EPIC was founded by veterans of the Gulf War in 1998 in Washington, DC including executive director Erik Gustafson.Trade and economic sanctions against Iraq and the Saddam Hussein regime throughout the mid-1990s contributed to conditions of inadequate healthcare, few public education opportunities, and a critical shortage of food across the country.

[1][2] Iraqis who sought to convince Hussein to comply with UN demands or conspire to remove him from power were frequently jailed or killed by the regime.

Early organizers created a grassroots movement to share the concerns of everyday Iraqis living under sanctions with Members of Congress, thought leaders, and the American public.

[4] Leading up to the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq, EPIC urged the American public to support a peaceful approach and to prevent war through the use of e-mail petitions and a speakers bureau of volunteer military veterans who discussed their opposition to the invasion on college campuses and in front of civic organizations.

[4] EPIC currently conducts the following programs in three categories, according to its website:[5] As of June 2017, the Enabling Peace in Iraq Center's board of directors is composed by the following officers and members:[6]