ABSTRACT
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were originally characterised by high-technology air–land offensive campaigns that caused rapid regime collapse. From March 2002 onwards, the majority of US government and military attention switched from stabilising Afghanistan to planning the attack on Iraq. The nearest thing to a unified Coalition declaration of strategic objectives in Iraq was the Azores Statement by President Bush, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar in March 2003. The Coalition, Iraqi authorities and emerging Iraqi security forces struggled to counter them. Organised crime prospered, with gangs often overmatching the embryonic Iraqi police forces. The US adopted a transition strategy in which responsibility for security would be transferred to the Iraqis as quickly as possible. US units were partnered with Iraqi units, constructing Joint Security Stations on key urban terrain.
