Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
05 March Iraq Special Weapons News
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Current Operations
- COALITION FORCES DROP LEAFLETS IN SOUTHERN IRAQ 05 Mar 2003 -- Coalition aircraft dropped 660,000 informational leaflets over southern Iraq today.
- COALITION FORCES TARGET IRAQI MOBILE SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILE SYSTEM 05 Mar 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 a mobile surface-to-air missile system and an anti-aircraft artillery site in southern Iraq, approximately 240 miles west of Baghdad. The strike occurred at approximately 9:10 p.m., EST.
- PENTAGON/IRAQ VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the general who will oversee U-S forces in a war against Iraq are expressing confidence about a U-S victory, should President Bush make the decision to use force against Iraq.
Deployments
- RAF Fairford gets "BUFF" USAFENS 05 Mar 2003 -- More than a dozen B-52 Stratofortress bomber aircraft arrived here March 3-4 from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to support the war on terrorism and possible future contingency operations.
- Minot receives deployment order ACCNS 05 Mar 2003 -- The 5th Bomb Wing will deploy troops over the next few weeks to support the global war on terrorism and to prepare for future contingencies.
- 'Harrier Carrier' On Station, Ready for Call to Action Navy NewStand 05 Mar 2003 -- After completing a major offload of nearly 1,000 Marines from 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines into Kuwait, USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) and Marine Aircraft Group 13, with two embarked AV-8B Harrier squadrons, are ready to support any tasking in the Arabian Gulf.
- USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group Deploys Navy NewStand 05 Mar 2003 -- More than 4,000 Sailors and Marines attached to ships and units of the USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), along with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), departed from their East Coast home ports March 4.
- Iwo Jima ARG Deploys in Support of Operation Enduring Freedom Navy NewStand 05 Mar 2003 -- USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) steamed out of Norfolk March 4 for the ship's maiden deployment.
- U.S. troops better trained for chem-bio than Iraqis Army News 05 Mar 2003 -- Army chemical and biological defense experts told the Pentagon press corps that if Saddam Hussein uses weapons of mass destruction, U.S. soldiers are trained and better equipped than the Iraqis or anyone else.
- Not Ali Baba's desert oasis; but it's the next best thing USMC News 05 Mar 2003 -- Two weeks ago, the bustling and noisy camp was just a flat piece of desert somewhere in Kuwait. With the help of local Kuwaiti contractors and Marines, the barren desert was transformed into a fully functional base camp in support of the Task Force Tarawa command element.
- MEF general visits; Inspires Marines USMC News 05 Mar 2003 -- Marines assembled here March 1 to listen to the words of Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, commanding general, I Marine Expeditionary Force.
- Beans, bullets, and band-aids; Supporting Marines with supplies USMC News 05 Mar 2003 -- More than 400 Task Force Tarawa Marines moved over 1,000 mission-essential and recreational items from shore to Camps Ryan and Shoup in an offload recently.
- Training takes on new reality; Marines train for possible chemical attacks USMC News 05 Mar 2003 -- "Gas, gas, gas!" Normally, these words precede a gas mask drill, where Marines practice putting on their masks. For Marines deployed to an area where there is a very real possibility of a chemical or biological attack, Marines and Sailors practice NBC defense tactics on a routine basis.
US Policy
- White House Daily Briefing White House 05 Mar 2003
- Transcript: Powell: "Iraq: Still Failing to Disarm" US Department of State 05 Mar 2003 -- "Inspections will amount to little more than casting at shadows unless Iraq lifts the fog of denial and deception that prevents inspectors from seeing the true magnitude of what they're up against. It is for Iraq to prove to the Security Council and to the world that it has disarmed."
- Powell Says Iraq Has Failed to Make Strategic Decision to Disarm Washington File 05 Mar 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell says Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein has made no "strategic, political decision" to disarm
Iraq of its chemical and biological weapons, long-range ballistic
missiles, and related components for building nuclear weapons.
- Transcript: Background Briefing On Targeting 05 Mar 2003 -- "'International law draws a clear distinction between civilians and combatants. (...) Saddam Hussein makes no such distinctions. (...) So today we are joined by a senior official from the coalition headquarters at CentCom to shed some light on how we go about striking legitimate military targets while sparing no effort to protect innocent civilians."
- U.S. Military Works to Avoid Civilian Deaths, Collateral Damage AFPS 05 Mar 2003 -- The U.S. military will go to great lengths to limit civilian deaths and to minimize damage to nonmilitary facilities should war with Iraq be necessary, U.S. officials say.
- Transcript: DoD News Briefing - Secretary Rumsfeld And Gen. Franks 05 Mar 2003 -- "Coalition forces have been flowing into the Persian Gulf region for a number of weeks now. And the troops are there to support the diplomatic efforts to disarm Saddam Hussein of his weapons of mass destruction -- disarmament as required now by some 17 United Nations resolutions. Those U.N. resolutions will be enforced. The president has said that time is running out. Saddam Hussein can prevent the use of force. To do so, he will have to disarm or leave. The choice will be made in Baghdad."
- Rumsfeld Says Regime Change Would Be Iraq War Goal Washington File 05 Mar 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made clear March 5 that replacing
Saddam Hussein would be a military objective if force must be used in
Iraq.
- U.S. Hopes for U.N. "Understanding" if War Is Necessary Against Iraq Washington File 05 Mar 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell says he hopes that, in the event that
military force is needed to disarm Iraq, the United Nations will pass
a resolution expressing its "understanding" for the necessity of such
a course of action.
- Grossman Connects Iraq, Terror and Weapons of Mass Destruction Washington File 05 Mar 2003 -- Although the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 happened in the
United States, an attack by terrorists with weapons of mass
destruction (WMD) -- chemical or biological weapons -- could happen in
Europe or anywhere else in the world, Under Secretary of State Marc
Grossman said March 3.
- Powell Says U.N. Must Not Let Iraq Avoid Compliance Washington File 05 Mar 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell says the U.N. Security Council must
let Saddam Hussein know it is "not taken in by his transparent
tactics" to avoid compliance with its resolutions, and it must
reaffirm that he is in "material breach of his obligations."
- White House Still Confident of Security Council Vote on Iraq Washington File 05 Mar 2003 -- The White House said March 5 said it still believes that
the U.S.-U.K.-Spanish resolution on Iraq currently before the United
Nations Security Council will not be vetoed when it comes up for a
vote following the March 7 report to the council by chief U.N. weapons
inspector Hans Blix.
- Franks: Forces Ready for Military Action in Iraq AFPS 05 Mar 2003 -- The U.S. Army general who would lead any troops into battle in Iraq said today that America's forces in the region are trained, ready and capable.
- Powell: No Doubt on What Follows Saddam's Noncompliance to Disarm AFPS 05 Mar 2003 -- Time is fast running out for Saddam Hussein to voluntarily jettison his weapons of mass destruction and delivery systems to comply with U.N. Resolution 1441, the top U.S. diplomat said here today.
- IRAQ'S FINAL CHANCE? SHORT #1 VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- "The Iraqi regime is not disarming as required by last fall's unanimous vote of the [United Nations] Security Council," President George W. Bush said. "One way or another," he said, "Saddam Hussein will be disarmed." A final U-N resolution proposed by the U-S, Britain and Spain is seen as a stamp of approval for a war to disarm Iraq, but it is meeting continued resistance from France, Russia, and other nations.
- BUSH / IRAQ / FRANCE VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- Despite the vow of France, Germany, and Russia to block passage of a United Nations resolution setting the stage for war against Iraq, President Bush believes such a measure will still pass the Security Council.
- POWELL-IRAQ VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- U-S Secretary of State Colin Powell said in a Washington policy speech Wednesday that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has still not made a strategic decision to disarm. Mr. Powell said the Iraqi leader is pinning his hopes of retaining banned weapons on disunity in the international community. Mr. Powell said U-S intelligence information shows that the Baghdad government is actively concealing weapons from U-N inspectors.
- Disarming Saddam Most Important Issue, Powell Tells Spanish TV Washington File 05 Mar 2003 -- "I would like to see unity in the [United Nations] Security Council
maintained, but the most important thing is to see Saddam Hussein
disarmed," Secretary of State Colin Powell told Spain's TVE television
during a series of interviews with foreign media March 4.
- BUSH / IRAQ / FRANCE VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- Despite the vow of France, Germany, and Russia to block passage of a United Nations resolution setting the stage for war against Iraq, President Bush believes such a measure will pass the Security Council.
- BUSH TURKEY VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- The White House is still holding out hope that Turkey will agree to allow U-S troops to use the country for a possible invasion of northern Iraq. Turkey's parliament Saturday narrowly rejected the U-S request.
United Nations
Foreign Reactions
- FRANCE / RUSSIA / GERMANY VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- France has indicated it will use its veto power to kill any United Nations Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq. Russia has also raised the possibility of a veto. The French announcement followed a meeting between the French, Russian and German foreign ministers in Paris.
- ISRAEL / PATRIOT MISSILES VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- Israeli and U-S soldiers completed installation of Patriot Missile batteries around Israel's major population centers on Wednesday. The deployment is part of the effort to protect Israel from the possibility of Iraqi missile attacks, if there is a war against Iraq.
- U-S / IRAQ / VATICAN VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- A peace envoy for Pope John Paul has met President Bush Wednesday and urged him to step back from the brink of war with Iraq. The exchange of views was polite, but led to no apparent changes in Mr. Bush's position.
- FOX / IRAQ VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- Mexican President Vicente Fox is calling for unity in his country ahead of a possible war in the Persian Gulf. Mexico holds a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and is considered a possible swing vote on an upcoming resolution being sponsored by the United States, Britain and Spain. But Mr. Fox is avoiding any commitment on that vote for now.
- TURKEY / IRAQ VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- Turkey's top general on Wednesday has thrown his support behind a bill authorizing the deployment of thousands of U-S combat troops in Turkey. General Hilmi Ozkok said approval of the bill, which was rejected by parliament Saturday, would be in Turkey's interest.
- ISLAMIC CONFERENCE VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- An emergency summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference has ended in Qatar expressing opposition to any war against Iraq but calling on Iraq to abide by United Nations weapons inspections. The meeting concluded harmoniously despite an earlier shouting match between Iraqi and Kuwaiti delegates.
- JORDAN / IRAQ VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- As one of Iraq's neighbors, the desert Kingdom of Jordan is very concerned about the possibility of a war next door. Jordanians are overwhelmingly against a war, and the Jordanian government is continuing a diplomatic offensive to find a peaceful solution. Officials and analysts consider war inevitable and are already speculating about what will happen after a U-S led effort against Saddam Hussein's government.
- BRITAIN / IRAQ VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair has expressed confidence that a United Nations Security Council resolution backing war with Iraq will be voted on and passed.
News Reports
- KUWAIT / SENTENCING VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- A Kuwaiti policeman has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for shooting two U-S soldiers in the Gulf state last December.
- GARY SAMORE VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- The U-N Security Council remains divided over Iraq's cooperation in getting rid of weapons of mass destruction. Britain, the United States and Spain have introduced a new draft resolution that would pave the way for military action. Russia, France and Germany favor giving weapons inspectors more time.
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