War on Iraq

I

Introduction

War on Iraq, name given to a war during March and April 2003 in which the United States and its allies overthrew the Baathist regime in Iraq, and to the period of occupation that followed.

II

Causes of Conflict

In part, the war grew out of the Gulf War at the conclusion of which there were uprisings by the Kurds in northern Iraq and by some Shiite Arabs in southern Iraq. These uprisings were suppressed by the Baathist government. The United Nations in Resolution 668 was induced to create a “safe haven” for the Kurds in the north. This was protected by an aerial exclusion zone or “no-fly zone” north of latitude 36° north; and in 1992 the United States and its allies established a similar no-fly zone south of latitude 32° north, which in 1996 was extended to latitude 33° north. Also, according to Resolution 687 passed on April 3, 1991, Iraq agreed to declare and destroy its stockpile of weapons of mass destruction (WMD; see Chemical and Biological Warfare) and allow verification of this process by UN inspectors. Thirdly, economic sanctions imposed on Iraq in August 1990 were continued.

Inspection, sanctions, the no-fly zones, and other issues concerning recognition of Kuwait and the ending of alleged oppression were sources of continual friction between Iraq and the United States and its allies during the next decade. Iraq endeavoured to avoid inspection and to procure the end of sanctions with limited success: the oil for food programme of 1996 represented a moderation of the sanctions regime and several states began to ignore sanctions and to trade with Iraq. The United States continued to demand full compliance with UN resolutions and air patrols and bombing were intensified in the no-fly zones. Moreover, the United States added a further objective: what came to be called “regime change”, namely the overthrow of the regime of Saddam Hussein. The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 passed by the US Congress authorized covert measures for this end. Under the presidency of George W. Bush this latter objective was given greater prominence, especially after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Supported by the United Kingdom, the United States began to force the pace on the issue of inspection and Iraq’s alleged possession of WMD. Saddam Hussein made concessions over inspections but would not abdicate and it was decided to overthrow him by force.

III

Military Operations

Unlike the Gulf War, when the United States was supported by the UN and a large international coalition including several Arab states, very few states supported the War on Iraq and the UN Security Council refused to sanction it; only the United Kingdom and Australia sent combat troops to support the US contingent. Because of the refusal of Turkey and Jordan to allow their territory to be used, the US-led campaign was launched from Kuwait alone. In addition to international opposition all three governments faced varying levels of domestic opposition to their decision to go to war. The commander-in-chief of Operation Iraqi Freedom (the British name was Operation Telic, the Australian name was Operation Falconer) was US General Tommy Franks.

Although on paper Iraq possessed numerical superiority (400,000 to 250,000 troops) in all other respects—weapons, equipment, training and leadership—it was hopelessly outclassed. The Americans termed their tactics “shock and awe”, although this phrase simply described classical military doctrines of speed, concentration of effort, and surprise, designed to seize the initiative, paralyse the enemy’s communications, and destroy his will to fight. Fortified by the enormous power of its weapon systems the United States executed these tactics in an exemplary manner.

An airstrike on Baghdad on March 20, characterized by precision and concentrated fury, was followed early on the morning of March 21 by a land attack. The speed of the advance, covered by total air superiority, was astonishing. The US 3rd Infantry Division struck northwards through the desert west of the Euphrates and by nightfall had reached An Nāşirīyah, a strategic crossing of the river, and two days later arrived at An Najaf. Meanwhile the 1st US Marine Expeditionary Force seized the southern oil fields and the port of Umm Qasr and moved on to An Nāşirīyah, which was captured in the face of resistance from Iraqi fedayeen. Crossing the Euphrates the Marines drove north in two columns. The capture of the town of Umm Qasr and of Basra was left to British forces. The US 3rd Infantry Division reached the outskirts of Baghdad on April 3-4, and entered the city on April 6. They were joined by the Marines and the capture of Baghdad was completed on April 8. The fall of Baghdad in turn facilitated the advance of Kurdish forces (accompanied by US special forces) from the north and the capture of Kirkūk and Mosul on April 10-11. The military campaign proper was ended by the fall of Tikrit on April 14 and its termination was formally proclaimed by President Bush on May 1.

IV

Reconstruction

Subsequently, the US-led coalition sought to capture the leading Baathists, create a new administration and government, and begin the task of rebuilding Iraq. Some success was achieved in arresting senior Baathists: Uday and Qusay, the sons of Saddam Hussein, were killed in Mosul on July 22 and Saddam himself was eventually found and arrested on December 13. A Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was created to administer Iraq and a Governing Council composed of a mixture of Kurds and Sunni and Shiite Arabs and including several former exiles was established on July 22, 2003, although real power remained with the US administrator, Paul Bremer.

Work began on plans for a new constitution and contracts were issued for reconstruction projects. Sanctions were lifted by Resolution 1488 and the CPA was given permission to use Iraqi oil revenues. There remained very severe problems: the slow rebuilding of utilities, widespread unemployment, disagreements between the CPA and the Governing Council and between different groups in Iraq, and, above all, the inability of the CPA to establish adequate security. Elements hostile to the occupation, especially in the Sunni Arab areas of central Iraq, began to wage guerrilla warfare, using ambushes and suicide bombings against US forces, the CPA, and the reconstituted Iraqi police. Al-Qaeda emerged as a major force of resistance to the occupation, attracting overseas jihadis to Iraq, but so too did home-grown Sunni and Shiite militia groups such as the Mehdi army, led by the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. In November 2004 the US army led an assault on Al Fallûjah to regain control of the city from the Mehdi army. Such groups were also a cause of internecine violence between Shiite and Sunni Iraqis.

The emergence in April 2004 of photographs depicting abuse of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad by US soldiers, which also coincided with an increase in violence by insurgents, hardened opposition to the occupation. Similarly, the emergence of evidence in March 2006 of the killing of 15 civilians as a result of a marine rampage through the town of Haditha in November 2005, with its echoes of the My Lai massacre of the Vietnam War, further soured relations between Iraqis and the occupying forces. In this guerrilla phase of the war US casualties greatly exceeded those suffered in the orthodox military campaign—by mid-December 2007 there had been more than 3,900 US troops killed since operations began. In addition, there had been 174 British and 2 Australian deaths and at least 80,000 Iraqi soldiers, police, and civilians killed as a result of coalition and insurgent action. Furthermore, it was reported by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in February 2007 that more than 2 million Iraqis had fled their homes and were now refugees, the majority escaping to Syria and Jordan. Despite an intensive search no significant evidence of Iraq’s possession of WMD was discovered.