The invasion of Iraq (20 март 2003 г. – 1 май 2003 г.)

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The invasion of Iraq was led by the United States, alongside the United Kingdom and smaller contingents from other countries. The initial invasion phase lasted from 20th March to 1st May 2003 and involved troops from the US (248,000), UK (45,000), Australia (2,000) and Poland (194). 36 other countries were involved in its aftermath.

According to then President of the United States, George Bush, and then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, the reasons for the invasion were "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people." According to Blair, the trigger was Iraq's failure to take a "final opportunity" to disarm itself of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons that US and UK officials called an immediate and intolerable threat to world peace.

Although some remnants of pre-1991 production were found after the end of the war, US government spokespersons confirmed that these were not the weapons for which the US went to war. In 2005, the CIA released a report saying that no weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq.

In December 2007, the Iraqi government reported that there were 5 million orphans in Iraq – nearly half of the country's children. According to the UN, Iraq's health had deteriorated to a level not seen since the 1950s. Malnutrition rates had risen from 19% before the US-led invasion to a national average of 28% four years later. Some 60-70% of Iraqi children were suffering from psychological problems. 68% of Iraqis had no access to safe drinking water. A cholera outbreak in northern Iraq was thought to be the result of poor water quality. As many as half of Iraqi doctors left the country between 2003 and 2007.

By 2010, the lowest credible estimate of civilian casualties in both Iraq and Afghanistan was around 850,000 – about 283 times as many than were killed in the attacks of 9/11. Put another way: over 121 times as many people had been killed in these wars and occupations than in all terrorist attacks in the world from 1993-2004, according to data compiled by the US State Department. Throughout the entire Iraq War and occupation there were countless human rights abuses. The financial cost of the war had been more than $845 billion to the US, with the total cost to the US economy estimated at $3 trillion.

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