2003 invasion of Iraq 2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was the first stage of the Iraq War (also called "Operation Iraqi Freedom"). The invasion phase began on 20 March 2003 and lasted just over one month, including 21 days of major combat operations, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq. This early stage of the war formally ended on 1 May 2003 when U.S. President George W. Bush declared the "End of Major Combat Operations", after which the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was established as the first of
History of Iraq (2003–2011) Pentagon, the US State Department and the National Security Council before charting the new course on Iraq. All foreign troops have withdrawn from Iraq. On 18 August 2010 the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, the last U.S. combat brigade withdrew from Iraq, ending the U.S. combat mission in Iraq. 52,600 U.S. military personnel remained in Iraq to take on an advisory role. On 19 August 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that all U.S. combat operations would end on 31 August. 50,000 troops would stay in an advise-and-assist role. The full withdrawal was in December 2011. Between 15 and