The 10 Worst Things About the Worst Decade Ever

Iraq, March 2003
Declaring the military campaign an integral part of the War on Terror, the Bush Administration invaded Iraq and did what the President's father, George H. W. Bush, had chosen not to do: conquer the entire country and oust its dictator, Saddam Hussein. The rationale for the adventure was the alleged existence of weapons of mass destruction that Saddam could potentially share with his supposed allies in al-Qaeda. However, the impious Saddam was hardly a natural friend of the radical Islamists, and no WMD were ever found. The war, however, proved to be a very real quagmire, taking thousands of American lives and, with scandals like Abu Ghraib, leaving the country deeply divided.

• The '00s: A Decade from Hell
• Guantánamo's Last Days