War in Iraq -- Backgrounder and Research Guide
 War in Iraq began on March 20, 2003, as the United States launched an attack against the authoritarian regime of Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein. Announcing the beginning of the war, U.S. president George W. Bush explained that the goals were to "disarm Iraq [and] to free its people." President Bush had threatened war for months, accusing Iraq of stockpiling weapons of mass destruction and arguing that Saddam Hussein's regime posed a grave threat to U.S. security and peace in the region.
The United States launched the attack despite failing to win official endorsement from the United Nations (UN). Key members of the UN Security Council--including France, Russia, and China--strongly opposed the use of force without clear UN approval. Nevertheless, the United Kingdom and Australia agreed to contribute troops to the U.S.-led war effort.
Once war was underway, the United States' military superiority quickly overwhelmed Iraq's armed forces. Nevertheless, the military campaign did not always proceed as smoothly as planned for the United States and its allies, Britain and Australia. Allied troops encountered unexpectedly fierce resistance from Iraqi paramilitary fighters and received occasionally hostile receptions from Iraqi civilians. By April 15, however, virtually the entire country was within allied control and President Bush announced that Saddam Hussein's regime had been defeated. Finally, on May 1, Bush formally declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq.
The following account of the war is followed by links to articles that provide background information on the people, places, and politics of the war in Iraq.
War begins
The United States launched its attack against Iraq in the early hours of March 20, local Iraqi time. Hostilities began with a surprise U.S. missile attack directed at Saddam Hussein and members of his inner circle. United States officials explained that the bombing was a "decapitation attack," intended to destroy Iraqi resistance by taking out its head of command. Iraq responded hours later by firing missiles at American troops stationed in Kuwait, just across the Iraqi border.
After a barrage of air attacks on southern Iraq, the ground war was underway by nightfall of March 20. American and British forces moved into Iraq from Kuwait, securing oil fields and command posts while pushing north toward Baghdād. Meanwhile, American cruise missiles and precision guided bombs continued striking the Iraqi command structure in government buildings in and around the capital.
 On the night of March 21, the U.S. unleashed massive air strikes against Baghdād as part of its so-called shock-and-awe campaign intended to provoke an Iraqi surrender early in the conflict. U.S. military officials said American bombs struck key targets in the capital, but the heavy bombardment failed to produce an Iraqi capitulation.
Resistance in the south
United States and British forces encountered unexpectedly stiff resistance in southern and central Iraq, but the vanguard of American troops largely bypassed Iraqi military formations in order to continue pushing north toward the capital. On March 25, the advance army was slowed not only by pockets of resistance, but also by a debilitating sandstorm that hampered supply lines and at least temporarily postponed an invasion of Baghdād. After advancing to less than 50 miles from the capital, American ground forces concentrated on strengthening supply lines while air and artillery continued to strike defensive structures in the city.
More than one week after the initial invasion, American and British troops continued to battle for control of strategic areas of southern Iraq. Unanticipated resistance from paramilitary forces in the region drew allied troops into deadly firefights in such southern and central towns as Al Başrah (Basra), An Nāşirīyah (Nasiriya), and An Najaf (Najaf). On March 29, a suicide bomber in the outskirts of An Najaf killed four American soldiers, and the Iraqi government soon afterwards pledged further suicide attacks. These setbacks to the allied forces, coupled with the need for American troop reinforcements, led many military analysts to predict that the war could last for months.
On April 7, British forces launched a major offensive on Al Başrah, Iraq's second-largest city. They quickly took control of the heart of the city and were distributing water and other humanitarian aid to residents just one day later. By April 9, British commanders said Iraqi resistance had all but disappeared. However, widespread looting and isolated incidents of political retribution were reported in the area.
 The northern front
On March 26, more than 1,000 American soldiers parachuted into the Kurdish-controlled area of northern Iraq and quickly secured an airfield about 200 miles north of Baghdād. Control of the airfield allowed the United States to use air transport to deploy tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles in the area, opening a second, northern front in the war against Iraq. American commanders had long planned to move U.S. troops into Iraq by land from Turkey. But in February the Turkish parliament refused to allow American ground troops access to its soil, significantly delaying the opening of the northern front.
On April 6, U.S. warplanes mistakenly bombed a convoy of Kurdish fighters and American special operations forces in the deadliest "friendly fire" attack thus far reported in the war. The air strike killed 18 Kurds and wounded more than 45 others, including the brother and son of a senior Kurdish official. Despite this setback, American and Kurdish troops continued to advance toward key supply routes that connect the cities of Kirkūk and Mosul.
Encountering very little resistance, Kurdish fighters and a small number of American special operations forces took control of Kirkūk on April 10. Iraqi army units retreated in the face of the allied advance after confronting an uprising of mainly ethnic Kurds among the city's residents. Neighboring Turkey voiced apprehension about the Kurdish capture of Kirkūk and its vast stores of oil. Turkey feared that Kirkūk's oil wealth could fund a Kurdish independence movement that could spill over into the Kurdish regions of its own country. Kurdish leaders agreed to begin withdrawing from the city by April 11, and to cede control to American forces.
Kurdish and U.S. forces continued their rapid advance into Mosul on April 11, taking that city after the Iraqi army all but vanished from the area. In the absence of local government or police forces, Mosul descended into chaos, with rampant looting and violence.
With the Iraqi government ousted from nearly all areas of the country, American commanders shifted attention toward Tikrīt, about 100 miles north of Baghdād. The city of Tikrīt is the birthplace of Saddam Hussein and U.S. military analysts believed it to be the last holdout of loyalist troops. After several days of aerial bombing strikes against government buildings and presidential palaces in Tikrīt, U.S. Marines entered the city on April 13, encountering unexpectedly little resistance. Backed by tanks, they stormed into Tikrīt the following day and captured the city in what appeared to be the last major battle of the war.
Battle for Baghdād
After a week of targeted bombing raids, by April 2 allied forces had decisively toppled two divisions of Iraq's elite Republican Guard that were defending southern approaches to Baghdād. The allied successes allowed U.S. Marines and Army ground troops to advance toward the capital, where they hoped to depose the government of Saddam Hussein. The offensive put the U.S. troops inside the so-called red zone around the capital, where Iraqi forces were said to be prepared to use banned chemical weapons against the invaders. American soldiers donned protective suits as they advanced.
 On April 4, American troops seized Baghdād's airport on the southwestern edge of the city. The following day, the United States began sending limited tank raids into the heart of the capital, where U.S. troops battled Iraqi soldiers in heavy street fighting. On April 7, American forces in one of these raids took control of a major presidential palace on the Tigris River in Baghdād. American commanders on the ground signaled that they would remain in the city center rather than retreat to the outskirts as they had in previous days.
At the Pentagon, U.S. commanders said the raids did not signal the beginning of the invasion of Baghdād, but were rather strategic maneuvers and psychological blows intended to assert allied control of the city. Meanwhile, American forces began encircling Baghdād in an effort to isolate the capital. By blocking all routes into and out of Baghdād, U.S. commanders hoped to prevent the government from reinforcing its troops or from escaping to areas not under allied control.
Late on April 7, an American B-1 bomber dropped four huge "bunker-busting" bombs on a building where Saddam Hussein was believed to be meeting with his sons and senior aides. The bombs completely destroyed the building, leaving a 60-foot deep hole in its place. American officials said they could not be certain that the Iraqi leader and his sons were killed in the attack.
 The fall of Baghdād
American forces intensified their assault on Baghdād on April 8, bombing government buildings, quelling sporadic Iraqi resistance, and moving into nearly all areas of the city. Iraqi forces were subdued or simply disappeared from many places, and by April 9, the government of Saddam Hussein had lost control of the city. Throughout the capital, Iraqi residents celebrated in the streets and greeted American troops with white flags and handshakes.
With the fall of government control in the capital, Baghdād displayed increasing signs of chaos. Looters stormed former government warehouses, libraries, museums, and other buildings, stealing as much as they could carry. American military commanders worked to shift their focus from toppling the Iraqi government to maintaining security among the Iraqi people.
Despite the fall of Saddam Hussein's government, U.S. officials warned that the war was far from over. Small groups of Iraqis continued to battle U.S. troops across many areas of the city and its suburbs, but these Hussein loyalists appeared to be acting without any centralized command structure.
From waging war to enforcing peace
Despite the fall of the Iraqi regime, the United States maintained a strong military presence throughout the country. American commanders hoped to restore order in war-ravaged cities by placing military police officers and light forces in positions where they could carry out patrols and improve security. Their main goals were to prevent further looting and bank robberies, to capture paramilitary fighters still waging sporadic attacks against U.S. forces, and to conduct joint patrols with newly formed local Iraqi police forces. However, complaints about the U.S. military presence were heard across the country, leading to deadly clashes with American soldiers in some cases.
An end to combat
On May 1, President Bush declared an end to major combat operations, but he stopped short of declaring victory in the war. Under international provisions, a declaration of victory would require swift release of prisoners of war and could hamper U.S. attempts to capture defeated Iraqi leaders. President Bush also noted that significant tasks remained in Iraq, including the search for weapons of mass destruction. No conclusive evidence of such weapons was found during the war.
The following articles provide background information on the people, places, and politics of the war in Iraq.
Articles marked with a (*) are available to those with access to MSN Encarta Premium.
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