Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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

Current Operations

• ONE SOLDIER KILLED, THREE WOUNDED IN LANDMINE ATTACK CENTCOM 31 Jul 2003-- One 1st Armored Division soldier was killed and three were wounded when their M-113 Armored Personnel Carrier hit a landmine on a road in Baghdad at approximately 12:20 p.m. on July 31.
• V CORPS FINANCE SPECIALISTS KEEP CASH FLOWING AT HOME OR IN SOUTHWEST ASIA V Corps Release 31 Jul 2003-- Behind every great combat unit there are support elements: supply clerks, mechanics, postal workers, and food service specialists. Take all of these services away, and you can't run an army. But if you REALLY want to stop an operation cold and get soldiers screaming in a hurry, take away the finance specialists.
• IRAQ / ATTACKS VOA 31 Jul 2003 -- Attacks against U-S military are continuing in Iraq, but the commander of coalition forces says the cycle of violence will be broken. The Coalition Provisional Authority also says it is committed to seeing elections take place in Iraq as soon as all the necessary preparations are made.
• Iraq: U.S. Soldier Killed North Of Baghdad RFE/L 31 Jul 2003 -- One U.S. soldier was reported killed and two wounded when attackers, using small arms, fired on their base north of Baghdad.
• LOCAL LEADERS SUPPORT COALITION CENTCOM 31 Jul 2003-- The Karbala city council members publicly expressed their support for Coalition forces actions during recent demonstrations in the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force area of operation on July 29. The Karbala city council said the Coalition is handling the security situation in Karbala properly.
• ONE SOLDIER KILLED, TWO WOUNDED IN SMALL ARMS ATTACK CENTCOM 31 Jul 2003-- One 4th Infantry Division soldier was killed and two were wounded in a small arms attack at a tactical operation center July 30 at approximately 11:45 p.m. about 40 km east of Ba'qubah.

Deployments

US Policy

• Search for WMD Will Continue, White House Says Washington File 31 Jul 2003 -- David Kay, a former U.N. weapons investigator, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee July 31 in closed hearings. Kay, who met with President Bush the morning of July 29, recently returned from coordinating the hunt in Iraq for weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
• Wolfowitz Says Iraq Rehabilitation Depends On Improved Security Washington File 31 Jul 2003 -- U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz says Iraq needs rehabilitation from 35 years of deliberate misuse of Iraqi resources.
• Bush Renews Sanctions on Iraq Washington File 31 Jul 2003 -- President Bush has formally renewed the U.S. sanctions against Iraq, citing continued instability in the country, as well as the need to "ensure the establishment of a process leading to representative Iraqi self-rule."
• CONGRESS / IRAQ VOA 31 Jul 2003 -- U-S officials leading the effort to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq say they are making progress, but are urging patience. They made their comments after briefing lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
• U-S-IRAQ REWARD VOA 31 Jul 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell has authorized payment of a 30-million-dollar reward to the individual who provided the tip-off that led U-S forces to the hiding place of the two sons of Saddam Hussein two weeks ago. U-S officials hope it will encourage Iraqis to come forward with information that will locate the former Iraqi leader himself.
• Powell Approves Payment of $30 Million Regarding Hussein's Sons Washington File 31 Jul 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell on July 31 approved the payment of $30 million to the individual who provided the information that enabled coalition forces to locate the two sons of Saddam Hussein, Uday and Qusay, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said.
• EDITORIAL: TRACKING DOWN IRAQI CRIMINALS VOA 31 Jul 2003 -- On July 22nd, Uday and Qusay, two of Saddam Hussein's sons, were killed by coalition forces. The soldiers were tipped off by an Iraqi civilian, who will receive a substantial financial reward. Since then, other Iraqis have provided tips that led to the discovery of several large caches of weapons and the detention of part of Saddam's personal security detail.
• CONGRESS IRAQ (L-update) VOA 31 Jul 2003 -- The U-S official in charge of coordinating the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is reporting progress. But David Kay, who met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill Thursday, stopped short of saying his team found any weapons.
• EDITORIAL: JAPANESE TROOPS APPROVED FOR IRAQ VOA 31 Jul 2003 -- In May, after the U.S.-led coalition liberated the Iraqi people from the Saddam Hussein tyranny, the United Nations lifted sanctions against Iraq. Adopted unanimously, U-N Security Council Resolution 1483 also made an appeal to countries around the world to help contribute to conditions of stability and security in Iraq.
• IRAQ INTELLIGENCE CONTROVERSY VOA 31 Jul 2003 -- The death of Saddam Hussein's sons has given a much-needed impetus to U.S.-led efforts to stabilize Iraq. Nonetheless, the Bush administration continues to struggle with a controversy over questionable intelligence used in President Bush's State of the Union address.

United Nations

• Amid ongoing insecurity, UN steps up political assistance to Iraqis UN News Centre 31 Jul 2003 -- As lack of security continues to cause deep concern among United Nations humanitarian agencies in Iraq while not as yet hampering their efforts, the world body is stepping up its political assistance to the new Iraqi Governing Council in writing a new constitution and holding elections.

Reconstruction Issues

• Iraq: U.S. Administrator Says General Elections Possible Within One Year RFE/L 31 Jul 2003 -- The U.S. chief administrator for Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, said today that general elections could be held in Iraq within a year. Bremer said it was not unrealistic to think that elections could be held by mid-2004.
• Iraq: Oil Production Strengthens But Remains Problematic RFE/L 31 Jul 2003 -- International oil companies are signing new contracts to buy Iraqi oil in what some analysts say is a vote of confidence in Iraq's re-emerging oil-export sector. But doubts remain as to whether Iraq can increase its export levels in the months ahead dramatically enough to offset the mounting costs of the country's reconstruction.
• Governing Council Opts For Rotating Chairmanship RFE/L 31 Jul 2003 -- Iraq's U.S.-appointed Governing Council has opted for a chairmanship that will rotate among nine of its 25 members. Under the formula, each member will hold office for just one month before handing off power to another chairman.

Foreign Reactions

• BRITAIN / IRAQ VOA 31 Jul 2003 -- A new British parliamentary report says the country is no safer today from terrorism or weapons of mass destruction than it was before the war in Iraq.

News Reports