On March 20, 2003, the invasion of Iraq was launched by a multinational force led by the United States and Great Britain. Now, exactly 20 years later, the extensive consequences of the war are still felt.
– The consequences of the US-led invasion would be significantly bloodier than those who planned it could have imagined, says SVT’s foreign reporter Stina Blomgren.
The invasion was motivated by the fact that Iraq would have, and supply terrorists with, weapons of mass destruction – something that could not be proven in retrospect. It also sparked tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims, leading to a bloody civil war and giving a foothold to international terrorism.
– For the extremist group like al-Qaeda, the war created new opportunities to grow. At the same time, more and more foreign extremists sought to come to Iraq, says Stina Blomgren.
See the most important consequences of the Iraq war in the video.
