Iraq History Timeline

American neoconservatives issue their Project for a New American Century calling for, among other things, the overthrow of Saddam.( 4)

At his first high-level National Security Council George W. Bush lists getting rid of Saddam Hussein as one of his key objectives.( 4)

Britain, US carry out bombing raids to try to disable Iraq's air defence network. The bombings have little international support. [5]

Saddam's son Qusay elected to the leadership of the ruling Baath Party, fuelling speculation that he's being groomed to succeed his father. [5]

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaeda, Pres Bush instructs aides to search for links with Saddam Hussein. Over the following days, without evidence of such ties, Bush and other administration officials push for moves against the Iraqi dictator.( 4)

Donald Rumsfeld instructs General Tommy Franks prepare plans to attack Saddam.( 4)

President Bush declares Iraq, Iran, and North Korea an "Axis of Evil."( 4)

The president and top aides make clear in private remarks that Bush is determined to attack Iraq.( 4)

Baghdad suspends oil exports to protest against Israeli incursions into Palestinian territories. Despite calls by Saddam Hussein, no other Arab countries follow suit. Exports resume after 30 days. [5]

President Bush declares that the US has the right to preemptive attack to protect its national security.( 4)

A memo by the British intelligence chief reports that Bush seems resolved to take military action against Iraq, and that "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."( 4)

A series of speeches and leaks by administration officials lay the groundwork for the invasion of Iraq begins with Vice President Cheney's warning that Saddam could subject the U.S. to nuclear blackmail.( 4)

US President George W Bush tells sceptical world leaders at a UN General Assembly session to confront the "grave and gathering danger" of Iraq - or stand aside as the US acts. In the same month British Prime Minister Tony Blair publishes a dossier on Iraq's military capability. [5] President Bush declares, "You can't distinguish Al-Qaeda and Saddam." Donald Rumsfeld claims "bulletproof" evidence of a connection between the two.( 4)

The CIA issues a classified National Intelligence Estimate Iraq that makes alarming claims, downplaying the strong reservations of many in the intelligence community. On October 10, the U.S. House of Representatives empowers the president to use armed force in Iraq; the Senate follows the next day. The White House attempts  Squelch a report that North Korea is insisting on its right to develop nuclear weapons.( 4)

UN weapons inspectors return to Iraq backed by a UN resolution which threatens serious consequences if Iraq is in "material breach" of its terms. [5] Saddam agrees to accept UNMOVIC weapons inspectors into Iraq. On November 8, the U.N. Security Council [11] resolves that if Saddam continues to violate his obligations to get rid of his WMD, he would face "serious consequences."( 4)

CIA Director George Tenet reassures the president and his top aides that the case against Saddam Hussein is "a slam dunk."( 4)

HansBlix, Chief U.N. Weapons Inspector, delivers a mildly optimistic interim report to the UN, stating that UNMOVIC inspectors had uncovered no new WMD or production sites. Mohammed El Baradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in a similar tone, expresses the hope that the IAEA could wind up work within next few months. In his state of the union address, President Bush repeats the discredited charge that Saddam recently tried to buy uranium in Africa.( 4)

Secretary of State Colin Powell presents to the Security Council the U.S. case that Saddam's WMD pose a dangerous threat. Most charges cited by Powell later turn out to be false. March-President Bush declares he has ordered military action against Iraq. On March 19 (March 20 in Iraq), the U.S.-led "Coali­tion of the Willing" attacks.( 4)

Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix reports that Iraq has accelerated its cooperation but says inspectors need more time to verify Iraq's compliance. [5]

UK's ambassador to the UN says the diplomatic process on Iraq has ended; arms inspectors evacuate; US President George W Bush gives Saddam Hussein and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq or face war. [5]

American missiles hit targets in Baghdad, marking the start of a US-led campaign to topple Saddam Hussein. In the following days US and British ground troops enter Iraq from the south. [5]

US forces advance into central Baghdad. Saddam Hussein's grip on the city is broken. In the following days Kurdish fighters and US forces take control of the northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul. There is looting in Baghdad and elsewhere. [5]. Looting is rampant.( 4)

Damage to the National Museum of Iraq occurs in war related activities. Much controversy ensues over who is responsible for, and over the extent of the damage. Link. Link. Link. Link. Link.

Iraqi National Museum Deputy Director Muhsin Hasan inside the museum April 13, 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq. Looting also happened. See image at right.

Jake Garner arrives in Baghdad to head the interim American administration. Secretary Rumsfeld's representative on the team, Larry Di Rita, announces that all but 25,000 American troops will have withdrawn by September 2003 [4]. US lists 55 most-wanted members of former regime in the form of a deck of cards. Former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz is taken into custody. [5]

UN Security Council backs US-led administration in Iraq and lifts economic sanctions. US administrator abolishes Baath Party and institutions of former regime. [5] President Bush declares "mission accomplished." Garner is replaced by Paul Bremer, who takes charge of the Coalition Provisional Authority. As looting continues, Bremer disbands the Iraqi army and dismisses 35,000 government employees because of Baath party membership.( 4)

U.S.- selected twenty-five-member Governing Council of prominent Iraqis takes office( 4), and meets for first time. Commander of US forces says his troops face low-intensity guerrilla-style war. Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay killed in gun battle in Mosul. [5] Insurgency intensifies.

Deadly bomb attacks on Jordanian embassy and UN HQ in Baghdad. Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, or Chemical Ali, captured. Car bomb in Najaf kills 125 including Shia leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim. [5]   The truck bomb explodes outside United Nations offices in Baghdad, killing twenty-two people, including Sergio Vieira de Mello, top U.N. envoy in Iraq. The frequency of insurgent attacks escalates.( 4)

Saddam Hussein captured in Tikrit. [5]

More than 100 killed in Irbil in suicide attacks on offices of main Kurdish factions. [5]

Suicide bombers attack Shia festival-goers in Karbala and Baghdad, killing 140 people. [5] The Iraqi Governing Council signs an interim constitution. Marines attempt to retake the Sunni city of Fallujah after angry mobs kill four American private security guards.( 4)

Shia militias loyal to radical cleric Moqtada Sadr take on coalition forces. Hundreds are reported killed in fighting during the month-long US military siege of the Sunni Muslim city of Falluja. Photographic evidence emerges of abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US troops. [5] Pictures of the mistreatment of prisoners by American troops at the Abu Ghraib prison are broadcast around the world.( 4)

US hands sovereignty to interim government headed by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Saddam Hussein transferred to Iraqi legal custody.( 4),[ 5]

Fighting in Najaf between US forces and Shia militia of cleric Moqtada Sadr. [5] Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agrees to withdraw his militia from the holy city of Najaf after three weeks of heavy fighting with U.S. and Iraqi troops.  Ten months after Congress authorized $18-4 billion dollars for reconstruction in Iraq, only $400 million has been spent.( 4)

The top U.S. arms inspector finds no evidence that Saddam's regime produced any weapons of mass destruction after 1991.( 4)

Major US-led offensive against insurgents in Falluja. [5]

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden urges Iraqis to boycott the coming election and names Abu Musab al-Zarqawi his deputy in Iraq. Thousands of Iraqis are fleeing the country to escape increasingly random violence.( 4)

An estimated eight million people vote in elections for a Transitional National Assembly. The Shia United Iraqi Alliance wins a majority of assembly seats. Kurdish parties come second. [5] Iraqis elect a 27 5-seat National Assembly. A Shiite dominated coalition wins 48 percent of the votes, a Kurdish alliance garners 26 percent. Most Sunni Arabs boycott voting.( 4)

At least 114 people are killed by a massive car bomb in Hilla (in a crowd of Iraqi police and army recruits), south of Baghdad. It is the worst (killing 125 people) single such incident since the US-led invasion.( 4),[ 5]

Iraq's National Assembly convenes.( 4)

Amid escalating violence, parliament selects Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani as president. Ibrahim Jaafari, a  Shiite, is named as prime minister.  With Shiite and a Sunni Arabs as vice presidents. .( 4),[ 5] Reports charge that the Shiites are packing the interior ministry with their own militias.( 4)

Surge in car bombings, bomb explosions and shootings: Iraqi ministries put the civilian death toll for May at 672, up from 364 in April. [5]

Massoud Barzani is sworn in as regional president of Iraqi Kurdistan.[5]

Study compiled by the non-governmental Iraq Body Count organisation estimates that nearly 25,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed since the 2003 US-led invasion.[5] First criminal case filed against Saddam Hussein for killing 148 Shiite villagers after a 1982 assassination attempt against the dictator.( 4)

Draft constitution is endorsed by Shia and Kurdish negotiators, but not by Sunni representatives. [5] Iraq's Constitutional Committee signs a draft charter after protracted negotiations and over the objections of many Sunni Arab leaders.[4] More than 1,000 people are killed during a stampede at a Shia ceremony in Baghdad. [5]

182 people are killed in attacks in Baghdad, including a car bomb attack on a group of workers in a mainly-Shia district. [5] More than a dozen coordinated bombings rip Baghdad, killing at least 167 people and wounding 57° in the insurgency's deadliest day.( 4)

Saddam Hussein goes on trial on charges of crimes against humanity. Voters approve a new constitution  in a referendum), which aims to create an Islamic federal democracy.( 4), 5]

Iraqis vote for the first, full-term government and parliament since the US-led invasion. [5] Despite insurgents' threats, Iraqis elect a new parliament, with Shiite parties winning the biggest bloc but not enough to govern without support from other groups.( 4)

Shia-led United Iraqi Alliance emerges as the winner of December's parliamentary elections, but fails to gain an absolute majority.[5]

A bomb attack on an important Shia shrine in Samarra unleashes a wave of sectarian violence in which hundreds of people are killed.( 4),[ 5] Ethnic cleansing is going on in Baghdad and Basra.( 4)

President Bush concedes that, though their levels might be lower, American troops would still be in Iraq in 2009, when a new American president will take office.( 4)

Newly re-elected President Talabani asks Shia compromise candidate Nouri al-Maliki to form a new government. The move ends four months of political deadlock. [5]

A report charges that U.S. marines killed 24 Iraqi civilians in the village of Haditha the previous November. Iraqi leaders demand their own investigation. Iraq's new prime minister, Nuri Kamal alMaliki, takes office.( 4)

An average of more than 100 civilians per day is killed in violence in Iraq, the UN says. [5]

Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is killed in an air strike (by U.S. bombers).( 4),[ 5]

Prime Minister Maliki finally obtains parliamentary approval for new Ministers of the Interior and Defense, declaring they will purge the ministries of sectarian forces. George Bush makes a surprise six-hour visit to Baghdad to demonstrate U.S. support for the new government, but advises Iraqis that they are ultimately responsible for its success or failure. The first of the trials that Saddam Hussein is to face moves into its final phase.( 4)

United Nations estimates religious and sectarian violence in Iraq is now killing one hundred a day.( 4)

The second trial of Saddam convenes, charging him with committing genocide against the Kurds.( 4)

A much-anticipated ceremony to transfer operational command from US-led forces to Iraq's new army is postponed. [5]

Saddam Hussein is found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death. Iraq and Syria restore diplomatic relations after nearly a quarter century. More than 200 die in car bombings in the mostly Shia area of Sadr City in Baghdad. An indefinite curfew is imposed after what is considered the worst attack on the capital since the US-led invasion of 2003. [5]

Iraq Study Group report making recommendations to President Bush on future policy in Iraq describes the situation as grave and deteriorating. It warns of the prospect of a slide towards chaos, triggering the collapse of the government and a humanitarian catastrophe. [5]

Saddam Hussein is executed by hanging. [5]

US President Bush announces a new Iraq strategy; thousands more US troops will be dispatched to shore up security in Baghdad. [5]
Barzan Ibrahim - Saddam Hussein's half-brother - and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former head of the Revolutionary Court, are executed by hanging. [5]
UN says more than 34,000 civilians were killed in violence during 2006; the figure surpasses official Iraqi estimates threefold. [5]

A bomb in Baghdad's Sadriya market kills more than 130 people. It is the worst single bombing since 2003. [5]

Insurgents detonate three trucks with toxic chlorine gas in Falluja and Ramadi, injuring hundreds. [5]
Former Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan is executed on the fourth anniversary of the US-led invasion. [5]

A bomb blast rocks parliament, killing an MP. [5]

Prime Minister Maliki orders crackdown on militia in Basra, sparking pitched battles with Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army. Hundreds are killed.(25)

The new US embassy in Baghdad - one of the largest and most expensive ever built - is officially opened amid heavy security.(25)(27). Read more at Link.

U.S. Troops Leave Iraq's Cities. Link. This is accompanied by much Western and Sunni fears that Iran's influence in Iraq will be unbridled. Link.

At right U.S. troops do a final patrol in Khan Bani Saad, Iraq, on June 28.