The Azores Summit was a meeting held on 16 March 2003 at

Lajes Air Base Lajes Field or Lajes Air Base (; ), officially designated Air Base No. 4 (''Base Aérea N.º 4'', BA4) , is a multi-use airfield near Lajes and northeast of Angra do Heroísmo on Terceira Island in the Azores, Portugal. It is home to the Port ...

Terceira Island Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, about a third of the way across the North Atlantic Ocean at a similar latitude to Portugal's capital Lisbon, with the island group forming an insular part of Portugal. It is one of the ...

in the Azores archipelago, Portugal, between the heads of government of the United States (

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

), the United Kingdom (

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

), Spain (

José María Aznar José María Alfredo Aznar López (; born 25 February 1953) is a Spanish politician who was the prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He led the People's Party (Spain), People's Party (PP), the dominant centre-right political party in Spai ...

), and Portugal (

José Manuel Durão Barroso José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...

, who also served as the host). At the Azores Summit, the decision was made to issue a 24-hour ultimatum to the Iraqi regime headed by

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

for disarmament under threat of a declaration of war. In Spain, the Azores Summit was widely criticized and, according to some experts, it was a turning point that marked the beginning of the fall of the People's Party, which would be further accentuated by the

2004 Madrid train bombings The 2004 Madrid train bombings (also known in Spain as 11M) were a series of coordinated, nearly simultaneous bombings against the Cercanías commuter train system of Madrid, Spain, on the morning of 11 March 2004—three days before Spain's ...

. The ultimatum finally led to the 2003 invasion of Iraq by an international coalition of countries, without the explicit backing of the United Nations, although they relied on United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCR)

1441 Events January–March * January 20 – The siege of Tartas in France is temporarily halted when Charles II of Albret, against whom residents of Gascony are campaigning, and the commander of the English forces, Sir Thomas Rempston, ...

1483 Year 1483 ( MCDLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 1 – The Jews are expelled from Andalusia. * February 11 – The ''General Council of the Inquisiti ...

, and

1511 Year 1511 ( MDXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 19 – The Siege of Mirandola by the Papal States, with help from the Duchy of Urbino and Spanish and Venetian t ...

Statements at the Azores Summit in relation to Iraq

The Azores Summit resulted in two statements: "A vision for Iraq and the Iraqi people" and "Commitment to transatlantic solidarity."

A vision for Iraq and the Iraqi people

This statement argues for the need to liberate the Iraqi people from Saddam Hussein's regime.

Commitment to transatlantic solidarity

Apart from the ultimatum, the Azores Summit adopted a statement on transatlantic solidarity in which the signatories intended to state their particular points of view regarding the common values on both sides of the Atlantic pertaining to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law, and that together they would confront the two threats of the 21st century:

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

and the proliferation of

weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a Biological agent, biological, chemical weapon, chemical, Radiological weapon, radiological, nuclear weapon, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great dam ...

Consequences

The Azores Summit is the prelude to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and its subsequent occupation, as well as the prolongation of the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

until 19 August 2010.

The military occupation found no weapons of mass destruction

The existence of

chemical weapon A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as ...

s (weapons of mass destruction) in Iraq, the main argument put forward for the declaration of war, was not proven. The invasion of Iraq has also been linked to the solution of the

Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is a geopolitical phenomenon involving military conflicts and a variety of disputes between Israel and many Arab world, Arab countries. It is largely rooted in the historically supportive stance of the Arab League ...

, the new geopolitical strategy of the United States, the large economic oil interests in the area, and a real testing ground for the US military industry, which constitutes a very important part of its gross domestic product.

Withdrawal of troops and the end of the war

On Friday 27 February 2009, US President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

announced the withdrawal of US troops on Monday 31 August 2010, although 50,000 soldiers would remain until Saturday 31 December 2011. It would not be until 2015 when Tony Blair would admit that it had been a mistake to invade Iraq.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{refend Coalitions 2003 in politics 2003 in Iraq 2003 in Portugal 2003 in Spain 2003 in the United Kingdom 2003 in the United States Causes and prelude of the Iraq War Diplomatic visits by heads of government Diplomatic visits by heads of state Iraq–Spain relations Portugal–Spain relations Spain–United Kingdom relations Spain–United States relations Military history of the Azores 2003 in international relations Politics of the Iraq War Spain in the Iraq War