The Second Gulf War lasted just three weeks and ended with Saddam Hussein's overthrow. However, since April 2003, United States forces, as well as troops from other countries, have struggled to end violent resistance in the nation.

The U.S. plans envisioned simultaneous air and ground assaults to incapacitate the Iraqi forces quickly which resulted in the shock and awe military campaign attempting to bypass Iraqi military units and cities in most cases.  Following Turkey's decision to deny any official use of its territory, the Coalition was forced to modify the planned simultaneous attack from Turkey and Kuwait. Special Operations forces from the CIA and U.S. Army managed to build and lead the Kurdish Peshmerga into an effective force and assault for the North. The primary bases for the invasion were in Kuwait and other Persian Gulf nations. The invasion of Iraq began on March 19, 2003 and the United States forces and other coalition forces quickly overwhelm the Iraqi Army.

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq the U.S. developed a set of playing cards to help troops identify the most-wanted members of President Saddam Hussein's government.On May 1, 2003, six weeks after the invasion of Iraq, President Bush declares the end of major combat operations in Iraq over.  Acting on tips from the dictator’s bodyguard and family members, U.S. troops find Saddam hiding out in a one-man hole near his boyhood home in Tikrit.