An Introduction
The Second Persian Gulf War, more commonly referred to as the Iraq War, was an extensively long-lasting international armed conflict that found its beginnings on March 20th, 2003, spurred by an invasion carried out by a United States-led coalition with the aims of overthrowing the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict consisted of two phases: a brief, conventionally fought war that had taken place throughout the duration of March 2003 to April 2003, as well as the far longer second phase in which United States forces took it upon themselves to lead an occupation of Iraq, opposed by an insurgency and accompanied by enmity from various parties. A question that can be pondered upon is what exactly the legality of the …show more content…
On October 26, 2005, the United States paid tribute to the 2,000 service members that had been killed in Iraq since the conflict began in 2003. On December 15, 2005, millions of Iraqis would cast their votes to elect a Parliament to a four-year term. Sunni Arabs would turn out in heavy numbers as well as in guerrillas, staging several attacks. The following year, on February 22nd, the golden dome at the Askariya Shrine in Samarra would be shattered by a powerful bomb. It was one of Iraq’s most revered Shiite shrines. This attack would set off a day of sectarian fury in which mobs called out for revenge, attacking dozens of Sunni mosques (New York Times, 2010). April 22nd, 2006. Shiite leaders chose Nuri Kamal al-Maliki as their nominee for Prime Minister; one of their more conservative, outspoken officials. This would open the door for him to become the leader of Iraq’s first full-term government since Saddam Hussein (New York Times, 2010). Over in the United States, the Republican Party had recently suffered a sweeping defeat in the 2006 midterm congressional elections. On November 8, 2006, the then President Bush accepted the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who had been harshly criticized for leadership failures that had contributed to an environment in which the detainees being held at Abu Ghraib prison and other facilities were abused (New York Times, 2010). On December 30th of the same year, Saddam Hussein would be hanged. The next day, the number of American military casualties in Iraq reached the somber milestone of 3,000. This number would reach 4,000 in 2008 (New York Times, 2010). On
The Second Persian Gulf War, more commonly referred to as the Iraq War, was an extensively long-lasting international armed conflict that found its beginnings on March 20th, 2003, spurred by an invasion carried out by a United States-led coalition with the aims of overthrowing the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict consisted of two phases: a brief, conventionally fought war that had taken place throughout the duration of March 2003 to April 2003, as well as the far longer second phase in which United States forces took it upon themselves to lead an occupation of Iraq, opposed by an insurgency and accompanied by enmity from various parties. A question that can be pondered upon is what exactly the legality of the …show more content…
On October 26, 2005, the United States paid tribute to the 2,000 service members that had been killed in Iraq since the conflict began in 2003. On December 15, 2005, millions of Iraqis would cast their votes to elect a Parliament to a four-year term. Sunni Arabs would turn out in heavy numbers as well as in guerrillas, staging several attacks. The following year, on February 22nd, the golden dome at the Askariya Shrine in Samarra would be shattered by a powerful bomb. It was one of Iraq’s most revered Shiite shrines. This attack would set off a day of sectarian fury in which mobs called out for revenge, attacking dozens of Sunni mosques (New York Times, 2010). April 22nd, 2006. Shiite leaders chose Nuri Kamal al-Maliki as their nominee for Prime Minister; one of their more conservative, outspoken officials. This would open the door for him to become the leader of Iraq’s first full-term government since Saddam Hussein (New York Times, 2010). Over in the United States, the Republican Party had recently suffered a sweeping defeat in the 2006 midterm congressional elections. On November 8, 2006, the then President Bush accepted the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who had been harshly criticized for leadership failures that had contributed to an environment in which the detainees being held at Abu Ghraib prison and other facilities were abused (New York Times, 2010). On December 30th of the same year, Saddam Hussein would be hanged. The next day, the number of American military casualties in Iraq reached the somber milestone of 3,000. This number would reach 4,000 in 2008 (New York Times, 2010). On