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Iraq War

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Military History and War

   Iraq War
   U.S. troops pass by burning oil fields while convoying to Al Jawala,
   Iraq, during an operation.

    Date   March 18, 2003 to Present
  Location Iraq
   Result  Conflict ongoing
             * Overthrow of Ba'athist government and capture of Saddam Hussein.
             * Occupation of Iraq by coalition forces.
             * Emergence of Iraqi insurgency and Sectarian violence in Iraq.
             * Massive civilian casualties
             * Widespread damage to Iraqi infrastructure
             * Privatization of Iraqi services in ongoing attempt to reconstruct
               Iraq
             * Election of a new government

   Combatants
   Insurgent Forces:
   Ba'athist Iraq
   Ba'ath Loyalists
   Al-Qaeda in Iraq
   Mahdi Army
   Other insurgent groups and militias
   Coalition Forces:
   United States United States
   United Kingdom United Kingdom
   Australia Australia
   Iraq New Iraqi Army
   Kurdish forces
   Multinational forces in Iraq
   Commanders
   Saddam Hussein
   Jordan Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
   Iraq Moqtada al-Sadr
   Egypt Abu Ayyub al-Masri

   Mujahideen Shura Council
   Iraq Nouri al-Maliki
   United States George W. Bush
   United States Tommy Franks
   United States George Casey
   United Kingdom Brian Burridge
   United Kingdom Peter Wall
   others
   Strength
   Iraqi
   375,000+ regular forces
   Sunni Insurgents
   60,000~
   Mahdi Army
   25,000
   Badr Organization
   4-10,000
   al Qaeda/others
   1,300+ Coalition
   315,000 invasion
   162,000 current
   Contractors
   ~48,000
   Kurds
   50,000 (peak)
   New Iraqi Army
   129,760
   Iraqi Police
   79-140,000
   Casualties
   Iraqi military dead (Saddam-era):
   4,895-6,370 Insurgents dead:
   No verifiable tally. Iraqi Security Forces dead (post-Saddam era):
   6,666 (Media source, low estimate)

   Iraqi Security Forces wounded: unknown

   Coalition dead (inc. 2,907 US, 126 UK, 121 other, 647 contractors):
   3,798

   Coalition Missing or Captured (US 2): 2

   Coalition Wounded (inc. 21,678 U.S., 891+ UK, 3,963+
   contractors):26,532
   *Total deaths (all Iraqis) Johns Hopkins:
   392,979 - 942,636

   War-related and criminal violence deaths (all Iraqis) Iraq Health
   Minister:
   100,000-150,000

   War-related and criminal violence deaths (civilians) Iraq Body
   Count-english language media only:
   43,850-48,693
   *Total deaths (all Iraqis) include all excess deaths due to increased
   lawlessness, degraded infrastructure, poor healthcare, etc. For more
   info, casualty estimates, and explanations for the wide variation in
   results, see: Casualties of the conflict in Iraq since 2003
   Iraq War
   Phases
   Invasion – Post-invasion ( Insurgency – Civil War)

   Engagements
   Nasiriyah – Baghdad – Debecka Pass – Peninsula Strike – Red Dawn –
   1st Fallujah – 1st Ramadi – Husaybah – Najaf – 2nd Fallujah – Matador –
   Haditha – Steel Curtain – Al-Askari Mosque – 2nd Ramadi – Together
   Forward Full list of Coalition operations
     Recent wars in the Persian Gulf
   Iran-Iraq War – Gulf War – Iraq War

   The Iraq War ( 2003 to the present), also known as the Second Gulf War
   (and by the U.S. military as Operation Iraqi Freedom and the UK
   military as Operation TELIC), started with the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
   Subsequent occupation of Saddam Hussein-led Ba'athist Iraq by a United
   States-led coalition has resulted in ongoing asymmetric warfare between
   resistance forces and coalition forces. The New Iraqi Army was created
   to replace the old one that was disbanded after the U.S. led invasion.
   In the midst of fighting between resistance, coalition, and Iraqi
   forces, sectarian violence between the majority Shia and minority Sunni
   populations continues today. The causes and consequences of the war
   remain controversial.

Timeline of the War

Prior to invasion

   No-fly zone detail
   Enlarge
   No-fly zone detail

   Prior to invasion, the United States and other coalition forces
   involved in the 1991 Persian Gulf War had been engaged in a low-level
   conflict with Iraq, by enforcing the two Iraqi no-fly zones in the
   north and the south of the country. Iraqi air-defense installations
   repeatedly targeted American and British air patrols and were often
   engaged by the coalition aircraft shortly afterwards. Approximately
   nine months after the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. initiated Operation
   Southern Focus as a change to its response strategy, by increasing the
   overall number of missions and selecting targets throughout the no-fly
   zones in order to disrupt the military command structure in Iraq.

   The weight of bombs dropped increased from none in March 2002 and 0.3
   in April 2002 to between 8 and 14 tons per month in May-August,
   reaching a pre-war peak of 54.6 tons in September - prior to Congress'
   11 October authorization of the invasion. In retaliation for the
   Iraqi's now-daily air defense attacks on coalition aircraft, the
   September attacks included a 5 September 100-aircraft attack on the
   main air defence site in western Iraq. According to an editorial by
   Michael Smith for the New Statesman, this was "Located at the furthest
   extreme of the southern no-fly zone, far away from the areas that
   needed to be patrolled to prevent attacks on the Shias; it was
   destroyed not because it was a threat to the patrols, but to allow
   allied special forces operating from Jordan to enter Iraq undetected."
   U.S. military personnel stationed at Southern Watch headquarters during
   this time, recall that this attack, on this particular Iraqi air
   defense unit, was taken solely in reaction to Iraq's continued attack
   on coalition aircraft operating in compliance with the UN-mandated
   overflights of the Iraq "no-fly" zone.

          Further information:

          + Governments' pre-war positions on invasion of Iraq
          + Public relations preparations for 2003 invasion of Iraq
          + The UN Security Council and the Iraq war
          + American government position on invasion of Iraq
          + Legitimacy of the 2003 invasion of Iraq

2003: Invasion

   The 2003 invasion of Iraq began on March 19, under the U.S. codename
   "Operation Iraqi Freedom." The U.K. military's codename for their
   participation in the invasion was called Operation Telic. The coalition
   forces cooperated with Kurdish peshmerga forces in the north.
   Approximately forty other nations, in the U.S. dubbed " coalition of
   the willing", also participated by providing equipment, services and
   security as well as special forces. This March 19, 2003, invasion
   marked the beginning of what is commonly referred to as the Iraq War.

May 2003: "End of Major Combat"

   Map of the Sunni Triangle
   Enlarge
   Map of the Sunni Triangle

   On May 1, 2003, President Bush staged a dramatic visit to the aircraft
   carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln while the ship was a few miles west of
   San Diego. The Lincoln was on its way home to Everett, Washington from
   a long deployment which had included service in the Persian Gulf. The
   visit climaxed at sunset with his now well-known " Mission
   Accomplished" speech. This nationally-televised speech was delivered
   before the sailors and airmen on the flight deck. Bush essentially
   declared victory at this time due to the defeat of Iraq's conventional
   forces (even though Saddam Hussein was at large and significant pockets
   of resistance remained).

   After Bush's speech in May of 2003, the coalition military noticed a
   gradually increasing flurry of attacks on their troops in various
   regions, especially the " Sunni Triangle". In the initial chaos after
   the fall of the Iraqi government, there was massive looting of
   infrastructure, including government buildings, official residences,
   museums, banks, and military depots. According to The Pentagon, 250,000
   tons (of 650,000 tons total) of ordnance was looted, providing a
   significant source of ammunition for the Iraqi insurgency. The hundreds
   of weapons caches already created by the conventional Iraqi army and
   Republican Guard further strengthened these looted supplies for the
   insurgents.

   At first the resistance stemmed from fedayeen and loyalists of Saddam
   Hussein or the Ba'ath Party, but soon religious radicals and Iraqis
   angered by the occupation contributed to the insurgency. The insurgents
   are generally known to the Coalition forces as "Anti-Iraqi Forces."

   The initial insurgency in Iraq was concentrated in, but not limited to,
   an area referred to by Western media and the occupying forces as the
   Sunni triangle. This location includes Baghdad. The three provinces
   that had the highest number of attacks were Baghdad, Anbar, and Salah
   Ad Din. -Those 3 provinces account for 35% of the population, but are
   responsible for 73% of U.S. military deaths (as of December 5, 2006),
   and an even higher percentage of recent U.S. military deaths (about
   80%) . This resistance has been described as a type of guerrilla
   warfare. Insurgent tactics include mortars, missiles, suicide bombers,
   snipers (cf. Juba, the Baghdad Sniper), improvised explosive devices
   (IEDs), roadside bombs, car bombs, small arms fire (usually with
   assault rifles), and RPGs ( rocket-propelled grenades), as well as
   sabotage against the oil, water, and electrical infrastructure.
   American soldier and an Iraqi child
   Enlarge
   American soldier and an Iraqi child

   The post-invasion environment began after the Hussein regime had been
   overthrown. It centers on Coalition and U.N. efforts to establish a
   stable democratic state capable of defending itself and holding itself
   together and overcoming insurgent attacks and internal divisions.

   Coalition military forces launched several operations around Tigris
   River peninsula and in the Sunni Triangle. A series of similar
   operations were launched throughout the summer in the Sunni Triangle.
   Toward the end of 2003, the intensity and pace of insurgent attacks
   began to increase. A sharp surge in guerrilla attacks ushered in an
   insurgent effort that was termed the " Ramadan Offensive", as it
   coincided with the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
   Coalition forces brought to bear the use of air power for the first
   time since the end of the invasion.

   Suspected ambush sites and mortar launching positions struck from the
   air and with artillery fire. Surveillance of major routes, patrols, and
   raids on suspected insurgents were stepped up. In addition, two
   villages, including Saddam’s birthplace of al-Auja and the small town
   of Abu Hishma were wrapped in barbed wire and carefully monitored. On
   July 22, 2003, during a raid by the U.S. 101st Airborne Division and
   soldiers from Task Force 20, Saddam Hussein's sons ( Uday and Qusay)
   and one of his grandsons were killed.

December 2003: Saddam captured

   In the wave of intelligence information fueling the raids on remaining
   Ba'ath Party members connected to insurgency, Saddam Hussein himself
   was captured on December 13, 2003 on a farm near Tikrit in Operation
   Red Dawn. The operation was conducted by the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry
   Division and members of Task Force 121.

   With the capture of Saddam and a drop in the number of insurgent
   attacks (an average of 18 a day), some concluded the multinational
   forces were prevailing in the fight against the insurgency. With the
   weather growing cooler, Coalition forces were able to operate in full
   armor which reduced their casualty rate. The provisional government
   began training a security force intended to defend critical
   infrastructure, and the United States promised over $20 billion in
   reconstruction money in the form of credit against Iraq's future oil
   revenues. Of this, less than half a billion dollars had been spent in
   10 months after it had been promised. Oil revenues were also used for
   rebuilding schools and for work on the electrical and refining
   infrastructure.

   However, the failure to restore basic services to above pre-war levels,
   where over a decade of sanctions, bombing, corruption, and decaying
   infrastructure had left major cities functioning at much-reduced
   levels, also contributed to local anger at the IPA government headed by
   an executive council. On July 2, 2003, President Bush declared that
   American troops would remain in Iraq in spite of the attacks,
   challenging the insurgents with "My answer is, bring 'em on", a line
   the President later expressed misgivings about having used. In the
   summer of 2003, the multinational forces focused on hunting down the
   remaining leaders of the former regime, culminating in the shooting
   deaths of Saddam's two sons in July. In all, over 300 top leaders of
   the former regime were killed or captured, as well as numerous lesser
   functionaries and military personnel.

   Shortly after the capture of Saddam, elements left out of the Coalition
   Provisional Authority began to agitate for elections and the formation
   of an Iraqi Interim Government. Most prominent among these was the Shia
   cleric Ali al-Sistani. The United States and the Coalition Provisional
   Authority it helped install opposed allowing democratic elections at
   this time, preferring instead to eventually hand-over power to an
   unelected group of Iraqis. (The Guardian, January 19, 2004, free
   archived version at: http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0119-08.htm,
   last visited Nov. 21, 2006). More insurgents stepped up their
   activities. The two most turbulent centers were the area around
   Fallujah and the poor Shia sections of cities from Baghdad to Basra in
   the south.

2004: The Insurgency expands

   US Army (USA) Soldiers assigned to 2-7 Cavalry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team
   (BCT), 1st Cavalry Division, rush a wounded Soldier from Apache Troop
   to a waiting U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter
   during operation in Fallujah, Iraq. Date Shot: 12 Nov 2004.
   Enlarge
   US Army (USA) Soldiers assigned to 2-7 Cavalry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team
   (BCT), 1st Cavalry Division, rush a wounded Soldier from Apache Troop
   to a waiting U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter
   during operation in Fallujah, Iraq. Date Shot: 12 Nov 2004.

   The start of 2004 was marked by a relative lull in violence. Insurgent
   forces reorganized during this time, studying the multinational forces'
   tactics and planning a renewed offensive. Guerrilla attacks were less
   intense. However, in late 2004 foreign fighters from around the Middle
   East as well as al-Qaeda in Iraq (an affiliated al-Qaeda group), led by
   Abu Musab al-Zarqawi would help to drive the insurgency.

   As the insurgent activity increased, there was a distinct change in
   targeting from the coalition forces towards the new Iraqi Security
   Forces, as hundreds of Iraqi civilians and police were killed over the
   next few months in a series of massive bombings. One hypothesis for
   these increased bombings is that the relevance of Saddam Hussein and
   his followers was diminishing in direct proportion to the influence of
   radical Islamists, both foreign and Iraqi. An organized Sunni
   insurgency, with deep roots and both nationalist and Islamist
   motivations, was becoming more powerful throughout Iraq. The Mahdi Army
   also began launching attacks on coalition targets in an attempt to
   seize control from Iraqi security forces. The southern and central
   portions of Iraq were beginning to erupt in urban guerrilla combat as
   multinational forces attempted to keep control and prepared for a
   counteroffensive.

   The coalition and the Coalition Provisional Authority decided to face
   the growing insurgency with a pair of assaults: one on Fallujah, the
   centre of the "Mohammed's Army of Al-Ansar", and another on Najaf, home
   of an important mosque that had become the focal point for the Mahdi
   Army and its activities. Just before the attack on Fallujah, four
   private military contractors, working for Blackwater USA, were
   ambushed, murdered and their corpses mutilated by a large crowd,
   receiving a great deal of media attention. The attention elicited a
   violent reaction from Donald Rumsfeld who then ordered Lt. General
   Conway to attack Fallujah at the earliest opportunity.

April 2004: The First Battle of Fallujah

   After this incident, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force began plans to
   re-establish a coalition presence in Fallujah. On April 4, the
   multinational forces began assaults to clear Fallujah of insurgents. On
   April 9, the multinational force allowed more than 70,000 women,
   children and elderly residents to leave the besieged city, reportedly
   also allowing males of military age to leave. Meanwhile, insurgents
   were taking advantage of the lull in combat to prepare defenses for a
   second assault. On April 10, the military declared a unilateral truce
   to allow for humanitarian supplies to enter Fallujah. Troops pulled
   back to the outskirts of the city; local leaders reciprocated the
   ceasefire, although lower-level intense fighting on both sides
   continued.

   The usage by the U.S. of white phosphorus in Fallujah attracted
   controversy. In the documentary "Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre", aired
   on the Italian state television network RAI, a former soldier testified
   "I saw the burned bodies of women and children. The phosphorus explodes
   and forms a plume. Who ever is within a 150 metre radius has no hope."
   The U.S. State department first dismissed such claims, but was later
   corrected in other reports. Lt Col Barry Venable stated to the BBC, "it
   is an incendiary weapon and may be used against enemy combatants."
   According to Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional
   Weapons, white phosphorus can be used, but only against enemy
   combatants and not civilians. The Independent later reported that
   "there remain widespread reports of civilians suffering extensive burn
   injuries. While U.S. commanders insist they always strive to avoid
   civilian casualties, the story of the battle of Fallujah highlights the
   intrinsic difficulty of such an endeavour."

   When the Iraqi Governing Council protested against the U.S. assault to
   retake Fallujah, the U.S. military halted its efforts. In the April
   battle for Fallujah, Coalition troops killed about 600 insurgents and a
   number of civilians, while 40 Americans died and hundreds were wounded
   in a fierce battle. The Marines were ordered to stand-down and cordon
   off the city, maintaining a perimeter around Fallujah. A compromise was
   reached in order to ensure security within Fallujah itself by creating
   the local " Fallujah Brigade". While the Marines attacking had a clear
   advantage in ground firepower and air support, LtGen Conway decided to
   accept a truce and a deal which put a former Ba'athist general in
   complete charge of the town's security. The Fallujah Brigade's
   responsibility was to secure Fallujah and put a stop to insurgent
   mortar attacks on the nearby U.S. Marine bases. This compromise soon
   fell apart and insurgent attacks returned, causing Marine commanders to
   begin preparations for a second attack in the coming fall. By the end
   of the spring uprising, the cities of Fallujah, Samarra, Baquba, and
   Ramadi had been left under guerrilla control with coalition patrols in
   the cities at a minimum.

Early-mid 2004 – the Shi'ite south

   Meanwhile, the fighting continued in the Shiite south, and Italian and
   Polish forces were having increasing difficulties retaining control
   over Nasiriya and Najaf. United States Marines were then shifted there
   to put down the overt rebellion and proceeded to rout Muqtada al-Sadr's
   Shiite militia. In all, April, May and early June saw more fighting.
   Over the next three months, the multinational forces took back the
   southern cities. Also, various insurgent leaders entered into
   negotiations with the provisional government to lay down arms and enter
   the political process.

June 2004: Sovereignty transferred

   Toward the end of June 2004, the Coalition Provisional Authority
   transferred the " sovereignty" of Iraq to a caretaker government, whose
   first act was to begin the trial of Saddam Hussein. However, fighting
   continued in the form of the Iraqi insurgency. The new government began
   the process of moving towards open elections, though the insurgency and
   the lack of cohesion within the government itself, had led to delays.
   Militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr took control of Najaf and, after
   negotiations broke down, the government asked the United States for
   help dislodging him.

   Through the months of July and August, a series of skirmishes in and
   around Najaf culminated with the Imam Ali Mosque itself under siege,
   only to have a peace deal brokered by Grand Ayatollah Sistani in late
   August. The new Iraq Grain Board has started to import wheat from
   Australia Wheat Board which had been long banned by Saddam Hussein.

November 2004: The Second Battle of Fallujah

   The First Battle of Fallujah in April 2004 created an area of extreme
   instability and a de facto insurgent safe zone. After several months of
   this situation, in November 2004 coalition forces attacked and
   successfully captured Fallujah in the Second Battle of Fallujah. This
   battle resulted in the reputed death of over 5,000 insurgent fighters.
   The U.S. Marines (the main coalition force in combat) also took
   substantial casualties with 95 dead and around 500 wounded in action.
   According to local sources, hundreds of civilians were also killed and
   much of the city was destroyed in the battle.

2005: Iraqi elections and aftermath

   An Iraqi Army unit prepares to board a Task Force Baghdad UH-60
   Blackhawk helicopter for a counterinsurgency mission in Baghdad.
   Enlarge
   An Iraqi Army unit prepares to board a Task Force Baghdad UH-60
   Blackhawk helicopter for a counterinsurgency mission in Baghdad.

   On January 31, an election for a government to draft a permanent
   constitution took place. Although some violence and lack of widespread
   Sunni Arab participation marred the event, most of the eligible Kurd
   and Shia populace participated. On February 4, Paul Wolfowitz announced
   that 15,000 U.S. troops whose tours of duty had been extended in order
   to provide election security would be pulled out of Iraq by the next
   month. February, March and April proved to be relatively peaceful
   months compared to the carnage of November and January, with insurgent
   attacks averaging 30 a day from the prior average of 70.

   Hopes for a quick end to an insurgency and a withdrawal of U.S. troops
   were dashed at the advent of May, Iraq's bloodiest month since the
   invasion by U.S. forces in March and April of 2003. Suicide bombers,
   believed to be mainly disheartened Iraqi Sunni Arabs, Syrians and
   Saudis, tore through Iraq. Their targets were often Shia gatherings or
   civilian concentrations mainly of Shias. As a result, over 700 Iraqi
   civilians died in that month, as well as 79 U.S. soldiers.

   During early and mid-May, the U.S. also launched Operation Matador, an
   assault by around 1,000 Marines in the ungoverned region of western
   Iraq. Its goal was the closing of suspected insurgent supply routes of
   volunteers and material from Syria, and with the fight they received
   their assumption proved correct. Fighters armed with flak jackets
   (unseen in the insurgency before this time) and using sophisticated
   tactics met the Marines, eventually inflicting 31 U.S. casualties by
   the operation's end, and suffering 125 casualties themselves. The
   Marines were unable to recapture the region due to their limited
   numbers and the continual insurgent IED attacks and ambushes. The
   operation continued all the way to the Syrian border, where they were
   forced to stop (Syrian residents living near the border heard the
   American bombs very clearly during the operation). The vast majority of
   these armed and trained insurgents quickly dispersed before the U.S.
   could bring the full force of its firepower on them, as it did in
   Fallujah.

August 2005: Increasing instability and renewed fighting

   On August 14, 2005 the Washington Post quoted one anonymous U.S. senior
   official expressing that "the United States no longer expects to see a
   model new democracy, a self-supporting oil industry or a society in
   which the majority of people are free from serious security or economic
   challenges... 'What we expected to achieve was never realistic given
   the timetable or what unfolded on the ground'". On September 22, 2005,
   Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, said that he had
   warned the Bush administration in recent days that Iraq was hurtling
   toward disintegration, and that the election planned for December was
   unlikely to make any difference. U. S. officials immediately made
   statements rejecting this view .

December 2005: Iraqi legislative election

   Following the ratification of the Constitution of Iraq on October 15,
   2005, a general election was held on 15 December to elect a permanent
   275-member Iraqi National Assembly.

2006: Sectarian violence, possible outbreak of civil war

   The beginning of 2006 was marked by government creation talks, growing
   sectarian violence, and continuous anti-coalition attacks.

February 2006: Al-Askari shrine bombing and Sunni-Shia fighting

          See Al Askari Mosque bombing

   A U.S. soldier with M240 machine gun on patrol in Diwaniyah.
   Enlarge
   A U.S. soldier with M240 machine gun on patrol in Diwaniyah.

   On February 22, 2006, at 6:55 a.m. local time (0355 UTC) two bombs were
   set off by five to seven men dressed as personnel of the Iraqi Special
   forces who entered the Al Askari Mosque during the morning. Explosions
   occurred at the mosque, effectively destroying its golden dome and
   severely damaging the mosque. Several men, one wearing a military
   uniform, had earlier entered the mosque, tied up the guards there and
   set explosives, resulting in the blast.

   Shiites across Iraq expressed their anger by destroying Sunni mosques
   and killing dozens. Religious leaders of both sides called for calm
   amid fears this could erupt into a long-feared Sunni-Shia civil war in
   Iraq.

   On March 2 the director of the Baghdad morgue fled Iraq explaining,
   "7,000 people have been killed by death squads in recent months." The
   Boston Globe reported that around eight times the number of Iraqis
   killed by terrorist bombings during March 2006 were killed by sectarian
   death squads during the same period. A total of 1,313 were killed by
   sectarian militias while 173 were killed by suicide bombings. The LA
   Times later reported that about 3,800 Iraqis were killed by sectarian
   violence in Baghdad alone during the first three months of 2006. During
   April 2006, morgue numbers showed that 1,091 Baghdad residents were
   killed by sectarian executions. Insurgencies, frequent terrorist
   attacks and sectarian violence led to harsh criticism of U.S. Iraq
   policy and fears of a failing state and civil war. The concerns were
   expressed by several U.S. think tanks as well as the U.S. ambassador to
   Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad.

   In early 2006, a handful of high-ranking retired generals began to
   demand United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's resignation
   due in part to the aforementioned chaos that resulted from his
   management of the war.

   In September 2006, The Washington Post reported that the commander of
   the Marine forces in Iraq filed "an unusual secret report" concluding
   that the prospects for securing the Anbar province are dim, and that
   there is almost nothing the U.S. military can do to improve the
   political and social situation there.

   Iraq was listed fourth on the 2006 Failed States Index compiled by the
   American Foreign Policy magazine and the Fund for Peace think-tank. The
   list was topped by Sudan.

   As of October 20 the U.S military announced that operation Together
   Forward had failed to stem the tide of violence in Baghdad, and Shiite
   Militants Under al-Sadr seized several southern Iraq Cities .

   On November 8, 2006, Donald Rumsfeld tendered his resignation as United
   States Secretary of Defense. President George W. Bush then appointed
   former CIA chief Robert Gates to replace him.

November 2006: Sadr City Bombing

          See 2006 Sadr City Bombing

   On November 23, 2006 the deadliest attack since the beginning of the
   Iraq war occurred. According to The Associated Press, suspected
   Sunni-Arab militants used five suicide car bombs and two mortar rounds
   on the capital's Shiite Sadr City slum to kill at least 215 people and
   wound 257 on Thursday. Shiite mortar teams quickly retaliated, firing
   10 shells at Sunni Islam's most important shrine in Baghdad, badly
   damaging the Abu Hanifa mosque and killing one person. Eight more
   rounds slammed down near the offices of the Association of Muslim
   Scholars, the top Sunni Muslim organization in Iraq, setting nearby
   houses on fire. Two other mortar barrages on Sunni neighborhoods in
   west Baghdad killed nine and wounded 21, police said late Thursday.

Troop Deployment 2003 to Current

   Iraq War Coalition troop deployment
                       1,000+ 1,000-100 less than 100
     * United States United States: 250,000 invasion--145,000 current
       (10/06)
     * United Kingdom United Kingdom: 45,000 invasion--7,200 current
       (9/06)
     * South Korea South Korea: 3,300 invasion--2,600 PLANNED (12/06)
     * Poland Poland: 2,400 troops--WITHDRAWAL PLANNED (12/06)
     * Australia Australia: 2,000 invasion--1,400 current (11/06)
     * Italy Italy: 1,800 troops--WITHDRAWN (9/06)
     * Ukraine Ukraine: 1,650 troops--WITHDRAWN (12/05)
     * Netherlands Netherlands : 1,345 troops--WITHDRAWN (3/05)
     * Spain Spain : 1,300 troops--WITHDRAWN (4/04)

   TOTAL INVASION DEPLOYMENT, REGULAR TROOPS
   315,263
   TOTAL CURRENT DEPLOYMENT AS OF OCTOBER 2006
   162,725 Regular Troops
   ~48,000 "Private Military Contractors" (~21,000 UK)
     * Romania Romania: 865 troops
     * Japan Japan: 600 troops--WITHDRAWN (7/06)
     * Denmark Denmark: 515 invasion--515 current (9/06)
     * Georgia (country) Georgia: 500 invasion--300 current (8/06)
     * Bulgaria Bulgaria : 462 troops--WITHDRAWN (4/06)
     * Thailand Thailand: 423 troops--WITHDRAWN (9/04)
     * El Salvador El Salvador: 380 troops
     * Honduras Honduras: 368 troops--WITHDRAWN (5/04)
     * Dominican Republic Dominican Republic: 302 troops--WITHDRAWN (5/04)
     * Czech Republic Czech Republic: 300 troops
     * Hungary Hungary: 300 troops--WITHDRAWN (12/04)
     * Nicaragua Nicaragua: 230 troops--WITHDRAWN (2/04)
     * Singapore Singapore: 192 troops--WITHDRAWN (1/04)
     * Azerbaijan Azerbaijan: 150 troops
     * Norway Norway: 150 troops--WITHDRAWN (8/06)
     * Latvia Latvia: 136 troops
     * Mongolia Mongolia: 131 troops
     * Portugal Portugal: 128 troops--WITHDRAWN (2/05)
     * Albania Albania: 120 troops
     * Slovakia Slovakia: 104 troops

     * New Zealand New Zealand: 61 troops--WITHDRAWN (9/04)
     * Philippines Philippines: 51 troops--WITHDRAWN (7/04)
     * Lithuania Lithuania: 50 troops
     * Armenia Armenia: 46 troops
     * Tonga Tonga: 45 troops--WITHDRAWN (12/04)
     * Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina: 36 troops
     * Estonia Estonia: 35 troops
     * Republic of Macedonia Macedonia: 33 troops
     * Kazakhstan Kazakhstan: 29 troops
     * Moldova Moldova: 24 invasion--12 current (9/06)
     * Iceland Iceland: 2 troops--WITHDRAWN
     * Canada Canada: undisclosed number of JTF2 operators

   United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI)
     * Georgia (country) Georgia: 550 blue-helmets
     * Fiji Fiji: 168 blue-helmets
     * Romania Romania: 130 blue-helmets
     * Denmark Denmark: 35 blue-helmets

Armed Iraqi Groups: Insurgents and Militias

   Attacks against Iraqi National and Coalition forces as of July 2006
   (Data from Government Accountability Office report product no.
   GAO-06-1094t)

Background

   When the ruling Ba'ath party organization disintegrated after the fall
   of the Iraqi government, elements of the secret police and Republican
   Guard formed guerrilla units, since some had simply gone home rather
   than openly fight the multinational forces. Many of these smaller units
   formed the centre of the initial anti-coalition insurgency, based
   primarily around the cities of Mosul, Tikrit and Fallujah. These
   guerrilla units were the precursor to the eventual formation of what
   came to be known as the Iraqi insurgency, or those Iraqis and
   foreigners who attacked coalition or government forces.

   More recently in late 2005 and 2006, due to increasing sectarian
   violence based on either tribal/ethnic distinctions or simply due to
   increased criminal violence, there has been the formation of various
   militias. Many of these militias have been formed in response to
   violent acts committed on the basis of the Shia/Sunni distinction, with
   whole neighborhoods and cities sometimes being protected or attacked by
   ethnic or neighbourhood militias.

Insurgents

   The insurgents and guerrilla units favored attacking unarmored vehicles
   and avoiding major battles. The early Iraqi insurgency was concentrated
   in, but not limited to, an area referred to by the Western media and
   the occupying forces as the Sunni triangle which includes Baghdad. The
   insurgents dead are numbered between 45-60,000.

   By the fall of 2003, these insurgent groups began using typical
   guerrilla tactics such as ambushes, bombings, kidnappings, and
   improvised explosive devices. Other tactics included mortars, suicide
   bombers, roadside bombs, small arms fire, and RPGs, as well as sabotage
   against the oil, water, and electrical infrastructure. Multi-national
   Force-Iraq statistics (see detailed BBC graphic) show that the
   insurgents primarily targeted coalition forces, Iraqi security forces
   and infrastructure, and lastly civilians and government officials. The
   civilian death log reveals that a large majority of the deaths were by
   car bombs, booby traps, throat slitting, beheading and other techniques
   that are known to be associated with insurgents. These irregular forces
   favored attacking unarmored or lightly armored Humvee vehicles, the
   U.S. military's primary transport vehicle. In November 2003, some of
   these forces successfully attacked U.S. rotary aircraft with SAM-7
   missiles bought on the global black market. Insurgent groups such as
   the al-Abud Network have even attempted to constitute their own
   chemical weapons programs, attempting to weaponize traditional mortar
   rounds with ricin and mustard toxin.
   As Coalition Forces respond to a car bombing in South Baghdad, Iraq
   (IRQ), a second car bomb is detonated, targeting those responding to
   the initial incident. Date Shot: 14 Apr 2005
   Enlarge
   As Coalition Forces respond to a car bombing in South Baghdad, Iraq
   (IRQ), a second car bomb is detonated, targeting those responding to
   the initial incident. Date Shot: 14 Apr 2005

   There is evidence that some guerrilla groups are organized, perhaps by
   the fedayeen and other Saddam Hussein or Ba'ath loyalists, religious
   radicals, Iraqis angered by the occupation, and foreign fighters. On
   February 23, 2005 Al-Iraqiya TV (Iraq) aired transcripts of confessions
   by Syrian intelligence officer Anas Ahmad Al-Issa and Iraqi insurgent
   Shihab Al-Sab'awi concerning their booby-trap operations, explosions,
   kidnappings, assassinations, and details of beheading training in
   Syria. The insurgents are known by the Coalition military (especially
   in the United States armed forces) as Anti-Iraqi Forces (AIF).

   One insurgent, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed on June 7, 2006 in the
   town of Baquba, north of Baghdad, when U.S. warplanes dropped two
   500-pound bombs on his isolated safe house. Zarqawi, a Syrian, did not
   fit the usual profile of an Iraqi insurgent and had closer ties to the
   al Qaeda terrorist organization. Still, President George W. Bush said
   the killing was "a severe blow to al-Qaida and it is a significant
   victory in the war on terror" but cautioned: "We have tough days ahead
   of us in Iraq that will require the continuing patience of the American
   people."

   Despite Zarqawi's death Al-Qaeda in Iraq vowed to continue its " holy
   war", according to a statement posted on a Web site announcing: "We
   want to give you the joyous news of the martyrdom of the mujahed sheik
   Abu Musab al-Zarqawi." Zarqawi's death may have had little impact on
   the violence since evidence of continued violence in Iraq could still
   be seen in the month of June with over 1,600 Iraqi deaths that month,
   the highest monthly total to date since the Al Askari Mosque bombing.

   In addition to internal strife, Iran may be playing a role in the
   insurgency. U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Michael Barbero said, "Iran is
   definitely a destabilizing force in Iraq," Barbero said. "I think it's
   irrefutable that Iran is responsible for training, funding and
   equipping some of these Shia extremist groups."

Militias

   Two of the most powerful current militias are the Mahdi Army and the
   Badr Organization, with both militias having substantial political
   support as well in the current Iraqi government. Initially, both
   organizations were involved in the Iraqi insurgency, most clearly seen
   with the Mahdi Army at the Battle of Najaf. However in recent months,
   there has been a split between the two groups.

   This violent break between Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army and the rival
   Badr Organization of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, was seen in the fighting in
   the town of Amarah on October 20, 2006, would severely complicate the
   efforts of Iraqi and American officials to quell the soaring violence
   in Iraq.

Terrorism

   The war in Iraq was originally justified as part of the U.S.-led War on
   Terrorism. Specifically, the Bush Administration argued that Saddam
   Hussein had ties to al-Qaeda, and that his overthrow would lead to
   democratization in the Middle East, decreasing terrorism overall. The
   alleged ties between Saddam and al-Qaeda were never confirmed, however,
   and numerous reports of intelligence agencies investigating the matter
   -- including several reports of the CIA, the U.S. State Department, the
   FBI, and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, as well as the
   investigations of foreign intelligence agencies -- concluded that no
   evidence had been found supporting an operational connection between
   Saddam and al-Qaeda. The New York Times commented in September 2006 on
   the conclusions of the bipartisan Senate Select Committee on
   Intelligence, "there is no evidence that Saddam Hussein had prewar ties
   to Al Qaeda and one of the terror organization’s most notorious
   members, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi." (See main article: Saddam Hussein and
   al-Qaeda).

   However, al-Qaeda leaders have seen the Iraq war as a boon to their
   recruiting and operational efforts, providing both evidence to
   jihadists worldwide that America is at war with Islam, and the training
   ground for a new generation of jihadists to practice attacks on
   American forces. In October 2003, Osama bin Laden announced: "Be glad
   of the good news: America is mired in the swamps of the Tigris and
   Euphrates. Bush is, through Iraq and its oil, easy prey. Here is he
   now, thank God, in an embarrassing situation and here is America today
   being ruined before the eyes of the whole world." Al-Qaeda commander
   Seif al-Adl gloated about the war in Iraq, indicating, "The Americans
   took the bait and fell into our trap." A letter thought to be from
   al-Qaeda leader Atiyah Abd al-Rahman found in Iraq among the rubble
   where al-Zarqawi was killed and released by the U.S. military in
   October 2006, indicated that al-Qaeda perceived the war as beneficial
   to its goals: "The most important thing is that the jihad continues
   with steadfastness ... indeed, prolonging the war is in our interest."

   In the years since the war began, a consensus has developed among
   intelligence experts that the Iraq war has increased terrorism.
   Counterterrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna frequently referred to the
   invasion of Iraq as a "fatal mistake" that had greatly increased
   terrorism in the Middle East. London's conservative International
   Institute for Strategic Studies concluded in 2004 that the occupation
   of Iraq had become "a potent global recruitment pretext" for jihadists
   and that the invasion "galvanized" al-Qaeda and "perversely inspired
   insurgent violence" there. The U.S. National Intelligence Council
   concluded in a January 2005 report that the war in Iraq had become a
   breeding ground for a new generation of terrorists; David B. Low, the
   national intelligence officer for transnational threats, indicated that
   the report concluded that the war in Iraq provided terrorists with "a
   training ground, a recruitment ground, the opportunity for enhancing
   technical skills... There is even, under the best scenario, over time,
   the likelihood that some of the jihadists who are not killed there
   will, in a sense, go home, wherever home is, and will therefore
   disperse to various other countries." The Council's Chairman Robert L.
   Hutchings said, "At the moment, Iraq is a magnet for international
   terrorist activity." And the 2006 National Intelligence Estimate, which
   outlined the considered judgment of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies,
   held that "The Iraq conflict has become the 'cause celebre' for
   jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim
   world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement."

Casualties

   Coffins of American soldiers in a C-17 Globemaster III at Dover Air
   Force Base.
   Enlarge
   Coffins of American soldiers in a C-17 Globemaster III at Dover Air
   Force Base.

   See the above main article for much more info, and for casualty numbers
   for coalition nations, contractors, non-Iraqi civilians, journalists,
   media helpers, aid workers, wounded, etc.. Casualty figures, especially
   Iraqi ones, are highly disputed. This section gives a brief overview.
   "There are now at least 8 independent estimates of the number or rate
   of deaths induced by the invasion of Iraq." The merits, and even the
   existence, of those studies are hotly disputed. See this Iraq Body
   Count project page for example: . For more information, see the
   information box at the top right of this article.

Coalition

   The icasualties.org website reports the death toll since the invasion
   in March 2003 as being 2,906 American lives (as of December 6th, 2006).
   There have been a further 247 deaths among the troops of other
   coalition nations: Australia 2. Bulgaria 13. Denmark 6. El Salvador 5.
   Estonia 2. Hungary 1. Italy 33. Kazakhstan 1. Latvia 1. Netherlands 2.
   Poland 18. Romania 2. Slovakia 4. Spain 11. Thailand 2. Ukraine 18.
   United Kingdom 126.

Iraqi

   Estimates of Iraqi deaths are highly disputed. In December 2005
   President Bush said there were 30,000 Iraqi dead . A study in The
   Lancet estimates 654,965 Iraqi deaths (with a range of 392,979 to
   942,636) from March 2003 to July 2006, based on national surveys of
   mortality . That total number of deaths (civilian and non-civilian)
   includes all excess deaths due to increased lawlessness, degraded
   infrastructure, poor healthcare, etc.. An October 19, 2006 Washington
   Post article says that the methodology of the Lancet study has been
   disputed, that "President Bush earlier this year put the number at
   30,000 but gave no sources," and went on to say "Indices drawing only
   on the deaths reported by news organizations put the figure closer to
   50,000." That figure is from the Iraq Body Count project (IBC). The IBC
   records civilian deaths due to insurgent/military action and increased
   criminal violence, as reported by English-language media. There is no
   verifiable tally of insurgent deaths .

   The Lancet study states: "Aside from Bosnia, we can find no conflict
   situation where passive surveillance [used by the IBC] recorded more
   than 20% of the deaths measured by population-based methods [used in
   the Lancet studies]. In several outbreaks, disease and death recorded
   by facility-based methods underestimated events by a factor of ten or
   more when compared with population-based estimates. Between 1960 and
   1990, newspaper accounts of political deaths in Guatemala correctly
   reported over 50% of deaths in years of low violence but less than 5%
   in years of highest violence."

Iraqi Healthcare deterioration

   A November 11, 2006 Los Angeles Times article reports:

          The [Iraq] nation's health has deteriorated to a level not seen
          since the 1950s, said Joseph Chamie, former director of the U.N.
          Population Division and an Iraq specialist. "They were at the
          forefront", he said, referring to healthcare just before the
          1991 Persian Gulf War. "Now they're looking more and more like a
          country in sub-Saharan Africa."

Iraqi Refugees

   As of November 4, 2006, the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees
   estimated that 1.8 million Iraqis had been displaced to neighboring
   countries, and 1.6 million were displaced internally, with nearly
   100,000 Iraqis fleeing to Syria and Jordan each month.

Financial costs

Dollar figures

   As of September 29, 2006, over $379 billion has been allocated by the
   U.S. Congress for the Iraq war. The direct costs of the war and
   occupation have not been included in the regular defense spending
   request (with the exception of FY 2007); instead, President Bush has
   submitted emergency spending bills to Congress to cover those costs.
   The current rate of U.S. expenditure in Iraq is approximately $6.4
   billion a month.

   As of March 2006, approximately £4.5 billion had been spent by the
   United Kingdom in Iraq. All of this money has come from a government
   fund called the "Special Reserve" which has a current allocation of
   £6.44 billion.

   It is not known how much more money has been spent by other members of
   the coalition; however, the US's share of the cost is by far the
   largest.

   Joseph Stiglitz, former chief economist of the World Bank and Nobel
   Prize in Economics, has suggested the total costs of the Iraq War on
   the US economy will be $1 trillion in a conservative scenario and could
   top $2 trillion in a moderate one. The Congressional Research Service
   recently estimated weekly spending at almost $2 billion per week, and
   that total expenditures have now topped half a trillion dollars.
   Additionally, the extended combat and equipment loss have placed a
   severe financial strain on the U.S Army, causing the elimination of
   non-essential expenses such as travel and civilian hiring.

   Data from the Office of Management and Budget shows that the
   discretionary defense spending is 20% of government outlays, and the
   CIA World Factbook lists a 2005 estimate of U.S. military expenditure
   as 4.06% of GDP (the 26th position in a listing of 167 countries).
   Other figures, however, show that the total defense expenditures
   (Department of Defense, Homeland Security and War on Terror) amount to
   $563 billion, which represents 56% of the nation's discretionary budget
   and 47% of the world military spending.

U.S. equipment losses

   In addition to the human casualties suffered in the war, the U.S. has
   also lost a number of pieces of military equipment. This total includes
   those vehicles lost in non-combat related accidents - numbers are an
   approximation. Recently, the Army has said that the cost of replacing
   its depleted equipment has tripled from that of 2005. On December 5
   2006 The military stated that nearly 40% of the army’s total equipment
   has been lost in Iraq, with an estimated yearly replacement cost of 17
   billion U.S dollars. Furthermore the military states that the
   replacement cost has increased by a factor of ten compared to that of
   the prewar state.

   Combat losses: Land equipment
     * 20 M1 Abrams tanks
     * 55 Bradley fighting vehicles
     * 20 Stryker wheeled combat vehicles
     * 20 M113 armored personnel carriers
     * 250 Humvees
     * 500+ Mine clearing vehicles, heavy/medium trucks, and trailers
     * 10 Amphibious Assault Vehicles

   Combat losses: Air equipment
   The UH-60 Black Hawk that crashed on September 21, 2004
   Enlarge
   The UH-60 Black Hawk that crashed on September 21, 2004
     * 27 Apache attack helicopters
     * 21 Blackhawk utility helicopters
     * 14 Chinook cargo helicopters
     * 23 Kiowa surveillance helicopters
     * 4 CH-46E Sea Knight cargo helicopters
     * 1 A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft
     * 1 F-15E Strike Eagle fighter aircraft
     * 2 UH-1N Huey utility helicopters
     * 8 AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters
     * 5 CH-53E Super Stallion or MH-53 Pave Low helicopters
     * 2 H-3 Sea King helicopters
     * 25+ RQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicles
     * 3 F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft
     * 2 C-130 Hercules aircraft
     * 1 F-16 Fighting FalconCG (90-0776)

Criticism

Criticism of military strategy

   U.S. military strategy in Iraq has drawn criticism from a number of
   different circles. Military historian Martin van Creveld, a professor
   at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has called the Iraq war "the
   most foolish war since Emperor Augustus in 9 BC sent his legions into
   Germany and lost them."

Withdraw from Iraq

   A growing number of citizens in coalition nations have urged their
   governments to withdraw from Iraq. Supporters of withdrawal argue that
   the Iraq war is unwinnable, that it has no purpose, or that it has
   become another Vietnam war. Those who oppose the war also argue that
   the huge financial cost, as well as the loss of innocent human life,
   will be ended by a withdrawal of troops. Another consideration is the
   destabilization to the Middle East region that may occur as a
   consequence of the sudden departure of the United States military.
   Given the strained relations between the United States and Iraq's
   neighbour, Iran, and considering the powerful influence of Iran among
   Iraq's Shi'a Muslim community, some people fear that Iraq is going to
   convert into a fundamentalist-lead client state of Iran. The civil
   strife between the Sunni and Shi'a communities, as well as Kurdish
   hopes of establishing an independent state of Kurdistan in northern
   Iraq, could lead to a full-scale civil war.

Stay in Iraq

   In addition to the criticism of the war itself, there is also a large
   amount of criticism from people that support the war but criticize the
   current military strategy, believing that the current strategy causes
   unnecessary deaths and injuries of coalition and Iraqi troops, as well
   as civilian contractors, and does not adequately meet the insurgent
   threat. Included within this is the criticism that, if the military
   strategy were much more effective, then there would be much more
   support for the war among the people of the coalition countries,
   especially the United States, except in the case of the strict
   pacifists and isolationists, who are always opposed to foreign wars
   regardless of the efficacy of the strategy. In a classified memo to the
   current administration, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
   recently revealed that he believed the current stategy in Iraq was not
   working and was in need of change.

   Many specific strategic criticisms have been made by various
   individuals and publications. Some major criticisms include:
     * Prisoners in Iraq detained by U.S. troops are treated badly, and it
       is estimated that about 1/4th of them are innocent, and many
       prisoners are subsequently released. The bad treatment of those
       prisoners angers the civilian population and turns them against the
       United States. These critics say that prisoners should be treated
       humanely. (this criticism was made on Nightline , among other
       places)

     * There is a very large number of explosion-induced injuries to
       soldiers' arms, legs, and faces, including many losses of limbs.
       Such injuries could be greatly reduced if the soldiers wore
       light-weight, ventilated, heat-resistant polymer (such as aramid)
       over their arms and legs, and transparent polycarbonate face masks,
       which not strong enough to stop a bullet, can prevent much of the
       damage from the hot particles of explosives. This also applies to
       the Iraqi police, who are severely under-equipped , and who suffer
       far more deaths and injuries than coalition troops , and are the
       permanent stabilizing force that, if strong enough, may allow the
       coalition troops to withdraw. (This criticism was made in Discover
       Magazine , among other places.)
     * Most injuries and deaths to coalition troops and Iraqi police are
       due to covertly-placed roadside bombs (often calledIEDs (improvised
       explosive devices)) and car bombs. The casualties of coalition
       troops and Iraqi police depend on the fact that such troops are
       clearly marked by their uniforms. That not only provides the
       insurgents with targets, but it also shows them who to avoid when
       conducting covert activities such as bomb placement. If the
       coalition troops and Iraqi police used more covert tactics,
       including the use of plain-clothes Iraqi police posing as militia
       men (it would not work for coalition members, due to the
       conspicuousness of both their race and their language), the use of
       hidden cameras with nightvision capability, and constant aerial
       surveillance of roads (such as by predator drones), then coalition
       and Iraqi forces would be able to prevent insurgents planting
       bombs. It is only by watching such insurgents when they think that
       they are not being watched, that they can be seen and killed.
       Covert surveillance and plainclothes Iraqi troops in a perimeter
       around overt coalition and Iraqi troop positions would also be
       effective in sniper attacks and gun battles.
     * Many civilian contractors in Iraq, who are involved in rebuilding
       Iraq, are killed by insurgents , and the improvements that they
       build are often destroyed soon after they are made. Such
       contractors and their projects are often not protected. Protecting
       the contractors and their projects, especially with plainclothes
       Iraqi troops, would both reduce contractor deaths and injuries, and
       kill insurgents. Another option is to pull out the contractors
       except for those that are working on military and security
       projects, until most of the insurgents are dead and it is much
       safer.
     * The Pentagon has refused to tabulate the number of insurgents
       killed . That gives the impression to many people that no progress
       is being made, which in turn reduces support for the war. It also
       gives both the government and the people much less to go on when
       determining the efficacy of their strategy, such that they can not
       determine the all-important kill ratio, and what that kill ratio is
       in different situations and different areas of Iraq, such that they
       can not adjust their strategy accordingly, nor can the public
       pressure them to do so.
     * Geraldo Rivera is one of the major critics of the military strategy
       in Iraq. Geraldo advised, among other things, that U.S. troops
       should only use roads that are monitored 24-7, so as to avoid
       roadside bombs, and that civilian contractors, except for those
       working on military and security projects, should pull out until
       most insurgents are dead and it is safe to build.

Human rights abuses

   Spc. Charles Graner poses over Manadel al-Jamadi's corpse.
   Enlarge
   Spc. Charles Graner poses over Manadel al-Jamadi's corpse.

   Throughout the entire Iraq war there have been numerous human rights
   abuses on all sides of the conflict.

U.S. Armed Forces

   WARNING: These links have graphic content depicting a decapitation;
   some of the most publicized abuses include:
     * Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse
     * Haditha killings - alleged murder of 24 civilians, including women
       and children (Under investigation)
     * Ishaqi incident - alleged murder of 11 civilians, including five
       children (Under investigation)
     * Hamadiya incident - alleged kidnapping and murder of an Iraqi man
       named Hashim Ibrahim Awad (Under investigation)
     * Mahmudiyah incident - alleged gang-rape and murder of a 14 year old
       girl, the murder of her parents and 7 year old sister. (Under
       investigation)
     * Mukaradeeb - alleged bombing and shooting of at least 42 civilians
       (Under investigation)
     * White phosphorus use in Iraq

Private military contractors

   There have been reported human rights abuses by some of the thousands
   of private military contractors working in Iraq. The most famous
   incident involving contractors was the Abu Ghraib incident.

Insurgent forces

   A 2005 Human Rights Watch report analysed the insurgency in Iraq and
   highlighted, "The groups that are most responsible for the abuse,
   namely al-Qaeda in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunna and the Islamic Army in Iraq,
   have all targeted civilians for abductions and executions. The first
   two groups have repeatedly boasted about massive car bombs and suicide
   bombs in mosques, markets, bus stations and other civilian areas. Such
   acts are war crimes and in some cases may constitute crimes against
   humanity, which are defined as serious crimes committed as part of a
   widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population."

   The regular Iraqi insurgents and other groups such as the Sunni Islamic
   militant groups Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Ansar al-Islam are responsible for
   numerous abuses and killings, including:
     * Killing over 12,000 Iraqis over the period of January 2005 - June
       2006, according to Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr, giving the
       first official count for the largest category of victims of
       bombings, ambushes and other increasingly deadly attacks. The
       insurgents have also conducted numerous suicide attacks on the
       Iraqi civilian population, mostly targeting the majority Shia
       community, such as the Attack on the Shia district of Sadr City,
       Baghdad, on 02/07/2006 which claimed at least 66 lives. An October
       2005 report from Human Rights Watch examines the range of civilian
       attacks and their purported justification.
     * The bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003
       which killed the top U.N. representative in Iraq and 21 other UN
       staff members.
     * The February 2006 bombing of the al-Askari Mosque, destroying one
       of the holiest Shiite shrines, killing over 165 worshipers and
       igniting sectarian strife and reprisal killings.
     * Beheading several diplomats: two Algerian diplomatic envoys Ali
       Belaroussi and Azzedine Belkadi, Egyptian diplomatic envoy
       al-Sherif, and four Russian diplomats.
     * The publicized murders of several non-military persons including;
       construction contractor Eugene Armstrong, supply contractor Jack
       Hensley, translator Kim Sun-il, supply contractor Kenneth Bigley,
       Bulgarian truck drivers Ivaylo Kepov and Georgi Lazov , Shosei
       Koda, Italian Fabrizio Quattrocchi, charity worker Margaret Hassan,
       reconstruction engineer Nick Berg, Italian photographer, 52 year
       old Salvatore Santoro and Iraqi supply worker Seif Adnan Kanaan.
       Most of these civilians were subjected to brutal torture and/or
       beheading.
     * Torture or murder of members of the New Iraqi Army, and
       assassination of civilians associated with the Coalition
       Provisional Authority, such as Fern Holland, or the Iraqi Governing
       Council, such as Aqila al-Hashimi and Ezzedine Salim, or other
       foreign civilians, such as those from Kenya.

Iraqi government

   Other abuses have been blamed on the new Iraqi government, including:
     * The widespread use of torture by Iraqi security forces.
     * Shiite-run death squads run out of the Interior Ministry that are
       accused of committing numerous massacres of Sunni Arabs and the
       police collusion with militias in Iraq have compounded the
       problems.

External articles

   Overview

     * Journalists in Iraq: Video of Panel Discussion
     * The Brookings Institution Iraq Index
     * ProCon's Extensive Iraq War Examination

   Maps of Iraq

     * High resolution maps of iraq.

   Road to War

     * White House Meeting Memo; Details of 31 January 2003 private
       meeting between George W. Bush and Tony Blair where they discussed
       using U.S. spyplanes in UN colours to lure Saddam Hussein into war.
     * UK Attorney-General leak; Legal advice given to the British Prime
       Minister Tony Blair weeks before the 2003 invasion.
     * Presidential address given by George W. Bush on the evening of
       March 19, 2003, announcing war.

   Iraqi sources

     * Iraq Diaries -- Iraqis writing about their experiences of war.
     * The Ground Truth Project -- A series of exclusive, in-depth
       interviews with Iraqis, aid workers, military personnel and others
       who have spent significant time on-the-ground in Iraq.
     * What Iraqis Think -- A compilation of the latest polls and blogs
       coming out of Iraq.
     * Iraq documents on Weapons of Mass Destruction This is a U.S.
       military site containing approximately 1 million files captured
       from the Iraqi military in the aftermath of the invasion.

   Opinions and polls

     * Sean Rayment, " Secret MoD poll: Iraqis support attacks on British
       troops"; a poll conducted among Iraqis reveals strong opposition
       toward Allied presence in Iraq. The Daily Telegraph, 23 October
       2005.
     * Extraordinary renditions: the playwright and the president; Jeff
       Sommers, Khaled Diab and Charles Woolfson explore the dynamics
       between playwright and president as America's 'war on terror'
       stands in the dock. January 2006, published in Al Ahram Weekly
     * Caspar Henderson, " Three polls: attitudes across frontiers". 12
       December 2002.
     * Karl Zinsmeister, " What Iraqis Really Think". Wall Street Journal,
       September 10, 2003.
     * " 1st Major Survey of Iraq". Zogby International, September 10,
       2003.
     * Carl Conetta, " What do Iraqis want? Iraqi attitudes on occupation,
       U.S. withdrawal, governments, and quality of life". Project on
       Defense Alternatives, 01 February 2005.
     * " Iraq". Polling Report.com. (ed. Chronological polls of Americans
       18 & older)

   Casualties

   (additional links not found in reference links section)
     * " The Civilian Casualty Fable; Analysis of Civilian Casualties in
       the first two years of the Iraq War". Logic Times, 26 October 2005.
     * " ; Iraqi Civilian Deaths Increase Dramatically After Invasion"
       Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, October 28, 2004.
     * Military Casualties and non-military deaths.
     * "One-Day Toll in Iraq Combat Is Highest for U.S. in Months",
       Washington Post, October 19, 2006.
     * U.S. Military Personnel Wounded in Iraq & Afghanistan: A Running
       Log.

   Combat operations related

     * " Aerial Propaganda Leaflet Database". Psywar.org, 06 November
       2005. (ed. Iraq War PSYOP leaflets and posters)

   News

     * Electronic Iraq: Daily news and analysis from Iraq with a special
       focus on the Iraqi experience of war.
     * News from Iraq: Aggregated news on the war, including politics and
       economics.
     * The Struggle for Iraq: BBC Best Link: All the latest news, analysis
       and images from Iraq.
     * War in Iraq: CNN Special Report: This page was archived in May 2003
       when President Bush declared an end to major combat. However, the
       coalition casualties' list continues to be updated.
     * Iraq: Transition of Power: CNN Special Report: Three years later,
       debate rages.

   Anti-war activists and war critics

     * David Shuster, " Road to war; How the Bush administration sold the
       Iraq War to American people". MSNBC, 8 November 2005
     * Antiwar news and viewpoints
     * Charlie and Katrina, " Mourning the Vote". (ed. Students (Boston
       University and Oglethorpe University) site presenting their opinion
       about the Iraq War)
     * OnlyOneWorld.NET Contains information, news, and opinion on the
       Iraq War.
     * What Barry Says Written by Barry McNamara in 2003, Winner of the
       Best Animation award at the Brooklyn International Film Festival
       and Portobello Film Festival in 2004.
     * Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches. Independent journalist in Iraq. Many
       despatches, reports and photos.
     * Tales of Iraq War. Anti-war webcomics by cartoonist Latuff.
     * The U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq Socialist Worker Online’s
       ongoing coverage and analysis
     * FixIraq.com 15 minute updated news, Discussion, Auto-Updating U.S.
       Deaths counter that can be shown on any website.
     * "Unlike Vietnam, There is No End in Sight" iShotTheDeputy.com
       article criticising comparisons with Vietnam.
     * Liam Anderson and Gareth Stansfield, The Future of Iraq:
       Dictatorship, Democracy or Division?, 2004, Palgrave Macmillian
       ISBN 1-4039-6354-1
     * Juan Cole, [Iraq] Three-State Solution? The Nation review, March
       29, 2004
     * Iraq Exit Strategy Watch

   Independent analysis

     * " The Road Ahead: Lessons in Nation Building from Japan, Germany,
       and Afghanistan for Postwar Iraq" by Ray Salvatore Jennings May
       2003 Peceworks No. 49 United States Institute of Peace
     * " A New American Century? - Iraq and the Hidden Euro-Dollar wars "
       by William Engdahl
     * Oil and Empire - the backstory to the invasion of Iraq
     * The Neocons, Peak Oil and the Invasion of Iraq
     * "An ethical blank cheque" British and U.S. mythology about the
       second world war ignores our own crimes and legitimises
       Anglo-American war making, Richard Drayton, Tuesday May 10, 2005
       The Guardian

   War supporters and operation proponents

     * Victor Davis Hanson, " An American 'Debacle'? More unjustified
       negativity on the war in Iraq." National Review Online, October 14,
       2005.
     * An interesting analogy presented by Jessica Well where she shows a
       Life magazine article from 1946 discussing the failures of
       Denazification entitled Americans are Losing the Victory in Europe

   Economics

     * Scott Wallsten and Katrina Kosec, " The Economic Costs of the War
       in Iraq". AEI-Brookings Joint Centre Working Paper 05-19. September
       2005.
     * Online cost estimator allows users to change assumptions for
       predicting expected future cost of the Iraq war.
     * " Dollar cost of war". (ed. Reportedly actual total of the U.S.
       taxpayer cost of the Iraq War.)
     * " Iraq war costs could top $2 trillion". Christian Science Monitor,
       10 January 2006 based on " The Economic Costs of the Iraq War" by
       Linda Bilmes, Harvard University, and Joseph E. Stiglitz, laureate
       of the Nobel Prize of Economics in 2001.
     * " The Dollar System and U.S. Economic Reality post-Iraq War" by
       William Engdahl

   Photos

     * 650+ pictures from a soldier posted to Iraq

   Media Echo

     * Eliot Weinberger: What I Heard About Iraq in 2005, and What I Heard
       about Iraq (a collage of various statements concerning the war)
       dead link; these links active as of Oct 01 2006 link1 and link2

     * Tatham, Steve (2006), 'Losing Arab Hearts & Minds: The Coalition,
       Al-Jazeera & Muslim Public Opinion' Hurst & Co (London) Published 1
       January 2006

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