330 a short history of the united states
army could do the job just as well, the country quickly became cha-
otic.
In the summer of 2003 , a Coali tion Provisional Authority headed by
Ambassador Paul Bremer established a Governing Council to run Iraq.
A heavily fortified “Green Zone” was set up to protect the offi cials of
this government against the rising number of terrorist militiamen, who
singled out American soldiers, workers, officials, and their allies for as-
sassination. By the spring of 2008 over 4 , 000 American soldiers had
been killed in Iraq and thousands more severely wounded. Millions of
Iraqis fled the country, fearing for their lives. And the United States
suspected and later offered proof that Iran, an overwhelming Shiite na-
tion, was supplying the insurgents with weapons.
The unexpected but dramatic capture of Saddam Hussein, found
hiding underground in December 2003 , provided at least a semblance
of success in fighting this war, but it did not deter terrorists from their
almost daily assault on both the Americans and native Iraqis. Hussein
himself was later tried, found guilty, and hanged. The reputation of the
United States was further damaged when cameras graphically revealed
the barbaric use of torture by Americans of prisoners held in Baghdad’s
Abu Ghraib prison in April 2004. In violation of the Geneva Conven-
tions, U.S. military personnel posed for pictures that showed naked
prisoners in grotesque positions or being threatened by vicious dogs.
Several of these U.S. guards were later tried by a military court and
convicted. Further embarrassment ensued when weapons inspectors
concluded that whatever biological and chemical weapons Hussein
might have had were most likely destroyed before the country was in-
vaded. Slowly Americans began to realize that the war should never
have been waged.
And the war raged on. Terrorists broadened their attacks to include
the British consulate in Istanbul in November 2003 that resulted in
scores of deaths. In March 2004 , a well-coordinated bombing of Ma-
drid’s subways resulted in the killing of over 200 people. The newly
elected Spanish government immediately withdrew its troops from the
coalition in Iraq.
Another reason for the intense hatred of the United States by Mus-
lim terrorists was the continuing support America had provided Israel,
a hatred that intensified because of Israeli settlements in the West