978-1-4222-3442-6

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I RAQ AT W AR AND R EBUILDING

T HE A FTERMATH OF W AR The collapse of Saddam Hussein’s government occurred so quickly that U.S. forces were not prepared to step in immediately and main- tain order. People throughout Iraq celebrated the fall of the regime on April 9, 2003, but celebrations soon turned into rioting in Baghdad and other cities. Unrest in the capital prevented Red Cross workers from delivering medical supplies and fresh water to hospitals. U.S. troops concentrated on eliminating military resist- ance, but they did not prevent looters from stealing priceless archaeological treasures from museums and libraries in Baghdad, robbing banks and government buildings in Basra, or plundering the university in Mosul. Soon, crowds began to gather to protest the U.S. occupation of Iraq. In many cases, Muslim religious leaders, both Sunni and Shiite, incited the protesters. Attacks on U.S. troops continued after President Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq on May 1. Sunni Muslim insurgents determined to resist the U.S. occupation waged a bloody guerrilla campaign of suicide bombings and ambushes. The Sunni

U.S. soldiers take inventory of weapons found hidden in Thalatat, Iraq, November 2003. In the months that followed the war, an Iraqi resistance to the U.S. occupation inflicted many casualties on coalition troops.