Anniversary of Irap War 4 years

	MIRRORPIX / GETTY
	Fires rage in Baghdad as U.S.-led coalition forces attack the city The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder. We will meet that threat now, with our Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines, so that we do not have to meet it later with armies of fire fighters and police and doctors on the streets of our cities. —President Bush addressing the nation soon after the bombing of Baghdad began on March 19 On March 19 at 9:34 p.m.—two days after demanding that Saddam Hussein and his sons Uday and Qusay surrender and leave Iraq within 48 hours—the U.S.-led coalition begins bombing Baghdad. Strikes are first made against "targets of opportunity" on the outskirts of Baghdad. In his address to the nation at 10:16 p.m. e.s.t., President Bush outlines the purpose of invading Iraq: "to disarm Iraq, to free its people, and to defend the world from grave danger." On March 20th at 7:57 A.M., the first confirmed skirmish between American and Iraqi forces takes place. By 4:00 p.m. that day, there are at least seven raids on Baghdad.

APRIL 2003 BAGHDAD FALLS

By Jesse Singal and
Christine Lim

	ROBERT NICKELSBERG / GETTY
	Iraqi civilians and U.S. Marines topple a statue of Saddam in Baghdad Touch me, touch me, tell me that this is real, tell me that the nightmare is really over. — an unidentified Iraqi man, tears running down his face, as quoted in the New York Times After encountering little serious resistance, U.S. forces roll into central Baghdad and take control of Iraq's capital city. On April 9th, Marines pull down a giant statue of Saddam in Firdos Square amidst celebrating Iraqis. After an initial period of relative calm, lawlessness quickly spreads. Looting becomes rampant, and countless objects are taken from Iraq's national museum, which housed artifacts up to 10,000 years old. MAY 2003 VICTORY LAP By Jesse Singal and Christine Lim BROOKS KRAFT / CORBIS FOR TIME President Bush arrives aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Mission Accomplished — Banner behind President Bush on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Sitting in the co-pilot's seat of a Navy S-3B Viking, President Bush lands May 1 on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier stationed off the coast of San Diego. Dressed in a flight suit, he gives a nationally televised victory speech from the carrier's flight deck and declares that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended." JUNE 2003 By Jesse Singal and Christine Lim DEAD ENDERS YURI KOZYREV FOR TIME An Iraqi tribal chief brandishes a handgun In those regions where pockets of dead-enders are trying to reconstitute, Gen. (Tommy) Franks and his team are rooting them out...In short, the coalition is making good progress. —Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, at a June 18 Pentagon press conference Over 50 American troops have been killed since major combat operations were declared over on May 1. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld blames continued problems in Iraq on the last remnants of Saddam's Baathist regime, claiming that the level of violence is not different from everyday crime in a major U.S. city. Months later, British military officials estimate there are 40,000 to 50,000 insurgent fighters in the country. An Iraqi intelligence director puts the number at 200,000 insurgents, larger than the U.S. military in Iraq. JULY 2003 TOUGH TALK By Jesse Singal and Christine Lim STAN HONDA / AFP / GETTY Television cameramen film the corpses of Uday (right) and Qusay, sons of Saddam There are some who feel like — that the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is, bring them on. —President Bush, at a July 3 White House press conference In response to a journalist's question about getting France, Germany and Russia to help deal with the rising number of deadly attacks on U.S. forces, President Bush says other countries are welcome to lend their support, but that the U.S. troops are capable of securing the situation. To critics who think the U.S. will leave Iraq prematurely if the attacks continue, Bush claims "they don't understand what they're talking about." Three weeks later, Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay are killed in a battle with U.S. forces in Mosul. To help convince skeptical Iraqis that the despised brothers are really dead, the U.S. allows photographs and videotapes of their bodies to be released. AUGUST 2003 UNITED IN GRIEF By Jesse Singal and Christine Lim STEPHANIE SINCLAIR / CORBIS A U.S. soldier stands among the ruins of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad Nothing can excuse this act of unprovoked and murderous violence against men and women who went to Iraq... to help the Iraqi people. —U.N. Secretary General, Kofi Annan On August 19, less than two weeks after a bombing at the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad kills 14 people, a massive truck bomb destroys part of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad. At least 17 people are killed, including Brazilian Sergio Vieira de Mello, U.N. Special Representative to Iraq. No group claims responsibility for the bombing. Following the attack, most U.N. workers are pulled out of Iraq. As security deteriorates, other aid organizations leave Baghdad as well. SEPTEMBER 2003 PLAN OF ATTACK MARIO TAMA / GETTY The Deputy Director of the National Museum of Iraq sits among the damage caused by looters Division of responsibility for planning and execution was not clear. As a result planning occurred on an ad hoc basis and late in the process. Additionally, there were insufficient assets available to accomplish the mission. — From a secret report prepared for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as quoted in the the September 3 edition of the Washington Times The Washington Times obtains the final draft of a secret report prepared the month before for the Joint Chiefs of Staff that condemns many aspects of the war preparations and strategy. The report paints a picture of rushed, disorganized planning, a search for alleged WMDs that did not begin until far too late, and a neglected "Phase IV" of the occupation—that is, the reconstruction effort. It also notes that President Bush approved the overall Iraq strategy in August of 2002, long before his failed attempt to get a U.N. mandate for the war.

OCTOBER 2003

ENTER BIN LADEN

	AL-JAZEERA / CNN / AP
	Be glad of the good news: America is mired in the swamps of the Tigris and Euphrates. Bush is, through Iraq and its oil, easy prey. Here is he now, thank God, in an embarrassing situation and here is America today being ruined before the eyes of the whole world. —Osama bin Laden, in a video message broadcast October 18 In a video addressed to Iraqis, and broadcast on Al Jazeera, Osama bin Laden congratulates followers on their efforts at jihad and denounces democracy as a deviation from Islam. Bin Laden calls upon Muslims and Iraqis especially to avoid supporting "American crusaders." "Any government set up by America will be a puppet and traitorous regime," says bin Laden. He also claims that the war will drain the U.S. of its economic strength, which he points out has already begun to weaken. As he puts it: "Moreover, they have had a budget deficit for the third consecutive year. This year, the deficit reached a record peak of more than U.S. $4.5 billion. Praise be to Allah."

NOVEMBER 2003

JESSICA LYNCH SPEAKS

	JOHN HIMELRICK / GETTY
	Jessica Lynch addresses the media at a homecoming ceremony in Elizabeth, West Virginia I think it was the Army looking for a hero. — a senior military official discussing Jessica Lynch, as quoted in TIME A little more than seven months after being rescued and turned into an icon of American wartime sacrifice and bravery, the inspiring true story and troubling myth built around Private Jessica Lynch reach their conclusion in November with the airing of an NBC made-for-TV movie and the publication of Lynch's memoir. A supply clerk with the 507th Maintenance Company, Lynch became a prisoner of war on March 23 after her convoy got lost and came under fire and the Humvee she was riding in crashed. With the aid of shadowy night footage from her April 1 rescue, Lynch was almost immediately turned into a symbol of courage under fire, with anonymous sources telling the media that "she was fighting to the death." In May, it became clear that much of Lynch's heroic tale was exaggerated by the Pentagon and misreported by the press.

DECEMBER 2003

CAPTURING SADDAM

	APTN
	An army doctor examines Saddam Hussein after his capture Ladies and gentlemen, we got him. —Paul Bremer, announcing the December 13 capture of Saddam Hussein to cheers from Iraqi journalists Using intelligence obtained by questioning bodyguards and family members, U.S. forces determine Saddam Hussein's whereabouts and find him hiding in a one-person, eight-foot deep "spider hole" in ad-Dawr near his hometown of Tikrit, with two AK-47s, a pistol, and $750,000 in $100 bills. Bedraggled and sporting a scruffy beard and shaggy hair, Hussein is transported to a U.S. base near Baghdad; images of his initial medical exam are released to the media.

JANUARY 2004

WMD, RIP

	TIM SLOAN / AFP / GETTY
	I don't think they existed ... I don't think there was a large-scale production program in the '90s. —David Kay, stepping down January 23 as leader of the Iraq Survey Group After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, David Kay, who searched for WMD during the first Gulf War, leads the U.S. weapons inspection team known as the Iraq Survey Group. In less than one year, Kay tells a Senate committee that no WMD have been found in Iraq. "It turns out that we were all wrong," he testifies on January 28, though he maintains that he still believes the war was the right thing to do in light of the continuing threat posed by Saddam. In fact, soon after he steps down, Kay says in an interview that Iraq never gave up its ambition to obtain WMD and in fact "had a large number of WMD program-related activities." Charles Duelfer takes over Kay's role, releasing the Survey Group's final report, which affirms that no WMD were found, in September of 2004; the search is officially ended on January 12, 2005.

FEBRUARY 2004 A CALL TO ARMS

	MARCO DI LAURO / GETTY
	Victims of a bombing in Karbala are wheeled away from the scene of the attack, which took place during Ashura, one of the most sacred days on the Shi'a calendar It is the only way to prolong the duration of the fight between the infidels and us. If we succeed in dragging them into a sectarian war, this will awaken the sleepy Sunnis who are fearful of destruction and death at the hands of the Shi'a. — from a 17-page letter, purportedly written by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, seeking the assistance of senior al-Qaeda members In early February, various media outlets report that, the month before, U.S. forces had stormed a house in Baghdad and found a computer disk containing a letter addressed to senior al-Qaeda figures. The writer, believed to be the Jordanian insurgent Zarqawi, asks for assistance in waging a civil war of religious extremism in Iraq and claims to be behind 25 attacks on Shi'as and American and other coalition forces. U.S. officials point to the letter as evidence that "there is clearly a plan on the part of outsiders to come into this country and spark civil war."

MARCH 2004

HOLY WAR

	SCOTT NELSON / GETTY
	A Shi'a man cries during a mourning observance for those killed in dual attacks on Shi'ites in Karbala and Baghdad What is happening to our country? These were just innocent people who came here to pray. — an unidentified Iraqi woman near Baghdad's Kadhim shrine after a deadly bombing, as quoted in the Washington Post On Ashura, the holiest day of the year for Shi'ite Muslims, nearly 180 worshippers are massacred in a series of coordinated car and suicide bomb attacks at shrines in Baghdad and Karbala. It is one of the deadliest days since Saddam Hussein was toppled. U.S. officials blame the March 2 attacks on Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has links to al-Qaeda, though one of his field commanders is later fingered as the mastermind. Shi'ite religious leaders blame the U.S. for allowing the horrific attacks to take place.

APRIL 2004

ABU GHRAIB

	THE NEW YORKER / AP
	A hooded and wired Iraqi prisoner at Abu Ghraib The report's conclusions about the institutional failures of the Army prison system were devastating. Specifically, [Major General Antonio M.] Taguba found that between October and December of 2003 there were numerous instances of 'sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuses' at Abu Ghraib. — from "Torture at Abu Ghraib", by Seymour Hersh, in the May 10, 2004 New Yorker In late April, photographic evidence of American military personnel's abuse and torture of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison are made public, sparking a huge public outcry around the world, and especially in the Middle East. The shocking images of smiling, sadistic soldiers and shackled, humiliated prisoners come to symbolize everything that has gone wrong with the war that was once supposed to spread freedom in Iraq. While several soldiers and officers are removed from duty and some are convicted in court martials for their role in Abu Ghraib, the administration insists that the scandal was the result of a few bored soldiers, and not indicative of a greater flaw in U.S. policy towards the treatment of prisoners or the responsibility of senior military officials. A few months after the Abu Ghraib story breaks, leaked Justice Department memos reveal that the administration has indeed been quietly redefining the U.S. position on torture.

MAY 2004

NICK BERG'S EXECUTION

	MUNTADA AL-ANSAR / GETTY
	My name is Nick Berg, my father's name is Michael, my mother's name is Suzanne. I have a brother and sister, David and Sara. I live in West Chester, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. —Nick Berg, speaking his final words before being beheaded An American freelance telecommunications contractor named Nick Berg is abducted and beheaded in Iraq by militants in retaliation for U.S. abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. Berg's decapitation and a statement from his killers are videotaped and posted on the Internet on May 11. Berg's family claims that their son would have left Iraq earlier but he had been detained by U.S. authorities in Iraq who were suspicious of his reasons for being in the country. The U.S. insists that, though he may have been briefly detained by Iraqi police, he was never held by coalition authorities.

JUNE 2004 CRY OF FREEDOM

	ERIC DRAPER / WHITE HOUSE / GETTY
	The White House releases a photograph of the note which U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice passed to President Bush at a summit meeting in Turkey Let Freedom Reign! —President Bush's written declaration after learning that power had been transferred to the Iraqis During the opening session of a NATO summit in Turkey on June 28, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice passes President Bush a note informing him that the handover of power to an interim Iraqi government has taken place. "Iraq is Sovereign," the note begins. Bush scribbles "Let Freedom Reign" in the margin. A few hours later, the U.S. Supreme Court rules in three cases against the White House's claim of authority to detain terrorism suspects indefinitely and deny them access to courts and lawyers during interrogation.

JULY 2004

THE 9/11 COMMISSION

	MARK WILSON / GETTY
	Thomas H. Kean (right) confers with fellow 9/11 Commission chair Lee H. Hamilton The reports describe friendly contacts and indicate some common themes in both sides' hatred of the United States. But to date we have seen no evidence that these or the earlier contacts ever developed into a collaborative operational relationship. Nor have we seen evidence indicating that Iraq cooperated with al Qaeda in developing or carrying out any attacks against the United States. — from the final report of the 9/11 Commission The bipartisan 9/11 Commission releases its final report on the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Among other findings, including many intelligence failures, the report states there was no operational link between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda, thereby contradicting one of the justifications for going to war with Iraq.

AUGUST 2004

PEACE BREAKS OUT?

	MOHAMED MESSARA / EPA
	Supporters of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr battle U.S. troops in Najaf Iraq has achieved a victory today. No more fights. —Qasim Dawood, an Iraqi minister of state, as quoted in the Washington Post, rejoicing at the peace deal ending the fighting in Najaf After a ceasefire is brokered by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most influential Shi'ite leader in Iraq, three weeks of intense fighting in Najaf between U.S. forces and the Shi'a militia of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ends in late August. U.S. forces and al-Sadr's Mahdi Army withdraw. Najaf and Kufa become weapons-free zones, and Sadr, who had been wanted by the former U.S. occupation authority on murder charges, is allowed to participate in political activities. Many Iraqi and U.S. officials will come to regret the deal, as Sadr and his Mahdi Army will remain one of the country's most destabilizing sectariain elements for years to come.

SEPTEMBER 2004

EARLY WARNING

	GHAITH ABDUL-AHAD / GETTY
	Aftermath of a suicide bomb attack, Baghdad But for the President to accuse the press and others for being pessimistic, which he does commonly in his speeches...isn't that disingenuous when there's reports which paint these sort of scenarios? — journalist questioning White House press secretary Scott McClellan aboard Air Force One On September 16, the New York Times reports that in July the National Intelligence Council prepared a pessimistic, classified report for Bush which warns of the possibility of civil war in Iraq. Press Secretary Scott McClellan responds that the pessimists continue to be proven wrong by the determination of Iraqi leaders and citizens. Critics of the war seize on the report as further evidence that the administration isn't facing up to the realities on the ground in Iraq.

OCTOBER 2004

BREMER'S VERDICT

	KAREN BALLARD / REDUX FOR TIME
	We never had enough troops on the ground. —Paul Bremer, former Coalition Provisional Authority administrator Speaking October 4 at an insurance conference, former Coalition Provisional Authority administrator Paul Bremer states that ousting Saddam was "the right thing to do," but the U.S. did not have enough troops to combat the eruption of lawlessness after the toppling of the regime. Bremer says he "raised this issue a number of times with our government," but no action was taken. A senior Defense Department official says Bremer never asked for more troops.

NOVEMBER 2004

FIGHT IN FALLUJAH

	YURI KOZYREV FOR TIME
	U.S. troops battle insurgents in Fallujah We don't want them to leave Fallujah. We want to kill them here. —First Infantry Lt. Col. Pete Newell, as quoted in the November 9 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer Authorized by the interim Iraqi government, Operation Phantom Fury is a U.S.-led, joint U.S.-Iraqi attack against insurgent strongholds in Fallujah, which results in a military victory for the U.S. The victory comes at a cost, though. One marine is initially suspected — though later acquitted — of killing a wounded, unarmed prisoner in a mosque. The Red Cross claims that some 800 Iraqi civilians are killed in the brutal fighting. And in December, it is reported that the U.S. used white phosphorus to help defeat the insurgents.

DECEMBER 2004

RUMSFELD'S RATIONALE

	MASTER SGT. JAMES M. BOWMAN / USAF / DOD
	As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They're not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time. —Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld at a town hall meeting in Kuwait, responding to a soldier's question about many units not having proper armor for combat At a December 8 town hall meeting in Kuwait, soldiers preparing to be deployed to Iraq question Defense Secretary Rumsfeld about their improvised vehicle armor. Using "rusted scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass," as one questioner puts it to applause, soldiers have constructed "hillbilly armor" not suitable for urban combat in Iraq. Some officers have refused to go into battle with improper armor. Rumsfeld's performance is later parodied on Saturday Night Live.

JANUARY 2005

DEMOCRACY ARRIVES

	GHAITH ABDUL-AHAD / GETTY
	An Iraqi woman casts her vote in Najaf We are defeating the terrorists as we are coming here. — an Iraqi voter, as quoted on CNN On January 30, Iraq holds its first democratic elections in fifty years. Though plagued by sporadic violence and a Sunni party boycott, the legislative elections attract high turnout from eligible Iraqis. The biggest winner is the United Iraqi Alliance, a broad coalition of Shi'ite politicians, which wins a plurality of seats in the national assembly. The election also leads to the nomination of Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, to be Iraq's president. Critics argue that elections will do little to alleviate Iraq's sectarian tensions since most voters simply voted in accordance with their ethnic or religious identities, though the Bush Administration and many Iraqis view the day as a major milestone. "This is the greatest day in the history of this country," Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie tells CNN.

FEBRUARY 2005 LAW AND DISORDER

	ALI ABU SHISH / REUTERS / CORBIS
	If they are really the resistance, why don't they kill Americans? —Basim Ali, 28, a police recruit wounded in the Hilla suicide bombing, as quoted in the New York Times On February 28th, a suicide bomber drives a sedan loaded with explosives into a crowd of army and police recruits waiting for medical examinations at a clinic in Hilla, 60 miles south of Baghdad. It is the single deadliest attack since the start of the war—at least 122 are killed and 170 wounded. The bombing signals an escalating trend in Iraq: deadly violence directed at anyone cooperating with the U.S.-backed government.

MARCH 2005

INTELLIGENCE FAILURE

	BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP / GETTY
	President Bush meets with Charles Robb, Laurence Silberman and members of the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States