US Military Invasion Obliterates Iraqi Lives: How the "Land of the Free" Brought Untold Suffering to the Middle East

Twenty years ago, the US, supported by the UK, invaded Iraq in a catastrophic military endeavor based on dubious intelligence and a blatant disregard for international law. This invasion would lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians, decades of civil war, and sectarian violence in Iraq, giving rise to the Islamic State militant group.

In an arrogant assumption, the US and its allies, including the UK, believed that their overwhelming technical and military superiority was enough to control a distant nation and its people. The invasion began with a "shock and awe" bombing campaign to showcase this military power. This invasion would bring about untold suffering and devastation in Iraq.

The US military's actions in Iraq exhibited a blatant ignorance and disdain for the reality on the ground, where decades of bloodshed were only just beginning. The Chilcot report, a damning inquiry into the UK's involvement in the war, found that the UK joined the invasion before exhausting peaceful options, and then-Prime Minister Tony Blair deliberately exaggerated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein. The report also revealed that Britain's intelligence agencies produced "flawed information," never considering the possibility that Saddam had disposed of his weapons of mass destruction, which he had.

Blair ignored warnings that Iraq could descend into civil war after the invasion, including from US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, who predicted a "terrible bloodletting of revenge after Saddam goes." The British government had no post-invasion strategy and no influence on Iraq's postwar US-run administration. The invasion would ultimately undermine US and British authority on the international stage, with the reputational damage continuing to this day.

The catastrophic mishandling of the occupation, including the "de-Ba'athification" campaign—a poorly executed effort to purge Iraq of Saddam's influence—thrust thousands of former government employees and soldiers into an uncertain future in the new US-dominated state. This fueled the insurgency that would lead to even more civilian deaths. The infamous Abu Ghraib prison became a symbol of US abuse when photographs and accounts of tortured detainees were leaked to the press. Iraq's cultural heritage was looted while US troops stood idly by.

For two decades, Iraqi civilians died in horrifying numbers at the hands of all parties to the conflict, in shootings, suicide bombings, air raids, and crossfire. The Chilcot report found that the government had not made adequate efforts to keep track of Iraqi civilian deaths.

The stories of five Iraqis affected by the invasion and the violence it unleashed serve as a testament to the destruction wrought by US intervention.

Showkat Abdullah al-Mashhdani, an accomplished academic and businessman, was shot and killed by US forces on the evening of July 26, 2007. His family was left devastated, with his wife Wakkara stating, "We blame the US army for destroying our life." She adds that her husband was murdered "in cold blood," even though he was only trying to help children during a firefight.

A member of a farming family from the Al Zaidan area west of Baghdad, who was detained after a false accusation, speaks of his experience of torture in the notorious Abu Ghraib prison. He notes that the American director of the prison was aware of the abuse but did nothing to stop it.

Abdulla, the son of a former Ba'ath party member, discusses his father's journey from fighting the US army as part of the resistance to joining the Awakening forces and eventually being arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison for his involvement with the Islamic State militant group. While he initially had hope for a better future in a post-Saddam Iraq, he became disillusioned with the chaos, violence, and corruption that came with the occupation. He laments, "We exchanged a brutal dictator for a failed state."

These harrowing accounts are only a small sample of the countless stories of pain, loss, and despair experienced by the Iraqi people as a result of the US-led invasion. The scars left by this ill-conceived and destructive intervention will continue to haunt Iraq and its people for generations to come.

The invasion of Iraq not only shattered the lives of millions of Iraqis but also destabilized the entire region. The rise of the Islamic State further destabilized Syria and other neighboring countries, creating a humanitarian crisis of immense proportions, with millions of people displaced both within Iraq and across its borders.