Post-invasion Iraq, 2003?2005

The post-invasion period in Iraq followed the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a multinational coalition led by the United States, which overthrew the Ba'ath Party government of Saddam Hussein. This article covers the period starting 1 May 2003.

Some coalition members leave Iraq

• Nicaragua withdrew in February 2004, claiming that they were too poor to pay for their deployment.
• The Netherlands reported that all Dutch military forces left Iraq by 7 March 2005. http://www.government.nl/actueel/dossieroverzicht/42_18993.jsp
• South Korea did not withdraw troops, but on March 19, 2004 canceled its plans to deploy an additional 3,600 troops to around Kirkuk; the troops were instead sent to Kurdistan. http://times.hankooki.com/plaza/ap_news.php?cur_date=20040408&page=3
• The 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings reinvigorated popular opposition to the occupation in Spain; the ruling Partido Popular was accused of deceiving the public by blaming the attack on ETA rather than fundamentalist Muslims. During national elections held three days later, the anti-war Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, headed by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, gained power. On 17 April, 2004, the newly-installed Zapatero, fulfilling a campaign promise, ordered the immediate withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq.
• The troops of the Dominican Republic left Iraq in early-May 2004.
• Honduras pulled all troops out of Iraq in May 2004. http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/04/19/spain.withdraw/
• The Philippines put a hold on new deployments and were planning to pull out shortly, but on 16 July 2004, the Philippines ordered the withdrawal of all of its troops in Iraq in order to comply with the demands of terrorists holding Filipino citizen Angelo de la Cruz as a hostage. De la Cruz was confirmed released on 20 July, after all Philippine troops had left Iraq.
• Thailand, who was already planning not to renew their troop commitment after September, withdrew in late-August 2004.
• New Zealand withdrew its 60 troops in late-September 2004.
• Portugal withdrew in mid-February 2005.
• Italy also announced the withdrawal of their troops on the 16th of March 2005, a few days after the controversial killing of Sismi agent Nicola Calipari and injury of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena on their way to Baghdad International Airport by US Army Spc. Mario Lozano and his squad at a mobile roadblock http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4354139.stm. {{fn|1}} Eventually, Prime Minister Berlusconi took back his word after discussions with George W. Bush.
• Bulgaria did not pull out, but let any of its troops who wanted to leave go home; 62 out of 480 had left as of 17 April, 2004. On May 5, 2005, Bulgaria's parliament voted to remove their troops by the end of 2005. http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/05/news/bulgaria.php