A US-Led Coalition Invades Iraq

On 20 March 2003, armed forces led by the United States initiated an attack on Iraq, opening with bombs and cruise missiles aimed at the Dora Farms compound in southern Baghdad, where US intelligence believed Saddam Hussein could be found. Ground operations swiftly followed as coalition units, primarily composed of American, British, Australian, and Polish soldiers, crossed into the Basra Governorate from staging areas in Kuwait. The offensive marked the start of the Iraq War, following years of diplomatic standoffs and containment policies directed at the government of Saddam Hussein.

The path to war ran through both Washington and the United Nations. Regime change in Iraq had been official United States policy since the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998. In October 2002, Congress passed the Iraq Resolution, authorizing the president to use any means necessary against Iraq. At the Security Council, a compromise measure, Resolution 1441, gave Iraq a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations and restored weapons inspections, although France and Russia made clear they did not consider it an authorization of force. On 17 March 2003, President George W. Bush demanded that Saddam and his sons, Uday and Qusay, leave Iraq within 48 hours.