Some Features of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Iraqi War
Iraq is a Middle Eastern state, once former part the great Persian Empire, - for a very long period of time maintained peaceful and good neighborly relations with neighboring countries.
The topic of our article is the Iraqi war. The reasons for the constantly flaring conflicts in the Middle East, which involve Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and other countries - oil fields discovered in the Persian Gulf. Black gold gave the Arab world economic freedom, but turned out to be the cause of numerous and extremely brutal wars.
War between Iraq and Iran
In the last quarter of the last century, peace between Iran and Iraq was interrupted by a series of conflicts that eventually led to war. However, even after the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988. ended, the Iranian government was unequivocal: Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq, represented and poses a far lesser danger to their country than the United States. America has long established itself as a behind-the-scenes organizer and director of most world conflicts, and the active desire of Americans to spread their influence on all continents has long become a byword. It should be noted that the first Iraqi war (years - 1980-1988) fell at a time when the USSR was protected from the outside world by an impregnable iron curtain. Although the situation in Iraq was not discussed in Soviet means mass media widely and openly, our country actively helped Iraq and some other Middle Eastern states to maintain sovereignty and resist the possible aggression of the Western countries, hoping to seize the natural resources of these countries. When the Soviet Union collapsed and the second Iraqi war began, the events, facts, results, and most importantly, its causes turned out to be incomprehensible to many precisely because of the poor awareness of the prerequisites for the first war and the participation of different countries in it. In this article, we will highlight the main events of the Middle East wars in which Iraq participated.
Iran and Iraq: Shatt al-Arab River
The main and initial cause of conflicts between Iran and Iraq was the Shatt al-Arab river. In the twentieth century, oil is the main cause of international conflicts, and oil lakes were discovered under the bed of this river. Previously, the demarcation of boundaries by water bodies was not of significant importance. The length of Shatt al-Arab is only 195 km - this is actually the channel of two rivers merged together - the Tigris and the Euphrates. Iraq is located on the western bank, and Iran - on the east. Initially, under the agreement of 1937, the border passed along the left bank. This situation did not suit Iraq, which insisted on revising the demarcation line and moving it to the middle of the channel. In 1969, Kurdish rebellions began in Iraq. The Iranian leadership took advantage of the neighbor's internal political problems and unilaterally terminated the border agreement, and in 1975 the position of the demarcation line along the middle of the Shatt al-Arab was ratified at the Algiers OPEC conference. The situation was not easy. Iran was represented by Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (Shah of Iran), while Iraq was represented by Saddam Hussein (Vice President of Iraq). Initially reluctant to seek compromise, the leaders of the two countries eventually reached a peace agreement and made mutual concessions. In addition, they resolved controversial issues in some other territories. A great influence on the course of negotiations was exerted by pressure on both rulers of the opposition forces, which became more active in both countries.
Islamic Revolution 1978-1979
From January 1978 to February 1979, Islamic rebellions began to take place in the neighboring state of Iraq, Iran. Popular unrest in this country, where the majority of the population are Shiites and Sunnis, had a direct bearing on the political situation in Iraq. The aim of the Iranian revolution was to overthrow the monarchy. The new pro-American policy of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, when the oil industry and the entire economy of the country began to be controlled by the United States and Great Britain, did not suit the Islamic population. The desire of Iran's Islamists to protect themselves from the geopolitical claims of their overseas neighbors was supported by Iraq.
After the weakening of the positions of the USSR, with which Iran was in close and friendly relations (Soviet specialists built the Isfahan metallurgical plant in Iran, began work on laying the trans-Iranian gas pipeline, trained specialists, provided other economic and humanitarian assistance), Iran was unable to counteract the pressure politicians of the United Kingdom, which especially intensified its activities after the loss of a large number of overseas colonies by Britain. The establishment of friendly relations with Israel, the brutal suppression of patriotic and Islamic uprisings, and the support of pro-American regimes in Chad, Oman and Somalia could not but arouse indignation among Muslims. Shah Pahlavi was overthrown and expelled from the country, and Iran was proclaimed an Islamic Republic with the supreme power of the clergy, headed by Ayatollah Khomeini. The revolution and the reformation of the army that followed it greatly weakened the country, which the aggressors did not fail to take advantage of.
The beginning of the war
Khomeini's goal was to eliminate American and British influence in the Middle East, but Islamic contradictions within the country confused his plans. In neighboring Iraq, Shiite extremists staged a mutiny to overthrow the government of the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party. The Iraqi Shiites acted in alliance with the Shiites of Iran. This forced the government of Saddam Hussein to take measures to limit the contacts of representatives of this branch of Islam living in the territories of neighboring states. The measures taken by him caused the outbreak of new conflicts. The first Iraqi war began with scattered armed border clashes, and in February 1980, Iranian aircraft bombed Iraqi territory. Saddam Hussein's response was to denounce the last border treaty and annex the eastern bank of the Shatt al-Arab to Iraq.
Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988 played into the hands of two reactionary organizations. In Iran, it was the Mujahideen Organization created by the Iraqi opposition Iranian people". Its goal was to overthrow the regime of Ayatollah Khomeini. In Iraq, the "Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution" created by the Iranian opposition, aimed at eliminating Saddam Hussein's party.
Successes of the Iraqi army
During the period from February to July 1980, Iran violated the border of Iraq 224 times, carrying out fire strikes from the air, from land and from the sea, however, it is officially believed that the Iran-Iraq war began on September 4, 1980, when the Iraqi army invaded Iran and occupied the disputed territories in the region of Zein al-Qaws. The units that crossed the Shatt-etl-Arab captured Khuzistan. The Iraqis then occupied Ahwaz and Dezful. Oil terminals were destroyed on Kharq Island and in Abadan Khorramsherh, which caused the main damage to the Iranian economy. Iran soon paid for the bombing of Baghdad with the ruins of Tehran.
The attack was decisive and fast. The Iraqi army moved to Iran simultaneously from three directions. The main battles fell to the south. From this side, the main blows were delivered to the capital. It was to Saddam Hussein's advantage that Iran began aggression against Iraq at a time when its army, and most importantly, its command of the armed forces, was weakened as a result of the rotation undertaken after the revolution.
The Iraqi command planned to end the war by October 20, the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha. Initially, everything turned out for Iraq in the best possible way: the preponderance of forces was on its side - only one Iranian division opposed five Iraqi divisions, and besides, there was a calculation for the surprise factor. However, having gone deep into Iran about 40 km in one week, Saddam Hussein suspended the offensive and decided to move on to peace negotiations. This slowdown helped Iran consolidate and turn the tide of the war.
Iran changes tactics from offensive to defensive
Iraq stopped moving forward and sent the bulk of the troops to the siege of the unsubdued cities. Considering the suspension of enemy hostilities as a transition to defensive tactics, Iran, with the support of the West and its military equipment, launched a counteroffensive. From that moment on, the Iran-Iraq war entered its second phase.
Abolhasan Banisadr, President of Iran and Supreme Commander, sent tank division on the deblockade of Abadan, but suffered a crushing defeat. The failure of the operation gave strength to the Iraqis and convinced them of the correctness of their chosen strategy. In Iran, the failure caused a surge of anti-government protests. Inside the country, a war broke out between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Organization of the Mujahideen of the Islamic People (OMIN). President Banisadr was removed from his post and then fled the country. Mohammed Ali Rajai took his place. Following this, a wave of terrorist attacks swept across Iran, new president and Prime Minister Mohammed Javad Bahonar, but power remained in the hands of the ruling party. Iraq perceived internal unrest in Iran as part of the scenario for the fall of this country, but the military leadership of Iran, having received strong support from the West, resumed resistance to Iraq. As a result, Iran liberated part of its territories from the invader, including Abadan and Bostan.
Operation Opera
The construction of a nuclear power plant in Iraq was conceived as early as 1959, when the Soviet government agreed to provide Baghdad with equipment and specialists for geological exploration of mineral deposits, as well as for the construction of a small laboratory and a nuclear reactor. The Soviet Union insisted that all work be controlled by the IAEA, an organization that ensures that the use of radioactive metals is directed exclusively to peaceful purposes and not used for the production of weapons. This requirement did not suit Iraq. Saddam Hussein began cooperation with France, Italy and Germany - these countries did not put forward such harsh conditions.
In 1979, the French loaded components for the Osirak reactor onto the ship, but they did not arrive at their destination - in the port of La Sien-sur-Mer, the ship was blown up by Israeli militants from Mossad intelligence.
In 1980, the French brought, installed and launched a new reactor in the Iraqi territory of the Thuwait desert. They argued that his engineering solution excluded the possibility of obtaining the isotopes necessary for the production of atomic weapons, but Soviet experts believed that the launch of the Osirak-2 installation would allow Iraq to create three atomic bombs by 1983, and five by 1985.
On July 7, 1981, Iraq was subjected to a surprise attack. Israeli Air Force who bombed all the nuclear facilities in Iraq. Starting from the Etzion air base, the aircraft headed for Saudi Arabia from where Iraq could not expect an attack. Thanks to this maneuver, Iraqi air defenses did not detect the enemy. The squadron included 14 aircraft from Israel and the United States. A map of the area and other secret information was obtained by them from the Iranian special services. Shortly before the start of the operation, officers of the "Unit 669" (elite Israeli army), so that in case of failure, if the planes are shot down, have time to pick up the ejected pilots and transport them to their homeland.
On this nuclear program Iraq was finished, and Iran, which had previously launched about ten unsuccessful attacks on Iraq's nuclear facilities, suddenly received carte blanche and launched a decisive counteroffensive. The Iran-Iraq war has entered its third phase.
Battles for Basra
In the spring of 1982, after fierce fighting, Iraq liberated Khuzistan and the port of Khorramshahr. About 20,000 Iraqi soldiers and officers fell into Iranian captivity. Saddam Hussein offered to start negotiations on a truce, but the Iranian side demanded Hussein's resignation, and this was not part of the Iraqi leader's plans.
On July 14, the Iranian army crossed the border of Iraq. The main goal was to capture the port of Basra. To protect this important strategic facility, Iraq sent a tank division equipped with Soviet T-72s. Iran's strategy was to attack with "live waves", which were a people's militia, consisting of elderly men and teenagers. Military equipment was used only to secure in the conquered territories. The desire to capture Basra continued until the end of the war. In early 1987, Iran made another attempt to carry out an operation to capture Basra. She received the code name "Karbala-5". As a result of fierce battles, both armies suffered heavy losses, but the port remained with Iraq.
The true losses of Iraq in the war, however, like those of its rival, cannot be accurately calculated. In various sources, the figures differ so significantly that there is no way to believe them. Such confusion is explained by the fact that the supply of weapons took place unevenly and in strict secrecy. It is known that military equipment, for the most part, was produced in the USA and in the USSR.
The failure of the Karbala operation caused popular unrest in Iran and a flurry of dissatisfaction with the actions of the authorities.
Operation Praying Mantis
The Iran-Iraq war was drawing to a close. The situation at the front was complicated by constant conflicts over the use of oil fields in the Persian Gulf countries. Both Iraq and Iran spent most of their energy and resources trying to neutralize US activities in the oil-bearing region that feeds their countries. As a rule, they all ended unsuccessfully. It is no accident that the Iranians and Iraqis call this war "imposed." The war between these states draws all attention to itself, leaving the oil fields of the Persian Gulf waters without control. So, on the territory of Iraq's neighbor, Kuwait, American specialists installed inclined oil wells, which could not but cause the natural indignation of Iraq, whose "black gold" was disappearing into the bins of American tankers.
The Iran-Iraq war is famous for one episode, during which a naval battle broke out between the Iranians and the Americans. naval forces. This episode is called Operation Praying Mantis. It happened on April 18, 1988. An American frigate, which was escorting Kuwaiti tankers across the Persian Gulf, was blown up by an Iranian mine - 10 sailors were injured. This situation angered the Americans, and early in the morning several US-flagged warships and aircraft carriers entered the Persian Gulf. Their target was three Iranian oil platforms. The Americans demanded that the Iranians leave them, but in response they received several volleys from the cannons located on the platforms. A fight ensued. The Sassen and Sirri platforms were destroyed. During the battle, the following were sunk: the Iranian frigate Sahand, several speedboats and boats, a plane was shot down, another frigate, the Sabalan, was disabled. The Americans lost only one helicopter shot down.
April - June 1988
Operation Praying Mantis convinced the Iranian leadership of the futility of continuing the war, and the events that followed prompted Iran and Iraq to conclude a peace treaty. After the naval battle with the American squadron, the Iranians lost hope for an honest and fair resolution of conflicts related to oil. The country was also demoralized by the fact that it found itself in the position of an outcast in the world community. Iraq, on the contrary, perked up, mobilized the economy and accepted the help of Iranian guerrillas from the organization OMIN (Organization of the Mujahideen of the Iranian People). Iraq completely regained its territories. Despite this, the results of the Iraqi war are devastating both for this country and for its adversary, Iran.
Iran, which could no longer count on the help of the West and neighboring countries, had nothing to fight with - almost all air, land and sea military equipment was destroyed, and there was nowhere to get funds to restore or purchase it. On July 17, 1988, Ayatollah Khomeini proposed peace to Saddam Hussein. This ended the Iran-Iraq war, but peace never came to the Persian Gulf. After the first war there was a short break, and then fighting resumed.
American invasion
Not having time to properly recover from the first war, Iraq enters a new one. Now it's the US-Iraq war. On March 20, 2003, under the nominal pretext of eliminating chemical weapons and enterprises for their production, but in reality to establish control over a country that owns oil resources, coalition troops led by the US military invaded Iraq.
The main ally of the United States was the armed forces of Great Britain. At a meeting in the UN Security Council, Russia, China and France vetoed the use of force against Iraq, but their ultimatum was ignored.
Against the albeit numerous (about 1 million conscripts and regular military) Iraqi army, which includes a little more than 5,000 pieces of military equipment, the coalition forces put forward an armada of military equipment and well-trained commandos. Iraqi War 2003 lasted only 21 days. The Iraqis fiercely fought for every inch of their land, but their army, which, although outnumbered by the army of the aggressor, was completely defeated. Cities were in ruins, the economy was completely undermined. Chaos and civil war broke out in the country.
The results of participation in the war of coalition forces
The leader of the country, Saddam Hussein, during whose reign the oil resources were nationalized, and the proceeds from their sale were used to improve the welfare of the population, which to this day considers that period the happiest and most prosperous in the history of Iraq, was overthrown by coalition forces, imprisoned and then executed.
The monstrous consequences of the Iraqi war also affected the masterpieces of world architecture and culture from the times of the ancient civilizations of Sumer and Babylon. A huge number of priceless art objects were destroyed or taken out, mainly to the United States. The Iraqi war, in which the losses turned out to be catastrophic for the inhabitants of this country, became the reason for the emergence of a new terrorist organization, ISIS. This was stated by Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He also apologized to Iraq and the entire world community on behalf of his state for the damage caused to Iraq and for the mistakes made by the coalition forces during the fighting in Iraq. His speech to CNN reporters in October 2015 looked at least strange and unconvincing, if not cynical, since representatives of the coalition countries are still not going to compensate for everything that the war in Iraq led to (history has clearly confirmed this). .
The war in Iraq has become one of the largest armed conflicts of the early 21st century. At the same time, the prerequisites and ups and downs of this war in many respects still remain a mystery. Let's try to unwind the ball of those events. So, let's find out what was the reason for the US invasion of Iraq and how this military operation took place.
background
To begin with, let's delve a little into the background of this conflict.
Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq in 1979, although he had in fact concentrated the threads of governing the country long before that. His powers were equal to dictatorial ones. No important issue in the country could be resolved without the consent of the president. Hussein used repression and torture against the opposition and periodically rebellious Kurds, which he even publicly admitted to. In addition, Hussein's personality cult began to develop in Iraq.
Already in 1980, the Iraqi army launched an invasion of the Iranian province of Khuzestan, thus unleashing it. It is noteworthy that in this war, both the United States and the USSR supported Hussein. But in the end, the war ended in 1988 with nothing, since, under the terms of the peace treaty, both countries retained the status quo.
Saddam Hussein started a new adventure in 1990, when he occupied Kuwait and annexed it to Iraq as a province. This time, both the US and the USSR condemned the actions of the Iraqi president. Moreover, the United States, with the support of the UN, formed an international military coalition that opposed Hussein. Thus began the first War in Iraq, or, as it is called in another way, the Coalition had a significant advantage from the first days of the confrontation, due to the fact that it used modern aviation.
It was a brilliant allied operation led by the United States. Losses in Iraq of the coalition troops amounted to less than 500 people, while the death toll in Iraqi troops reached several tens of thousands. As a result, Hussein was defeated, he was forced to liberate Kuwait, and significantly reduce the army. In addition, the country was imposed whole line other sanctions that were supposed to weaken the armed forces of Iraq.
Almost all of the 1990s, the hidden confrontation between Iraq and the United States was growing. The Americans constantly accused Hussein of using repressions against the opposition, as well as having banned weapons. The situation became especially aggravated after Hussein expelled the UN observers in 1998, who were supposed to ensure that Iraq did not acquire weapons of mass destruction. The world stood on the threshold of a new war.
Background and causes of the war
Now let's take a closer look at what was the reason for the US invasion of Iraq.
The main reason for the American invasion of Iraq was the desire of the United States to ensure its dominance in the region. However, it is quite likely that the ruling circles feared that Hussein was really developing something that could be directed, among other things, against the United States, although they did not have real evidence this. However, some experts in the list of possible reasons for the start of the US operation against Iraq also mention the personal hatred of US President George W. Bush for Saddam Hussein.
The formal reason for the invasion was evidence demonstrated in February 2003 by the US Secretary of State at the UN Security Council that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction. As it turned out later, most of the evidence presented was falsified.
Engaging Allies
The United States never managed to obtain permission from the Security Council to use force in Iraq. However, the American establishment ignored this and began to prepare for an invasion.
They also asked for help from their NATO allies. But France and Germany refused to support the American invasion of Iraq without UN sanctions. But Great Britain, Poland and Australia expressed their readiness to support the United States by military force.
After the overthrow of the Hussein regime, other countries joined the coalition: Italy, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Spain, Georgia. separate force in 2007-2008, Turkey took part in the conflict.
The total number of troops of the international coalition contingent was about 309 thousand people, of which 250 thousand were US military personnel.
Start of the invasion
The US military operation in Iraq began on March 20, 2003. Unlike Desert Storm, this time the coalition carried out a large-scale ground operation. Even Turkey's refusal to provide its territory for the offensive did not prevent this. The US invaded Iraq from Kuwait. Coalition troops occupied Baghdad already in April, and without a fight. At the same time, Iraqi aviation was not actually involved in repelling an enemy attack. The active phase of the offensive was completed after the capture of the city of Tikrit in the middle of the same month.
Thus, the main key settlements in Iraq, by the end of the offensive operation, they were controlled by a coalition led by the United States. Allied losses in Iraq during this period amounted to 172 soldiers killed and 1,621 wounded. Iraqi during the offensive operation of the allies lost almost 10 thousand people killed. Slightly smaller were the casualties among the civilian population.
In the first phase of the war, US troops in Iraq won a landslide victory. However, it was necessary not only to capture the territory, but also to be able to keep it until a government loyal to the Americans was formed in Iraq, which could keep the situation in the country under control.
Further course of hostilities
After the defeat of government troops in the country, a partisan movement began to be organized. It united not only the military loyal to Hussein, but also representatives various groups Islamists, including those close to al-Qaeda. Partisan detachments were most densely concentrated in the so-called "Sunni triangle", which was located northwest of the Iraqi capital.
Detachments of partisans destroyed infrastructure, carried out terrorist attacks, and attacked individual units of the coalition led by the United States. Losses in Iraq of allied troops increased during this period. The bulk of the dead and wounded were soldiers who were blown up by improvised explosive devices.
Meanwhile, at the end of 2003, Saddam Hussein was captured in one of the villages of Iraq. A trial was held on him, by the verdict of which former dictator was publicly executed in 2006.
Civil War
Meanwhile, elections were finally held in Iraq in 2005. After their implementation, the Shiites came to power. This caused an increase in protests among the Sunni population of the country, which soon developed into a phenomenon that can be called a civil war.
In addition, various crimes committed by individual US military personnel or even entire units of the US Army added fuel to the fire. Losses in Iraq, both among the military and among the civilian population, in total grew more and more, and the civil war flared up with renewed vigor.
This caused displeasure not only in Iraq, but also within American society. Many US citizens began to compare the protracted Iraqi operation with the Increasing losses of the US army in Iraq led to the fact that the Republicans failed in the congressional elections, losing the majority in both chambers.
Strengthening Islamist organizations
Meanwhile, if initially the resistance in Iraq to the occupying forces of the coalition was more or less of a neutral religious nature, then by 2008 various Islamist organizations, often of a terrorist nature, became at the head of the partisan movement.
Even immediately after the invasion of American troops into Iraq, the activities of the terrorist organization "Monotheism and Jihad" under the leadership of al-Zarqawi were transferred to the territory of this country. Through certain time most of the other Islamist paramilitary organizations in Iraq rallied around this cell. In 2004, the leader of Monotheism and Jihad swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden, and the organization itself was renamed Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Al-Zarqawi was killed in a bombing in 2006 American aviation. But before his death, he further rallied the Islamist groups in Iraq. At the initiative of al-Zarqawi, the Consultative Assembly of the Mujahideen in Iraq was created, in addition to "Monotheism and Jihad", which included a number of other organizations. Already after the death of al-Zarqawi, in the same 2006, it was reorganized into the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). Moreover, this was done without the consent of the central leadership of Al-Qaeda. It was this organization that in the future, after spreading its influence to part of Syria, degenerated into ISIS, and then into
As mentioned above, during the stay of the American occupation contingent in Iraq, the Islamists gained the greatest strength in 2008. They controlled the second largest city in Iraq - Mosul, and their capital was Baakuba.
The end of the American operation in Iraq
Considerable US losses in Iraq over the 10 years that the war continued, as well as the relative stabilization of the situation in the country, made us think about the possibility of withdrawing the international contingent from the territory of the state.
In 2010, the new US President Barack Obama signed a decree on the withdrawal of the main US forces from Iraq. Thus, 200 thousand people were withdrawn that year. The remaining 50,000 soldiers were supposed to help the troops of the new Iraqi government control the situation in the country. But they also stayed in Iraq for a relatively short time. In December 2011, the remaining 50,000 soldiers were withdrawn from the country. Only 200 military consultants remained in Iraq, representing the United States.
American army losses
Now let's find out how much the American troops lost manpower and military equipment during the operation in Iraq, which lasted almost a decade.
The forces of the international coalition lost a total of 4,804 people killed, of which 4,423 fighters represented the US Army. In addition, 31,942 Americans were injured to varying degrees. This statistic takes into account both combat and non-combat losses.
For comparison: during the war, the regular army of Saddam Hussein lost tens of thousands of soldiers killed. It is generally impossible to calculate the losses of various partisan, terrorist and other organizations that fought against the coalition.
Now let's calculate the loss of US equipment in Iraq. During the war, the Americans lost 80 tanks of the Abrams model. US air losses in Iraq were also significant. 20 American planes were shot down. The F-16 and F/A-18 vehicles suffered the most. In addition, 86 American helicopters were shot down.
The situation after the withdrawal of American troops
After the withdrawal of US troops in Iraq, the situation deteriorated sharply. Many extremist and terrorist organizations. The most influential of these was the ISIS group, which then changed its name to the Islamic State, claiming supremacy throughout the Muslim world. She took control of large areas in Iraq, and after the beginning she extended her influence to this state.
The activity of ISIS has caused concern in many states of the world. A new coalition led by the United States was formed against this organization. Russia has also joined the fight against terrorists, which, however, acts independently. The peculiarity of this operation lies in the fact that the allies conduct only air strikes in Syria and Iraq, but do not resort to ground intervention. Thanks to the actions of the allies, the territory controlled by the militants of the Islamic State has been significantly reduced, however, this organization continues to pose a serious danger to the world.
At the same time, there are many other opposing forces, the contradictions between which do not allow peace to come in Iraq: Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, etc. Thus, the American troops failed to ensure a stable peace in the region. They left without completing one of their main tasks.
The Meaning and Consequences of the American Invasion of Iraq
As for the justification for the invasion of coalition forces in Iraq, there are many conflicting opinions. But most experts agree that since the start of the war in Iraq, the region has become much more unstable, and there are no prerequisites for stabilizing the situation yet. Moreover, many prominent politicians who were involved in the decision to invade Iraq have already said that the war with Hussein was a mistake. In particular, this was said by the head of the independent investigative commission, former deputy British Home Office John Chilcot.
Of course, Saddam Hussein was a typical dictator who suppressed the opposition and used repression. He also carried out aggressive military actions against other countries more than once. Nevertheless, most experts came to the conclusion that Hussein's weapons at the beginning of the 21st century no longer allowed him to carry out large-scale military operations, as evidenced by the relatively quick defeat of the Iraqi regular army by coalition forces.
Yes, and many experts recognize the Hussein regime as the lesser of evils, in comparison with the chaos that began to reign in the region after its overthrow, and with the ever-increasing danger from the Islamic State.
On March 20, 2010 exactly seven years have passed since the start of the war in Iraq. On this day in 2003, US aircraft dropped the first bombs on Baghdad. The reason for the start of the military operation in Iraq was the assumption that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, but later it turned out that Iraq did not have such weapons. Recall that the first bombs fell in the center of Baghdad, where the government buildings and palaces of Saddam Hussein were located. But the dictator managed to escape from the city. Three weeks later American tanks entered Baghdad and an interim administration was appointed. And on May 1, 2003, President Bush announced the end of hostilities...
(Total 38 photos)
1. 20-year-old corporal of the 8th company of the 1st division marines James Blake Miller from Kentucky, smoking a cigarette. Miller became known as the "Marlboro Man" thanks to his widely circulated photograph from the Iraq War. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
2. Smoke covers the presidential palace in Baghdad March 21, 2003 after a massive US air raid on the Iraqi capital. (AFP PHOTO/Ramzi HAIDAR)
3. Iraqi girl cries looking like a British Challenger tank crushes Baath party headquarters. (Odd Anderson/AFP/Getty Images)
4. March 21, 2003, southern Iraq. US Marines from the 15th Expeditionary Unit solder an Iraqi soldier with water from a flask. About 200 Iraqi soldiers surrendered to this unit just an hour after it entered Iraqi territory from northern Kuwait. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)
5. March 24, 2003. Somewhere in Iraq. Infantrymen from the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Corps, jump off the Bradley transporter and surround the unidentified man who was behaving suspiciously. An AK-47 assault rifle and cartridges for it were found in his car. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, David Leeson)
6. Iraqi prisoners of war. According to US Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, more than 3,500 Iraqis were taken prisoner by the US and British armies in the first 6 days of the war with Iraq. It is not clear where the prisoners of war were held - in temporary camps set up by the advancing allied forces, or, as the command says, in more centralized locations. In the photo, bound Iraqi prisoners are sitting in a barbed wire pen awaiting interrogation, after fighting with Detachment 1-64 of the 3rd infantry division, March 23, 2003 (Brant Sanderlin/Cox News Service)
7. Lance Corporal Steven Plumer from Arvada (pc. Colorado) reads a letter from his mother. This is the first letter he has received since his detachment moved out of Kuwait a week ago. With the letter, his mother sent him a box of sweets and a small American flag. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
8. April 4, 2003 Lieutenant Jeffrey Goodman and Lance Corporal Jorge Sanchez pull a wounded civilian from his burning car during the advance of the 2nd Tank Battalion on Baghdad. A civilian was wounded, accidentally falling into the thick of the battle. (AP Photo, Cheryl Diaz Meyer, Dallas Morning News)
9. April 4, 2003 When approaching a checkpoint, a resident of Karbala lifts his shirt to show that he is not hiding a weapon. (AP Photo, Dallas Morning News, David Leeson)
10. Soldiers 3-7 expeditionary groups of the 3rd division (USA) bow their heads in prayer during worship. US military units have captured and are holding the international airport near Baghdad, while allied forces are storming the capital.
11. British paratrooper communicates with an Iraqi girl, standing at his post on main street Basra. At that point, coalition forces had seized control of much of the country's second-largest city. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post) #
13. US Army Sergeant Chad Tatchett, from the 7th Infantry Company of the 3rd Battalion, center, awaits the delivery of meals and relaxes in the company of comrades in arms after a search in one of the palaces of Saddam Hussein, partially destroyed by the bombing. (AP Photo/John Moore)
14. April 7, 2003. Marines from the 3rd battalion are calling for the infantry to hurry, which forces the destroyed bridge under fire from the southeastern outskirts of Baghdad. (AP Photo/Boston Herald, Kuni Takahashi)
15. Baghdad, April 8, 2003. A wounded Iraqi asks for mercy. He and his companions were fired on after they failed to stop the car on demand as they approached a coalition tank. He and his companion in the background were shot several times, but survived and received medical attention; two other men in the car are killed. (Brant Sanderlin/The Atlanta Journal-Consitution via Cox News Service)
16. Corporal Edward Chin of New York, 4th Marine Corps, 3rd Battalion, clings the Stars and Stripes flag to the head of a statue of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in downtown Baghdad, before overthrowing the monument, April 9, 2003. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)
17. April 10, 2003, Baghdad. Relatives mourn the death of three relatives. The three - a father, his teenage son, and another relative - were shot dead by US soldiers on the evening of April 9, allegedly after the car they were traveling in failed to stop on demand in front of a building occupied by the US military. The relatives of the victims continued to wait for their return and did not know what had happened until the next day, other family members towed the car with their bodies directly to their house. (AP Photo/Carolyn Cole, Los Angeles Times)
18. US Marines of the 24th Expeditionary Force are on combat duty during the operation. (Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
19. Three Iraqi soldiers are tied with bags on their heads, awaiting interrogation. (Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
20. Marines arrest an Iraqi prisoner after a brawl on main square Tikrit. This city lies 175 km north of Baghdad, the Americans occupied it almost without resistance. (Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)
21. Welcome home, neighbor! Jerry Churchill runs with an American flag to greet his neighbor, Lieutenant Colonel Pete Byrne, who has just returned home to Parker from the Iraq War, where he was an F-16 pilot. Before the war, Burn was a pilot for American Airlines (American Airlines), but was mobilized in early February 2003. Now he, along with 15 other pilots, returned to his homeland, to the air base in Buckley (Buckley). Jerry's children are friendly and often play with Burn's two sons. DENVER POST PHOTO BY CYRUS MCCRIMMON
22. A woman cries over her missing son as US soldiers search for his remains in a mass grave. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) #
3. Lieutenant Andrew Carrigan from Boston (Massachusetts), who sold sports nutrition before serving in the army, Corporal Dervik Siong from Wauso (State of Wisconsin), and Junior Sergeant Stephen Payne from Jolo (W. Virginia) of the 101st air regiment Keep yourself bored on Halloween with a donkey race. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
24. Iraqi boy Ayad Alim Brissam Karim shows his photo before the incident. American helicopters fired missiles at the field where he was playing at the time, as a result he lost his sight and received burns. (Mauricio Lima/AFP/Getty Images)
25. March 31, 2004. An Iraqi teenager displays a leaflet that reads in broken English: "Fallujah, the graveyard of the Americans", while standing near a burning car in the rebel city of Fallujah (Fallujah), 50 km west of Baghdad. Enraged locals, armed with shovels, mutilated two charred corpses - presumably, the invaders caught in the rebel raid. Residents of the city announced that it would become a cemetery for the American occupying forces. AFP PHOTO/Karim SAHIB
26. US Army Lance Sergeant Lynndy England, of the 372nd military police, mocks a prisoner of war in the prison Abu Ghraib (Abu Ghraib) in Baghdad. (AP Photo/The Washington Post)
27. November 2, 2004 Marines from the 1st division raid the house of the chairman of the city council in the Baghdad district of Abu Ghraib. During the raid, the soldiers arrested the chairman of Nasar Wa Sulaan, Taha Rashid, and other members of the council. US forces are preparing for a major offensive against Fellujah to regain lost control of a number of Sunni settlements northwest of Baghdad ahead of the January 31 general election. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
28. November 14, 2004. A marine from the 1st division carries his lucky mascot in a backpack on my back. His detachment is moving further and further into the western part of Fallujah. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
29. Five-year-old Samar Hassan cries for her parents killed by Americans from the 25th Infantry Division. Soldiers patrolling the street opened fire on the car carrying the Samar family when it unexpectedly and unintentionally jumped out at them at dusk. (Chris Hondros/Getty Images) #
30. David Stibbs, stepfather of the fallen Lance Corporal Ivenor S. Herrera, cries over his stepson's helmet. Herrera died in Iraq last week in a bomb blast. (Preston Utley/Vail Daily)
31 December 30, 2006. In this video broadcast by Iraqi state television, Saddam Hussein's bodyguards, wearing masks, place a noose around the deposed dictator's neck. In a few seconds, Hussein will be executed. Before his execution, he refused to put a sack over his head, and clutched the Koran until he ascended the scaffold in the wee hours. Thus, the compatriots took revenge on the tyrant for a quarter of a century of cruel rule that cost the lives of thousands of people and dragged Iraq into devastating wars with Iran and the United States. (AP Photo/IRAQI TV, HO)
34. During the patrol, the Marines are trying to catch a loose calf. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
35. Mary McHugh mourns her murdered fiancé, Sergeant James Regan. Paratrooper Regan was killed in Iraq by an improvised explosive device in February of this year. Sector 60 - new area a large cemetery in Washington - became the last refuge of hundreds of American soldiers killed in Afghanistan. (John Moore/Getty Images)
36. Andrea Castillo hugs his father, Sergeant Guillermo Castillo. Guillermo was crippled by an improvised explosive device. Twenty U.S. military personnel were awarded the Purple Heart medal for their injuries during the War on Terror. (Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)
March 20, 2003, the combined forces of the United States and the anti-Iraq coalition. Official Washington originally called the military operation in Iraq "Shock and Awe." Then the operation was called "Iraqi Freedom" (Iraqi Freedom, OIF). Official Baghdad called the war "Kharb al-Hawasim" - "decisive war".
US President George W. Bush made an address on television and announced the start of a military operation against Iraq.
The United States stated that the decision to apply military force 45 states of the world support against Iraq. 15 of them do not officially announce this, but are ready to provide their airspace for strikes against Iraq.
With April 8 organized resistance from the Iraqi forces virtually ceased.
April 14, 2003 with the capture of Tikrit - the hometown of Saddam Hussein - the military phase of the operation was completed.
The active phase of the operation lasted only 26 days.
May 1, 2003 President George W. Bush announced the end of hostilities and the beginning of military occupation.
The end of the OIF did not end the war in Iraq. The destruction of the Iraqi armed forces and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein were only the beginning of a long conflict.
After 2003, Iraq claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.
AT November 2008 the government and parliament of Iraq from Iraq and the regulation of their temporary stay on its territory.
Since the beginning of Barack Obama's presidential term in the winter of 2009, 90,000 troops have been withdrawn from the country; after August 31, 2010, the number of American contingents was less than 50,000 troops.
August 31, 2010 US President Obama delivered an address to the nation, in which the military operation in Iraq.
December 15, 2011 A solemn ceremony was held near Baghdad to mark the withdrawal of the US military from Iraq and the formal end of the war in that country. During the ceremony, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta lowered the flag of the American contingent in Iraq, which is symbolic.
In Operation Iraqi Freedom, the largest contingents were in Great Britain (up to 45 thousand people), Italy (up to 3.2 thousand people), Poland (up to 2.5 thousand people), Georgia (up to 2 thousand) and Australia (up to 2 thousand).
The maximum number of the US military contingent in Iraq reached 170,000 people.
In total, during the war in Iraq (data at the end of 2012), the military losses of the coalition forces amounted to more than 4.8 thousand people. Killed 4.486 thousands of US troops, 179 British troops, 139 troops from 21 countries.
Reports of casualties among Iraqis vary. American media give different numbers total losses Iraq in the war: from 100 to 300 thousand people, including the civilian population. However, according to the data World Organization health care, only in the period from 2003 to 2006, from 150 to 223 thousand Iraqis became victims of the war.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources
Information storm. For 12 years of permanent war in the Middle East, changes have taken place in the world. An icy wind of problems has blown into the West, the essence of which has not yet been fully explored. The White House, accustomed to coping with difficulties at the expense of others, has met new trends fully armed. There was an opportunity to quickly launch mobilization mechanisms insuring the exclusive position of the United States in the world political and economic hierarchy. Among them, perhaps the main place was occupied by the opportunity to realize the special situation in the Persian Gulf, filling the spirit and letter of Article 4 of the Atlantic Charter with a new sound. "Information noise" around Iraq at the beginning of the XXI century. intensified sharply.
The absolutely secular regime of Hussein, within the framework of the new information campaign, was tied to the activities of Islamic extremist groups that organized the “September 2001 terrorist attack.” in NYC. The new American administration in Washington, in need of funds to overcome the consequences of the "golden age of Clinton", realized the emerging opportunities for expansion, covered by the information curtain of the antiterrorist struggle, almost perfectly. “Ideal”, since the resource dominance of the United States was ensured in terms of the oil reserves of the planet. “Almost”, since the American project turned out to be too shamelessly transparent.
This time, the most serious partners avoided a total information defeat and tried to counteract the American aspirations to extract cheap oil - for themselves, and expensive - for everyone else. In vain. The Americans, ignoring the opinion of the three members of the UN Security Council and the largest European power that does not have this status, decided to achieve their goal on their own. Iraq was required to hand over weapons of mass destruction, which were searched for 12 years without result by international control groups. Apparently there was nothing to show. But the United States, having enlisted a competent analysis of its own intelligence, decided not to turn off the slippery path of paragraph 4.
Start. The second Gulf War began at 5:30 am on March 20, 2003. American army began to find out what consequences 12 years of a half-starved, impoverished existence have for the people. From the Yankees' point of view, there was no resistance. The closed talks between the conflicting parties were apparently intended to persuade the Iraqi leadership to capitulate for personal gain. There is reason to believe that the US CIA was consulting with a number of officials and senior military officials of the enemy long before the escalation of tension. Part of the action, apparently, was crowned with success, allowing to split the national elite of Iraq, which ruled out vigorous resistance.
The fighting was opened with great haste before the expiration of the ultimatum. A pair of F-117 stealths were pointed at one of the houses in Baghdad, where, according to the CIA, Saddam was located. Judging by his subsequent televised address and the current alleged stay in American captivity, the dictator survived. This time there was no aviation training phase. The ground forces of the US and Great Britain began the operation immediately after pinpoint strikes on government and military facilities in Iraq. It must be assumed that resistance was not expected.
Armament and number of parties. Operation Iraqi Freedom had a semi-adventurous character at the first stage. The shortcomings in its preparation include a hitch with the creation of the "Northern Front", caused by Turkey's refusal to allow American-British troops into its territory. As well as the unwillingness to carry out the concentration of all available combat contingents, as a result of which the grouping, initially numbering about 300 thousand conditional bayonets, 750 tanks, 600 artillery pieces, over 2 thousand combat aircraft and helicopters, had to be urgently replenished. In addition to the above, there were more than 60 warships in the bay, including aircraft carriers and carriers of cruise missiles. The number of troops involved did not provide the usual superiority over ground forces enemy, which included 320 thousand people, 5900 armored vehicles, 4500 guns and mortars, 330 aircraft, besides them, Iraq still had 40 OTP launchers.
The mode of action chosen by the Iraqi Armed Forces was significantly different from that adopted in 1991. The troops were chosen as strongholds big cities. Probably, the idea of countermeasures was to impose on the enemy the most difficult type of fighting within the city. The ultimate goal was not to defeat the enemy, but to achieve an unacceptable high for public opinion US and England level losses. The inevitable losses of their own civilians were either not taken into account, or were considered deliberately moderate due to the enemy's stake on high-precision weapons.
The coalition neutralized the possible informational effect of the increase in losses by reducing media coverage of the fighting more than ever.
The nature of the battles of the first period. The first phase of the fighting, with a minimum of available facts, can be assessed as sobering for the American-British. Stubborn actions were carried out in the area of the cities of Basra, Umm-Qasr, An-Nasiriya and others. Fragmentary data from news agencies were strange and contradictory. An example of this is the dense and impenetrable encirclement of Basra and Umm Qasr, ascertained during the first week of fighting. The end of March was marked, according to the press center of the coalition headquarters, by the withdrawal of the 51st Iraqi division from its positions in Umm Qasr to Basra. How the "defeated" division managed to overcome two "dense rings" was not reported.
The coalition had problems with coordination of actions, the British constantly complained about the "friendly fire", but the Americans also fell on it. For example, on March 27, a pair of US Air Force A-10 attack aircraft attacked their own armored column. Pilots demonstrated high skill. A tank and 4 armored vehicles were destroyed. As a rule, such incidents indicate improvisations in the planning of operations.
Mysteries of Baghdad. Between March 20 and April 6, information about the coalition's victories was not supported by evidence such as video footage. The reports were chaotic. A scandalous sensation was the statement by the Americans about high losses in tanks, which was explained by the presence of modern Russian ATGM "Kornet" among the Iraqis. This indirectly confirmed the fact of intense resistance, losses, and so on. Samples of the Russian system were not presented. The course of events, which did not give reasons for optimism, was interrupted on April 9, when the Americans "broke" into Baghdad. The term used by the media is obviously not entirely correct. The Americans "stopped" in the capital of Iraq. The city was not ready for defense. This is indicated by the absence of even such an elementary measure as the destruction of bridges and other strategic facilities. The troops allocated for the defense of Baghdad were not taken prisoner, but "crumbled". Which suggests the idea of a complete paralysis of power and cooperation of some military leaders with the enemy. During this period, there were no intensive actions, but for the first time the number of prisoners began to appear in the reports.
Briefly evaluating the war, the following conditional points can be distinguished. As long as the power vertical existed, the Iraqi Armed Forces resisted as best they could, and, obviously, not even without success. When the military-political hierarchy ceased to exist, the fighting gradually ceased. From which it follows that despite 13 years of bitter information war and enormous hardships, only the national elite, but not the people of Iraq, turned out to be vulnerable to total impact.
Losses. The most likely American losses are: 487 killed, 131 missing, 118 tanks, 170 infantry fighting vehicles, 15 aircraft, 22 helicopters. About Iraqi casualties the world was not informed, but they, most likely, are just beginning, as, indeed, are the American ones.
It is still difficult to say how enriched military art is. The fact that a “well-fed” army, with military equipment superior to the enemy, has a high chance of winning, has been known to the world for a long time. precision weapons again demonstrated its capabilities, but at the same time, for the first time, even among Western experts, doubts arose that the WTO was able to solve all the tasks that arose in the course of combat activities. In short, the strong and the rich have defeated the weak and the poor.
"Brotherly Fire" Interesting details two. The true scourge of the coalition was "fraternal fire", the British tirelessly complained about the allies, scorching no one knows where. In principle, this phenomenon is common, but given the short duration and low intensity of hostilities, this time all records were broken. In general, the bewilderment of the British raises doubts that they have ever turned to their own historical experience of cooperation with the Yankees. Meanwhile, their grandfathers in World War II already went through all this. The vast majority of British tanks in areas where they had to operate with the Americans carried a very peculiar camouflage. Wherever possible, large white stars were applied so as not to become a victim of an ally. British military memoirs are full of references to the fact that the Yankees "fire" anywhere and at anyone.
There are interesting examples, we will reveal one. In December 1944, the Germans carefully prepared for a counterattack in the Ardennes. The famous Nazi saboteur Otto Skorzeny formed a special brigade on captured equipment with required knowledge in English for personnel. The brigade was supposed to operate in the operational rear of the allies. However, the insidious saboteur Skorzeny built his intrigues in vain. The armored column he formed, consisting of two American M-10 self-propelled guns and four Panthers, carefully disguised as similar vehicles, failed to complete the task.
The attempts of the column to get through the outposts of the 120th American division were discovered by Private Francis Curray. The brave Yankee, despite the clearly distinguishable stars and the familiar silhouettes of American self-propelled guns, set fire to the M-10 front line with a bazooka. The Nazis, thinking that they had been discovered, entered the battle, and the column was destroyed. Currey received the Congressional Medal. If it weren’t for the big white stars on the sides of the Nazi vehicles, one might have thought that the ordinary intuitively understood the danger, but the stars and self-propelled guns were the most real. Therefore, the feat of Kurrey is most likely the result of haste and the peremptory belief in the rightness characteristic of the Americans, which does not require reasoning and explanation. Although in 1945 this approach served the only good service. So there is nothing to be surprised by the British.
Failures in WTO systems. The second sensation of the 2003 war was massive failures in WTO systems. The NAVSTAR satellite navigation did not work, the Tomahawks sent to the city of Ann Nasiriya flew to Turkey and, probably, more than once. An analysis of what is happening made it possible to reveal the cause of frequent failures of complex electronics. According to the coalition command, they were caused by Russian passive jammers, simple and cheap, but obviously incredibly effective and capable of many times reducing the combat capability of the army, which relies on the "golden" weapons of the WTO. Such small boxes, and what things they do.
The author believes that Russia has nothing to do with their deliveries to Iraq, but at the same time he hopes that they were made in our country, since it is somehow calmer in the current world. It is too early to draw geopolitical conclusions from another Iraqi war. In March 2003, the implementation of the 4th paragraph of the Atlantic Charter began. The United States, having directly declared its desire to independently manage the occupied Iraq, entered into a new quality, combining the functions of the largest oil consumer and, at the same time, a seller. There is a return to the old methods of administrative colonialism, in other words, robbery without the screen of exclusively economic participation. The impact of such changes is enormous and difficult to predict. One thing is clear, it will not be good for anyone except the Americans. However, where is the guarantee that Mesopotamia will not become the site of a new, so far unpredictable, bifurcation? The Americans have less experience in administration than the British and they clearly lack tact. And the region, as it is clear from the above, is the most important for civilization, and "the east is a delicate matter." Wait and see.
While this edition was being prepared for printing, several months passed. During this time, the forecasts of analysts who assumed that the cessation of the war would not follow after the defeat of statehood in Iraq were fully confirmed. Throughout 2004, the losses of the occupying forces did not decrease at all, but only grew. The control of the allied forces over the territory of the conquered country turned out to be a fiction. Oil was by no means cheaper in 2004 either, and the astounding rise in prices for "ground oil" is the best proof of the fiasco of American policy in the region. There is a dead end, the way out of which is still unknown, even approximately.