The Iraq War 2003: Causes and Invasion

The Iraq War, launched on 20 March 2003, was one of the most controversial conflicts of the early twenty-first century. The USA and Britain argued that Saddam Hussein possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction and posed a threat to international security. Critics argued that the war was illegal and based on flawed intelligence. This lesson examines the causes of the war and the invasion itself.

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Causes of the Iraq War

The WMD Argument

The central justification for the war was the claim that Iraq possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) — chemical, biological, and possibly nuclear weapons.

Claim	Detail
US and UK intelligence	Both governments claimed Iraq had active WMD programmes
"45 minutes" claim	The UK government's "September Dossier" (2002) claimed Iraq could deploy WMD within 45 minutes
Aluminium tubes	The USA claimed Iraq was buying aluminium tubes for uranium enrichment (later disputed)
Mobile labs	Claims of mobile biological weapons laboratories (based on unreliable intelligence)
Unaccounted-for weapons	UNSCOM had been unable to verify the destruction of all chemical and biological agents