The US invasion of Iraq, which turned into an occupation of Mesopotamia between March 20, 2003 and December 18, 2011, was a pivotal event in the Middle East under the pretext of possessing weapons of mass destruction, leading to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime and an estimated one million casualties and millions of displaced persons.
The invasion of Iraq and the entry and stay of the invading coalition forces were several stops before and after the fall of Baghdad. The most prominent of these stations are as follows:
Before the fall of Baghdad: 2002: January 29:
Former US President George W. Bush classifies Iraq as an "axis of evil" along with Iran and North Korea.
May 14: The Security Council amends the sanctions regime on Iraq to allow greater access to civilian goods, while tightening controls on military materiel.
September 12: George W. Bush urges the United Nations to implement its resolutions against Iraq, otherwise the United States will have the right to act unilaterally against it.
October 11, 2002: The U.S. Congress authorizes war on Iraq.
November 8: The Security Council unanimously approves a new weapons of mass destruction inspection regime, under which Iraq faces "serious consequences" if it does not cooperate.
November 18: UN inspectors return for the first time to Iraq after a four-year absence.
December 7: Iraq submits a 12,<>-page declaration confirming that it is free of prohibited weapons.
December 21: George W. Bush approves the deployment of U.S. troops to the Persian Gulf region.
January 2003:
George W. Bush says his country is ready to attack Iraq even without a UN mandate.
February 14: A report by Chief Inspector Hans Blix talks about little progress in Iraq's cooperation with UN experts, and French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin sharply criticizes, in a famous speech at the Security Council, the US-British desire to wage war and refutes allegations of weapons of destruction.
February 22: Hans Blix calls on Iraq to destroy Sumud 2 missiles.
February 24: A U.S.-U.S.-I.S.-Spanish draft resolution says it is time to use force against Iraq on the pretext of its lack of cooperation on the issue of weapons of destruction, and France, Germany and Russia call for continued inspections, extensions and tightening of inspections because there is a "real chance of achieving a peaceful solution."
March 1: Iraq begins destroying Sumud missiles.
March 17: George W. Bush gives Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave Iraq under threat of attack on his country.
March 19: George W. Bush declares war on Iraq.
March 20, 2003:
The U.S. invasion of Iraq begins this morning with explosions in Baghdad and an airstrike that attempts to target Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi leaders.
President Bush's statement of the beginning of the war he called "Freedom for Iraq."
– US-British ground forces crossing the fence of um Qasr port from Kuwait, besieging the port from the west and north, and cutting off its road leading to Basra and the Faw Peninsula.
– A British force settles in front of the town of Abu al-Khasib and cuts off all roads leading to it.
March 21:
Very intense raids on Baghdad and other cities continue.
– British forces announce the capture of an oil refinery on the Faw Peninsula.
– British invasion forces attack the Iraqi army in the cities of Zubair and Basra and attempt to occupy Basra International Airport.
– Part of the US army headed towards the city of Nasiriyah.
March 22:
Basra city was subjected to intense bombardment and water and electricity were cut off from all its neighborhoods after coalition forces bombed electricity generators.
– Part of the US army headed towards Samawah in southwestern Iraq.
March 23:
A clash between Iraqi army forces and US-British forces in the southern Iraqi cities of um Qasr, Nasiriyah, and Basra.
– The attempt of the Americans to storm the eastern part of the city of Nasiriyah.
– The Third U.S. Infantry Division heads towards the city of Najaf.
– The Medina Armored Brigade of the Republican Guard moved towards Karbala.
March 24:
Violent resistance in cities such as Nasiriyah and Basra impedes the advance of US forces, who were later able to reach areas only about 90 kilometers from Baghdad.
– The International Red Cross announced that the residents of Basra were subjected to a humanitarian tragedy after the water was cut off from the city's neighborhoods as a result of the US-British bombardment.
Unprecedented storms across Iraq loaded with dust at noon, with visibility a few meters, forcing U.S. forces to halt their advance.
March 25:
um Qasr city falls to coalition forces.
March 26:
Airdrops of hundreds of US paratroopers in the Kurdistan region to open a front from northern Iraq.
March 27:
The Iraqi army in the Najaf and Kufa region obstructs the advance of US forces.
– British forces besieged the city of Basra at the beginning of the second week without being able to storm it.
– The invasion forces enter the city of Amara.
– US bombing of orchards separating Karbala from Baghdad.
March 28:
Kurdish Peshmerga forces advance towards the city of Kirkuk.
– Fifty civilians are injured in an explosion in a popular market in Baghdad.
March 30:
US and British military commanders halt advances on Baghdad for several days to come, to secure transportation lines and wait for military reinforcements to arrive.
March 31:
- US aircraft intensified their aerial bombardment of Republican Guard divisions surrounding the capital, especially from the direction of Musayyib.
– U.S. military units incursion into Shatra en route to Kut.
– Fighting continues in the suburbs of Najaf and Karbala.
April 1, 2003:
US attack on Hilla city (80 kilometers south of Baghdad) and the death of many civilians, including women and children.
April 2:
Fighting arrives at Essaouira Bridge near Baghdad.
April 3:
US invasion forces enter Najaf.
– Clashes near Saddam International Airport and through agricultural roads leading to it and near Latifiya.
April 4:
US forces attack Saddam Hussein International Airport in Baghdad.
– The displacement of tens of thousands of residents of Khan Dhari, Fallujah, Karma and other areas and neighborhoods near the airport.
April 5:
British forces announce the capture of most of Basra's neighborhoods.
– A fierce battle breaks out at Baghdad International Airport and the attack on US forces is subjected to two operations by two Iraqi women.
– American tanks enter the outskirts of Baghdad and face resistance, and the Red Cross Organization announces a massacre of Iraqi civilians after the incursion of an armored American reconnaissance force into the areas of Yarmouk and Bayaa neighborhoods. It also announced that the dead and wounded victims arrive at Yarmouk Hospital at a rate of one hundred people per hour.
April 7:
A US force attacks the presidential palace complex near the suspension bridge in Baghdad.
Fierce battles between special and emergency guards and Americans who approached the Conference Palace opposite the Rashid Hotel, prompting journalists to leave the hotel.
– British forces announce their occupation of Basra.
April 9:
US forces announce that they have taken control of most of Baghdad, despite facing sporadic resistance in some areas.
Television screens broadcast scenes of the toppling of a statue of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in the courtyard of the Sheraton Hotel, with the help of a U.S. tank carrier, and an American soldier placing his country's flag on the statue's face.
April 10:
Kurdish Peshmerga forces enter the city of Kirkuk with the help of US forces.
– Shiite leader Abdul Majeed al-Khoei is killed in Najaf.
April 11:
US forces take over Mosul.
– Looting the contents of the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad.
April 12:
US troops enter Tikrit.
May 1, 2003:
The United States announces the end of major combat operations.
May 12:
US diplomat Paul Bremer is appointed civilian governor of Iraq.
May 22:
The UN Security Council passes Resolution 1483 attempting to "legitimize" the occupation by "supporting the new administration" and lifting sanctions on Iraq.
July 7:
The Bush administration acknowledges that allegations that Iraq tried to obtain uranium from African countries were unsubstantiated and should not have been included in the Union's letter in early 2003.
13 يوليو/تموز:
تدشين مجلس الحكم المؤقت المكون من 25 عراقيا يرأسون الهيئة دوريا لمدة شهر، لكن الصلاحيات الأساسية تبقى في يد بول بريمر.
22 يوليو/تموز:
مقتل عدي وقصي ابني صدام حسين في معركة مع القوات الأميركية بالموصل.
9 أغسطس/آب:
اشتداد المقاومة المسلحة لقوات الاحتلال الأميركي، وعدد قتلى ووفيات الجيش الأميركي يصل إلى 255 بحلول اليوم المئة لنهاية المعارك الذي أُعلن عنه مطلع مايو/أيار.
19 أغسطس/آب:
تفجير انتحاري يدمر مقر بعثة الأمم المتحدة في بغداد، ويقتل 24 شخصا بينهم المبعوث الأممي سيرجيو فييرا دي ميلو.
29 أغسطس/آب:
مقتل رجل الدين الشيعي آية الله محمد باقر الحكيم في تفجير بالنجف سقط فيه نحو ثمانين شخصا.
2 أكتوبر/تشرين الأول:
– تقرير مبدئي للخبير الأممي ديفد كاي يقول إنه لم يُعثَر على أسلحة دمار شامل في العراق.
– مسلحون يسقطون مروحية أميركية ويقتلون 16 جنديا، في واحدة من أعنف الهجمات، وشهر أكتوبر/تشرين الأول يدخل السجلات كأعنف شهر منذ الاحتلال بمقتل 75 جنديا أميركيا فيه.
9 ديسمبر/كانون الأول:
تعليمات من بول وولفويتز نائب وزير الدفاع الأميركي تمنع فرنسا وألمانيا وكندا والمكسيك والصين وروسيا من التنافس على العقود الضخمة في عملية إعمار العراق.
13 ديسمبر/كانون الأول:
اعتقال صدام حسين على أيدي عناصر الجيش الأميركي.
عام 2004:
17 يناير/كانون الثاني:
الرئيس السابق لفريق المفتشين الأميركيين ديفد كاي يقول في شهادة أمام مجلس الشيوخ إن كل المعلومات الاستخبارية عن أسلحة الدمار الشامل كانت "جميعها تقريبا مغلوطة".
1 فبراير/شباط:
مقتل أكثر من مئة شخص في تفجيرات بأربيل.
2 مارس/آذار:
هجمات في كربلاء تسقط أكثر من ثمانين قتيلا.
8 مارس/آذار:
مجلس الحكم العراقي يقر دستورا انتقاليا.
4 أبريل/نيسان:
هجوم أميركي واسع على الفلوجة بعد مقتل أربعة متعاقدين أمنيين أميركيين، وقوات المارينز تفشل في دخول المدينة، والمعركة تنتهي بعد تكبد كل من قوات المارينز وأهالي الفلوجة خسائر فادحة.
22 أبريل/نيسان:
واشنطن تعلن أن بعض أعضاء حزب البعث الذين طردوا من وظائفهم -مثلهم مثل مئات الآلاف- يمكنهم العودة إليها.
30 أبريل/نيسان:
تفجر فضيحة سجن أبو غريب بعد نشر وسائل إعلام أميركية صورا تظهر انتهاكات واسعة بحق السجناء.
17 مايو/أيار:
مقتل رئيس مجلس الحكم الانتقالي لذلك الشهر عز الدين سليم في تفجير.
27 مايو/أيار:
التوصل إلى هدنة بين قوات موالية لرجل الدين الشيعي مقتدى الصدر والجيش الأميركي، أنهت أسابيع من المعارك بين الطرفين.
28 مايو/أيار:
تعيين إياد علاوي رئيسا لحكومة العراق المؤقتة.
1 يونيو/حزيران:
اختيار غازي الياور لرئاسة الجمهورية، وهو منصب شرفي بالأساس في عراق ما بعد الاحتلال، ومجلس الحكم الانتقالي يقرر حل نفسه.
16 يونيو/حزيران:
لجنة التحقيقات الأميركية في هجمات 11 سبتمبر/أيلول 2001 تقول إنه لا أدلة ذات مصداقية على ضلوع العراق والقاعدة في الهجمات.
9 يوليو/تموز:
تقرير للجنة الاستخبارات بمجلس الشيوخ الأميركي أقره الحزبان الديمقراطي والجمهوري، ينتقد بشدة المعلومات الاستخبارية التي استخدمت لتسويغ الحرب.
14 يوليو/تموز:
"تقرير باتلر" في بريطانيا يقول إن المعلومات الاستخبارية التي اعتمدت لشن الحرب، "كانت محل مبالغة".
22 يوليو/تموز:
"تقرير فلود" في أستراليا يصف الأدلة على وجود أسلحة دمار شامل في العراق بأنها "غامضة وغير مكتملة".
28 يوليو/تموز:
مقتل نحو سبعين شخصا إثر انفجار سيارة مفخخة في بعقوبة.
15 سبتمبر/أيلول:
الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة آنذاك كوفي أنان يصف -في لقاء صحفي- الحربَ على العراق بأنها "غير شرعية".
25 أكتوبر/تشرين الأول:
اختفاء مئات الأطنان من المتفجرات الشديدة من موقع عسكري في منشأة القعقاع.
8 نوفمبر/تشرين الثاني:
هجوم أميركي واسع جديد على الفلوجة بمشاركة نحو عشرة آلاف جندي وتدمير المدينة، وتوجيه اتهامات للقوات الأميركية باستخدام أسلحة محرمة دوليا، منها قذائف اليورانيوم المنضب وقنابل فوسفورية.
19 ديسمبر/كانون الأول:
هجمات بسيارات مفخخة في النجف وكربلاء تقتل أكثر من ستين شخصا.
عام 2005:
4 يناير/كانون الثاني:
اغتيال محافظ بغداد الشيعي علي راضي الحيدري.
12 يناير/كانون الثاني:
البيت الأبيض يعلن رسميا أن عمليات التفتيش في العراق قد انتهت دون العثور على أسلحة الدمار الشامل.
30 يناير/كانون الثاني:
بدء انتخابات تشريعية لاختيار 275 نائبا في البرلمان المؤقت ونسبة المشاركة بلغت 58%، لكن يوم الاقتراع أصبح أحد أعنف الأيام بعدما وقع فيه أكثر من مئتي هجوم.
22 فبراير/شباط:
"القائمة العراقية الموحدة" تحصد 48% من الأصوات (مقابل 26% للأكراد) وتختار إبراهيم الجعفري لرئاسة الوزراء.
28 أغسطس/آب:
البرلمان العراقي يتسلم مسودة الدستور الجديد الذي رفضه السياسيون السنة.
25 أكتوبر/تشرين الأول:
اللجنة الانتخابية تعلن إقرار الدستور الجديد بـ79% من الأصوات.
19 نوفمبر/تشرين الثاني:
مقتل 24 مدنيا عراقيا -بينهم نساء وأطفال- على يد جنود أميركيين في بلدة حديثة، انتقاما لمقتل جندي من مشاة البحرية.
2 ديسمبر/كانون الأول:
مقتل عشرة من قوات مشاة البحرية (مارينز) إثر انفجار قنبلة في الفلوجة.
15 ديسمبر/كانون الأول:
انتخابات برلمانية لاختيار أول برلمان دائم منذ بدء الاحتلال.
عام 2006:
15 فبراير/شباط:
تقرير لمجلس الشيوخ الأميركي يقول إن كل مرافق البنية التحتية في العراق ما زالت دون مستويات ما قبل الاحتلال، رغم إنفاق 16 مليار دولار على تأهيلها.
22 فبراير/شباط:
انفجار قنبلة يلحق أضرارا بالغة بمقام الإمام العسكري في سامراء، ويتسبب في هجمات طائفية قتل فيها المئات خلال بضعة أيام. واتساع الهجمات لتشمل معظم أنحاء العراق ولا سيما بغداد، واستمرارها طوال عاميْ 2006 و2007، وإحصاءات تفيد بمقتل عشرات الألوف من المدنيين فيها.
15 مارس/آذار:
صدام حسين يدلي بشهادته لأول مرة خلال محاكمته في ما عرف بقضية الدجيل.
22 أبريل/نيسان:
الموافقة على تعيين نوري المالكي رئيس حزب الدعوة رئيسا للحكومة، بعد أربعة أشهر من الخلافات بين الفرقاء السياسيين.
7 يونيو/حزيران:
الإعلان عن مقتل أبو مصعب الزرقاوي في غارة أميركية.
July 25:
The United States announces the transfer of more troops from Baghdad to counter security chaos and sectarian fighting.
September 23:
A classified US intelligence report leaked to the press says the Iraq war has increased the risk of "terrorism."
October 11:
Iraq's parliament passes a Sunni-opposed law allowing provinces to unite to form autonomous regions.
December 6:
A bipartisan committee report advises opening up to Iran and Syria to contain the situation in Iraq, where "the mission seems to have no end in sight."
December 31:
Saddam Hussein hanged
January 2007:
10
: George W. Bush announces the deployment of an additional <>,<> troops to Baghdad to contain sectarian fighting.
February 26:
The Iraqi government approves a draft law that would distribute oil revenues to each governorate according to its population, allowing provinces to negotiate petroleum contracts with foreign companies.
September 16:
Seventeen Iraqi civilians, including a family of a father, wife, and son, are killed by fire from the US security firm Blackwater in Baghdad, and a subsequent US investigation concludes that the shooting was unjustified.
January
2008: 12:
Iraq's parliament passes a law allowing many Baathists to regain their government jobs.
March 23:
A bomb blast in Baghdad brings the death toll of the U.S. military since the occupation began to 4000,<>.
March 25:
Iraqi military campaign, with US and British support, is launched on Mahdi Army positions in Basra, and fighting moves to Sadr City in Baghdad.
March 31:
Muqtada al-Sadr orders an end to fighting in exchange for amnesty for his supporters and the release of detainees who have not been convicted of crimes.
October 1:
The Iraqi government oversees the training of a Sahwa force numbering more than fifty thousand militants.
October 7:
Iraq and the United States reach a draft security agreement setting the end of 2011 as the deadline for the withdrawal of the US military, but members of the Iraqi government require amendments to accept it.
November 16:
The Iraqi government approves an agreement, later approved by parliament and the Presidency Council, that regulates the presence of the US military until the date of its withdrawal at the end of 2011, and sets the summer of 2009 as the deadline for its exit from cities.
December 14:
Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi throws a shoe at US President George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad with Maliki.
June
2009:
30: U.S. forces end their withdrawal from Iraqi cities, including Baghdad.
February
2010: The Iraqi
government announces the dismissal of dozens of employees of the US security company Blackwater, after a US court dropped charges against members of the company accused of killing 11 Iraqi civilians in 17.
March 7:
Iraqis vote in second parliamentary elections since the occupation began, and accompanying attacks kill more than forty people.
March 26 and 27:
The electoral commission announces that former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's list is the winner by two seats over Nouri al-Maliki's list, which challenges the results, triggering a political crisis that has stalled the formation of a new government.
April 6:
Leaked US video shows a US helicopter killing 12 civilians in Baghdad in 2007.
April 26:
The results of 52 candidates in the March legislative elections, the majority of whom belonged to Allawi's Iraqiya List, were annulled.
May 5:
Ammar al-Hakim's National Alliance and Maliki's State of Law Coalition unite in a grouping called the National Alliance and, together with other small forces, form a bloc of 159 deputies to form a government.
August 31:
US President Barack Obama announces the end of US combat missions in Iraq.
December 21:
Iraq's parliament approves a new government headed by Maliki following a power-sharing agreement known as the Erbil Agreement, in which Maliki retains the premiership and establishes a body called the National Council for Supreme Strategic Policies headed by Allawi, but the council has not yet been formed, causing a new political crisis in the country.
February
2011-25:
Demonstrations and marches across provinces demanding reform and fighting corruption, leading to the resignation of the governors of Basra and Babil, coinciding with the beginning of Arab uprisings that toppled a number of Arab presidents in 27.
March 29:
Arab summit in Baghdad with low Arab representation, but meeting marks Kuwait's first visit to Iraq since 1990.
December 18:
The US military announces that it has officially ended the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq with the last convoy of its soldiers crossing the border into Kuwait on the same day, ending nearly nine years of its occupation of Iraq.
2016: July 6:
The Chilcot Commission report assessing the involvement of Tony Blair's British and the United States in the invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime.
The report was prepared by a committee chaired by Sir John Chilcot and named after him, which spoke of the invasion as a hasty operation that did not allow room for diplomatic mechanisms, stated that it was based on false information and constituted a violation of the United Nations work items.