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Operations
Deployments
US Policy
United Nations
Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

• COALITION FORCES DROP LEAFLETS IN SOUTHERN IRAQ 06 Feb 2003 -- Coalition aircraft dropped informational leaflets over southern Iraq today. Coalition forces dropped leaflets at approximately 2:30 a.m. EST at several locations near Al Basrah, Az Zubayr, Umm Qasr and An Nasiriyah. The Coalition dropped a total of 480,000 leaflets over the locations, between An Nasiriyah, which is located approximately 170 miles southeast of Baghdad, and Al Basrah, which is located approximately 245 miles southeast of Baghdad.

Deployments

• 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION (AIR ASSAULT) RECEIVES DEPLOYMENT ORDERS 06 Feb 2003 -- The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and associated units stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, have received orders to deploy to the U.S. Central Command area of operations (AOR) to support possible future operations in the global war on terrorism. The specifics of any such operations are not known at this time.
• Navy cargo ships find new home Military Sealift Command 06 Feb 2003 -- Philadelphia, Corpus Christi, Texas, and Violet, La., will be home for five U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command cargo ships when they are not at sea. Three new contracts for the operational berths for five large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships, called LMSRs, were announced Jan. 29.
• Fast sealift ships find new home Military Sealift Command 06 Feb 2003 -- Military Sealift Command awarded two contracts to companies in Norfolk, Va., and Marrero, La., for the berths for four U.S. Navy cargo ships when they are not at sea. The three-year, firm, fixed-price contracts with two, one-year options total more than $6.9 million were announced Jan. 29.
• Carl Vinson visits the Aloha State CVN 70 06 Feb 2003 -- USS Carl Vinson is again underway in the Pacific Ocean following a five-day port visit to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
• U.S. Central Command Build-up Continues AFPS 06 Feb 2003 -- The U.S. military build-up in the U.S. Central Command area of operations continues, with more than 100,000 troops now serving in the region, DoD officials said.
• Commandant visits 24th MEU (SOC) in Bahrain USMC 06 Feb 2003 -- As the USS Nassau pulled into port to give its crew and the Marines aboard some time off, the Marines and Sailors of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) were paid a visit by some very special guests - the Commandant, First Lady and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps.
• HMM-263 overcomes challenges, keeps aircraft mission ready USMC 06 Feb 2003 -- The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. The shorter the line, the quicker you can travel from one end to the other. Marines working in the aircraft maintenance sections of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263 (HMM-263), the Aviation Combat Element (ACE) for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), are currently enjoying the benefits of a shorter, straighter line to their source for maintenance-essential parts.
• Through the Suez - Marines and Sailors man battle stations USMC 06 Feb 2003 -- Marines and sailors manned their posts and battle stations recently when the 7 ships transporting the 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade navigated through the Suez Canal as part of the MEB's deployment to Central Command?s area of responsibility.
• 4th MAW calls up last 26 USMC 06 Feb 2003 -- The last twenty-six reserve Marines with Headquarters, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing have been activated in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

US Policy

• White House Daily Briefing White House 06 Feb 2003
• Bush Says U.S. Would Welcome New U.N. Iraq Resolution Washington File 06 Feb 2003 -- President Bush said February 6 that the United States would "welcome and support" a new United Nations Security Council resolution on Iraqi disarmament, but he added that the resolution must be accompanied by resolve.
• World Must Not Allow Iraq "Blatant Pattern of Noncooperation" Washington File 06 Feb 2003 -- The State Department's senior diplomat to the Middle East said that while the use of force would be a "last resort" in the conflict between the international community and Iraq, the world "cannot afford to allow a country to engage in such a blatant pattern of noncooperation" with repeated United Nations resolutions to disarm itself of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
• Defense Secretary Rumsfeld Will Discuss Iraq in Italy, Germany Washington File 06 Feb 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld travels to Italy and Germany this week to discuss -- among other matters -- the pressing issue of weapons of mass destruction and the problem of Iraq.
• U.S. Lawmakers Call for Iraq's Immediate Compliance with U.N. Resolutions Washington File 06 Feb 2003 -- U.S. lawmakers urged the United Nations Security Council to examine the evidence and to act after Secretary of State Colin Powell's February 5 presentation at the U.N. documented Iraq's links to terrorism and provided evidence of non-compliance with U.N. disarmament demands.
• Bush, Powell Say U.N. Must Not Ignore Its Responsibility on Iraq Washington File 06 Feb 2003 -- Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction poses a threat to the world, and the United Nations Security Council "must not back down" when its demands for the regime to disarm are "being defied and mocked by a dictator," President Bush said February 6.
• Rumsfeld to Visit Italy, Germany AFPN 06 Feb 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld will leave today for Europe to consult with allies and meet American troops, DoD officials announced Feb. 6.
• 'Game Over,' Bush Tells Saddam AFPS 06 Feb 2003 -- President Bush said today Saddam Hussein will play a last-minute game of deception, empty promises and false denials in response to U.S. evidence given the United Nations, but, "The game is over."
• PENTAGON / RUMSFELD / IRAQ VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is flying to Europe for consultations with U-S allies as the American military build-up for a possible new war with Iraq continues.
• BUSH IRAQ VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- President Bush wants a second U-N resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq if it does not cooperate with inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction.
• BUSH/TURKEY/IRAQ VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- President Bush Thursday thanked Turkey for allowing U-S soldiers to upgrade military facilities in the country ahead of possible action against neighboring Iraq. The Bush administration is continuing its diplomatic push to rally international support against Iraq.
• POWELL/U-S/IMPACT VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- Public opinion polls suggest that Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation on Iraq before the United Nations slightly boosted domestic support for a possible war with Baghdad.
• POWELL/IRAQ VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- U-S Secretary of State Colin Powell briefed U-S lawmakers on Iraq Thursday, a day after presenting the administration's case against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein before the United Nations.
• Powell: Saddam Hussein Bypassing All Diplomatic Options Washington File 06 Feb 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said that while he would wish to keep hope alive that war with Iraq can be avoided, Saddam Hussein and his regime are "slowly going by ... all the off ramps for diplomacy to solve this problem."
• EDITORIAL: POWELL ON IRAQ'S EMPTY CLAIMS VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- As President George W. Bush warned in his State of the Union address, "the gravest danger facing America and the world is outlaw regimes that seek and possess nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons." This threat is especially severe in regard to Iraq.

United Nations

• Blix, UK's Blair hold talks on Iraq; UN inspections continue UN News Centre 06 Feb 2003 -- The chief United Nations weapons inspector, Hans Blix, met today in London with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other senior government officials as he prepared to travel to Iraq this weekend for further talks with authorities in Baghdad.
• IRAQ/CHIEF INSPECTORS VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- The chief of U-N nuclear inspections, Mohammed El-Baradei says it is time for Baghdad to show what he called "dramatic change" in its level of cooperation with U-N weapons inspectors. Mr. ElBaradei and chief U-N chemical and biological inspector Hans Blix discussed the crisis with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London
• Security Council United on Need to Disarm Iraq Washington File 06 Feb 2003 -- After hearing a 90-minute presentation by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell February 5 on Saddam Hussein's long-standing efforts to keep his weapons of mass destruction and to consort with terrorists, other members of the 15-nation Security Council differed on how much more time to give Iraq, but appeared united in the determination to disarm Iraq.
• UNMOVIC IAEA Press Statement on Inspection Activities in Iraq UNMOVIC/IAEA 06 February 2003
• Tracking Inspections in Iraq RFE/L 06 Feb 2003

Foreign Reactions

• POWELL / IRAQI RESPONSE VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- Iraqi officials announced Thursday that U-N weapons inspectors are conducting private interviews with Iraqi scientists. The information came during a news conference in Baghdad in which Iraqi officials responded to Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation Wednesday to the Security Council. U-N officials confirm a three-and-a-half-hour private interview was held in Baghdad today (Thurs) with an Iraqi scientist.
• FRANCE / IRAQ VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- France has called for more U-N weapons inspectors in Iraq as it continues to press for a peaceful solution to the Iraqi weapons issue. But the French government is keeping its options open, a day after Secretary of State Colin Powell made his case for military intervention.
• World Reaction to Powell U.N. Presentation Mixed; Much Supportive AFPS 06 Feb 2003 -- Representatives of three countries made statements of strong support for the U.S. position on Iraq following Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation to the U.N. Security Council Feb. 5. A few appeared strongly against war, and others appear to be fence-sitting.
• NATO / TURKEY / IRAQ VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- NATO has again failed to agree on measures to back a U-S-led war against Iraq, including protecting Turkey.
• TURKEY / IRAQ / U-S VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- Turkey's parliament on Thursday voted to allow U-S military technicians to begin renovating Turkish bases and ports for possible use in a war against Iraq. The vote is seen as a first step that could lead to the eventual deployment of thousands of U-S troops in Turkey.
• POWELL / WORLD IMPACT VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation Wednesday to the United Nations underscored the U-S position that Saddam Hussein must disarm immediately and that he is deceiving United Nations inspectors. Many governments say the evidence has deepened suspicions about Iraqi actions, but for others it is still not enough to justify a war against Iraq.
• POWELL/ARAB REACT VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- Newspapers in the Arab world say evidence presented to the U-N Security Council by Secretary of State Colin Powell was not convincing. The region is calling for weapons inspectors to continue their search for arms of mass destruction in Iraq.
• ASIA/IRAQ REACT VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- Australia's Prime Minister John Howard urges the U-N Security Council to act on what he calls damning evidence that Iraq is not disarming. In the rest of Asia, leaders described the new evidence presented by Washington as alarming, but many stopped short of calling for military action against Iraq.
• GUILLAUME PARMENTIER, DIRECTOR OF THE FRENCH CENTER ON THE UNITED STATES, FRENCH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- France and Germany have repeated their support for continued U-N weapons inspections in Iraq, following U-S Secretary of State Colin Powell's report to the Security Council. French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said Iraq needs to answer international concerns that it possesses weapons of mass destruction -- and called for significantly increasing the number of arms inspectors. Germany expressed its support for the French proposal to continue inspections, and called on Iraq to cooperate.
• POWELL / EAST EUROPE VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell's address to the U-N Security Council has been endorsed by 10 East European states that are seeking to join the NATO alliance.
• EURO POWELL REACT VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- Europe's reaction to Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation of the case against Iraq at the United Nations has been mixed. European newspapers appear unconvinced that Mr. Powell's revelations are a cause for war, but many conclude that military action is not far off.
• BRITAIN / IRAQ VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- Britain is sending more than 100 aircraft and eight-thousand personnel to join the military buildup around Iraq. Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon made the announcement in Parliament Thursday

News Reports

• DICTATORS IN EXILE: WILL SADDAM JOIN THE CLUB? VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- As the U-S led military buildup continues in the Persian Gulf, there are unconfirmed reports circulating that Saddam Hussein may opt for exile in another country rather than fight another war against the United States and its allies. Were Saddam Hussein to go into exile, he would join a select club of former dictators who have fled their home countries for refuge in other nations. However, attitudes towards the perpetrators of mass atrocities have changed in recent years. Many say the world is no longer as welcoming of leaders who have brutalized their own people.
• RAYMOND ZALINSKAS VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- Raymond Zalinskas served on a U-N weapons inspection team in Iraq in 1994.
• DOV WAXMAN, PROF. AT BOWDOIN COLLEGE, MAINE VOA 06 Feb 2003 -- Turkey's parliament has agreed to allow the United States to begin upgrading military bases and ports for a possible war with Iraq. Today's vote is seen as the first step ahead of possible deployment of U-S forces to Turkey ahead of any operations in neighboring Iraq. Dov Waxman (pron: Dove Wax-muhn) is an assistant professor of government at Bowdoin (bow-done) College in Brunswick, Maine.