In the United States and internationally, the war in Iraq has been the focus of constant attention and reinterpretation since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. The initial phase of the conflict leading up to regime change met little resistance in strict military terms, but the rebuilding phase and institution of democracy have been marked by a morass of violence that has kept Iraq on the brink of civil war and committed U.S. and coalition forces to an indefinite occupation.

The invasion and stabilization of Iraq have been cast as part of the broader war against terrorism by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. In the build-up to the war, President Bush, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and other top officials made the case that Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, had the capability to deploy weapons of mass destruction and was linked to international terrorism. Liberating Iraqis from tyranny, building democratic institutions and a pluralist society, and the need to stay the current course have been the dominant themes in the administration's justification for the war and its direction.

Resistance to the war was strong before the invasion and has become more widespread in recent years. Critics initially pointed out that the link between Iraq and international terrorism, particularly the Islamic fundamentalist terrorist group al-Qaeda, had not been substantiated, and that the United Nations-backed weapons inspections required more time. Moreover, they argued that the invasion had not been authorized by international law because it was not sanctioned by a vote of the U.N. Security Council. As post-invasion inspections and intelligence has revealed that Saddam held no weapons of mass destruction, acceptance of the Bush administration's rationale for the invasion has declined. Some have suggested that the war was undertaken for the hidden motive of gaining control of Iraq’s oil resources.

The suffering of the Iraqi population has grown more acute since the downfall of Saddam Hussein. It is estimated that some 900,000 Iraqis have fled the country, mostly to Jordan and Syria, since the 2003 invasion. Though coalition forces were at first welcomed by a portion of the population, the ongoing occupation, violence, incidences of human rights violations on the part of U.S. forces, and significant setbacks in the rebuilding process have alienated many Iraqis and led them to call for an end to the occupation.

Coalition: An alliance for the purpose of joint action, as of military forces. Coalition forces in Iraq are comprised of U.S., United Kingdom, and Australian military personnel, among others.

Imperialism: A form of government in which power and influence are extended over another territory with the purpose of subjugating and controlling it.

Extraordinary Rendition: An extra-judicial procedure by which alleged terrorists are brought without trial to countries outside of the U.S. for interrogation, imprisonment and possibly torture.

Terrorism: The systematic use of terror or the threat of terror against civilian populations or governments as a coercive instrument, generally with political aims.

Tyranny: A form of government in which a ruler exercises absolute power over a population.

War Crime: A crime committed during a time of war. War crimes include genocide, torture, and use of certain weapons.

Iraq is a republic located in the Middle East. Its borders, drawn by Britain after War World I, contain diverse religious and ethnic groups. It gained independence in 1932, but the subsequent decades were marked by internal conflict based in part on the lack of viability created by the arrangements that Britain had made. In 1979, Saddam Hussein assumed power and ruled Iraq tyrannically until his downfall in 2003.

Iraqi forces invaded neighboring Kuwait in 1990. Iraq had held territorial claims over Kuwait and, it was widely considered, sought to dominate the region. The following year, a coalition of forces led by the U.S. bombed Iraq's infrastructure and invaded by land. Saddam Hussein quickly withdrew Iraqi forces from Kuwait but remained in power. The country's infrastructure and military were heavily damaged, and international sanctions were imposed on Iraq. Nonetheless, these measures failed to dislodge Saddam Hussein, and the Iraqi population suffered greatly, both because of the sanctions and because of the regime's brutality.

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the administration of U.S. president George W. Bush argued that Saddam Hussein's regime was a threat to international security and needed to be disarmed. The international community supported weapons inspections in Iraq, to which Saddam Hussein agreed. They did not turn up any evidence for illegal weapons, but Iraq did not fully comply with the inspections.

While some countries, including France and Germany, continued to support further inspections, the U.S. and Britain built a case for urgent invasion based on the suspected weapons programs, Saddam Hussein's hostility to the West, and his alleged support of international terrorists. The invasion went ahead with congressional approval but without the approval of the U.N. Security Council.

The 2003 bombardment of Iraq by coalition forces and subsequent land invasion quickly toppled Saddam Hussein and his regime and led to the dictator's capture at the end of the year. The Coalition Provisional Authority, headed by an American proconsul, was authorized to govern and rebuild Iraq while a constitution was drafted and an interim Iraqi government was formed.

A constitution was approved in 2005, and after several rounds of elections, a unity government was brought to power in mid-2006. Coalition forces continue to occupy Iraq, so the permanent government does not have total sovereignty.

The U.S. administration considers the institution of democracy in Iraq as its major achievement. Though weapons of mass destruction have not been found, it points out that Saddam Hussein's arrest and ongoing trial for crimes against humanity are extremely positive developments for the region and for the Iraqi people. He had been responsible for repressing minorities, using chemical weapons against the Kurdish population in Iraq, and alienating Iraq from the international community. According to the U.S., the invasion was justified on these grounds alone.

Critics of the war have argued a range of points. In addition to emphasizing the war's illegality, they have noted the U.S. administration's manipulation of certain key words such as "freedom" and "democracy" to cloak other, less altruistic motives, including control of Iraq's vast oil resources and protection of Israel. Many of these critics see imperialistic tendencies in the decision to go to war, and argue that the Bush administration used propaganda and outright lies to obtain support for it.

They also argue that the U.S. invaded Iraq without an exit strategy and, as a result, the military has become bogged down in a quagmire that may prove more costly and deadly than expected. Such lack of planning failed to prepare coalition forces for the violent resistance of Iraqi and foreign militias operating in Iraq outside of central authority.

Revelations that the U.S. has repeatedly contravened international conventions to which it is a signatory has further bolstered critics. In 2004, images of torture committed by members of the U.S. military at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq were released, to much international outcry. The military has denied that torture has been used on detainees as a policy, but rumors persist to the contrary.

The U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has also drawn criticism. Detainees, considered enemy combatants, have been denied legal recourse, while allegations of torture at the camp have also been made. In late 2005, information surfaced that the U.S. was using extraordinary rendition to transport enemy combatants and have them tortured in foreign countries. Several European countries were accused of hosting "black prisons," while others were accused of providing air space for "black flights." Coalition forces have faced a strong resistance movement since the invasion; fighting has also been intense between rival Iraqi factions. The U.S. administration views the insurgency as illegitimate, but it has widespread support within Iraq and throughout the Muslim world, based on the view that the war was an act of aggression and has resulted in an illegal occupation. The insurgency's successes have led to another perspective: that the situation in Iraq has only worsened and has attracted militants from numerous countries.

The root cause of the ongoing violence and civil unrest in Iraq are the social, political, and territorial tensions between the country’s Shiite and Sunni Muslims. In terms of religious philosophy, the two sects hold different beliefs regarding who is the legitimate successor to the Prophet Mohammad.

Various cultural differences between the two groups also exist. Although Sunnis make up approximately 90 percent of the world’s Muslims, Shiites hold the majority in Iraq. As a Sunni, the former dictator Saddam Hussein ensured that Sunni Muslims in Iraq held political and social dominance. Following the collapse of the Hussein regime, the majority Shiite population has engaged in the process of forming a new government, while Sunnis have generally avoided any involvement.

The situation is further complicated by terrorist groups and militia leaders, most notably al-Qaeda and the powerful Shia Islam cleric Moktada Al-Sadr. Sadr controls the Mahdi Army militia, a group of anti-American guerillas that numbers approximately 200,000. Recent reports have suggested that spin-offs of this group have also entered into the conflict. The use of concealed roadside bombs and snipers has proven particularly deadly to U.S. and coalition forces in the region.

As of late 2006, the situation in Iraq appears bleak. Despite some progress on the political front, the insurgency continues to strike coalition forces, Iraqi police, and rival factions. Predictions of an all-out civil war pitting ethnic and religious groups against each other have yet to come true, though many commentators believe that such an outcome remains a distinct possibility. General enthusiasm for the war among its supporters has declined significantly.

The U.S. administration continues to advocate a policy of staying the course in Iraq. It has argued that winning the war is too important for Iraq itself as well as for international security. It has also refused to commit to a timetable for withdrawal, believing that insurgents would exploit it as a sign of weakness if it occurred before peace had been fully established. Finally, it argues that the U.S. is much safer than it was preceding the invasion.

For critics, domestic and international, staying the course represents one of the worst possible strategies. Even those who were not against the invasion have faulted U.S. actions and accused the administration of failing to reconsider ineffective policies. The continued violence, combined with the ineffectual pace and quality of rebuilding, has attracted strong criticism. The cost of the war has also been an issue. The U.S. has already spent more than $300 billion in the more general war against terror, the hugest portion in Iraq, and continues to spend approximately $200 million a day. As for the cost of life, over 3,000 coalition forces have been killed and more than 20,000 wounded; the great bulk in both categories are Americans. A new controversial report has estimated Iraqi deaths since the 2003 invasion at over 600,000. ..FT-Many analysts have begun to refer to the ongoing Sunni-Shia conflict in Iraq as a civil war. Suicide bombings have become a daily occurrence and the civilian population on each side of the divide continues to be targeted by death squads. During the mid-term November elections in the United States, the Democratic Party regained a majority in both houses of Congress largely as a result of the public's concern with the situation in Iraq.

In January 2007, President Bush announced that he would increase the number of U.S. military forces in Iraq in the effort to quell the ongoing violence and civil strife in the country. Bush's decision to increase U.S. military forces by 20,000, which termed as the "New Way Forward," became widely referred to as the "troop surge" policy.

The surge continued as planned, despite widespread disapproval by Democrats in Congress. Both the House and Senate continue to debate legislation to continue funding U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. As of April 2007, Bush is expected to veto various spending bills sent to him by Congress until he receives one that does not include any troop withdrawal proposal. Meanwhile, public disapproval regarding the war in Iraq remains strong.

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Brecher, Jeremy, Jill Cutler and Brendan Smith. Ed. "In the Name of Democracy: American War Crimes in Iraq and Beyond." New York: Metropolitan Books, 2005.

Bremer, L. Paul with Malcolm McConnell. "My Year in Iraq: The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope." New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006.

Bodansky, Yossef. "The Secret History of the Iraq War." New York: Regan Books, 2004.

Danner, Mark. "Torture and Truth: America, Abu Ghraib, and the War on Terror." New York: New York Review of Books, 2004.

Hashim, Ahmed S. "Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in Iraq." Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 2006.

Rosen, Nir. "In the Belly of the Green Bird: The Triumph of the Martyrs in Iraq." New York: Free Press, 2006.

Sifry, Micah L. and Christopher Cerf. Ed. "The Iraq War Reader: History, Documents, Opinions." New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003.

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