The Time
by Kylie Holland and Jordan Wilkinson
The Iraq War
Second Persian Gulf War
Iraq War, also called Second Persian Gulf War, (2003–11), conflict in Iraq that consisted of two phases. The first of these was a brief, conventionally fought war in March–April 2003, in which a combined force of troops from the United States and Great Britain (with smaller contingents from several other countries) invaded Iraq and rapidly defeated Iraqi military and paramilitary forces. It was followed by a longer second phase in which a U.S.-led occupation of Iraq was opposed by an insurgency. After violence began to decline in 2007, the United States gradually reduced its military presence in Iraq, formally completing its withdrawal in December 2011. (Insert from http://www.britannica.com/event/Iraq-War)
NUmber of Troops
Our Opinion
Violence
Violence in Iraq has swelled and ebbed since the U.S. invasion in 2003. The civilian toll of the war averaged around 13,000 deaths each year from 2003 through 2005, but as the country was convulsed by insurgency and civil war, casualties skyrocketed to nearly 30,000 civilian deaths in 2006, according to Iraq Body Count, a British-based NGO that runs an online database of civilian deaths. Those numbers tapered off as the U.S. military and Iraqi government co-opted insurgents during the Anbar Awakening and surged forces to restive areas, and in 2010 the figure reached a low of 4,110 civilian mdeaths. From 2010 through 2012, even after the withdrawal of U.S. forces in Dec. 2011, civilian casualties hovered around 4,000 deaths each year. But, with a sharp spike in attacks since Spring 2013, that lull has ended. Iraq Body Count noted in its 2013 end-of-year review that “while 1,900 civilians were killed between October 2012 and March 2013, 6,300 were killed between April and October 2013.” (Insert from http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/02/10/the-iraq-war-never-ended/)
iolence in Iraq has swelled and ebbed since the U.S. invasion in 2003. The civilian toll of the war averaged around 13,000 deaths each year from 2003 through 2005, but as the country was convulsed by insurgency and civil war, casualties skyrocketed to nearly 30,000 civilian deaths in 2006, according to Iraq Body Count, a British-based NGO that runs an online database of civilian deaths. Those numbers tapered off as the U.S. military and Iraqi government co-opted insurgents during the Anbar Awakening and surged forces to restive areas, and in 2010 the figure reached a low of 4,110 civilian mdeaths. From 2010 through 2012, even after the withdrawal of U.S. forces in Dec. 2011, civilian casualties hovered around 4,000 deaths each year. But, with a sharp spike in attacks since Spring 2013, that lull has ended. Iraq Body Count noted in its 2013 end-of-year review that “while 1,900 civilians were killed between October 2012 and March 2013, 6,300 were killed between April and October 2013.” (Insert from http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/02/10/the-iraq-war-never-ended/)