page_title: Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011)
section_title: Sabotage
hierarchical_section_title: Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011) / Iraqi insurgency / Sabotage
caption_attribution_description: English: MESD 823 Personnel aboard ABOT
context_page_description: The Occupation of Iraq is characterized by a large United States military deployment on Iraqi territory, beginning with the U.S.-led invasion of the country in March 2003 which overthrew the Ba'ath Party government of Saddam Hussein and ending with the departure of US troops from the country in 2011. Troops for the invasion came primarily from the United States, the United Kingdom and Poland, but 29 other nations also provided some troops, and there were varying levels of assistance from Japan and other countries.
  It was a period of violence and political turmoil with strong foreign influence exerted on Iraqi politics. In April 2003, a military occupation was established and run by the Coalition Provisional Authority, which later appointed and granted limited powers to an Iraq Interim Governing Council. In June 2004, a caretaker government was established – the Iraqi Interim Government. Following parliamentary elections in January 2005, this administration was replaced in May by the Iraqi Transitional Government. A year later, the Al Maliki I Government took office.
context_section_description: Sabotage of crude oil pipelines and refineries have been a key tactic of the Iraqi insurgency. The United States had intended to quickly rebuild Iraqi infrastructure for production back to pre-war levels, but widespread sabotage slowed down the pace of reconstruction. The administration has set an oil-production goal of 5,000,000 barrels per day (790,000 m³/d), but the president's numbers show that production decreased slightly in 2005 over 2004 from 2.2 million US gallons (8,300 m³) per day to 2.1 million US gallons (7,900 m³) per day. The administration claims that oil production, however, is up from 2003, when oil was produced at 1,580,000 barrels per day (251,000 m³/d).
  Iraqi analysts have argued that the administration's measures are misleading because the war began in 2003, which pushed production numbers lower than they normally would have been.
  "They are way off of their original projections" for where oil production would be now, said Rick Barton, an expert on Iraqi reconstruction at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "It's basically gone nowhere in the entire time we've been there. Of course, they haven't been able to protect the pipelines. You just can't be rebuilding a country during an active war."
caption: The Iraqi Al Basrah Oil Terminal, considered a terrorist target due to its importance
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