Which one of the following statements related to the USA invasion of…

Which one of the following statements related to the USA invasion of Iraq is incorrect?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → The UN had given the consent to invade Iraq.

Option (1) More than forty other countries were involved in this invasion. — True. More than forty other countries joined the US-led ‘coalition of the willing’ when the US invaded Iraq on 19 March 2003.

Option (2) The UN had given the consent to invade Iraq. — False. The coalition was formed after the UN refused to give its mandate to the invasion, so the invasion went ahead without the UN’s consent.

Option (3) The purpose of invasion was to prevent Iraq from developing weapons of mass destruction. — True. This was the stated (ostensible) purpose. No evidence of such weapons was found, and it is speculated that the invasion had other aims, such as control of Iraq’s oilfields.

Option (4) The US lost over 3000 military personnel in this war. — True. The US lost over 3,000 military personnel, and Iraqi casualties were much higher.

Note 1: This question is taken from the chapter ‘US Hegemony in World Politics’ which was there in the pre-rationalised NCERT and has been deleted from subsequent editions of NCERT, including the NCERT book (2026-27).

Note 2: A same/similar question was asked in CUET (UG) in the papers below.

2026	2025	2024	2023	2022
–	–	–	12-06 S3 16-06 S2* 23-06 S3*	–

* A similar question.

NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “THE IRAQ INVASION … On 19 March 2003, the US launched its invasion of Iraq under the codename ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’. More than forty other countries joined in the US-led ‘coalition of the willing’ after the UN refused to give its mandate to the invasion. The ostensible purpose of the invasion was to prevent Iraq from developing weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Since no evidence of WMD has been unearthed in Iraq, it is speculated that the invasion was motivated by other objectives, such as controlling Iraqi oilfields and installing a regime friendly to the US. Although the government of Saddam Hussein fell swiftly, the US has not been able to ‘pacify’ Iraq. Instead, a full-fledged insurgency against US occupation was ignited in Iraq. While the US has lost over 3,000 military personnel in the war, Iraqi casualties are very much higher.…”