Iraq War Timeline

On February 5, 2003, Colin Powell gives a speech while he addresses the UN to try to get authorization from multiple nations for an invasion of Iraq. His reasoning for this is saying that they have chemical and biological weapons that could be linked to Al-Qaida. Powell thought that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, or WMD, and mobile bioweapons labs on the backs of trucks that could be quickly transported and therefore extremely difficult to find and stop (Iraq War Timeline Colin Powell Addresses U.N, Seeks OK For Invasion). However it was obvious that the use of force would not be approved by the United Nations and the request was withdrawn by Powell. But in the summer of 2003 Iraq was searched for weapons and mobile bioweapons labs. The evidence Powell presented was not holding up. It later came out that the sources that Powell got his information from were unreliable. In fact, one of his sources had been flagged by the Defense Intelligence Agency as a liar, but Powell was not informed of this (Former Aide: Powell WMD Speech 'lowest Point in My Life). Neither the mobile bioweapons labs nor the weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq. The intelligence that led to this situation and told to the American people was investigated and is largely referred to as “dead wrong”.
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"Former Aide: Powell WMD Speech 'lowest Point in My Life'" CNN. Cable News Network, 23 Aug. 2005. Web. 18 Nov. 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/08/19/powell.un/.

"Iraq War Timeline Colin Powell Addresses U.N, Seeks OK For Invasion." Msnbc.com. N.p., 27 Aug. 2010. Web. 18 Nov. 2016. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23694433/#.WC9BC_krK00.

"Former Aide: Powell WMD Speech 'lowest Point in My Life'" CNN. Cable News Network, 23 Aug. 2005. Web. 18 Nov. 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/08/19/powell.un/.

"Iraq War Timeline Colin Powell Addresses U.N, Seeks OK For Invasion." Msnbc.com. N.p., 27 Aug. 2010. Web. 18 Nov. 2016. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23694433/#.WC9BC_krK00.

The UN secretary general Kofi Annan announces that the diplomatic process in Iraq has ended, and orders all of the weapons inspectors, support staff, humanitarian workers and UN observers to evacuate after the United states threatens to begin a war. After he was denied authorization to use force to disarm and remove weapons from Iraq, George W. Bush gives a speech that tells Saddam Hussein that he along with his sons have 48 hours to leave Iraq or America would start a war. As promised, 48 hours later Operation Iraqi Freedom begins on March 19, 2003 at 10:15 pm Eastern standard time (Iraq War Timeline). Operation Iraqi freedom is described by President Bush as a “broad and concerted campaign” (Timeline, 1990-2011) to take away the weapons Iraq is thought to have. An attempt at Saddam Hussain’s life is made in Baghdad from an air strike, but it is unsuccessful and he is uninjured. More air strikes are fired with the same result, and American troops go on the ground to start fighting. The troops on the ground face little resistance as they begin to enter Iraq, but as they start to move forward to the larger cities in Iraq like Baghdad the resistance grows (Iraq War Timeline).
http://d1o2xrel38nv1n.cloudfront.net/files/2013/03/operation-iraqi-freedom.jpg

“Timeline, 1990 - 2011." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., 19 Dec. 2011. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
http://usiraq.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000670#inspections.

"Iraq War Timeline." Msnbc.com. N.p., 27 Aug. 2010. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23694433/#.WC9BC_krK00.

On May 1, 2003 George W Bush delivers a televised victory speech off the coast of San Diego on the warship USS Abraham Lincoln (Iraq War Timeline) saying that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended” and that “In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.” (Cline). He delivers this speech in front of a banner that clearly states “Mission Accomplished”. However, the war went on for another eight years, and this moment became a symbol for people who thought negatively towards the war. Many people who did not support George W. Bush or his actions in the Iraq war were hopeful that he would look foolish getting out of a Navy helicopter wearing a uniform, and striding onto the USS Abraham Lincoln, but instead it was the general opinion that he looked important and in charge, with many uniformed men and women looking at him respectfully (Cline). But as time went on, people saw that in fact they had been misled and the mission was far from accomplished. The photos of the President with “Mission Accomplished” behind him became well known and the people who did not support Bush got their way, because he ended up looking foolish after everything was said and done.
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Cline, Seth. "The Other Symbol of George W. Bush's Legacy." US News and World Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 27
Nov. 2016. http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/press-past/2013/05/01/the-other-symbol-of-george-w-bushs-legacy.

"Iraq War Timeline." Msnbc.com. N.p., 27 Aug. 2010. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23694433/#.WC9BC_krK00.

On December 13, 2003 former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, is captured on a farm near his hometown, Tikrit, by American soldiers. They found him alive hiding in an eight foot hole covered in bricks,dirt, and a carpet to camouflage himself (Saddam Hussein Captured). He is disoriented and dishevel when he is found, and he is captured by the US Army’s 4th Infantry Division without a fight. Saddam Hussein came into power in 1979 and stayed there for twenty four years. During his time as dictator he lived in extreme wealth while his people suffered in poverty. His secret police would terrorize the citizens and ignored their human rights (Saddam Hussein Captured). Hussein is also credited with involving Iraq in an eight year conflict with Iran during which it is said that he used nerve agents, chemical weapons, and mustard gas on both the Iranian people and the Kurdish population in northern Iraq (Saddam Hussein Captured). Throughout the conflict more than one million Iranian and Iraqi people were killed. When America began their invasion in May of 2003 to find Hussein and his closest advisors, he went into hiding almost immediately, and his government began to fall. His sons were killed in July of 2003 by American soldiers, and five months later he was captured (Iraq War Timeline).
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"Iraq War Timeline." Msnbc.com. N.p., 27 Aug. 2010. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23694433/#.WC9BC_krK00.

"Saddam Hussein Captured." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/saddam-hussein-captured.

On March 8th, 2004 an interim constitution was signed by the Iraqi Governing Council. This constitution gave the country of Iraq a bill of rights, a new system of checks and balances, and a military that was moreso controlled by a civilian government. (NBC News) These new rights included the freedom of religion, speech, press, and privacy, equality before the law, the right to: a fair, speedy, and open trial no matter the crime, the elimination of unlawful arrest or detention, the banning of cruel and unusual punishment and torture, and the right to have one’s private property protected. The document also made the language Kurdish a second national language of Islam. This was a dramatic change to Iraq because of the oppression that the Kurdish people had faced in their country. This
document also set out to help the rights of women by setting a goal of twenty-five seats in Iraq’s Transitional National Assembly. This goal was met and surpassed resulting in a total of eight-five out of 140 seats being held by women. (Iraq: The Interim Constitution). This constitution was carried out until the current constitution in 2005 when it was rewritten with slight modifications and changes and approved.

Otterman, Sharon. "IRAQ: The Interim Constitution." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 08 Mar. 2004. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
http://www.cfr.org/iraq/iraq-interim-constitution/p7672#p0

"Iraq War Timeline." NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, 27 Aug. 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23694433/#.WDzOq9UrLC0
https://www.state.gov/cms_images/iraqi_consitution_update_60.jpg

On April 28th, 2004 a set of photos were leaked to the media depicting US soldiers torturing, and physically and sexually assaulting Iraqi prisoners inside of the Abu Ghraib prison. (NBC News) The Abu Ghraib prison was packed with an estimated fifty-thousand men and women who were all subjected torture, weekly executions, and poor living conditions. (The New Yorker) The photos included an Iraqi prisoner with a hood and wires attached to him on balancing on a small box. Later it was found out that the prisoner was told that if he fell off of the box then he would be electrocuted. (The New Yorker) In June of 2003, an army brigadier general by the name of Janis Karpinski was put in charge of the army prisons in Iraq. Karpinski, like the thirty-four hundred army reservists she led, had never run any sort of prison system and had no training in handling prisoners. Karpinski later said on the topic of the prisoners of Abu Ghraib that “living conditions now are better in prison than at home. At one point we were concerned that they wouldn’t want to leave.” (The New Yorker). This event left the US army in a bad light in the eyes of the entire world. Al Jazeera TV aired the photos and called the US “No better than Saddam Hussein.” (NBC News).
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/AbuGhraibAbuse-standing-on-box.jpg/170px-AbuGhraibAbuse-standing-on-box.jpg
"Iraq War Timeline." NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, 27 Aug. 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23694433/#.WDzOq9UrLC0

Hersh, Seymour M. "Torture at Abu Ghraib." The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2004. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/05/10/torture-at-abu-ghraib

On October 7th, 2004 a report by Charles Duelfer concluded that there were absolutely no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Duelfer came to this conclusion during his time leading the Iraq Survey Group, a group organized by the Pentagon. His findings stirred up controversy because President George W. Bush’s main concern and reason in sending troops to Iraq in the first place was because there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. When Saddam Hussein was being interrogated by the CIA he revealed that he had intentionally made it appear that he had more than he did in order to scare his real enemy, Iran. Nevertheless, Hussein had not had any nuclear weapons since 1991. (NBC News). The White House went under fire being asked how they could account for the misinformation of whether or not Iraq had these weapons or not. Duelfer responded with “People spent a lot of time looking at computer screens, not talking to Iraqis.” (NBC News).

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"Iraq War Timeline." NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, 27 Aug. 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23694433/#.WDzOq9UrLC0

On November 8th, 2004 the bloodiest battle of the Iraq war began. Going on for one month and two weeks, American Marines took on the Iraqi insurgencies inside of one of the major Iraqi cities, Fallujah. The battle was also known as Operation Al Fajr and Operation Phantom Fury. A total of eighty-two American Marines were killed and six-hundred were injured. Whereas there were six deaths from the Iraqi insurgents and fifty-two injured. (Washington Post) The anger against the people in Fallujah started back in March of 2004 when a series of photos of Americans hanging from a bridge in Fallujah was released. On the topic, a TV commentator, Bill O’Reilly said, “We should make the people of Fallujah bathe in their own blood.” (Marine Corps Association & Foundation). With this mood instilled in the Marines and the people of America, it’s no surprise that this battle took the path that it did.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/4-14_Marines_in_Fallujah.jpg

Lamothe, Dan. "Remembering the Iraq War’s Bloodiest Battle, 10 Years Later." The Washington Post. WP Company, 04 Nov. 2014. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/11/04/remembering-the-iraq-wars-bloodiest-battle-10-years-later/?utm_term=.ddfa910dd37a
Loring, Robert B. "MCA&F." OPERATION PHANTOM FURY: The Assault and Capture of Fallujah, Iraq. | Marine Corps Association. Marine Corps Association & Foundation, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.
https://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/bookreview/operation-phantom-fury-assault-and-capture-fallujah-iraq

The January 2005 elections were the first democratic elections for Iraq and symbolized a huge shift in politics. Iraq held 3 major political elections in 2005, however the January one was the first and determined the new Constitution. Massive amounts of planning and sorting were required for voting centers, registering voters and fixing registration mistakes. 58% of registered voters ended up showing up the polls in January. This resulted in the election of the Transitional National Assembly (TNA). Many people were deterred from voting due to threats from Iraqi insurgents that those who voted would be killed and the streets would be “washed in blood” of any who voted. Iraqi officials themselves agreed that violence would be highly likely, but despite this they encouraged people to vote. A US Army General was optimistic about the situation however, due to the amount of US troops stationed at the 30,000 polling stations in Iraq. 150,000 US soldiers patrolled during the 2005 Iraqi elections. Additionally, 130,000 members of Iraqi security forces guarded polling stations, and they both successfully protected from 300 insurgent attacks from overrunning polling stations. It was agreed by both sides that simply by voting, it would foil Iraqi insurgent plans and hopes for victory. Not only was the election a point of victory of the Iraqi, but it was also important for the US, because it held the possibility of shortening the length of the conflict.

"Milestone Elections Begin in Iraq." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/29/iraq.main/index.html?eref=sitesearch

"Order Code RS21968 Updated November 20, 2006 CRS Report ..." N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/76838.pdf

August 7, 2005 Cindy Sheehan, mother of deceased Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, camps out at President Bush’s estate in Texas. Sheehan protested due to drafts of men in the military which resulted in thousands of soldier’s death, which President Bush dubbed a “noble death”. At the time 64% of americans did not believe the Iraq war protected Americans and 61% disapproved of the way President Bush handled the war. Cindy Sheehan’s goal was to have a face to face meeting with the President. Although she never succeeded in that goal, 1600 people showed up in support of her vigil and more anti-war movements and marches sprung up in the months afterwards. Sheehan succeeded in opening up a personal view on the effects of war. Sheehan worked alongside with organizers from Code Pink, a women’s peace organization, as well as Gold Star Families for Peace, a group of military families for peace. Together, her and Gold Star Families for Peace raised $15,000 for a television ad in Crawford, the city where Bush stayed at the time. The ad acted as a message to the former President. There weren’t only protesters at Bush’s ranch, volunteers also took to delivering food and answering phone calls for the protesters. Along with the vigil and the Abu Ghraib prison photos that were released, many Americans believed the war to be unnecessary and many took to the former Vietnam war mindset - what were are really fighting for?
http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/supporters-of-cindy-sheehan-gather-in-front-of-the-white-house-for-a-picture-id53402559

"Mother's Grief-Fueled Vigil Becomes Nexus for Antiwar ..." N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/13/politics/mothers-grieffueled-vigil-becomes-nexus-for-antiwar-protesters.html

"Cindy Sheehan's Pitched Battle." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 2005. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/12/AR2005081201816.html