BAGHDAD, Iraq (NBC) – Today marks the 20th anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In March 2003, U.S. Forces invaded Iraq vowing to destroy Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and to topple Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship.
Former President George W. Bush and his administration wagered to the American public and the international community that Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction.
The coalition found no such weapons, but forces did succeed in knocking Hussein out of power.
By the U.S.’s withdrawal from Iraq in 2011, the costs of the war stood high with at least 4,400 U.S. deaths and more than 32,000 wounded.
At least 100,000 Iraqi civilians died.
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