NORFOLK, Va. — 19 years ago this week, President George W. Bush announced the start of the Iraq War.
The goal of Operation Iraqi Freedom was to end Saddam Hussein’s regime and to find and eliminate weapons of mass destruction in Iraq – the latter based on now-controversial intelligence.
Months later, in May of 2003, Bush made the infamous “mission accomplished" speech aboard carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.
But Saddam Hussein was still on the run, and seven months would go by before his capture in December 2003 after one of the largest manhunts in history.
But it would not signal the end of the war.
There would be eight more years of bloodshed, including more than 4,000 U.S. armed forces deaths.
The Iraq War’s official end was in December 2011.
In the summer of 2021, the Democratic-led U.S. House, with the backing of President Joe Biden, passed legislation to repeal the 2002 authorization for use of military force in Iraq.
Supporters said the step was necessary for Congress to reassert its constitutional duty to weigh in on matters of war while detractors worried that it would embolden militia or terror groups operating in the region.
Supporters said repeal would not affect U.S. military operations around the world but could prevent current and future presidents from relying on it to conduct unrelated military actions. The White House said there are no ongoing military activities reliant solely upon the 2002 authorization.
The 2002 authorization was directed against the Saddam Hussein regime, authorizing the “necessary and appropriate” use of force to “defend U.S. national security against the continuing threat posed by Iraq” and to “enforce all relevant Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq.”