Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Operations
Deployments
US Policy
United Nations
Reconstruction Issues
Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

• CONGRESS IRAQ VOA 25 Jun 2003 -- President Bush's nominee to lead U-S troops in Iraq says he is 'perplexed' that weapons of mass destruction have not been found there, but he expressed confidence that they will be. Lieutenant General John Abizaid made his comments at a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday
• US General 'Perplexed' Over Failure to Find Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction VOA News 25 Jun 2003 -- President Bush's nominee to lead U.S. troops in Iraq says he is 'perplexed' that weapons of mass destruction have not been found there, but he expressed confidence that they will be. Lieutenant General John Abizaid made his comments at a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday.
• London Seeks Surrender of Iraqis Who Killed British Soldiers VOA News 25 Jun 2003 -- Iraqi authorities in the south of the country say tensions between civilians and British forces led to the clashes Tuesday in which six British soldiers of the royal military police were killed and seven wounded. Four Iraqis also died and 14 were injured in the violence.
• British Forces Search For Iraqis Who Killed Six British Soldiers VOA News 25 Jun 2003 -- British forces are searching for the gunmen who killed six British soldiers in southern Iraq on Tuesday.
• Iraq: British Troop Deaths Turn Up Heat On Blair RFE/L 25 Jun 2003 -- The shooting deaths of six British soldiers near Basra yesterday is upping the pressure on the British government over its backing for the Iraq war and the occupation of the country. The attack comes as one of Prime Minister Tony Blair's closest aides is to give evidence today to a parliamentary committee investigating whether the government exaggerated the weapons threat posed by Iraq in order to justify the war.
• Iraq: Hussein's Chief Aide Caught With Belarusian Passports RFE/L 25 Jun 2003 -- The Foreign Ministry in Minsk has strongly criticized a British newspaper report saying that one of Saddam Hussein's chief aides was carrying Belarusian passports when he was captured last week in Iraq. But U.S. officials are now backing the report.
• Iraq: Are Attacks On British Soldiers Organized Resistance Or Local Incidents? RFE/L 25 Jun 2003 -- The attack that killed six British soldiers yesterday in Iraq is focusing attention on how much armed resistance the coalition faces there. It is also raising the question of whether the resistance is centrally organized by remnants of Hussein's regime or comes from local groups with local grievances.
• IRAQ VIOLENCE (L-UPDATE) VOA 25 Jun 2003 -- Iraqi authorities in the south of the country say tensions between civilians and British forces led to the clashes Tuesday in which six British soldiers of the royal military police were killed and seven wounded. Four Iraqis also died and 14 were injured in the violence.
• IRAQ / VIOLENCE VOA 25 Jun 2003 -- British military officials in Iraq are seelomg the surrender of those responsible for Tuesday's killing of British soldiers in the south of the country. The six royal military police were killed and another seven wounded during clashes with Iraqi civilians angered by the soldiers' methods in searching for weapons.
• Iraq: British Demand Handover Of Gunmen Responsible For Shootings RFE/L 25 Jun 2003 -- A day after the shooting deaths of six British soldiers, British forces in Iraq have gone on high alert and are reported to have given local Iraqi civilian leaders a deadline of two days to hand over the gunmen involved in the attack.
• Iraqis Given 48 Hours to Turn in Gunmen Who Killed British Soldiers VOA News 25 Jun 2003 -- British forces in southern Iraq are demanding that gunmen who killed six British soldiers Tuesday surrender within 48 hours.
• IRAQ / VIOLENCE VOA 25 Jun 2003 -- British military officials in Iraq are demanding the surrender of those responsible for Tuesday's killing of British soldiers in the south of the country. The six royal military police were killed and another seven wounded during clashes with Iraqi civilians angered by the soldiers' methods in searching for weapons.
• COALITION CONTINUED EFFORTS HELP REBUILD IRAQ (June 25, 2003)] CENTCOM 25 Jun 2003 -- Coalition forces continue to help rebuild Iraq through reconstruction and humanitarian aid.
• BRITISH ARMY TRAINS U.S. TRAINERS IN PEACEKEEPING CENTCOM 25 Jun 2003 -- British Army begins train-the-trainer course for U.S. Army command elements on June 25 on internal security, counter-terrorism and peacekeeping support operations.
• SOLDIER DIES IN NONCOMBAT INCIDENT CENTCOM 25 Jun 2003 -- A soldier in the 1st Armored Division died June 24 in a noncombat incident.
• Coalition's continued efforts help rebuild Iraq ARCENT CJTF-7 25 Jun 2003
• Soldier dies in non-combat incident ARCENT CJTF-7 25 Jun 2003
• 6 British soldiers killed, 7 injured during 2 ambushes ARCENT CJTF-7 25 Jun 2003
• Coalition forces patrol for peace ARCENT CJTF-7 25 Jun 2003

Deployments

US Policy

• Speech: Restoring American Leadership - Text Prepared for Presentation by Governor Howard Dean June 25, 2003 Council on Foreign Relations Washington, DC -- America is not Rome. We do not dream of empire. We dream of liberty for all.... I do not accept that a candidate's national security credentials should be considered suspect for opposing the war in Iraq at the time it was initiated, with the limited level of international support we had, the lack of postwar planning that had been undertaken, and the failure to make the case that the threat was imminent enough to justify preventive action. ... I would add at least 50,000 foreign troops to the force in Iraq.... The U.S. must redouble its effort to garner aid from the donor community and to increase to 30-40,000 the number of military troops our friends and allies commit to help us rebuild Afghanistan. ... If we can spend $400 billion to defend our nation from threats abroad, as we must, should we not spend more to defend our nation at home?
• CONGRESS / BLAIR VOA 25 Jun 2003 -- The House of Representatives has voted to award a congressional gold medal, the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow, to British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Although most lawmakers supported the action, some opposed it and used the opportunity to renew calls for a full investigation into the issue of intelligence information used to justify the war in Iraq.
• CONGRESS / IRAQ INTELLIGENCE VOA 25 Jun 2003 -- Members of Congress reviewing intelligence used by the Bush administration to justify military action in Iraq, say they are determined to get to the bottom of the controversy. Lawmakers spoke as the House of Representatives debated a funding bill for 14 U-S intelligence agencies.
• Bremer Calls on People to Keep Perspective on Iraq AFPS 25 Jun 2003 -- Ambassador Paul Bremer said Americans must keep things in perspective as they hear reports from Iraq.
• Abizaid: U.S. Displaying 'Offensive Spirit' in Iraq AFPS 25 Jun 2003 -- "The best protection that we can give our soldiers is an offensive spirit in a tough place," said Army Lt. Gen. John Abizaid today during his Senate confirmation hearing to be the next commander of U.S. Central Command.
• CONGRESS / BLAIR VOA 25 Jun 2003 -- The House of Representatives has voted to award a congressional gold medal, the highest honor Congress can bestow, to British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Although most lawmakers supported the action, some opposed it and used the opportunity to renew calls for a full investigation into the issue of intelligence information used to justify the war in Iraq.
• CONGRESS / BLAIR VOA 25 Jun 2003 -- The House of Representatives has voted to award a congressional gold medal, the highest honor Congress can bestow, to British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Although most lawmakers supported the action, some opposed it and used the opportunity to renew calls for a full investigation into the issue of intelligence information used to justify the war in Iraq.

United Nations

• PRESS BRIEFING ON IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION United Nations 25 Jun 2003
• Iraqis themselves must make the decisions that affect them - UN envoy UN News Centre 25 Jun 2003 -- Reiterating that it was vital that the Iraqis themselves make all decisions affecting them, United Nations envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello today continued wide-ranging consultations with a full spectrum of the country's society, meeting with a group of eminent jurists to discuss reform of the justice system.
• UN: Wealthy States Agree To Plan Autumn Donor Conference For Iraq RFE/L 25 Jun 2003 -- The first UN meetings on reconstruction assistance for Iraq ended with an agreement among the world's wealthy donor nations. UN experts and Iraqi technocrats are to hold a conference on aid this October. Actual pledges will be made at that gathering, but UN officials said that after two days of meetings, key international players appear united in launching the process to help rebuild Iraq. The U.S.-led coalition administering Iraq is eager for multilateral assistance in what is expected to be an enormous reconstruction effort.
• U-N / IRAQ / CONFERENCE VOA 25 Jun 2003 -- Two-days of meetings on Iraq ended at the United Nations today, Tuesday, with plans to hold a high-level conference in October to address the country's reconstruction needs.
• IRAQ: UNDP acts on Baghdad unemployment IRIN 25 Jun 2003 -- Isam Shawkat, who graduated in 1983 as an agricultural engineer, has never had a job relevant to his qualifications, just like many other residents of the poor and crowded district of Al-Bayya in southwestern Baghdad.

Reconstruction Issues

• Rebuilding Iraq Is the Toughest of All Missions, Abizaid Says Washington File 25 Jun 2003 -- Resolving reconstruction and stability issues in Iraq presents a complex set of problems that are not strictly a military concern, but instead require a vast array of support, says President Bush's nominee to lead the U.S. Central Command.
• Former Iraqi Soldiers To Receive Monthly Stipends Starting in July Washington File 25 Jun 2003 -- The chief U.S. administrator in Iraq, Ambassador Paul Bremer, announced June 25 that the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) would begin to pay interim monthly stipends to former Iraqi soldiers and their families by mid-July.
• Nations Rally Around Iraq Reconstruction Washington File 25 Jun 2003 -- Describing it as a rallying of the international community around Iraq, international aid officials announced June 24 that the United Nations will hold a high-level donors conference later this year to help long-term reconstruction projects in Iraq during 2004.
• Iraq: Amid Instability, U.S. Struggles To Chart Reconstruction RFE/L 25 Jun 2003 -- Paul Bremer, America's chief civilian administrator in Iraq, has announced a series of key decisions regarding the country's reconstruction, some of which directly contradict U.S. decisions made recently. Do the new policies reflect a clearer direction for America's course in Iraq?

Foreign Reactions

• Qatar Commended For Establishing Iraqi Higher Education Fund Washington File 25 Jun 2003 -- The United States praised the government of Qatar for establishing a fund for higher education in Iraq, and contributing $15 million as an initial grant.
• Syria Protests to US Over Last Weeks Strike in Iraq VOA News 25 Jun 2003 -- Syria says it has protested last week's U.S. military strike near its Iraqi border in which several Syrian border guards were wounded.
• BRITAIN/IRAQ VOA 25 Jun 2003 -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair has paid special tribute to the six royal military police soldiers who were killed Tuesday in southern Iraq, and he says the strength of the British presence in the country is under scrutiny.

News Reports

• CFR News Release: Experts Call for More Coherent Vision for Iraq's Political Future Council on Foreign Relations 25 Jun 2003 -- With mounting costs to American lives and treasure in Iraq, and success there so clearly tied to American staying power and the coherence of U.S. strategy, the Bush administration must sharpen and deepen its commitment to making Iraq a better and safer place, conclude former UN Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering and former Defense and Energy Secretary James R. Schlesinger, co-chairs of the Council-sponsored Independent Task Force on post-war Iraq. As a first step, the President should set the direction for his administration by making a major foreign policy address to the nation, explaining the importance of seeing the task through, as well as the costs and risks of U.S. engagement in postwar Iraq.