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Operations
Deployments
US Policy
United Nations
Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

• PENTAGON / LEAFLETS VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Authorities in Baghdad are using a new scare tactic in an effort to dissuade Iraqi civilians from picking up information leaflets being dropped by U-S led coalition aircraft.

Deployments

• Coast Guard Tabs Ships, Crews for Deployment AFPS 26 Feb 2003 -- The U.S. Coast Guard has tabbed 10 ships for deployment in support of the global war on terrorism.
• CGC Dallas deploys for Operation Enduring Freedom USCG 26 Feb 2003 -- A Charleston-based Coast Guard cutter has been ordered to deploy overseas to support Operation Enduring Freedom and to prepare for future contingencies.
• FT. BLISS DEPLOYMENT VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- As the diplomatic effort to force Iraq to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction continues, the United States is assembling troops and military assets in the Persian Gulf region. It is a difficult time for both the soldiers and the families they leave behind.
• 'Blizzard' of cargo crashes down on Aerial Port Squadron AMCNS 26 Feb 2003 -- The workload of the 437th Aerial Port Squadron increased an estimated 250 percent after two APS buildings at Dover AFB, Del., collapsed under pressure from the Blizzard of '03.
• 30th Medical Brigade soldiers continue to deploy USAREUR News 26 Feb 2003 -- A small group of soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 30th Medical Brigade, departed Heidelberg at daybreak Feb. 25, on their way to the Persian Gulf. There they will join members of the company already in place.
• IMEF: prepared for chemical attacks USMC News 26 Feb 2003 -- President George W. Bush recently declared Saddam Hussein has authorized his military field commanders to use chemical weapons in the event American forces take military action to disarm the Iraqi regime. I Marine Expeditionary Force is ready to fend off any such attacks, according to Marine officials.
• Infantry Soldiers Deploy Fort Riley PAO 26 Feb 2003 -- Approximately 50 infantry soldiers with the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division deployed Feb. 25 to support the President's global war on terrorism.
• Additional Soldiers Prepare to Deploy Fort Riley PAO 26 Feb 2003 -- Approximately 900 more Fort Riley soldiers, from the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division and 937th Engineer Group, received orders this week to prepare to deploy in support of Central Command operations.

US Policy

• White House Daily Briefing White House 26 Feb 2003
• Transcript: Briefing on Human Shields in Iraq 26 Feb 2003 -- "This is a very brief presentation on a rather complicated aspect of Iraq's use of human shields and what we call deceptive sanctuaries. We describe these activities as countertargeting. It's kind of a unique, catchy phrase. And these -- countertargeting describes the techniques which can be used against military operations, overhead reconnaissance or even U.N. inspectors. "
• Removing Hussein a Key to Regional, World Peace, Bush Says AFPS 26 Feb 2003 -- The safety of the American people depends on ending the direct and growing threat of Iraq, President Bush said here tonight in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute. But beyond that, removing Saddam Hussein's regime from power "will contribute greatly to the long-term safety and stability of our world."
• Bush Calls Iraqi Dictator 'Master of Disguise, Delay' AFPS 26 Feb 2003 -- President Bush today called Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein a "master of disguise and deception."
• U.S. not Interested in Iraqi Oil, Rumsfeld Tells Arab World AFPS 26 Feb 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed as "utter nonsense" the notion that the United States is after Iraqi oil.
• Wolfowitz Says U.S. Buildup Will Continue AFPS 26 Feb 2003 -- U.N. inspections weren't imposed on Saddam Hussein so he could "dribble out little pieces of the weapons program that he claims he doesn't have in the first place. The purpose was for him to disarm and he's clearly not," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said Feb. 26.
• PENTAGON / HUMAN SHIELDS VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- A senior Pentagon official says Iraq is engaged in an extensive and growing effort to protect its military capabilities by placing weapons in civilian areas.
• PENTAGON/RUMSFELD VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- A senior Bush administration official says the U-S led coalition poised for war with Iraq is growing, and could end up with more countries than the number involved in the 1991 Gulf conflict.
• The Bush Preemption Doctrine: The Case of Iraq VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Britain and the United States submitted a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council this week. The proposal says Iraq will face serious consequences if it does not obey U-N orders to peacefully disarm. Given Iraq's repeated defiance of Security Council resolutions, Bush Administration officials are seeking U-N backing to disarm Iraq by force if necessary. But the administration is on record as saying U-N approval may not be needed to protect U-S Security.
• U.S. Has Begun Planning for Iraq Humanitarian Relief Washington File 26 Feb 2003 -- While no formal decision has been made by President Bush to use military action in Iraq, officials at the Defense and State departments, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other agencies have been engaged for the past five months in planning for humanitarian relief and reconstruction should a military conflict happen, says a senior U.S. Defense Department official.
• Transcript: Rumsfeld Says Iraq Is Problem for World Community, Not U.S. Washington File 26 Feb 2003 -- The current issues involving Iraq are between the international community and the regime of Saddam Hussein, which has failed to comply with 17 U.N. resolutions to disarm itself of weapons of mass destruction, says Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
• Fact Sheet Outlines Humanitarian Assistance Preparations for Iraq Washington File 26 Feb 2003 -- Following is a fact sheet issued by the Office of Global Communications of the White House about preparations for humanitarian assistance for Iraq in the event of war
• Bush Repeats: "Saddam Hussein Will Be Disarmed, One Way or the Other" Washington File 26 Feb 2003 -- Iraq's Saddam Hussein is "a master of disguise and delay" who will say he's disarming, even after he has said he has no arms, President Bush said in remarks at the White House February 26.

United Nations

• UNMOVIC IAEA Press Statement on Inspection Activities in Iraq UNMOVIC/IAEA 27 Feb 2003
• Tracking Inspections in Iraq RFE/L 26 Feb 2003
• UN inspectors resume destroying Iraqi mustard shells, visit biological arms site UN News Centre 26 Feb 2003 -- United Nations weapons teams inspected missile, chemical, medical and nuclear-related sites across Iraq today, resuming the destruction of mustard-filled artillery shells and checking for the third day running a site where Iraq says it destroyed bombs filled with biological agents.
• Blix Says Iraq Not Fully Cooperating Washington File 26 Feb 2003 -- Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said February 26 that even with increased interaction between Iraq and the inspectors he has not seen any indication that Baghdad has made the fundamental decision to disarm.

Foreign Reactions

• IRAQ / RUSSIA VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- A senior Iraqi official says his country will not rule out military strikes against Turkey or Kuwait, in the event of a U-S-led attack. The official's comments appeared in a newspaper Wednesday.
• BUSH / IRAQ VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- President Bush says a free Iraq can help bring peace and stability to the entire Middle East. Mr. Bush outlined his vision of a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq during a speech Wednesday night in Washington.
• EDITORIAL: RUMSFELD ON IRAQ VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- As a condition of the Gulf War cease-fire in 1991, Iraq was required to disarm. Iraq had to destroy its weapons of mass destruction and its ballistic missiles with a range of more than one-hundred-fifty kilometers, and end its nuclear weapons program.
• BUSH / IRAQ SPEECH VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- President Bush will outline his plans for a post-war Iraq and peace in the Middle East during a speech later in Washington. It is part of the president's campaign to rally support for possible military action in Iraq.
• CONGRESS/IRAQ COSTS VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- There are increasing demands in Congress for the Bush administration to give specifics about the cost of a potential war with Iraq.
• U-S-IRAQ-CANADA VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- The Bush administration, amid a flurry of diplomacy on Iraq, has rejected a Canadian proposal that Baghdad be given until the end of March to complete U-N-mandated disarmament tasks. U-S officials say Iraq has already had more than enough time to disarm.
• CONGRESS / RUSSIA / IRAQ VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- U-S lawmakers want Russia to do more to support the United States on possible military action against Iraq, and to address Washington's concerns about Russian nuclear assistance to Iran. Lawmakers expressed concerns to a top Russian lawmaker, Mikhail Margelov, who testified (Wednesday) before the House of Representatives International Relations Committee.
• FRANCE /IRAQ VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- French President Jacques Chirac says there is no need for a second U-N Security Council resolution on Iraq, and weapons inspections should be given time to work. But if a second resolution comes to a vote in the Security Council, some French lawmakers are urging their government to veto it.
• RUSSIA / GERMANY / IRAQ VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- The leaders of Russia and Germany held talks in Moscow late Wednesday and confirmed their opposition to a draft United Nations resolution that could pave the way for war with Iraq.
• BRITAIN/IRAQ VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- The British House of Commons has endorsed Prime Minister Tony Blair's pro-U-S stance to disarm Iraq by force, if needed, voting to support his handling of the crisis and rejecting his opponent's argument that the case for war has not been made. But Mr. Blair has faced the biggest Labor Party revolt in his six-year tenure.
• BLAIR/IRAQ VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he is confident a new U-N Security Council Resolution endorsing military action against Iraq will be secured. Parliament is debating a resolution in support of the government's position on Iraq.
• EGYPT/DEMOS VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Governments throughout the Arab world are anticipating widespread demonstrations if there is war in Iraq. Egyptian officials say only organized, peaceful, demonstrations will be tolerated.
• JORDAN-IRAQ INTERVIEW VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Like most Arab countries, Jordan would like to find a diplomatic solution to the Iraq crisis. As one of Iraq's neighbors, Jordan is concerned about the increasing likelihood of war on its eastern border.
• IRAQ ISLAMIC CONFERENCE VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Islamic nations are discussing how to use oil to pressure the West to drop plans to attack Iraq. The discussion took place at an informal meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conference in Malaysia.
• EDITORIAL: SPAIN'S STRONG STANCE ON IRAQ VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- The United States has many allies in the war against terrorism. One of the strongest is Spain. As President George W. Bush said at a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar [AHS-nahr] February 22nd in Texas, "Our two nations have drawn closer than ever before in fighting terrorism across Europe and beyond. Spain has apprehended members of al-Qaida and continues to share vital. . .intelligence information."

News Reports

• Al-Jazeera Broadcasts American, Iraqi Student Exchange via Satellite Washington File 26 Feb 2003 -- Julie Ryan-Silva, a graduate student at George Mason University in the Washington suburb of Fairfax, Virginia, came back from Baghdad in January with an idea.
• If War Starts, Battle Coverage to Be Unprecedented AFPS 26 Feb 2003 -- If the United States is forced into a war with Iraq, the American public can expect "incredibly robust coverage," the woman in charge of facilitating that coverage said today.
• IRAQ / OPPOSITION VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- President Bush's special envoy to the Iraqi opposition says Washington wants Iraqi citizens to form their own democratic government if Saddam Hussein is ousted, and any American presence in Baghdad would be only temporary.
• OIL MARKETS VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- A respected oil market analyst, Philip Verleger, says the looming war in Iraq is making the oil market particularly volatile. The prices of crude oil are the highest in years.
• IRAQ / RELIEF AID VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- As the U-S military gears up for a possible war in Iraq, so too are U-S and international relief agencies that will deal with humanitarian needs during and after any conflict there. Food, water and temporary shelters are already being stockpiled in the region to try to prevent a humanitarian crisis and experts say more needs to be done.
• VIRTUAL PROTEST VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Hundreds of thousands of phone calls and faxes jammed switchboards at the U-S Senate and White House today (Wednesday), as callers around the country voiced their opposition to a possible war with Iraq.
• U-S TROOPS / ALLIES VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- French and German opposition to a U-S-led military showdown with Iraq has become a serious topic of discussion among U-S troops in Kuwait.
• SHALLAL / IRAQ VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- As the rhetoric continues from both sides...some Iraqis living outside the country are watching and worrying about what war will do to their homeland...and to families they left behind.
• NY / IRAQ / CONSPIRACY VOA 26 Feb 2003 -- Federal authorities today (Wednesday) charged four men with illegally transferring almost three-million dollars to Iraq. Three of the men are already in custody, with one still at large.