War bulletin: latest developments - A summary of recent key events
news.ft.com Compiled by FT staff Published: February 13 2003 18:44 | Last Updated: March 20 2003 13:33
Thursday March 20
Donald Rumsfeld, US defence secretary, says three to four oil wells are on fire in southern Iraq and urges Iraqi civilians not to flee across borders to neighbouring countries and to listen to coalition radio on where to receive food and medicine.
Turkey's parliament approves in 332-202 vote the use of Turkish airspace for overflights of US warplanes in air campaign in northern Iraq.
US artillery positions fire against Iraqi gun emplacements 20km from the Iraq-Kuwait border. US troops in northern Kuwait and residents of Kuwait City make preparations against threat of biological and chemical attacks by Iraq.
Geoff Hoon, UK defence secretary, confirms British forces have already been involved in some of the military operations against Iraq.
Iraq launches six missiles - five towards northern Kuwait and one towards Kuwait City - and one apparent suicide plane strike near US-led forces in Kuwait in response to beginning of US air strikes on Baghdad, Kuwaiti officials say. Iraq denies the attacks.
US missile strikes on Baghdad kill one civilian, Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, says. The International Red Cross later confirms that one civilian, a Jordanian woman, is killed and 14 other people are wounded in the initial attack on Baghdad.
President Saddam Hussein appears on Iraqi state television, three hours after the US launches a war to overthrow him, and accuses President George W. Bush of committing a crime against humanity.
President George W. Bush, in an address from the White House, says coalition forces have begun striking "selected targets of military importance".
Explosions rock Baghdad at dawn as allied forces begin the assault on Iraq with stealth fighter and cruise missile attacks targeting Saddam Hussein and other regime leaders.
Wednesday March 19 The deadline for President Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq expires as US-led forces prepare an unprecedented onslaught. US and British troops reported to have moved into the demilitarised zone between Kuwait and southern Iraq, poised to launch a ground invasion to follow an initial aerial assault. US military sources confirm that 17 Iraqi soldiers have surrendered to US-led forces in northern Kuwait. US and British aircraft have been dropping millions of leaflets into Iraq urging soldiers not to resist an invasion. Teams of lawyers are vetting targets selected for air strikes against Iraq to ensure that the war is conducted according to international law and that neither the attacking forces nor the British and the US governments can be accused of flouting it. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer says Americans should prepare for war that will cost lives and last for an unknown time. Germany, France and Russia call for the United Nations Security Council to continue to play a central role in the Iraq crisis, despite the expectation of an imminent US-led attack on Baghdad. Italy's government expresses support for the US and UK in their looming military action against Iraq, but says it it will not permit direct attacks from Italian bases. Turkey's government says it will ask parliament to grant US military the right to use Turkish airspace but will not immediately ask the legislature to vote to allow in US troops.
Tuesday March 18
Tony Blair, UK prime minister, wins crucial parliamentary debate on Iraq by saying the outcome of the crisis would define international politics for “the next generation”. A motion authorising the use of British troops in a possible attack against Iraq is passed by 412 votes to 149. President Saddam Hussein, dressed for battle, rejects a US ultimatum that he should go into exile and says Iraq is ready to repel any US-led invasion. Russia says the impending US-led attack against Iraq threatens the international anti-terrorism coalition. Russia was one of the first countries to support international efforts to prevent terrorism after the September 11,2001 attrocities.
United Nations weapons inspectors leave Iraq by plane for Cyprus after the UN tells them to cut short their hunt for hidden weapons of mass destruction and the US and its allies abandon diplomatic efforts to disarm Iraq. John Howard, Australia's prime minister, commits 2,000 Australian troops to fight in a US-led war against Iraq, despite overwhelming domestic opposition to military action without UN backing. Junichiro Koizumi, Japan's prime minister, backs the US decision to invade Iraq without without UN support if Saddam Hussein does not leave the country by Thursday.
Monday March 17
President George W. Bush issues an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein and his sons, to leave Iraq within 48-hours or face military action. Mr Bush announces the decision to go to war in a televised address from the White House.
Robin Cook, a senior UK cabinet member, resigns in protest over Iraq saying: "I can't accept collective responsibility for the decision to commit Britain now to military action without international agreement or domestic support."
The US, Britain and Spain withdraw proposals for a second UN Security Council resolution authorising force against Iraq, saying they will now act alone to disarm Saddam Hussein.
Tony Blair, Britain's prime minister, calls an emergency session of the cabinet to try to garner support from his ministers for military action and prepare the government for war against Iraq.
Lord Goldsmith, the UK Attorney General, says the combined effect of past Security Council resolutions 678, 687 and 1441 provide a strong case for military action against Iraq.
France maintains its threat to veto any second UN resolution. Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, says France cannot accept a UN resolution including an ultimatum or automatic resort to force to disarm Iraq.
The US advises the UN nuclear agency to begin pulling its inspectors out of Iraq. UN suspends its operations to monitor the Iraq-Kuwait border and begins withdrawing its observers from the Iraqi side of the frontier in the face of an imminent US-led invasion of Iraq.
Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 March
War appears all but inevitable after the leaders of the US, Britain and Spain, meeting at an emergency summit in the Azores, set a deadline of Monday night for diplomatic efforts to win UN suppport for their hardline stance.
Iraq moves to a war footing as the ruling Revolutionary Command Council issues a decree dividing the country into four military zones under Sadam Hussein "to take the necessary steps to repulse and destroy any foreign aggression"
Saddam Hussein's most important Kurdish ally defects to Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq in what is being seen as an indication the Iraqi president's internal support is begining to crumble.
Friday 14 March
Gerhard Schröder, German chancellor, renews his support for France's anti-war stance, despite co-ordinated and increasingly caustic efforts by the US and Britain to undermine Paris.
Russia criticises Britain's six-point proposal for disarming Iraq, saying it is "not constructive and does not solve the main problem: the prevention of a plan to use force with regard to Baghdad."
Britain, the US and Spain plan a three-way crisis summit on Iraq to discuss the best course of action if agreement on a second United Nations resolution authorising the use of force cannot be achieved.
Baghdad submits a keenly-awaited report to support its claims that it has destroyed deadly VX nerve agent stocks and promises UN weapons inspectors another report on anthrax soon.