Iraq War

20 years ago, and on March 20, 2003, Iraq was invaded by multiple foreign powers including the US, UK, Australia, and Poland with support of other European powers like Denmark, Italy, and Spain. Invading powers started the war claiming that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, which proved to be a lie after a mere 15-month search after the invasion.

In remembrance of the unjust invasion, destruction, harm, and death that befell the Iraqi people our family wants to shed a light and take a moment to pray and remember all the martyrs that lost their life in an unjust and unfair war that resulted in a death toll that is estimated to be between 151,000 and 1,033,000 Iraqis.

The US led coalition tried to sway public opinion and started a defamation campaign throughout 2001, 2002, and 2003 accusing Iraq of developing WMDs trying build a case to the UN urging them to support an invasion of Iraq as a preventative measure, culminating in then Secretary of State Colin Powell's February 2003 address to the Security Council.

The state department fabricated Powell’s speech on a 4 days’ notice, and in 2005 Powell commented that his speech was a “Blot” on his record and that he regrets it. Former vice president Dick Cheney made multiple jokes to different state department staff members that they can afford to lose some public points because of this fabrication.

The bases to an invasion that killed many children, women, and elderly, was faulty intel, alleged allegiance shifts, fabricated evidence, and lies. The US used all its propaganda power to justify its decision in invading Iraq, simultaneously the Bush administration launches an individual “shock and awe” bombing campaign without international approval overwhelming a weak Iraqi military.

The Result: It takes the coalition forces 26 days of major combat operations to enter Baghdad, easily destabilizing Iraq, dissolving the Iraqi army and the government. It takes the US almost 2 decades to withdraw completely from Iraq. Iraq’s resources mainly oil, natural gas, and phosphates are stolen by the coalition forces, Iraqi antiquities are stolen to be displayed in foreign museums, Iraqi culture being overshadowed, reduced, and depicted as barbaric.