Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist government collapsed in 2003 following the invasion of Iraq by a small coalition of nations led by the United States and the United Kingdom. After the governmental collapsed, the United States and the United Kingdom, with the assistance of several other nations (including Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy and Japan) and United Nations authorization, established a provisional authority whose publicly stated goal is to provide for Iraqis' basic needs and help in the creation of a new democratically elected government following the end of the Ba'ath government. Saddam Hussein Saddām Hussein ʻAbd al-Majīd al-Tikrīt, also spelled Husayn or Hussain; Arabic صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي; born April 28, 1937 1) was President of Iraq from 1979 until 2003. ... Baath Party flag The Ba‘ath Parties (also spelled Baath or Ba‘th; Arabic: اﻟﺒﻌﺚ) comprise political parties representing the political face of the Ba‘ath movement. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945 and now made up of 191 states. ...

On January 30, 2005. the transitional parliamentary elections took place. See: Iraqi legislative election, 2005. January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... Legislative elections were held in Iraq on January 30, 2005. ... Iraqi police officers hold up their index fingers marked with purple indelible ink, a security measure to prevent double voting. ...

Government structure

The immediate post-Saddam governmental authority in Iraq is the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (OHRA). This body was initially led by U.S. General Jay Garner; however he was rather quickly replaced by civilian administrator L. Paul Bremer. ORHA shares some authority with the Interim Iraq Governing Council (IIGC), an appointed body. The seal of the CPA in Iraq Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) was the organization established by the United States Government that acted as a caretaker administration in Iraq until civilian rule resumed on June 28, 2004. ... Jay Montgomery Garner (born April 15, 1938) is a retired United States Army general who was appointed in 2003 as Director of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq following the 2003 invasion of Iraq but was soon replaced by L. Paul Bremer. ... L. Paul Bremer Lewis Paul Bremer III, known simply as Paul Bremer, (born September 30, 1941) was the U.S.-installed chief executive of Iraq following the Iraq War of 2003. ... The Iraqi Governing Council. ...

Challenges

ORHA and the IIGC face many immediate challenges as basic as food, water, and electricity. Iraq is a nation recovering from years of totalitarian rule, economic sanctions, and several wars, including the 2003 invasion itself. A totalitarian régime or state attempts to control nearly every aspect of personal, economic, and political life. ... The 2003 invasion of Iraq, also called simply the Iraq War or Operation: Iraqi Freedom, is a war that began March 20, 2003, fought between a group of troops consisting primarily of American and British, but also Polish, Australian and several other nations forces, and Iraq. ...

Establishing a Civil Society

After years of dictatorship, Iraq has virtually no civil society to serve as a necessary backbone to a democratic process. Any civil society under the Hussein regime was either tightly controlled or eliminated as a threat, or possible threat, to the regime. This is part of nation-building that is perhaps most difficult; examples of the consequences of failure can be seen in Haiti, Afghanistan, Somalia, and other nations around the world. Lack of a civil society generally leads to anarchy or back to dictatorship, either of which would be intolerable for a nation's citizens and could conceivably be a threat to global national security. Dictator was the title of a magistrate in ancient Rome appointed by the Senate to rule the state in times of emergency. ... Civil society or civil institutions refers to the totality of voluntary civic and social organizations or institutions which form the basis of a functioning society as opposed to the force backed structures of a state (regardless of that states political system). ... This article or section should be merged with nation-building Nation building is the use of armed force in the aftermath of a conflict to underpin an enduring transition to democracy. ... Civil society or civil institutions refers to the totality of voluntary civic and social organizations or institutions which form the basis of a functioning society as opposed to the force backed structures of a state (regardless of that states political system). ... Anarchy (New Latin anarchia) is a term that has several usages. ... Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler were two of the 20th centurys most notorious dictators. ... Security measures outside the Houses of Parliament, London, England. ...

Violence and instability

There has been violence and instability continually in Iraq since the fall of the Hussein government. Much of this violence has been directed against foreign troops serving in the part of the nation called the "Sunni Triangle"; however there have also been attacks in other parts of the country and against Iraqis seen as as assisting the western military forces. The majority of these attacks seem to be by members of the Sunni branch of Islam who were granted special privileges in the Ba'ath Party and may wish to regain a central role in Iraqi politics. However, there have been a number of violent groups at work in Iraq, and it is not immediately clear whether and to what extent the resistance is organized or united. Map of the Sunni Triangle The Sunni Triangle refers to a roughly triangular area of Iraq to the northwest of Baghdad. ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... Islam  listen (Arabic: al-islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second largest religion. ... Baath Party flag The Ba‘ath Parties (also spelled Baath or Ba‘th; Arabic: اﻟﺒﻌﺚ) comprise political parties representing the political face of the Ba‘ath movement. ...

Iraqi concerns

The main concerns of those opposing the post-Saddam government, both violently and politically, seem to be (not in order of importance):

Ba'ath Party/Sunni power

While officially secular, the Ba'ath Party was largely made up of Sunni Muslims, while the majority of Iraqis are Shiite. This category is representative of both those formerly high-ranking Sunnis who are seeking to use violence to regain power and the attacks motivated by revenge for the crimes, or perceived crimes, of former members of the Ba'ath Party. Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... Islam  listen (Arabic: al-islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second largest religion. ... Shia Islam (Arabic: follower; English has traditionally used Shiite or Shiite) is the second largest Islamic denomination; some 10-15% of all Muslims are said to follow a Shia tradition. ...

Ethnic & religious freedom

One effect of Hussein's ethnic and religious favoritism and oppression is that the various religious and ethnic groups in Iraq are extremely distrustful of each other. There is concern that any new Iraqi government will again begin opressing the rights of one group or another in order to gain political advantage.

National sovereignty

Some have expressed the belief that the American led government will not truly allow a democratic process to establish itself in Iraq, with the possibility of Iraq electing some sort of fundamentalist regime to power - or indeed any government hostile to the interests of the United States.

International Concerns

Many countries have expressed some of the same concerns that the Iraqis themselves have about the country post Saddam: about Iraqi self-determination and ethnic and religious freedoms. Foreign nations have largely focused on the issue of possible American influence, whether sought or unsought, in the future Iraqi governmental process and economy.

The Iraqi insurgency

Main article: Iraqi insurgency The Iraqi insurgency (also called the Iraqi resistance) comprises the groups fighting against the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the Government of Iraq. ...

There have been frequent claims made, by both U.S. government officials and others, that Saddam Hussein had contacts with officials in al-Qaeda, the organization considered by many to be responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. This has since been largely rebuked by US and other intelligence sources. Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ... The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks carried out in the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. ...

Historically Saddam did support Palestinian causes; however, this seems to have largely been in the form financial support for the families of suicide bombers. This was part of Hussein's attempts to become a pan-Arab leader. The Palestinian flag, adopted in 1948, is a widely recognized modern symbol of the Palestinian people. ... A suicide bombing is a bomb attack on people or property, committed by a person who knows the explosion will cause his or her own death (see suicide, suicide weapons). ...

Western military officials also frequently identify Iraqi militants as "terrorists," although others may consider them to be freedom fighters. As always, the application and use of this label depends on one's point of view and specific circumstances - defining these terms in a neutral way is difficult. Terrorism refers to the use of violence for the purpose of achieving a political, religious, or ideological goal. ... Freedom fighter is a relativistic local term for those engaged in rebellion against an established government that is held to be oppressive and illegitimate. ...