IRAQ WAR

Occupation of Iraq Continues

The occupation of Iraq continues as of the time of this writing, and there is still no end in sight. There have been some positive and encouraging signs since June 2004, such as the formal handover of power from the U.S. to the Iraqi government and successful free elections being carried out. However, the successes of the past year have been marred by continued fighting, insurgent attacks, and other setbacks to the goal of a free, independent, stable, and self-supporting Iraq.

As of June 1, 2005, there had been 1,670 U.S. and 185 coalition soldiers killed in Iraq, with an unknown number of deaths among Iraqi soldiers, police, and civilians. Estimates of Iraqi civilian casualties run from a minimum of 10,000, according to the Brookings Institute, to more than 100,000, as reported by The Lancet, which factored in deaths from indirect causes such as lack of medical supplies, inadequate sanitation, and infrastructure failures. Of the Iraqi civilian casualties, it is estimated that 40 percent of them are children. Of the American military casualties, more than 85 percent have now occurred since President Bush announced the end of major ground operations on May 1, 2003.

June 28, 2004, saw the official end of the occupation, with the handover of governmental authority from the occupying forces to the new Iraqi interim government, headed by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. The handover was conducted two days ahead of schedule, and in a secret location, in order to deter insurgent attacks.

The insurgency has been a major problem for coalition forces. The insurgents are fairly well-organized and boast numbers greater than original U.S. military estimates (somewhere in the range of 20,000 to 50,000). The number is unknown mainly because the overall composition of the insurgent force, and their origins, are not well-understood. It is known that the insurgents are composed of Ba'athists who are loyal to Saddam Hussein; Sunni Muslims who are angry at the Shi'ite-controlled government; religious radicals; members of Al-Qaeda; volunteers from other neighboring countries; and a sprinkling of mercenaries. The amount of support that the insurgency receives, if any, from neighboring countries has been a subject of much rhetoric and diplomatic tension, but hard data are either unknown or have not been disclosed to the media.

In the past year, the insurgents have been responsible for guerilla actions in the form of constant roadside and car bombings, assassinations of government officials, and sabotage of infrastructure. They also have been responsible for conventional military attacks and have managed to seize police stations and entire towns. When coalition forces counterattack, the insurgents are often able to melt into the population. Only determined questioning and exhaustive house-to-house searches yield success. All-out assaults by coalition forces have brought mixed results, as the number of civilian casualties is often high. Such was the case in 2004, with assaults on the cities of Najaf and Fallujah, which have been major bases of insurgent activity.

On August 7, coalition forces attacked Najaf and the insurgent forces led by rebel Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The insurgents suffered heavy casualties in the initial attack but held out for almost three weeks. During that time, an unknown number of civilians were also killed—several hundred, by some estimates, although the military disputed this figure. Al-Sadr's forces were driven back and eventually holed up in the Iman Ali mosque. On August 27, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani intervened and negotiated a solution. Najaf and the neighboring city of Kufa were declared demilitarized zones, off-limits to coalition forces and insurgents.

On September 7, the U.S. military announced the 1,000th casualty of the war.

Insurgent attacks on infrastructure on September 13 knocked out electrical power to most of Iraq, showing the vulnerability of Iraq's fragile infrastructure.

Two days later, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan declared the war in Iraq illegal and in violation of the U.N. Charter. The U.S., United Kingdom, and Australia issued strong rebuttals to Annan's declaration, but much of the world's opinion was aligned with the U.N.

On October 7, a sign of hope appeared. Muqtada al-Sadr's top aide announced that, as part of a peace gesture, militia members under their control would give up their weapons.

On October 25, the U.S. military suffered an embarrassment when it was discovered that 380 tons of highly explosive material were missing from a former Iraqi military base. Somehow, the explosive material had been snatched right from under the military's guard. This incident became a political issue in the U.S., seized upon by the Kerry campaign in its unsuccessful attempt to unseat President George W. Bush in the 2004 elections.

On November 7, a major campaign began in Fallujah, a city of 300,000 and the site of previous anti-insurgent action by coalition forces. This assault dwarfed previous efforts, involving up to 10,000 U.S. troops. By the end of the year, an estimated 80 percent of the civilian population had fled the city.

More hopeful news came in late November, as the interim government of Iraq announced that free, nationwide elections would be held on January 30, 2005.

On December 1, in response to continuing insurgent violence, the U.S. announced that it would increase troop levels to 150,000 by the middle of January 2005.

On January 12th, the Bush administration announced that the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq had ended, without any such weapons having been found.

January 27, three days before the first free Iraqi elections in decades, marked the deadliest single day of the war and occupation thus far for U.S. troops. Thirty-one marines were killed in a helicopter crash, and five more soldiers were killed in firefights.

On January 30th, the Iraqi election took place as planned, with an estimated 58 percent of the eligible population voting, including a good showing by expatriates voting in special districts set up in the United States and other countries. Results were not fully tabulated for weeks because of security concerns and poor infrastructure, however. Eventually, it was found that the Shi'ite coalition had gained a plurality , with the Kurdish coalition coming in second and the Sunni a distant third, due primarily to a nearly total boycott of the election by Sunnis. On February 22, Ibrahim al-Jaafari was selected as Prime Minister.

On February 28, the deadliest car bombing during the occupation occurred at a police station in Hilla, when a car exploded in the midst of crowds of people who had hoped to sign up with the Iraqi police forces. The attack killed 125 people.

On March 4, a distressing miscommunication resulted in an international incident between the U.S. and one of its chief allies and cast a shadow over what should have been a positive story. Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena had been captured by insurgents the month before, and an Italian delegation had just secured her freedom. Her car was driving toward a U.S. checkpoint when something went wrong. The U.S. claims that soldiers warned the vehicle to stop and that, when it didn't, fired in self-defense; the Italians claim that no warning was given before the U.S. soldiers opened fire. Italian agent Nicola Calipari, who had just won Sgrena's release, was killed as he shielded her with his body. Relations between the two allies soured as a result of the incident, and major new anti-war protests were triggered in Rome.

The hunt continues for the man whom U.S. forces identify as the leader of the insurgency, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Born in Jordan, Zarqawi is currently the most wanted person in Iraq, but his whereabouts are unknown. Rumors have been circulating that he might have been seriously wounded, incapacitated, or even killed by coalition forces, but no confirmation has come to light as of the time of this writing.

March 19 marked two years since the beginning of the invasion. So far, the war has cost over $200 billion, and more money is sure to follow. This vast amount of money equals over $3,500 per household in the U.S. Close to one million troops have been sent to Iraq at some point during the war, and 300,000 of those have served more than one tour of duty. Currently, the military is having difficulty attracting new soldiers, as recruiters have fallen below their quotas for the past several months. Halliburton, the top reconstruction contractor in Iraq, has come under criticism on a variety of issues, including for charging money to the U.S. government for services not delivered; for executives taking excessive kickbacks; and for grossly overcharging for services. Investigations into these issues continue as of the time of this writing.