End Of The US Invasion Of Iraq

JAKARTA - A ceremony was held in Baghdad, Iraq, on December 15, 2011 to mark the end of the invasion led by the United States (US) since 2003. During the 8 years of war, many casualties have fallen - the majority of civilians who have nothing to do with the US ego - in an effort to destroy terrorists and destroy their arsenal.

The events of September 11, 2001 - known as 9/11 - which took place in New York and Washington DC - were the origin of all US obsession with combating terrorism. The US voices that terrorism destroys the peaceful atmosphere of our country and the world, which cannot be allowed to drag on.

After five days of these bloody events, the then US President, George W. Bush, announced his government was going to war on terror. The war that Bush meant was not just a tight guard against the superpower, but also a direct invasion of a country that Bush accused was the nest of terrorists. The US started its invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001.

Not only in Afghanistan, US army forces also carried out an invasion to attack terrorist groups in Iraq. Bush accused the then president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. ally with terrorists and develop a weapon that can kill en masse. Not only the US Government, the British Government also accused Saddam Hussein of building nuclear weapons and chemical weapons. The British intelligence agency warned that this was not real, but the US and British governments did not care about the intelligence agency's findings, they continued to invade Iraq.

Quoted from History, Sunday, December 15, 2019, the US-British coalition invasion succeeded in overthrowing Saddam Hussein's government and occupied most of Iraq in April 2002. The US thought they were heroes who saved Iraqi civilians from terrorism. In fact, his invasion led to a massive uprising in Iraq for eight years. Guerrilla attacks, suicide bombings and other explosive devices became a daily sight. Not to mention the civil war between Sunnis and Shiites which made the situation even more out of control until now. The Iraqi government's optimism that the US was a hero for Iraqi liberation slowly turned into skepticism.

On May 1, 2003, Bush delivers a speech on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. He stated that the US mission was over. In the same year, US troops captured Saddam Hussein on December 13. However, weapons of mass destruction that are often the reason for Saddam Hussein's hunting have never been found. In 2006, Saddam Hussein was still hanged.

The US public is increasingly skeptical of war and increasingly confident that the invasion will never dampen acts of terror. In addition, many reports of atrocities committed by the military and the CIA have become public. Leaked photos prove the US has committed human rights abuses in Abu Ghraib prison and in 2007 the US military was found guilty of killing 17 civilians in Nisour, Baghdad.

End of the Invasion of Iraq

The war, which was originally aimed at eliminating terrorists, has become increasingly unclear. More than 205 thousand civilians were killed. The world is increasingly pressing the US to withdraw from Iraq. Finally in 2009, the then new US President, Barack Obama, announced plans to remove the combat brigades from Iraq. Obama also ordered US troops to train, supply and advise Iraqi security forces until the end of 2011.

Unfortunately, after the US invasion ended, the atmosphere in Iraq is still tense today. Three years in a row after the invasion was over, violence turned into complete civil war. Many of the militias formed during the Iraq War joined or partnered with extremist groups in Syria. In 2014, ISIS rose and absorbed large numbers of troops, controlling large parts of Syria and Iraq. The rise of ISIS prompted Obama to launch new military action starting in June 2014. Although ISIS has now been driven from Iraq and appears to be greatly diminished, US troops are still active in Iraq, 16 years after the initial invasion and eight years after the invasion ended.