In March 2003, U.S. forces invaded Iraq vowing to destroy Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and end the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein. When WMD intelligence proved illusory and a violent insurgency arose, the war lost public support. Saddam was captured, tried, and hanged and democratic elections were held. In the years since, there have been over 4,700 U.S. and allied troop deaths, and more than one hundred thousand Iraqi civilians have been killed. Meanwhile, questions linger over Iraq's fractious political situation.

Since the creation of the European Union in 1992 and the subsequent launch of the euro, Greece’s economic relationship with the rest of Europe has been a turbulent one. Greece’s chronic fiscal mismanagement and resulting debt crisis has repeatedly threatened the stability of the eurozone.