirclement of Fallujah. As part of Task Force Black , D Squadron of the British SAS prepared to take part in the operation, but British political nervousness about

6897-706: The battle. According to the article, "WP (White Phosphorus) proved to be an effective and versatile munition. We used it for screening missions at two breeches and, later in the fight, as a potent psychological weapon against the insurgents in trench lines and spider holes where we could not get effects on them with HE [High Explosives]. We fired "shake and bake" missions at the insurgents, using WP to flush them out and HE to take them out." 2003 invasion of Iraq [REDACTED] Republic of Iraq Invasion (2003) Post-invasion insurgency (2003–2006) Civil war (2006–2008) Insurgency (2008–2011) Main phase Later phase The 2003 invasion of Iraq

7018-586: The chief of Iraqi intelligence's foreign operations, Hassan al-Obeidi. Obeidi told Hage that Baghdad did not understand why they were targeted and that they had no WMDs. He then made the offer for Washington to send in 2000 FBI agents to confirm this. He additionally offered petroleum concessions but stopped short of having Saddam give up power, instead suggesting that elections could be held in two years. Later, Obeidi suggested that Hage travel to Baghdad for talks; he accepted. Later that month, Hage met with General Habbush and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz . He

7139-462: The city before the battle, which greatly reduced the potential for noncombatant casualties. U.S. military officials estimated that 70–90% of the 300,000 civilians in the city fled before the attack, leaving 30,000 to 90,000 civilians still in the city. The military used leaflets and broadcasts to encourage civilians to leave the city before the assault. However, multiple news agencies reported that military-aged males were prevented from leaving or entering

7260-428: The city by the U.S. military. Additionally, not all civilians had the means to leave Fallujah before the battle. Jane Arraf , who was embedded with U.S. troops, said that some families wrote "We are family" on the doors of their homes, hoping the Marines would not attack during the battle. With Navy SEAL and Marine Recon Snipers providing reconnaissance and target marking on the city perimeter, ground operations began on

7381-402: The city was reclaimed by the Iraqi Army and Special Operations Units in June 2016. Regimental Combat Team 1 (RCT-1) built around the 1st Marine Regiment : Regimental Combat Team 7 (RCT-7) built around the 7th Marine Regiment : Ninth Air Force (United States Air Forces Central Command) (U.S. Air Force) U.S. Special Operations Command There were numerous criticisms relating to

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7502-399: The city. By 16 November 2004, after nine days of fighting, the Marine command described the action as mopping up pockets of resistance. Sporadic fighting continued until 23 December 2004. By late January 2005, news reports indicated U.S. combat units were leaving the area, and were assisting the local population in returning to the now heavily damaged city. Staff Sergeant David Bellavia of

7623-411: The city. Images of their mutilated bodies were broadcast around the world. Journalist Jeremy Scahill later called this incident the Mogadishu moment of the Iraq War (referencing the Battle of Mogadishu , also known as the "Black Hawk Down" incident). Although tactical commanders in Iraq considered these deaths militarily insignificant, U.S. political leaders disapproved of a measured approach targeting

7744-439: The concept of the strike aircraft , what earlier generations of military aviators referred to as light bombers or attack aircraft . With the near-complete air supremacy enjoyed by developed nations in undeveloped regions, fighter jets can often be modified to add strike capability in a manner less practicable in earlier generations. Airstrikes can be carried out for strategic purposes outside of general warfare. Operation Opera

7865-399: The continuation or resumption of programs of weapons of mass destruction" or significant quantities of proscribed items. UNMOVIC did supervise the destruction of a small number of empty chemical rocket warheads, 50 liters of mustard gas that had been declared by Iraq and sealed by UNSCOM in 1998, and laboratory quantities of a mustard gas precursor, along with about 50 Al-Samoud missiles of

7986-490: The conversation to senior levels of the state department and I was told to stand aside and they would handle it." Cannistraro stated that the offers made were all "killed" by the George W. Bush administration because they allowed Saddam to remain in power, an outcome viewed as unacceptable. It has been suggested that Saddam Hussein was prepared to go into exile if allowed to keep US$ 1 billion. Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak 's national security advisor, Osama El-Baz , sent

8107-663: The displaced and to many needy Iraqi citizens. Seventh, to secure Iraq's oil fields and resources, which belong to the Iraqi people. And last, to help the Iraqi people create conditions for a transition to a representative self-government." Throughout 2002, the Bush administration insisted that removing Saddam from power to restore international peace and security was a major goal. The principal stated justifications for this policy of "regime change" were that Iraq's continuing production of weapons of mass destruction and known ties to terrorist organizations , as well as Iraq's continued violations of UN Security Council resolutions, amounted to

8228-436: The enforcement of Iraqi no-fly zones declared by the U.S. and the UK to protect the Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan and Shias in the south from aerial attacks by the Iraqi government; and ongoing inspections. Iraqi military helicopters and planes regularly contested the no-fly zones. In October 1998, removing the Iraqi government became official U.S. foreign policy with enactment of the Iraq Liberation Act . Enacted following

8349-474: The expulsion of UN weapons inspectors the preceding August (after some had been accused of spying for the U.S.), the act provided $ 97 million for Iraqi "democratic opposition organizations" to "establish a program to support a transition to democracy in Iraq." This legislation contrasted with the terms set out in United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 , which focused on weapons and weapons programs and made no mention of regime change. One month after

8470-404: The fighting started. NATO member Turkey refused to allow the U.S. forces across its territory into northern Iraq . Therefore, joint SAD and Army Special forces teams and the Peshmerga constituted the entire Northern force against the Iraqi army. They managed to keep the northern divisions in place rather than allowing them to aid their colleagues against the U.S.-led coalition force coming from

8591-638: The fighting. Many of these mosques had been used as arms caches and weapon strongpoints by Islamist forces. Of the roughly 50,000 buildings in Fallujah, between 7,000 and 10,000 were estimated to have been destroyed in the offensive and from half to two-thirds of the remaining buildings had notable damage. While pre-offensive inhabitant figures are unreliable, the nominal population was assumed to have been 200,000–350,000. One report states that both offensives, Operation Vigilant Resolve and Operation Phantom Fury, created 200,000 internally displaced persons who are still living elsewhere in Iraq. While damage to mosques

8712-476: The first United States National Security Council meeting involved discussion of an invasion. O'Neill later backtracked, saying that these discussions were part of a continuation of foreign policy first put into place by the Clinton administration . Despite the Bush administration's stated interest in invading Iraq, little formal movement towards an invasion occurred until the 11 September attacks . For example,

8833-659: The government's invasion rationale. In September 2004, Kofi Annan , United Nations Secretary-General at the time, called the invasion illegal under international law and said it was a breach of the UN Charter . On 15 February 2003, a month before the invasion, there were worldwide protests against the Iraq War , including a rally of three million people in Rome, which the Guinness World Records listed as

8954-425: The ground for coordination with ground troops and intelligence in a manner derived from artillery tactics. The first large scale air raid occurred during World War I in 1915, when London was bombed by 15 German Zeppelin dirigibles at night. Since the residents of London, and many of its defenders, were asleep, a loud warning system for air raids made sense, leading to the creation of the air raid siren . It

9075-471: The initial air strikes against Saddam and his generals. Although the strike against Saddam was unsuccessful in killing him, it effectively ended his ability to command and control his forces. Strikes against Iraq's generals were more successful and significantly degraded the Iraqi command's ability to react to, and maneuver against, the U.S.-led invasion force. SAD operations officers successfully convinced key Iraqi Army officers to surrender their units once

9196-597: The invasion coalesced in the worldwide 15 February 2003 anti-war protest that attracted between six and ten million people in more than 800 cities, the largest such protest in human history according to the Guinness Book of World Records . On 16 March 2003, Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar , UK Prime Minister Tony Blair , President of the United States George W. Bush , and Prime Minister of Portugal José Manuel Durão Barroso as host met in

9317-605: The invasion of Iraq was presented in detail by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to the United Nations Security Council on 5 February 2003. In summary, he stated, We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction; he's determined to make more. Given Saddam Hussein's history of aggression ... given what we know of his terrorist associations and given his determination to exact revenge on those who oppose him, should we take

9438-616: The largest-ever anti-war rally. According to the French academic Dominique Reynié , between 3 January and 12 April 2003, 36 million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000 protests against the Iraq war. The invasion was preceded by an airstrike on the Presidential Palace in Baghdad on 20 March 2003. The following day, coalition forces launched an incursion into Basra Governorate from their massing point close to

9559-564: The last combat deployment of British Spitfires. During the Vietnam War, airstrikes and their doctrine were adjusted to fit the jets, like the North American F-100 Super Sabre , Republic F-105 Thunderchief , Douglas A-4 Skyhawk , and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II , which were entering the U.S.A.F. and U.S.N. inventory. These aircraft could fly faster, carry more ordnance, and defend themselves better than

9680-412: The local population was ordered to keep the insurgents out of the city. The Fallujah Brigade, composed of local Iraqis under the command of a former Ba'athist officer named Muhammed Latif , took control of the city. Insurgent strength and control began to grow to such an extent that by 24 September 2004, a senior U.S. official told ABC News that catching Abu Musab al-Zarqawi , said to be in Fallujah,

9801-475: The matter further with people in Washington (both have acknowledged the meeting). A few days later, he informed Hage that Washington refused to let him meet with Habbush to discuss the offer (Hage stated that Perle's response was "that the consensus in Washington was it was a no-go"). Perle told The Times , "The message was 'Tell them that we will see them in Baghdad.′" According to General Tommy Franks ,

9922-499: The night of 7 November 2004. Attacking from the west and south, the Iraqi 36th Commando Battalion with their U.S. Army Special Forces advisers, 1st and 2nd Platoon Charlie Company, Manchu 1st Battalion 9th Infantry Regiment Mechanized, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division (U.S. Army) served as the main effort on the peninsula and supported by 3rd Platoon Alpha Company 2/72nd Tank Battalion (U.S. Army), and 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, reinforced by Bravo Company from

10043-455: The northern edge of the city. They were joined by two U.S. Army heavy battalion mechanized units, the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment , and Task Force 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment (Mechanized) , followed by four Marine infantry battalions tasked with clearing buildings. The Army's mechanized Second Brigade , First Cavalry Division , Marines' 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and A. Co 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment ,

10164-507: The objectives of the invasion were, "First, end the regime of Saddam Hussein. Second, to identify, isolate and eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Third, to search for, to capture, and to drive out terrorists from that country. Fourth, to collect such intelligence as we can related to terrorist networks. Fifth, to collect such intelligence as we can related to the global network of illicit weapons of mass destruction. Sixth, to end sanctions and to immediately deliver humanitarian support to

10285-419: The operation. The United States Air Force provided close air support for the ground offensive, employing F-15 Strike Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons, A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, B-52 Stratofortresses, and AC-130 gunships to carry out close-quarter precision airstrikes against enemy strongholds within the city. The Air Force also employed MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance and precision strikes, and

10406-415: The option of invading without it. General David Petraeus recalled in an interview his experience during the time before the invasion, stating that "When we were getting ready for what became the invasion of Iraq, the prevailing wisdom was that we were going to have a long, hard fight to Baghdad, and it was really going to be hard to take Baghdad. The road to deployment, which was a very compressed road for

10527-403: The outskirts of Fallujah. Iraqi forces suffered 8 killed and 43 wounded. Estimates of insurgent casualties are complicated by a lack of official figures. Most estimates place the number of insurgents killed at around 1,200 to 1,500, with some estimations as high as over 2,000 killed. Coalition forces also captured approximately 1,500 insurgents during the operation. The 1st Marine Division fired

10648-724: The paramilitary operations officers and 10th Special Forces Group soldiers, were the first U.S. forces to enter Iraq, in July 2002, before the main invasion. Once on the ground, they prepared for the subsequent arrival of U.S. Army Special Forces to organize the Kurdish Peshmerga . This joint team (called the Northern Iraq Liaison Element (NILE)) combined to defeat Ansar al-Islam , a group with ties to al-Qaeda, in Iraqi Kurdistan. This battle

10769-416: The passage of the Iraq Liberation Act, the U.S. and UK launched a bombardment campaign of Iraq called Operation Desert Fox . The campaign's express rationale was to hamper Saddam Hussein's government's ability to produce chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, but U.S. intelligence personnel also hoped it would help weaken Saddam's grip on power. With the election of George W. Bush as president in 2000 ,

10890-491: The perpetrators and instead requested a larger assault into the city. A leak later revealed that the main factor behind this wasn't the killings themselves, but the circulation of images of the event which served as a symbol of opposition to American forces in Iraq. Within days, U.S. Marine Corps forces launched Operation Vigilant Resolve (5 April 2004) to take back control of the city from insurgent forces. On 28 April 2004, Operation Vigilant Resolve ended with an agreement where

11011-578: The possible scale of casualties stopped any direct UK involvement in the ground battle. In April, Fallujah was occupied by about 500 "hardcore" and 1,000+ "part time" insurgents. By November, it was estimated that the numbers had doubled. Another estimate put the number of insurgents at 3,000; however, a number of insurgent leaders escaped before the attack. Fallujah was occupied by virtually every insurgent group in Iraq: al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), Islamic Army of Iraq (IAI), Ansar al-Sunna , Army of Mohammed (AOM),

11132-519: The pre-offensive inhabitants had returned as of mid-January, and only 30% as of the end of March 2005. Nevertheless, the battle proved to be less than the decisive engagement that the U.S. military had hoped for. Some of the nonlocal insurgents, along with Zarqawi, were believed to have fled before the military assault, leaving mostly local militants behind. Subsequent U.S. military operations against insurgent positions were ineffective at drawing out insurgents into another open battle, and by September 2006,

11253-431: The press. Most notable of these attacks was a suicide car bomb attack on 23 June 2005 on a convoy that killed 6 Marines. Thirteen other Marines were injured in the attack. However, fourteen months later insurgents were again able to operate in large numbers. A third push was mounted from September 2006 and lasted until mid-January 2007. Tactics developed in what has been called the "Third Battle of Fallujah," when applied on

11374-548: The private military contractor Blackwater . After that battle, control of the city was transferred to an Iraqi-run local security force, which began stockpiling weapons and building complex defenses. Led by the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army , the Second Battle of Fallujah was later described as "some of the heaviest urban combat Marines and Soldiers have been involved in since Huế City in Vietnam in 1968" and as

11495-490: The radical Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda from 1992 to 2003, specifically through a series of meetings reportedly involving the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS). Some Bush advisers favored an immediate invasion of Iraq, while others advocated building an international coalition and obtaining United Nations authorization. Bush eventually decided to seek UN authorization, while still reserving

11616-517: The risk that he will not some day use these weapons at a time and the place and in the manner of his choosing at a time when the world is in a much weaker position to respond? The United States will not and cannot run that risk to the American people. Leaving Saddam Hussein in possession of weapons of mass destruction for a few more months or years is not an option, not in a post–September 11 world. In September 2002, Tony Blair stated, in an answer to

11737-405: The roofs of high buildings, they bricked up stairwells to the roofs of many buildings, creating paths into prepared fields of fire which they hoped the troops would enter. Intelligence briefings given prior to battle reported that coalition forces would encounter Chechen , Filipino , Saudi , Libyan, and Syrian combatants, as well as native Iraqis. Most of Fallujah's civilian population fled

11858-498: The sake of peace, we, along with others, will go disarm Saddam Hussein." As late as 25 February 2003, it was still the official line that the only cause of invasion would be a failure to disarm. As Blair made clear in a statement to the House of Commons, "I detest his regime. But even now he can save it by complying with the UN's demand. Even now, we are prepared to go the extra step to achieve disarmament peacefully." In September 2002,

11979-564: The situation had deteriorated to the point that the Al-Anbar province that contained Fallujah was reported to be in total insurgent control by the U.S. Marine Corps, with the exception of only pacified Fallujah, but now with an insurgent-plagued Ramadi . After the U.S. military operation of November 2004, the number of insurgent attacks gradually increased in and around the city, and although news reports were often few and far between, several reports of IED attacks on Iraqi troops were reported in

12100-551: The six-day-long Battle of Baghdad . This early stage of the war formally ended on 1 May when U.S. President George W. Bush declared the "end of major combat operations" in his Mission Accomplished speech , after which the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was established as the first of several successive transitional governments leading up to the first Iraqi parliamentary election in January 2005. U.S. military forces later remained in Iraq until

12221-559: The south. Four of these CIA officers were awarded the Intelligence Star for their actions. In the 2003 State of the Union address , President Bush said "we know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several mobile biological weapons labs". On 5 February 2003, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations General Assembly , continuing U.S. efforts to gain UN authorization for an invasion. His presentation to

12342-517: The start of the invasion. Others place a much greater emphasis on the impact of the September 11 attacks , on the role this played in changing U.S. strategic calculations, and the rise of the freedom agenda. According to Blair, the trigger was Iraq's failure to take a "final opportunity" to disarm itself of alleged nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that U.S. and British officials called an immediate and intolerable threat to world peace. In

12463-536: The then Leader of the House of Commons Robin Cook . In a passionate speech to the House of Commons after his resignation, he said, "What has come to trouble me is the suspicion that if the 'hanging chads' of Florida had gone the other way and Al Gore had been elected, we would not now be about to commit British troops to action in Iraq." During the debate, it was stated that the Attorney General had advised that

12584-649: The toughest battle the U.S. military has been in since the end of the Vietnam War. It was the single bloodiest and fiercest battle of the entire conflict, including for American troops. In February 2004, control of Fallujah and the surrounding area in the Al Anbar Governorate was transferred from the United States 82nd Airborne Division to the 1st Marine Division . Shortly afterward, on 31 March 2004, four American private military contractors from Blackwater – Wesley Batalona, Scott Helvenston , Jerry Zovko, and Michael Teague – were ambushed and killed in

12705-577: The trip. Maloof reports having brought the proposal to Jaymie Duran. The Pentagon denies that either Wolfowitz or Rumsfeld, Duran's bosses, were aware of the plan. On 21 February, Maloof informed Duran in an email that Richard Perle wished to meet with Hage and the Iraqis if the Pentagon would clear it. Duran responded "Mike, working this. Keep this close hold." On 7 March, Perle met with Hage in Knightsbridge, and stated that he wanted to pursue

12826-467: The tubes could be used to enrich uranium. Powell later admitted he had presented an inaccurate case to the United Nations on Iraqi weapons, based on sourcing that was wrong and in some cases "deliberately misleading." The Bush administration asserted that the Saddam government had sought to purchase yellowcake uranium from Niger . On 7 March 2003, the U.S. submitted intelligence documents as evidence to

12947-499: The war to its citizens. Americans overwhelmingly believed Saddam did have weapons of mass destruction: 85% said so, even though the inspectors had not uncovered those weapons. Of those who thought Iraq had weapons sequestered somewhere, about half responded that said weapons would not be found in combat. By February 2003, 64% of Americans supported taking military action to remove Saddam from power. The Central Intelligence Agency 's Special Activities Division (SAD) teams, consisting of

13068-573: The war was legal under previous UN Resolutions. In December 2002, a representative of the head of Iraqi Intelligence, the General Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti , contacted former Central Intelligence Agency Counterterrorism Department head Vincent Cannistraro stating that Saddam "knew there was a campaign to link him to 11 September and prove he had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)." Cannistraro further added that "the Iraqis were prepared to satisfy these concerns. I reported

13189-560: The withdrawal in 2011. The coalition sent 160,000 troops into Iraq during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from 19 March to 1 May. About 73% or 130,000 soldiers were American, with about 45,000 British soldiers (25%), 2,000 Australian soldiers (1%), and ~200 Polish JW GROM commandos (0.1%). Thirty-six other countries were involved in its aftermath. In preparation for the invasion, 100,000 U.S. troops assembled in Kuwait by 18 February. The coalition forces also received support from

13310-475: Was captured by U.S. forces on 13 December. Hostilities of the Gulf War were suspended on 28 February 1991, with a cease-fire negotiated between the UN coalition and Iraq. The U.S. and its allies tried to keep Saddam in check with military actions such as Operation Southern Watch , which was conducted by Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) with the mission of monitoring and controlling airspace south of

13431-638: Was a single eight-ship Israeli airstrike against the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor , criticized by world opinion but not leading to a general outbreak of war. Such an example of the preventive strike has created new questions for international law. Airstrikes, including airstrikes by drones, were extensively used during the Gulf War , War on Terror , War in Afghanistan , Iraq War , First Libyan Civil War , Syrian Civil War , Iraqi Civil War , Yemeni Civil War , 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and

13552-460: Was for control of the territory that was occupied by Ansar al-Islam. It was carried out by Paramilitary Operations Officers from SAD and the Army's 10th Special Forces Group. This battle resulted in the defeat of Ansar and the capture of a chemical weapons facility at Sargat. Sargat was the only facility of its type discovered in the Iraq war. SAD teams also conducted missions behind enemy lines to identify leadership targets. These missions led to

13673-439: Was heavy, coalition forces reported that 66 out of the city's 133 mosques had been found to be holding significant amounts of insurgent weaponry. In mid-December, residents were allowed to return after undergoing biometric identification, provided they wore their ID cards all the time. Reconstruction progressed slowly and mainly consisted of clearing rubble from heavily damaged areas and reestablishing basic utilities. Only 10% of

13794-493: Was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that invading that country was not justified in the context of UNMOVIC 's 12 February 2003 report. About 5,000 largely unusable chemical warheads , shells or aviation bombs were discovered during the Iraq War, but these had been built and abandoned earlier in Saddam Hussein 's rule before the 1991 Gulf War . The discoveries of these chemical weapons did not support

13915-562: Was not complying with UN Resolution 1441 . The main allegations were: that Saddam possessed or was attempting to produce weapons of mass destruction , which Saddam Hussein had used in places such as Halabja , possessed, and made efforts to acquire, particularly considering two previous attacks on Baghdad nuclear weapons production facilities by both Iran and Israel which were alleged to have postponed weapons development progress; and, further, that he had ties to terrorists, specifically al-Qaeda. The Bush administration's overall rationale for

14036-535: Was not until World War II that the Oxford English Dictionary first records usage of the term "air strike", which remained two separate words for some time thereafter. The Second World War also saw the first development of precision-guided munitions , which were fielded successfully by the Germans, and contributed to the modern sense of air "strike", a precision targeted attack as opposed to

14157-458: Was now "the highest priority," and estimated his troops at 5,000 men, mostly non-Iraqis. However, the stated purpose of the military operation in Fallujah was to weaken the insurgency in preparation for the planned Iraqi elections in January 2005. Before beginning their attack, U.S. and Iraqi forces had established checkpoints around the city to prevent anyone from entering, and to intercept insurgents attempting to flee. In addition, overhead imagery

14278-505: Was offered top priority to U.S. firms in oil and mining rights, UN-supervised elections, U.S. inspections (with up to 5,000 inspectors), to have al-Qaeda agent Abdul Rahman Yasin (in Iraqi custody since 1994) handed over as a sign of good faith, and to give "full support for any U.S. plan" in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process . They also wished to meet with high-ranking U.S. officials. On 19 February, Hage faxed Maloof his report of

14399-429: Was tasked with infiltrating the city and destroying any fleeing enemy forces. The British Army's 1st Battalion, The Black Watch, patrolled the main highways to the east. The RCTs were augmented by three 7-man SEAL Sniper Teams from Naval Special Warfare Task Group-Central and one platoon from 1st Recon, who provided advance reconnaissance in the city, Joint Terminal Aircraft Control (JTAC) and unilateral overwatch throughout

14520-494: Was the first stage of the Iraq War . The invasion began on 20 March 2003 and lasted just over one month, including 26 days of major combat operations, in which a United States-led combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded the Republic of Iraq . Twenty-two days after the first day of the invasion, the capital city of Baghdad was captured by coalition forces on 9 April after

14641-436: Was used to prepare maps of the city for use by the attackers. American units were augmented by Iraqi interpreters to assist them in the planned fight. After weeks of withstanding air strikes and artillery bombardment, the militants in the city appeared to be vulnerable to direct attack. U.S., Iraqi and British forces totaled about 13,500. The U.S. had gathered some 6,500 Marines and 1,500 Army soldiers that would take part in

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