UNITED24 - Make a charitable donation in support of Ukraine!

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)


31 January Iraq Special Weapons News

Operations
Deployments
US Policy
United Nations
Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

Deployments

  • ADDITIONAL III CORPS UNITS AT FORT HOOD RECEIVE DEPLOYMENT ORDERS III Corps 31 Jan 2003 -- Elements of III Corps stationed at Fort Hood have received deployment orders to reposition forces as required to support the President's global war against terrorism. Units from the 13th Corps Support Command at Fort Hood have been directed to deploy.
  • Reserve Cargo Handling Battalions Mobilize to Support War on Terrorism NNS 31 Jan 2003 -- Hundreds of Naval Reservists attached to Naval Cargo Handling Battalions (NCHB) across the United States have been recalled to active duty in support of the war on terrorism
  • 4th Force set to deploy USMC 31 Jan 2003 -- Local Marines were called to active duty recently in support of the nation's ongoing war against terrorism
  • 6th Communication Battalion activates, heads to Camp Lejeune USMC 31 Jan 2003 -- With a reserve activation almost as big as in the early 90's another Marine Corps Reserve unit in New York has been activated. This week the Sixth Communication Battalion at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, N.Y., activated in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Wednesday, 29 January 2003 the Marines of 6th Comm. reported to ensure all their professional and personal affairs were in order before they deploy. The Marines will be deploying to Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

US Policy

  • Bush, Blair Say Iraq Weapons Issue Must Be Resolved Quickly Washington File 31 Jan 2003 -- President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said January 31 that Iraq's Saddam Hussein is not disarming as required by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441, and that, in Bush's words, "this issue will come to a head in a matter of weeks, not months."
  • Wolfowitz Warns Terrorists Could Get Weapons of Mass Destruction Washington File 31 Jan 2003 -- Weapons of mass destruction under the control of a government that deals with terrorists could ultimately end with the terrorists, according to Deputy Secretary of State Paul Wolfowitz.
  • Powell: Saddam Hussein Has Had Enough Time to Disarm AFPS 31 Jan 2003 -- U.S. officials believe Saddam Hussein has had more than enough time to peacefully disarm. Secretary of State Colin Powell sent a message today to those who think the Iraqi dictator deserves more time.
  • EDITORIAL: THE LESSONS OF HALABJA VOA 31 Jan 2003 -- Saddam Hussein is more than willing to use weapons of mass destruction on anyone, including women and children. Ask the survivors of poison gas attacks by his military forces
  • EDITORIAL: STATE OF THE UNION -- IRAQ VOA 31 Jan 2003 -- The "gravest danger facing America and the world," said President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address, "is outlaw regimes that seek and possess nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. These regimes could use such weapons for blackmail, terror, and mass murder. They could also give or sell those weapons to terrorist allies, who would use them without the least hesitation."
  • EDITORIAL: WOLFOWITZ ON IRAQ VOA 31 Jan 2003 -- After Husayn Kamil, Saddem Hussein's son-in-law, defected in 1995, United Nations weapons inspectors learned of a large-scale cache of documents about Iraq's biological weapons programs. Those documents were stored on a chicken farm.
  • EDITORIAL: POWELL ON IRAQI DANGER VOA 31 Jan 2003 -- As U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said, the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein poses "a grave danger to international peace and security." That has become increasingly evident as the Baghdad regime continues to violate the trust of the United Nations, the Iraqi people, and Iraq's neighbors
  • Byrd Resolution Urges "Sufficient Time" for U.N. Weapons Inspectors Washington File 31 Jan 2003 -- Senator Robert Byrd (Democrat of West Virginia) submitted a resolution to the Senate January 29 that calls on the United States to give "sufficient time" to United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq to assess the Baghdad regime's compliance with U.N. resolutions that it disarm.
  • Nothing New In Iraqi Invitation, Negroponte Says Washington File 31 Jan 2003 -- Iraq's latest invitation to the chief U.N. weapons inspectors to visit Baghdad before their next report to the U.N. Security Council appears to be part of an old pattern, not an indication of any Iraqi change of attitude, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said January 31.
  • Two Leaders Pitted Against Two World Threats AFPS 31 Jan 2003 -- A poison plot uncovered in Great Britain. Another terrorist cell revealed today in Italy. This is the latest evidence that international terrorism and weapons of mass destruction endanger the world

United Nations

  • Tracking the Inspections 31 January 2003 RFE/L 31 Jan 2003 -- Ten chemical inspectors visited the Agricultural Supplies Company belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture and located in Al-Waziriyah, Baghdad. Inspectors checked storage areas and archives and inquired about the quantities of stocks, the quantities sold, and revenues obtained from plant herbicides and insecticides, according to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.
  • UN arms monitors conduct first aerial inspections in Iraq UN News Centre 31 Jan 2003 -- For the first time, United Nations monitors in Iraq today conducted aerial inspections over a number of sites, including several biological and agricultural research facilities.
  • IRAQ/INSPECTIONS VOA 31 Jan 2003 -- United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq continued the search for banned weapons of mass destruction Friday. Iraq has invited the two top inspectors to Baghdad for more talks, but one of them has expressed reservations
  • U-N / IRAQ / BLIX VOA 31 Jan 2003 -- The chief U-N weapons inspector says if invited, he would be willing to meet Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and would tell him to cooperate proactively with inspectors
  • UNMOVIC IAEA Press Statement on Inspection Activities in Iraq UNMOVIC/IAEA 31 January 2003

Foreign Reactions

  • COALITION OF THE WILLING VOA 31 Jan 2003 -- United Nations chief weapons inspector Hans Blix reports Iraq is not living up to its obligations under U-N Security Council Resolution 1-4-4-1. The resolution requires the regime of Saddam Hussein to ensure that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction. While the U-S still hopes for a peaceful solution, Secretary of State Colin Powell says, "Iraq's time for choosing peaceful disarmament is fast coming to an end." Some other members of the U-N Security Council, notably France, are saying that military force should not be used against Iraq.
  • BUSH BLAIR VOA 31 Jan 2003 -- President Bush met Friday with British Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss possible military action in Iraq. The men discussed the possibility of a second U-N resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq
  • Eight European Leaders Support Disarming of Iraq Washington File 31 Jan 2003 -- Prime ministers or presidents of eight European countries (the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom) called in an open letter for preservation of U.S.-European unity and for full compliance by Iraq with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441 on disarmament.

News Reports

  • IRAQI WAR SCENARIOS VOA 31 Jan 2003 -- In a war with Iraq, analysts say President Bush faces more than the choice between Saddam Hussein and democracy. His real dilemma, they say, is a decision between the risk of trying to sustain a shaky status quo and the risk of provoking disorder that might be impossible to control. Regardless of the outcome, most agree the task will be complicated
  • IRAQI OPPOSITION VOA 31 Jan 2003 -- Iraqi opposition leaders say they plan to meet in northern Iraq's Kurdish-controlled region in late February to discuss a possible future leadership structure.
  • GARY SICK VOA 31 Jan 2003 -- The Bush administration indicates diplomatic efforts to end the Iraq standoff will continue for at least for a few more weeks. Toward that end President Bush says he would welcome it if Saddam Hussein would give up power in Iraq and go into exile. And he said he hopes international pressure will convince the Iraqi leader to leave the country




NEWSLETTER
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list