1. Introduction 2. Background 2.1 Historical contradictions in Iraq 2.2 Relationship between Iraq and USA 2.3 War on Terror 3. Preparations for Iraq war 3.1 Rationale for the Iraq War 3.2 Opposition to invasion 3.3 Legality of the Iraq War 4. Analysis of the Iraq war 4.1 The invasion in Iraq 4.2 Insurgency expands 4.3 Civil war 4.4 Military operations and attacks 4.5 U.S. troops surge 4.6 Terrorist attacks 4.7 U.S. drawdown 4.8 Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq 5. Leadership and political contexts 5.1 International opinion 5.2 Iraqi opinion 6. Relation to the Global War on Terrorism 7. Conclusion 8. Bibliography