Operation Iraqi Freedom

2003 Iraq War (3/20/2003-) is presently the largest war operation in the world, started when a Coalition of the Willing drawn from NATO members including the United Kingdom launched a combat operation against Iraq, with the stated goal of deposing dictator Saddam Hussein, locating Weapons of Mass Destruction programs including "knowhow" to produce WMD and liberating the Iraqi people. Currently the outcome of the war is unknown, and there exists a large debate over topics such as withdrawal of American forces and the role of nations in the region. The Bush administration champions the war as part of the larger U.S. led War on Terrorism, although the topic is up for debate. The Administration has been widely criticized for numerous strategic blunders in the execution of the war, including the failure to have a post-invasion plan,^{[Citation Needed]} though the American left has been criticized for its objections to the execution of the war, which is perceived by some as a failure to support the troops.^{[Citation Needed]}

Iraqi Liberation

Most Iraqis welcomed the American invasion and overthrow of Saddam Hussein, and in the proceeding months, were optimistic about their country's future. An 'American Enterprise'-'Wall Street Journal'-Zogby poll in September 2003 found that "Seven out of 10 say they expect their country and their personal lives will be better five years from now. On both fronts, 32% say things will become much better". Furthermore, in a March 2004 poll of Iraqis, the BBC found that Iraqis have great hope in a stable, unified government for their country, with 80% of respondents favoring a centralized state ruled form Baghdad.

Iraqi Resistance

However, Iraqi opposition to the American presence, both politically and militarily, has gradually increased since 2003. A secret British Ministry of Defence poll conducted in late 2005 found that 82 percent of Iraqis were "strongly opposed" to the presence of Coalition soldiers in Iraq. The same poll found support for Iraqi rebels at 45%, rising to 65% in Maysan province, although a poll by the IRI in March 2006 found 78% of respondents answered that "violence is never acceptable".

A poll commissioned by the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes in the autumn of 2006 found that Iraqi support for anti-Coalition violence had risen to 61%. Similarly, a U.S. State Department poll conducted in 2006 found that "two-thirds of Iraqis in Baghdad favor an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops".

Iraqi Casualties

The website http://www.iraqbodycount.org estimates that there have been fewer than 65,000 civilian casualties since the Iraq war, though this number is calculated from media reports and by their own admission, is only a sample of the true number of deaths.

On-the-ground academic research in Iraq has determined that approximately 600,000 more Iraqis have died since March 2003 than would have otherwise died in that time frame if the war was not raging. Pro-occupation proponents dispute the numbers, but few statisticians do, as the methodology is largely sound.

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have fled to neighboring Jordan and Syria since the 2003 invasion.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

While massive stockpiles and produciton facilities of Iraq's WMD programs have not been located, persons associated with the programs have been detained and documents related to various programs have yet to be translated. Only about one-third of 36 million captured pages have been examined by a linguist and a summary gist of the document prepared. Some believe the physical WMDs that had been produced prior to the invasion were smuggled out of the country, possibly to Syria, before the onset of the war. Critics of the Administration insist Saddam Hussein had the country's stockpiles destroyed after the First Gulf War, and that Iraq was at least a decade away from producing more.