Iraq was left alone by the United States.
Iraq . After an invasion by the United States and its allies in 2003 , Saddam Hussein 's Ba'ath Party was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in 2005 . The American presence in Iraq ended in 2011 , but the Iraqi insurgency continued and intensified as fighters from the Syrian Civil War spilled into the country . Iraq War . The period of the war lasting from 2003 to 2010 was referred to as Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States military . was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein .