Smoke billows from an explosion in Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s guest palace after it is bombed during a US-led coalition air raid on March 31, 2003. AFP
Smoke billows from an explosion in Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s guest palace after it is bombed during a US-led coalition air raid on March 31, 2003. AFP

2003 - The US war on Iraq

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Updated 19 April 2025
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2003 - The US war on Iraq

2003 - The US war on Iraq

JEDDAH: What shall we call the 2003 US war in Iraq? The Americans had no problem at all in describing it as a liberation. From the Arab perspective, however, it was something completely different.

If you flip through editions of Arab News published in the lead-up to the start of the bombing of Baghdad on the night of March 20, 2003, what strikes you is that many Arabs were opposed to the US war in Iraq because they, correctly, foresaw that the result would be to hand the country to Iran on a platter.

US President George W. Bush was always prejudiced against Saddam Hussein. Bush’s cabinet colleagues and advisers, especially Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Perle and other neocons in the administration, made no attempt to hide their own pathological dislike of the Iraqi leader.

There were several theories for why Bush despised Saddam so. Some reports suggested the hatred stemmed from Saddam plotting to kill his father, former President George H. W. Bush, during a visit to Kuwait in 1993. Whatever the reasons, Bush Jr.’s advisers took full advantage of the president’s strong dislike and fed it with a variety of stories.

The horrific attacks on US soil by Al-Qaeda on Sept. 11, 2001, gave Bush and his advisers a reason to take out Saddam. He was portrayed as a supporter of Al-Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden, and was therefore tarred with the same brush of Muslim terrorism.

Nobody in the Middle East was taken in by this story, however, because it was well known there that Saddam hated Al-Qaeda more than anything else. As a Baathist, he viewed Islamist terrorists as a great threat to his rule, much more so even than the danger posed by his archenemy, Iran.

How we wrote it




The “High Noon for Cowboy Era” headline, with Bush in a cowboy hat, remains one of the newspaper’s most iconic front pages.

But the post-9/11 atmosphere was such that it was easy to create any narrative as justification for the elimination of any perceived enemy. That is exactly what happened with Saddam. A flimsy case was put together that alleged he was in possession of weapons of mass destruction, based on flawed intelligence.

Colin Powell, Bush’s secretary of state, gave an elaborate speech to the UN, complete with maps and pictures of where the WMDs allegedly were hidden. The wider world was nonetheless unconvinced, and the UN, which had sent its own experts to Iraq on a fruitless search for such weapons, refused to approve Washington’s war.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal raised serious concerns on “Frontline,” an investigative documentary series on the US TV network PBS.

“What’s going to happen to them (Iraqi soldiers and officials), especially since the army was disbanded and the government fired? And who’s going to rule Iraq if you have that?” he asked.

“Saddam Hussein had perhaps 2 million people controlling Iraq. The US and its allies have close to 150,000. How do you make that work?”

Nonetheless, Washington developed and choreographed its plan to attack Iraq. Arab News published many reports at the time about how Saudi authorities advised the US, its closest Western ally, to call for sanctions instead.

Key Dates

  • 1

    US Secretary of State Colin Powell addresses the UN Security Council and offers a rationale for war on Iraq: the country’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction.

    Timeline Image Feb. 5, 2003

  • 2

    American aircraft launch a blistering attack on Baghdad. Dubbed “shock and awe,” it knocks out Iraqi anti-missile batteries, aircraft and power installations. The presidential palace is attacked.

    Timeline Image March 20, 2003

  • 3

    US President George W. Bush flies to aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in a Lockheed S-3 Viking aircraft and gives a speech in which he announces the end of major combat operations in Iraq.

    Timeline Image May 1, 2003

  • 4

    Saddam Hussein captured after 9 months in hiding.

    Timeline Image Dec. 13, 2003

  • 5

    Saddam executed after sham trial by the interim Iraqi government. Despite prolonged searches by the US, no WMDs are found in Iraq.

    Timeline Image Dec. 30, 2006

  • 6

    After nearly 9 years of a guerrilla war, the last US soldiers leave Iraq. The estimated cost of the conflict exceeds $800 billion, with 4,500 American and more than 100,000 Iraqi lives lost.

 

Even after Saddam had invaded Kuwait in the early 1990s, and his army was pulverized by the US and Saudi-led liberation forces, Riyadh had gone to great lengths to convince Washington it would be a bad move to remove Saddam from power. Saudi officials knew his demise would lead to chaos in the region and provide Iran with a golden opportunity to run amok.

Sure enough, as things panned out a little over a decade later, the removal of Saddam did indeed lead to horrific atrocities, both in Iraq and the wider region. Al-Qaeda, which had been given a severe drubbing in Afghanistan, bounced back and found an ideal and very fertile breeding ground in post-Saddam Iraq.

Much later, Daesh appeared on the scene. Sensing an opening, Iran stepped in and unleashed a sectarian war. Thousands died. Tehran and its many murderous militias used improvised explosive devices to devastating effect.

As a senior member of staff at Arab News, I was part of the team that would select stories and photos for the front page. Some from that time remain etched in our memories. The front page on March 19, 2003, for example, pictured Bush in a cowboy hat under the headline: “High noon for cowboy era.”

That same front page also reported on King Fahd’s address to the Saudi people on March 18 in which he said: “The Kingdom will under no circumstances take part in the war against Iraq, and its armed forces will not enter an inch of Iraqi territory.”

Baghdad was bombed for the first time the next night, after a 48-hour ultimatum issued by Bush to Saddam expired. There was extensive reporting by Arab News from Kuwait, Jordan, Washington and, of course, Baghdad. Our correspondents on the ground filed their reports to the newsroom in Jeddah. The March 21, 2003, edition carried the headline: “Baghdad set ablaze; palaces, Saddam’s family home targeted in aerial bombardment.”

On the nights that followed, the US unleashed at least 3,000 satellite-guided bombs and cruise missiles upon Iraq. There was not an Iraqi weapon of mass destruction in sight. In the “Letters to the Editor” page of Arab News, readers referred to these elusive WMDs as “weapons of mass deception.”

There was intense and severe criticism in Saudi Arabia of the war, especially because the UN had refused to approve it. In an article in the March 21, 2003, edition, Adnan Jaber, a Jordanian journalist in Saudi Arabia, said the conflict “would increase terrorism rather than reduce it, since political instability would provide a breeding ground for radicalism.”




Iraqis watch the televised execution by hanging of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein, the “Butcher of Baghdad” captured by US forces in Operation Red Dawn. AFP

His words were profoundly prescient. The very political instability he predicted led many members of Saddam’s army, which the Americans had foolishly disbanded, to join Daesh and Al-Qaeda so that they could strike a blow against the invaders who had ravaged their homeland for no purpose.

There were, as in all wars, moments of dark comic relief. We would gather around TV screens in the newsroom, for example, to listen to Saddam’s information minister, Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahaf, making ridiculous claims as he addressed the media every day.

According to him, Saddam’s army was on the verge of victory; the reality was exactly the opposite. The much-touted American campaign of “shock and awe” had resulted in the melting away of the Iraqi military, who offered no resistance. It was later revealed that Iraqi soldiers simply gave up their uniforms and chose guerrilla warfare by joining Daesh or Al-Qaeda.

The region continues to suffer the consequences of that war: an increase in terrorism; political instability, and the creation of breeding ground for radicalism. In virtually all ways, the consequences were much worse than the war itself.

Arab News was well placed to report on the war and its after-effects, and is proud to continue the same tradition of dedicated and responsible journalism to this day.

  • Siraj Wahab is managing editor of Arab News. During the invasion of Iraq, he was a senior member of staff, having joined the newspaper in January 1998.


Palestinian under psychiatric evaluation after hitting rabbi in France

Palestinian under psychiatric evaluation after hitting rabbi in France
Updated 1 min 30 sec ago
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Palestinian under psychiatric evaluation after hitting rabbi in France

Palestinian under psychiatric evaluation after hitting rabbi in France
  • The rabbi, Elie Lemmel, suffered a gash to his head from the chair that hit him as he was speaking with a companion in the cafe in the wealthy western Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine

PARIS: A Palestinian man arrested on Friday for throwing a chair at a rabbi in a Paris suburban cafe has been sent to hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, French authorities said.
The reason for the attack was unknown, but France’s main Jewish association condemned it as an antisemitic assault, and French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou blamed a “radicalization of public debate” against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Gaza.
The rabbi, Elie Lemmel, suffered a gash to his head from the chair that hit him as he was speaking with a companion in the cafe in the wealthy western Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine.
The local prosecutors’ office said that it had opened a criminal investigation for assault possibly aggravated by religious motives.
It said the Palestinian, an irregular migrant living with temporary papers in Germany, was thought to be 28 years old and born in the Gaza city of Rafah.
It added that “he is undergoing a psychiatric examination requiring his forced hospitalization.”
France’s hard-line interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, said on X that the Palestinian “had no reason to be in France” and should be “severely punished and deported.”
The French Jewish association CRIF said on X that “this attack is yet another illustration of the toxic climate targeting French Jews.”
The French Jewish community, one of the largest in the world, has faced a number of attacks and desecrations of memorials since the Gaza war erupted on October 7, 2023.
French authorities are alert to antisemitic attacks, reports of which have been on the rise as the war in Gaza grinds on.
That conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023 when the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked parts of Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,218 people.
Israel retaliated with relentless bombardments and an aid blockade of the Gaza Strip. The ongoing military operation has resulted in the deaths of at least 54,677 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.


Iraq frees Australian, Egyptian engineers after four years, but keeps travel ban

Iraqi police stand guard in Baghdad. (AFP file photo)
Iraqi police stand guard in Baghdad. (AFP file photo)
Updated 7 min 34 sec ago
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Iraq frees Australian, Egyptian engineers after four years, but keeps travel ban

Iraqi police stand guard in Baghdad. (AFP file photo)
  • Both men were sentenced to five years in prison and fined $12 million, the working group said

BAGHDAD: Iraq has released an Australian mechanical engineer and his Egyptian colleague who were detained for more than four years over a dispute with the central bank, authorities said Friday, though the two remain barred from leaving the country.
Robert Pether and Khalid Radwan were working for an engineering company contracted to oversee the construction of the bank’s new Baghdad headquarters, according to a United Nations report, when they were arrested in April 2021.
A report from a working group for the UN Human Rights Council said the arrests stemmed from a contractual dispute over “alleged failure to execute certain payments.”
Both men were sentenced to five years in prison and fined $12 million, the working group said.
A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Pether, in his fifties, was released “due to his poor health.”
Australian media have previously reported that the family suspected Pether had developed lung cancer in prison and that he had undergone surgery for skin cancer.
A second Iraqi official confirmed the release of Radwan, adding that he was not allowed to leave the country until a “final decision” was made regarding his case.
Australia’s ABC broadcaster quoted the country’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, as welcoming the release and saying the Australian government had raised the issue with Iraqi authorities more than 200 times.
Simon Harris, foreign minister for Ireland, where Pether’s family lives, posted on X: “This evening, I have been informed of the release on bail of Robert Pether, whose imprisonment in Iraq has been a case of great concern.
“This is very welcome news in what has been a long and distressing saga for Robert’s wife, three children and his wider family and friends.”
Speaking to Irish national broadcaster RTE, Pether’s wife, Desree Pether, said her husband was “not well at all” and “really needs to just come home so he can get the proper medical care he needs.”
“He’s completely unrecognizable. It’s a shock to the system to see how far he has declined,” she said.
 

 


Syrian leader makes first visit to cradle of country’s uprising

Syrian leader makes first visit to cradle of country’s uprising
Updated 41 min 33 sec ago
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Syrian leader makes first visit to cradle of country’s uprising

Syrian leader makes first visit to cradle of country’s uprising
  • SANA published footage showing a cheering crowd greeting Sharaa
  • Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab visited Daraa’s historic Omari mosque during the trip

DAMASCUS: Syrian Arab Republic’s interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa on Friday visited the southern city of Daraa, the cradle of the country’s uprising, for the first time since ousting longtime ruler Bashar Assad almost six months ago.

State news agency SANA published footage showing a cheering crowd greeting Sharaa, who was seen waving and shaking hands with people during the visit, which came on the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha.

Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab visited Daraa’s historic Omari mosque during the trip, the presidency said in a statement, releasing images of the visit showing the leader among the crowd.

SANA also said he met with local civil and military officials, as well as a delegation from the Christian minority.

Provincial governor Anwar Al-Zoabi said in a statement that the visit was “an important milestone in the course of national recovery.”

In 2011, young boys who had scrawled graffiti against Assad were detained in Daraa, sparking nationwide protests.

After the war erupted following the brutal repression of protests, rebels seized control of Daraa and hung on until 2018, when the city returned to Assad under a deal mediated by Russia that allowed former fighters to keep their light weapons.

On December 6, as Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) led a lightning offensive on Damascus from the country’s northwest, a coalition of armed groups from Daraa province was formed to help oust Assad, who was toppled two days later.

The province was plagued by unrest in recent years.


Grandmother files war crimes case in Paris over Gaza killings

Grandmother files war crimes case in Paris over Gaza killings
Updated 53 min 8 sec ago
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Grandmother files war crimes case in Paris over Gaza killings

Grandmother files war crimes case in Paris over Gaza killings
  • The complaint argues the “genocide” allegation is based on the air strike being part of a larger Israeli project to “eliminate the Palestinian population and submit it to living conditions of a nature to entail the destruction of their group”

PARIS: The grandmother of two children with French nationality killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza has filed a legal complaint in Paris, accusing Israel of “genocide” and “murder,” her lawyer said on Friday.

Jacqueline Rivault filed her complaint with the “crimes against humanity” section of the Court of Paris, lawyer Arie Alimi said.
Rivault hopes the fact that her daughter’s children, aged six and nine, were French citizens means the country’s judiciary will decide it has jurisdiction to designate a magistrate to investigate the allegations.
Rights groups, lawyers, and some Israeli historians have described the Gaza war as “genocide.”

FASTFACT

Jacqueline Rivault filed her complaint with the ‘crimes against humanity’ section of the Court of Paris, lawyer Arie Alimi said.

The complaint states that “two F16 missiles fired by the Israeli army” killed Janna, six, and Abderrahim Abudaher, nine, in northern Gaza on October 24, 2023.
They and their family had sought refuge in another home “between Faluja and Beit Lahia” after leaving their own two days earlier due to heavy bombardment, the 48-page document stated.
One missile entered “through the roof and the second directly into the room where the family was,” it said.
Abderrahim was killed instantly, while his sister Janna died shortly after being taken to the hospital.
The complaint argues the “genocide” allegation is based on the air strike being part of a larger Israeli project to “eliminate the Palestinian population and submit it to living conditions of a nature to entail the destruction of their group.”
Though formally against unnamed parties, the complaint explicitly targets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli government, and the military.
The children’s brother Omar was severely wounded but still lives in Gaza with their mother, identified as Yasmine Z., the complaint said.
A French court in 2019 convicted Yasmine Z. in absentia of having funded a “terrorist” group by distributing money in Gaza to members of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed 54,677 people, mostly civilians, according to the Health Ministry there, figures the UB deems reliable.
No court has so far ruled that the ongoing conflict is a genocide.
But in rulings in January, March, and May 2024, the International Court of Justice, the UN’s highest judicial organ, told Israel to do everything possible to “prevent” acts of genocide during its military operations in Gaza.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

 


Israeli army admits to Gaza strike

Israeli army admits to Gaza strike
Updated 06 June 2025
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Israeli army admits to Gaza strike

Israeli army admits to Gaza strike
  • Admission comes following investigation by BBC Verify

DUBAI: The Israeli military has admitted to the BBC that it conducted a strike on the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, which reportedly killed at least one Palestinian and injured 30 others.

The attack took place on Sunday, soon after an incident near a new aid distribution center in Rafah.

BBC’s fact-checking unit, Verify, was analyzing footage of the Rafah incident when it identified a separate strike in nearby Khan Younis.

Initially thought to be linked to the Rafah incident, BBC Verify geolocated the footage to Khan Younis, 4.5 km from the aid distribution site.

The Khan Younis blast had not been announced by the IDF, which regularly publishes operational updates online.

When BBC Verify approached the Israeli military, it admitted it had carried out an artillery strike and said the incident was the result of “technical and operational errors.”

Troops had fired toward a specific target but the artillery deviated and “wrongfully hit the Mawasi area” in Khan Younis, the military said, without providing any evidence to support its claims.

The blast took place in an area where displaced Palestinians had been sheltering. The footage showed bloodied bodies surrounded by dust clouds, BBC said. Women and children could be seen running and screaming as they watched injured people being carried away.

The broadcaster emphasized the rarity of the Israeli military acknowledging errors. BBC Verify’s analysis of its official Telegram account identified four previous instances where it admitted to mistakes or technical and operational errors related to the war in Gaza.