Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Operations
Deployments
US Policy
United Nations
Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

• Transcript:DoD News Briefing - ASD PA Clarke and Maj. Gen. McChrystal 22 Mar 2003 -- "It is only a matter of time before the Iraqi regime is destroyed and its threat to region and the world is ended. As we've made clear from the beginning, this is not a war against a people, a country or a religion, and the Iraqi people who are welcoming coalition forces are clear evidence that they know this to be true."
• Transcript: Briefing with CENTCOM Commander General Tommy Franks CENTCOM 22 Mar 2003 -- Let me begin by saying this will be a campaign unlike any other in history, a campaign characterized by shock, by surprise, by flexibility, by the employment of precise munitions on a scale never before seen, and by the application of overwhelming force. (...) Our plan introduces these forces across the breadth and depth of Iraq, in some cases simultaneously and in some cases sequentially.
• Transcript: Defence Secretary and Chief of the Defence Staff: Press Conference at the Ministry of Defence, London UK Ministry of Defence 22 Mar 2003 -- "Over the past 24 hours you will have seen the military plan start to take shape on the ground. What we are looking to do is to achieve a series of effects to which the Iraqi regime simply cannot respond. We can do this whilst at the same time reducing the risk of civilian casualties. Indeed we believe that this is the right way to minimise such risk. The coalition is now therefore working simultaneously along several lines of operation. First of all, through information operations, we are making clear to the Iraqi Armed Forces and to Iraq's civilian population, the coalition's resolve to achieve our objectives - the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime and its weapons of mass destruction. You will have seen pictures of the Iraqi Armed Forces responding to this and recognising that there is no need for them to fight for Saddam Hussein. Through ground manoeuvre we are rapidly securing Iraqi territory. "
• Transcript Of Media Doorstop 22 Mar 03 (Aedt) At The Coalition Media Centre, Middle East Area Of Operations Australian Department of Defence 22 Mar 2003 -- "Our SAS have inserted into Iraq and have been there for a couple of days. Any suggestion that they have been there previously is nonsense - in the last couple of days they were given the EXECUTO by the government. They are now deep inside Iraq. Their primary role is strategic reconnaissance though in some cases we are a command and control node which are used to detect communications control in WMD. We will in some cases have taken direct action against those."
• Transcript: Media Briefing Operation Falconer Australian Department of Defence 22 Mar 2003 -- "The first thing I'd like to draw to your attention - without us delving too far into what you might call the whole of the coalition activity - but it is important to note that the southern oil fields have been secured and that the damage has been assessed as minimal. This is a significant success as it has enabled all of us to avoid potential ecological disaster."

• COALITION FORCES LIBERATE UMM QASR, SET STAGE FOR HUMANITARIAN SUPPORT TO IRAQI PEOPLE CENTCOM 22 Mar 2003 -- Coalition forces secured the port of Umm Qasr in Southern Iraq today at 4 p.m. and have begun the groundwork for beginning the delivery of humanitarian assistance supplies to Iraqi people through this strategic port.
• Iraq: Entire Division Surrenders To U.S. Forces Near Basra RFE/L 22 Mar 2003 -- The Pentagon says an entire division of the Iraqi Army has surrendered to U.S. and British forces in southern Iraq.
• THIRTEEN SOLDIERS OF 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION (AIR ASSAULT) INJURED CENTCOM 22 Mar 2003 -- An unknown assailant or assailants attacked elements of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait at approximately 1:30 a.m. local (March 23), injuring 13 soldiers.
• SUSPECT TAKEN INTO CUSTODY CENTCOM 22 Mar 2003 -- A suspect was taken into custody following the attack on elements of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). The suspect is a soldier assigned to the Division.
• Stealth fighters use new munitions to hit Baghdad AFPN 22 Mar 2003 -- U.S. Air Force F-117 stealth fighters struck five strategic targets in Baghdad on March 21 using a new precision-guided munition, the EGBU-27, as coalition forces shifted the Operation Iraqi Freedom air campaign into high gear.
• 'Shock air forces' hit Iraq AFPN 22 Mar 2003 -- Coalition "shock air forces" aircraft flew nearly 1,000 strike sorties March 21, hitting targets intended to end the regime of Saddam Hussein. The strikes marked the beginning of the air campaign portion of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Coalition's 3-prong attack drives into Iraq Army News 22 Mar 2003 -- On the third day of "Operation Iraqi Freedom," U.S and coalition forces are conducting simultaneous military operations in the northern, southern and western portions of Iraq, as well as the air campaign at Baghdad, Army Gen. Tommy Franks told reporters at his headquarters in Qatar.
• MPs in Kuwait prepare EPW facilities Army News 22 Mar 2003 -- With more than 1,200 Iraqi soldiers now captured by coalition forces, U.S military police are preparing internment and resettlement facilities.
• Coalition Forces Continue Tomahawk Launches Navy NewStand 22 Mar 2003 -- Thirty U.S. Navy and coalition warships currently assigned to Naval Forces Central Command launched Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs) March 21 during military operations to disarm Iraq.
• Iraqi missile strikes against U.S. forces in Kuwait ineffective USMC News 22 Mar 2003 -- As Day 3 in the war against Saddam Hussein's regime came to an end, one thing seemed to be missing - the regular wailing of alarms warning troops in Kuwait of inbound Iraqi missiles.
• Defense Official Says Coalition Has Made "Considerable Progress" Washington File 22 Mar 2003 -- Defense Department officials said March 22 that the U.S. and coalition attack on Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq continues to make considerable progress.
• U.S. Says Rumaylah Oil Fields Now in Coalition Hands Washington File 22 Mar 2003 -- The vital Iraqi Rumaylah oil fields have been seized by U.S. forces, according to U.S. military officials briefing the media in Doha, Qatar, March 22.
• IRAQ / FRANKS / PRISONERS VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- The commander of coalition forces in Iraq, says his troops have taken up to two-thousand prisoners of war but that many more Iraqi soldiers have either given up their weapons and gone home or are preparing to do so.
• PENTAGON / ADVANCE VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- The Pentagon says it is only a matter of time before Saddam Hussein's regime collapses. But while coalition military operations appear to be going smoothly thus far, defense officials are bracing for possible trouble.
• IRAQ / FRANKS / CAMPAIGN VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- The commander of U-S forces in Iraq, General Tommy Franks, promises that the campaign he is waging will be unlike any other in history. General Franks says his forces are attacking on their own terms and taking care to avoid civilians.
• IRAQ / FRANKS VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- The commander of the U-S led war against Iraq has expressed satisfaction with the military operation to date but warns that tough times lie ahead. The general also said great efforts are being made to minimize civilian casualties.
• ANTI / WAR PROTEST VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- Large crowds of anti-war demonstrators turned out in New York city, Saturday. Protesters marched in the streets there and in several major U-S cities to protest the Bush administration's policy in Iraq.
• IRAQ WRAP VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- As the air and land invasion of Iraq enters its 4th day (Sunday), U-S military officials describe the state of leadership in Baghdad as confused and say it's possible Saddam Hussein may be losing control over his military. At the same time, Baghdad continues to come under heavy air attack as coalition troops on the ground sweep northward toward the capital.
• PENTAGON / IRAQ VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- Pentagon officials say U-S forces fighting in Iraq have successfully crossed the Euphrates River, the major waterway on the route to Baghdad.
• B-52s strike Iraqi targets AFPN 22 Mar 2003 -- Bomber aircraft from this deployed location participated in their first strike operations March 21 and continue to pound targets in the U.S. Central Command theater of operations in a coalition effort to disarm the Iraqi regime.
• Maintainers unleash wave of B-52s AFPN 22 Mar 2003 -- More than 70 aircraft maintainers worked earnestly through the early morning March 21 to unleash the first wave of B-52 bombers on the Iraqi regime from this forward-deployed location.
• Franks: Iraq Campaign Is 'Unlike Any Other in History' AFPS 22 Mar 2003 -- U.S. and coalition forces will liberate Iraq, end Saddam Hussein's regime and find and confiscate the dictator's weapons of mass destruction, Operation Iraqi Freedom's senior military commander said today.
• U.S. Troops Hit Terrorist Complex In Northern Iraq AFPS 22 Mar 2003 -- U.S. troops yesterday attacked a terrorist complex located in northern Iraq, Army Gen. Tommy Franks said.
• KUWAIT / HELICOPTERS VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- As U-S-led ground forces advance toward Baghdad, U-S Army Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters are being called on to support various missions inside Iraq.
• IRAQ / RESPONSE VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- There are reports of fresh missile and bomb attacks in Baghdad.
• IRAQ / CHOPPERS VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- Two helicopters of the British air force have crashed into the Gulf, killing all seven crew members.
• IRAQ / WAR / UMM QASR VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- Coalition officials in Qatar say they have taken the major port of Umm Qasr in southern Iraq, adding that this will allow ships to begin unloading humanitarian aid in the coming days. The announcement follows a night of heavy bombing of selected targets in Baghdad and other major Iraqi cities.
• 30 Vessels in Gulf Launched Tomahawks CENTCOM 22 Mar 2003 -- 30 U.S. Navy and coalition warships currently assigned to Naval Forces Central Command launched Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs) during last night's military operations to disarm Iraq.
• FIRST MARINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE SECURES RUMAYLAH OIL FIELDS CENTCOM 22 Mar 2003 -- At approximately 6 p.m. yesterday, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force secured the gas oil separation plants (GOSPs), crude oil export facilities and oil wells in the Rumaylah Oil Fields.

Deployments

• TASK FORCE IRONHORSE REPOSITIONS FORCES III Corps 22 Mar 2003 -- Task Force Ironhorse - built around the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Carson, Colo., and including other U.S.-based Army units - will reposition its equipment and troops where required to prepare for and support Operation Iraqi Freedom, currently underway in Iraq and other countries in the U.S. Central Command area of operations.
• NAVAIR Depot Aids Marines in Kuwait Navy NewStand 22 Mar 2003 -- "This is our job. It's what we do, and we're proud to do it," said Kayres Stockdale, a supervisor with Naval Air Systems Command Depot North Island Field Services. Stockdale led a seven-man team of volunteers to Kuwait to perform an airframe change on a Miramar-based Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet that left for a mission to the Middle East before having an airframe change.

US Policy

• Bush: Coalition Is Broad, Cause Just, Mission Clear Washington File 22 Mar 2003 -- In the unfolding campaign against the regime of Saddam Hussein, President George W. Bush declared, the United States is leading a broad coalition of more than 40 nations in a mission with three elements: to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass murder, to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people.
• Powell Says U.S. Consulting Closely with Turkey Washington File 22 Mar 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said that the United States is consulting with Turkey about final resolution of overflight permission for U.S. and coalition aircraft, as well as the question of a Turkish military presence in Northern Iraq.
• BUSH IRAQ VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- President Bush convened a meeting of his war council Saturday as U-S and British forces advance on the key southern Iraqi city of Basra.
• Bush Cautions Iraq War Could Be 'Longer, More Difficult' AFPS 22 Mar 2003 -- President Bush today praised the efforts of U.S. and coalition service members in Iraq, but cautioned that the campaign may take some time to conclude.
• 'Only a Matter of Time' Before Saddam's Regime Is Destroyed AFPS 22 Mar 2003 -- DoD officials today offered no timeframe when U.S. and coalition military operations in Iraq would conclude, but they emphasized that time was running out for Saddam Hussein and his regime.

United Nations

• Displaced Iraqis returning to northern areas as UN steps up relief effort UN News Centre 22 Mar 2003 -- While the United Nations steps up its relief effort in various parts of Iraq, people displaced from their homes have been returning to some of the country's northern governorates, a spokesman for the world body reported today.
• Diplomats begin negotiating new Security Council resolution on UN relief aid to Iraq UN News Centre 22 Mar 2003 -- In a bid to prepare for a new humanitarian relief effort in Iraq, diplomats today began negotiating a Security Council measure which would adapt the work of the United Nations in the country to meet emerging needs.

Foreign Reactions

• DPRK Foreign Ministry spokesman on U.S. start of Iraqi war KCNA 22 Mar 2003 -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry gave an answer to a question put by KCNA today as regards the U.S. start of military attack on Iraq.
• Iraq: Turkey, Iraqi Kurds Deny Turkish Troops In North RFE/L 22 Mar 2003 -- The Turkish Army and Iraqi Kurds are both denying reports that Turkish troops have entered Kurdish-held territory in northern Iraq.
• JORDAN / BORDER VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- International aid workers are preparing two camps along Jordan's border with Iraq for Iraqis and third country nationals fleeing the war. But so far only a handful of foreign workers has appeared.
• LATAM / WAR REACT VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- In Latin America, the war in Iraq has ignited anti-American protests and renewed fears of a powerful northern neighbor who some believe already exerts too much influence over smaller, less developed nations. But many people in the region also hope the war will end quickly so as to avoid economic repercussions on their countries.
• IRAQ / ARAB REACT VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- Demonstrations continued for the third day Saturday in Egypt and other Arab nations against the U-S-led attack on Iraq.
• IRAQ / POPE VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- Pope John Paul says the war in Iraq is threatening the fate of humanity. It was the first papal statement since the outbreak of U-S-led hostilities against Baghdad.
• IRAQ / RESPONSE VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- Iraq says the overnight bombing of Baghdad has resulted in civilian casualties and that Iraqi troops continue to wage fierce battles against coalition forces throughout the country, disputing coalition advances at several places.
• EMBASSIES CLOSED VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- Some U-S embassies in the Gulf states and other parts of the Arab world were kept closed Saturday following violent anti-war protests Friday in many Arab countries.
• BRITAIN / DEMO VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- Tens of thousands of anti-war demonstrators have marched through London. Many said they felt motivated to express their views even though the fighting has already begun in Iraq.
• BRITAIN / IRAQ VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- Britain says the government of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is crumbling under the intense bombardment of coalition forces. Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon says he has no information on the fate of Saddam Hussein.

News Reports

• AFGHANISTAN/U-S TROOPS/IRAQ VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- As U-S and other coalition forces push deep into Iraq, their efforts are being watched by their armed forces colleagues in other parts of the world with a mixture of concern, pride, and even some envy.
• RYU-IRAQ-MILITARY VOA 22 Mar 2003 -- Journalists covering the U-S-led war with Iraq have unprecedented access to military operations because they are embedded with U-S forces. This means the reporters are accompanying forces on the front lines after receiving special permission from the Defense Department.