Occupation of Iraq timeline
Encyclopedia : O : OC : OCC : Occupation of Iraq timeline
Timeline of events during Multinational force's occupation of Iraq, following 2003 invasion of Iraq, and relevant quotations about nature of occupation from officials.
See also: 2003 Iraq war timeline.
''See also : 2004 in Iraq
Contents
Beginnings
2003
January
February
- "First -- and this is really the overarching principle -- the United States seeks to liberate Iraq, not occupy Iraq . . . If the President should decide to use force, let me assure you again that the United States would be committed to liberating the people of Iraq, not becoming an occupation force".
- Paul Wolfowitz
- [Speech to Iraqi-American Community]
March
- March 20: Beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom with US raids on Baghdad and entrance of US and UK land forces in the South.
- March 26
- "We will help the Iraqi people to find the benefits and assume the duties of self-government. The form of those institutions will arise from Iraq's own culture and its own choices."
- George W. Bush
- [Speech at MacDill AFB]
- "But as soon as possible, we want to have working alongside the commander an interim Iraqi authority, people representing the people of Iraq. And, as that authority grows and gets greater credibility from the people of Iraq, we want to turn over more and more responsibilities to them."
- Colin Powell
- [Press Conference]
April
- "The goal is an Iraq that stands on its own feet and that governs itself in freedom and in unity and with respect for the rights of all its citizens. We'd like to get to that goal as quickly as possible."
- Paul Wolfowitz
- [Interview with 60 Minutes II]
- SECRETARY POWELL: "We are anxious to move quickly now that the day of liberation is drawing near. I don't know when it will happen. But, certainly, we can see what's going to happen in the not-too-distant future, we hope."
- Colin Powell
- [Press Conference]
- April 9: Entrance of the US Army in Baghdad and fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.
- "We want to see a situation where power and responsibility is transferred as quickly as possible to the Iraqis themselves, with as much international assistance as possible ... We have no desire to occupy Iraq..."
- Paul Wolfowitz
- [Testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee]
- "I think what we are so proud of is governments which permit their populace to be involved in a process that provides them freedom, provides them liberty. And I think what we will see in the months and years ahead in Iraq will provide a bit of a model for how that can be done ... because, Tony, it will be the Iraqi people who decide how to do that, and they will do it on their terms."
- Gen. Tommy Franks
- "Soon Iraqis will be able to give us guidance about how to move forward and create an Iraqi interim authority. And that authority will begin to allow Iraqis to have sovereignty over their country and in a way that Iraqis will choose; they will create an Iraqi Government."
- Marc Grossman, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs
May
President George W. Bush declares major combat operations over.Organization of an international force of stabilization.
- "By the middle of (this) month, you'll really see a beginning of a nucleus of an Iraqi government with an Iraqi face on it that is dealing with the coalition."
- Gen. Jay Garner
- May 15 - U.S forces launch Operation Planet X, raiding a village near the towns of Ad Dawr and Al Dur 11 miles south of Tikrit in search of fugitives from the former regime. 260 people were detained, 230 of which were released the next day. Among those captured was Gen. Mahdi Al-Duri Al-Tikrit Adil Abdallah, from the list of most-wanted Iraqi officials. Also captured were two sons of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri and five Special Security Office bodyguards.
- "When Iraqi officials are in a position to shoulder their country's responsibilities, when they have in place the necessary political and other structures to provide food, security and the other necessities, the coalition will have a strong interest in seeing them run their own affairs."
- Douglas Feith, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy
- [Testimony Before the House International Relations Committee]
- "We are interested in the quick creation of an Iraqi interim authority and in Iraq's democracy."
- Marc Grossman, Undersecretary of State
- [Interview with China Phoenix TV]
- "I've read a report in the American press about a delay (in the transitional authority). I don't know where these stories are coming from because we haven't delayed anything."
- L. Paul Bremer
- [Remarks to Press in Mosul]
- "As Thomas Jefferson put it, 'we are not to expect to be translated from despotism to liberty in a featherbed.' It took time and patience, but eventually our Founders got it right -- and we hope so will the people of Iraq -- over time."
- Donald Rumsfeld
June
- In Azamiyah, an eastern neighborhood of Baghdad, about a dozen Iraqi fighters within the Abu Hanifa mosque shoot and toss grenades at soldiers from the U.S. Army's 1st Armored Division. The attacks injure two American soldiers; the return fire kills two Iraqis.
- July 13 The Iraqi Governing Council is established under the authority of the US Coalition Provisional Authority.
- June 15
- *The U.S. military begins Operation Desert Scorpion, a series of raids across Iraq intended to find Iraqi resistance and heavy weapons.
- *Two U.S. military convoys are ambushed north of Baghdad, wounding 10 soldiers and some Iraqi bystanders in a bus nearby.
- *Nine U.S. Soldiers Are Wounded Battling Pockets of Iraqi Resistance [link]
- 11:30 pm: A sniper shoots and kills a soldier riding in a Humvee from the 1st Armored Division's 1st Brigade in Baghdad.
July
- July 22 Uday and Qusay Hussein, Saddam Hussein's sons, are killed in Mosul
August
- Truck bomb kills 19 outside the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad.
September
- September 3 First post-Saddam government.
- September 6
- Gallup poll shows majority of Iraqis expect better life in 5 years. Around two-thirds of Baghdad residents state the Iraqi dictator removal was worth the hardships they've been forced to endure.
October
- David Kay's Iraq Survey Group report finds little evidence of WMD in Iraq, although the regime did intend to develop more weapons with additional capabilities. Such plans and programs appear to have been dormant, the existence of these though were concealed from the United Nations during the inspections that began in 2002. Weapons inspectors in Iraq do find clandestine "network of biological laboratories" and a deadly strain of botulinum. The US-sponsored search for WMD has so far cost $300 million and is projected to cost around $600 million more.
- October 16 UN Security Council issue Resolution 1511 which envisions a multinational force and preserve Washington's quasi absolute control on Iraq.
- Coalition authorities lift a nighttime curfew on Baghdad's 5 million residents that has been in place for six months since the city fell to U.S. forces. The curfew ends in time to accommodate observations of Ramadan. Soon after the beginning of Ramadan, there is a large increase in the rate that American soldiers are killed in Iraq.
November
- In the heaviest single loss for the coalition troops since cessation of the military campaign in Iraq two US Chinook helicopters are fired on by two surface-to-air missiles and one crashes near Fallujah and on its way to Baghdad airport; 16 soldiers are killed and 20 wounded. [link] [link] A blast damages an oil pipeline near Kirkuk, north of Baghdad.
- November 12
- A suicide truck bomb detonates at the Italian military HQ in Nasiriyah, killing 19 Italians (17 of them soldiers) and 14 Iraqis.
- The Governing Council unveils an accelerated timetable for transferring the country to Iraqi control.
- An Airbus A-300 freighter belonging to German courier firm DHL is forced to make an emergency landing with an engine fire, after being struck by a portable shoulder-fired Russian-made SA-14 missile.
- Two car bombs at Iraqi police stations kill more than 18.
- November 26
- UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw makes a brief, unannounced visit.
- U.S. President George W. Bush makes a stealthy Thanksgiving Day visit to Baghdad (the White House having announced that he would be at home with his family) in an attempt to boost morale among the troops and ordinary Iraqis. Bush is accompanied by National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, and he is flown in to Baghdad International Airport aboard Air Force One. [link] [link] [link]
- The US military reports killing 46 militants and wounding 18 in clashes in the central city of Samarra. The reports are later called into question as reporters interview residents of the city. Hospital staff only reports 8 dead - most or all of them civilians, including an elderly Iranian pilgrim. No bodies of dead guerillas are found.
December
- Guerrillas hit a U.S. helicopter with a rocket propelled grenade near Fallujah. The American military says the aircraft made a "controlled landing" and that there were no injuries.
- A suicide bomber blows up a car packed with explosives at the gates of a military barracks, injuring forty-one American troops and six Iraqi civilians.
- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet approves a plan to send about 1,000 soldiers to help in Iraq's reconstruction in that nation's biggest overseas troop deployment since World War II.
- December 10
- The military establishes the first of several AFN Iraq stations[link].
- U.K. and U.S. government sources confirm that the U.S. 4th Infantry Division has captured former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Adwar, a village fifteen kilometers from Tikrit, during Operation Red Dawn.
- The U.S. 4th Infantry Division launches Operation Ivy Blizzard, lasting from dawn until mid-morning. The operation resulted in the arrest of several guerrilla fighters and possible terrorists.
- A car bomb explodes outside a restaurant in Baghdad, killing 8 Iraqis and wounding more than 30 others, including 3 Los Angeles Times correspondents.
Later months
2004
January
- A suicide bomber drives a truck bomb into a US military position near a bridge in Khaldiya, killing 3 soldiers and wounding 6 others.
- Japanese troops begin participation in most risky military expedition since World War II.
February
- Two suicide bombers kill 109 and wound 235 at two Kurdish buildings in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil.
- A double suicide bombing on a Coalition base in Baghdad kills eight Iraqis.
- U.S. permits Red Cross to visit Saddam Hussein for first time since his capture in December.
March
- Almost 200 are killed in a series of bomb blasts in Baghdad and Karbala at the climax of the Shi'a festival of Aashurah. [link]
April
- Four American private security contractors, all ex-members of the U.S. Special Forces, are shot and burnt in their cars in Fallujah. A cheering crowd dismembers the corpses and hangs two of them from a bridge over the Euphrates River. [link]
- Followers of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr riot in Najaf and the Sadr City slum in Baghdad. [link]
Spain, led by newly elected José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (Socialist Party) takes out its troop from the multinational force in Iraq.
- The Iraq Interim Governing Council announce a new flag for post-Saddam Iraq. This creates much controversy, in part because of the similarity of color and design with the flag of Israel, and difference with other Arab nation flags. The flag is not adopted.
May
June
- June 1 Assuming of functions of the Iraqi Interim Government led by Prime minister Iyad Allawi; Ghazi al-Yawer is designed head of the Iraqi state.
- June 8 UN Resolution 1546 on the transfer of sovereignty from the Coalition Provisional Authority to the Iraqi Interim Government.
- June 28
- At 10:26 AM, the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority formally transferred sovereignty of Iraqi territory to the Iraqi interim government, two days ahead of schedule. L. Paul Bremer departed the country two hours later. However, in practical terms, this was largely a technicality, as the foreign troops remained in the country (retaining all of their authority) at the request of the interim government.
- June 30
July
- July 16 The Philippines quit the coalition.
- July 20
- Gloria Arroyo, President of the Philippines, confirms that hostage Angelo de la Cruz has been freed by his captors after their demands for a one-month-early withdrawal of all 51 Filipino troops from Iraq were met.
- July 21
- Militants in Iraq abduct six individuals: three Indians, two Kenyans and an Egyptian, announcing that the hostages would be beheaded unless their countries immediately announced the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. [(NYT)] This is confusing, since none of those countries have troops in Iraq.
August
- Early August
- Forces loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr resist government authority in Najaf.
September
- September 4
- 2 Iraqis killed in US bombardment of Faluja
- September 6
- Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, vice president of Iraq prior to the invasion, was thought to have been captured. However, medical testing proved he was not the person in custody.
- 2 US soldiers killed and 16 injured in the evening by a mortar attack outside Balad City, north of Baghdad.
- 1 US soldier and 6 Iraqi civilians injured by a booby-trapped car.
October
- October 1
- U.S. and Iraqi government forces attack the insurgent-held city of Samarra in northern Iraq. U.S. officials say over 100 militants were killed and 37 were captured, while local doctors say at least 80 people died, and 100 were wounded, including civilians. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3705890.stm) (Canada.com News) (http://www.canada.com/news/world/story.html?id=2a60bd15-45c2-491e-b761-cdaf957acf6a). There is speculation that this marks the beginning of a campaign to establish authority in all insurgent-held areas of Iraq before elections scheduled for January.
November
State of emergency decreted on all the territory.
2005
January
- January 30 Iraqi legislative election. The Shia list obtains the absolute majority before the Kurdish.
March
- March 4 Liberation of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, during which secret Italian agent Nicola Calipari is killed by US fire. Berlusconi's government announce a partial retreat of Italian troops from the coalition.
- March 16 First meeting of the transitional National Assembly.
April
- April 6 Election of Kurdish Jalal Talabani as president of Iraq
- April 7 Ibrahim al-Jaafari is nominated as Prime minister of Iraq
- April 28 The Parliament vote its trust towards the new government.
May
- May 15 Formation of the parliamentary commission charged of the draft of the new Constitution.
August
- August 15 Unable to find a consensus between the main political leaders, the Parliament postpone for a week the transmission of the draft Constitution to its members
- August 22 The Constitution's draft is presented to the Iraqi Parliament.
December
2006
February
- February 10 The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq validates the results of the December 2005 legislative election.
April
- April 24 Marines allegedly abduct an Iraqi civilian from a house, kill him, and place components and spent AK-47 cartridges near his body to make it appear he was planting an IED. See Hamandiyah incident.
May
- May 20 The new Iraqi government, which succeeds to the Iraqi Transitional Government, takes its functions.
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