The Iraq War, or the War in Iraq (also referred to as the Occupation of Iraq, the Second Gulf War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States military), was a conflict that occurred in Iraq from March 20th, 2003 to December 18th, 2011, though sectarian violence continues since and caused hundreds of fatalities.

Prior to the war, the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom claimed that Iraq's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) posed a threat to their security and that of their coalition/regional allies. In 2002, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1441 which called for Iraq to completely cooperate with UN weapon inspectors to verify that Iraq was not in possession of WMD and cruise missiles. The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) found no evidence of WMD, but could not verify the accuracy of Iraq's weapon declarations. Lead weapons inspector Hans Blix advised the UN Security Council that while Iraq was cooperating in terms of access, Iraq's declarations with regards to WMD still could not be verified.

The Operation Iraqi Freedom Assault Vehicle Collection consists of 10 vehicles: five M1 Abrams tanks and five US M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. Each vehicle is modeled after a specific unit that participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. This 1:72 scale collection includes the following unit-specific vehicles:

- M1A2 Abrams, 4th Infantry Division, Iraq 2003
- M1A1 Abrams, 3rd Infantry Division, Iraq 2003
- M1A1HA Abrams 1st Armored Division, Baghdad 2003
- M1A1 Abrams, 3rd Infantry Division, Iraq 2003
- M1A2 Abrams, 4th Infantry Division, Iraq 2003
- M2A2 ODS Bradley, 2-6 Infantry, 1st Armored Division, Baghdad 2004
- M2A2 ODS Bradley 1-6 Infantry, 1st Armored Division, Baghdad 2004
- M2A2 ODS Bradley 1-22 Infantry, 4th Infantry Division, Baghdad 2004
- M2A2 ODS Bradley, 1-41 Infantry, 1st Armored Div., Baghdad 2003
- M2A2 ODS Bradley 3-69 Armor, 3rd Infantry Division, Baghdad 2003
Each vehicle comes in distinctive lime green packaging. Sold Out!

Release Date: May 2005

Historical Account: The 2003 operation in Iraq, termed "Operation Iraqi Freedom" by the US administration, began on March 20th. It was originally coined "Operation Iraqi Liberation". The United States and the United Kingdom supplied 98% of the invading forces. They co-operated with Kurdish forces in the north which numbered upwards of 50,000. Other nations also participated in part of a coalition force to help with the operation by providing equipment, services and security as well as Special Forces. The 2003 Iraq invasion marked the beginning of what is commonly referred to as the Iraq War. Prior to the invasion, the United States' official position was that Iraq illegally possessed weapons of mass destruction in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1441 and had to be disarmed by force. President George W. Bush stated Saddam's weapons of mass destruction needed to be disarmed, and the Iraqi people were to have control of their own country restored to them. UN inspection teams were searching Iraq for these alleged weapons for nearly four months prior to the invasion and were willing to continue, but were forced out by the onset of war in spite of their requests for more time.

The Bush administration did not attempt to get a UN Security Council resolution authorising military force, as France, Russia, and later China all signalled that they would use their Security Council veto power against any resolution that would include an ultimatum allowing the use of force against Iraq. On March 20th, 2003, the invasion of Iraq began. This was seen by many as a violation of international law, breaking the UN Charter (see Legitimacy of the 2003 invasion of Iraq). The Iraqi military was defeated, and Baghdad fell on April 9th, 2003. On May 1st, 2003, President Bush declared the end of major combat operations, terminating the Baath Party's rule and removing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from office. Coalition forces ultimately captured Saddam Hussein on December 13th, 2003.

Numerous guerrilla and terrorist groups are active in the area, including one newly-formed called al-Qaeda in Iraq. Legislative elections were held in January 2005.