Iraq War Reaches Five-Year Mark

Five years ago today, a coalition of military forces led by the United States and Great Britain launched Operation Iraqi Freedom to remove Saddam Hussein from power. The anniversary comes at a time when U.S. military deaths in Iraq are nearing the 4,000 mark and two of the top three contenders in the U.S. presidential election set for November are calling for a withdrawal of American troops.

The event will be marked by several commemorations and protests around the United States, and President George W. Bush will make remarks at a Pentagon ceremony marking the war's fifth anniversary. Protest organizations opposed to the war are expected to stage demonstrations near the White House, the Internal Revenue Service, and other federal government buildings and agencies. Groups supportive of the Iraq war effort, Vets for Freedom, are also expected to recognize the anniversary.

In a new study from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, titled "The Iraq War After Five Years: The Surge, Current Status, and Military Lessons," Anthony H. Cordesman writes that the latest available data indicate significant strides have been made in defeating Al Qa'ida in Iraq and in bringing down overall levels of violence. Cordesman says in the brief, "If this victory can be consolidated in Ninewa, Mosul, and the other remaining areas where Al Qa'ida is now concentrating, the key source of civil conflict in Iraq will be largely eliminated." Still, Cordesman concludes, the day when the U.S. can declare victory is likely in the distant future.

The United States invaded Iraq five years ago to eliminate Saddam Hussein's arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, although so far coalition forces have been unable to locate any such weapons. Major challenges in Iraq remain, including serious sectarian violence, national reconciliation efforts, Kurdish attempts at autonomy, the development of an Iraqi security capability, and the continuing influence of Iran in Iraq and in the entire Middle East.

While both Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, vying for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, maintain that the war was a mistake and that the U.S. should get its forces out, the Republican nominee, Senator John McCain, has been a steadfast supporter of the war, and of the President's surge of 30,000 additional troops. Dr. Nile Gardiner, writing for the Heritage Foundation, says the surge has been a resounding success, with terrorist attacks declining by more than 60 percent and both Iraqi civilian and U.S. military death rates down by more than 70 percent since the surge went into full effect last summer.

Still, most analysts agree that the U.S. cannot sustain the surge forces and that the Iraqi government will have to move more quickly to solve Iraq's problems before U.S. forces can be withdrawn.

Sources: CSIS, Heritage