• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Operations
Deployments
US Policy
United Nations
Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

• Transcript: DoD News Briefing - ASD PA Clarke and Maj. Gen. McChrystal 04 Apr 2003 -- "Currently, the coalition has a substantial number of forces on the ground at Baghdad International Airport and we'll begin to increase our scope of control over additional areas nearby. We are still sporadically engaging forces on the airport grounds and clearing buildings there."
• TRANSCRIPT OF 4/4 CENTCOM BRIEF CENTCOM 04 Apr 2003 -- "Fifteen days since the coalition's entry into Iraq, our coalition forces have preserved key resources for the future of Iraq, have provided water, food and medical support to liberated areas of Iraq, and have removed the influence of the regime throughout most of Iraq."
• Press Conference at the Ministry of Defence, London Ministry of Defence 04 Apr 2003 -- "Since I spoke to you last Friday, the coalition has seen further steady progress both in terms of military advance and in terms of the other crucial battle that I spoke of last week, winning the confidence of the Iraqi people through increased normalisation and security. (...) The focus of this press conference will be the air campaign."
• Transcript: Media Briefing Australia's contribution to Global Operations Australian Ministry of Defence 04 Apr 2003 -- "Good morning everyone, and welcome again to our regular update on operations in the Middle East. Today's brief will also include an update on some activities involving our troops that have taken place in East Timor during the week."

• IRAQ WRAP (L 3RD UPDATE) VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Iraqi television has broadcast footage of what appears to be Saddam Hussein taking a rare walk through the streets of Baghdad and the Iraqi government has acknowledged for the first time that U-S troops are on the outskirts of the city.
• TWO MARINE PILOTS KILLED IN COBRA GUNSHIP CRASH CENTCOM 04 Apr 2003 -- Two Marine pilots were killed in the crash of their AH-1W "Super Cobra" attack helicopter in central Iraq at approximately 12:19 a.m Saturday morning.
• PENTAGON: SADDAM WHO? VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein may have resurfaced Friday but as far as top Defense Department officials are concerned, it hardly matters anymore. The man long demonized as a dictator is now being painted as an almost pathetic figure.
• IRAQ WRAP (L 2nd UPDATE) VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Iraqi television has broadcast footage said to be Saddam Hussein walking through the streets of Baghdad after the Iraqi government acknowledged for the first time that U-S troops are on the outskirts of the city. Thousands of people Friday were reported to be fleeing Baghdad amid a warning from the government of what it said would be an unconventional attack on coalition forces now controlling the southern approaches to city -- and waiting for their next orders.
• PENTAGON: FADING FEAR VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Pentagon officials have said repeatedly -- U-S led forces do not intend to permanently occupy Iraq. But they concede many Iraqis appear reluctant to embrace Operation Iraqi Freedom out of fear the coalition will not stay long enough.
• U.S. Forces Find Iraqi Chemical Warfare Training Center Washington File 04 Apr 2003 -- U.S. forces have discovered a complex that may have been used by the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein to develop and construct chemical weapons, and another complex that is believed to be a nuclear, biological and chemical warfare training school, a U.S. Central Command briefing officer says.
• Transcript: Briefing on Free Iraqi Forces 04 Apr 2003 -- Briefing on Free Iraqi Forces and humanitarian assistance remotely from Umm Qasr, Iraq with Col. Blackledge, commander, 354th Civil Affairs Brigade

• Renamed Airport Gateway to Iraq's Future AFPS 04 Apr 2003 -- Saddam International Airport is under new management and has been renamed Baghdad International Airport, U.S. Central Command officials said today.
• Water Flowing Into Southern Iraq; Food on the Way AFPS 04 Apr 2003 -- With the help of the Kuwaiti government, fresh water is flowing into coalition-held areas of southern Iraq, and food is on the way, the American officer in charge of these efforts said today.
• Iraqi Freedom Largest Special Ops Effort Since Vietnam AFPS 04 Apr 2003 -- Operation Iraqi Freedom is supported by the largest special operations force since the Vietnam War, Defense Department officials said during a press briefing today.
• U.S. Forces Consolidating Around Baghdad RFE/L 04 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. military says its forces have now effectively taken control the southern and western outskirts of Baghdad and its airport. The Iraqi government says the allied troops will be defeated by what it calls a "creative" defensive strategy.
• IRAQ WRAP VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- New explosions and machine-gun fire were heard in Baghdad late Friday, hours after U-S troops secured the city's international airport. Meanwhile, Iraqi television broadcast images of Saddam Hussein that raised fresh questions about his whereabouts.
• IRAQ / U-S BRIEFING / AIRPORT VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- U-S forces have seized Saddam International Airport, just over 15 kilometers from downtown Baghdad, and renamed it Baghdad International Airport. A senior U-S military official says U-S control of the airport will prevent any member of the Iraqi leadership from escaping by air.
• IRAQ / BRIEFING VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Coalition officials say a car bomb has exploded southwest of Baghdad, killing three U-S troops and two civilians. The bombing comes as commanders confirm the coalition has seized Baghdad's international airport.
• IRAQ / SADDAM VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Iraqi President Saddam Hussein appeared on state television Friday, calling on Iraqis to be strong to defeat coalition forces. Saddam's speech came a short while after an Iraqi official warned that coalition forces would be subject to unconventional attacks.
• PENTAGON / IRAQ VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Top defense officials at the Pentagon say they are still concerned that Iraqi troops may use weapons of mass destruction, even though coalition soldiers have seized Baghdad's international airport and are a short distance from the capital.
• PENTAGON / HUMANITARIAN AID VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- U-S military officials say they significant amounts of humanitarian aid are being delivered to southern Iraq and the program will eventually spread throughout the country.
• U.S. Says It Has Captured Baghdad Airport, Closing In On Other Side RFE/L 04 Apr 2003 -- U.S. troops say they are now in control of the airport in the southwest of Baghdad and are closing in on the capital from the other side.
• Leaders Say Navy, Marine Corps On Point in Operation Iraqi Freedom Navy NewStand 04 Apr 2003 -- The leaders of the Navy Marine Corps team told senators that Sailors and Marines are carrying out the commander-in-chief's orders on the point in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Patriot Missile Possible Cause in Loss of Hornet Navy NewStand 04 Apr 2003 -- A Patriot missile may have downed the U.S. Navy F-18C Hornet which was flying a mission over Central Iraq at approximately 11:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. EST) April 2.
• IRAQ WRAP VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- U-S military officials say they now control Baghdad's international airport but caution that more fighting lies ahead in the battle for the Iraqi capital.
• IRAQ / BRIEFING/ CAR BOMB VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- U-S officials say a car bomb killed three coalition soldiers, a pregnant woman and the driver at a checkpoint set up by U-S-led special forces west of Baghdad. It is still unclear if the incident was a suicide bombing.
• VEHICLE EXPLOSION CENTCOM 04 Apr 2003 -- Last night approximately 18 km southwest of the Hadithah Dam in Iraq, a civilian vehicle approached a Coalition checkpoint.
• IRAQ / BRIEFING / CHEMICAL VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- U-S forces in Iraq say they have found what they think may have been a training school for chemical and biological warfare southwest of Baghdad. A senior U-S military official says U-S troops found vials of powder, liquids and chemical warfare manuals at the facility.
• IRAQ / PRISONERS VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Officials at the coalition command center in Qatar say more than two-thousand soldiers of Iraq's Republican Guard have surrendered to U-S forces.
• BRITAIN / IRAQ VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- British officials say the fall of Baghdad's airport would deal a heavy blow to the Iraqi government, and could let coalition forces fly in fresh troops and supplies for the drive on the capital.
• IRAQ / RESPONSE VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- A statement has been read on Iraqi television in the name of President Saddam Hussein appealing for the defeat of the U-S-led coalition as it bears down on Baghdad.
• V CORPS OPERATIONAL SUMMARY CENTCOM 04 Apr 2003 -- V Corps forces completed the destruction of the Medina Division Thursday and continued the aggressive march to Baghdad.
• Coalition Forces Attack Airport, Move Into Baghdad's Outskirts RFE/L 04 Apr 2003 -- U.S. officials say American forces in Iraq have been closing in on Baghdad's city limits. News reports from the front say allied troops have taken control of at least part of the capital's airport
• U.S., Iraqi Forces Battle For Control Of Baghdad Airport RFE/L 04 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. military says American forces are battling Iraqi troops early today for control of Saddam International Airport, 20 kilometers southwest of Baghdad.
• U.S. Troops Say They're In Control Of Baghdad Airport RFE/L 04 Apr 2003 -- U.S. troops say they are now in control of Baghdad's international airport after fighting there this morning.
• IRAQ WRAP OVERNIGHT VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- U-S troops have occupied most of Baghdad's international airport and are continuing to advance on Saddam Hussein's seat of power. But it is still unclear how soon a full scale offensive on the Iraqi capital would be launched.
• At Sea, USS Winston S. Churchill Maintains Constant Weapons Training Navy NewStand 04 Apr 2003 -- When the order comes, the port side guns erupt into a staccato volley, forcing brief geysers of sea spray into the air.
• Coast Guard Locates Iraqi Weapons Cache USCG 04 Apr 2003 -- Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 205, homeported in Yorktown, Va. and embarked on board the USS CHINOOK, located and secured a large Iraqi military equipment and weapons cache hidden in coastal caves in Southern Iraq.
• NEWS RELEASE ARCENT CFLCC 04 Apr 2003 -- A soldier assigned to the U.S. Army's 1STArmored Division died today from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at midnight local time (5:00 p.m. EST).

• Team's efforts help warplanes go farther AFPN 04 Apr 2003 -- What do a maintenance scheduler, an information management specialist and an F-16 Fighting Falcon crew chief have in common?
• From Basra to Baghdad, Flying Tigers get the job done AMCNS 04 Apr 2003 -- Members of Pope's Flying Tigers - the only active duty A-10 unit in Southwest Asia - are bringing the fight to the enemy as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Key issues still dominate wartime leadership picture USAFE 04 Apr 2003 -- Force protection, safety and operational security still dominate the sight picture of the group commander here as he continues to send B-52 bombers over Iraq and generate sorties.

Deployments

• Naval Hospital Great Lakes Sailors Deploy to 'Iraqi Freedom' Navy NewStand 04 Apr 2003 -- In spite of its location, roughly 1,000 miles from salt water, Naval Hospital Great Lakes (NHGL) is supporting the fleet with well-trained medical professionals who have deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Great Lakes 'Sea Warriors' Head to Operation Iraqi Freedom Ships Navy NewStand 04 Apr 2003 -- As the U.S. military geared up for Operation Iraqi Freedom, newscasts and periodicals abounded with images of Army divisions, Marine expeditionary forces and Navy ships leaving their home ports and bases for the Middle East.
• ANG, Charleston security forces join TALCE deployment AMCNS 04 Apr 2003 -- A 171st Security Forces Squadron 13-man security force team from the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, got "the call" early March 18 and flew to Charleston AFB that evening.
• Deployed Scott civil engineers build cities in the desert AMCNS 04 Apr 2003 -- The 375th Civil Engineer Squadron here is as mighty as the red bull that sits atop their building marker. With eyes full of fierce resolve, its men and women transform barren lands into operational camps complete with work facilities and living quarters.
• 1st CCS helps paratroopers jump into Iraq USAFE 04 Apr 2003 -- In one of the largest airborne operations since World War II, 1,000 paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade dropped out of 15 C-17 Globemaster aircraft over Iraq March 26.
• Reserve, active duty blend seamlessly USAFE 04 Apr 2003 -- Active duty and Reserve airmen are working side by side and facing the same challenges of wartime at this forward operating location.
• Forces join together to fuel the coalition USAFE 04 Apr 2003 -- Coalition forces here have joined together to fight the global war on terrorism. From the initial air refueling contact to dropping bombs on target, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and the Royal Air Force from the United Kingdom are conducting hundreds of missions every week in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from the 401st Air Expeditionary Wing.

US Policy

• Life Under Saddam Hussein The White House 04 Apr 2003 -- Past Repression and Atrocities by Saddam Hussein's Regime

• White House Press Briefing White House 04 Apr 2003
• U-S / EUROPE / RECONCILIATION VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Questions about the best way to deal with the situation in Iraq have strained relations between the United States and several of its closest allies. But rebuilding Iraq may offer an opportunity for allies to again work toward a common purpose, if leaders choose to do so.
• BUSH / IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- The White House says the U-S led coalition will play the lead role in immediate post-war Iraq. Bush administration officials insist, however, there is a place for the U-N in the process.
• Powell Predicts 'A Better Day Ahead' for Iraq AFPS 04 Apr 2003 -- With Iraq's day of liberation drawing near, U.S. officials are hard at work on plans for an interim authority, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said today.
• POWELL / SADDAM VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell has brushed aside what Iraqi television said was new footage of Saddam Hussein broadcast on Friday. Mr. Powell says with U-S-led coalition forces now controlling most of Iraq, the status of the Iraqi president is "almost irrelevant."
• BUSH BLAIR VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- President Bush will travel to Northern Ireland Monday for a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The men will discuss the war in Iraq and efforts to end the violence in Northern Ireland.
• World Enters Uncharted Foreign Policy Waters, Official Says Washington File 04 Apr 2003 -- What some now see as America throwing its weight around in foreign affairs is actually an appropriate reaction to the post-Cold War challenge to international security posed by rogue and aggressor states like Iraq, says Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Peter Rodman.
• EDITORIAL: INTERNATIONAL COALITION VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- A number of countries are committed to ridding Iraq of Saddam Hussein's regime and its weapons of mass destruction. Some members of the U.S.-led coalition to free Iraq are only too familiar with brutality and oppression, like Estonia. Estonian Prime Minister Siim Kallas told President George W. Bush that he understands the need to confront Iraq. "The great democracies in the mid-to-late 1930s did nothing as a storm gathered. And as a result, we lived in tyranny and oppression for fifty years. And we understand what it's like to yearn to be free and how it's important to take action in the face of a growing storm so that people can be free."
• EDITORIAL: SENDING A SIGNAL VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- The Saddam Hussein regime that once brutalized all of Iraq now controls only a shrinking portion of the country. But the regime's enforcers continue their brutal tactics.
• EDITORIAL: ONLY UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- The Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein is losing the war against the U.S.-led coalition. In Baghdad, the Iraqi people are seeing that the coalition is attacking regime and leadership targets, and sparing population centers.
• EDITORIAL: SADDAM'S FORCES FIRE FROM MOSQUE VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- For more than one-hundred million Shiite Muslims around the world, the gold-domed Ali Mosque in Najaf [nah-JAHF], Iraq, is a holy shrine. It is the burial site of Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib, son-in-law of the prophet Mohammed, and the Shiites' most revered leader.
• EDITORIAL: HUMAN RIGHTS VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Today, a U.S.-led coalition is fighting to defend the world from the potentially catastrophic combination of an outlaw state, weapons of mass destruction, and terrorism. "In the process," said U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, the U.S. is "liberating the Iraqi people from a ruthless tyranny that has showed utter contempt for human life"
• EDITORIAL: VICTORY FOR THE IRAQI PEOPLE VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- The U.S.-led coalition is moving closer to its goal of disarming and removing the regime of Saddam Hussein. When it is over, as President George W. Bush said, the people of Iraq will have a chance for a better life
• EDITORIAL: THE GLOBAL COALITION VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- The United States-led coalition went to war in Iraq reluctantly, yet with a clear purpose. Now that the fighting has began, said President George W. Bush, "the only way to limit its duration is to apply decisive force"
• Powell Discusses Future Roles of U.N., Coalition on German TV Washington File 04 Apr 2003 -- "The U.N. will have a major role to play" in Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell told Germany's ZDF-TV in an interview April 3.
• Powell Discusses Post-War Government, U.N. Role in Iraq Washington File 04 Apr 2003 -- The work of reconstructing and rebuilding Iraq will require the entire international community working together, Secretary of State Colin Powell said April 3 during a press conference in Brussels following meetings with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ministers and European Union (EU) officials.
• Powell Sees Wide Agreement on Major U.N. Role in Iraq Washington File 04 Apr 2003 -- The United States is engaged in a "pragmatic dialogue" with other members of the international community about the role of the United Nations in postwar Iraq, but there is agreement that the U.N. will play a "major role," Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters after meeting with Javier Solana of the European Union (EU) April 4.
• Bush Meets with Iraqis Who Have Fled Saddam Hussein Washington File 04 Apr 2003 -- President Bush met for 55 minutes April 4 at the White House with a group of Iraqis and Iraqi-Americans who had fled Iraq because of the suffering they or their families experienced under the Saddam Hussein regime.
• Rice Says U.S. Will Work with Interim Authority Run by Iraqis Washington File 04 Apr 2003 -- The United States will work with an interim authority run by Iraqis until the people of Iraq establish a legitimate, broad-based, permanent government, says National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.
• Fear and Terror Are Beginning to Evaporate in Iraq, Pentagon Says Washington File 04 Apr 2003 -- Fear and terror are starting to evaporate in Iraq, Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke says, as the Saddam Hussein regime's strength ebbs. As evidence of this, she notes that more people are pointing coalition forces to the locations of both weapons caches and "death squad" headquarters.
• Free Iraqi Forces Called Critical to Building Local Trust Washington File 04 Apr 2003 -- A U.S. Army officer says that the Free Iraqi Forces (FIF) operating with his civil affairs units in southern Iraq have been critical in establishing the trust necessary to get the water, food and medical distribution networks running again.
• Geneva Convention, Iraq War POW's Discussed on U.S Radio Washington File 04 Apr 2003 -- A nationally syndicated radio show recently aired a discussion on the Third Geneva Convention on treatment of prisoners of war (POW's) and the convention's relation to human rights law. Topics included the Guantánamo detainees, Iraq's treatment of coalition POWs, and enforcement of the Convention.
• USAID Outlines Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq Washington File 04 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) April 3 issued its fourth update on humanitarian assistance in Iraq. Following are excerpts focusing on regions of the country and on coordination, logistics, food security, water, emergency assistance and other topics.

United Nations

• IRAQ/AID VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- The World Food Program is preparing to provide the people of Iraq with what it says will be the most significant aid operation in history.
• Annan wraps up Iraq briefing sessions with all UN members UN News Centre 04 Apr 2003 -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today wrapped up his weeklong briefings of all UN Member States on the current humanitarian situation in Iraq.
• UN aid agencies step up supplies in Iraq but concerned over Baghdad's water UN News Centre 04 Apr 2003 -- With growing concern now focusing on the water supply for the 5 million residents of Baghdad, United Nations relief agencies today reported "some hopeful and positive steps" in moving humanitarian aid into other parts of Iraq.
• TURKEY: Border monitoring teams face difficulties IRIN 04 Apr 2003 -- As of Friday, monitoring teams from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), continue to face difficulties on and along Turkey's 331-km border with Iraq. The teams are trying to assess the needs of vulnerable people on the move on or near the border.
• IRAQ: Health concerns mounting IRIN 04 Apr 2003 -- Aid organisations and the United Nations have highlighted the serious health situation Iraqis are facing as conflict continues country-wide, IRIN learnt on Friday. The UN World Health Organisation (WHO) said without an immediate inflow of money there would be unnecessary deaths of Iraqi children of diarrhoea-related diseases, women would die in childbirth, and there would be a chronic shortage of medicines and supplies in already overstretched hospitals.
• TURKEY: Major WFP convoy enters Northern Iraq IRIN 04 Apr 2003 -- A major convoy of urgently needed food supplies from the World Food Programme (WFP) made its way to Iraq on Friday, the second delivery from the agency in less than a week.

Foreign Reactions

• ANTI-AMERICAN TIDE? VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- A U-S-led coalition is fighting to rid Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction and to liberate the Iraqi people from the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein. But in cities around the world, protestors have taken to the streets in opposition to the war in Iraq. Thousands marched on the U-S embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, shouting anti-American slogans and waving anti-American signs. In Bangladesh, protestors charged police barricades, attacked an effigy of President Bush and praised Saddam Hussein. There have been large anti-war demonstrations in South Korea, in China, and in European capitals. How serious is the tide of anti-Americanism?
• Former Diplomat Explains Why Africans Should Back War in Iraq Washington File 04 Apr 2003 -- Africans who are actively building democracy at home should find it only "natural" to support Coalition forces in Iraq fighting to bring democracy to a land that has been repressed for 34 years by one of the world's most vicious dictators, says retired diplomat and former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Herman Cohen.
• PALESTINIANS / IRAQ VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Since the war in Iraq began, Palestinians have been glued to their television sets and radios to find out what is happening. Some have also turned out in frequent anti-war demonstrations to show their support for Iraq and their anger at the United States. Many Palestinians identify with the plight of the Iraqi people, and they are worried about how the war's outcome will affect their own future.
• EUROPE / IRAQ VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- The foreign ministers of France, Russia and Germany say the United Nations should immediately be given a key role in Iraq, starting with humanitarian assistance.
• JORDAN / PROTESTS VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Jordanians organized several small demonstrations after mid-day prayers to protest the war in neighboring Iraq. For the third week in a row, demonstrators shouted anti-American slogans, and chanted their solidarity with the Iraqi people. But the numbers have decreased and so has the violence.
• RUSSIA/IRAQ/US VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, has postponed discussion on a draft resolution critical of the U-S-led war on Iraq. The delay comes amid a softening of rhetoric on Iraq by several Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin.
• BRITAIN / DEFENSE VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Britain's air defense chief denies a coalition bomb has caused a power blackout in Baghdad, and he says the Iraqi military is probably to blame.
• IRAQ/RUSSIA/CHINA VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- A top Russian diplomat says the United Nations should guide the post-war reconstruction of Iraq.

News Reports

• Iraqi Family Risks It All to Save American POW AFPS 04 Apr 2003 -- New heroes have surfaced in the rescue of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch.
• SOLDIERS' FEEDBACK ON WAR VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- How do coalition troops feel about anti-war protests back home? Do they expect a hero's welcome?
• IRAQI-AMERICANS VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- The war in Iraq is deeply troubling for many Iraqi-Americans. They are worried not just about their relatives back in the Middle East, but also the sudden scrutiny by U-S law enforcement authorities.
• U.S.- European Cooperation Essential to Rebuild Iraq, Scholars Say Washington File 04 Apr 2003 -- U.S. and European scholars debating how to repair the rift between the United States and Europe over the Iraq war stressed the need for trans-Atlantic cooperation in the reconstruction of Iraq once the war is over.