And strategic missiles. The commission operated until December 1998, when it was forced to leave Iraq due to the refusal of Saddam Hussein's government to further cooperate. In addition, the UN Security Council introduced air zones in the north and south of Iraq, in areas densely populated by Kurds and Shiites, in which Iraqi military aircraft were prohibited from flying. These zones were patrolled by American and British aircraft.
In January 1993, the air forces of the United States, Great Britain, and France carried out missile and bomb attacks on the positions of Iraqi anti-aircraft missile systems in the south of the country, which posed a threat to allied aviation. Subsequent incidents in Iraqi airspace occurred periodically from December 1998 to March 2003, and their number increased from mid-2002. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the US government decided to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq by force, but began concrete actions only in 2002 after the overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Since mid-2002, the United States began demanding the return of international inspectors to Iraq. The Americans were supported in this demand by their Western European allies, primarily Great Britain. The demand for renewed international control over Iraq's development of weapons of mass destruction was supported in November 2002 by a UN Security Council resolution. In the face of a direct threat of hostilities, Saddam Hussein agreed to resume the work of a special UN commission. International inspectors arrived in Iraq but found no evidence of renewed production of weapons of mass destruction.
In 2002-2003, the administration of US President George W. Bush made great efforts to prove that Saddam Hussein's regime posed a danger to the international community. Iraq was accused of resuming the development of weapons of mass destruction and of collaborating with international terrorist organizations, primarily al-Qaeda. However, the facts and evidence cited by the Americans were incorrect and falsified. The UN Security Council refused to authorize the use of military force against Iraq. Then the US and its allies launched an invasion in violation of the UN Charter.
The military operation against Iraq began on the morning of March 20, 2003. It was codenamed Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Unlike the 1991 Gulf War, Allied forces launched a ground offensive without a lengthy air campaign. Kuwait became the springboard for the invasion. The coalition command intended to organize an invasion of Iraq from the north from Turkish territory. However, the Turkish parliament refused to agree to the introduction of invading troops into its territory.
The Allied Expeditionary Force included five US and British divisions. They were opposed by 23 Iraqi divisions, but they did not put up serious resistance. The Iraqi air force was completely inactive. Already on April 9, the capital of Iraq was taken without a fight. Continuing to move north, on April 15, American troops took Tikrit (the hometown of Saddam Hussein), ending the active phase of hostilities. Iraqi cities were overwhelmed by a wave of looting; in an atmosphere of anarchy, many private houses, shops, and government institutions were looted. During the month and a half of the war, coalition losses amounted to 172 people killed (139 Americans and 33 British).
The interventionists divided Iraq into several occupation zones. The north, west and center of the country with Baghdad were controlled by American troops. The Shiite-populated areas south of Baghdad became the area of responsibility of multinational forces (Poland, Spain, Italy, Ukraine, Georgia). In the far south of Iraq, a British contingent was stationed in Basra. To govern the occupied country, the Coalition Provisional Authority was created at the end of April 2003. Its task was to create conditions for the transfer of power to the new Iraqi government. One of the first steps of the Interim Administration was the dissolution of the Iraqi army and police. Special group Iraq Survey Group was looking for weapons of mass destruction. In 2004, the group concluded its work, finding that Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction.
Immediately after the formal end of hostilities in Iraq, a guerrilla war broke out. In the summer of 2003, the process of organizing guerrilla groups was underway, initially consisting mainly of Baath Party activists and supporters of Saddam Hussein. These groups had a significant stockpile of weapons and ammunition obtained from Iraqi army warehouses. In the fall of 2003, the partisans carried out the so-called “Ramadan offensive,” which coincided with the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. The partisans managed to shoot down several American helicopters. In November 2003, 110 coalition troops were killed in Iraq, while in previous months 30-50 people died. The guerrillas' stronghold became the "Sunni triangle" to the west and north of Baghdad, especially the Al-Anbar province, where the center of resistance was the city of Fallujah. The rebels fired mortars at the occupiers' locations and set off explosions on roads as military convoys arrived. The danger was posed by snipers, as well as suicide attacks with car bombs or explosive belts.
In August 2003, rebels succeeded in bombing the Jordanian embassy. Among the victims of the terrorist attack at the headquarters of the UN mission in Baghdad was the head of the mission, Sergio Vieira de Mello. The Italian military suffered great casualties as a result of the explosion of their barracks in Nasiriyah. The response operations of the coalition forces were aimed at finding and detaining the leaders of the overthrown regime. On July 22, 2003, Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay, were killed in a shootout with soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division in Mosul. On December 13, Saddam Hussein himself was arrested in the Tikrit area by soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division. However, there was no decline in the partisan movement; leadership in the resistance movement passed from the Baathists to the Islamists.
In late 2003, Iraqi Shia leaders demanded general elections and the transfer of power to a democratically elected government. The Shiites hoped to gain full power in the country, which had traditionally been in the hands of the Sunni minority. The Provisional Coalition Administration hoped in the future to transfer power in Iraq to a transitional government formed on the principle of equal representation of all sectors of Iraqi society. This position of the United States caused discontent among the Shiites. The most radical representative of the Shiites, Mullah Muqtada al-Sadr, advocated the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq and the creation of an Islamist state. Under his leadership, armed units known as the Mahdi Army were created. In April 2004, Shiites rebelled in the south of the country against the occupying forces.
At the same time, the situation in Fallujah, the center of Sunni resistance, worsened. The US Marine units, which replaced the 82nd Airborne Division previously stationed here, practically lost control of the city. In early April, fierce fighting took place in almost all cities of Central and Southern Iraq. During the same period, a series of kidnappings of foreign specialists working in Iraq occurred. The kidnappings were carried out by the Sunni group Al-Qaeda in Iraq, led by Abu Musaba al-Zarqawi. By the end of April 2004, the occupying forces managed to suppress the main centers of resistance. However, the rebels managed to maintain their control in several areas of the country. A special Iraqi brigade was created in Fallujah to monitor the maintenance of order in the city. Against this background, on June 28, 2004, the Coalition Provisional Authority transferred its powers to the Iraqi transitional government led by Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. Thus, the period of foreign occupation of Iraq officially ended. International coalition troops remained in the country at the request of the new government and in accordance with the UN mandate (UN Security Council resolution of June 8, 2004).
According to the plans of the Provisional Coalition Administration, it was envisaged to hold elections to the National Assembly, a referendum on a new constitution, and the creation of new bodies state power and management. At the end of 2003, the formation of a new Iraqi army and police began. The transitional government did not have the strength to independently maintain order in Iraq or ensure democratic elections to the new government bodies. The multinational forces were tasked with regaining control over all areas of the country. In August 2004, coalition troops managed to crush Shiite resistance in the south. Muqtada al-Sadr was forced to abandon the armed struggle and switch to peaceful political activity. Coalition troops then suppressed Sunni resistance in settlements they controlled. By the end of November 2004, the Americans finally captured Fallujah, depriving the Sunni guerrilla movement of support.
The American authorities were subjected to sharp criticism for the conduct of the war in Iraq, both in the United States and throughout the world. At the end of April, a scandal broke out around the abuse of Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison. The Iraq issue featured prominently during the American presidential election campaign. Despite the criticism, George W. Bush was re-elected as President of the United States, which meant the continuation of the occupation of Iraq by American troops.
On January 30, 2005, multi-party parliamentary elections were held in Iraq. In a number of Sunni areas, voters boycotted the elections, but throughout the country they were recognized as valid. The Shiite United Iraqi Alliance won the election with 48% of the vote. In April, a new transitional government was formed, whose task was to prepare a new constitution for the country. On October 15, Iraq held a referendum on a new constitution, which was adopted despite the opposition of the Sunnis. On December 15, new parliamentary elections were held, in which the United Iraqi Alliance again won, receiving 128 seats in the National Assembly. All Sunni parties received 58 seats, the Kurds - 53 seats. In 2005, the efforts of the interethnic occupation forces were aimed at suppressing outside support for the Iraqi insurgents. To this end, the American Marines conducted a number of operations in the border areas with Syria. To suppress the increasing number of terrorist attacks in Baghdad, Operation Lightning was carried out, in which more than 40 thousand American and Iraqi military personnel participated.
The coming to power of the Shiites in Iraq aggravated the political situation in the country. Confrontation with foreign occupiers faded into the background. On February 22, 2006, the Shia shrine Al-Askariyya Mosque in Samarra was bombed. In the following weeks, a wave of sectarian violence swept the country, claiming up to a thousand victims every month. By October 2006, about 365 thousand Iraqis had fled permanent residence. On May 20, 2006, a permanent government was formed headed by Nouri Maliki. On June 7, an air strike killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, which claimed responsibility for many terrorist attacks. In general, American troops were unable to turn the situation in their favor; the introduction of additional military contingents only led to additional casualties. Iraq War was not popular in America. A number of Sunni areas were not controlled by either the Iraqi government or coalition forces. In October 2006, the Sunni underground organization Mujahideen Shura Council proclaimed the creation of the Islamic State of Iraq.
Growing criticism of the actions of the George W. Bush administration in Iraq led to the fact that after the next elections to the US Congress in November 2006, the Republican Party lost its majority in both houses of the US parliament. After this, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, considered one of the main initiators of the invasion of Iraq, was replaced by Robert Gates. At the end of 2006, the trial of Saddam Hussein, who was accused of mass killings during the suppression of the Shiite uprising in 1982, was completed in Iraq. In November 2006 he was sentenced to death penalty and hanged on December 30.
In January 2007, George W. Bush put forward a new strategy for US military policy in Iraq, known as " A big wave" He admitted that he made mistakes on the Iraqi issue and noted that the reasons for the failures were the lack of troops and insufficient freedom of action of the American command. The new strategy included sending additional troops to Iraq. Whereas previously American troops had left areas cleared of militants, the Great Wave meant that they would remain there to maintain security.
In response, Iraqi insurgents launched an offensive to force George W. Bush to admit defeat and evacuate American troops from Iraq. At the end of January and beginning of February, militants managed to shoot down several American helicopters. In March 2007, during a visit to Iraq by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the building where he spoke came under mortar fire. In the spring of 2007, the Green Zone, a protected government and diplomatic area of Baghdad, was regularly shelled. Interethnic forces controlled no more than 20% of the area of the Iraqi capital. By June 2007, the bulk of American reinforcements had arrived in Baghdad, allowing the fight against the insurgents to intensify. The operation to clear Baghdad of militants continued until November 2007.
Simultaneously with the fighting in Baghdad, a campaign was being waged in the Diyala province northeast of the Iraqi capital. Iraqi rebels have virtually established control over the provincial capital of Ba'quba. The American command in March 2007 was forced to transfer additional forces to the province. As a result of a military operation in June-August 2007 with the participation of 10 thousand troops, the Americans regained control over Baakuba. In the province of Al-Anbar, the American command was able to reach an agreement with the leadership of Sunni armed groups on cooperation, in particular in the fight against Al-Qaeda. In response to the ceasefire, local militants began to receive monetary rewards, and their leaders - real power in places. The success of the experiment prompted the American command to try to expand it to other provinces, which displeased the Shiite government of Nuri Maliki.
In the spring of 2008, the Iraqi army and security forces carried out operations to establish full control of the Shia regions of Iraq, and then in Mosul, which was considered an al-Qaeda stronghold in Iraq. In the second half of 2008, there were no active hostilities, although in a number of regions of the country the situation remained tense, and militant attacks and sectarian conflicts continued. After a peak in 2006-2007, the number of major terrorist attacks and militant attacks has decreased significantly. In 2008, international coalition forces suffered the smallest losses since the beginning of the war (320 military personnel).
In 2008, the process of strengthening the Iraqi security forces and transferring more and more areas under their control continued. By October 2008, only 5 of the country’s 18 provinces remained under the control of international forces in Iraq. On November 17, 2008, an agreement was signed on the status of American troops in Iraq, which determined the conditions for their presence in Iraq after the expiration of the UN Security Council mandate (December 31, 2008). The agreement provided for the withdrawal of American troops from populated areas by July 2009 and their complete withdrawal from the country by the end of 2011. Due to the expiration of the UN mandate at the end of 2008, the military contingents of most countries participating in the multinational force left Iraq. In addition to American and British troops, military units from Australia, Romania, El Salvador, and Estonia remained in Iraq.
On December 14, 2008, during George W. Bush's visit to Iraq, an Iraqi journalist threw two of his shoes at the US President, calling it " goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people." Bush dodged both boots and characterized the incident as "a sign of a free society." During 2009-2011, there was a process of gradual withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq. In the summer of 2009, the last contingents of US allies left Iraq; by August 1, only American and British troops remained in the country. By the beginning of August 2010, the main contingent of American troops was withdrawn from Iraq, leaving about 50 thousand US military personnel in the country who were training and supporting local law enforcement forces. In July 2011, the last contingents of British troops were withdrawn from Iraq, and on December 15, 2011, American troops left the country.
The total number of American troops in Iraq reached 250 thousand people, the British - 45 thousand. Other countries were represented by significantly fewer soldiers, sometimes purely symbolically. The losses of American troops amounted to 4.48 thousand people killed and 32.2 thousand wounded. The multinational force (21 countries) lost 317 fighters killed, 179 of them British.
Ministry of General vocational education Rostov region
GBOU SPO BTITIR No. 43
Donintech" Rostov region.
ABSTRACT
on this topic:
"The US War in Iraq from 2003 to 2010"
Done the job
BTITIR student No. 43
T-23 groups:
Dukhanin V.D.
Checked:
Kutkova V.A.
The conflict began on March 20, 2003, with the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein.
In the early 2000s, the American government took all sorts of actions to prove that Saddam Hussein's regime posed a danger to the international community.
Saddam Hussein was accused of collaborating with Al-Qaeda (it wasn’t long after the September 11 terrorist attack; connections with “terrorist organization No. 1” sounded like a death sentence). Iraq was also suspected of developing weapons of mass destruction.
On February 5, 2003, US Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke at a special meeting of the UN Security Council, presenting extensive evidence that Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destruction from international inspectors. He spoke holding a test tube with a bacteriological weapon in his hands. A year later, he admitted: “When I made the report in February 2003, I relied on the best information that the CIA provided me. ...Unfortunately, over time it became clear that the sources were inaccurate and incorrect, and in some cases deliberately misleading. I am deeply disappointed by this and regret it."
However, the Security Council never authorized the use of force against Iraq. The US and allies launched the invasion in violation of the UN Charter.
The military operation in Iraq began on the morning of March 20, 2003. It was code-named “Iraqi Freedom.” However, it is sometimes mistakenly confused with the “Shock and Awe” doctrine applied in Iraq.
The operation began with a massive ground invasion (unlike the Gulf War, which involved a lengthy air campaign).
Türkiye did not allow Western troops to deploy the northern front. Kuwait became the springboard for the attack.
Five divisions fought on the American and British side, and 23 on the Iraqi side. However, they offered virtually no resistance.
On April 9, the Americans took Baghdad without a fight. One of their first tasks was toppling the statues of Saddam Hussein; this event was broadcast live by all major Western television companies. A war of looting broke out in the Iraqi capital and other captured cities - private houses were robbed and burned, administrative buildings and shops.
Losses of Western troops in the first month and a half of the war: 172 people. Accurate data on Iraqi casualties during this period are not available. Researcher Carl Conetta estimates that 9,200 Iraqi troops and 7,300 civilians died during the invasion.
Already on May 1, George W. Bush gave a speech on the deck of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln known as “Mission Accomplished. In it, he actually announced a US military victory in the Iraq War.
However, almost immediately a guerrilla war began in the country. There were several attacks on coalition troops in May.
The summer of 2003 was the period of the emergence of organized guerrilla groups, which at first consisted mainly of Baath Party activists and supporters of Saddam Hussein. These groups seized large quantities of weapons and ammunition from former Iraqi army depots during the anarchy that reigned in the first weeks after the regime was overthrown.
The greatest losses to coalition forces are caused by improvised explosive devices. They are placed at the side of the road and activated during the passage of an American convoy or patrol.
In August, the Jordanian embassy was blown up. The next target of the terrorists was the UN headquarters in Baghdad, and among the dead was the head of the Iraqi UN mission, Sergio Vieira de Mello. The most successful terrorist attack on representatives of international forces was the bombing of the barracks of the Italian contingent in Nasiriyah in November 2003.
The Iraq Survey Group began operating in the country, searching for weapons of mass destruction allegedly hidden by the Hussein regime. In 2004, this group completed its work, noting in the final report that at the beginning of the military operation of the coalition forces, Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
There was a calm in Iraq that turned out to be deceptive. In the spring, Sunni and Shiite resistance intensified.
The Shiites demanded that elections be held and power transferred to the new government, hoping to get it into their own hands.
Their most radical representative was Mullah Muqtada al-Sadr, who advocated the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq and the creation of a pluralistic democratic Islamic state focused on the Islamic world. Al-Sadr created an armed militia known as the Mahdi Army. With the help of this group, he decided to organize an uprising against the multinational forces.
The timing of the Shiite uprising coincided with the events in Fallujah. This town west of Baghdad has been considered the main stronghold of the Sunni resistance since mid-2003, and here American troops suffered the greatest losses in Iraq. In early spring, the 82nd Airborne Division stationed here was replaced by Marine units, which immediately encountered serious resistance in the city itself. On March 31, a crowd of Iraqis stopped cars with security guards from the private company Blackwater passing through Fallujah, burned them, and hung their charred bodies on a bridge over the Euphrates. Video footage of this was shown by a number of television channels and confirmed that Fallujah was not controlled by American troops.
Throughout 2004, the Iraq War continued to be criticized both in the United States and in many other countries around the world. At the end of April, a widely publicized scandal broke out regarding the abuse of Iraqi prisoners in the American prison Abu Ghraib. The Iraq issue featured prominently during the American presidential election campaign. Despite criticizing the war, George W. Bush was re-elected in the November election, beating his rival John Kerry.
On January 30, 2005, amid heightened security measures, Iraq held its first multi-party parliamentary elections in half a century.
Despite threats from terrorist organizations and low voter turnout, the elections were declared valid. They were won by the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, which received 48% of the votes. In April, a Transitional Government was formed, whose task was to prepare a new constitution for the country.
However, the country has not become safer. Sunni rebel groups received new reinforcements, mainly from foreign fighters. They were reported to be coming from Syria. In the fall of 2004, reports emerged that Syria had reached an agreement with Iraq to strengthen the border in exchange for supplies of Iraqi oil. However, the Syrian government denied this information.
On October 15, Iraqis held a referendum on the Constitution. A festive atmosphere reigned in Shiite areas, and in the Sunni cities of Al Yousifiya and Al Latifiya, polling stations did not open at all. Nevertheless, the constitution was adopted.
On December 15, new parliamentary elections were held, as a result of which a permanent government of the country was to be created. The United Iraqi Alliance won again, gaining 128 seats in the National Assembly. All Sunni parties received only 58 seats, and the Kurds received 53 seats.
The coming to power of the Shiites created a split in society. Although Sunnis were a religious minority, they traditionally formed the bulk of the country's political elite (Saddam Hussein was also a Sunni). Separatist sentiments increased.
On February 22, unknown persons staged an explosion at the Al-Askaria mosque in Samarra. There were no casualties, but the dome of the mosque, one of the main Shiite shrines, was destroyed. In the days and weeks that followed, the country was rocked by a wave of sectarian violence. Militants on both sides blew up Shiite and Sunni mosques, kidnapped and killed Iraqi civilians who professed the “enemy” movement of Islam. Such reprisals have become commonplace; Every day, on the streets of Iraqi cities, police discovered dozens of corpses, many of which bore signs of torture.
It was then that reports emerged that a civil war had begun in Iraq. The George W. Bush administration tried to avoid such language. By October, some 365,000 Iraqis had become refugees as a result of the internal conflict.
On May 20, Iraq received its first permanent national government since the overthrow of Hussein's regime. Nouri Maliki became the country's Prime Minister.
On June 7, an airstrike killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, which has claimed responsibility for many high-profile terrorist attacks. The growth of Iraqi security forces made it possible for the British contingent to hand over control of Muthanna province to them in July. This was the first time the new Iraqi army took over the security of an entire province.
Growing criticism of the Bush administration's handling of Iraq resulted in the Republican Party losing its majority in both houses in the November 7 congressional elections. Under intense pressure from political and military circles, Bush was forced to resign Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who was considered one of the main architects of Iraq policy. Robert Gates has become the new Secretary of Defense.
In general, by the end of 2006, the US administration was faced with the obvious need for fundamental changes in its Iraqi policy.
Moreover, it was then that the execution of Saddam Hussein took place.
Execution of Hussein
Hussein's trial began in October 2005; was considered responsible for the massacre of Shiites in the village of Al-Dujail in 1982. Later, a separate trial was held in the case of the al-Anfal campaign against the Kurds. In November 2006, Hussein was sentenced to death and hanged on December 30. Many other charges were not considered at the trial, in particular, questions about Hussein's responsibility for the aggression against Iran and the occupation of Kuwait.
On January 10, George Bush announced that it was necessary to send an additional 21.5 thousand troops to Iraq.
George Bush emphasized: “We have a difficult and bloody year, which will bring new victims, both among the Iraqi population and among our military personnel.”
The US administration's new strategy was received rather ambiguously. Thus, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel called it “this country’s most dangerous foreign policy miscalculation since Vietnam.”
In turn, the militants also became more active. Back in late January and early February, they managed to shoot down several American helicopters, both military and those belonging to private security companies. In March, during a visit to Iraq, the new Secretary General UN Ban Ki-moon, a mortar shell exploded near the building where he was speaking. A high-profile terrorist attack occurred on April 12, when a bomb exploded in the cafeteria of the Iraqi National Assembly (1 person was killed), which cast doubt on the ability of Iraqi and American forces to ensure the security of even the “green zone” - the most guarded area of Baghdad, where all the country’s ministries and departments are located . Mortar and rocket attacks on the Green Zone, which had occurred before, became so regular in the spring of 2007 that diplomats at the US Embassy located here were ordered to wear helmets and body armor when leaving the premises.
According to Iraqi police, by mid-April, 1,586 civilians had died in Baghdad in the two months since the operation began, compared with 2,871 killed in the same two-month period in December-February. The number of kidnappings has decreased by 80%, and murders by 90%. These results were achieved at the cost of increasing US troop losses (by 21% throughout Iraq over a two-month period).
In addition, outside of Baghdad, the number of victims of terrorist attacks only increased: from 1,009 in the two months before the operation to 1,504 in the two months of its implementation. A poll conducted by ABC, BBC and NHK in August found that about 70% of Iraqis say the situation in the country has worsened since the operation began.
iCasualties.org estimates that between 1,300 and 1,900 Iraqis died each month from January to August (except for a peak in February-March, when 6,000 people died in two months), but in September-October the death toll never exceeded 1,000. .
Although 2007 set a record for the number of American military deaths since the start of the war (901 people), by the end of the year the losses had decreased markedly and amounted to 98 people in the last three months, while in the first half of the year between 80 and 120 people died monthly.
According to the American Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, Iran played a role in reducing the level of violence in Iraq; It was under his influence that the Shiite Mahdi Army announced a ceasefire for six months in August.
The emerging improvement in the security situation in Iraq was almost derailed in the spring of 2008. The reason for this was friction between the Iraqi government and Mullah Muqtada al-Sadr. After the military defeat of the Mahdi Army in the battles of 2004, al-Sadr was forced to switch to political methods of defending his views.
In 2007, the Mahdi Army announced a cessation of armed struggle for six months and extended the ceasefire in February 2008.
However, soon after this, al-Maliki's government took the initiative to conduct a major army operation in Basra. Previously, the city was controlled by British troops, who in December 2007 transferred responsibility for the situation in Basra to the Iraqi security forces, but the influence of the Mahdi Army was traditionally strong here, and the position of the Iraqi army and police after the departure of the British turned out to be very precarious.
According to analysts, the Iraqi government's main goal was to regain control over oil exports passing through Basra (the country's largest port).
The operation in Basra, called “Charge of the Knights,” began on March 25. It was carried out under the personal supervision of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and was almost entirely an Iraqi undertaking, although coalition troops provided artillery and air support when needed.
Although government forces failed to achieve significant gains, al-Sadr announced a truce on March 30, ordering his fighters to leave the streets of Basra and other Iraqi cities.
Immediately after the start of the operation by government troops, militants of the Mahdi Army intensified operations in other cities of the country, which forced the Iraqi government to impose a curfew in Baghdad on March 27. Armed clashes between Shiite militants, Iraqi and American forces in Baghdad's Shiite quarter of Sadr City and a number of cities south of the capital continued throughout April. Only on May 10-12, a new ceasefire agreement was concluded between representatives of the government and al-Sadr. Under its terms, Iraqi security forces ended the blockade of Sadr City and were given the right to enter the area, detain suspects there and seize illegally stored weapons. It was reported that more than 1,000 people died during the fighting around this quarter.
IRAQ WARS
Saddam Hussein's regime led in the 1980s. - beginning 21st century In addition to economic and political reasons, they are associated with the confrontation between Shiites and Sunnis, as well as with the separatism of the Kurds.
War with Iran
(1980-1988). Under the Algiers Agreement of 1975, Iraq ceded to Iran the eastern bank of the Shatt al-Arab River, a major oil export route for both countries. Taking advantage of Iran's weakening military capabilities and its break with the United States after the Islamic Revolution (1979), Hussein launched a war on September 22, 1980 to regain control of the Shatt al-Arab River and annex the oil-rich Iranian province of Khuzestan.
Iraq War. Downed American Apache helicopter.
Iraqi troops captured part of Khuzestan, took Khorramshahr and besieged Abadan. Rallying around the spiritual leader Ayatollah R. Khomeini, the Iranians stopped this offensive by the end of 1980, and in September 1981 launched a counterattack. In December they liberated Abadan, in May 1982 they liberated Khorramshahr and in the summer they drove the Iraqis out of their territory. Iran rejected Iraq's proposal to end the war, deciding to continue it until Hussein's overthrow; his troops invaded enemy territory.
Financial assistance from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, arms supplies from the USSR, France and China allowed the Iraqis to create a line of defense and repel them in 1983-1987. Iranian attacks on the port of Basra. Since 1984, Iran and Iraq have launched a hunt for tankers from third countries carrying enemy oil. In 1985, both sides used city bombing. In 1986-1987 Iranian troops captured part of the enemy's territory; By taking the island of Fao (1986), they made it difficult to export Iraqi oil. Iraq was brought to the brink of economic disaster. In 1987, the United States began convoying ships in the Persian Gulf, which allowed Iraq to restore transportation.
Having modernized the army, Hussein launched a new offensive against Iran in the spring and summer of 1988, accompanied by massive airstrikes. On August 20, 1988, at the proposal of Iran, a truce was concluded. In August 1990 (at the height of the war with Kuwait), Iraq recognized Iranian sovereignty over the eastern bank of the Shatt al-Arab River and withdrew troops from its territory. The Iran-Iraq War claimed the lives of approx. 1.5 million people.
War with Kuwait
and the international coalition (1990-1991; Gulf War). After the war with Iran, which undermined the Iraqi economy, Hussein decided to commit aggression against oil-rich Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, to whom he owed $40 billion. On August 2, 1990, Iraqi troops occupied Kuwait almost unopposed. On the same day, the UN Security Council demanded their immediate withdrawal and on August 6 imposed economic sanctions on Iraq. Hussein's public threats against Saudi Arabia prompted the United States to begin transferring its troops to its territory on August 7 (Desert Shield). On August 8, Iraq announced the annexation of Kuwait.
On November 29, the Security Council authorized the use of force against Iraq if its army did not leave Kuwait by January 15, 1991. An international coalition of 34 countries was formed under the auspices of the United States. On January 16, 1991, its troops began air bombing of Iraq (“Desert Storm”); Hussein responded on January 17 with missile attacks on Israel. On February 24, coalition forces began the ground operation Desert Sabre, which ended with the expulsion of the Iraqis from Kuwait on February 27.
War with the international coalition
(2003). After the war of 1990-1991. Hussein sabotaged the implementation of UN resolution No. 687 on ending Iraq's development of chemical and nuclear weapons and obstructed the work of UN inspections. In the fall of 2002, the crisis in relations between the UN and Iraq reached its climax.
Having accused the Hussein regime of creating weapons of mass destruction and having ties with al-Qaeda, responsible for the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, the United States organized a coalition of 49 states against it and on March 17, 2003 presented an ultimatum to the Iraqi leader, demanding that he give two day period to leave the country. Having received a refusal, the allies launched a series of missile and bomb attacks on Iraq on March 20 and invaded its territory on March 21. In early April they broke the resistance of the Iraqi army, and on April 8-11 they occupied Basra, Baghdad, Kirkuk and Mosul. Hostilities ended by May 1. Hussein's regime was overthrown and Iraq was occupied by coalition forces. No weapons of mass destruction were found.
; occupation of Iraq; Iraqi resistance.
Iraqi Kurdistan
Tommy Franks
Masoud Barzani
Jalal Talabani
Qusay Hussein
Ali al-Majid
Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri
"2003 coalition invasion of Iraq" - a military action by the United States and allied countries against, launched under the main pretext of the presence of weapons of mass destruction in the country with the aim of overthrowing the totalitarian regime of Saddam Hussein. The official reason for the aggression was the regime’s connection with international terrorism, in particular the al-Qaeda movement, as well as the search and destruction of weapons of mass destruction. No weapons of mass destruction were ever found. It is also believed that one of the goals of the invasion was to gain control of Iraqi oil.
Background
On the eve of the invasion, the official US position was that it was violating the basic provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1441 and was developing weapons of mass destruction, and that it was necessary to disarm Iraq by force. The United States planned to hold a vote in the Security Council on the relevant resolution they had developed, but abandoned it, since Russia, China and France made it clear that they would veto any resolution containing an ultimatum allowing the use of force against Iraq.
Ignoring this circumstance, the United States launched a military operation early on the morning of March 20.
Strengths of the parties
Coalition
The number of ground forces of the United States and its allies concentrated in the Persian Gulf region amounted to 207 thousand soldiers, including the US Armed Forces - 145 thousand people (55 thousand soldiers, 65 thousand marines and 25 thousand people in the Air Force), British Armed Forces - 62 thousand people. The ground group included the 3rd Mechanized Division, the 2nd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, separate units of the 18th Airborne and 5th Army Corps ground forces. The Marine Corps was represented by the 1st Expeditionary Division, 2nd Expeditionary Brigade, 15th and 24th Expeditionary Battalions. Later, the number of manpower amounted to 270 thousand people, 1,700 armored vehicles and 1,100 helicopters. Even later, more than 300 thousand soldiers and 1,700 armored vehicles took part in the operation.
The aviation group included 10 aviation wings and groups (39 ACR, 40, 320, 363, 379, 380, 405 expeditionary ACR, 332, 355, 386 expeditionary AGR). Aviation consisted of 420 deck and 540 ground aircraft. The tactical aviation group (including allied) consisted of about 430 aircraft. The created groupings of multinational forces were protected from air strikes by about 40 Patriot, Advanced Hawk and Shain-2 anti-aircraft missile systems. According to some reports, the southeastern part of Turkey was covered by 3, Israel and Jordan by 10, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia by more than 20 anti-aircraft missile systems and complexes.
The American and allied navies consisted of 115 ships, including 29 carriers of sea-launched cruise missiles (18 ships and 11 nuclear submarines), containing about 750 such shells. Three aircraft carrier strike groups of the US Navy (aircraft carriers Lincoln, Constellation and Kitty Hawk - more than 200 carrier-based aircraft) and one aircraft carrier strike group of the British Navy (AVL Ark Royal - 16 combat aircraft) cruised in the Persian Gulf. 89 surface ships, which carried more than 50 combat aircraft, and 10 nuclear submarines. In the Mediterranean Sea there were the aircraft carriers Roosevelt and Truman, 9 other warships and 2 nuclear attack submarines.
Hussein's regular army by the beginning of March consisted of 389,000 soldiers plus about 650,000 reservists, that is, 24 divisions and 7 army corps. 2 corps were stationed in the north of Iraq, blocking Kurdish formations, 1 on the border with Iran and only 1 on the pre-Palagic front against the Americans, in the Basra region. The command kept the remaining forces near Baghdad. In addition, there were 5,000 armored vehicles, 300 airplanes and 400 helicopters.
Hostilities
President George W. Bush gave the order to begin military action on March 19. The expeditionary force was commanded by General Tommy Franks. On March 20 at 05:33 am local time, an hour and a half after the expiration of the 48-hour ultimatum, the first explosions occurred in Baghdad.
45 minutes later, US President George W. Bush announced live that, on his orders, coalition troops crossed the border into Iraq:
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Dear fellow citizens! On my orders, coalition forces began striking military targets to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. This is just the beginning of a broad and powerful campaign. More than 35 countries provide us with significant support. I speak to all the men and women of the United States Army who are currently in the Middle East. The world depends on you, the hopes of the oppressed people rest on you! These hopes will not be in vain. The enemy you are fighting will soon learn how brave and courageous you are. The campaign, in an area the size of California, may turn out to be longer and more complex than previously predicted. The military will return home no earlier than the mission is completed. We will defend our freedom. We will bring freedom to others. And we will win. |
40 Tomahawks were launched from five ships, reaching their targets 2 minutes after air defense signals in Iraq. The invasion began with massive preparatory bombing of Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk by A-10, B-52, F-16 and Harrier bombers and attack aircraft to disrupt military infrastructure. 11 B-52s flew into the combat area from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
A few weeks before the first raids, by order of Saddam Hussein, the country was divided into 4 military districts: Northern (in the area of Kirkuk and Mosul), Southern with headquarters in Basra, Euphrates, which was to take the brunt of the American attack, and Baghdad, to which the presidential guard was assigned. Of the special countermeasures and military tricks at the end of the operation, Pentagon experts recorded only one, which was used during the bombing of Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo. Iraq has purchased life-scale mock-ups of tanks and towing systems capable of simulating their movement, resulting in no data on destroyed Iraqi armored vehicles. At the same time, after the war, the elite guards tank divisions “Medina” and “Hammurabi” stationed in Baghdad disappeared in an unknown direction.
In American armored vehicles, the emphasis was on the M1 Abrams tank, which entered service in the early 1980s. During the operation, Tomahawks of the 2003 model were used, which could be programmed simultaneously for 15 targets and broadcast their image to the command post. In addition, GBU-24 aerial bombs weighing 900 kg were used to destroy underground storage facilities. The shell of the bombs, made of a special nickel-cobalt alloy, could pierce concrete 11 m thick, and the incendiary projectile created a burning cloud with a temperature of more than 500ºC. On March 20, Hussein addressed his followers on the Al-Jazeera channel, which became the main news agency in Baghdad. Hussein stated the following in his speech on Iraqi television:
| "We have been given the right to win, and Allah will grant us victory! America's attack is a crime against Iraq and the whole world. All Iraqis and those who sympathize with our nation atone for their sins. It is the duty of all decent people to do everything to protect their nation , our values, and everything that is holy. We must remember what Allah told us and what is planned. By the will of Allah, everything worthy people will contribute to the development of humanity, and we will all be winners. And you will be the sun of your nation, and your enemy will be humiliated by the will of Allah. Take your swords in your hands and go at the enemy! The enemy is approaching quickly, and he uses such methods of war that he can only be stopped with weapons. Let the storms pass until Allah appears. Keep the fire lit. Take up your swords! No one will win if he does not have courage, everything is according to the will of Allah. Those who call for evil in this world! You overestimate your capabilities, you call it a fair fight, but it is a shame, a crime against humanity. We appeal on behalf of the people of Iraq, the command of our country and all humanity. Stop! We will defeat our enemy, and he will have no hope left. They are driven by criminal desire and will be defeated. They have gone too far in injustice and evil. But we love peace, and Iraq will win, and with Iraq all of humanity will win together. And evil will be defeated by its own weapons. The American-Zionist alliance against humanity will collapse. Allah is almighty! May all nations friendly to us live and justice will prevail in this world. Long live Iraq, long live Palestine! Allah is omnipotent!" |
To the south, the British 7th Motorized Brigade was pushing its way towards Iraq's second largest city, Basra. On March 27, a tank battle broke out in the western outskirts of the city, during which Iraqi troops lost 14 tanks. On April 6, the British entered Basra. At the same time, a parachute landing force established control over the central part of the city, inaccessible to tanks. On April 9, elements of the British 1st Mechanized Division moved north to American positions in the village of Al-Amara.
The first long pause in the offensive began in the vicinity of Karbala, where American forces met fierce Iraqi resistance. At the end of March, the 1st American Motorized Division, which was at the forefront of the coalition forces, cut off the Iraqi garrison in Karbala from the main forces by capturing the city of Samawa. Meanwhile, the 1st Marine Division, supported by tanks, captured Karbala and Najaf in a sweeping attack to prevent an Iraqi counteroffensive from the east. This completely secured the left flank and allowed coalition forces to move towards Baghdad. They were separated from the capital of Iraq by less than 100 kilometers.
The US 3rd Infantry Division became the first allied unit to enter the Iraqi capital. On April 3, the 1st US Marine Division reached Hussein Airport. On April 12, selected units of the Marine Corps moved towards Kut, past which the Allies passed during the forced march to Baghdad. Throughout the end of April, the Americans occupied the abandoned cities. On May 1, George W. Bush summed up the war. The number of garrisons was increased by other NATO member countries and some other states.
Storming of Baghdad
3 weeks after the start of the war, coalition forces approached the capital of Iraq from the west, south and southeast. Initial plans called for encircling Baghdad on all sides, pushing Iraqi troops toward the city center and using artillery fire. This plan was abandoned when it became clear that the bulk of the Baghdad garrison had already been routed in the southern suburbs. On the morning of April 9, the American command demanded the surrender of the Iraqi troops; in case of refusal, a large-scale assault would follow. The Iraqi authorities refused further resistance. On the same day, American troops entered the city.
And on April 11, the other largest cities of Iraq were taken - Kirkuk and Mosul. On May 1, the end of the main hostilities was announced.
Formally, Baghdad was occupied, but street fighting continued. Residents dissatisfied with Saddam Hussein welcomed the coalition troops. Hussein himself disappeared with his assistants. The capture of Baghdad set the stage for widespread violence in the country, with some major cities actually declaring war on each other for supremacy in the region.
General Franks assumed control as commander-in-chief of the occupation forces. After his resignation in May, in an interview with Defense Week magazine, he confirmed rumors that the Americans were bribing the leadership of the Iraqi army so that they would surrender without a fight.
Results
Coalition forces seized control of the country's largest cities in just 21 days with minimal losses, encountering serious resistance in only a few places. Armed with obsolescence
Colonel A. Sviridov
On the night of March 19-20, 2003, American-British troops, without UN authorization, unilaterally and contrary to the opinion of most countries in the world, launched a military operation against Iraq, which involved a group of US and British troops in the Persian Gulf area, numbering up to 280 thousand . Human.
The combat operations were led by the unified central command (UCC) of the US Armed Forces (U.S. Central Command - USCENTCOM, headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida), whose area of responsibility includes the territories of 25 states (Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq , Iran, Yemen, Qatar, Kenya, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia, and since October 1999 - Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan), waters of the Persian Gulf, Red and Arabian seas, as well as the northwestern Indian Ocean. According to the plans of the UCC, a number of large-scale military operations have been carried out from 1983 to the present: “Desert Storm” (January-February 1991) and “Desert Fox” (December 1998) against Iraq, “Restore Hope” (1992-1993) in Somalia, “Enduring Freedom” (since October 2001) in Afghanistan and others. The forward command post of the UCC is deployed in Doha (Qatar).
The ground component of the OCC numbered 110 thousand people in six divisions: 1st Armored, 1st Cavalry (Armored), 3rd and 4th Mechanized, 82nd Airborne and 101st Air Assault, and also the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. By the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the US Navy group consisted of up to 115 warships and vessels, including: in the area of responsibility of the Central Command (5th Fleet, in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea) - 60 warships, including three aircraft carriers: AVMA "Abraham Lincoln" (CVN-72, 14 AvKr on board), AVMA "Constellation" (CV-64, 2 AvKr) and "Kitty Hawk" (CV-63, 5 AvKr), six missile launchers, nine EM missiles, three EM, five FR URO, eight submarines, 22 landing ships (of which seven are UDC, Mount Whitney ShDK), four mine-sweeping ships, two patrol boats, 18 auxiliary ships and six coast guard patrol ships; in the area of responsibility of the European Command (6th Fleet, in the eastern Mediterranean) - 16 warships, including two AVMA: Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71, on board 8 AvKr) and Harry Truman (CVN- 75, 3 AvKr), two CR URO, two EM URO, two FR URO, one submarine, three recreational ships (as part of the BAG with the Iwo Jima UDC), four MTK, as well as 10 auxiliary vessels. Later, the AUG also arrived in the Persian Gulf with the Nimitz AVMA (CVN-68, on board 11 AvKr), six warships (two missile-launched missiles, two EM-URO, one EM and FR-URO each), one submarine and a universal supply transport. The total number of US Navy personnel was about 50 thousand people. The US Marine Corps group consisted of more than 60 thousand people: the 1st Expeditionary Division (EDMP) was transferred from the west coast of the United States on landing ships of the West amphibious assault force (ADF) and strategic sealift transports, the 2nd Expeditionary Brigade ( ebrmp) - on the landing ships of the ADS "East" from the east coast, weapons and military equipment (for two ebrmp) were unloaded from landing ships and 11 transports of two squadrons of warehouse ships (2nd and 3rd, from the Diego Islands -Garcia and Guam, respectively) in Kuwait (Camp Patriot), two expeditionary battalions (EBMP)
remained on board the landing ships of two BAGs. The estimated total number of aircraft and helicopters of naval and marine aviation (including air wings of carrier-based aviation, marine air groups on landing ships and UUV squadrons) amounted to over 500 aircraft in the operation area.
The coalition air force's combat aviation group consisted of more than 700 combat aircraft.
According to the Pentagon, 14 B-52H strategic bombers temporarily stationed at Fairford Air Base (UK), B-2A strategic bombers (Whiteman Air Base, Missouri) and from the island also took part in air raids on Iraq. Diego Garcia (Indian Ocean), tactical fighters F-15, F-16, F-117, attack aircraft A-10A, refueling aircraft KS-135 and KS-10, special operations aircraft AC-130 from 30 air bases of the Middle countries East. During the air operation, unmanned aerial vehicles were widely used. aircrafts more than ten types, tens of thousands of precision-guided ammunition, Tomahawk cruise missiles. According to reports foreign media, during auxiliary operations, the US Air Force used seven RER KS-135 V/W aircraft and two U-2S reconnaissance aircraft.
Great Britain also concentrated a powerful group of ground forces, air force and navy in the Persian Gulf region. According to Western media, 26 thousand military personnel took part in the operation (1st Armored Division, 7th Armored Brigade, 16th Air Assault Brigade, 102nd Logistics Brigade, Royal Scots Dragoons, 2nd Tank Regiment, 3 1st Regiment of the Royal Artillery, 7th Regiment of the Royal Horse Artillery and other formations). The operation involved 120 Challenger 2 heavy battle tanks, 32 self-propelled artillery units, 18 light guns, 150 Warrior armored personnel carriers, and logistics support units. The aviation component includes 4 Jaguar tactical fighters, which are located at bases in Turkey, to provide patrols in the northern zone closed to Iraqi aviation, as well as more than 60 Tornado-O11.4 tactical fighters, 20 Chinook helicopters, 7 Puma helicopters, a Tristar tanker aircraft and several AV-8 vertical take-off aircraft. Harriers, Canberra reconnaissance aircraft, E-3D Sentry warning and control system aircraft and Hercules transport aircraft stationed in airbases of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan and Qatar. The naval group included the light aircraft carrier Ark Royal with a crew of 1,100 people, including 370 flight personnel, three guided missile destroyers - Liverpool, Edinburgh and York, equipped with air defense systems, anti-ship missiles and helicopters. Lynx", guided missile frigates "Marlboro" and "Cumberland", as well as the amphibious assault helicopter carrier "Ocean". About 4 thousand British marines (as part of the 3rd Commando Brigade), three landing craft, minesweepers, three supply ships and a submarine were also concentrated in the Persian Gulf region.
Parts of the coalition group were stationed in Saudi Arabia (9 thousand US military personnel, Air Base El-Kharj, Prince Sultan), Qatar (8 thousand US military personnel, Air Force El-Udeid, Al-Saliya, the forward command post of the Central Command, from where general leadership was exercised fighting in Iraq), Kuwait (140 thousand US military personnel, 12 thousand British military personnel, AB Al-Jaber, Ali Salem), Bahrain (5 thousand US military personnel, headquarters of the US 5th Fleet), Oman (3 thousand US military personnel), Turkey (5 thousand US and British military personnel, Air Force Base Incirlik), Jordan (3 thousand US military personnel, Air Force Base Mafraq, Azraq, Safaui, Ruished). On AvB on about. Diego Garcia (Indian Ocean) strategic bombers B-2 and B-52 were stationed, as well as (prior to transfer to Kuwait) advance storage vessels military equipment and supplies of logistics (sea transports for transporting wheeled and tracked vehicles T-AK 3000 “Lewis J. Hodge”, T-AK 3001 “William B. Bo”, T-AK 3002 “James Anderson”,
T-AK 3003 “Alexander Bonnyman”, T-AK 3004 “Franklin J. Phillips” and T-AKR 3016 “Roy M. Wheat” roller coaster).
On the eve of hostilities, the US administration drew up plans for information and propaganda support for the war in Iraq, which were largely based on the experience of fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. The main goal of these events is to stay ahead of the curve and seize the initiative in order to provide 24 hours a day messages and comments to the media in the manner desired by Washington. However, according to Western experts, the Pentagon has clearly overdone the volume of special propaganda aimed at weakening the morale of the Iraqi army. Most of the “sensations” that appeared on the eve and in the first hours of the operation turned out to be obvious disinformation, apparently intended primarily not for Iraqis, but for American citizens. In particular, the American command in Qatar purposefully organized leaks to the media that two divisions of the Iraqi army (11th Infantry and 5th Mechanized) were ready to surrender to the allies without a fight. This was reported by a Kuwaiti correspondent for the Fox News channel. This disinformation is intended to undermine the morale of the Iraqi military and psychological impact on the military-political leadership of Iraq. In addition, several hours before the start of the airstrikes, reports appeared of 17 Iraqi border guards who allegedly took advantage of the sandstorm and surrendered to the Americans in the demilitarized zone on the border with Kuwait. Another example of the propaganda efforts of US PsyOps specialists were rumors about the escape and murder of Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and the house arrest of S. Hussein's son Uday, who allegedly wanted to secretly go abroad. Then when these messages left the stripes news agencies, information appeared about an Iraqi attack on neighboring Kuwait. It was reported that two rockets fell in the north of this country. However, some media outlets far from the American administration announced that this fact actually took place, but the missiles were American.
The American air attack was not at all what was expected. During the preparations for the war, Pentagon representatives have repeatedly stated that the US Army is going to overthrow Saddam Hussein in just a few days, even if this means turning Iraq into ruins. At the end of January, rumors leaked from the US Department of Defense that the attack on Iraq would be many times stronger than the 1991 attack. At first it was promised that in the first two days at least 800 cruise missiles would be fired at targets on Iraqi territory - 400 every day. Then statements from anonymous sources in the Pentagon appeared in the American press that at least 3 thousand cruise missiles would be fired at Iraq in the first 48 hours.
In fact, in the first two days during the air operation “Shock and Awe” (the air component of Operation “Shock and Awe”), a little more than 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched from ships and submarines, and up to 250 combat sorties were carried out by carrier-based aircraft.
Experts in the field of information warfare were struck by the straightforwardness and unconvincingness of the reports from the fronts that filled English-language satellite TV channels. Pre-fabricated television stories about the “successes” of the Anglo-American allies were openly ridiculed: Soviet-made tanks “knocked out” at training grounds, “massive” surrender of actors in civilian clothes, “joyful” meetings of liberators by the “grateful population of Iraq.” Journalists at the press center of the American Central Committee in Qatar did not hesitate to thank the Americans for the “interesting film they are shown.” Media representatives were irritated by the numerous rumors circulated by the Americans about the death of S. Hussein and people from his inner circle, which were easily refuted by the “killed” and “wounded” themselves on Iraqi television.
Eyewitnesses of the bombing of Baghdad reported that some of the American missiles and bombs aimed at administrative and military buildings in the Iraqi capital hit residential areas located close to them. Thus, near the Dijla presidential complex, houses in the Qadissiya quarter were destroyed, and buildings in the Mansur district were damaged 200 meters from the main headquarters of the Iraqi Air Force. According to experts, deviations in the flight of cruise missiles and other precision-guided munitions used by Allied forces could be caused by inaccurate intelligence information and technical errors in guidance systems. Smart missiles, bombs and shells have come at a cost to the Iraqi population. According to the Iraqi Ministry of Health, the “targeted strikes” primarily affected the elderly, women and children. The war caused heavy losses to the most ancient cultural monuments of Iraq, including due to looting.
According to the Americans, the first blow was supposed to have such a powerful psychological impact on the Iraqi leadership and its army that the further military campaign seemed to be won without much resistance. However, in the first hours of the operation, the Americans used only about 40 cruise missiles and about the same number of precision bombs to destroy underground bunkers. There was no crushing blow, and the Iraqi population stopped believing American propaganda. The Allies' hopes of quickly capturing the southern regions of the country populated by Shiites also did not materialize.
It was planned that US forces would capture Baghdad within three to five days from initial positions north and west of the capital. However, parts of the allies met fierce resistance from the Iraqis in a number of settlements, so they were forced to advance to the capital of Iraq without taking the country's major cities. According to military experts, the Americans decided to abandon the assault on well-fortified settlements. The Allied strategy was to blockade them and rush tank columns towards Baghdad in order to achieve the declared goal of the military campaign - the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime - with one decisive blow in the shortest possible time.
The further course of events showed that the plans of the US command for the lightning defeat of the Iraqi army turned out to be wrong. Thus, according to British expert Alain George, during the first week of hostilities, American troops managed to “establish control over a number of sectors in the desert,” and the main events are yet to come. The Iraqis, in turn, argued that as the allies moved deeper into the country, their resistance would steadily increase. That's when large-scale fighting involving elite, well-equipped and professionally trained units of the armed forces and the Republican Guard. Saddam Hussein established a reward for his military personnel for each shot down American or British plane in the amount of 100 million dinars (about 33 thousand dollars), for a helicopter - 50 million, for capturing enemy soldiers - 50 million, for the destruction of the enemy - 25 million dinars.
Military experts from a number of countries positively assessed the actions of the Iraqi armed forces in the first days of the war. Analysts were surprised by the fact that, despite 12 years of international sanctions, Baghdad managed to maintain the potential to fight the most advanced military machine of the West.
In addition, experts noted that the coalition was opposed not only by units of the regular Iraqi army, but also by the local population, who perceived the Americans and British as aggressors and occupiers. In this situation, foreign analysts did not exclude the possibility of organizing a large-scale guerrilla movement in the occupied Iraqi territories. In many areas of the country there were special supply bases for the partisans, where food and other supplies were created for five months of the war. In the desert areas of Iraq they operated partisan detachments“Saddam's Fedayeen,” which was also recognized by American intelligence.
Another reason for the delay in the implementation of American plans was Ankara’s delay in opening the northern front, when the 40,000-strong contingent of allied troops, whose task was to capture the cities of Mosul, Kirkuk and northern oil fields, was practically withdrawn from the game. Western experts noted that the actions of the Turkish leadership did not fit into the framework of transatlantic solidarity, since Ankara’s plans to be the first to divide the Iraqi “oil pie” were increasingly emerging. On March 21, 2003, the Turkish parliament approved the government's proposals to send Turkish troops to Northern Iraq. In the area of Zakho, Dahuk, Bamarni (Iraqi territory, 15-20 km from the Turkish border), advanced units of the Turkish ground forces were deployed. According to some reports, in Northern Iraq, in the so-called buffer zone, a 15,000-strong group of Turkish troops and another 20,000 soldiers were concentrated, ready to cross the Turkish-Iraqi border at any moment. The Turkish leadership categorically denied media reports about the invasion of units of two brigades of the 7th Corps deep into Iraqi territory. At the same time, the command of the Anglo-American coalition confirmed the data on the intervention of the Turkish military contingent on Iraqi territory. In the current situation, Western experts predicted that Ankara, taking advantage of the moment and under the pretext of solving “humanitarian problems,” would try to nip in the bud any possible protests by the Kurds both in Iraq and Turkey aimed at creating an independent state of Kurdistan. Such actions by the Turkish side were carried out when both US Secretary of Defense D. Rumsfeld and US Secretary of State C. Powell stated that there was no need for the deployment of Turkish troops in areas controlled by Kurdish organizations friendly to the United States. Fearing the political consequences of the Turkish invasion of Iraq that would be undesirable for the coalition, the Allied command began to transfer its troops from Turkey.
Thus, according to independent Western military experts, the Allies’ “blitzkrieg” failed and they were forced to transfer additional forces to the combat area. The reinforcement forces included elite formations of American ground and airborne forces. Despite the fact that the command of the US armed forces introduced strict censorship on any information about the exact numbers of killed and wounded coalition soldiers, such data became public.
As military experts noted, the Allied troops were not ready for close combat tactics, as evidenced by data on Anglo-American losses. In total, since the beginning of the war, the Allies have lost 123 soldiers killed and 140 wounded (as of March 25). Wounded coalition soldiers were housed in military hospitals in Germany, Spain and the United States. On March 24, 27 injured servicemen were delivered to Ramstein (Germany), and 64 to Norfolk (USA). Earlier, the first plane carrying the bodies of 15 dead American soldiers arrived at Andrews Air Force Base (USA). According to the commander of the combined US-British ground forces in Kuwait, American Lieutenant General James Conway, “the military operation in Iraq will not be relatively bloodless for the United States, just like the first Gulf War in 1991.”
In the face of criticism of the Anglo-American coalition operation in Iraq and powerful anti-war protests around the world, the political leadership of the allies demanded that the command intensify the pace of the offensive while preserving the lives of US and British military personnel as much as possible. In addition, President George W. Bush set the task of increasing the intensity of missile and bomb attacks on Iraq to suppress the resistance of Iraqi troops and demoralize the population.
The Americans and British never managed to create an anti-Iraqi coalition that was legitimate in the eyes of the world community. Thus, according to the presidential administration, the anti-Iraq coalition is supported by about 50 countries, including Uganda, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Macedonia, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, the Philippines, Rwanda, the Republic of Korea, Tonga, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Honduras.
After the surrender of the cities of Baghdad (April 8), Mosul, Kirkuk and Tikrit (April 14), the Pentagon announced the end of the active phase of the military operation in Iraq. For many Western experts, this turn of events was unexpected. Although plans for a lightning war were thwarted, it can nevertheless be characterized as fleeting. Experts come to the conclusion that the population's support for Saddam Hussein's regime was not at all what it was portrayed by the Iraqi media. The reason for this is the dictator’s brutal repression against his own people, the country’s participation in a long war with Iran (1980-1988), the use of chemical weapons (sarin and mustard gas) against the Kurds who sided with Iran, the seizure of Kuwait by Baghdad (1990) and the subsequent war in Persian Gulf zone (Operation Desert Storm - 1991). 12 years of UN sanctions also undermined Iraq's economy and reduced the population to complete poverty - the average salary of Iraqis was only two dollars a month. The successful course of hostilities of the allied forces, of course, was facilitated by their military-technical advantage, the death or flight of the military-political leadership of Iraq (the last time Saddam Hussein publicly announced himself was on April 4). It should be noted that since December 2002, the United States has been conducting active propaganda work in Iraq. In the no-fly zones of Iraqi aviation in the southern part of the country, American military aircraft began broadcasting with a call on the army and people to abandon their support for the dictatorial regime. To increase the number of radio listeners, over six major cities In the southern part of the country, up to 0.5 million leaflets were dropped from US Air Force aircraft indicating the frequencies and broadcast times of army radio.
United Nations sources, who wished to remain anonymous, also learned that international UN inspectors working in Iraq have expressed concerns about the possibility of falsification of the results of their inspections by the United States. In particular, they do not exclude the possibility that the American military will “discover” in the liberated territory not only indirect signs of Iraq’s preparation for the use of weapons of mass destruction, but also chemical and biological munitions directly. In the wake of international criticism of the unlawful actions of the United States and Great Britain in Iraq, such “findings” would look quite “convincing.” Indirect confirmation of the possibility of such an action was made in the speech of the commander of the UCC, General T. Franks, who promised to soon provide the world community with evidence that the United States and its allies were right.