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Operations
Deployments
US Policy
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Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

• IRAQ: MILITARY RECRUITMENT VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- As the United States prepares for possible war in Iraq, recruits continue to enter the armed forces and undergo training. Recruits say they are not anxious to fight, but are willing to, if needed.
• IRAQ: MILITARY BOOT CAMP VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- Training in military "boot camp" has changed little over the years. Recruits receive instruction in marksmanship and survival skills, and undergo weeks of close order drill under the watchful eyes of drill sergeants.
• IRAQ: MILITARY TRAINING VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- Near San Diego, California, soldiers, sailors and airmen are training for a possible war in Iraq. Some training involves realistic enactments of events that instructors hope will never happen.

Deployments

• Coast Guard Port Security Unit 313 to deploy overseas USCG 13 Feb 2003 -- Coast Guard Port Security Unit 313 will deploy from McChord Air Force Base this weekend en route the Central Command area of operations to support Operation Enduring Freedom, the Global War on Terrorism and any future contingencies.
• Sailors, Marines on USS Tarawa Receive Smallpox Vaccine Navy NewStand 13 Feb 2003 -- With white T-shirts on and sleeves rolled up, Sailors and Marines aboard USS Tarawa (LHA 1) lined up Feb. 13 for smallpox vaccinations as the ship continued its trek towards the Arabian Gulf on a six-month deployment.
• Muslim Chaplain Deploys to Kuwait Navy NewStand 13 Feb 2003 -- Lt. Hussain M. Shaikh, a Muslim chaplain assigned to Commander, Amphibious Group 3, recently deployed to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the global war on terror.
• Air bases in Germany getting change of guard AFPN 13 Feb 2003 -- German troops will start providing some security at three Air Force bases in Germany this month to help ease the workload on security forces there.
• New stage location for C-17 deployments AMCNS 13 Feb 2003 -- More than 250 C-17 Globemaster III aircraft maintenance and logistics people from McChord Air Force Base, Wash., arrived here Feb. 5 to assist Charleston AFB airmen who are facing increased operations tempo.
• Threat of war increases NBC training in Kuwait Army News 13 Feb 2003 -- With the possibility of war looming, the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mech.), are honing their nuclear, biological and chemical warfare training.

US Policy

• Hadley: Contingency Plans Under Way For Postwar Iraq Washington File 13 Feb 2003 -- Outlining a U.S. initiative called the "Future of Iraq Project," a senior U.S. official February 12 said that rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure and protecting Iraq's oil supplies will be an immediate priority in any post-Saddam Hussein reconstruction effort.
• U.S. Envoy Praises Czechs as "Stalwart Allies" in Anti-terror Fight Washington File 13 Feb 2003 -- The United States counts the Czech Republic "among the most stalwart allies in the war against terrorism," U.S. Ambassador Craig Roberts Stapleton said February 13 in a speech on U.S.-Czech relations at the Institute of International Relations in Prague.
• Iraqi Missiles Reported to Exceed U.N. Limits Washington File 13 Feb 2003 -- Missile experts have determined that Iraq has produced missiles exceeding the maximum range of 150 kilometers set by U.N. Security Council resolutions, diplomats said February 12.
• U.N. Stepping Up Aid Plans for Iraq Washington File 13 Feb 2003 -- The U.N. has stepped up its planning to provide emergency humanitarian aid in Iraq in case of war, U.N. officials said February 13.
• Bush "Optimistic" U.N. Security Council Will Act on Iraq Washington File 13 Feb 2003 -- On the eve of the updated report on Iraq to the U.N. Security Council by the U.N. chief weapons inspectors, President Bush says he is hopeful that the world's "most important multilateral body" will prove its relevance and act to make sure that the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq is disarmed of its weapons of mass destruction, as demanded by numerous council resolutions.
• Rumsfeld Outlines Options for Using Military in Iraq AFPS 13 Feb 2003 -- Possible outcomes in Iraq could lead to vastly different levels of outside military intervention in that country, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.
• U-S / WAR / RECONSTRUCTION VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- With the possibility of war with Iraq looming, a new report says the United States must immediately address serious gaps in its capacity to reconstruct countries after military conflicts. Without a strengthened ability for post-war recovery, the report says threats posed by failed states will continue to undermine global security.
• U-S / Iraq / Powell VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- Top Bush administration officials told Congress Thursday that any U-S-led military administration of Iraq would be as brief as possible. But they were imprecise about how long it might take, and how costly it might be, to re-build a post-war Iraq and restore local government.
• BUSH / IRAQ VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- President Bush says the United Nations must be prepared to take strong action to enforce its disarmament demands and rid Iraq of suspected weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Bush spoke at a U-S naval base in Florida, where he rallied sailors and the nation for a possible war.

United Nations

• PRESS BRIEFING ON HUMANITARIAN PREPARATIONS FOR IRAQ United Nations 13 Feb 2003
• NGO PRESS CONFERENCE ON HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN IRAQ United Nations 13 Feb 2003
• UN interviews senior Iraqi engineer on aluminium tubes as inspections continue UN News Centre 13 Feb 2003 -- As United Nations officials conducted another interview with an Iraqi citizen today, UN weapons monitors carried out inspections at several facilities throughout the country.
• Stressing war not inevitable, UN outlines plans for humanitarian aid to Iraq UN News Centre 13 Feb 2003 -- Underscoring the belief of Secretary-General Kofi Annan that war in Iraq is not inevitable, a senior United Nations relief official today outlined the world body's plans for humanitarian assistance to that country in the event of armed conflict.
• U-N / IRAQ VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- Chief U-N weapons inspector Hans Blix and his counterpart from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammed ElBaradei are scheduled to deliver a crucial report to the U-N Security Council tomorrow [Friday] on the search for banned Iraqi weapons.
• UN / IRAQ /HUMANITARIAN VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- The United Nation's humanitarian agencies are mobilizing resources in preparation for a possible war in Iraq. The U-N says it has less than a half of what it needs.
• U-N / DISARMAMENT / IRAQ VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- A top U-S arms control official today urged the United Nations not to allow Iraq to take over leadership of the U-N's main forum for disarmament negotiations.
• UN / IRAQ / BLIX VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- Chief U-N weapons inspector Hans Blix briefed commissioners from the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), the mission to disarm Iraq today [WEDNESDAY] on his recent trip to Baghdad. The meeting comes one day after the chief inspector convened experts to discuss possible Iraqi violations of missile range limits.
• UNMOVIC IAEA Press Statement on Inspection Activities in Iraq UNMOVIC/IAEA 13 February 2003
• Tracking Inspections in Iraq RFE/L 13 Feb 2003

Foreign Reactions

• GERMANY / IRAQ / NATO UPDATE VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has defended his government's opposition to a war with Iraq, despite the rift it has created with its allies.
• INDONESIA-IRAQ / TERRORISM VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- Indonesians, like Muslims around the world, are (have been) celebrating Eid-al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, and Indonesian police have taken steps to deter possible unrest or acts of terror during the holiday which marks the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Some analysts say authorities in Indonesia should be especially wary of a possible increase in terrorism if there is a war with Iraq
• U-S / TURKEY / IRAQ VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- Turkey's foreign minister says the split in NATO over helping his country in the event of war with Iraq has damaged alliance's credibility but will not affect Turkish security. The Turkish minister, Yasar Yakis, held talks Thursday with Secretary of State Colin Powell.
• IRAQ / MISSILES VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- Iraq's deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, has rejected claims that Baghdad has developed missiles that exceed the range allowed by the United Nations.
• GERMANY / IRAQ / NATO VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has defended his government's opposition to a war with Iraq. Correspondent Roger Wilkison reports Mr. Schroeder also says a NATO alliance dispute over protecting Turkey will not be resolved before a U-N Security Council meeting Friday
• ISRAEL / WAR PREPAREDNESS VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- Though a war with Iraq is not certain, no one doubts that it is a possibility.
• BRITAIN / IRAQ VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair says the discovery of missiles in Iraq that exceed its limit of 150-kilometers is a breach of Security Council resolution 1441.

News Reports

• IRAQ / SECTARIAN SPLITS VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- Iraqi dissidents and independent analysts are discussing how to shape new leadership in Iraq, in the event that Saddam Hussein is removed from power. They are raising concerns about the potential for civil conflict in Iraq, unless there is a concerted effort at reconciliation among ethnic communities.
• "A War for Oil? Not This Time," by Max Boot Washington File 13 Feb 2003 -- This op-ed article by Max Boot first appeared in The New York Times, February 13, 2003. Permission has been granted for distribution and further republication, in English and in translation abroad and in the local press outside the United States. Credit Max Boot, as author, and The New York Times.
• BIN LADEN TAPE VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- As the debate on a war with Iraq continues to heat up, fueled by a dispute over the timing in NATO, an unwelcome voice from another conflict has reappeared. And Osama bin Laden has broadcast an appeal for Muslims worldwide to aid their Iraqi brothers and sisters in any attack by the west.
• KURDISH PRESS SUMMARY VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- The Philadelphia [Pennsylvania] Inquirer's senior foreign policy columnist Trudy Rubin writes from the Kurdish village of Halabja, in Northern Iraq, where roughly 5-thousand defenseless men, women and children were killed by poison gas on March 16th, 1988.
• STUART-NATO VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- NATO ambassadors have been trying to reach agreement on Turkey's request for military support in case of a possible war in Iraq. Germany, France, and Belgium have opposed a U-S-backed proposal to begin NATO planning to bolster Turkey's defenses. They say efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution to the Iraq crisis must take precedence over sending military equipment to Turkey, the only NATO country that borders Iraq.
• BRUCE JENTLESON, TERRY SANFORD INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC POLICY, DUKE UNIVERSITY VOA 13 Feb 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell says he hopes reluctant U-S allies in the United Nations will support authorizing military action to disarm Iraq. Among the reluctant allies are France and Germany. Germany last week (Feb 7-9) played host to the Munich Conference on Global Security, where the differences between the Europeans and the United States over possible military action in Iraq surfaced again. The U-S delegation to the conference included U-S Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman.