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Operations
Deployments
US Policy
United Nations
Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

• COALITION FORCES TARGET IRAQI AIR-DEFENSE RADARS, SAM SYSTEM 28 Feb 2003 -- In response to Iraqi threats to Coalition aircraft monitoring compliance of United Nations Security Council Resolutions, Operation SOUTHERN WATCH Coalition aircraft used precision-guided weapons today to target three mobile air-defense early-warning radars and a surface-to-air missile system in southern Iraq, south of the 33rd Parallel. The radars and SAM system were located near An Nasiriyah, approximately 170 miles southwest of Baghdad. The strike occurred at approximately 4:30 p.m., EST.
• COALITION FORCES DROP LEAFLETS IN SOUTHERN IRAQ 28 Feb 2003 -- Coalition aircraft dropped 120,000 informational leaflets over southern Iraq today.
• PENTAGON/IRAQ VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- The Pentagon has begun an effort to encourage Iraqi soldiers to desert, as the Bush administration continues its preparations for a possible war.
• IRAQI / GRADUATION VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- Friday was graduation day for the first group of Iraqi opposition volunteers who received training at the United States military airbase in Hungary. They will support a U-S-led coalition in the event of war with Iraq.

Deployments

• Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group to Begin Deployment Navy NewStand 28 Feb 2003 -- More than 4,000 Sailors and Marines attached with the USS Iwo Jima (LHA 7) Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) will begin a scheduled deployment March 4. The ships include the Norfolk-based amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHA 7), the amphibious transport dock ship USS Nashville (LPD 13), and the Little Creek-based amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50).
• USS Nimitz Carrier Battle Group to Deploy Navy NewStand 28 Feb 2003 -- More than 8,000 Pacific Fleet Sailors assigned to the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Carrier Battle Group (CVBG), led by Commander, Cruiser Destroyer Group 5, Rear Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, will deploy March 3 to the Arabian Gulf in support of the global war on terrorism.
• USS Abraham Lincoln Helps Prepare to Send News to the World Navy NewStand 28 Feb 2003 -- USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) recently invited several news organizations to participate in a cooperative "tech assist visit," which saw media bringing aboard their state-of-the-art communications equipment for an initial installation and trial run, before official embedding begins in the event the United States goes to war with Iraq.
• Seabees Stand Up and Make History Navy NewStand 28 Feb 2003 -- Navy Seabee Reservists from the 1st Naval Construction Regiment (1st NCR) have been called to active duty service in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, marking the first time that a Reserve regiment has been "stood-up" since Operation Desert Storm.
• 1/4 comes ashore USMC 28 Feb 2003 -- Living Support Area 1, Kuwait- Marines with 1st Battalion, 4th Marines recently came ashore Monday at Living Area Support 1 in northern Kuwait.
• Can you hear me now? 40th Signal Bn. keeps CJTF-HOA communications up and running USMC 28 Feb 2003 -- Since it was constituted in 1942, the Army's 40th Signal Battalion has played an integral role in numerous military operations. Keeping up that tradition for Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa are the soldiers of A Company, 40th Signal Bn. from Fort Huachuca, Ariz.

US Policy

• White House Daily Briefing White House 28 Feb 2003
• A Dictator Holding Onto Weapons of Mass Terror Is Scary, Wolfowitz Says AFPS 28 Feb 2003 -- "The most dangerous thing in this whole scenario is the fact that we're dealing with a dictator who had weapons of mass terror, who continues to hold on to them at great cost to his country and to his own regime," Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz told ABC's Diane Sawyer today on "Good Morning America." "And that's the scariest part of it."
• EDITORIAL: IRAQI DANGER MUST BE CONFRONTED VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- The danger posed by Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction must be confronted. The United States hopes that the Iraqi regime will meet the demands of the United Nations and disarm peacefully. But if it does not, the U.S. and its allies are prepared to disarm Iraq by force.
• POWELL / IRAQ / AFRICA VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- As the Bush Administration seeks a U-N resolution authorizing force against Iraq, it is asking for the support of three African countries. Angola, Cameroon and Guinea are current members of the Security Council. Secretary of State Colin Powell is leading the administration's diplomatic efforts.
• EDITORIAL: THE DREAM OF A POST-SADDAM IRAQ VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- If Saddam Hussein refuses to meet the demands of the United Nations, the United States is prepared to lead a coalition of nations to disarm the Iraqi dictator. "The danger posed by Saddam Hussein and his weapons [of mass destruction] cannot be ignored or wished away," said President George W. Bush. "The danger must be confronted."
• Evans Discusses Iraq, U.S.-Bulgarian Economic Ties in TV Interview Washington File 28 Feb 2003 -- U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans said during a television interview in Sofia, Bulgaria February 28 that the U.S. interest in disarming Iraq and seeing a regime change there is about "protecting individual freedoms, which we have defended for over 200 years in our country."
• "The Plan for a Postwar Iraq," by Deputy NSC Adviser Steve Hadley Washington File 28 Feb 2003 -- This column by Steve Hadley, Deputy National Security Adviser to President Bush, first appeared in The Washington Post February 28, 2003 and is in the public domain
• Wolfowitz Says Only Solution is Destruction of Iraq Weapons Washington File 28 Feb 2003 -- The only thing that will solve the problem of Iraq is full disclosure and total destruction by Saddam Hussein of his country's weapons of mass destruction, says Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.

United Nations

• Transcript of UN Radio with UNMOVIC/IAEA Spokesman Hiro Ueki in Baghdad UNMOVIC/IAEA 28 Feb 2003
• Tracking Inspections in Iraq RFE/L 28 Feb 2003
• UNMOVIC IAEA Press Statement on Inspection Activities in Iraq UNMOVIC/IAEA 28 Feb 2003
• Iraq's promised missile destruction 'very significant, real disarmament' - Blix UN News Centre 28 Feb 2003 -- Iraq's promised destruction of its Al Samoud 2 missiles is "a very significant piece of real disarmament," chief United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix said today, as a written report by UN monitors on the inspection process was distributed to Security Council members late Friday.
• Coalition Against Terror Now Larger Than Gulf War Alliance AFPS 28 Feb 2003 -- More nations are involved in the coalition against terror than participated in the Persian Gulf War, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said during a Pentagon press conference today.
• BLIX REPORT VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- The chief United Nations weapons inspector for Iraq has given members of the Security Council another progress report on Iraqi disarmament, in which he characterizes Baghdad's cooperation as very limited at best. This new report will likely set the stage for further debate among the 15 members of the council, most of whom oppose U-S and British threats to forcibly disarm Iraq and want to give weapons inspections more time.
• IRAQ / MISSILES VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- Iraqi sources say Baghdad will comply with U-N demands that it begin destroying its Al-Samoud-Two missiles by Saturday. News reports quoting the unidentified sources come one day after Iraq sent a letter to the chief U-N weapons inspector saying Iraq agreed "in principal" to destroy the weapons. The Bush administration responded to the reports by saying Iraq has no real intention of disarming.
• IRAQ / U-N VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- The top U-N weapons inspector for Iraq is welcoming Baghdad's apparent decision to begin destroying scores of its short range missiles, something Hans Blix has ordered Iraq to start by Saturday.
• IRAQ / MISSILES VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- Iraq is expected to begin destroying its Al-Samoud-Two missiles as early as Saturday, as ordered by chief U-N weapons inspector Hans Blix. Baghdad has reluctantly agreed to the demand on the eve of Mr. Blix's deadline.

Foreign Reactions

• BRITAIN /SPAIN/ IRAQ VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair has dismissed Iraq's statement it has agreed in principle to destroy its Al-Samoud-Two missiles, as demanded by the chief U-N weapons inspector. Mr. Blair, speaking after talks with his Spanish counterpart in Madrid Friday, said Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein never makes concessions, unless he is threatened with force.
• RUSSIA IRAQ VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- Russia's Foreign Minister says Moscow opposes any U-N resolution that could lead to war in Iraq - and might veto such a measure in the Security Council.
• ARAB LEAGUE ADVANCER VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- While political analysts believe there will be heated debate during Saturday's Arab League summit in Egypt, most say in the end, the Arab League will issue the same kind of anti-war statement it has issued before.

News Reports

• WARTIME ROLE OF MEDIA VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- Many around the world have criticized the U-S media for "beating the drums of war" and failing to ask tough questions of the Bush administration's policy towards Iraq. What is the role of media when the government is preparing for war? Have they been even-handed or not?
• IRAQ'S FINAL CHANCE? VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- The United States, Britain and Spain are calling on the United Nations Security Council to make good its Resolution 1441. That resolution promised serious consequences if Iraq failed to disarm. U-S officials have presented evidence to the U-N demonstrating that the regime of Saddam Hussein is in material breach of U-N demands. "The Iraqi regime is not disarming as required by last Fall's unanimous vote of the Security Council," President George W. Bush said. "One way or another," he said, "Saddam Hussein will be disarmed." Laying the diplomatic groundwork for disarming Iraq, the U-S, Britain and Spain have introduced to the Security Council a new draft resolution stating that Iraq is not in compliance with 1441. Laying the military groundwork for disarming Iraq, the U-S and its allies continue to pour forces into the region. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said that these preparations have left Iraq "two weeks or so" to disarm. Will the U-N lend its weight to the conclusion that Iraq must be disarmed by force?
• OPEC / OIL SUPPLY VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says it has spare capacity of four-million barrels of oil per day that could be released to make up a shortfall, in the event of a U-S-led attack on Iraq. The comments come as oil prices surged to nearly 40-dollars a barrel in New York.
• State Department Fact Sheet Profiles Iraq Washington File 28 Feb 2003 -- Following is a national profile of Iraq issued by the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
• U-S / IRAQ / EXILES VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- The United States said Friday it would not recognize the leadership council being formed by Iraqi opposition leaders as a provisional government. It says both exile figures and the people in Iraq should participate in a new government, if Saddam Hussein were to be deposed.
• IRAQ/OPPOSITION VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- Iraqi opposition leaders, who have been meeting in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq to discuss the country's political future in the event Saddam Hussein is ousted, have named a six-member leadership council. While participants hailed the results of the meeting, the diverse opposition is likely to face further hurdles in its efforts to steer a common course.
• OPEC/OIL SUPPLY VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries says it has spare capacity of four-million barrels of oil per day that could be released to make up a shortfall, in the event of a U-S-led attack on Iraq. The comments come as oil prices surged to nearly 40-dollars a barrel in New York.