IRAQ WAR

IRAQ

Background History

POPULATION: 24 million CAPITAL: Baghdad LANGUAGE: Arabic, Kurdish RELIGION: Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims,

Christian ETHNIC GROUPS: Arabs 72%, Kurds 23%,

5% other smaller groups

Key Figures

Saddam Hussein 5th President of Iraq

1979-2003 George W. Bush

43rd U.S. President 2001-2009

Tony Blair Prime Minister of

United Kingdom 1997-2007

America Moves Towards War

America is attacked on Sept 11, 2001

October 7th, 2001 Operation Enduring Freedom is launched in Afghanistan

Bush calls Iraq a member of the “axis of evil”

He believed Iraq was manufacturing weapons of mass destruction

Start of Operation Iraqi Freedom

www.americanrhetoric.com March 21, 2003

Coalition forces streamed into southern Iraq while a massive aerial assault was launched against the capital city of Baghdad known as “Shock and Awe”

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Operation Iraqi Freedom

The Aftermath U.S. takes enters Baghdad on

April 9, 2003 and pushes out Iraqi government

Looting and lawlessness becomes widespread, WHY?

America did not have enough troops to properly police the country.

Supporters of Saddam begin to attack power stations, oil pipelines and bridges in the hopes of trying to sabotage the American effort in Iraq.

Coalition forces become targets for suicide bombers.

Why are the Iraqi people responding this way?

Why Iraq?

Believed that Iraq had a connection to Al-Qaeda.

Iraq posed a threat to our national security.

Believed that Iraq was producing or stock piling weapons of mass destruction.

What other reasons do you think made us decide to invade Iraq?

What are we fighting for?

Disarmament End Saddam Hussein’s support of Terror End a regime and free the Iraqi people Train Iraqi forces Advance democracy Defeat terrorism in Iraq

Our mission has changed over the past seven years, what do you think we have been fighting for?

Casualties of War

KILLED WOUNDED

4,282 killed 30,182 wounded

Iraqi Casualties

Between 77,000 and 90,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed

Between 120,000 and 150,000 civilians have been wounded.

Iraq Today

A dire humanitarian crisis 4.5 million refugees, 2.8 million internal ones Lack of clean water, electricity, sanitation, and

health care are things that Iraqi citizens have to live with daily

4 year long drought plagues most of Iraq Cancer rises in population, believed to be the

result of “more that 1,700 tons of depleted uranium” used during the different bombing raids

Toxic wasteland War and pollution have reeked havoc on Iraq’s

ecosystems

Iraq Today

In 2005, Iraq held elections were they selected a new constitution and the first democratically elected government.

Iraqi government has grown in strength as well as their military and police force.

Violence has gone down created some desperately needed stability for the country.

2010 America ends it’s military mission in Iraq