President Bush ordered an attack on Baghdad with the intent of eliminating Saddam Hussein and his government. On May 1, 2003, Bush declared the war over and “Mission Accomplished.” The conflict continued in Iraq and was followed by questions from Congress and the American public about the validity of the administration’s original reasons for the war.

In the 2006 mid-term elections, Democrats regained control of both chambers of Congress. They had campaigned against Iraq policy and corruption in the Republican Party.

After Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, invaded Kuwait in August 1990, President Bush headed a coalition to set a deadline for Iraqi withdrawal. When Iraq failed to leave Kuwait, on January 17, 1991, the US-led coalition began a series of air attacks on Iraq and Iraqi-controlled regions of Kuwait. A ground assault began on February 23, and Kuwait was liberated on February 28, with Iraq accepting the conditions of a UN resolution for a ceasefire.

Saddam Hussein (1937–2006) was the president of Iraq whose long reign was marked by brutality and war. Saddam came to power upon the resignation of President Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr in 1979, and he quickly established an oppressive and retaliatory rule. In 1980, he authorized the Iraqi invasion of Iran’s oil fields, and the resulting war would last until 1988. In 1990, Saddam authorized an invasion of Kuwait, but US and UN intervention drove Iraqi forces out of the country. As a result of the Persian Gulf War, the United Nations imposed strict...