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Summary:
In his 2002 and 2003 State of the Union messages, President Bush characterized Iraq as a grave potential threat to the United States because of its refusal to abandon its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs as required by U.N. Security Council resolutions and the potential for it to transfer WMD to terrorist groups. In September 2002, the President told the U.N. General Assembly that unless Iraq fully disarmed in cooperation with United Nations weapons inspectors, the United States would lead a coalition to achieve that disarmament militarily, making clear that this would include the ouster of Iraq's President Saddam Hussein's regime. After a November 2002 - March 2003 round of U.N. inspections in which Iraq's cooperation was mixed, on March 19, 2003, the United States launched "Operation Iraqi Freedom," to disarm Iraq and change its regime. The regime fell on April 9, 2003. In the months prior to the war, the Administration stressed that regime change through U.S.-led military action would yield benefits beyond disarmament and reduction of support for terrorism; benefits such as liberation of the Iraqi people from an oppressive regime and promotion of stability and democracy throughout the Middle East. The goal of regime change in Iraq had been declared U.S. policy since November 1998, and U.S. efforts to oust Saddam had been pursued, with varying degrees of intensity, since the end of the Gulf war in 1991. These efforts primarily involved U.S. financial backing for opposition groups inside and outside Iraq, several of which are now contending for power in post-Saddam Iraq. Past efforts to change the regime floundered because of limited U.S. commitment, disorganization of the Iraqi opposition, and the efficiency and ruthlessness of Iraq's several overlapping intelligence and security forces. Previous U.S. Administrations ruled out major U.S. military action to change Iraq's regime, believing such action would be risky and not necessarily justified by the level of Iraq's lack of compliance on WMD disarmament. The leadership and precise shape of the permanent government that will replace Saddam Hussein's Baath Party are yet to be determined. Some Administration officials reportedly had hoped that major military and governmental defections from the Hussein regime would serve as the core of a successor government. However, no senior Hussein regime figures defected, and formerly exiled opposition groups form the core of a U.S.-appointed 25-seat "governing council" that was unveiled on July 13, 2003. It is hoped by the Administration that the formation of the council will signal that Iraq is moving toward self rule and calm some of the resistance against U.S. occupation forces in Iraq. Escalating resistance, punctuated by the August 19, 2003, truck bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, has apparently prompted debate within the Administration over how to enlist increased foreign participation in post-war peacekeeping and reconstruction. See also CRS Report RL31833, Iraq: Recent Developments in Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance. This report will be updated as warranted by major developments.
