The joint force consists of 65,438+200,000 American troops, 45,000 British troops, 2,000 Australian troops and 200 Polish troops, in addition to about 50,000 Iraqi rebels. They formally launched a military strike against Iraq through the US military base stationed in Kuwait.
Accompanied by 10 1 air assault division and some troops of the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States, the 3rd Infantry Division of the United States advanced from the desert in the northwest of Kuwait to Baghdad. On the other hand, in the southeast of Iraq, the First Expeditionary Force of the United States Marine Corps and the British Expeditionary Force (including the 4th and 7th armored brigades and the 1st armored division composed of several marines) launched a pincer-like offensive to open the sea passage in Iraq. Two weeks after the war, the US military invested 173 airborne brigade and special forces in the mountainous areas of northern Iraq, forming an alliance with the Kurdish rebels there. However, due to the opposition of the Turkish parliament, the Fourth Infantry Division, which the United States expected to invest in the north, failed to participate in the fighting there.
After two weeks of fierce fighting, the British army first took control of Basra, an oil town in southern Iraq and the second largest city in Iraq. Humanitarian crises such as water and electricity cuts have occurred from time to time in various parts of Iraq. Many international humanitarian organizations send relief supplies to Iraq. Most of these aid materials come from the port of Umm Qasr (? Umm Qasr) entered Iraq, some of which entered Iraq from Kuwait.
About three weeks after the war broke out, the US military successfully entered the urban area of Baghdad without any stubborn resistance on the way. Iraqi officials suddenly disappeared and their whereabouts were unknown, and a large number of Iraqi troops surrendered to the US military. After that, Iraqi cities such as Baghdad and Basra fell into anarchy, looting occurred frequently in Baghdad, the Baghdad Museum was looted, and tens of thousands of precious cultural relics disappeared. Some Iraqis criticized the US military for not trying to maintain the security in Baghdad.
blasting fuse
After the 911terrorist attacks in the United States, President Bush declared war on terrorism and listed Iraq and other countries as "axis of evil". When the Iraq crisis broke out in 2002, the United Nations adopted resolution 144 1, and the United Nations weapons inspection team returned to Iraq to inspect Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. On March 18, US President Bush made a televised speech, demanding that the armed inspection teams that had not found any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq leave Iraq immediately.
See: 2003 Iraq crisis and Iraq disarmament memorabilia.
Causes and purposes of war
The United States and other countries went to war against Iraq mainly because Saddam Hussein's regime possessed weapons of mass destruction and the Iraqi government trampled on human rights. According to US Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, the ultimate goals of the United States in this war include:
Destroy Saddam Hussein's regime and help the Iraqi people establish an autonomous government.
Find and destroy weapons of mass destruction and terrorists hidden in Iraq,
End sanctions and provide humanitarian assistance,
Protect Iraq's oil and other natural resources.
However, Islamic countries such as Iran and Syria believe that the reason is not simple. According to media reports such as the Islamic Republic newspaper, the United States has been manipulated by the Jewish group, and the occupation of Iraq is only a prelude to the huge aggression plan of the Jewish group. After the US military takes Iraq, it will send troops to Iran on the pretext that Iran has weapons of mass destruction, and finally to Syria. The ultimate goal is to control Iraq and Iran, embezzle oil, the economic lifeline of Islamic countries, disintegrate Palestinian resistance and dominate the whole Middle East.
Before the war, the United States, Britain and other countries accused Saddam Hussein's regime of possessing weapons of mass destruction as an important reason for launching the war, but so far no conclusive and credible evidence has been found.
Anti-war and main battle
The US government claimed that 49 countries supported the military operation. But only the United States, Britain, Australia and Poland really participated in the ground war. The Danish government also declared war on Iraq and sent two warships to support the US military. South Korea, Italy, Ukraine and other countries provide logistical support.
This war was criticized and condemned by Russian, French, German, People's Republic of China (PRC) (PRC), Arab League, Non-Aligned Movement and other governments and international organizations.
Austria and many other countries claimed that the military action against Iraq violated international law because it was not authorized by the United Nations Security Council. Former Egyptian UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali condemned the military action as a violation of the UN Charter. Austria, Switzerland and Iran prohibited coalition fighters from flying over their airspace, while Saudi Arabia prohibited American missiles from attacking Iraq through its airspace.
The general anti-war sentiment in the world eventually led to a global demonstration against the Iraq war.
Current situation in Iraq
In the early days of the allied occupation of Iraq, the Iraqi coast was once deadlocked. It was not until the American troops entered Baghdad that the Iraqi army was defeated. At that time, the popularity of American President Bush and British Prime Minister Blair, who advocated war, once rose to a very high level. From June 5438 to February 2003, the US military successfully captured former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, which was described by the American media as the greatest achievement of this war.
After the war, the United States kept drafting plans for the reconstruction of Iraq, including handing over a large number of reconstruction plans to American consortia and appointing local people as interim government officials. However, because many local political organizations do not support the United States, guerrilla warfare against the US-British military occupation is surging in Iraq. As of June 15, 2006, the death toll of American occupation troops has reached 2,500. However, the Iraqi economy has not recovered for a long time, not only the local oil facilities have been destroyed, which has affected the global oil supply, but also the unemployed population is huge, and the life safety and daily life of residents cannot be effectively guaranteed. Therefore, anti-war activists in many countries once again held public anti-war demonstrations, accusing Bush of being the world's number one terrorist. In a secret interview, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz even made it clear that Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction was only "a convenient reason to attack Iraq".
Related projects
Timetable of the US-Iraq War
Casualties in the United States and Iraq
U.S.-British Coalition forces mistreated Iraqi prisoners of war
Personality identification playing cards
Iraq crisis
Iraq crisis in 2003
United Nations resolutions on Iraq
United nations security Council resolution 144 1
Global view of war
American policy towards Iraq
A global March against the Iraq war
The Roman Catholic Church opposed the war against Iraq.
Military strategy
Decapitation strike
Shocking action
Iraqi military
Iraqi Republican Guard