"[373], The child malnutrition rate rose to 28% in 2007. The inspections were carried out by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM). [433][434][435] While other proponents of the war regularly echoed this assertion, as the conflict dragged on, members of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. public, and even U.S. troops questioned the connection between Iraq and the fight against anti-U.S. terrorism. [294], State Department spokesman P. J. Crowley stated "... we are not ending our work in Iraq, We have a long-term commitment to Iraq. Yes I understand that Iraq was not a clear-cut winner in the Iran Iraq war. [310] The vessels are used to protect the oil terminals at Basra and Khor al-Amiya. [347] For example, a former CIA officer described the Office of Special Plans as a group of ideologues who were dangerous to U.S. national security and a threat to world peace, and stated that the group lied and manipulated intelligence to further its agenda of removing Saddam. [327], The last U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq on 18 December 2011, although the U.S. embassy and consulates continue to maintain a staff of more than 20,000 including U.S. Marine Embassy Guards and between 4,000 and 5,000 private military contractors. U.S. officials blamed al‑Qaeda. [331], Sectarian violence continued in the first half of 2013. "The death of these terrorists is potentially the most significant blow to al‑Qaeda in Iraq since the beginning of the insurgency", he said. 8: The Wages of War: Iraqi Combatant and Noncombatant Fatalities in the 2003 Conflict", "Operation Iraqi Freedom | Iraq | Fatalities By Nationality", "iCasualties: Iraq Coalition Casualty Count — Deaths by Province Year/Month", "Gloom descends on Iraqi leaders as civil war looms", "Comprehensive Report of the Special Advisor to the DCI on Iraq's WMD – Central Intelligence Agency", "Why the U.S. is Running Scared of Elections in Iraq", "Tape Shows Apache Pilots Firing on Iraqis", "frontline: private warriors: contractors: the high-risk contracting business", "U.S. expects more attacks in Iraq: Residents hang slain Americans' bodies from bridge", "Decrying violence in Iraq, UN envoy urges national dialogue, international support", Killings shattered dreams of rural Iraqi families, "Iraqi family's relatives confront killer", "Attacks in Iraq at All-Time High, Pentagon Report Says", "Marine Officers Charged in Haditha Case", "Iraqi parliament wants say in extension of US-led forces", "No re-opening of Iraq war commission: Danish government", "Pentagon: Violence down in Iraq since 'surge, "Patterns of War Shift in Iraq Amid U.S. It had two phases, or parts. The table below summarizes some of these estimates and methods. On March 19, 2003, the United States, along with coalition forces primarily from the United Kingdom, initiates war on Iraq. Iraqi no-fly zones On 6 June 2006, the United States was successful in tracking Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq who was killed in a targeted killing, while attending a meeting in an isolated safehouse approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) north of Baqubah. [60][61], The Bush administration based its rationale for the Iraq War on the claim that Iraq had a weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program,[62] and that Iraq posed a threat to the United States and its allies. [107] The vote was a key moment in the history of the Blair administration, as the number of government MPs who rebelled against the vote was the greatest since the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846.