Saddam attacks. [280] Critics have argued that this statistic is indicative of misleading coverage by the U.S. media since viewers in other countries were less likely to have these beliefs. A US Marine officer confers with a British officer, March 2003, Men of 3 Para pass a monument to Saddam, Basra, April 2003. Thoroughly enjoyed it. For many people, Iraq is all they can … By 8 April 2003, US troops had secured the approaches to Baghdad. However, the Fedayeen - paramilitaries used by Saddam to quell internal unrest - began to mount a significant resistance along with the Ba’athist regime’s secret police, and a handful of foreign fighters centred on Basra and the town of Zubayr. Before the 2003 invasion, Iraqi forces had mined some 400 oil wells around Basra and the Al-Faw peninsula with explosives. Anti-French propaganda exploiting the classic Francophobic clichés immediately ensued in the United States and the United Kingdom. Forward Observation Officers of 3rd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, look out over the Shatt-al-Basrah canal, 2003. It was reported that The Iraq Museum was among the looted sites. The Israeli Military Censor have released gag orders to Fresh and Rotter news platforms preventing them releasing any information about events and action related to the invasion. Repeated attempts to assault the plant were halted, leading the SAS to call in an air strike which silenced the opposition. SAD operations officers were also successful in convincing key Iraqi army officers to surrender their units once the fighting started and/or not to oppose the invasion force. [63] NATO member Turkey refused to allow its territory to be used for the invasion. Thereafter, the Bush administration briefly used the term Coalition of the Willing to refer to the countries who supported, militarily or verbally, the military action in Iraq and subsequent military presence in post-invasion Iraq since 2003. "[82] As late as 25 February 2003, it was still the official line that the only cause of invasion would be a failure to disarm. These missions led to the initial air strikes against Saddam and his generals. The 2003 invasion of Iraq the first stage of the Iraq War. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld dismissed National Security Agency (NSA) intercept data available by midday of the 11th that pointed to al-Qaeda's culpability, and by mid-afternoon ordered the Pentagon to prepare plans for attacking Iraq. But the RAF has bombed Iraq before - more than 90 years ago. Cannistraro further added that "the Iraqis were prepared to satisfy these concerns. Lt. Gen. Raad al-Hamdani, commander of the Karbala region, protested this and argued that unless reinforcements were rushed to the Karbala gap immediately to prevent a breach, U.S. forces would reach Baghdad within 48 hours, but his suggestions fell on deaf ears. [234], British troops, in what was codenamed Operation (or Op) TELIC participated in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Opens Firearms Charge Against Iraq-U.S. Bravo company 5th SFG and the coalition SOF secured the airfield, finding a Roland surface-to-air missile system, around 80 assorted anti aircraft cannon guns including ZSU-23-4 Shilka, SA-7 grail handheld SAMs and an enormous amount of ammunition. 7,269 (Iraq Body Count)[23][better source needed], The 2003 invasion of Iraq[a] was the first stage of the Iraq War. General Abizaid later said General Shinseki had been right.[237]. [218], After the invasion, several factors contributed to the destabilization of Iraq. Kenneth Branagh recreates Col. Tim Collins' speech to 1 Batt., Royal Irish Regiment, on 19 March 2003, immediately prior to the invasion of Iraq. This plan soon became unnecessary, as an initial engagement of armored units south of the city saw most of the Republican Guard's assets destroyed and routes in the southern outskirts of the city occupied. British soldiers first deployed to Bosnia in 1992 during the country's vicious civil war. This deception plan worked, and on 2 April Saddam's son Qusay Hussein declared that the American invasion from the south was a feint and ordered troops to be re-deployed from the Karbala front to the north of Baghdad. Whilst the first of four MH-60Ks inserted the Rangers into their blocking positions, it was engaged by small arms fire from a nearby building, an AH-6M spotted the muzzle flashes and fired a 2.75inch rocket into the location silencing the small arms fire, the second MH-60K was also struck by small arms fire but its door gunner suppressed it. Members of the Saddam Hussein government were called by disparaging nicknames – e.g., "Chemical Ali" (Ali Hassan al-Majid), "Baghdad Bob" or "Comical Ali" (Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf), and "Mrs. Anthrax" or "Chemical Sally" (Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash). This is primarily due to its large conventional military force, pursuit of WMD, oppressive treatment of Iraqi citizens, refusal to comply with United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR), persistent threats to enforcement of the No Fly Zones (NFZ), and continued efforts to violate UN Security Council sanctions through oil smuggling. The Iraqis' artillery proved largely ineffective, and they were unable to mobilize their air force to attempt a defense. The war against Iraq in 1990-91 saw the largest single deployment of British troops since the Second World War. British 3 Commando Brigade, with the United States Marine Corps' 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Polish Special Forces unit GROM attached, attacked the port of Umm Qasr. ODA 525 attempted to link up with the two-man reconnaissance team and extract it to safety but large numbers of Iraqi vehicles began driving out of the town to them, the ODAs called in immediate air support. Shortly before the invasion, UNMOVIC stated that it would take "months" to verify Iraqi compliance with resolution 1441. [192], On 9 April, nine ODAs from FOB 103 encircled Kirkuk after fierce fighting to capture the ridges overlooking the approaches to the city, the earlier capture of the nearby city of Tuz had largely broken the will of the Iraqi Army and only the Fedayeen remained in Kirkuk, the first ODA units entered the city the next day, a week later the 173rd Airborne took over responsibility for the city, after some minor skirmishes the Fedayeen fled. Attacks on U.S. supply routes by Fedayeen militiamen were repulsed. "First time @NAM_London today. In February 2006, Luis Moreno Ocampo, the lead prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, reported that he had received 240 separate communications regarding the legality of the war, many of which concerned British participation in the invasion. "[311] However, while commander of CENTCOM, Zinni held a very different opinion concerning the threat posed by Iraq. [102] At the time, there was a vigorous dispute within the intelligence community whether the CIA's conclusions about Iraq's UAV fleet were accurate. The division included 16 Air Assault Brigade, 7th Armoured Brigade equipped with Challenger tanks and Warrior armoured fighting vehicles, and 102 Logistics Brigade. UNMOVIC did supervise the destruction of a small number of empty chemical rocket warheads, 50 liters of mustard gas that had been declared by Iraq and sealed by UNSCOM in 1998, and laboratory quantities of a mustard gas precursor, along with about 50 Al-Samoud missiles of a design that Iraq stated did not exceed the permitted 150 km range, but which had traveled up to 183 km in tests. [224][225][223][226][227][228][229], Members of the Coalition included Australia: 2,000 invasion, Poland: 200 invasion—2,500 peak, Spain: 1,300 invasion United Kingdom: 46,000 invasion, United States: 150,000 to 250,000 invasion. Altogether, about 35,000 British servicemen and women served in the campaign. But it would be a further six years before Britain's combat operations came to an end. Iraq War; Part of the Iraqi conflict and the War on Terror: Clockwise from top: U.S. troops at Uday and Qusay Hussein's hideout; insurgents in northern Iraq; an Iraqi insurgent firing a MANPADS; the toppling of the Saddam Hussein statue in Firdos Square: 20 March 2003 – 18 December 2011 ( – ) (8 years, 8 months and 29 days) Three weeks into the invasion, the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, with the 1st Marine Division also present, moved into Baghdad. [104] Leading human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch have argued, however, that they believe human rights concerns were never a central justification for the invasion, nor do they believe that military intervention was justifiable on humanitarian grounds, most significantly because "the killing in Iraq at the time was not of the exceptional nature that would justify such intervention."[105]. The International Criminal Court says it will not take action against the UK, despite finding evidence British troops committed war crimes in Iraq. Obeidi told Hage that Baghdad did not understand why they were targeted and that they had no WMDs. Therefore, joint SAD and Army Special forces teams and the Pershmerga constituted the entire Northern force against the Iraqi army. [286] Al Jazeera also showed scenes of civilian casualties rarely seen in the U.S. media. If we are going to help the Iraqi people build a new nation, we don't do it by letting their past be destroyed. [185] Eventually Task Force Viking would number 51 ODAs and ODBs alongside some 60,000 Kurdish Peshmerga militia of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The Iraqis managed to inflict some casualties on the U.S. forces near the airport from defensive positions but suffered severe casualties from air bombardment. As Marine Lieutenant General Greg Newbold, the Pentagon's former top operations officer, wrote in a 2006 Time article, "I now regret that I did not more openly challenge those who were determined to invade a country whose actions were peripheral to the real threat—al-Qaeda."[310]. The following day, crowds gathered in the centre of the city to welcome coalition forces and destroy symbols of the old regime. Eleven U.S. soldiers were killed, and seven, including Lynch and Piestewa, were captured. To avoid delay and needless casualties, it was decided that Basra - Iraq's second largest city - was not to be occupied immediately. [32] The invasion of Iraq was strongly opposed by some long-standing U.S. allies, including the governments of France, Canada, Germany, and New Zealand. The DAPs stayed on station and continued to engage the Iraqis, destroying a truck carrying a mortar and several infantry squads, whilst Delta snipers killed Iraqi infantryman firing on the DAPs, another pair of A-10As arrived and dropped airburst 500 lb bombs within 20m of Delta positions and killed a large number of Iraqi infantry gathering in a wadi. [57], Resolution 1441 gave Iraq "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" and set up inspections by the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). [180], In the early hours of 21 March 2003, as part of Operation Viking Hammer, 64 Tomahawk cruise missiles struck the Ansar al-Islam camp and the surrounding sites, the terrorist group – numbering around 700 – had inhabited a valley near Halabja Iraqi Kurdistan, along with a small Kurdish splinter faction; they had prepared a number of defensive positions including anti-aircraft machine guns and maintained a facility, that US intelligence suspected, at which chemical and biological agents may have been developed and stored for future terrorist attacks. [189], On 2 April, Delta was engaged by half a dozen armed technicals from the same anti-special forces Fedayeen that had previously fought the SBS, two Delta operators were wounded (one serious), the squadron requested an urgent aeromedical evacuation and immediate close-air support as a company of truck-borne Iraqi reinforcements arrived. A change in enforcement tactics was acknowledged at the time, but it was not made public that this was part of a plan known as Operation Southern Focus. According to Iraq Body Count, a group that relies on press reports, NGO-based reports and official figures to measure civilian casualties, approximately 7,500 civilians were killed during the invasion phase. He also writes that Saddam Hussein's troops set up sniper's nests inside and on top of the museum, and nevertheless U.S. Marines and soldiers stayed close enough to prevent wholesale looting. Finally they brought the statue down.[213]. About 5,000 chemical warheads, shells or aviation bombs were discovered during the Iraq War, but these had been built and abandoned earlier in Saddam Hussein's rule before the 1991 Gulf War. US and British engineers breached defensive banks to allow coalition forces to cross into Iraq on the night of 20 March 2003. However, an eyewitness later reported that he had seen Walters being guarded by several Fedayeen in front of a building. The Bush administration's overall rationale for the invasion of Iraq was presented in detail by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to the United Nations Security Council on 5 February 2003. [253][254] It was alleged in the authorized biography of Pfc. Facing a losing vote as well as a likely veto from France and Russia, the US, UK, Poland, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Japan, and Australia eventually withdrew their resolution. General Eric Shinseki, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, recommended "several hundred thousand"[236] troops be used to maintain post-war order, but then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld—and especially his deputy, civilian Paul Wolfowitz—strongly disagreed. Thought the presentation & interpretation made the subject accessible...". Second, to identify, isolate and eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. It authorizes "member states co-operating with the Government of Kuwait ... to use all necessary means" to (1) implement Security Council Resolution 660 and other resolutions calling for the end of Iraq's occupation of Kuwait and withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Kuwaiti territory and (2) "restore international peace and security in the area." [53], While there had been some earlier talk of action against Iraq, the Bush administration waited until September 2002 to call for action, with White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card saying, "From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August. U.S.-led Coalition troops promptly began searching for the key members of Saddam Hussein's government. One Marine was killed and 20 were wounded, but neither Saddam or any of his top aides were found. Two MH-60K Blackhawks carrying a para jumper medical team and two MH-60L DAPs of the 160th SOAR responded and engaged the Iraqis, which allowed the Delta operators to move their casualties to an emergency HLZ and they were medevaced to H-1 escorted by a pair of A-10As, however Master Sergeant George Fernandez died. The resolution authorized the President to "use any means necessary" against Iraq. [196] The 26 MEU (SOC) maintained security of the Mosul airfield and surrounding area until relief by the 101st Airborne Division. [41][42] These zones, and the attacks to enforce them, were described as illegal by the former UN Secretary General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and the French foreign minister Hubert Vedrine. In the west of Iraq, special forces units, supported by the Royal Air Force, were part of an operation to eliminate Iraqi mobile Scud missiles. U.S.-led Coalition forces ordered the cities to cease hostilities immediately, explaining that Baghdad would remain the capital of the new Iraqi government. Prominent among such critics was Brent Scowcroft, who served as National Security Advisor to George H. W. Bush. Wants Peaceful Disarmament of Iraq, Says Negroponte", Hans Blix's briefing to the security council, "Charles Faddis 'Operation Hotel California' (Lyons Press)", s:George W. Bush's Third State of the Union Address, "US, Britain and Spain Abandon Resolution", "Azores: el día que Aznar puso a España al frente de la invasión de Irak por unas armas inexistentes", "Bin Laden: "El 11-M es el castigo a España por sus acciones en Irak, Afganistán y Palestina, "President Says Saddam Hussein Must Leave Iraq Within 48 Hours", White House Office of the Press Secretary, "Bush thought Saddam was prepared to flee: report", "A REGION INFLAMED: BACK CHANNELS; U.S. In addition, senior government legal advisor Elizabeth Wilmshurst resigned, stating her legal opinion that an invasion would be illegal. Powell later admitted he had presented an inaccurate case to the United Nations on Iraqi weapons, based on sourcing that was wrong and in some cases "deliberately misleading."[97][98][99]. Initially, the 1st Marine Division (United States) fought through the Rumaila oil fields, and moved north to Nasiriyah—a moderate-sized, Shi'ite-dominated city with important strategic significance as a major road junction and its proximity to nearby Tallil Airfield. After several days of consolidating their position, while attacking Iraqi forces with artillery and aircraft, US forces engaged the Iraqi Republican Guard divisions around Baghdad. [198], The Battle of Haditha Dam occurred on 24 March 2003, Rangers from 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, conducted a combat parachute drop onto H-1 Air Base, securing the site as a staging area for operations in the west. The more recent estimate places the number of stolen pieces at around 15,000, and about 10,000 of them probably were taken in an "inside job" before U.S. troops arrived, according to Bogdanos. [46] After leaving the George W. Bush administration, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said that an attack on Iraq had been planned since Bush's inauguration and that the first United States National Security Council meeting involved discussion of an invasion. "[54] Bush began formally making his case to the international community for an invasion of Iraq in his 12 September 2002 address to the United Nations General Assembly. Judge whether good enough hit Saddam Hussein at same time. Later during the military occupation period after the invasion, on 22 July 2003 during a raid by the U.S. 101st Airborne Division and men from Task Force 20, Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay, and one of his grandsons were killed in a massive fire-fight. [67] On 5 February 2003, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations General Assembly, continuing U.S. efforts to gain UN authorization for an invasion. Adhering to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (Nato) tenet that an attack on one member is an attack on all, British forces took part in the operation to oust Al Qaeda and overthrow the Taleban regime in Afghanistan.