Kurds died). Since the Gulf War, the Kurds have maintained a level of independence under US and British protection. Following Allied occupation and democratic elections overseen by allied forces, the Shia have sustained Government majority. The interests of the three groups still dominate daily life: The Shia dream of maintaining power (and oil), the Sunnis dream of regaining Baathist rule (and oil) and the Kurds dream of an independent Kurdistan (and probably oil). Inevitably, the Sunnis have been persecuted since the fall of Hussein and resent their diminished control. They are largely (reportedly) responsible for the insurgent attacks on occupying forces and post 2003 governments, but extremist attacks from both sides continue. Opposing the War George Bush declared war on Iraq in March 2003 on the grounds that Iraq was harbouring weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and posed an 'imminent threat' to the world. His decision has always met with opposition, mainly because of likely casualty and inflammation to the already firey Middle East. When in 2004 a CIA report confirmed that Hussein did not have a stockpile of illicit weapons at the time of invasion, outrage and opposition billowed. Bush's emphasis then shifted from WMD to the less concrete 'promotion of freedom and democracy', and then after 7/11, to the 'Global War on Terror'. This justification bases itself on claims that Hussein and Al Qaeda were in bed together. Anti war campaigners continued their anti-Bush claims of rhetoric and false or exaggerated statements. In 2010, Barack Obama vowed to