IRAQ WAR

War fought by a largely Anglo-American force in March and April 2003, leading to the overthrow of the Ba?thist regime of Saddam Hussein and the indefinite occupation of the country by the Americans and the British. The war was preceded by an extended diplomatic crisis over whether or not Iraq was complying with the disarmament regime imposed on it by the United Nations at the end of the Gulf War of 1991. Both the crisis and the war were driven by American claims that Iraq had, in violation of UN resolutions, maintained "stockpiles" of weapons of mass destruction, both chemical and nuclear, and that it was an immediate threat to its neighbors and the United States; that it engaged in proliferation of such weapons to terrorists and "rogue states"; and that it had "ties" to the al-Qa?ida organization of Osama bin Ladin that was responsible for the terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001.

All of these claims proved to be untrue. They generated little credence or support among the world's governments, and the buildup to war during 2002 inspired the largest popular protest demonstrations in history. The claims were refuted by UN arms inspectors before the war, and no evidence could be found to sustain them after Iraq was occupied. The war did fit, however, with the strategic plans of the U.S. administration of George W. Bush, based upon effective American control of Middle East and Central Asian petroleum resources and the strategic needs of its ally, Israel (for which some of the most important American strategic planners have also worked), and had been planned even before Bush took office in 2001. The United States is currently engaged in building no fewer than fourteen permanent bases for its forces to occupy, when and if it is able to overcome the current armed resistance to its presence.

SEE ALSO Bin Ladin, Osama;Bush, George W.;Gulf War (1991);Hussein, Saddam;International Islamic Front.