From the archives: Day 1 of the Iraq War

On March 20, 2003, a U.S.-led coalition launched a military invasion of Iraq, initiating a conflict that would reshape the Middle East and American foreign policy for two decades. The operation began without explicit United Nations authorization, justified by the Bush administration's claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and posed an imminent threat to global security. The invasion led to the swift overthrow of Saddam Hussein's government but triggered a prolonged insurgency and regional instability that extended far beyond initial military projections. The war ultimately resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, trillions in U.S. spending, and the emergence of power vacuums that destabilized Iraq and neighboring countries. This archival broadcast captures the opening moments of one of the most consequential U.S. military interventions of the 21st century.