2003 invasion of Iraq

Epic card · No. 14519

The 2003 invasion of Iraq was the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion began on 20 March 2003 and lasted just over one month, including 26 days of major combat operations. The invasion was conducted by a United States–led coalition of mainly American, British, Australian, and Polish troops. According to US president George W. Bush and UK prime minister Tony Blair, the coalition aimed to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)—nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons—and "free the Iraqi people" by deposing president Saddam Hussein, in turn ending his "support for terrorism". Before the invasion, United Nations (UN) inspectors in Iraq had found no evidence of Iraqi WMDs; US and British officials claimed they were still hidden, and posed an immediate threat to world peace. The invasion was strongly opposed by some long-standing US allies, including Canada, France, Germany, and New Zealand. In 2004, UN secretary-general Kofi Annan called the invasion illegal under international...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Lance Cpl. Brian L. Wickliffe, U.S. Marine Corps, Public domain