Baghdad on the 20th anniversary of “shock and awe”

The U.S. aerial bombardment of Iraq began on March 19, 2003, a campaign that then-President George W. Bush described as “shock and awe.” The takedown of Saddam Hussein’s regime triggered a savage insurgency and brutal sectarian conflict, and led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and nearly 4,500 U.S. military personnel.