70 Fun Facts About Iraq War

On what date did the Iraq War begin with the 'shock and awe' bombing campaign?

The US was joined by the UK, Australia and Poland; there was no declaration of war.

What was the US code name for the 2003 invasion of Iraq?

The British called it Operation Telic and the Australians Operation Falconer.

Which US general led the 2003 invasion as commander of Central Command?

He listed eight objectives, beginning with ending Saddam's regime and eliminating WMD.

Which 1998 US law made removing the Iraqi government official American policy?

It provided $97 million for Iraqi opposition groups; Operation Desert Fox followed a month later.

In his 2002 State of the Union, Bush grouped Iraq with which two other countries in an 'Axis of Evil'?

He said the US 'will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons'.

Which 2002 UN Security Council resolution resumed weapons inspections and promised 'serious consequences'?

France and Russia insisted it did not authorize force; Saddam accepted it on 13 November.

Who chaired UNMOVIC, the UN inspection commission that returned to Iraq in late 2002?

ElBaradei ran the IAEA, which found no sign of a revived nuclear program.

Colin Powell's 5 February 2003 UN presentation relied on an Iraqi defector in Germany with what codename?

Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi later admitted his claims were false; German and British intelligence had warned he was untrustworthy.

How long did Bush give Saddam and his sons to leave Iraq in his address three days before the invasion?

The invasion began at 5:34 am Baghdad time on 20 March.

The UK House of Commons approved going to war two days before the invasion by what vote?

The Labour rebellion was the largest against a government since the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846; Robin Cook resigned in protest.

Which German foreign minister told Rumsfeld in Munich in 2003, 'Excuse me, I am not convinced!'?

He warned Americans they would 'have to occupy Iraq for years and years'.

Roughly how many people worldwide protested in the months around the invasion, per Dominique Reynié?

The demonstrations of 15 February 2003 were the largest.

Which US Army chief of staff told the Senate securing Iraq would take 'several hundred thousand soldiers'?

Paul Wolfowitz called the estimate 'way off the mark'.

Which former ambassador's op-ed on the Niger uranium claim led to the outing of his CIA-officer wife?

Scooter Libby was convicted of perjury in the Valerie Plame affair, and Bush commuted his sentence.

Which UN secretary-general said in 2004 that the invasion 'was not in conformity with the UN Charter'?

The 2016 Chilcot Report in Britain later concluded the war was unnecessary.

Which Kurdish force did CIA and JSOC teams organize as the northern front of the invasion?

Together they defeated Ansar al-Islam and uncovered a chemical weapons facility at Sargat.

How many US soldiers took part in the invasion, alongside 45,000 British and 2,000 Australians?

Poland sent 194 special forces soldiers from GROM, and Kurdish militia added upwards of 70,000.

Which Iraqi port did the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Polish GROM attack in the opening days?

British 16 Air Assault Brigade meanwhile secured the southern oil fields.

Which US formation fought through the city where Jessica Lynch was captured to seize its junction?

The 3rd Infantry Division took Talil Airfield and then drove for the Karbala Gap.

Jessica Lynch was captured after her unit, the 507th Maintenance Company, was ambushed in which battle?

The convoy had missed a turn and driven into Iraqi-held territory on 23 March 2003.

What slowed the coalition advance toward Najaf and Karbala in the first weeks of the invasion?

After a halt to secure supply lines, US forces poured through the Karbala Gap toward Baghdad.

On what date did Baghdad fall, ending Saddam's 24-year rule?

Tikrit, Saddam's home town, fell to Task Force Tripoli six days later to close the invasion phase.

In which Baghdad plaza was the giant statue of Saddam pulled down as the city fell?

Marines of 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines arrived after Iraqi civilians began attacking it, near the Palestine Hotel where journalists were staying.

The Pentagon says 250,000 of Iraq's 650,000 short tons of ordnance were looted after the regime fell. What share?

It became a major source of ammunition for the insurgency.

Aboard which aircraft carrier did Bush deliver his 'Mission Accomplished' speech on 1 May 2003?

The ship was a few miles west of San Diego, and he declared an end to major combat operations.

Who headed the Coalition Provisional Authority from May 2003 until it dissolved in June 2004?

His CPA Order 1, issued on his first day, banned Ba'ath Party members from the new government.

What did CPA Order 1, issued on 16 May 2003, do?

Ayad Allawi later criticized the hasty de-Baathification as destabilizing.

A raid by the 101st Airborne on 22 July 2003 killed which two men?

One of Saddam's grandsons died with them.

Which UN envoy was killed in the August 2003 bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad?

Twenty-one other UN staff died in the attack.

What was the code name of the mission that captured Saddam Hussein on 13 December 2003?

It was named after the 1984 film; the search sites were called Wolverine 1 and 2.

Where was Saddam found hiding when he was captured?

An AK-47, a Glock and $750,000 in US bank notes were recovered with him.

How much US cash was recovered from Saddam's spider hole?

The 4th Infantry Division under Raymond Odierno supported the special operations task force.

The Abu Ghraib abuse became public in April 2004 via Seymour Hersh and which TV program?

Charles Graner received 10 years and Lynndie England three; Major General Antonio Taguba led the investigation.

What triggered the First Battle of Fallujah in April 2004?

Photos of the contractors' bodies caused outrage and prompted an unsuccessful 'pacification' of the city.

The US military compared the Second Battle of Fallujah in November 2004 to which Vietnam battle?

It was the bloodiest battle of the war and saw US forces use white phosphorus.

Who became interim prime minister when the CPA transferred sovereignty in June 2004?

He opposed the hasty de-Baathification he inherited.

The 2004 Duelfer Report from the group sent to find WMD concluded what?

The 1,400-member group had been sent to find the weapons that justified the war.

Which Iraqi city's al-Askari Mosque was bombed on 22 February 2006, escalating sectarian violence?

The attack on the Shia shrine pushed the country toward civil war.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in June 2006 near which city?

US forces tracked him to an isolated safehouse about 8 km north of the city.

Saddam Hussein was hanged on 30 December 2006 after conviction for what crime?

The Iraqi Special Tribunal convicted him for the killing of 148 Shi'ites after an assassination attempt.

Who became Iraq's prime minister in 2006 and held the post until 2014?

His government's policies alienated the Sunni minority and worsened sectarian tensions.

How many additional troops did Bush propose in his 10 January 2007 'surge' address?

The plan was developed under the working title 'The New Way Forward'.

Who took command of Multi-National Force – Iraq in February 2007 to run the surge?

He replaced General George Casey and shifted to a counterinsurgency 'hearts and minds' strategy.

The 'Anbar Awakening' was an alliance of what?

US-funded Awakening Councils were credited, along with the surge and al-Sadr's ceasefire, with cutting violence.

Which Shia cleric's August 2007 ceasefire order coincided with the surge's drop in violence?

His Mahdi Army was based in Baghdad's Sadr City.

How many Iraqi civilians did Blackwater guards kill in Baghdad's Nisour Square in 2007?

Four guards were convicted in US federal court in 2014 and pardoned by President Trump in 2020.

What did journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi throw at President Bush in Baghdad in December 2008?

He shouted 'This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog'; the shoes were later destroyed.

What new name did the US mission in Iraq take on 1 September 2010?

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the change in February 2010.

On what date did the last US combat troops leave Iraq?

The embassy kept a staff of over 20,000, plus 4,000-5,000 private contractors.

The 2016 British inquiry that concluded the war was unnecessary is commonly known by what name?

It was broadly critical of the case for war, the tactics and the planning for the aftermath.

Which British prime minister's support for the war helped force his 2007 resignation?

The 9/11 Commission had already found no credible link between Saddam and al-Qaeda in 2004.

Brown University's Watson Institute estimated the war's total cost to the US through 2013 at how much?

Some economists put the long-run cost, including interest and veterans' care, at $3 to $6 trillion by 2053.

How many US military personnel died in combat during the six-week invasion phase?

Britain lost 33; an estimated 9,200 Iraqi combatants and 3,750 non-combatants were killed.

How many war deaths, including 122,000 civilians, did Iraq Body Count's John Sloboda estimate in 2010?

Estimates overall range from 150,000 to over a million deaths.

Which extremist group's emergence after the Iraq War led to the 2013-2017 War in Iraq?

In 2014 the US re-engaged under Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve.

Which US–UK bombing campaign of December 1998 aimed to hamper Iraq's weapons programs?

It came one month after the Iraq Liberation Act passed.

Which two-thirds-Democratic body saw 126 of 209 Democrats vote against the 2002 Iraq Resolution?

In the Senate 29 of 50 Democrats voted for it; Lincoln Chafee was the only Republican senator opposed.

Which former South African president said of Bush in 2003, 'All that he wants is Iraqi oil'?

Pope John Paul II also condemned the intervention, privately telling Bush that violence 'is a blasphemy'.

Which stolen artifact, looted from Iraqi museums after the invasion, was among the most famous?

Muqtada al-Sadr issued a fatwa allowing looting as long as a share went to his movement.

The battle for Baghdad began three days after the 3rd Infantry Division under Buford Blount secured what?

Iraqi planners had destroyed the Diyala River bridges to block US mechanized units.

British forces handed security in Basra to Iraqis after which operation, announced by Blair in 2007?

A British officer later said Basra's murder rate was 'comparable to Manchester'.

What was the British code name for the 2003 invasion of Iraq?

The Australians called their contribution Operation Falconer.

Who briefly headed the Coalition Provisional Authority before Paul Bremer took over in May 2003?

The retired general's appointment lasted only until 11 May 2003.

Which US Army formation carried out Operation Red Dawn, capturing Saddam Hussein in December 2003?

Members of Task Force 121 joined the raid; tips came from Saddam's family and former bodyguards.

Under what code name did Kurdish and US forces defeat Ansar al-Islam before the invasion?

CIA and JSOC teams organised the Peshmerga as the northern front and then defeated the Iraqi army there.

The US military said the Second Battle of Fallujah used what controversial incendiary weapon?

The November 2004 assault was described as the heaviest urban combat since Hue City in Vietnam.

How many newly trained Iraqi soldiers were executed by insurgents in police uniforms on 23 October 2004?

Analysts saw it as evidence that the police and Interior Ministry had been infiltrated.

How many insurgent attacks were recorded in Iraq in 2005, up from 26,496 the previous year?

May 2005 was the bloodiest month since the invasion, driven by suicide bombers.

Which two men co-chaired the bipartisan Iraq Study Group that reported in December 2006?

They concluded that the situation in Iraq was grave and deteriorating.

The deadliest single attack of the war, on 14 August 2007, killed nearly 800 civilians in which settlement?

The coordinated suicide bombings targeted Yazidi villagers in northern Iraq.