The attack on Iraq by the so-called coalition of the willing to overthrow Saddam Hussein"s totalitarian government in March of 2003 caused a severe split in transatlantic relations and the policies of the Western world. The differences but also some similarities in the policies towards the attack and the war in Iraq shall be analysed in the following with a closer look on Germany, the country which was the major obstructor to the war in Iraq, and the US, the country which led the coalition of the willing.