It is more than 14 years since George W Bush described Iraq as part of an "axis of evil", marking the start of a short road to war.
Now diplomat Sir John Chilcot is about to publish the results of his extensive inquiry into the UK's role in the war.
2002
:: 29 January - US President George W Bush says Iraq, Iran and North Korea are the "axis of evil" in his State of the Union address.
:: 14 May - The United Nations Security Council updates long-standing sanctions against Iraq to include ones targeted specifically at its military equipment.
For years Saddam Hussein had refused to destroy nuclear, chemical and biological stockpiles and research facilities under supervision, despite the UN's insistence.
:: Mid-April - Mr Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair meet at the President’s Texan ranch. The pair spend long periods discussing Iraq without their advisers.
The former UK ambassador to the US, Sir Christopher Meyer, later said he felt Mr Blair's views on regime change "tightened" after the private meeting.
It has been suggested that Mr Blair signalled he would be willing to back "regime change" at the meeting.
:: 16 September - Iraq says it will allow the "unconditional" return of the UN inspectors.
:: 24 September - The British government publishes a dossier which says that Hussein has weapons of mass destruction that could be used within 45 minutes of him giving the order, hitting targets as far away as Cyprus - where British troops are stationed.
:: 16 October - A referendum in Iraq gives Hussein another seven-year term as president with 100% of the vote.
:: 8 November - Resolution 1441 is passed by the UN Security Council, demanding that Iraq reinstates weapons inspectors after a four-year absence. It is accepted by Iraq a few days later.
:: 18 November - Dr Hans Blix heads to Baghdad with a team of inspectors.
:: 2 December - Britain's Government publishes a second report outlining human rights abuses in Iraq.
:: 18 December - The UK Ministry of Defence says ships are heading to the Gulf carrying troops and heavy armour.
:: 19 December - The UN says Iraq is in "material breach" of the UN resolution because its arms declaration does not contain much new information about its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capability.
2003
:: 9 January - Dr Blix says his inspectors have not "found any smoking guns" that could lead to war.
:: 16 January - Inspectors find 12 warheads which can carry chemical weapons. These were not accounted for in Iraq's weapons submission.
:: 29 January - Mr Bush says he is ready to attack Iraq even without a UN mandate.
:: 31 January - Mr Bush meets Mr Blair at the White House. Notes of the meeting show the Bush administration had already decided on the US invasion of Iraq.
Ways to provoke Hussein into a confrontation were discussed. The five-page document was classified as "extremely sensitive" but was later obtained by newspapers.
:: 3 February - A briefing document drawn up for the Labour government is issued to journalists by Alastair Campbell. It reiterated claims from the September dossier.
:: February - Ministry of Defence scientist Dr David Kelly tells a British diplomat there had been "a lot of pressure" to make dossier more robust. He says that if Iraq is invaded he will "probably be found dead in the woods".
:: 15 February - Huge anti-war demonstration held in London.
:: 26 February - Mr Blair sees 121 of his Labour MPs vote against him in Parliament.
:: 7 March - Dr Blix says his inspectors need more time to verify Iraq’s compliance.
:: 10 March - French President Jacques Chirac says France would vote against any resolution that includes an ultimatum leading to war, until UN weapons inspectors in Iraq say they can do no more.
:: 16 March - Mr Bush, Mr Blair and the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar meet in the Azores.
A deadline of 17 March is set for the Security Council to back a US/UK resolution demanding immediate Iraqi disarmament.
:: 17 March - The UK's ambassador to the UN says the diplomatic process on Iraq has ended and announces the withdrawal of a draft resolution co-sponsored by the US and Spain.
:: 18 March - Arms inspectors are evacuated, the leader of the House of Commons Robin Cook resigns from the Cabinet, the Attorney General says war on Iraq would be legal on the grounds of existing UN resolutions, while Mr Bush gives Hussein and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq or face war.
:: 20 March - Mr Bush announces the start of the war against Iraq. Allied forces strike
military targets.
:: 9 April - Hussein's rule collapses, and much of Baghdad comes under US control.
:: 1 May - Mr Bush makes a speech on the deck of aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, underneath a banner reading: "Mission Accomplished".
:: 22 May - Dr Kelly meets BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan, who notes that he said the dossier was "transformed" to make it "sexier" - with the addition of the 45-minute claim.
:: 29 May - Mr Gilligan's report is broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme - without naming Dr Kelly - and the claims are rebutted by Downing Street.
:: 17 July - Dr Kelly is found dead. His death is later ruled a suicide.
:: 1 August - The Hutton Inquiry into Dr David Kelly's death is opened.
:: 13 December - Hussein is arrested by American soldiers, who find him crouching in a hole near Tikrit.
2004
:: 25 January - The CIA's former chief weapons inspector says Iraq's unconventional weapons programme was in a state of disarray in the final years of Hussein's leadership.
:: 28 January - The Hutton Inquiry's conclusions are published. The main conclusion is that there was no "underhand" Government plot to name Dr Kelly and the dossier had not been "sexed up".
:: 3 February - The Butler Review, into the intelligence gathered before the war, is set up.
:: 30 April - Mr Bush condemns photographs that show American soldiers laughing as Iraqi detainees are forced into humiliating positions at the Abu Ghraib prison.
:: 28 June - American authorities transfer formal sovereignty of Iraq to new leaders.
2005
:: 30 January - Iraqis turn out in huge numbers to vote in the first free elections in half a century.
:: 19 October - Hussein goes on trial for the killing of 148 people in 1992 during the Gulf War. He says he does not recognise the authority of the court.
2006
:: 22 February - The bombing of the al Askari Mosque (Golden Mosque) in Samarra.
:: 8 November - Mr Bush accepts the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
:: 30 December - Hussein is hanged before dawn in Baghdad, during the morning call to prayer.
2007
:: January - The Bush administration announces "The Surge" assault against the Iraqi insurgency.
:: 10 June - Sunni Arab groups are armed by the US, in return for promising to fight militants linked with al Qaeda.
2008
:: 25 March - The Battle of Basra begins when the Iraqi army launches an operation to drive the Mahdi army militia out of the southern Iraqi city
:: 17 November - Iraq's parliament ratifies an agreement that sets out a plan to end the American military's role in the war. It sets a date for the withdrawal - the end of 2011.
2009
:: 15 June - The Chilcot Inquiry is announced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
:: July - The Chilcot inquiry commences.
2010
:: August - US President Barack Obama says the seven-year American combat mission in Iraq is over.
2011
:: 18 January - Sir Gus O'Donnell refuses to publish notes sent by Mr Blair to Mr Bush in the build-up to the war, despite repeated requests from the Chilcot Inquiry.
:: 22 May - Britain's eight-year military mission in Iraq finally ends, with the last troops involved in Operation Telic lowering the Union flag.
:: 21 October - Mr Obama says the last American soldier would leave Iraq by the end of the year.
:: 15 December - A formal end to US operations in Iraq is declared.
:: Full coverage of the Chilcot Report all day, live on Sky News and on skynews.com.
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