The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War or the Occupation of Iraq, is an ongoing military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force led by and composed largely of United States and United Kingdom troops. The force was supported by smaller contingents from Australia, Denmark, Poland and other nations. All of the Arab states and a number of members of the NATO alliance did not publicly support the invasion, while some Eastern European states did.

Prior to the war, Iraq's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) was claimed to pose a serious and imminent threat to the security of the United States and its coalition allies.Center for American Progress (January 29, 2004) [http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/kfiles/b24970.html "In Their Own Words: Iraq's 'Imminent' Threat"] americanprogress.org This assessment was supported by the U.K. intelligence services, but not by other countries such as France, Russia and Germany. United Nations weapons inspectors found no evidence of WMD, giving support to earlier criticism of poor intelligence on Iraqi WMDs. After the invasion, the U.S.-led Iraq Survey Group concluded that Iraq had ended its WMD programs in 1991 and had no active programs at the time of the invasion, but that they intended to resume production if the Iraq sanctions were lifted. Although some degraded remnants of misplaced or abandoned chemical weapons from before 1991 were found, they were not the weapons for which the coalition invaded.Shrader, K. (June 22, 2006) "New Intel Report Reignites Iraq Arms Fight" Associated Press The failure to find WMD in Iraq caused controversy, particularly in the United States. Some U.S. officials also accused Saddam Hussein of harboring and supporting Al-Qaeda, but no evidence of any collaborative relationship was ever found.Woods, K.M. and Lacey, J. (2008) "Saddam and Terrorism: Emerging Insights from Captured Iraqi Documents," vol. 1 Institute for Defense Analyses IDA Paper P-4287, pp. ES-1Kerr, R.J., et al. (29 July 2004) "Intelligence and Analysis on Iraq: Issues for the Intelligence Community," MORI Doc. ID 1245667 (Langley, VA: Central Intelligence Agency) Bush reportedly told Palestinian officials either that God inspired him to end the tyranny in Iraq, or to hit Saddam.Kessler, G. (October 9, 2005) [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/08/AR2005100801094.html "Interpretation of Bush's Comments Reignites Debate,"] Washington Post Other reasons for the invasion stated by U.S. officials included Iraq's alleged financial support for the families of Palestinian suicide bombers,CNN (September 12, 2002) "White House spells out case against Iraq", "the White House released a report early Thursday, listing some of the principal accusations against Iraq and its leader.... Iraq is also accused of sheltering two Palestinian terrorist organizations, and it lists Saddam's decision in 2002 to increase from $10,000 to $25,000 the bounty paid to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers." Iraqi government human rights abuses,Wolfowitz, P. (May 30, 2003) spreading democracy,"President Discusses the Future of Iraq" The White House, February 26, 2003 and Iraq's oil reserves,Wright, G. (June 4, 2003) "Wolfowitz: Iraq war was about oil," Guardian Unlimited (London: Guardian Newspapers Limited); this article was retracted, stating "Paul Wolfowitz actually said, 'The...difference between North Korea and Iraq is that we had virtually no economic options with Iraq because the country floats on a sea of oil. In the case of North Korea, the country is teetering on the edge of economic collapse and that I believe is a major point of leverage whereas the military picture with North Korea is very different from that with Iraq.'"Morgan, D. and Ottaway, D.B. (September 15, 2002) "In Iraqi War Scenario, Oil Is Key Issue" Washington PostShih, G. and Montes, S. (October 15, 2007) "Roundtable debates energy issues" Stanford Daily although that was denied by other officials.Gates denies Iraq war about oilPM denies Iraq oil link[http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/jan/15/foreignpolicy.uk Blair: Iraq oil claim is 'conspiracy theory']

The invasion led to the quick defeat of the Iraqi military, and the eventual capture and execution of Saddam Hussein. The U.S.-led coalition occupied Iraq and attempted to establish a new democratic government; however, violence against coalition forces and among various sectarian groups soon led to asymmetric warfare with the Iraqi insurgency, strife between many Sunni and Shia Iraqi groups, and al-Qaeda operations in Iraq. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, 2 Feb 2007, see "four wars" remark Estimates of the number of Iraqis killed through 2007 range from 150,000 to more than 1,000,000. UNHCR estimates the war created 4.7 million Iraqi refugees through April 2008 (about 16% of the population of Iraq.) UNHCR - Iraq: Latest return survey shows few intending to go home soon. Published April 29, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008. The U.S. Department of Defense claimed in 2008 that "the security, political and economic trends in Iraq continue to be positive, however, they remain fragile, reversible and uneven.""US Department of Defense (June 2008): Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq Iraq was fifth on the 2008 Failed States Index,Failed States List 2008 The Fund for Peace. Retrieved on 2008-08-29 and the Red Cross stated in 2008 that Iraq's humanitarian situation "remains among the most critical in the world".Iraq: No let-up in the humanitarian crisis Member nations of the Coalition began to withdraw their forces as public opinion favoring troop withdrawals increased in their countries and Iraq and as Iraqi forces began to take responsibility for security.[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/02/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq-Britain.php Britain's Brown visits officials, troops in Iraq.] International Herald Tribune, October 2, 2007.Italy plans Iraq troop pull-out BBC March 15, 2005

On November 27, 2008, the Iraqi Parliament ratified a Status of Forces Agreement with the United States, establishing that Coalition combat forces will withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009, and will be completely out of Iraq by December 31, 2011, but allowing for further negotiation if the Iraqi Prime Minister believes Iraq is not stable enough. The pact forbids holding prisoners without criminal charges, and limits searches of homes and buildings.Status of Forces Agreement Coalition forces and contractors will be subject to Iraqi law if they commit major and premeditated crimes while off-duty and off-base.Rubin, A. (November 27, 2008) "Iraqi Parliament approves security pact" International Herald TribuneStatus of Forces Agreement (Unofficial Translation)A referendum will be held in mid-2009, which may terminate the agreement and require Coalition forces to completely leave by the middle of 2010.BBC News (November 27, 2008) "Iraqi parliament backs US pullout" Parliament also passed another U.S.-Iraqi bilateral pact called the Strategic Framework Agreement,http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/iraq/SE_SFA.pdf Strategic Framework Agreement (pdf bitmap) aimed at ensuring international cooperation including minority ethnicity, gender, and belief interests and other constitutional rights; threat deterrence; exchange students; education;English Language Teaching and Learning Program (US State Dept.) and cooperation in the areas of energy development, environmental hygiene, health care, information technology, communications and, law enforcement.Karadsheh, J. (November 27, 2008) [http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/11/27/iraq.main/ "Iraq parliament OKs pact on U.S. troops' future"] CNN