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World at War

Iraq War

2003–2011 Middle East Status: ended Casualties: ~200,000 direct; 400,000+ excess deaths

US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein. Prolonged insurgency and sectarian civil war followed. US withdrawal in 2011 created a vacuum that enabled ISIS's rise in 2013–14.

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Belligerents

  • US-led coalition
  • Iraqi government
  • Sunni insurgents
  • Al-Qaeda Iraq
  • Shia militias

Casualties

~200,000 direct; 400,000+ excess deaths

Key events

  • Mar 2003 — Invasion
  • 2006–07 — Sectarian civil war / Surge
  • 2011 — US troops withdraw
  • 2014 — ISIS captures Mosul
  • 2017 — Mosul retaken

Aftermath

Removed Saddam — but destroyed the Iraqi state. De-Baathification + army disbandment created the conditions for the insurgency and ultimately ISIS. Iran's regional influence grew enormously. WMD intelligence failure damaged US/UK credibility. Estimated 4.5M Iraqis displaced. Sectarian fault lines (Sunni, Shia, Kurd) still unresolved.

Weapons & matériel

  • M1A2 Abrams
  • MRAP vehicles (response to IEDs)
  • JDAM, Tomahawks
  • Predator / Reaper
  • Insurgent IEDs (causing ~60% of US casualties)
  • EFPs (Iranian-supplied)

Technology

Drone surveillance/strike normalized; counter-IED tech (jammers, MRAPs); biometric ID at population scale

Economy

Funded entirely on debt — first major US war without a tax increase; contributed to 2008 fiscal stress

Cost

~$1.9–2.0 trillion (Costs of War). Long-term veteran care: ~$2T+ projected

Sources

  • Costs of War Project
  • Iraq Body Count
  • Thomas Ricks, Fiasco
From World at War, an interactive atlas by Jairus Pereira. Figures are approximate, drawn from Wikipedia, UCDP, ACLED and academic sources — a design artefact, not an authoritative register. Contact.