Iraq - In, Out, and Mess in the Middle

Here's the Reuters timeline of the war in Iraq. No word on how many times Dick Cheney declared the insurgency to be over.

Here is a timeline on U.S. forces in Iraq since 2003:

March 20, 2003 - U.S.-led forces invade Iraq from Kuwait to oust Saddam Hussein.
-- About 125,000 U.S. and British soldiers and Marines are in Iraq. By the end of April, U.S. says it will add 100,000 more soldiers to the U.S.-led invasion force.

April 9 - U.S. troops take Baghdad, Saddam disappears.

May 1 - President George W. Bush declares hostilities over.
-- Between March 20 and May 1, 138 U.S. troops are killed.

Dec. 13 - U.S. troops capture Saddam near Tikrit.

Feb. 22, 2006 - Bombing of Shi'ite shrine in Samarra sparks widespread sectarian slaughter, raising fears of civil war.

Feb. 14, 2007 - Maliki launches U.S.-backed crackdown in Baghdad aimed at pulling Iraq back from brink of civil war.
-- Five U.S. combat brigades plus supporting troops, or some 30,000 soldiers, are sent to Iraq between February and mid-June 2007. Besides reducing violence, Washington wanted to create "breathing space" for Iraqi leaders to make progress on laws seen as critical to fostering national reconciliation.

June 15 - U.S. military says it has completed its troop buildup, or "surge", to 160,000 soldiers.
-- From April to June 2007, 331 U.S. soldiers are killed, the deadliest quarter of the war for the U.S. military.

Sept. 10 - U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, recommends cutting troops by more than 20,000 by mid-2008.

July 22, 2008 - The U.S. military says the last of five extra combat brigades sent to Iraq in 2007 have withdrawn, leaving just under 147,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Nov. 17, 2008 - Iraq and the United States sign an accord requiring Washington to withdraw its forces by the end of 2011. The pact gives the government authority over the U.S. mission for the first time, replacing a U.N. Security Council mandate. Parliament approves pact after negotiations 10 days later.

Jan. 1, 2009 - U.S.-Iraq security pact comes into force, placing 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq under Iraqi authority.

Feb. 27 - New U.S. President Barack Obama announces plan to end U.S. combat operations in Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010, but says will leave up to 50,000 troops to train Iraqi forces.

June 30 - All U.S. combat units withdraw from Iraq's urban centres and redeploy to bases outside.

June, 4 2010 - U.S. military says there are 88,000 troops in Iraq.

Aug 18 - U.S. troop strength in Iraq is 56,000, a senior Obama administration official says.
-- The military says that there have been 4,419 U.S. military deaths since the invasion in 2003.

By: Brant