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CURRENT NATIONAL
THREAT LEVEL
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War to liberate Iraq
President Bush Announces Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended, 01 May 2003
UN Security Council Resolution 1483 Lifts Sanctions on Iraq, 22 May 03
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- Defend America,
including Operation Liberty Shield, civic affairs in Iraq, leaflets over Iraq, etc.
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- See News and Updates links below
- See Maps, especially Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, etc. and imagery
- DoD briefing on effects based operations - supporting slides
- battlefield speech by Lt. Col. Tim Collins, a commander of the Royal Irish battle group
- See also Air Operations Centers - Resources listed by AU Library
- Flexible Plans, including use of branches and sequels, Marine Corps Doctrine Pub 1-3 Tactics
- DOD Acronyms and Abbreviations
- CAOC - combat air operations center; combined air operations center
- DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms
- Branch - The contingency options built into the basic plan. A branch is used for changing the mission, orientation, or direction of movement of a force to aid success of the operation based on anticipated events, opportunities, or disruptions caused by enemy actions and reactions.
- Sequel - A major operation that follows the current major operation. Plans for a sequel are based on the possible outcomes (success, stalemate, or defeat) associated with the current operation.
- CMOC - civil-military operations center - An ad hoc organization, normally established by the geographic combatant commander or subordinate joint force commander, to assist in the coordination of activities of engaged military forces, and other United States Government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and regional and international organizations. There is no established structure, and its size and composition are situation dependent. See also civil affairs activities; civil-military operations; operation.
- General References on Forces (Order of Battle)
- Coalition of the Willing
Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Ruwanda, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Spain, Tonga, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, and Uzbekistan.
Source: White House list
- "Stealth fighters use new munitions to hit Baghdad," 22 Mar 03 AF News -- the EGBU-27 has both laser and GPS guidance
- Leaflets being dropped over Iraq
- Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) test video
- Guide to Bunker Busters, from BBC
- Deeply Buried Facilities Implications for Military Operations by Sepp, for Air University Center for Strategy and Technology
- Target Iraq, from GlobalSecurity.org, including unofficial lists of US & Iraq military units
- Navy Factsheets
Aircraft Carriers
Tomahawk
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F-14
F/A-18
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E-2C
SLAM-ER
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- Air Force Factsheets
C-17
U-2S
AWACS
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B-1B
B-2
B-52
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F-16
F-15E
GBU-15
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JDAM
Pave Hawk (helo)
Pave Low (helo)
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AC-130 Gunship
RC-135 Rivet Joint
E-8C Joint STARS
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RQ-1 Predator
Commando Solo
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- Military Space Factsheets
- Satellites Play Crucial Roles in Air and Ground Battles, summary from Space.com
- Chemical/Biological/Radiological Incident Handbook, from the Interagency Intelligence Committee on Terrorism - shows differences between the different types of attack
- Shock and Awe: Achieving Rapid Dominance, by Ullman and Wade, book from NDU Press
- Women in Combat: Iraqi Freedom, resources listed by Air University Library
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War Aims and Objectives
- Iraq - White House documents
- 21 Mar 03 DoD briefing - excerpt of SecDef comments below
General Myers will provide some details on the progress of our operation, but first let me comment on the aims and objectives we have for the days ahead.
Our goal is to defend the American people, and to eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and to liberate the Iraqi people.
Coalition military operations are focused on achieving several specific objectives:
to end the regime of Saddam Hussein by striking with force on a scope and scale that makes clear to Iraqis that he and his regime are finished.
Next, to identify, isolate and eventually eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, production capabilities, and distribution networks.
Third, to search for, capture, drive out terrorists who have found safe harbor in Iraq.
Fourth, to collect such intelligence as we can find related to terrorist networks in Iraq and beyond.
Fifth, to collect such intelligence as we can find related to the global network of illicit weapons of mass destruction activity.
Sixth, to end sanctions and to immediately deliver humanitarian relief, food and medicine to the displaced and to the many needy Iraqi citizens.
Seventh, to secure Iraq's oil fields and resources, which belong to the Iraqi people, and which they will need to develop their country after decades of neglect by the Iraqi regime.
And last, to help the Iraqi people create the conditions for a rapid transition to a representative self-government that is not a threat to its neighbors and is committed to ensuring the territorial integrity of that country.
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Humanitarian Efforts and Needs
- See also Humanitarian Assistance in Iraq, Resources listed by AU Library
- See also Future of Iraq - After Saddam below
- See also Saddam Oppressing His People below
- Operation Iraqi Children (OIC) - helping American soldiers help the school children of Iraq
- UN Oil-for-Food Program map showing authorized entry points for humanitarian supplies
- Humanitarian Assistance: Meeting the Needs of the Iraqi People,
State Dept 11 Apr 03 fact sheet
- Iraqi Freedom Coalition Readies Humanitarian Aid, 23 Mar 03 DoD news release
- Backgrounder on Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance in Post-War, 11 Mar 03 DoD news release
- "... a background briefing on the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance"
- "The DART team is already in place." [see DART definition below]
- Humanitarian Relief Planning for Iraq, State Dept briefing, 28 Feb 03
- State Dept fact sheets and briefings, many on the humanitarian efforts
- A Wiser Peace: an Action Strategy for a Post-Conflict Iraq, Jan 2003, from CSIS
- Play to Win: Report of the Commission on Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Jan 2003, from CSIS
- Agencies involved
- Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) -- (from DOD Dictionary) United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) Office of United States Foreign Disaster Assistance provides this rapidly deployable team in response to international disasters. A disaster assistance response team provides specialists, trained in a variety of disaster relief skills, to assist US embassies and USAID missions with the management of US Government response to disasters. Also called DART. See also foreign disaster; foreign disaster relief.
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Future of Iraq - After Saddam
The object in war is a better state of peace .... Hence it is essential to conduct war with constant regard to the peace you desire.
-- B. H. Liddell Hart, Strategy: The Indirect Approach
- See Lessons Learned with Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Relief
- See also Humanitarian Efforts and Needs above
- The U.S. and the Persian Gulf - Reshaping Security Strategy for the Post-Containment Era (Local copy), NDU book
- Who's Who in Post-Saddam Iraq, groups and individuals, from BBC
- Iraqi Cultural Heritage site from U.S. State Dept
- Constitutions of the World
- Belgium - background to its federated constitutional system
- Belgium Constitution
- Radio Free Iraq
- UN Office of the Iraq Programme, Oil-for-Food
- UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
- post-Saddam Iraq, search of recent news items
- post-Saddam Iraq, search of the Web
- Visions of Freedom: 100 Iraqis Meet in Nasiriyah and Create Basis for New Government, 15 Apr 03
- 13 principles for a future Iraqi government, voted on and released at the end of the meeting
- Iraq must be democratic.
- The future government of Iraq should not be based on communal identity.
- A future government should be organized as a democratic federal system, but on the basis of countrywide consultation.
- The rule of law must be paramount.
- That Iraq must be built on respect for diversity including respect for the role of women.
- The meeting discussed the role of religion in state and society.
- The meeting discussed the principle that Iraqis must choose their leaders, not have them imposed from outside.
- That political violence must be rejected, and that Iraqis must immediately organize themselves for the task of reconstruction at both the local and national levels.
- That Iraqis and the coalition must work together to tackle the immediate issues of restoring security and basic services.
- That the Baath party must be dissolved and its effects on society must be eliminated.
- That there should be an open dialogue with all national political groups to bring them into the process.
- That the meeting condemns the looting that has taken place and the destruction of documents.
- The Iraqi participation in the Nasiriyah meeting voted that there should be another meeting in 10 days in a location to be determined with additional Iraqi participants and to discuss procedures for developing an Iraqi interim authority.
- Iraq after Saddam, April 2003, Naval Institute Proceedings
- Bush, Blair Say Iraq's Future Belongs to Iraqis Themselves, State Dept report 8 Apr 03
"We support the aspirations of all of Iraq's people for a united, representative government that upholds human rights and the rule of law as cornerstones of democracy," they said. They added that "As early as possible, we support the formation of an Iraqi Interim Authority, a transitional administration, run by Iraqis, until a permanent government is established by the people of Iraq."
- Powell Says U.S. Wants to See an Iraqi Interim Authority Quickly, State Dept report 7 Apr 03
"We hope to quickly establish an interim authority that can show the people of the world -- and especially the people of Iraq -- that it is our intention to put authority into their hands as fast as we can and as rapidly as they are able to use that authority," he said.
- Assistance for Iraq page at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) - with info about relief and reconstruction
- Reconstruction Activities in Iraq, listed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
- Backgrounder on Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance in Post-War, 11 Mar 03 DoD news release
- "U.S. policy is for the Iraqis to manage their own constitutional commission to devise their own governmental institutions."
- Iraq - Foreign Press Center, State Department -- many items on future of Iraq
- Reconstructing Iraq: Challenges and Missions for Military Forces in a Post-Conflict Scenario, by Crane and Terrill, Strategic Studies Institute (SSI), U.S. Army War College
- Powell: Iraq's Recovery Likely To Be Easier Than Afghanistan's
- Peering into Postwar Future, Op-Ed from RAND staff
- A Wiser Peace: an Action Strategy for a Post-Conflict Iraq, Jan 2003, from CSIS
- Play to Win: Report of the Commission on Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Jan 2003, from CSIS
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News and Updates
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Media Miscues
- On MSNBC on 26 Mar 03, Ashleigh Banfield, reporting on the US soldier accused of tossing hand grenades into US tents, stated that in the US military justice system "you are guilty until proven innocent."
However, the Uniformed Code of Military Justice states
(c) Before a vote is taken on the findings, the military judge or
the president of a court-martial without a military judge shall, in
the presence of the accused and counsel, instruct the members of
the court as to the elements of the offense and charge them -
(1) that the accused must be presumed to be innocent until his
guilt is established by legal and competent evidence beyond
reasonable doubt;
(2) that in the case being considered, if there is a reasonable
doubt as to the guilt of the accused, the doubt must be resolved
in favor of the accused and he must be acquitted;
(3) that, if there is a reasonable doubt as to the degree of
guilt, the finding must be in a lower degree as to which there is
no reasonable doubt; and
(4) that the burden of proof to establish the guilt of the
accused beyond reasonable doubt is upon the United States.
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Moon Phases and Iraq Weather
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Saddam - U.S. Confrontation
- Iraq - White House documents, speeches, images, etc.
- See DoD News including War-Update Briefings
- See Global War on Terrorism
- See also UN and IAEA section, with U.S. statements and responses
- 5 Feb 2003 U.S. Secretary of State Address to the U.N. Security Council
to "review the situation with respect to Iraq and its disarmament obligations under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441"
- 28 Jan 2003 State of the Union
- Why We Know Iraq is Lying, a column by Dr. Condoleezza Rice, 23 Jan 2003
- Apparatus of Lies, Saddam’s Disinformation and Propaganda 1990-2003,
21 Jan 2003 White House document
(See also Depleted Uranium info, regarding Iraq claims.)
- What Does Disarmament Look Like?
Jan 2003 White House document comparing Iraq's actions with other nations' disarmament efforts
- Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002
- President Bush Outlines Iraqi Threat, 07 Oct 2002 Remarks by the President on Iraq
Cincinnati Museum Center - Cincinnati Union Terminal Cincinnati, Ohio
- Iraq's Decade of Defiance and Deception, background for Bush speech to UN
- Congressional Research Service (CRS)
- Confronting Iraq: U.S. Policy and the Use of Force Since the Gulf War, RAND report
- Iraq Liberation Act, Public Law 105-338, signed October 31, 1998
- "The clearest indication of congressional support for a more active U.S.
overthrow effort was encapsulated in another bill introduced in 1998 – the Iraq
Liberation Act (ILA, H.R. 4655, P.L. 105-338, signed into law October 31, 1998).
The ILA gave the President authority to provide up to $97 million in defense articles
(and $2 million in broadcasting funds) to opposition organizations to be designated
by the Administration. The Act’s passage was widely interpreted as an expression
of congressional support for the concept, advocated by INC chairman Ahmad Chalabi
and some U.S. experts, such as General Wayne Downing, to promote an insurgency
by using U.S. airpower to protect opposition-controlled enclaves. President Clinton
signed the legislation despite reported widespread doubts within the Clinton
Administration about the chances of success in promoting an insurgency inside Iraq.
In mid-November 1998, President Clinton publicly articulated that regime change
was a component of U.S. policy toward Iraq; that statement of policy is a provision
of the Iraqi Liberation Act." -- from CRS Report RL31339, Iraq: U.S. Efforts to Change the Regime
- Long Road to War, PBS special on Iraq-US confrontation
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Iraq and the United Nations & the IAEA
- Key Players
- Background Materials
- 7 Mar 2003
- 14 Feb 2003
- Secretary Powell's response to the 14 Feb reports below
- Update on Inspection, UN Security Council,
statement by the Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC, Dr. Hans Blix
The declaration submitted by Iraq on the 7th of December last year, despite its large volume, missed the opportunity to provide the fresh material and evidence needed to respond to the open questions.
This is perhaps the most important problem we are facing. Although I can understand that it may not be easy for Iraq in all cases to provide the evidence needed, it is not the task of the inspectors to find it. Iraq itself must squarely tackle this task and avoid belittling the questions.
- 5 Feb 2003
- 27 Jan 2003
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Key UN Security Council resolutions
- Chronology by Iraq violations of UN resolutions, posted by the State Department
- Chronology by Iraq Nuclear Verification Office (INVO), IAEA -- includes links to UN Security Council resolutions and summaries of resolutions and reports from and about inspections
- Security Council Resolution 1441, 8 Nov 2002, passed 15-0
"... resolution 678 (1990) authorized Member States to use all necessary means to uphold and implement its resolution 660 (1990) of 2 August 1990 and all relevant resolutions subsequent to resolution 660 ..."
"... resolution 687 (1991) imposed obligations on Iraq as a necessary step for achievement of its stated objective of restoring international peace and security in the area, ... "
"... Iraq has not provided an accurate, full, final, and complete disclosure, as required by resolution 687 (1991), of all aspects of its programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles with a range greater than one hundred and fifty kilometres, and of all holdings of such weapons, their components and production facilities and locations, as well as all other nuclear programmes, including any which it claims are for purposes not related to nuclear-weapons-usable material, ... "
"... the Government of Iraq has failed to comply with its commitments pursuant to resolution 687 (1991) with regard to terrorism, pursuant to resolution 688 (1991) to end repression of its civilian population and to provide access by international humanitarian organizations to all those in need of assistance in Iraq, ... "
"... in its resolution 687 (1991) the Council declared that a ceasefire would be based on acceptance by Iraq of the provisions of that resolution, including the obligations on Iraq contained therein, ... "
"... Iraq has been and remains in material breach of its obligations under relevant resolutions, including resolution 687 ... "
- Security Council Resolution 1205, 5 November 1998
demands Iraq rescind its decision to not cooperate
- Security Council Resolution 1194, 9 September 1998
demands Iraq rescind its decision to not cooperate
- Security Council Resolution 1134, 23 October 1997
"demands ... the Government of Iraq allow the Special Commission inspection teams immediate, unconditional and unrestricted access"
- Security Council Resolution 1115, 21 June 1997
"demands ... the Government of Iraq allow the Special Commission inspection teams immediate, unconditional and unrestricted access"
- Security Council Resolution 1060, 12 June 1996
"demands ... the Government of Iraq allow the Special Commission inspection teams immediate, unconditional and unrestricted access"
- Security Council Resolution 707, 15 August 1991
"Condemns Iraq's serious violation of a number of its obligations under section C of resolution 687 (1991) and of its undertakings to cooperate with the Special Commission and the IAEA, which constitutes a material breach of the relevant provisions of resolution 687 which established a cease-fire and provided the conditions essential to the restoration of peace and security in the region"
- Security Council Resolution 688, 5 April 1991
"Condemns the repression of the Iraqi civilian population in many parts of Iraq, including most recently in Kurdish populated areas, the consequences of which threaten international peace and security in the region"
"Demands that Iraq, as a contribution to remove the threat to international peace and security in the region, immediately end this repression and express the hope in the same context that an open dialogue will take place to ensure that the human and political rights of all Iraqi citizens are respected"
"Insists that Iraq allow immediate access by international humanitarian organizations to all those in need of assistance in all parts of Iraq and to make available all necessary facilities for their operations"
- Security Council Resolution 687, 3 April 1991
establishes conditions for a formal cease-fire
- Security Council Resolution 678, 29 November 1990
"Authorizes Member States co-operating with the Government of Kuwait, unless Iraq on or before 15 January 1991 fully implements, as set forth in paragraph 1 above, the foregoing resolutions, to use all necessary means to uphold and implement resolution 660 (1990) and all subsequent relevant resolutions and to restore international peace and security in the area"
- Security Council Resolution 660, 2 August 1990
condemns Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and calls for Iraq to withdraw
- Security Council Resolution 620, 26 August 1988
"Deeply dismayed by the missions' conclusions that there had been continued use of chemical weapons in the conflict between Iran and Iraq and that such use against Iranians had become more intense and frequent"
"Condemns resolutely the use of chemical weapons in the conflict between Iran and Iraq, in violation of obligations under the Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, signed at Geneva on 17 June 1925, and in defiance of its resolution 612 (1988)"
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Chronologies and Timelines of Iraq situation
- Iraq Timelines 1932-2003, posted by the State Department
- Chronology by Iraq violations of UN resolutions, posted by the State Department
- Chronology by Iraq Nuclear Verification Office (INVO), IAEA -- includes links to UN Security Council resolutions and summaries of resolutions and reports from and about inspections
- Chronology by Energy Information Administration (EIA), US Dept of Energy
- Iraq Country Analysis Brief, by EIA -- includes Iraq oil production and consumption chart
"As of October 2002, Iraq reportedly had signed several multi-billion dollar deals with foreign oil companies mainly from China, France, and Russia. Deutsche Bank estimates $38 billion total on new fields ... "
"Russia, which is owed billions of dollars by Iraq for past arms deliveries, has a strong interest in Iraqi oil development."
"Iraq also announced that it was inclined to favor Russia, which has been supporting Iraq at the U.N. Security Council, on awarding rights to Majnoon and another large southern oil field, Bin Umar."
- Iraq Chronology 1979-1999, Australian Broadcasting Corp.
- Iraq Chronology 2000-2003, Australian Broadcasting Corp.
- UNMOVIC Chronology of Main Events
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Iraq and WMD
- search the internet
- Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction (local copy), 5 Feb 2004 speech, by George Tenet, Director of Central Intelligence
- Iraq's WMD Programs: Culling Hard Facts from Soft Myths (local copy), Nov 2003 article by the Vice Chairman of the National Intelligence Council (NIC)
- Statement to Congress by David Kay on the Interim Progress Report
on the Activities of the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) (local copy), 2 Oct 2003
- Declassified excerpts from Oct 2002 National Intelligence Estimate (local copy), released 18 July 2003
- Iraqi Mobile Biological Warfare Agent Production Plants (local copy), 28 May 2003 CIA report
- Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs (local copy), 4 Oct 2002 CIA report
- Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports
- The Iraqi WMD Challenge: Myths and Reality (local copy), Task Force on Terrorism & Unconventional Warfare, U.S. House of Representatives
- Iraq - Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, and Missile Capabilities and Programs, Monterey Institute of International Studies
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
- Images of Iraqi use of WMD
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Iraq and Terrorism
- Congressional Research Service (CRS)
- 1998 FBI press release about indictment of BIN LADEN and MUHAMMAD ATEF for embassy bombings (local copy)
- Count One, Paragraph 4 of the Bin Laden indictment
- Al Qaeda also forged alliances with the National Islamic Front in the Sudan and with the government of Iran and its associated terrorist group Hezballah for the purpose of working together against their perceived common enemies in the West, particularly the United. States. In addition, al Qaeda reached an understanding with the government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq.
- Security Council Resolution 687, 3 April 1991
establishes conditions for a formal cease-fire
"Recalling the International Convention against the Taking of Hostages, opened for signature at New York on 18 December 1979, which categorizes all acts of taking hostages as manifestations of international terrorism,"
"Deploring threats made by Iraq during the recent conflict to make use of terrorism against targets outside Iraq and the taking of hostages by Iraq,"
"Requires Iraq to inform the Security Council that it will not commit or support any act of international terrorism or allow any organization directed towards commission of such acts to operate within its territory and to condemn unequivocally and renounce all acts, methods and practices of terrorism"
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Iraqi War Crimes
- Laws of War
- Hague Convention (IV) Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land
- Geneva Convention (IV) Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War
- Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War
- See also Saddam Oppressing His People below
- See also War Crimes links on the Air War College Military Law page
-- includes U.N. definitions of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes
- INDICT -- includes lists of war crimes by key Iraqi officials
- "INDICT was established in late 1997 to campaign for the creation of an ad hoc International Criminal Tribunal - similar to those established for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda - to try leading members of the Iraqi regime on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide and torture. The campaign was launched in the House of Commons and in the US Senate and remained dependent on voluntary donations and assistance until it was awarded a financial grant through the Iraq Liberation Act, passed by the US Congress in December 1998, which allocated funds to various Iraqi opposition groups and specifically allocated money for war crimes issues."
- Iraqis Seek Primary Role in Prosecuting Crimes Against Humanity, regarding trial of Saddam by Iraqi court, US State Dept report, Jan 03
- "Based on its examination of eighteen tons of Iraqi government documents seized in 1991, Human Rights Watch has identified over 115 Iraqi officials who it says should face prosecution."
- Human Shields
- Article 51 of the 1977 amendment to the 1949 Geneva Conventions
- The presence or movements of the civilian population or individual civilians shall not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield, favour or impede military operations. The Parties to the conflict shall not direct the movement of the civilian population or individual civilians in order to attempt to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield military operations.
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Saddam Oppressing His People
- Exclusive: ‘Terrified of Saddam Hussein’, 30 Mar 03, from Arab News
When we finally made it to Safwan, Iraq, what we saw was utter chaos. Iraqi men, women and children were playing it up for the TV cameras, chanting: “With our blood, with our souls, we will die for you Saddam.”
I took a young Iraqi man, 19, away from the cameras and asked him why they were all chanting that particular slogan, especially when humanitarian aid trucks marked with the insignia of the Kuwaiti Red Crescent Society, were distributing some much-needed food.
His answer shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did.
He said: “There are people from Baath here reporting everything that goes on. There are cameras here recording our faces. If the Americans were to withdraw and everything were to return to the way it was before, we want to make sure that we survive the massacre that would follow as Baath go house to house killing anyone who voiced opposition to Saddam. In public, we always pledge our allegiance to Saddam, but in our hearts we feel something else.”
Different versions of that very quote, but with a common theme, I would come to hear several times over the next three days I spent in Iraq.
The people of Iraq are terrified of Saddam Hussein.
- Exclusive: 'As Long as It Takes', 28 Mar 03, from Arab News
Arab News asked several of the refugees waiting to enter Basra what they thought of regime change. Accompanying Arab News were several international TV crews. What the refugees said on and off camera were very different things.
On camera, the general feeling among the crowd was sorrow at losing Saddam. Off camera, the citizens of Umm Qasr and Basra appeared genuinely exhilarated at the prospect of a brighter future, after Saddam had been removed.
- "I was a naive fool to be a human shield for Saddam," by Daniel Pepper - 23 Mar 2003, in telegraph.co.uk
Of course I had read reports that Iraqis hated Saddam Hussein, but this was the real thing. Someone had explained it to me face to face. I told a few journalists who I knew. They said that this sort of thing often happened - spontaneous, emotional, and secretive outbursts imploring visitors to free them from Saddam's tyrannical Iraq.
- Human Rights Watch reports on Iraq - many reports including the following
- Iraq: Forcible Expulsion of Ethnic Minorities, March 14, 2003
- "Iraq´s practice of expelling Kurds, Turkomans, and Assyrians in the oil-rich regions of Kirkuk and turning their property over to Arab families from the south continues"
- "there is an urgent need for Iraq, or in the event of war the occupying powers, to establish a mechanism that will permit the orderly return of more than 120,000 persons forced out of their homes since 1991. Human Rights Watch said this was essential to head off ethnic violence should displaced families attempt to return to the area."
- Bureaucracy of Repression: The Iraqi Government in Its Own Words, report by Human Rights Watch, after examining 18 tons of Iraqi documents
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Iraqi Military Forces & Defense
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CRS Reports
- Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports
- RL32370 - The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA): Origin, Characteristics, and Institutional Authorities
- RS21546 - Iraq Reconstruction Resources: Fact Sheet
- RS21578 - Iraq: Summary of U.S. Casualties
- RS21626 - Iraq Oil: Reserves, Production, and Potential Revenues
- RL32395 - U.S. Treatment of Prisoners in Iraq: Selected Legal Issues
- RS21529 - Al Qaeda after the Iraq Conflict
- Terrorism: Near Eastern Groups and State Sponsors, 2002
- IB92117 - Iraq: Weapons Programs, U.N. Requirements, and U.S. Policy
- IB94049 - Iraq: Former and Recent Military Confrontations With the United States
- RL30472 - Iraq: Oil-For-Food Program, International Sanctions, and Illicit Trade
- RL31339 - Iraq: U.S. Regime Change Efforts and Post-Saddam Governance
- RL31607 - Iraq: Differing Views in the Domestic Policy Debate
- RL31641 - Iraqi Challenges and U.S. Responses: March 1991 through October 2002
- RL31671 - Iraq: U.N. Inspections for Weapons of Mass Destruction
- RL31701 - Iraq: U.S. Military Operations
- RL31715 - Iraq War: Background and Issues Overview
- RL31766 - Iraq: United Nations and Humanitarian Aid Organizations
- RL31833 - Iraq: Recent Developments in Reconstruction Assistance
- RL31946 - Iraq War: Defense Program Implications for Congress
- RS21323 - The United Nations Security Council - Its Role in the Iraq Crisis: A Brief Overview
- RS21324 - Iraq: A Compilation of Legislation Enacted and Resolutions Adopted by Congress, 1990-2003
- RS21325 - Iraq: Divergent Views on Military Action
- RS21336 - Iraq: The Turkish Factor
- RS21376 - Iraq: Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Capable Missiles and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
- RS21396 - Iraq: Map Sources
- RS21654 - Islamic Religious Schools, Madrasas: Background
- RL31533 - The Persian Gulf: Issues for U.S. Policy, 2003
- 98-114 - Iraq: International Support For U.S. Policy, Feb 1998
- 98-120 - Iraq Crisis: U.S. and Allied Forces, Sep 1998
- 98-129 - Iraqi Chemical & Biological Weapons (CBW) Capabilities, Feb 1998
- 98-179 - Iraq’s Opposition Movements
- 98-393F - Iraq: U.S. Policy Options, Dec 1998
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Other Reports & Resources
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Photos
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Maps & Satellite Imagery
- Eyes on Saddam - U.S. Overhead Imagery of Iraq
- UN Oil-for-Food Program map showing authorized entry points for humanitarian supplies
- Iraq infrastructure map combined with satellite imagery, CIA
- Iraq Situation Map, from Soldiers magazine - pdf - zooms well to show key cities and towns
- Iraq map by UN, PDF file, zooms well
- Maps - U. of Texas, Iraq a featured area
- Iraq: Map Sources, CRS report
- National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA),
- Maps of Baghdad, Iraq, and Middle East, local copies of maps from NIMA
- Map of Baghdad, CIA, Feb 2003
- Baghdad hot spots and Iraq sandstorms from space, courtesy NOAA
- Land Cover in Iraq derived from Landsat Imagery - 2000
- Iraq from orbit, NASA images
- satellite imagery courtesy GlobalSecurity.org
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Country Studies
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Page updated/reviewed 13 Mar 06
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