Iraq War

Overview

The Iraq War, also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a protracted armed conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States–led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein. During the US occupation of Iraq, the conflict persisted as an insurgency that arose against coalition forces and the newly established Iraqi government. US forces were officially withdrawn in 2011. In 2014, the US became re-engaged in Iraq, leading a new coalition under Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, as the conflict evolved into the ongoing Islamic State insurgency.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Iraq War, beginning with the March 2003 coalition invasion, resulted in the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist government and initiated a prolonged US occupation of Iraq. The conventional military phase gave way to a sustained insurgency against coalition forces and the newly established Iraqi government, a dynamic that defined the conflict's trajectory through 2011. Coalition casualties of over 17,000 and Iraqi combatant losses ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands reflected the scale of sustained operations across both phases. US forces formally withdrew in 2011, but the war's consequences extended further: by 2014, instability in Iraq drew US forces back under a new coalition mandate to counter the Islamic State insurgency, demonstrating that the conflict's 2011 conclusion was a transition rather than a resolution. Within the broader War on Terrorism, the Iraq War became a central and contested theater, shaping US military strategy, coalition politics, and the regional order for more than a decade.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (15)