President GeorgeW. Bush and his advisors decided to go to war because they believed that Iraq, under “dictator” Saddam Hussein, possessed or was in the process of building weapons of mass destruction.
The fighting began about 90 minutes after the deadline the US set for Saddam Hussein to either leave Iraq or face war.
The first targets, which President Bush said were of “military importance,” were attacked by a barrage of Tomahawk missiles from bombers and warships stationed in the Persic Gulf.
During the fierce hours, the Iraqi Republic radio station in Baghdad announced that it was still broadcasting calls and condemnations of America’s actions. “The demons, enemies of God, our homeland and humanity, have foolishly invaded our homeland and our people.”
15 years later, weapons of mass destruction have never been discovered in Iraq, and Saddam Hussein, who has anti-American views in the Middle East, has become an ancient man.
The images below reflect the tragedy of a terrible war in the 21st century:
Smoke and dust cover Iraqi government buildings in Baghdad, Iraq on March 20, 2003 after a “shock and awe” US bombing campaign. One of these includes the palace of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein – Photo: AFP
When American bombs exploded on Iraqi soil, US President George W. Bush made a televised speech declaring that “US and allied forces are in the early stages of military operations.” to disarm Iraq, liberate its people, and protect the world from danger” and “Many Iraqis can hear me tonight through my translated speech and I have a message for them: The tyrant will soon be overthrown and your liberation day is approaching” – Photo: GETTY
Richard Barnett, a medic in the US 1st Marine Division, hugs an Iraqi girl in the central part of the country. Within three weeks, the US-led coalition overthrew the Hussein government and took control of Iraq’s major cities. President Bush announced the end of large-scale combat operations on May 1, 2003 – Photo: REUTERS
This image has become a symbol of the aggressive war launched by the United States. The statue of President Saddam Hussein in the capital Baghdad was torn down on April 9, 2003 – Photo: REUTERS
An Iraqi man was arrested, with a plastic bag covering his head and his hands tied behind his back, during a raid by the US 4th Infantry Division in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown. Although the Iraqi army was quickly defeated by the US coalition, guerrilla-style uprisings and counterattacks continued months later across Iraq – Photo: Damir Sagolj
This is an image obtained by AP news agency. It shows Iraqi men, apparently prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, naked, their heads covered with plastic bags, being tortured. They were asked to stack on top of each other in such a state, in front of the eyes of American soldiers. A military investigation later led to 11 US soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison being convicted, with light consequences being reprimanded and severe cases being imprisoned for up to 10 years – Photo: AP
These undated and undated images show Saddam Hussein’s condition after being captured by US soldiers on December 13, 2003. According to the History page, “after a fierce search, American soldiers found Saddam Hussein hiding in a deep hole, about 14.5 km from his hometown of Tikrit. He did not resist and was not injured during the arrest. A soldier present at the scene described him as “a man who surrendered to fate” – Photo: GETTY
In June 2004, an interim government was established in Iraq after Saddam Hussein agreed to transfer power. In January 2005, the National Assembly election to select 275 members was held. A new constitution for the country was ratified that October.
British soldiers in the US coalition were firebombed by protesters in the city of Basra on March 22, 2004. Britain is the country that contributed the second most soldiers to the invasion of Iraq, with 45,000 people, just behind the United States – Photo: REUTERS
Coffins draped in the American flag prepare to be transferred from a transport plane at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware (USA). This is just one of more than 300 undated photos released by the US Air Force on April 14, 2004 after facing requests for release under the Freedom of Information Act. Dover was the first place to receive planes carrying the bodies of American soldiers from the Iraq war home. The Pentagon absolutely prohibits reporters from entering this area – Photo: REUTERS
Navy Sergeant Kevin Downs, 21 years old, is breathing heavily after physical therapy at a rehabilitation center in San Antonio, Texas (USA) on August 23, 2006. Downs suffered third and fourth degree burns and lost his legs after the military vehicle he was in exploded from an improvised explosive device in Iraq in August 2005 – Photo: GETTY
Three years after the war, things in Iraq are still confused. 2006 was the first year of what historians later called the “peak violence” in Iraq, with uprisings breaking out and ethnic tensions escalating. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the war launched by the US in many cities around the world, from Louisiana to Australia – one of four countries contributing troops to the US. In photo: Anti-war demonstration in Portland, Oregon (USA) on March 19, 2006 – Photo: AP
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein defends himself during his trial in Baghdad on April 5, 2006. The first trial took place in October 2005. On November 5, 2006, he was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. His appeal was unsuccessful, one month after the verdict, he was hanged – Photo: REUTERS
But the death of Saddam Hussein did not end the anti-American uprisings in Iraq. In the photo: These Iraqi men had their hands tied behind their backs, lying face down on the ground because they were suspected of being insurgents after a raid by US troops in Baquba, northeast of Baghdad on June 26, 2006 – Photo: REUTERS
Dhiya Thamer, 6 years old, died in her mother’s arms, after the car carrying her family fell into an ambush in Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad in September 2007. No one knows the culprit of the incident. US involvement has created conditions for simmering ethnic tensions in Iraq during decades of outbreaks – Photo: REUTERS
US soldier Kyle Hale lost his temper and pushed a man while preventing a mass trampling of another man outside Al Rasheed bank in Jamilah market, Sadr city – an area with a large Shiite population. June 10, 2008 – Photo: AP
Reenlistment ceremony of American soldiers in Baghdad on July 5, 2008. More than 1,200 US soldiers held a reenlistment ceremony, part of the US Independence Day celebrations at al-Faw palace inside Camp Victory – Photo: REUTERS
More than 50 countries, including the Arab bloc and the European Union, have opposed the US-led war in Iraq in one way or another. In theory, America’s actions violated the sovereignty of a country recognized by the international community, in other words, it was the action of an aggressor.
To some extent, Saddam Hussein’s passing was a positive thing. But it could create transformations in other countries, among Muslim men and women, making the world a more dangerous place.”
Mr. Jacques Chirac, when he was still President of France, announced on November 17, 2004
Desiree Fairooz, an anti-war activist, jumped and raised her bloody hand in the face of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice outside the US Capitol on October 24, 2007. Before being dragged away by the police and arrested, Ms. Fairooz was able to shout at the US diplomatic leader the phrase “war criminal” – Photo: REUTERS
The moment Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi took off two shoes and threw them in the face of US President George W. Bush during a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on December 14, 2008. “This is goodbye to the Iraqi people, you dogs!” and “This action is for the widows and orphans, for all those who have been killed in Iraq” – that’s what al – Zaidi shouted before being overpowered and pinned to the ground. The US President dodged both throws, but the Iraqi journalist could not escape his 3-year prison sentence, which was reduced to 1 year and ultimately only served 9 months for “attacking a foreign head of state” – Photo : AP
Six years after the war, Saddam Hussein’s legacy and ideas are still present in Iraq. In photo: Two US soldiers walk past the bronze bust of Saddam Hussein in the “Green Zone” of the capital Baghdad on March 20, 2009 – Photo: AP
Eight years under the rule of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq has made efforts to reduce violence and national reconciliation in parallel with restoring the Iraqi economy. In photo: Iraqi soldiers parade past the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Armed Forces Day in the capital Baghdad on January 6, 2010 – Photo: AFP
An Iraqi security officer displays a handgun found during a raid in Zayouna district, capital Baghdad, September 26, 2010. Materials for making explosives and many other weapons were found. No one paid attention to the black and white flag in the photo, at least until four years after it became the sign of death for the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) – Photo: REUTERS
Eight years after the war, in 2011, the United States under President Barack Obama announced the withdrawal of all American soldiers in Iraq. In fact, this is just the final stage in the US’s nearly 3-year military withdrawal plan, starting in the last year of George W. Bush’s term. Washington chose to gradually withdraw troops to ensure that American soldiers remaining in Iraq remained safe, while also ensuring that it did not leave too large a gap for the Iraqi army, which was in a fragile period. In photo: Ceremony of withdrawing US troops from Sather Air Force Base on December 15, 2011 – Photo: GETTY
Soldier Myles James is welcomed to his hometown of Fort Hood, Texas. James was one of the soldiers in the final withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 – Photo: GETTY
War is always a loss, both for the winning side and the losing side. In the photo: Mary McHugh cried next to the grave of her fiance James Regan in section 60 of the national cemetery, on the outskirts of Washington (USA) – Photo: GETTY
Khitam Hamad, 12 years old, burned half of his face in a car bomb explosion in Fallujah city, taking pictures and waiting for help from Doctors Without Borders on November 28, 2011 in Amman, Jordan. This organization has started cosmetic surgeries to help war victims in Iraq since 2006 – Photo: REUTERS
For the Iraqi people, the American withdrawal does not mean that the country is stable. Ethnic violence continues in Iraq and no one expected that three years after the US withdrawal, a prisoner who had been detained in a US prison in Iraq would become the leader of one of the terrorist organizations. The most dangerous dad in the world. In the photo: A woman holds her child as she walks past anti-suicide bomb walls in Baghdad on December 9, 2011. About 60,000 concrete blocks like this were seen in Baghdad at the end of the war – Photo: GETTY