Iraq War

:For other uses, see Iraq war (disambiguation)

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The Iraq War (2003 to present) is the colloquial term for the ongoing conflict in the Middle East country of Iraq, which began with the Iraq disarmament crisis of late 2002 and the subsequent invasion of 2003.

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The 2003 invasion was undertaken by a multinational "Coalition of the willing" led by the United States and the United Kingdom, which had invaded Iraq and deposed Saddam Hussein's regime on the claimed basis that Hussein had failed to comply with UN resolutions requiring a full accounting of its weapons of mass destruction and full cooperation with UN inspections. http://www.state.gov/secretary/former/powell/remarks/2003/17837.htmhttp://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-09-08-powell-iraq_x.htm.

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The second phase of the conflict began after the Hussein regime had been overthrown, and centers around coalition and U.N. efforts to establish a democratic state capable of defending itself.

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According to opinion polls, the war was unpopular from the outset in nearly all Coalition countries.

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The continuing conflict in the region is controversially referred to by different terms:

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• colloqual reference to the "Iraq War" tends to be politically agnostic, and refers to the war as having begun with the 2003 invasion, and continuing in with current conficts involving dominantly United States forces, provided such forces continue to meet substantial opposition
• the United States government has characterized the conflict as an insurgent rebellion, led or greatly assisted by non-Iraqi Muslim militant groups like Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda.
• anti-War proponents share much of the common and agnostic view, and view "the War" to continuing as long as the current conflicts have similar characteristics —foreign (Coalition of the Willing) forces fighting against native Arab Muslim forces. Likewise anti-War views consider the occupation as colonialist in character.

The Iraq War concept likewise differs due to difference in consideration of other factors. For example the reference to the Iraq War as a smaller battle within the Global War on Terrorism is a sharply controversial claim.

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Stated or percieved goals of the invasion and occupation as stated by the United States in 2002 before the Iraq invasion are likewise controversial factors. As stated in public political rhetoric such goals have changed notably since 2002, and views differ as to whether past statements should be considered "failed goals" or "deceptive premises," for the war.

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Pro-war proponents have argued a "fight them over there, so we dont have to fight them over here" rationale, which views goals claimed in rhetoric as subordinate to maintaining a positive view toward the continued conflict. Anti-war proponents argue that both the rhetorical shift and the lack of success in acheiving a peaceful resolution show evidence of both failure and deception on the part of pro-war government officials, and de-legitimizes both the original cause for the invasion as well as any continued support for the war.

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This is a duplicate of another section lower down and should be removed.

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Iraq War: Prelude to invasion ►



 

Middle East: The Middle East (also called Southwestern Asia) is a region comprising the lands that extend from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. The Middle East is a subregion of Africa-Eurasia, or more specifically, Asia, and sometimes North Africa and Afghanistan....

Iraq disarmament crisis: The issue of Iraq's disarmament reached a crisis in 2002-2003, when George W. Bush demanded a complete end to alleged Iraqi production and use of weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq comply with UN Resolutions requiring UN inspectors unfettered access to areas those inspectors thought might ha...

Coalition of the willing: "Coalition of the Willing" is a phrase which has been used since the 1980s to refer to groups of nations acting collectively and often militarily outside of the jurisdiction of the United Nations mandates and administration....




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