In March 2003, former US President George W. Bush announced that U.S. forces had begun a military operation in Iraq, which was accused of manufacturing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and supporting terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda, who were responsible for the September 11 attacks.
However, when WMD intelligence proved illusory and a violent insurgency arose, the war lost public support.
In 2008, as negotiations between the two states commenced, the U.S. began to gradually reduce the number of its troops in Iraq.
On December 15th 2011, in a ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, the US announced that it would be withdrawing its remaining 39,000 troops stationed in the country, putting an end to the conflict.
