Twenty years ago, former US President George Bush fabricated a lie claiming that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and launched a UK-backed “shock and awe” bombing campaign on Iraq on March 20, 2003.

Weeks later, on May 1, Bush declared that the "mission" was accomplished. However, the US-led war was in fact far from over. Weapons of mass destruction never existed, and destruction was all that the US inflicted on Iraq, with its repercussions still evident up to this very day in 2023. 

The numbers produced by the war are shocking ever since the US-led invasion was initiated back in 2003.

How much did the war cost?

The total cost of UK operations in Iraq since 2003 was $8.2 billion, according to an audit carried out by the Ministry of Defense in January 2015.

Initially, $3 billion were set aside to cover “the full costs of the UK‟s military obligations” in Iraq in the 2003 budget.

Read more: 20 years of war: How much did the US war in Iraq, Syria cost?

When combining the total cost of wars in Iraq and Syria, the US spent $1.79 trillion, according to estimates published by the Costs of War project. The figures also include veterans' care alongside Pentagon and State Department spending.

For veteran care through to 2050, the US spent $2.89 trillion. 

Iraqi death toll

According to figures from Iraq Body Count (IBC), 209,982 Iraqi civilians were killed between 2003 and 2022. 29,526 civilians were killed in 2006 alone, making it the bloodiest year for the Iraqi civilian death toll.

Read more: Job of US Marine corps was killing people: Iraq War veterans speak up

The medical journal The Lancet estimated civilian deaths at 600,000.

As for Iraqi national military forces and national and local police forces, 48,719 were killed in the period between March 2003 and August 2021. 

On this day, 20 years ago, #US forces started to bomb #Iraq signaling the launch of their invasion of the country. Millions of Iraqis suffered from the ruthless violence of US forces, notably in the infamous #AbuGhreib prison. pic.twitter.com/UA4MWduXpp

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) March 19, 2023

US, UK actions led to killing their own

The number of US troops killed in the war, the US itself waged, between March 2003 and August 2021 was 4,598.

179 British Armed Forces personnel were killed since the war on Iraq started in 2003, in addition to 53 fatalities suffered by UK Armed Forces in the Gulf in 2003 alone. 

In the meantime, the death toll of troops of other Coalition countries between 2003 and 2021 was 139.

Read more: US tortured Iraqis in Abu Ghraib and got away with it: Reports

Displaced and left to seek refuge

3.9 million Iraqi refugees fled between 2003 and 2016; 2 million of them fled the country while 1.9 million were left displaced within Iraq.

It is noteworthy that the numbers do not account for the ones who were killed due to the destruction of healthcare systems, which caused as many deaths from malnutrition and diseases.

Read next: Same Iraq war lie used in Syria: Mekdad