Iraq War timeline

This article was published on 03.15.07

DATE	EVENT	U.S DEAD	IRAQI CIVILIAN DEAD
3/19/03	War begins.	0	0
4/9/03	Statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad is pulled down by U.S. tank.	115	2,063
4/11/03	Commenting on looting, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says, “Freedom’s untidy.”	118	2,371
5/1/03	President Bush lands on the USS Abraham Lincoln and declares “Mission Accomplished.”	137	4,145
5/29/03	The BBC reports that intelligence on Iraq’s WMD capabilities was “sexed up.” President Bush tells Polish TV that WMDs were found.169	4,703
7/3/03	President Bush tells reporters, “There are some who feel like—that the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is, bring ’em on.”	206	5,227
7/22/03	U.S. forces kill Uday and Qusay Hussein in Mosul.	234	5,285
12/13/03	U.S. forces capture Saddam Hussein in Tikrit.	457	7,801
2/22/04	Knight Ridder reports that CIA officers are warning of possible civil war in Iraq.	544	9,119
3/24/04	President Bush makes a humorous video for the Radio and Television Correspondent’s Association dinner that shows him searching for, and not finding, WMDs.	582	9,657
4/28/04	Torture at Abu Ghraib, including graphic photographs, made public.	716	10,537
5/11/04	Video of beheading of American contractor Nicholas Berg becomes public.	763	11,435
6/28/04	Sovereignty of Iraq transferred to Iraqi interim government; President Bush writes, “Let freedom reign!”	849	12,210
11/2/04	President Bush re-elected.	1,113	15,532
12/8/04	Donald Rumsfeld: “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.”	1,269	16,917
5/30/05	Vice President Dick Cheney tells CNN’s Larry King that the insurgency “is in the last throes.”	1,644	21,982
10/15/05	Iraqi voters ratify draft of new constitution. 1,95828,38210/19/05Saddam Hussein’s trial in Baghdad begins.	1,970	30,322
12/15/05	The United Iraqi Alliance, a Shiite party, wins a majority of seats in the Iraqi Assembly.	2,152	32,262
2/22/06	The Golden Mosque in Samarra is badly damaged by a bombing.	2,280	34,366
3/19/06	On the third anniversary of the war, President Bush promises “complete victory.” Time magazine publishes first report of the massacre of 15 civilians in Haditha by U.S. troops.	2,316	35,724
5/20/06	Constitutionally elected Iraqi government sworn in.	2,449	38,593
6/8/06	U.S. forces kill Abu Zarqawi in Baquba; Donald Rumsfeld calls his death “a significant victory in the battle against terrorism in the country.”	2,489	39,899
8/3/06	Gen. John Abizaid tells Senate committee “it is possible that Iraq could move toward civil war.”	2,582	44,447
8/19/06	Iraq war passes World War II in length of U.S. deployment.	2,607	45,131
10/6/06	Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s military transport plane circles the Baghdad airport for 40 minutes because the airport is under attack. Later, she says Iraq is “making progress.”	2,736	49,127
11/7/06	Mid-term elections put Democrats in a majority in both houses of Congress. Donald Rumsfeld resigns the next day.	2,839	51,531
12/6/06	Iraq Study Group Report released. Among the items it recommends: engage neighboring nations in the peace process and avoid open-ended commitment of troops.	2,911	53,418
12/11/06	The New York Times reports that administration officials think the Iraq Study Group Report is “impractical or unrealistic.”	2,933	53,743
12/30/06	Saddam Hussein executed. Video of the execution shows him being taunted by political opponents before death.	2,995	54,767
1/2/07	A survey by the Military Times finds that less than one-third of the troops approve of the president’s handling of Iraq.	3,001	54,913
1/10/07	President Bush, in a televised speech, calls for a “surge” of 21,500 troops in Iraq.	3,011	55,418
2/18/07	The Washington Post reports on neglect, filthy conditions for wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital.	3,138	57,418*
3/13/07	No confirmed* counts are available after 2/7/07.

Sources: CNN, BBC, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the U.S. Department of Defense, Iraq Body Count (www.iraqbodycount.org)

Iraq War timeline

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