Iraq conflict (2003–present)

Part of the War on Terror and Operation Inherent Resolve

Military situation in Iraq as of 20 October 2016.

Controlled by the Iraqi Government and/or Shi'ite militias

Controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government

Date

20 March 2003 – present
(14 years, 7 months and 2 days)

Location

Iraq

Result

Ongoing

US-led Coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq and downfall of the Ba'athist government
Insurgency against the Coalition and spread of sectarian violence
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq (2011)
Continued insurgency against the government
Establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant caliphate in a third of the country (2014)
Re-escalation of conflict and return of a new US-led Coalition

Ongoing

The Iraq conflict (2003–present) is a long-running armed conflict that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. However, the conflict continued as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government. The United States officially withdrew from the country in 2011, but became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition.

The main rationale for the invasion of Iraq was based on US and UK allegations that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction and that he thus presented a threat to his neighbors and to the world community. The U.S. stated "on November 8, 2002, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1441. All fifteen members of the Security Council agreed to give Iraq a final opportunity to comply with its obligations and disarm or face the serious consequences of failing to disarm. The resolution strengthened the mandate of the UN Monitoring and Verification Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), giving them authority to go anywhere, at any time and talk to anyone in order to verify Iraq's disarmament."

Throughout late 2001, 2002, and early 2003, the Bush Administration worked to build a case for invading Iraq, culminating in then Secretary of State Colin Powell's February 2003 address to the Security Council. Shortly after the invasion, the Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, and other intelligence agencies largely discredited evidence related to Iraqi weapons as well as links to Al-Qaeda, and at this point the Bush and Blair Administrations began to shift to secondary rationales for the war, such as the Hussein government's human rights record and promoting democracy in Iraq. Opinion polls showed that people of nearly all countries opposed a war without UN mandate and that the view of the United States as a danger to world peace had significantly increased. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan described the war as illegal, saying in a September 2004 interview that it was "not in conformity with the Security Council."

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Wikipedia