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MilitaryIraqWar2003 Biography

War chart: This war entitled "Operation Iraqi Freedom" by the U.S. Military began with the U.S. launching missiles in a "target of opportunity" identified by intelligence reports about Saddam Hussein’s whereabouts. The build-up to the war was an intense and anxious time for most of the world. Throughout months of arms inspections in Iraq, UN debates, diplomatic efforts and war talk, Bush never wavered from his position that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and Saddam must be removed from power. Tony Blair, Prime Minister of England, risked his own political future by siding with the U.S., one of the few major European leaders to do so. On March 17, 2003 at 8:00 PM EST, without the support of the United Nations and despite global peace protests, Bush delivered a televised speech from the White House in Washington, DC, issuing an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein: leave Iraq with your sons within 48 hours or the US will wage war on your country. He followed the ultimatum with a message to the Iraqi people about the U.S. Commitment to rebuilding the country after Hussein’s ouster. For several weeks prior to the initial phase of war, U.S. armed forces and their reserves had been stationed in countries bordering Iraq, guarding water supplies and oil fields but mainly waiting in the desert for the declaration of war. North American, European, and Middle Eastern countries had put their citizens on high alert, preparing for terrorist reprisals that have seemed inevitable. Bahrain offered exile to Saddam Hussein in an effort to avert the war, but Hussein and his soldiers adamantly refused to leave, vowing to shed the blood of "American mothers’ sons." On April 9, 2003, after fierce fighting in the south, Baghdad fell, symbolized graphically on television by the toppling of a giant statue of Saddam Hussein. Troops entered Tikrit, in the North, home of Saddam Hussein, after Baghdad fell and secured the north. On May 1, 2003, U.S. President Bush made a public appearance to mark the end of the war. However, feelings in Iraq continued to be mixed. While celebrating the ouster of Hussein, many Iraqis were unhappy with the ongoing presence of U.S. and British troops. Tapes evidently made by Saddam Hussein urged Iraqis to resist the foreign presence, and sniper fire continued to kill American and British troops stationed in Iraq during the "rebuilding" stage. On July 23, 2003, the sons of Saddam Hussein, Uday and Qusay, were killed in a siege of a house in Mosul that lasted more than two hours. On June 28, 2004, Iraq became a sovereign government when Paul Bremer, who had overseen the Coalition Provisional Authority since the fall of Saddam, signed the legal papers in the presence of Iraqs prime minister Allawi and presented them to the chief justice of Iraq, Midhat al-Mahmoud, at 10:26 AM local time according to news reports. Violence continued and on July 20, 2004, gunmen killed the interim governor of Iraqs Basra province. According to news reports, Hazem al-Ainachi, coordinator for the Basra Provincial Council, and two other men were shot dead and another injured in the attack at 7:55 a.m. Iraq time. By mid-October 2004, the statistics were getting grimmer: over 1,100 US soldiers had been killed, with nearly 1,000 killed after President Bush marked the end of the official war on the deck of a carrier with the banner "Mission Accomplished." In addition to the casualties, over 7,800 troops were wounded physically or emotionallyRead less