Sauk County Historical Society

The March, 2003 invasion of Iraq was led by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia, Denmark, Poland and Spain. The invasion marked the beginning of the current Iraq War. According to then-President George W. Bush and Prime Minister of the U.K., Tony Blair, the reasons for the invasion were “to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, and end Saddam Hussein’s support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people". According to Blair, the trigger was Iraq’s failure to take a “final opportunity” to disarm itself of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons that US and British officials called an immediate and intolerable threat to world peace.  On May 1, 2003, an end of major combat operations was declared, ending the invasion period and beginning the occupation period, which is ongoing.