One Kansas City veteran said 20 years later she still doesn't understand the war in Iraq

Veterans reflect on their role in the Iraq War, 20 years after President George W. Bush announced the U.S. had accomplished its mission in the country.
In March 2003, the United States and allied forces launched a full-scale invasion into Iraq. Then-president George W. Bush deemed the Iraqi president at the time, Saddam Hussein, a threat, and described a mission of freeing the Iraqi people of their ruthless leader and ridding the country of weapons of mass destruction.

Less than two months after the invasion, on May 1, 2003, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, Bush declared an end to major combat operations in front of a "mission accomplished" banner. However, Operation Iraqi Freedom would drag on for years, to include the president ordering a surge of troops back to the region, a financial burden of nearly $2 trillion and in total nearly 300,000 lives lost.

Kyleanne Hunter, Ph.D., a former major in the United States Marine Corps, served from 2000-2013 and deployed to Iraq five times.