Warfare And Conflict | Media on War

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The invasion of Iraq really began in 2002 when an invasion team of CIA agents infiltrated the country to prepare for traditional troops. The purpose of these operatives was to persuade various military groups within Iraq to surrender and not resist the American troops. One important skirmish was against Ansar al-Islam, which led to finding chemical weapons in Sargat.

The real invasion began on March 20, 2003. Other countries besides the U.S. helped with the invasion and included 248,000 soldiers from the U.S., 45,000 soldiers from Britain, 2,000 soldiers from Australia, and 194 special forces soldiers from Poland, as well as about 70,000 soldiers from Iraqi Kurdish militia troops.

The objectives of the war were as follows:

â€¢ End Hussein’s regime
â€¢ Destroy an weapons of mass destruction found
â€¢ Eliminate Islamist militants
â€¢ Gather intelligence about any militant networks
â€¢ Distribute aid
â€¢ Secure the infrastructure for Iraq’s petroleum
â€¢ Create a democratic government that uses representatives

One of the first early successes of the war was on April 9 when the city of Baghdad (Iraq’s capital) fell and a statue of Hussein was torn down. Finally, after 24 years of ruling, Hussein’s empire was ended. Many citizens were grateful the end of this tyranny, but without a firm leader to take over and lead the country, there were riots and looting and increased crime.

After this initial victory, President Bush declared in a speech in San Diego that the war was essentially won. Hussein was still at large and there were pockets of resistance, but overall, he believed the war to be won.

Then religious radicals and other Iraqi citizens joined in the resistance. They were angered because of the invasion and having U.S. troops on their land. Most of the resistance came in the form of guerrilla tactics â€” suicide bombings, snipers, IEDs, car bombs, missiles, RPGs, and more.

During this time, a post-invasion Iraq coalition was formed in an effort to establish a new form of government that used democratic ideals. The United Nations helped in establishing this government as well.

More to come . . .

Looking Back Part 6, Preparing to Withdraw

: Image via Wikipedia

The year 2007 saw plans to withdraw troops from Iraq. In January, Bush proposed creating a job program and proposed reconstruction plans. These programs would require $1.2 billion. In the State of the Union address, Bush did propose needing to send 20,000 more soldiers to Iraq, but later in the year, plans to withdraw began.

A new commander of the Multi-National Force was appointed: David Petraeus. Petraeus was given the task of implementing the new “Surge” strategy (also called the “New Way Forward”) that was created by the Bush administration. The basics of this plan was to do the following:

1. Let the Iraqi people lead
2. Help the Iraqis to protect their population
3. Isolate any extremists found
4. Create a way for political progress
5. Diversify economic and political efforts
6. Plan strategy by region

On May 10, 2007, the Iraqi Parliamentary petitioned the U.S. government to create a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops. Other countries began to withdraw their troops, which added pressure to U.S. troops to protect areas with less personnel. Tony Blair, Britain’s Prime Minister, withdrew the troops that were located in Basra Governorate and Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Danish Prime Minister withdrew troops from Iraq as well (441 in total).

August 14, 2007 was a tragic day that included the worse single attack from throughout the entire war. On that day, insurgents coordinated a series of suicide bomb attacks in Qahtaniya (in northern Iraq). Over 100 homes and shops were destroyed and almost 800 civilians killed. The attacks were blamed on al-Qaeda.

In September 2007, Petraeus announced that he wanted to have 30,000 U.S. troops withdrawn from Iraq by the summer of 2008, although Bush said he only backed having a limited number of troops withdrawn.

Also in September, an important ally of the U.S. was killed by a bomb. Abdul Sattar Abu Risha was the leader of the Anbar Awakening, a group of Sunni Arab tribes who opposed the al-Qaeda, and it was the al-Qaeda who took responsibility for Risha’s death.

More to come as we look back on this tragic war.

Looking Back Part 3, The Invasion

Looking Back Part 6, Preparing to Withdraw

Categories

Recent Posts