There are many war in Iraq facts, such as the date of the invasion, the dates that cities fell, the dates of protests, and the dates when various countries withdrew their troops. Surrounding these war in Iraq facts are many theories and opinions about why the war began, and what the facts about weapons of mass destruction really were. Some people believe that Saddam Hussein moved the materials that he was going to make into weapons of mass destruction to villages around Iraq. Those who doubt this believe that the entire war was a fabricated drama.
Only the war in Iraq facts can be proven. It is generally accepted as a fact that before 1990 and the Gulf War, that Iraq collected and stored over 500 tons of yellowcake uranium near Baghdad. What will never be known for sure is whether or not Iraq was trying to buy more yellowcake uranium to stockpile with the intent of destroying the United Kingdom, the United States, and their allies.
Another war in Iraq fact is that most people took sides, either for or against the war — conservatives, who justified the war whether or not there were weapons of mass destruction, and liberals, who were against the war no matter what. Most of the facts are clouded by conflicting stories by the main players in the war.
After the war in Iraq had destroyed much of the country already, officials in Great Britain declared that there had been a secret meeting with the British government, British intelligence and the Minister of Defense revealing that George W. Bush wanted to remove Saddam Hussein. This theory was published as the Downing Street memo. It claimed that Bush intended to justify the war by the existence of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction discovered in Iraq. The Downing Street memo said that everything leading to the war was fabricated. This is an example of how the war in Iraq facts can never be proven, other than the basic date of invasion, date of capture of Hussein, and other facts that all parties agree upon.
It is commonly regarded as a war in Iraq fact that before the U.S. Senate voted on whether or not to invade Iraq, 75 senators were pulled into a closed session and told that Iraq had the ability to destroy the U.S. Eastern Seaboard with chemical or biological weapons. The Senate approved the war, and Bush commanded the military to remove Hussein’s regime and replace it with a democracy.
It is also a war in Iraq fact that Hans Blix, chief U.N. weapons inspector, later reported that no weapons of mass destruction were found, but that 910 tons of a chemical agent were missing, and that there was no proof that Anthrax had been destroyed.
On March 20, 2003, the invasion began, called Operation Iraqi Liberation. Over a quarter of a million U.S. soldiers, 45,000 British, 2,000 Australian, 194 Polish, and 70,000 Kurdish soldiers took part in the invasion in the northern and southern parts of the country.
It is a war in Iraq fact that on April 9, 2003, Baghdad fell, and this ended the 24-year rule of Hussein. Many Baghdad residents thanked invaders, and crime and disorder were rampant with looting of government and public buildings. Insurgent attacks began and escalated over the next years by Ba’ath Party/Hussein supporters and others upset over foreign invasion. In addition, Hussein was captured in December, 2003. He would found in hiding after his family and former body guards revealed his hiding spot. In February, 2010, Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, announced that Operation Iraqi Freedom is now Operation New Dawn. On August 19, 2010, the last U.S. combat troops left Iraq.