The Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF–I), often referred to as the Coalition forces, was a U.S.-led military command during the Iraq War from 2004 to 2009. The vast majority of MNF-I was made up of United States Army forces. However it also supervised British; Australian; Polish; Spanish; and other countries' forces. It replaced the previous force, Combined Joint Task Force 7, on 15 May 2004. It was significantly reinforced during the Iraq War troop surge of 2007. MNF-I was reorganized into its successor, United States Forces – Iraq, on 1 January 2010. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, which does humanitarian work and has a number of guards and military observers, has also operated in Iraq since 2003. The U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq was not a part of the MNF-I, but a separate entity. The NATO Training Mission – Iraq, was in Iraq from 2004 to December 2011, where it trained the Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Police.

History

The MNF-I's objectives, as expressed in an annex to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546, a June 2004 letter from U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to the U.N. Security Council, were stated to be: "The MNF under unified command is prepared to continue to contribute to the maintenance of security in Iraq, including by preventing and deterring terrorism and protecting the territory of Iraq. The goal of the MNF will be to help the Iraqi people to complete the political transition and will permit the United Nations and the international community to work to facilitate Iraq's reconstruction." The majority of countries that deployed forces to Iraq generally confined them to their respective military installations, due to widespread violence throughout the country. The government of Iraq enjoyed broad international recognition, including from constituent countries of the Arab League. Jordan assisted in training of Iraqi security forces, and the United Arab Emirates donated military equipment, though purchased from Switzerland. As of September 2008, over 545,000 Iraqi security forces have been trained. In November 2006, the United Nations Security Council voted to extend the mandate of the multinational force in Iraq until the end of 2007. The move was requested by the Iraqi government, which said the troops were needed for another year while it built up its own security forces. In December 2007, the Security Council unanimously approved resolution 1790, which extended the mandate until December 31, 2008. In December 2008, the American and Iraqi governments signed the U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement, which covered only American troops. It allowed them to remain in the country until 2011, but changed the status on several issues. Iraq regains sovereignty of its airspace, gains sovereignty over American contractors U.S. forces who commit crimes, if they are both off-duty and off base. The U.S. were given until July 31, 2009 to withdraw from Iraqi cities and the whole agreement was subject to a referendum of Iraqi voters held prior to June 30, 2009. If the referendum failed to approve the agreement, the Iraqi government would have given the U.S. until July 31, 2010 to withdraw completely. On December 18, 2008 the Iraqi government published a law that covered the status of non-U.S. foreign forces in the country from the end of the U.N.'s mandate on December 31, 2008 through to their withdrawal on July 31, 2009. The Iraqi parliament voted on Saturday December 20, 2008, after a second reading of this law, to reject it and send it back to the Iraqi cabinet. The majority of Iraqi parliamentarians wanted it to be made into a binding international agreement rather than simply presenting it as a local Iraqi law. A compromise was reached and the law passed on December 23, 2008, with the Iraqi government agreeing to then sign bilateral agreements with the affected countries.

List of countries in the coalition

Troop deployment in Iraq 2003–2011

Clandestine deployment of Canadian forces

Notable deployment of military equipment

🇳🇴 Norway – contributed with ARTHUR counter-battery radar systems, which pointed out 1,500 bombing targets during" the first days of the war (the British minister of defence, Geoff Hoon, thanked Norway for its "robust" contribution).

Countries that deployed troops to Iraq

2011 withdrawals

2009 withdrawals

2008 withdrawals

2007 withdrawals

2006 withdrawals

2005 withdrawals

2004 withdrawals

Public relations

YouTube

In early March 2007, Multi-National Force – Iraq announced that it had launched an official YouTube channel for the first time. The channel's videos have over eight million views. The stated purpose of the YouTube channel is to "document action as it appeared to personnel on the ground and in the air as it was shot." The video clips posted to the site are edited for "time, security reasons, and/or overly disturbing or offensive images."

Commanders

Controversy

Critics of the war have argued that, in addition to direct incentives, the involvement of other members of the coalition was in response for indirect benefits, such as support for North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership or other military and financial aid. Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, stated in April 2006, that Estonian military forces were to remain in Iraq due to Estonia's "important partnership" with the United States.

Incentives given to MNF-I member countries

Many MNF-I member countries had received monetary gain, among other incentives from the United States, in return for their sending of military forces to Iraq, or otherwise supporting coalition forces during the Iraq War.

Georgia

Georgia, is believed to have sent soldiers to Iraq as an act of repayment for U.S. training of security forces that could potentially be deployed to the break-away regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Indeed, Georgian troops that were sent to Iraq have all undergone these training programs.

Turkey

Turkey was offered approximately $8.5 billion in loans in exchange for sending 10,000 peacekeeping troops in 2003. Even though the United States did say the loans and the sending of troops to Iraq were not directly linked, it also said the loans are contingent upon "cooperation" on Iraq. The Turkish government swiftly rejected all offers of financial aid, and on March 1, 2003, the Turkish Grand National Assembly rejected sending military forces to help participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The decision of the Turkish parliament to do so, at the time, was seen as both a response against American interests in the Middle East, and a desire to keep Turkey out of the Iraq War. The Turkish government, however, allowed all humanitarian flights into and out of Turkey, such as the airlifting of wounded coalition forces.

United Kingdom

In March 2006, British newspaper, The Independent, reported that companies based within the United Kingdom had received at least £1.1bn in contracts for reconstruction work in post-invasion Iraq.

Deaths

When U.S. forces withdrew in December 2011, 4,804 coalition military personnel had been killed in Iraq. This list, which includes withdrawn countries, lists those deaths.