POLITICS 20 years ago, the war in Iraq began with a falsehood News-thread By Deborah Acton - March 13, 2023 0 46 Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Twenty years ago, the United States launched the most disastrous foreign policy mistake in its history. On March 19, 2003, 160,000 American and British troops, accompanied by auxiliary detachments from Australia and Poland, invaded Iraq.