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Operations
Deployments
US Policy
United Nations
Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

• COALITION FORCES TARGET IRAQI RADAR SYSTEM 13 Mar 2003 -- In response to Iraqi threats while monitoring compliance of United Nations Security Council Resolutions, Operation SOUTHERN WATCH Coalition aircraft used precision-guided weapons today to target a radar site in western Iraq, approximately 265 miles southwest of Baghdad. The strike occurred at approximately 4 p.m. EST.
• Coalition Drops Leaflets in Northern Iraq EUCOM 13 Mar 2003 -- Coalition aircraft enforcing the no-fly zone in northern Iraq dropped informational leaflets near Iraqi anti-aircraft-artillery batteries at approximately 8:41 a.m. EST.
• U.S. Troops in Afghan Firefight, Drop Leaflets in Southern Iraq AFPS 13 Mar 2003 -- U.S. Special Forces soldiers came under fire in Afghanistan March 12, prompting a firefight that left five enemy dead, military officials said.

Deployments

• PENTAGON/IRAQ VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- The U-S Navy soon plans to divert about a dozen warships to the Red Sea from the eastern Mediterranean for a possible attack on Iraq.
• '223 deploys with 26th MEU(SOC) USMC News 13 Mar 2003 -- Marines from Marine Attack Squadron 223 and Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 14 departed the air station March 5 in support of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
• QATAR / FRANKS VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- The senior American general who would command U-S troops in any military action against Iraq is in Qatar, visiting his forward command center. CThe visit by General Tommy Franks is part of a tour he is making of several countries in the Middle East.
• U-S MILITARY / MEDIA VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- The U-S Defense Department has allowed hundreds of journalists from around the world to live and travel with U-S military units in the Gulf region, as the units prepare for a possible war in Iraq. The so-called media embedding process is getting mixed reviews from both sides.

US Policy

• White House Daily Briefing White House 13 Mar 2003
• DOD ANNOUNCES NUMBER FOR OIL WELL FIRE CONTRACTORS 13 Mar 2003 -- The Department of Defense announced last week that it has plans to prevent or mitigate destruction of Iraq's oil wells by Saddam Hussein's regime.
• Bush Pursuing "Diplomacy to Its Fullest" on Iraq Vote Washington File 13 Mar 2003 -- The Bush administration indicated March 13 that it is willing to give diplomacy on Iraq a few more days and that it is discussing all options on ways to gain support for the Iraq resolution pending before the U.N. Security Council.
• No Agreement Yet on Iraq Resolution Washington File 13 Mar 2003 -- The Security Council March 13 failed to find any common ground on the United Kingdom's proposal for changes in the draft resolution on Iraq currently up for a vote.
• Powell Says All Options Open in U.N. Iraq Debate Washington File 13 Mar 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell says the United States is trying every option imaginable to resolve an ongoing dispute within the U.N. Security Council over a resolution setting six benchmarks and an ultimatum for Iraq to comply with U.N. demands to disarm itself of weapons of mass destruction or face serious consequences.
• BUSH IRAQ OVERNIGHTER VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- The White House concedes there will be no vote on a new U-N resolution on Iraq until next week, and administration officials indicate there may be no vote at all. Meanwhile President Bush is engaging in long hours of telephone diplomacy on Iraq.
• CONGRESS IRAQ VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- With the possibility of a U-S-led war against Iraq perhaps just days away, key congressional Democrats are blasting what they view as the administration's zeal to disarm that country by force.
• U.S. Iraq Policy Developed Over Two Administrations AFPS 13 Mar 2003 -- U.S. policy toward Iraq has been shaped by a dozen years of defiance by Saddam Hussein and at least two presidential administrations, Secretary of State Colin Powell explained to some members of Congress today.
• President Engaging in 'Phone Diplomacy' AFPS 13 Mar 2003 -- At the White House, they call it "phone diplomacy," and President Bush burned up the wires today consulting with allies worldwide.
• CONGRESS/EUROPE VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- France and other U-S allies have come under more sharp criticism from members of Congress for opposing Bush administration efforts to win support for a second Iraq resolution.
• IRAQ WRAP VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- The Bush administration says it may not seek a vote in the U-N Security Council on a draft resolution that would effectively authorize war against Iraq. This reversal comes as the United States and Britain continue to face strong opposition at the United Nations to any measure that would lead to quick military action against Iraq.
• BUSH/IRAQ VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- The White House says it may not seek a vote on a new U-N resolution against Iraq, as that measure continues to face opposition from China, Russia, and France.
• U-S / IRAQ VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell says a draft U-N resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq might be withdrawn if there appears to be no hope of avoiding a French veto. Appearing before a House subcommittee, Mr. Powell said whatever happens in the U-N Security Council, a "day of reckoning" is approaching for Saddam Hussein.
• BUSH / IRAQ VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- The White House says its push to pass a new U-N resolution dealing with Iraq may continue into next week.
• BUSH / IRAQ VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- The White House says its push to pass a new U-N resolution against Iraq may continue into next week.
• EDITORIAL: DEMOCRACY POSSIBLE IN IRAQ VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- The United States, with the world community, desires to help the Iraqi people move their country toward democracy and prosperity. But is democracy possible in Iraq? Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz posed that question in a recent meeting with Iraqi-Americans in Dearborn, Michigan. Clearly, he said, the answer is "yes."

United Nations

• UNMOVIC IAEA Press Statement on Inspection Activities in Iraq UNMOVIC/IAEA 13 Mar 2003
• Tracking Inspections in Iraq RFE/L 13 mar 2003
• UN / IRAQ VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- After closed-door consultation at the United Nations today (Thursday)on a U-S backed second resolution on Iraq, the 15-member Security Council failed to reach an agreement on a British compromise proposal to bridge the group's deep divide. Six undecided nations on the council are expected to present their own ideas soon.
• Annan appeals again for Security Council unity in dealing with Iraq UN News Centre 13 Mar 2003 -- United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan made yet another appeal today for united Security Council action in ridding Iraq of weapons of mass destruction as the 15-member body continued to wrestle over whether to give UN inspectors more time or to declare Baghdad in default by next Monday.
• Iraq: 3 more banned missiles, 7 warheads destroyed under UN oversight UN News Centre 13 Mar 2003 -- United Nations arms inspectors supervised the destruction of three more banned Iraqi missiles and seven warheads today as they continued to scour food plants for possible evidence of biological or chemical weapons.
• SECURITY COUNCIL / DIPLOMACY VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- Debate at the United Nations over disarming Iraq has sparked sharp words among once-friendly diplomats. Those divisions will have to heal if postwar Iraq is to get help in rehabilitation.

Foreign Reactions

• Israel and Iraq VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- There is increasing debate over the role of Israel and its U-S supporters in moving to war with Iraq. Critics charge these groups have undue influence over American policy in the Middle East and are urging a conflict that is not in the national interest. Others say such charges are much exaggerated and may border on anti-Semitism.
• JORDAN / IRAQ VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- Jordan says there is still a chance to resolve the Iraq crisis through peaceful means, but acknowledges that time is running out.
• FRANCE / IRAQ VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin says France is open to new ideas to settle the dispute over Iraq in the U-N Security Council, but he rejected the latest British proposals that would require Iraq to take six specific steps in a very short timeframe.
• WAR / QATAR REACT VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- While diplomats attempt what may be the final effort to peacefully resolve the standoff over Iraq, anxieties are rising in the Gulf region.
• BRITAIN / IRAQ / DEFENSE VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- Britain says its troops are ready for war against Iraq in case diplomatic efforts at the United Nations break down. Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon has criticized France for rejecting a British disarmament plan for Iraq that is now before the U-N Security Council.
• IRAQ / REJECTION VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- Iraq has rejected a proposal by Britain that would require Baghdad to fulfill six demands to prove it is fully disarming.
• IRAQ /ARAB DELEGATION VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- An Arab peace mission to Baghdad has been called off, and there is no word on whether the trip will be rescheduled. The high-ranking Arab delegation was to meet with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein tomorrow.
• JORDAN HUMAN SHIELDS VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- Many of the international volunteers who traveled to Baghdad to put themselves in the path of western bombs are leaving Iraq disillusioned. Some are frightened and others are angry that Iraq deployed them as human shields to military sites instead of the schools and hospitals they had wanted to protect.
• AUSTRALIA IRAQ HOWARD VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- Australia's Prime Minister John Howard, during a nationally televised speech from parliament in Canberra, says that if the U-N Security Council fails to support the United States in disarming Iraq, biological, chemical and nuclear weapons could find their way to terrorists. At the same time, opinion polls show the number of Australians opposed to war is growing.
• CHINA IRAQ UN VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- China is appealing for a political solution to the Iraq crisis, but gave a non-committal reaction to a new six-point British plan for Iraq to avoid war.
• IRAQ / JORDAN / RELIEF AID VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- While diplomats are debating the possibility of war in Iraq, relief agencies are working to avert a potential humanitarian crisis, both inside Iraq and in neighboring countries.
• BRITAIN / IRAQ VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- Britain has condemned France for blocking a British disarmament proposal for Iraq. British officials say the French are making a war more likely.
• SOUTHERN AFRICA: War could divert attention from regional crisis IRIN 13 Mar 2003 -- A possible war against Iraq could divert attention from the many humanitarian crisis in Southern Africa, aid groups warned on Thursday.

News Reports

• U.S.-European Relations Called Strong Despite Iraq Debate Washington File 13 Mar 2003 -- "While we are seriously concerned by differences between the U.S. and some European countries on the best way to achieve our agreed goal of Iraqi disarmament, it is also fair to say there are many areas in which the U.S.-European relationship is as strong as ever," Assistant Secretary of State Beth Jones told Congress March 13.
• Iraqi Americans: Younger Generation VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- Iraqi Americans are sharply divided over a possible U.S. led military action against their homeland. Yet most of them are eager to see a regime change in Iraq. Faiza Elmasry talked to some of the younger Iraqi Americans who seemed as enthusiastic as the older generation about the change, even though some of them have never lived in Iraq.
• AMNESTY INTL / U-N RIGHTS VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- The human rights group, Amnesty International, has renewed its appeal that it be allowed to deploy people to Iraq to monitor the human rights situation both now and after any possible war. The appeal came as the group prepared for the annual meeting of the U-N Human Rights Commission, which starts Monday.
• Byliner: Containment, Deadlier Than War, Says Author Walter Mead Washington File 13 Mar 2003 -- Those who still oppose war in Iraq think containment is an alternative -- a middle way between all-out war and letting Saddam Hussein out of his box.