Sacramento Bee February 16, 2003
Iraq focus
Upcoming key dates * March 1: U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix must present a report to the Security Council on his work. A report is required every three months under a resolution adopted in December 1999 that established the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, which Blix heads.
Recap of the week * Monday: France and Germany close ranks against the United States, blocking attempts at NATO to begin planning for a conflict with Iraq. France, Germany and Russia call for intensified weapons inspections as an alternative to war. * Tuesday: Al Jazeera airs an audiotape believed to have been made by Osama bin Laden that urges Iraqis to carry out suicide attacks against Americans and draw U.S. troops into combat in Iraqi cities.
* Wednesday: International missile experts conclude that a major Iraqi ballistic missile program is in clear violation of U.N. mandates; U.S. defense officials say special operations troops are already deployed in Iraq in what amounts to the initial ground phase of a war.
* Thursday: As Secretary of State Colin Powell exhorts allies to get behind the U.S. drive to oust Saddam Hussein by force, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder pledges to do everything in his power to avert war.
* Friday: In a dramatic showdown, major powers rebuff the United States in the Security Council and insist on more time for weapons inspections after top U.N. inspectors fail to give Washington the ammunition it needs to galvanize support for military action.
* Saturday: Millions of people in the United States and around the world - including about 5,000 in Sacramento - protest against the prospect of war in Iraq. Belgium offers a compromise to end a dispute within NATO over providing military aid to Turkey in advance of a possible war.
Across the nation * Hawaii: The Democrat- controlled House of Representatives passes a resolution asking President Bush to rely on diplomacy, not war.
* Maine: Its House and Senate, both Democrat-controlled, pass a resolution arguing for diplomacy first.
* Oklahoma, Washington state: Both have introduced resolutions calling for diplomacy and expressing support for U.S. troops.
* South Carolina: Its GOP-led legislature passed a resolution offering "resounding support" for Bush's stance and criticizing the United Nations.
Quote of the week "God says, 'You should pick up arms and kill those who are infidels.' We want to be liberated from the slavery of America. We have to fight this war."
- tape believed to be from Osama bin Laden
On the Internet www.sacbee.com/iraq/
Military sources: Defense Link (U.S. Department of Defense) defenselink.mil/news
Center for Defense Information (nonprofit research) cdi.org
Military City (Gannett's military publications) militarycity.com
Janes (news and information) janes.com
Iraq military resources: (GlobalSecurity.org) globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/index.html
Governments and the United Nations: United States Mission to the United Nations www.un.int/usa
U.S. State Department http://usinfo.state.gov/homepage.htm
Permanent Mission of Iraq to the United Nations iraqi-mission.org
United Nations Security Council www.un.org/Docs/scinfo.htm
Copyright © 2003, McClatchy Newspapers, Inc.
