Congressional actions on the Iraq War

Months after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the Bush administration began publicly discussing a possible invasion of Iraq for (among other reasons) its possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), connection to al Qaeda, and repeated hostility towards the United States. By the fall of 2002, President George W. Bush had made it clear that the U.S. intended to overthrow Saddam Hussein’s government if he did not disarm (it turned out Iraq had no WMD in the first place). While Bush argued that he did not need congressional approval to invade Iraq, ultimately both houses of Congress approved a resolution authorizing him to do so. The U.S. invaded Iraq on March 19, 2003, and was quickly able to overthrow the Iraqi government. In the years which followed, U.S. forces remained in the country to help control sectarian violence (which gradually increased following the invasion) and stabilize the government. During this period, Congress voted on numerous measures regarding the Iraq War, including appropriations measures, attempts to redeploy and remove U.S. troops from Iraq, and resolutions opposing President Bush’s decision to escalate the conflict.

Vote charts
Two handy charts that provide a quick run-down of these votes:


 * House votes on the Iraq War
 * Senate votes on the Iraq War

In-depth articles
Those charts link to more in-depth analysis of congressional actions on the Iraq War, which are organized into chronological sections (the bold articles) and sub-articles dealing with specific pieces of legislation:


 * Congressional actions on the Iraq War prior to the 2003 U.S. invasion
 * Congressional actions on the Iraq War following the 2003 U.S. invasion (2003 - 2006)
 * Congressional actions regarding President Bush’s 2007 proposed troop “surge” in Iraq (Jan. - Feb. 2007)
 * Congressional actions regarding President Bush’s 2007 proposed troop “surge” in Iraq/Articles and Resources
 * Congressional actions to end the Iraq War in the 110th Congress (Mar. 2007 - )
 * U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act, 2007 (H.R.1591)
 * Sen. Feingold measure to end funding for the Iraq War in 2008 (S.AMDT.1098)
 * U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 (H.R.2206)
 * FY 2008 Defense Department authorization
 * Iraq Study Group Recommendation Implementation Act of 2007

Related SourceWatch resources

 * War in Iraq