Iraq - U.S. Confrontation: A Chronology of Events from October 2002 to March 2003

Iraq - U.S. Confrontation: A Chronology of Events from October 2002 to March 2003

Order Code RL31667
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Iraq - U.S. Confrontation:
A Chronology of Events from
October 2002 to March 2003
Updated March 11, 2003
-name redacted-
Middle East Policy Analyst
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

Iraq - U.S. Confrontation:
A Chronology of Events from
October 2002 to March 2003
Summary
This chronology, which begins in October 2002 and ends in March 2003, covers
events surrounding the evolving confrontation between Iraq and the United States on
the issue of Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction. The chronology will
not be updated past March 10, 2003. For the latest information on the developing
Iraq-U.S. confrontation, see Iraq-U.S. Confrontation: Daily Developments, online
at [http://www.crs.gov/products/browse/iraqdocs/iraqdaily.shtml].

Contents
Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Primary Events Since October 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Iraq - U.S. Confrontation:
A Chronology of Events from
October 2002 to March 2003
Since the military defeat of the Taliban and the extension of the war on
terrorism beyond Afghanistan, the Bush Administration has placed Iraq at the top of
its foreign policy agenda. In his January 29, 2002 State of the Union message,
President George W. Bush characterized Iraq as part of an “axis of evil,” along with
Iran and North Korea. The President identified the key threat from Iraq as its
development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and the potential for Iraq to
transfer WMD to the terrorist groups that the Administration contends it sponsors.
In order to counter such a threat, officials of the Bush Administration believe military
action against Iraq may be necessary both to eliminate weapons of mass destruction
and to change the Iraqi regime.
After a lengthy internal debate within the Administration over how to confront
the potential Iraqi threat, the President sought both a congressional resolution to
authorize the use of force against Iraq and a United Nations Security Council
resolution to reintroduce a more robust weapons inspections process. On October 11,
2002, the U.S. Congress passed H.J.Res. 114, a resolution authorizing the President
to use the U.S. armed forces to defend the national security of the United States
against the continuing threat posed by Iraq, and to enforce all relevant U.N. Security
Council resolutions regarding Iraq. On October 16, 2002, President Bush signed the
resolution into law (P.L. 107-247). On November 8, 2002, the United Nations
Security Council passed Resolution 1441, ordering Iraq to admit weapons inspectors,
or face “serious consequences.”
In order to appear cooperative with U.S. and U.N. efforts to uncover its WMD
weapons programs, Iraq immediately accepted the return of weapons inspectors. An
advance inspections team arrived in Baghdad in late November 2002. Within 10
days, inspectors began conducting surprise inspections at various Iraqi facilities,
which had been used previously as production areas for chemical, biological, and
nuclear weapons. Iraqi authorities did not disrupt these initial inspections, though
they bitterly protested an inspection at a presidential palace.
This report is designed as a ready reference for tracking the latest developments
in the evolving Iraq-U.S. conflict. The most recent events appear first. Citations are
provided only for key developments in the conflict. This report covers important
events from October 10, 2002, the date that the House of Representatives passed
H.J.Res 114, to March 10, 2003. It will not be updated after March 10, 2003. For
the latest information on the developing Iraq-U.S. confrontation, see Iraq-U.S.
Confrontation: Daily Developments at [http://www.crs.gov/products/browse/iraq
docs/iraqdaily.shtml].

CRS-2
Chronology
Primary Events Since October 2002
03/10/2003
— The U.S. Agency for International Development sent a detailed
“request for proposals” to at least five of the nation’s
infrastructure-engineering firms in order to solicit bids on
contracts related to the rebuilding of Iraq’s infrastructure . The
companies are Bechtel Group Inc. of San Francisco; Fluor Corp.
of Aliso Viejo, Calif.; Houston-based Halliburton Co.’s Kellogg
Brown & Root; Louis Berger Group Inc. of East Orange, N.J.;
and Parsons Corp. of Pasadena, Calif. (Wall Street Journal)
03/09/2003
— U.S. officials disclosed that United Nations weapons inspectors
in Iraq discovered a new variety of rocket seemingly configured
to strew bomblets filled with chemical or biological agents over
large areas. The reconfigured rocket warheads appear to be
cobbled together from Iraq’s stockpiles of imported or home-
built weapons, some which Iraq had used with both conventional
and chemical warheads.
03/07/2003
— In his third oral report to the U.N. Security Council, Hans Blix
said that Iraq had accelerated its cooperation since January and
that in all the inspections there had been no evidence yet found
of proscribed biological weapons (BW) activities. He had
investigated in detail the claims of mobile BW labs and
underground facilities using sophisticated equipment and had
come up with no evidence to support the claims. While he
described the lack of full cooperation from the Iraqis in
supplying documentation, previous Iraqi efforts to attach
conditions to inspections had been dropped. According to Blix,
the destruction of 34 Al Samoud 2 missiles represented very real
disarmament. Blix finished by appealing for more time, saying
inspections would take several more months if they were to be
meaningful. In the meantime, he issued a 167-page working
document outlining the outstanding questions Iraq had yet to
answer. [http://www.Iraqconflict.org]
— U.N. chief nuclear weapons inspector, Mohammed El Baradei,
said that claims that Iraq had been trying to import uranium from
Niger had been based on fabricated documents.
03/06/2003
— In a press conference on Iraq, President Bush stated that
“Saddam Hussein and his weapons are a direct threat to this
country ... I will not leave the American people at the mercy of
the Iraqi dictator and his weapons.”
03/05/2003
— The foreign ministers of France, Germany, and Russia said in a
joint declaration that they would not permit passage of a

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Security Council resolution authorizing the use of armed force
against Iraq.
— Secretary of State Colin Powell said that while the inspectors
were busy overseeing the destruction of rockets in one part of
Iraq, American intelligence had found that Iraq had begun to
hide machinery to “convert other kinds of engines” to power the
same rockets. In addition, Powell suggested that Iraq had bugged
Iraqi scientists who had been interviewed by U.N. officials.
03/01/2003
— Turkey’s parliament narrowly failed to approve the deployment
of U.S. troops on its territory for a possible war with
neighboring Iraq.
02/27/2003
— Iraq agreed “in principle” to begin destroying ballistic missiles
judged illegal because their range exceeds limits imposed after
the Persian Gulf war.
02/26/2003
— According to the Washington Post, the United States and Saudi
Arabia have reached new agreements that will allow expanded
U.S. air operations from Saudi territory, including full use of
Prince Sultan Air Base as an air operations center, in the event
of war against Iraq.
02/25/2003
— A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Kuwait during
a nighttime training mission, killing all 4 crew members.
— According to the New York Times, United States intelligence
officials have specifically identified more than 2,000 members
of the Iraqi elite, including some to be captured as possible war
criminals and many more the American military will try to turn
against Saddam Hussein during any invasion. Officials said the
computer database, whose existence was previously undisclosed,
divided the Iraqi leadership into three categories: hard-core
allies of Mr. Hussein; senior Iraqis whose allegiances are
uncertain but who may be willing to cooperate with United
States forces; and another group of people who are believed
either to secretly oppose the government or whose technical
expertise is deemed crucial to running a post-Hussein
government.
02/24/2003
— U.S. and British officials proposed a new resolution on Iraq to
the U.N. Security Council, citing Iraq as being in further
material breach of existing resolutions and demanding that Iraq
give up its weapons of mass destruction or face serious
consequences. The draft resolution contained no deadline for
Iraqi compliance.
02/23/2003
— The New York Times reported that the U.S. military has been
waging a psychological campaign in Iraq, sending e-mails and

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making cell-phone calls to Iraq’s leadership urging them to
topple Saddam Hussein, dropping leaflets on Iraqi anti-aircraft
batteries with calls to not fire on coalition aircraft, and
broadcasting directly to the Iraqi public with programs that
mimic the program styles of local radio stations.
02/21/2003
— Hans Blix, Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC, demanded that
Iraq begin destroying all of its Al-Samoud missiles and any
illegally imported engines designed for use in the rockets, which
United Nations experts say exceed the allowed range of 92
miles. (New York Times)
— The federal government asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit that
seeks to “bar President Bush from starting a war against Iraq
without an explicit declaration of war from Congress.”
(Associated Press)
02/20/2003
— ABC News reported that Saudi Arabia has proposed a plan,
which calls for a coalition of Islamic nations to occupy Iraq
while a transitional Iraqi government is established.
— In a Washington Post report, U.N. weapons inspectors stated
that Iraq has failed to follow through on promises of increased
cooperation. Inspectors noted that no Iraqi scientist involved in
biological, chemical, or missile technology has consented to a
private interview with the inspectors since February 7, the day
before the two chief U.N. inspectors arrived here for talks with
Iraqi officials. The United Nations also has not received
additional documents about past weapons programs, despite the
government’s pledge to set up a commission to scour the
country for evidence sought by the inspectors.
— Iranian officials told reporters that for “security reasons” Iranian
pilgrims would no longer be allowed to cross into Iraq to visit
the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf. (Financial Times)
02/19/2003
— According to senior Iranian officials, thousands of Iranian-
backed Shiite militia fighters had crossed into northern Iraq
from Iran. The forces are under the control of Ayatollah
Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim, a prominent Iraqi Shia Muslim
cleric and leader of the Iraqi opposition group, The Supreme
Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI).

— The NATO Defense Planning Committee
approved
the
deployment of AWACS radar aircraft, Patriot missile systems,
and chemical-biological response units to Turkey. The
committee excludes France, which opposed the move.
02/14/2003
— In their second update to the U.N. Security Council on the
progress of weapons inspections in Iraq, Hans Blix and

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Muhammad El-Baradei told the Council that some progress had
been made with Iraq since the Council last met on January 27,
2003, but more cooperation was needed. Nevertheless, Blix said
that inspections should continue. Some analysts noted that
Blix’s report was markedly more lenient on Iraq than his
previous address to the Security Council. Blix’s summation
stated that:
! “So far, UNMOVIC has not found any such weapons
[WMD], only a small number of empty chemical
munitions, which should have been declared and
destroyed.”
! “The declaration submitted by Iraq on 7 December,
despite its large volume, missed the opportunity to
provide the fresh material and evidence needed to
respond to the open questions [about anthrax, the
nerve agent VX, and long-range missiles]. This is
perhaps the most important problem we are facing.”
! “The U.S. secretary of state suggested that Iraq had
prepared for inspections by cleaning up sites and
removing evidence of proscribed weapons programs.
... The reported movement of munitions at the site
could just as easily have been a routine activity as a
movement of proscribed munitions in anticipation of
an imminent inspection.”
! Blix reiterated that although Iraq has provided a
document which suggested that approximately 1,000
tons of chemical agent remained unaccounted for, it
has not provided credible evidence that the agent was
destroyed.
! Blix also noted that Iraq’s declaration regarding the
reconstituting of casting chambers (originally
designed to aid production of the now-proscribed
Badr-2000 missile system) has been deemed by
inspectors to be capable of also producing motors for
missiles whose range could “significantly” exceed
150 kilometers, and is thus forbidden to Iraq.
— Prior to the chief weapons inspectors reports to the U.N.
Security Council, Saddam Hussein issued a decree banning the
importation or production of nuclear, biological, or chemical
weapons, or any materials that could be used to make them.
02/13/2003
— According to defense officials at the Pentagon, U.S. Special
Operations troops are already operating in various parts of Iraq,
hunting for weapons sites, establishing a communications
network, and seeking potential defectors from Iraqi military
units. Defense officials also stated that a U.S. attack on Iraq
would consist of a series of preliminary ground actions to seize

CRS-6
Iraqi territory and effectively encircle Baghdad before a large-
scale air campaign hits the capital. (Washington Post)
02/12/2003
— A panel of independent missile experts at the United Nations
convened by Hans Blix, Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC,
has confirmed that a missile Iraq has developed exceeds range
limits set by the Security Council. Mr. Blix had already told the
Council that the Al-Samoud 2 missile, with a range of about 180
kilometers, or 114 miles, appeared to be a “prima facie” case of
a violation by Iraq of the range limit of 150 kilometers, or about
90 miles, established by the Council. The inspectors learned of
the range of the missiles from test results that were provided in
the 12,000-page arms declaration Iraq delivered at the start of
the inspections. (New York Times)
— During testimony delivered to the House International Relations
Committee, Secretary of State Colin Powell commented on the
possibility for domestic unrest in Arab states, saying “I’m sure
there will be disturbances. I’m sure there will be some
blowback, and that is to be expected. But we can’t say that
because there’s going to be blowback, we shouldn’t act, either
with or without U.N. permission.”
— The U.S. military dropped 480,000 leaflets with five messages
near Baghdad. One leaflet type told of radio frequencies where
Iraqis can tune in to U.S. broadcasts and another, depicting
warplanes bombing military tanks outside a mosque, warned
Iraqis to “avoid areas occupied by military personnel.” Others
warn the Iraqi military against shooting at U.S. and British
warplanes enforcing no-fly zones [http://www.Stratfor.com].
— Pentagon officials asserted that Iraqi forces had moved
explosives into the southern part of the country in preparation
for blowing up bridges, bursting dams, and igniting oil fields in
a strategy to slow an American attack. (New York Times)
— After testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee that
the CIA had given U.N. weapon inspectors all the information
it had on suspected weapons sites of high and moderate interest
in Iraq, CIA Director George Tenet told a defense panel that his
earlier testimony was wrong. In fact, he said, there is “one
handful of sites which may not have been known” to the U.N.
inspectors. (Washington Post)
— United Nations arms inspectors began work to destroy 10 old
artillery shells filled with mustard gas. The shells had been
tagged for destruction during the previous round of inspections
that terminated in 1998.

CRS-7
— The Pentagon activated 39,000 more reservists, intensifying a
military buildup toward possible war with Iraq that now includes
about 150,000 Reserve and National Guard forces deployed in
the United States and abroad. (Los Angeles Times)
— U.S. lawmakers, angry over France’s and Germany’s opposition
to the Administration’s Iraq policies, are considering retaliatory
gestures such as trade sanctions against French wine and bottled
water and pressing for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from
Germany. (Washington Post)
02/11/2003
— In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
Marc Grossman, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs,
said that U.S. forces may have to be stationed in Iraq for 2 years
after a military conflict.
— According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, nearly 6 in 10
Americans said they would endorse military action to topple
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein over the objections of the U.N.
Security Council if the United States is supported by close allies
such as Britain, Australia, and Italy.
— France proposed a plan to triple the number of weapons
inspectors in Iraq and increase the number of surveillance flights
over Iraqi territory. The French proposal did not include
provisions for the presence of U.N. peacekeepers to bolster the
inspections process.
— In an audio tape reportedly containing the voice of Osama Bin
Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, made several references to Iraq
including the following excerpts:
! “It does not harm in these circumstances that the
interests of Muslims and socialists crisscross in the
fighting against the Crusaders.”
! “Anyone who assists the U.S. from among the Iraqi
hypocrites or Arab rulers ... whether by fighting with
them or through providing administrative support or
any other form of support or help, even verbal, to kill
Muslims in Iraq, they should know that they are
infidels.”
! Iraq’s rulers “had lost their credibility long ago” and
that “socialists are infidels wherever they are.”
! “The fighting should be in the name of God only, not
in the name of national ideologies, nor to seek
victory for the ignorant governments that rule all
Arab states, including Iraq.”
02/10/2003
— Iraqi officials announced that Iraq will allow U.N. inspectors to
use U.S., French, and Russian surveillance aircraft to search the

CRS-8
country for evidence of hidden chemical, biological, and nuclear
weapons.
— According to the New York Times, the Bush Administration is
attempting to recruit Adnan Pachachi, an octogenarian exile who
once served as a foreign minister and ambassador to the United
Nations for Iraq. Mr. Pachachi declared publicly in 1961 that
Kuwait was part of Iraq and had no right to exist independently,
a statement he renounced in 1999.
— The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States will
include a number of Chechen groups on its official list of
terrorist organizations, an American move that will please
Moscow at a time when its support is being sought for a U.S.-
led war against Iraq.
02/09/2003
— Over 50,000 people gathered in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta,
to protest the United States’ threat of military action against
Iraq. Turnout at the three-hour demonstration, organized by the
Muslim Justice Party, was significantly higher than past anti-war
protests in the Indonesian capital, which have drawn about 5,000
people. (CNN)
02/08/2003
— According to the Washington Post, Bush Administration
officials held a rare private meeting with Iranian envoys in
Europe last month to seek a promise of humanitarian help and
an assurance that the Tehran government would not interfere in
military operations if the United States goes to war against Iraq.
U.S. diplomats also asked that the Iranian government deny
haven to fleeing Iraqis who might try to cross into Iran and
regroup against a U.S.-supported government in Baghdad.
— According to the London Guardian, an Iraqi private, who had
recently defected to Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, told
reporters in an interview that conditions back in the Iraqi
trenches were not so good and that “we have two blankets for
every soldier, but they are very thin and don’t keep us warm.
The officers beat us. And the food is disgusting. I’m only paid
50 dinars [about $4.80] a month.”
02/07/2003
— Sa’id al-Musawi, head of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry’s Organizations
Department, acknowledged the presence of Ansar Al-Islam in
northern Iraq but said the group is based in an area outside the
control of the Iraqi government. Al-Musawi also stated that Abu
Mus’ab al-Zarqawi is present in northern Iraq, adding that “our
information says that he is present in the Al-Sulaymaniyah area,
particularly the Bayyarah area in northern Iraq, which is outside
the control of the central government.” (Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty Iraq Report, Vol. 6, No.5)

CRS-9
— According to the Washington Post, senior intelligence officials
have said that Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi is not under Al Qaeda
control or direction. One official noted that “they have common
goals, but he [Zarqawi] is outside bin Laden’s circle. He is not
sworn Al-Qaeda.”
02/06/2003

— Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia,
Slovenia,
Bulgaria,
Romania, Croatia, Macedonia, and Albania pledged to take part
in military action to disarm Saddam Hussein if he continues to
defy the United Nations. Known as the Vilnius Group, the
statement said the United States Secretary of State, Colin
Powell, had produced compelling evidence of Saddam Hussein’s
efforts to deceive weapons inspectors. (Daily Telegraph -
London)
— The Army’s 101st Airborne Division received orders to send
more than 15,000 troops and 300 combat helicopters from Fort
Campbell, KY, to the Persian Gulf.
— According to the New York Times, a good deal of the evidence
linking Iraq with Al Qaeda came from the recent arrest and
interrogation of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi’s deputy, who was
caught talking on his cell phone while driving out of Iraq.
02/05/2003
— Secretary of State Colin Powell briefed the United Nations
Security Council on Iraq’s efforts to evade weapons inspectors,
its attempts to procure and develop weapons of mass
destruction, and its connection to Al Qaeda terrorist operatives.
The sources of the evidence came from intercepted phone
conversations, satellite photographs, and defector or other
human intelligence sources.
Intercepted Audio Conversations
! Secretary Powell played a taped conversation
between Iraqi commanders in which one officer was
overheard saying that “we have evacuated
everything” at the Al-Kendi Company.
! In another audio tape, an Iraqi Republican Guard
Commander was overheard ordering a subordinate to
“destroy the message because I don’t want anyone to
see this message.”
! Secretary Powell played an intercepted radio
message in which one officer orders another to
“remove” the expression “nerve agents” in the
“wireless instructions.”

CRS-10
Satellite Imagery
! Secretary Powell presented the Security Council with
before and after images of chemical weapons
bunkers, which had been “sanitized”prior to the
arrival of weapons inspectors at the Taji facility.
! Secretary Powell showed pictures of cargo trucks
arriving at various ballistic missile facilities several
days prior to the arrival of weapons inspection teams.
Some of the trucks had mounted cranes to move
missiles.
! Secretary Powell presented a photograph,
supplemented with human intelligence information,
of the al-Moussaid chemical facility both before and
after the grounds surrounding the site had been
bulldozed. According to Powell, “the Iraqis literally
removed the crust of the earth from large portions of
this site in order to conceal chemical weapons
evidence that would be there from years of chemical
weapons activity.”
! Secretary Powell offered photographs of ballistic
missile test stands, which were considerably larger
than the test stands Iraq had been using for its short-
range missiles.
! Secretary Powell presented the Council with an
image of an alleged terrorist poison and explosives
training camp located in northeastern Iraq. The camp
was established by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, “an
associated in collaborator of Osama bin Laden and
his Al Qaeda lieutenants.”
Human and Defector Intelligence Sources
! According to Secretary Powell, “a missile brigade
outside Baghdad was disbursing rocket launchers and
warheads containing biological warfare agents to
various locations, distributing them to various
locations in western Iraq. Most of the launchers and
warheads have been hidden in large groves of palm
trees and were to be moved every one to four weeks
to escape detection.”
! Secretary Powell cited eye witness accounts of the
existence of mobile biological production labs on
wheels and rail cars. Secretary Powell referred to an
Iraqi chemical weapons engineer who said that
production began on Thursdays at midnight and went
on through Friday, because it was believed that
United Nations inspectors would not intrude during
the Muslim Sabbath on Friday. According to Powell,
“we know that Iraq has at least seven of these mobile

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biological agent factories. The truck-mounted ones
have at least two or three trucks each. That means
that the mobile production facilities are very few,
perhaps 18 trucks that we know of — there may be
more — but perhaps 18 that we know of. Just
imagine trying to find 18 trucks among the thousands
and thousands of trucks that travel the roads of Iraq
every single day.”
! Secretary Powell stated the United States had
detected test flights of Iraqi Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles (UAV’s) that went 500 km nonstop, a
violation of United Nations restrictions on the ranges
of Iraqi projectiles, and an omission that was left out
of Iraq’s December 7, 2002 declaration. Powell
pointed out that Iraq could outfit a UAV with spray
tanks designed to disperse chemical weapons.
! Although Secretary Powell acknowledged that there
were differences of opinion over the potential usage
of Iraq’s illegally imported aluminum tubes (rockets
or components for refining uranium), he questioned
why Iraq would continue to refine the specifications
of the tubes “if it would soon be blown into shrapnel
when it went off.”
! Powell mentioned that “Iraqi officials negotiated
with firms in Romania, India, Russia, and Slovenia
for the purchase of a magnet production plant. Iraq
wanted the plant to produce magnets weighing 20 to
30 grams. That’s the same weight as the magnets
used in Iraq’s gas centrifuge program before the Gulf
War.”
! In regard to the link between Iraq and Al Qaeda,
Powell noted that Zarqawi had been in Baghdad for
2 months receiving medical treatment. During that
stay, Zarqawi coordinated the activities of Al Qaeda
cells. Powell stated that the captured assassin of the
late Lawrence Foley said his cell received weapons
and money from Zarqawi.

— Following Secretary Powell’s speech,
Security
Council
delegates from France, Russia, and China stated that U.N.
weapons inspectors be given more time in Iraq.
— The Prime Minister of Turkey said his government had all but
given up on diplomatic efforts to disarm Iraq and had decided to
join the United States in its plans to confront Iraq by military
means. Later this month, the Turkish Parliament will decide on
opening the country up to the presence of thousands of U.S.
combat troops. (New York Times)

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02/01/2003
— A crowd of 3,000 protesters demonstrated in Amman, Jordan
against a war in Iraq. The demonstration was permitted by the
Jordanian government and was organized by Jordanian Islamist
opposition groups. (BBC News)
01/30/2003
— Leaders of Britain, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Poland,
Denmark, and the Czech Republic signed a letter, which urged
the United Nations not to balk at a military campaign if Iraq
failed to comply with United Nations demands to disclose and
destroy weapons of mass destruction.
— According to Jordanian officials and diplomats, Jordan had
decided to allow the discreet stationing of U.S. troops to staff
air defenses, the launch of search-and-rescue missions from its
airfields, and the passage of allied planes across its airspace in
any war with neighboring Iraq. (Washington Post)
— The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on Iraq.
Senator Joseph Biden urged the Bush Administration to “make
it easier” for international allies to join the United States in
pressuring Iraq to comply with United Nations resolutions.
01/29/2003
— The Pentagon announced that it was activating an additional
16,000 reservists, bringing the total number to about 95,000.
During the 1991 Gulf War, a total of 106,000 reservists were
activated for duty. (Reuters)
01/28/2003
— In his State of the Union Address, President Bush stated that
there was intelligence data showing that Iraq was helping and
protecting terrorists and that Iraq was undermining the
inspections process by concealing weapons and spying on U.N.
weapons inspectors. The President noted that “from intelligence
sources we know ... thousands of Iraqi security personnel are at
work hiding documents and materials from the U.N. inspectors
— sanitizing inspection sites and monitoring the inspectors
themselves.” He added that “evidence from intelligence
sources, secret communications, and statements by people now
in custody, reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects
terrorists, including members of Al Qaeda.” In his speech, the
President referred to new intelligence information about Iraq’s
mobile bio-weapons labs “from three Iraqi defectors.” In
regards to international support for an attack on Iraq, the
President stated that “we are asking them to join us, and many
are doing so ... yet the course of this nation does not depend on
the decisions of others.”
— Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted that Russia may take a
more aggressive stance toward Iraq saying “if Iraq resists these
inspections, if it creates problems for the inspectors, I do not
rule out that Russia may change its position ... we intend to work

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with other Security Council members, including the United
States, to work out other decisions — I won’t say what kind, but
tougher than the existing decisions.” (Washington Post)
— In a statement to the press, Senator Joseph Biden remarked that
the Administration has evidence on Iraq’s weapons programs
“that can change people’s minds.” He described it as “enough
circumstantial evidence that if there were a jury trial I could
convict you.” (Washington Post )
— Prior to President Bush’s State of the Union Address, Senator
Tom Daschle challenged the President to disclose evidence of
Iraqi WMD programs stating that “if we have proof of nuclear
and biological weapons, why don’t we show that proof to the
world — as President Kennedy did 40 years ago when he sent
Adlai Stevenson to the United Nations to show the world U.S.
photographs of offensive missiles in Cuba? At a time when we
have only just begun to fight the war on terror, the American
people deserve to hear why we should put hundreds of
thousands of American troops at risk, spend perhaps hundreds
of billions of dollars, risk our alliances and inflame our
adversaries to attack Iraq.” (Washington Post)
01/27/2003
— In accordance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441,
Hans Blix and Muhammad El-Baradei delivered an assessment
on the progress of weapons inspections in Iraq exactly 60 days
after the start of inspections. Blix stated that “Iraq appears not
to have come to a genuine acceptance — not even today — of
the disarmament which was demanded of it and which it needs
to carry out to win the confidence of the world and to live in
peace.” Blix’s report outlined several areas in which Iraq has
failed to demonstrate that it has eliminated its WMD programs
and ceased development on long range missiles. Blix’s
summation stated that:
! There are “indications” that Iraq created weapons
using the nerve agent VX and that it may still have
chemicals used to produce these weapons.
! Iraq had failed to account for thousands of chemical
bombs that it had built during the Iran-Iraq War in
the 1980s.
! The discovery of 16 empty chemical warheads in
January 2003 may be just the “tip of the iceberg.”
! Inspectors discovered precursor chemicals used to
make Mustard Gas.
! Iraq had produced more anthrax than it had disclosed
in its December 2002 report to the United Nations.
! Iraq had illegally imported materials used for making
missiles with ranges beyond the 90-mile limit
imposed by the United Nations.

CRS-14
! Iraq had failed to disclose documents on uranium
enrichment, which inspectors discovered in the home
of an Iraqi scientist in January 2003.
In his separate report, Dr. El-Baradei, the Director General of
the International Atomic Energy Agency, said his team had
visited nuclear-related buildings where satellite photography
showed new structures and had found no new nuclear activities
there including any sign of radioactivity.
— In response to the UNMOVIC/IAEA reports, the Chairman of
the House International Relations Committee, Henry Hyde,
issued a statement saying “the fact that no amount of evidence
of Iraq’s bad faith will ever be enough from some members of
the international community should not stop that community —
and cannot stop the United States — from acting to defend its
interests.”
— In a statement emphasizing the United States’ need for
international support in confronting Iraq, Senator Chuck Hagel
noted that “sustaining and building a new Iraq will require a vast
amount of resources.... America cannot do this alone. That was
the lesson we should have learned from Vietnam, the greatest
foreign policy failure in our history.” (Washington Post)
01/26/2003
— Members of the Iraqi opposition have gathered in Iran to prepare
their entry into Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Iraq.
According to Iraqi opposition figure and Brandeis University
Professor Kanan Makiya, “the Iranians are actually offering to
protect us so we can hold our meetings in northern Iraq. Would
you believe that?” (New York Times)
01/25/2003
— The New York Times reported an unnamed Administration
official’s assessment on the nature of the United States’
evidence of Iraqi noncompliance and its weapons programs.
According to this official, “much of what we know is akin to an
impressionist painting. It’s a compilation of several different
strands of information that are then triangulated to draw a
conclusion. If you have an intelligence background, it’s
compelling. If you don’t, you might say, ‘There’s no forest here.
It’s 400 unrelated trees.’ “
— A group of Arab intellectuals published an appeal to their
governments to press for the removal of Saddam Hussein to
avoid a war that “threatens with catastrophe the peoples of the
region.” The petition also seeks to shift international emphasis
from Iraq’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction
to its human rights record. It calls for “the rule of democracy in
Baghdad, and for the stationing across Iraq of human rights

CRS-15
monitors from the United Nations and the Arab League.”
(Financial Times)
01/24/2003
— During a joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary
Jack Straw, Secretary of State Colin Powell stated “the question
isn’t how much longer do you need for inspections to work.
Inspections will not work.”
— Responding to allegations that Iraqi scientists had been coerced
into refusing to be interviewed by U.N. inspectors, General
Hussam Muhammad Amin said that the Iraqi government had
encouraged its scientists to talk stating “how can we solve this?
Should we put him in prison and say to him: ‘Make an interview
in private’? This is contrary with his rights and his human
rights. This is unrequired indeed.” (New York Times)
— According to Iraqi military documents recently smuggled out of
Iraq, elite units of the Iraqi armed forces have been issued new
chemical warfare suits and supplies of the drug atropine, used to
counter the effects of nerve gas. Some observers believe this
may indicate that Saddam Hussein is preparing to use chemical
and biological weapons against troops invading Baghdad. (BBC
News)
— More than 120 House Members of Congress signed a letter to
President Bush urging the Administration to give the U.N.
inspectors more time to complete their work. (The Hill)
01/23/2003
— In a speech to The Council on Foreign Relations in New York
City, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz stated that
“in the absence of full cooperation, particularly in the absence
of full disclosure of what Iraq has actually done, we cannot
expect that the U.N. inspectors have the capacity to disarm an
uncooperative Iraq, even with the full support of American
intelligence and the intelligence of other nations. American
intelligence capabilities are extraordinary, but they are far from
the omniscient, all-seeing eye depicted in some Hollywood
movies. For a great body of what we need to know, we are
dependent on traditional methods of intelligence — that is to
say, human beings, who either deliberately or inadvertently are
communicating to us.”
01/22/2003
— Iraq claimed that it had shot down an unmanned U.S. aircraft
that entered its airspace from Kuwait. This was the second time
in a month that Iraqi defenses had brought down an American
reconnaissance drone.
01/21/2003
— France and Germany pledged to oppose American pressure for
military action against Iraq before there was a clear signal from
the weapons inspectors and agreement by the Security Council.

CRS-16
— A gunman killed an American military contractor and critically
wounded another when he opened fire on their vehicle near
Camp Doha, Kuwait. The shooting followed two similar
incidents in October and November 2002.
01/20/2003
— Britain sent an additional 26,000 ground troops to the Persian
Gulf, a quarter of its army, including paratroopers, tanks
modified for desert warfare, and other armored units.
— Iraq agreed to encourage its scientists to be privately interviewed
by U.N. inspectors. Iraq had been encouraging its scientists to
insist that government officials be present during interviews
with U.N. officials.
— Defense officials said that the Pentagon would soon issue
deployment order to an additional 37,000 troops, including
about 12,500 soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division at Fort
Hood, Texas, nearly 4,000 soldiers from the division’s 3rd
Brigade at Fort Carson, Colo., and more than 20,000 troops from
10 other unnamed installations. (New York Times)
01/18/2003

— Tens of thousands of anti-war protestors
marched
in
Washington, D.C., demonstrating against a possible war in Iraq.
The demonstrations were organized by Youth and Student
ANSWER and D.C. Iraq Pledge of Resistance and United for
Peace.
01/16/2003
— Hans Blix and Muhammad El-Baradei called on Iraq to
cooperate with inspectors or face war, accusing Iraq of illegally
importing arms-related material to the country. However, they
added that it was not yet clear whether the items were related to
weapons of mass destruction. Speaking in Brussels, Blix stated
that “it’s clear Iraq has violated the bans of the United Nations
in terms of imports. We have found things that have been
illegally imported, even in 2001 and 2002.” (CNN)
— U.N. inspectors interviewed two Iraqi scientists in their homes,
conducting surprise inspections of private residences. It was
unclear whether inspectors were able to speak to Faleh Hassan,
a physicist, and Shaker al-Jibouri, nuclear scientist, without the
presence of an Iraqi official.
— According to Time magazine, Saudi Arabia was vigorously
pursuing a concrete plan to encourage Iraqi generals to
overthrow Saddam and his clique. The plan proposes that the
U.N. Security Council pass a resolution, which would grant
amnesty to all but 100 to 120 of the most senior Baath Party
officials, including Saddam, his sons, close relatives, and others
who have long formed part of the ruling circle. Saudi Arabia

CRS-17
and other Middle Eastern countries later denied that they were
urging Saddam to resign.
— U.N. weapons inspectors uncovered “11 empty 122-millimeter
chemical warheads and one warhead that requires further
evaluation,” according to a daily statement released by
UNMOVIC/IAEA spokesman Hiro Ueki. Inspectors found the
warheads at the Ukhaidar Ammunition Stores, located 70
kilometers south of Karbala. The site was last visited by a joint
team of inspectors on January 7. “The warheads were in
excellent condition and were similar to ones imported by Iraq
during the late 1980s,” Ueki said. (RFE/RL Iraq Report, vol. 5
no. 42, January 20, 2003)
01/15/2003
— It was reported that the United States has sent Patriot anti-
missile systems and 600 troops to Israel in a joint U.S. - Israeli
exercise to test the ability of American and Israeli missile
defenses to work together. The joint exercises are scheduled to
last until mid-February 2003. Israel operates its own Arrow
missile defense system and has deployed two batteries outside
of Israeli cities.
01/11/2003
— The Pentagon issued deployment orders to 27,000 troops,
including Marines, an Army airborne infantry brigade, and a
squadron of Stealth fighters.
01/10/2003
— The Pentagon issued deployment orders to 35,000 troops, over
half of whom were Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif.,
and Camp Lejeune, N.C.
01/09/2003
— Secretary of State Colin L. Powell indicated that the United
States had begun providing U.N. weapons inspectors with
“significant” intelligence on Iraqi weapons programs but was
withholding the most sensitive information in order to see if
inspectors “are able to handle it and exploit it.” Blix and El-
Baradei have called on the United States to share more
intelligence data with inspectors. (Washington Post)
— In a challenge to President Bush’s assessment that Iraq had
imported aluminum tubes to enrich uranium, Dr. Mohamed El-
Baradei, the United Nations chief nuclear inspector and the
director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said
his inspection team had determined that aluminum tubes
Baghdad tried to import over the last two years were intended to
build 81 mm rockets and not centrifuges to enrich uranium. Dr.
El-Baradei noted that buying the tubes to make rockets would
violate a 1991 Security Council resolution on importing military
equipment. (New York Times)

CRS-18
01/07/2003
— Britain called up 1,500 reservists for a possible military action
in Iraq. The troops will join other units already deployed in the
region and assist a naval task force stationed in the
Mediterranean. (New York Times)
— For the first time since the beginning of inspections in late
November 2002, U.N. weapons inspectors used helicopters to
conduct aerial searches of suspected weapons sites in Iraq.
Inspectors have checked a total of 230 sites. Speaking at IAEA
headquarters in Vienna, Mohammad El-Baradei stated that his
agency’s inspectors did not have a “smoking gun” and that “it is
too early for us to come to any conclusion.” (BBC News)
12/31/2002
— U.S. military officials issued deployment orders to the remaining
15,000 plus troops in the Army’s Third Infantry Division
stationed in Fort Stewart, GA. The Third Infantry Division
specializes in desert warfare. According to the New York Times,
“officials would not discuss the precise timing of the Third
Infantry Division’s movements, but they said troops would leave
in the coming days.”
12/28/2002
— Iraq provided the United Nations with an official list of 500 Iraqi
scientists involved in the development of ballistic missiles and
nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons. The list was required
by the United Nations Security Council’s Resolution 1441,
which was passed in November and re-established weapons
inspections.
12/23/2002
— U.N. Inspectors started conducting interviews with Iraqi
scientists without the presence of Iraqi government officials. The
first closed-door sessions took place in Baghdad. The Security
Council resolution authorizing the inspections allows Iraqi
scientists to be interviewed outside the country. It is unclear if
the inspectors were planning on conducting these meetings
outside Iraq.
— Iraqi planes shot down an unmanned U.S. Predator drone as it
was conducting a surveillance mission in the southern “no-fly
zone.” The downed Predator was the fourth drone to either have
been shot down or lost in Iraq.
12/22/2002
— The New York Times reported that Central Intelligence Agency
operatives have been working with the main Kurdish political
parties in northern Iraq to analyze the political and military
situation there and meet with important figures in the Iraqi
opposition.
12/20/2002
— In a statement outlining the preliminary findings regarding Iraq’s
12,000 page declaration of its weapons program, Hans Blix,
Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC, stated that “an opportunity

CRS-19
was missed in the declaration to give a lot of evidence ... they
can still provide it, and I hope they provide it to us orally, but it
would have been better if it had been in the declaration.’‘ (New
York Times)
12/17/2002
— The Iraqi Open Opposition Conference in London ended with
delegates issuing a political declaration calling for Iraq to
become a “democratic, parliamentary, pluralistic and federal
state,” which would be governed by Iraqis only. The delegates
created a 65-member follow-up committee to continue the work
of the conference.
— At the conclusion of The Iraqi Open Opposition Conference, the
Bush Administration announced that it would be training 1,000
Iraqi exiles as guides and support staff for U.S. forces. The U.S.
has asked Hungary to host the training at Taszar air base, 120
miles southwest of Budapest. (Washington Post)
12/14/2002
— The Iraqi Open Opposition Conference started in London. Over
330 delegates from numerous factions of the opposition drafted
two statements covering the opposition’s shared political vision
for the future, and the general framework for governing the
country in the period immediately following a collapse of the
current Iraqi regime. On December 9, 2002, President George
W. Bush issued up to “$92 million in defense articles from the
[U.S.] Department of Defense, defense services from the
Department of Defense, and military education and training” for
Iraqi opposition groups. The determination specifically mentions
the Iraqi National Accord, the Iraqi National Congress (INC),
the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK), the Movement for Constitutional Monarchy,
and the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI).
(RFE/RL, Iraq Report, vol. 5, no.41, December 15, 2002)
12/13/2002
— Anonymous U.N. and U.S. diplomats said that Iraq’s 12,000
page declaration of its weapons program failed to account for all
biological and chemical agents. “There doesn’t seem to be an
awful lot in there that’s new. And a lot of it seems much the
same as in a 1996 declaration when Iraq gave a full declaration,”
said a U.N. diplomat. (Reuters)
12/12/2002
— The Iraqi Oil Ministry canceled its contract with three Russian
oil companies, Lukoil, Zarubezhneft, and Machinoimport, to
develop the lucrative West Qurna oilfield in southern Iraq. Iraqi
officials stated that Lukoil et al. had not fulfilled their
contractual obligations. Lukoil executives believe Iraq was
retaliating against Russia for voting in favor of U.N. Resolution
1441.

CRS-20
12/10/2002
— After two full weeks of inspections, U.N. inspectors ventured
outside the vicinity of Baghdad for the first time, investigating
a uranium mine 250 miles west of Baghdad near the Syrian
border. A total of 70 inspectors had arrived in Iraq since mid-
November.
12/09/2002
— Japan decided to dispatch an AEGIS class cruiser to the Indian
Ocean without specifying if its sophisticated radar and
communications equipment will be used to support an attack on
Iraq. Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage called
Japan “our most important ally in Asia.”(New York Times,
December 10, 2002)
12/07/2002
— Iraqi officials submitted a 12,000 page account of past chemical,
biological, and nuclear programs to the Security Council. The
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that much of
the 2,400-page nuclear annex appeared to be a copy of a
declaration Iraq had made four years ago, repeating its account
of how the country’s nuclear weapons had been dismantled after
the 1991 Gulf war. According to the Guardian of London, “an
additional Arabic language section, 300 pages long, gave details
of more recent activity. The Arabic text was titled, “Activities
that could be interpreted as nuclear-related 1991-2002”,
suggesting that it dealt with “dual-use” items, such as
radioactive material used in hospital scanners.” (Guardian,
London, December 10, 2002)
— Senator Joseph Biden, outgoing chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, and Senator Chuck Hagel, a member of
the committee, visited the Kurdish region in northern Iraq. They
met with leading members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party
(KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Salah-al-
Din. The U.S. delegation expressed its satisfaction with the
democratic experience in the region, the Kurds’ administrative
capabilities, and their united political stance.
— Saddam Hussein apologized for his country’s 1990 invasion of
Kuwait. In the conclusion of his letter, Hussein wrote that “We
and the people of Iraq salute those young believers who stand up
to the foreign occupier with arms and those who see or believe
that it is a shame that requires the cleansing of the land, and of
the people, by fire and other means.” (New York Times,
December 8, 2002)
12/05/2002
— Operation “Internal Look” began in Qatar. General Tommy
Franks and other Central Command (CENTCOM) officers
engage in a computer-simulated war game of an invasion of
Iraq.

CRS-21
— The aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman and its battle group
departed for the Persian Gulf. The Truman carried about 70
strike aircraft.
12/04/2002
— During a visit to Turkey to shore up Turkish support for a
possible strike against Iraq, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D.
Wolfowitz said that “Turkish support is assured. It was said at
all levels of the government that we spoke to that Turkey has
been with us always in the past and they will be with us now.”
(Washington Post, December 5, 2002)
12/03/2002
— In Baghdad, inspectors conducted a surprise inspection at Al-
Sajoud presidential palace. Iraqi officials express anger at the
visit.
— The new Turkish government stated that the United States could
station warplanes and use Turkish air space to carry out strikes-
if the United Nations Security Council adopted a new resolution
authorizing the use of force against Iraq. In addition, Turkish
officials opposed the possible presence of substantial amounts
of ground troops on Turkish soil during a war in Iraq. (New
York Times, December 3, 2002)
12/02/2002
— U.N. arms experts reported that some gear tagged by previous
inspection teams was missing at the Karamah (Dignity) missile
factory compound in Baghdad. Iraqi officials explained that the
missing gear had either been destroyed during U.S. and British
bombing in 1998 or moved elsewhere.
11/27/2002

— Formal inspections began in Iraq. The
United
Nations
Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission
(UNMOVIC) visited the Al-Rafah missile factory, the General
Al-Tahadi Company, and a graphite factory in and around
Baghdad.
11/21/2002
— Two U.S. Army soldiers were shot and seriously wounded on a
highway south of Kuwait City. The attacker was a police
sergeant who used his government issue weapon to fire at the
soldiers at close range. On October 8, two Islamic
fundamentalists had shot and killed a U.S. Marine and wounded
another on the Kuwait island of Failaka.
11/18/2002
— Hans Blix, Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC, and an advance
team of 30 UNMOVIC weapons inspectors arrived in Baghdad
to establish a base and immediately resume monitoring Iraq’s
weapons programs. The first sites checked are among those that
were inspected previously during the 1990’s.

CRS-22
11/13/2002
— In a letter addressed to Kofi Annan, Iraq accepts the return of
weapons inspectors to Iraq under the terms of U.N. Resolution
1441.
11/08/2002
— The U.N. Security Council unanimously approves Resolution
1441, ordering Iraq to admit weapons inspectors, or face
“serious consequences.”
11/04/2002
— Kuwait said that the United States could use its military
facilities in a war against Iraq if it were sanctioned by the United
Nations. According to Kuwait Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah
al-Ahmad al-Sabah, “if a (U.N. Security Council) resolution is
issued, the bases will be used, but not the Kuwaiti military.”
(Reuters)
10/20/2002
— Saddam Hussein released tens of thousands of political prisoners
and common criminals in a general amnesty.
10/16/2002
— President Bush signed H.J.Res. 114 (P.L. 107-243), which
authorizes him to use the U.S. armed forces to defend the
national security of the United States against the continuing
threat posed by Iraq, and enforce all relevant U.N. Security
Council resolutions regarding Iraq.
10/12/2002
— Baghdad sent a letter to the United Nations saying Iraq is willing
to accept the return of inspectors.
10/11/2002
— The Senate approved the use of force against Iraq by a vote of
77-23.
10/10/2002
— The House of Representatives passed H.J.Res. 114 authorizing
the use of force against Iraq by a vote of 296 -133.

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