Exactly 20 years ago, on March 20, 2003, the United States launched a ground invasion of Iraq, promising to end the rule of President Saddam Hussein and destroy alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the oil-rich country.
Air operations had begun the night before, as US President George W Bush announced in a televised address: “At this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.”
