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Dept. of State
Office of the Historian
Bureau of Public Affairs

The Global War on Terrorism:
A Chronology 2003: 

January 4, 2003: Philippine soldiers reported killing at least 5 Abu Sayyaf 
members in a 3-hour battle on Jolo Island. Two days earlier, Abu Sayyaf 
leader Merang Abante had been arrested near Zamboanga.

January 5, 2003: British police arrested 6 suspects in London. After a 
search of an apartment above a pharmacy found traces of ricin, four of the 
suspects, all of whom held Algerian passports, faced terrorism and chemical 
weapons charges.

January 7, 2003: Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri posted an e-mail on the 
website of Egyptian lawyer Montasser al-Zayat, in which he urged al-Zayat 
not to discourage young Arabs from killing Americans. Al-Zayat had earlier 
urged al-Qaeda to end its campaign against the United States.

January 10, 2003: German police arrested two Yemeni al-Qaeda suspects in 
Frankfurt. One of them, Sheikh Muhammed Ali Hassan al-Mouyad, was said to be 
a major fund-raiser. The Justice Department said on January 15 that it would 
seek their extradition.

The Turkish Government announced that it would allow a U.S. military team to 
survey bases for possible use by U.S. forces in a war against Iraq.

January 10-11, 2003: Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld signed orders that would 
send 62,000 U.S. military personnel to the Persian Gulf to join the 60,000 
already there.

January 11, 2003: Britain sent the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal to the 
Persian Gulf.

January 12, 2002: British Prime Minister Blair warned that if the UN 
inspectors found Iraqi non-compliance, "Saddam will be disarmed by force."

January 14, 2003: National Security Advisor Rice met with Blix in New York 
and urged him not to schedule a follow-up report, in March, on Iraqi 
disarmament. Blix in turn told the UN Security Council that the 1999 
resolution that created UNMOVIC required one. President Bush said: "Time is 
running out for Saddam Hussein … I’m sick and tired of games and deception, 
and that’s my view of timetables." Secretary-General Annan said that he was 
still "hopeful and optimistic" about a diplomatic solution.

January 15, 2003: UN weapons inspectors visited a second presidential site, 
a palace complex in central Baghdad.

January 16, 2003: UN weapons inspectors found 12 warheads capable of 
containing chemical weapons in an ammunition depot about 100 miles south of 
Baghdad that might not have been listed in Iraq’s December report to the 
United Nations. Lt. Gen. Hussam Mohammed Amin, head of Iraq’s National 
Monitoring Directorate, said that he was surprised that empty warheads 
dating from the 1980s should be considered significant. The inspectors also 
visited the Baghdad homes of two Iraqi scientists.

At the United Nations, the United States was unable to prevent Blix from 
scheduling a follow-up report on Iraqi disarmament for late in March. His 
January 27 report would be an interim one.

In Stuttgart, Germany, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz called for 
NATO military assistance against Iraq.

January 17, 2003: President Saddam Hussein commemorated the 12th anniversary 
of the Gulf War with a speech comparing the United States to the Mongols who 
had devastated Baghdad in 1258 and predicting that Iraq would defeat the U.S. 
invasion.

January 18, 2003: Anti-war demonstrations took place in many cities in the 
United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Japan. Those in Washington 
numbered between 100,000 and 500,000.

January 19, 2003: Secretary of State Powell, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, 
and National Security Advisor Rice all said that they would welcome Saddam’s 
acceptance of exile as an alternative to war. Rumsfeld suggested that he 
might be offered immunity from war crimes charges.

The London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat published a lengthy 
statement from Osama bin Laden that urged Muslims to unite against a Western 
"crusader coalition."

January 20, 2003: At the United Nations, Foreign Ministers from 13 of the 15 
members of the Security Council met to discuss international terrorism. 
French Foreign Minister de Villepin hinted that he would veto any U.S 
resolution calling for military action against Iraq. German Foreign Minister 
Fischer urged that the UN inspectors be given "all the time which is needed." 
Secretary of State Powell reminded his colleagues that Resolution 1441 was 
Iraq’s "last chance" to disarm. British Foreign Secretary Straw said that, 
although "time was running out," he would prefer another resolution before 
force was used.

Blix and al-Baradei announced that they had reached a ten-point agreement with 
Iraq concerning cooperation with the UN inspectors. The only demand that Iraq 
rejected was for the use of a U.S. Air Force U-2 to assist the inspectors. 
Iraq agreed to establish its own inspection teams and to allow Iraqi 
scientists to be interviewed without Iraqi officials being present.

U.S. Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with his 
Turkish counterpart and Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul in Ankara to discuss the 
possible deployment of U.S. forces to Turkey against Iraq. Foreign Minister 
Yasar Yakis said that Turkey had agreed to a smaller deployment than the 
80,000 that the U.S. had sought.

The British Government announced that it would send 26,000 troops to the 
Persian Gulf to join the 5,000 already there.

January 21, 2003: French Foreign Minister de Villepin said in Brussels that 
his government would urge the European Union to oppose military action against 
Iraq at a forthcoming EU Foreign Ministers’ meeting.

A Kuwaiti gunman fired on a car near Camp Doha, killing a U.S. civilian 
contract employee and wounding another. The suspect was later arrested while 
trying to cross into Saudi Arabia and reportedly confessed to being an al-
Qaeda member.

January 22, 2003: French President Chirac and German Chancellor Schroeder met 
in Paris and commemorated the 40th anniversary of the 1963 Franco-German 
friendship treaty by issuing a joint statement opposing military action 
against Iraq without the approval of the UN Security Council. Both agreed to 
work for a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis. France and Germany, 
supported by Belgium and Luxembourg, successfully opposed a U.S. request for 
NATO military assistance against Iraq.

Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld called French and German opposition a "problem," 
but dismissed France and Germany as "old Europe." NATO’s center of gravity was 
shifting eastward, and newer members in Eastern Europe were more sympathetic 
to the U.S. position. He also announced that the Pentagon had begun 
broadcasting Arabic translations of its daily briefings to Iraq.

The Defense Department announced that over 20,000 more Reserve and National 
Guard personnel had been mobilized, bringing the total to 79,000.

The Senate voted, 94 to 0, to confirm Tom Ridge as Secretary for Homeland 
Security.

January 23, 2003: Secretary of State Powell said after a meeting with 
visiting British Foreign Secretary Straw that he was not worried about having 
to act unilaterally and he was sure that "many nations" would support the 
United States when necessary.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz told the Council of Foreign Relations 
that Iraq had coached its scientists on what to tell inspectors and had 
threatened to execute scientists (and their families) who were too 
cooperative with them.

The Foreign Ministers of Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Jordan 
met in Istanbul and issued a joint declaration urging Iraq "to demonstrate a 
more active approach" to cooperation with UN inspectors in order to avoid war.

January 26, 2003: Secretary of State Powell addressed the World Economic Forum 
in Davos, Switzerland, and said, "Multilateralism cannot become an excuse for 
inaction." The United States was prepared to act against Iraq either alone or 
"in a coalition of the willing."

Prime Minister Blair said that Britain would take part in an attack on Iraq 
without a Security Council resolution if the UN inspectors found Iraq to be 
"not cooperating" or "in breach of the resolution passed in November," and if 
another permanent member vetoed a new resolution.

January 27, 2003: Blix presented his report to the UN Security Council on 
Iraq’s cooperation with the UNMOVIC inspectors. He said that Iraq had 
cooperated with the "process" by allowing access to specified sites, but had 
not cooperated with the "substance:" known stocks of prohibited weapons were 
still un-accounted for. IAEA chief al-Baradei also reported to the Security 
Council. His inspectors had found no evidence of a renewed Iraqi nuclear 
weapons program, but had not gotten "optimal cooperation" in Iraq. Iraq denied 
the charges.

Secretary of State Powell stressed Iraq’s noncompliance and warned that time 
was running out. Representatives of other members of the Security Council 
favored giving the inspection program more time.

EU Foreign Ministers met in Brussels and issued a statement demanding that 
Iraq cooperate completely with UN inspectors. They could not agree on whether 
to set a deadline for the inspection process.

Representatives of Iraqi opposition groups led by Ahmed Chalabi of the Iraqi 
National Congress held a press conference in Tehran. Chalabi said the he 
intended to hold another meeting in February in a Kurdish zone of northern Iraq.

January 28, 2003: In his State of the Union address, President Bush said that 
he would ask the UN Security Council to hold a special session in which 
Secretary of State Powell could prevent evidence of Iraq’s weapons of mass 
destruction programs and terrorist connections. He also warned U.S. military 
personnel to prepare for war. White House Press Secretary Fleischer said that 
another Security Council resolution was "desirable" but not "mandatory."

The State of the Union address also called for the establishment of a Terrorist 
Threat Integration Center that would include elements of the CIA, FBI, the 
Defense Department, and the Department of Homeland Security. CIA Director Tenet 
would be its director.

British Foreign Secretary Straw concluded that Iraq was in "material breach" of 
Resolution 1441. Russian President Putin said that he might support a "tougher" 
resolution if it were proved that Iraq had obstructed the inspections.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud met with President Chirac in Paris to discuss 
means of averting war.

January 29, 2003: British Prime Minister Blair met with Italian Prime Minister 
Belusconi in London; Berlusconi met with President Bush in Washington the next 
day. Prince Saud also met with Prime Minister Blair in London.

JCS Chairman Gen. Myers confirmed that some U.S. troops were already in northern 
Iraq. These were believed to be Special Operations units working with the Kurds. 
The Defense Department announced the mobilization of 16,000 more reservists, 
bringing the total to 95,000. The Coast Guard announced that it would send eight 
110-foot cutters and 600 personnel to the Persian Gulf.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy introduced a resolution calling on President Bush to 
obtain Congressional approval before attacking Iraq. Senator Robert C. Byrd 
introduced another that called on the United States to seek another UN Security 
Council resolution as well.

The Turkish Government announced that it was assembling military supplies and 
equipment along its border with Iraq, but the deployment did not mean that 
either war was imminent or that Turkey would participate.

January 30, 2003: The leaders of eight European countries (Great Britain, Spain, 
Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic) signed a 
letter to the press supporting the U.S. position in the Iraq crisis.

Prince Saud met with President Bush and senior U.S. officials in Washington, 
apparently to discuss a proposal that would allow Saddam Hussein to go into 
exile.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela addressed the International 
Women’s Forum in Johannesburg and said President Bush wanted to "plunge the 
world into a holocaust" by attacking Iraq. However, he said he would support 
intervention if it had UN support.

The U.S. District Court in Boston sentenced an unrepentant Richard Reid to life 
imprisonment plus 110 years for his attempt to blow up an airliner with 
explosives hidden in his shoe.

January 31, 2003: British Prime Minister Blair met with President Bush to 
discuss the Iraq crisis. Bush said that although he would "welcome" a second 
UN resolution, he believed that Resolution 1441 gave sufficient authority for 
military action against Iraq. They agreed that Iraq had "weeks, not months," 
to show that it would comply with UN inspectors.

February 3, 2003: Prime Minister Blair told Britain’s House of Commons that a 
second UN resolution should be sought if UNMOVIC found continued Iraqi non-
compliance with its efforts.

A Kuwaiti court convicted four suspected al-Qaeda members of charges relating 
to national security and sentenced them to 5 years’ imprisonment.

February 4, 2003: British Prime Minister Blair and French President Chirac met 
in Le Touquet, France. Although they agreed on the need to eliminate Iraqi 
weapons of mass destruction and on the need to work through the United Nations, 
they continued to disagree about whether military action was needed.

The Kuwaiti Government announced that it would close off the northern part of 
the country to make it available for military use.

February 5, 2003: Secretary of State Powell made an 80-minute presentation to 
the United Nations that used satellite photos, communications intercepts, and 
reports from defectors to demonstrate that Iraq was obstructing UN inspections, 
continuing to develop weapons of mass destruction, and working with terrorist 
groups. The representatives of France, China, and Spain said that the 
presentation showed the need for more inspections. Iraqi representative 
Mohammed al-Douri called Powell’s presentation "utterly unrelated to the truth."

The Defense Department announced the mobilization of 17,000 more National Guard 
and reserve personnel, bringing the total to 112,000.

In Australia, Prime Minister Howard lost a vote of confidence in the Senate 
concerning the deployment of 2,000 troops to the Middle East for possible use 
in Iraq. The vote was 34 to 31 and was largely symbolic.

February 6, 2003: Britain’s "Channel Four News" reported that part of the 
British case against Iraq was based not on "intelligence material," but had been 
taken almost completely from an article in the Middle East Review of 
International Affairs and from articles in Jane’s Intelligence Review. British 
officials said that their dossier was still "solid" and accurate.

A group of 10 eastern European countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, 
Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia) signed a 
declaration supporting U.S. policy in the Iraq crisis.

Turkey’s Grand National Assembly voted (308-193) to allow certain ports and 
airfields to be upgraded by U.S. military personnel. Disagreements over levels 
of U.S. aid and over a possible Turkish role in the occupation of northern Iraq 
delayed the deployment of U.S. forces to Turkey.

France, Germany, and Belgium announced that they would not allow NATO to deploy 
military equipment to Turkey for its defense in the event of war with Iraq. 
Secretary-General Lord Robertson insisted that they state their objections by 
February 10.

Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld announced the deployment of the 101st Airborne 
Division and the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk to the Persian Gulf.

February 7, 2003: White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said that the United 
States planned a 2-week diplomatic campaign to pass a second Security Council 
resolution calling for Iraqi disarmament.

A car bomb exploded outside a night club in Bogota, Colombia, killing 32 persons 
and wounding 160. No group claimed responsibility, but Colombian authorities 
suspected the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) of committing the 
worst terrorist attack in the country in a decade.

HAMAS founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin called on Muslims to attack "Western interests" 
if the United States attacked Iraq and also called for a boycott of products 
made by the United States and its allies.

February 9, 2003: National Security Advisor Rice said that the United States 
intended to stabilize Iraq and to promote democracy there even if Saddam Hussein 
went into exile.

Hans Blix of UNMOVIC and Muhammad al-Baradei of the IAEA concluded a 2-day visit 
to Baghdad and said that they hoped to see more cooperation from Iraq.

February 10, 2003: Russian President Putin made a state visit to France in an 
effort to seek a common position on the Iraq crisis.

France, Belgium, and Germany acted to prevent NATO from activating plans to 
defend Turkey against a possible attack by Iraq. Turkey responded by invoking 
Article IV of the North Atlantic Treaty and calling for consultations for its 
defense.

February 11, 2003: Al-Jazeera broadcast a videotape in which Osama bin Laden 
urged Muslims to resist any U.S. attack on Iraq even though, as far as he was 
concerned, Iraq was governed by "apostates." Secretary of State Powell later 
mentioned the broadcast as evidence of contacts between al-Qaeda and the 
Government of Iraq.

In Indonesia, Ali Imrom confessed to having assembled the bombs and parked the 
larger of the car bombs used in the October 2002 bombing in Bali. Imron said 
that he had been trained in Afghanistan, but denied that his group was linked to 
al-Qaeda or to any other foreign organization.

February 12, 2003: Missile experts consulted by UNMOVIC reported that Iraq had 
modified its al-Samoud missiles so that they could exceed the 150-kilometer range 
that was permitted under previous UN resolutions.

February 14, 2003: Blix reported to the UN Security Council on the progress of 
the UN inspectors in Iraq, in which he said that there was an "impression" of 
Iraqi cooperation. After more than 400 inspections at over 300 sites, only a few 
empty chemical weapons had been found. Blix did not rule out the possibility that 
proscribed weapons might still be found. UNMOVIC’s role would be "open-ended until 
the Council decides otherwise."

Russia’s Supreme Court designated 15 groups to be terrorist organizations. Most 
were Chechen groups, but al-Qaeda was included.

February 15-16, 2003: Large-scale demonstrations against a possible war with Iraq 
took place in major U.S. and European cities.

February 17, 2003: The European Council held an emergency meeting in Brussels in 
an unsuccessful attempt to devise a united position on the Iraq crisis. They agreed 
to support UN efforts to secure the disarmament of Iraq and to give UN inspectors 
more time to do their work. They urged Iraq to comply with UN efforts and said that 
force would only be a last resort.

In Pakistan, the Afghan Islamic Press reported that Taliban leader Mullah Omar had 
issued a message urging all Afghans to resist U.S. forces and the Karzai government.

February 18, 2003: During the EU Summit meeting, French President Chirac warned 
eastern European countries considering EU membership that support for the U.S. 
position in the Iraq crisis would jeopardize their admission.

Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef ibn Abdul Aziz announced that 90 Saudi al-
Qaeda suspects would face trial; 150 had been released and 250 more were still 
being questioned.

February 19, 2003: A German court convicted Mounir Motassadeq of being an 
accessory to the September 11 attacks on the United States and of being a member 
of al-Qaeda. He was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment.

NATO’s Defense Planning Committee devised a compromise with France and Germany 
that would allow defensive weapons to be deployed in Turkey.

February 20, 2003: Professor Sami Amin al-Arian of the University of South 
Florida was arrested and charged with being the U.S. leader of the Palestinian 
Islamic Jihad.

The State Department announced that three Chechen groups (Riyad us-Saliheyn, the 
Congress of the Peoples of Chechnya and Dagestan, and the Supreme Military Majlis 
ul-Shura of the Mujaheddin) had been designated as terrorist organizations.

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council announced that it would be willing 
to provide a battalion of anti-nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons 
specialists to assist the United States in the Persian Gulf.

February 21, 2003: U.S. military advisers arrived in the Philippines to take part 
in operations against Abu Sayyaf guerrillas on Jolo Island. Although Defense 
Department spokesmen said that the troops would be involved in combat operations, 
Philippine spokesmen said their constitution prohibited a combat role and that U.S. 
forces would only be involved in training and surveillance.

February 23, 2003: Former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov visited Iraq in 
an effort to persuade Saddam Hussein to comply with UN resolutions.

February 24, 2003: The United States, Great Britain, and Spain introduced a new UN 
Security Council draft resolution that contended that Iraq had failed to comply 
with Resolution 1441 and would "face serious consequences" if it continued to do 
so.

Russian presidential chief of staff Aleksandr Voloshin visited Washington to 
discuss the Iraq crisis.

February 26, 2003: After a visit to Moscow by German Chancellor Schroeder, 
President Putin said: "Russia is not ready to support any UN resolution that opens 
the way for the automatic use of military force against Iraq."

February 28, 2003: An Afghan gunman killed two policemen and wounded five other 
people outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi. He was arrested afterwards. The 
attack followed a visit to Pakistan by Assistant Secretary of State Christina 
Rocca, who urged the Pakistani Government to support a UN Security Council 
resolution supporting military action against Iraq.

March 1, 2003: Pakistani police arrested Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, the reputed al-
Qaeda chief of operations, in Rawalpindi. It was later reported that U.S. 
electronic surveillance had made Mohammed’s capture possible. According to 
Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI), Mohammed had last seen bin 
Laden "in a mountainous region" in December.

The Turkish Grand National Assembly rejected, by three votes, a motion to permit 
the deployment of up to 62,000 U.S. troops, primarily the Fourth Infantry 
Division, in preparation for a war with Iraq.

Iraq began destroying its stocks of al-Samoud missiles.

March 4, 2003: During a visit to London, Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov said 
that his government would not support a war with Iraq and would veto any UN 
Security Council draft resolution on the subject. Secretary of State Powell 
said that the United States was prepared to go to war with or without a second 
UN resolution.

A bomb explosion at the Davao airport on Mindanao killed 23 persons, including 
a U.S. missionary, and wounded 147 others. Philippine authorities blamed the 
Moro Islamic Liberation Front, although the Abu Sayyaf Group claimed 
responsibility.

March 5, 2003: French Foreign Minister de Villepin said that France would 
oppose a second UN resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference held an emergency summit 
meeting in Doha, Qatar in an attempt to prevent a war with Iraq. 
Participants rejected an invasion of Iraq or threats to the security of other 
member states. Earlier in the meeting, the Iraqi and Kuwaiti representatives 
exchanged insults.

Philippine President Macapagal-Arroyo said that U.S. forces would not be 
involved in combat operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group. A presidential 
spokesman also announced that a joint military exercise on Sulu lsland would 
be postponed indefinitely.

March 7, 2003: Blix reported to the UN Security Council on the progress of 
UNMOVIC’s inspection program. Although Iraqi compliance had not been 
"immediate," there had been cooperation, and Iraq’s destruction of its al-
Samoud missiles was "a substantial measure of disarmament." Iraq was also 
trying to account for biological weapons said to have been destroyed in 1991. 
IAEA Director al-Baradei said that U.S. and British reports that Iraq had 
tried to obtain uranium from Niger were "unfounded," while high-strength 
aluminum tubes were not suitable for use in uranium enrichment centrifuges. 
The Foreign Ministers of Security Council member states debated the reports 
in an attempt to win approval of a draft resolution calling on Iraq to 
demonstrate "full, unconditional, immediate, and active cooperation" with 
Resolution 1441 by March 17.

March 10, 2003: French President Chirac announced that his country would veto 
any UN resolution authorizing war with Iraq. UN Secretary-General Annan said 
that without such a resolution, the legitimacy of such a war would be 
"seriously impaired."

A German court in Frankfurt convicted four Algerian Islamists of plotting a 
terrorist attack in Strasbourg on New Year’s Eve. They were sentenced to 10-12 
years’ imprisonment. A fifth Algerian had been acquitted.

March 11, 2003: A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
District of Columbia ruled that 16 prisoners captured in Afghanistan and held 
at the Guantanamo Naval Base could not challenge their detention through the 
federal courts since the United States had no legal jurisdiction over the base.

March 12, 2003: At the United Nations, Great Britain circulated a draft 
statement in the Security Council that proposed six steps that Iraq could take 
to prove its willingness to disarm. France rejected the plan the next day.

March 16, 2003: President Bush, British Prime Minister Blair, and Spanish Prime 
Minister Aznar held a meeting at Lajes Field in the Azores Islands to discuss a 
last-minute UN initiative concerning Iraq. At the end of the meeting, they gave 
President Hussein and his two sons 48 hours to leave Iraq or be attacked.

March 17, 2003: At the UN, British Permanent Representative Sir Jeremy 
Greenstock said that a consensus on a draft resolution authorizing military 
action against Iraq "will not be possible" and hinted that France was 
determined to veto any such resolution. French Permanent Representative Jean-
Marc de la Sablière denied Greenstock’s charge. U.S. Permanent Representative 
Negroponte said that, except for the prospect of a veto, the vote would have 
been close. Secretary-General Annan deplored the inability of the Security 
Council to reach a consensus and announced the withdrawal of all UN personnel 
from Iraq.

Secretary of Homeland Security Ridge announced that persons from 33 countries 
(primarily in the Middle East and South Asia) who sought asylum in the United 
States would be detained until their applications could be processed. He also 
announced that the IFB would interview about 11,000 Iraqi-born citizens and 
Iraqi residents to obtain information about the activities of terrorist groups 
sponsored by the Government of Iraq.

March 18, 2003: The State Department announced that 30 countries had joined the 
United States in a "coalition of the willing" to disarm Iraq. Only Great 
Britain and Australia were providing direct military support, though others 
would 
provide access, basing, or overflight rights or expressed interest in helping 
with postwar reconstruction. Spokesman Boucher said that at least 15 other 
countries had expressed private support for the U.S. position.

French President Chirac denounced the U.S. and British decision to attack Iraq 
as having put "the use of force above the rule of law."

The British House of Commons voted to authorize "all means necessary" to disarm 
Iraq. The vote was 412 to 149, but 139 members of the ruling Labour Party voted 
for an amendment stating that the case for war was "not yet proven."

March 19, 2003: Kenyan authorities announced the arrest of a suspect in the 
November attack on a Mombasa hotel; Somali leaders were said to have cooperated.

March 20, 2003: The United States and its allies began military operations 
against Iraq.

U.S. forces in Afghanistan also launched Operation Valiant Strike against 
Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in the Sami Ghar Mountains east of Kandahar.

The United States withdrew an offer of $6 billion in aid and $24 billion in 
loans to Turkey in view of Turkey’s refusal to permit the deployment of U.S. 
troops.

March 23, 2003: U.S. authorities announced the release of 19 Afghans who had 
been held at Guantanamo Bay.

March 26, 2003: Prime Minister Blair flew to the United States to meet with 
President Bush at Camp David. They discussed the progress of the war in Iraq 
and what role the United Nations should play in postwar reconstruction.

March 28, 2003: The UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution to 
resume Iraq’s "oil for food" program. It also unanimously approved Resolution 
1471, which extended the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan 
(UNAMA) until March 2004.

Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld warned Syria not to supply Iraq with night-
vision goggles and other military equipment. A Syrian Foreign Ministry 
spokesperson called his statement "unfounded and irresponsible."

March 30, 2003: A suicide bombing in a café in Netanya, Israel, wounded 38 
persons. Only the bomber was killed. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility and 
called the attack a "gift to the people of Iraq."

April 1, 2003: Secretary of State Powell began a 2-day visit to Turkey. He and 
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul reached an agreement to allow supplies for U.S. 
troops in northern Iraq to pass through Turkey, and to allow damaged U.S. 
aircraft and wounded U.S. military personnel to enter Turkish territory. In 
turn, northern Iraq would be under Coalition rather than Kurdish control and 
that Turkey would be consulted in the reconstruction of the area.

British Home Secretary David Blunkett met with Homeland Security Secretary 
Ridge met in Washington to establish a joint working group on counter-terrorism.

April 2, 2003: U.S. forces launched a campaign against Taliban and al-Qaeda 
members in southern Afghanistan’s Tor Ghar mountains. 

South Korea’s National Assembly approved a motion to send 700 non-combatant 
troops to Iraq by a vote of 179 to 68.

April 3, 2003: Secretary of State Powell met with NATO and EU Foreign Ministers 
in Brussels in an effort to mend U.S.-European relations. He said that the 
United States would still play the primary role in reconstructing Iraq, but did 
not rule out a future, unspecified, UN role.

April 7-8, 2003: President Bush met with Prime Minister Blair in Belfast. During 
a joint press conference on April 8, they outlined plans to establish a 
democratic government in Iraq and agreed to give the UN "a vital role." In Paris, 
French President Chirac responded that the reconstruction of Iraq was "a matter 
for the United Nations and it alone."

April 7, 2003: As the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division entered central Baghdad, a U.S. 
B-1 bomber attacked a building where President Hussein and his sons Udai and Qusai 
were thought to be meeting with senior officials. Hussein and his sons had left 
before the attack.

April 8, 2003: Osama bin Laden issued a message calling for suicide attacks on 
Coalition forces in Iraq.

April 9, 2003: U.S. soldiers helped pull down a large statue of Saddam Hussein in 
central Baghdad, symbolizing the end of his rule over Iraq. Secretary of Defense 
Rumsfeld said that Hussein had joined Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, and Ceausescu in "the 
pantheon of failed, brutal dictators," but warned that there would still be 
"difficult and dangerous" combat ahead.

April 10, 2003: Forces of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan captured Kirkuk. The 
Turkish Government immediately expressed concern, and U.S. soldiers entered the 
city the next day.

President Bush said that the United States intended to "build a peaceful and 
representative government [in Iraq] that protects the rights of all citizens. And 
then our military forces will leave."

April 11, 2003: The leaders of France, Germany, and Russia met in St. Petersburg 
to discuss the situation in Iraq. They agreed that the United Nations should 
coordinate relief and reconstruction, and said that they would consider writing 
off debts acquired by the Hussein government. They still questioned the need for 
military action, with Russian President Putin expressing surprise that, if Iraq 
had had weapons of mass destruction, it had not used them when in extremis.

Ten al-Qaeda suspects in the U.S.S. Cole bombing escaped from a prison in Aden.

April 13, 2003: Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said 
that the occupation of Iraq might last at least a year. He told television 
reporters that many villages and towns had been bypassed, and that it might take 
a year to search up to 3,000 sites for weapons of mass destruction.

President Bush warned Syria not to interfere with U.S. military operations in 
Iraq. Secretary of State Powell also warned Syria against sheltering fugitive 
Iraqi officials, noting that the United States had long been concerned with 
Syrian support for terrorism.

April 14, 2003: U.S. Marines entered Saddam’s home town of Tikrit. The Defense 
Department announced that major combat in Iraq had ended and that most naval 
forces would be withdrawn from the Persian Gulf. In London, Prime Minister Blair 
announced "victory" to the House of Commons and urged the international community 
to "make the peace worth the war."

White House Press Secretary Fleischer called Syria a "terrorist state" and a 
"rogue nation" and warned of possible diplomatic and economic sanctions in view 
of its weapons of mass destruction. In London, Prime Minister Blair told the 
House of Commons that "there are no plans to invade Syria" and that Britain 
sought "dialogue and partnership" instead.

An anti-terrorism court in Karachi convicted 4 members of Harakat-ul-Mujdaheddin 
al-Alami of planning the June 14, 2002 suicide bombing of the U.S. Consulate. Two 
were sentenced to death, two to life imprisonment, while a fifth was acquitted.

April 15, 2003: Retired General Jay Garner, head of the Defense Department’s 
Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, convened a meeting of Iraqi 
notables in Nasiriyah as a first step toward forming a postwar government. 

Philippine Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes announced that joint maneuvers with U.S. 
forces would be held in northern Luzon and southwestern Sulu. Reyes later said that 
U.S. forces would not be allowed to take part in combat patrols.

April 16-17, 2003: The EU Summit Meeting in Athens, despite continuing disagreement 
between supporters and opponents of the war in Iraq, issued a statement calling for 
a central role for the United Nations and a significant role for the European Union 
in Iraq’s reconstruction.

April 22, 2003: President Bush issued a statement in which he said that he believed 
the Syrian Government’s assurances that it wanted to cooperate with the United 
States.

April 22, 2003: At the United Nations, France proposed an immediate end to sanctions 
against Iraq and that UNMOVIC should join Coalition forces in verifying Iraq’s 
disarmament.

April 22-23, 2003: Afghan Interim President Karzai made an official visit to 
Pakistan, and claimed that he and President Musharraf had agreed to cooperate 
against cross-border attacks by Taliban and al-Qaeda forces.

April 24, 2003: The UN Security Council approved Resolution 1476, extending the 
"oil for food" program in Iraq until June 3.

April 25, 2003: Afghan Interim President Karzai announced the appointment of a 33-
member commission that would help draft a new constitution.

April 29, 2003: During a visit to Saudi Arabia, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld 
announced that the United States would withdraw its forces from the country, 
leaving only a small training mission. Air operations would be directed from the 
al-Udeid base in Qatar, which had been CENTCOM’s headquarters during the war with 
Iraq.

British Prime Minister Blair met with Russian President Putin in Moscow. Putin 
said that UN sanctions against Iraq should remain in effect until it had been 
confirmed that Iraq no longer had weapons of mass destruction.

Pakistani police announced the arrest of six al-Qaeda suspects in Karachi, 
including Walid Mohammed bin-Attach, who was suspected of planning the U.S.S. Cole 
bombing.

May 1, 2003: President Bush flew to the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln as 
the ship returned from the Persian Gulf to San Diego, and announced that major 
combat operations in Iraq were over. He still warned that there was "difficult 
work to do in Iraq."

Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld also announced the end of major combat operations in 
Afghanistan during a visit to Kabul. Although "pockets of resistance" remained, 
"the bulk of the country" was secure and U.S. forces would shift their efforts to 
stabilization and reconstruction.

May 2, 2003: Coalition authorities in Baghdad asked former police officers to 
resume their duties in view of continuing lawlessness.

May 3, 2003: Secretary of State Powell visited Syria. After returning to 
Washington, Powell said that he had told President Bashar al-Assad that the United 
States would be observing and measuring Syria’s performance concerning terrorism 
and Iraq. Powell also visited Lebanon and expressed concern about the continued 
activities of Hezbollah and other terrorist groups.

May 5, 2003: The Defense Department announced that it planned to release about 30 
Taliban and al-Qaeda members who were being held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base.

The FARC killed 10 hostages when Colombian special forces tried to rescue them 
from a jungle hideout near Urrao, in Colombia’s Antioquia State. The dead included 
Governor Guillermo Gavira and former Defense Minister Gilberto Echeverri Mejia, 
who had been kidnapped in April 2002.

May 6, 2003: President Bush announced the appointment of former Ambassador L. Paul 
Bremer as head of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance in Iraq. 
Bremer assumed his duties on May 12.

May 7-8, 2003: Deputy Secretary of State Armitage and Assistant Secretary of State 
Christine Rocca visited Pakistan. Armitage expressed "deep appreciation" for 
Pakistan’s contribution to the war on terrorism.

May 7, 2003: During a visit to Washington by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria 
Aznar, President Bush declared Batasuna, the political wing of the militant Basque 
separatist group ETA, to be a terrorist organization.

The Defense Department announced the discovery of a mobile biological weapons 
laboratory in Iraq. This was the first item associated with weapons of mass 
destruction to have been found since the start of the war.

May 10, 2003: Gen. Franks announced the dissolution of the Baath Party. Party 
property and records were to be turned over to Coalition forces.

May 11, 2003: A major shakeup occurred within the Office of Reconstruction and 
Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) in Iraq. State Department personnel who were 
replaced included Barbara Bodine, Margaret Tutwiler, and John Limbert.

May 12, 2003: Suicide bombers attacked three residential compounds for foreign 
workers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 34 dead included 9 attackers, 7 other Saudis, 
9 U.S. citizens, and one citizen each from the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the 
Philippines. Another American died on June 1. It was the first major attack on U.S. 
targets in Saudi Arabia since the end of major combat operations in Iraq. After 
visiting the scene of the attack on May 13, Secretary of State Powell said that 
the attack had "all the fingerprints of an al-Qaeda operation." Saudi 
authorities arrested 11 al-Qaeda suspects on May 28.

A truck bomb explosion demolished a government compound in Znamenskoye, Chechnya, 
killing 54 persons. Russian authorities blamed followers of a Saudi-born Islamist 
named Abu Walid. President Vladimir Putin said that he suspected an al-Qaeda 
connection. Also in Chechnya, two female suicide bombers attacked Administrator 
Mufti Akhmed Kadyrov during a religious festival in Iliskhan Yurt. Kadyrov 
escaped injury, but 14 persons were killed and 43 were wounded. Chechen rebel 
leader Shamil Basayev claimed responsibility.

The trial of Amrozi, the first of 33 suspects in the Bali bombing, began in 
Denpasar. Amrozi was charged with buying chemicals for the bomb and the van used 
to transport it.

In Buffalo’s U.S. District Court, Yasein Taher, one of the so-called "Lackawana 
Six," pleaded guilty to supporting al-Qaeda. He admitted to having attended al-
Qaeda’s al-Farooq training camp in Afghanistan and to having heard a speech by 
Osama bin Ladin.

May 13, 2003: The Independent reported that there had been high-level meetings 
between U.S. and Iranian officials in Geneva; the chief U.S. representative was 
Zalmay Khalilzad, the special envoy for Iraq and Afghanistan. National Security 
Advisor Rice said that the contacts were about "practical issues" concerning 
these countries and not about normalization of relations.

May 15, 2003: Attorney-General Ashcroft announced the indictments of Yemeni 
citizens Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Qasaa and Jamal Mohammen Badawi for involvement 
in the Cole bombing. Both had escaped from a prison in Aden in April.

In Washington, French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte wrote a letter to the 
President, Congress, and the media asserting that stories that France had 
provided diplomatic and military aid to Iraq before the war, and had helped Iraqi 
officials escape to Europe afterwards were "a disinformation campaign aimed as 
sullying France’s image."

May 16, 2003: A team of 12 suicide bombers attacked five targets in Casablanca, 
Morocco, killing 43 persons and wounding 100. The targets were a Spanish 
restaurant, a Jewish community, a Jewish cemetery, a hotel, and the Belgian 
Consulate. The Moroccan Government blamed the Islamist al-Assirat al-Moustaquim 
(The Righteous Path), but foreign commentators suspected an al-Qaeda connection.

The Coalition announced that holders of the four highest ranks in the Baath 
Party would be excluded from holding office in Iraq. Officials in the three 
highest levels of government would be screened for Party membership.

May 19, 2003: During a state visit to Washington by President Macapagal-Arroyo, 
President Bush announced that he was designating the Philippines as a "major 
non-NATO ally." An unspecified number of U.S. troops would support Philippine 
operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group, and the Philippines would receive 20 
military helicopters and $65 million for anti-terrorism training.

Under Secretary for Homeland Security Asa Hutchinson announced that, starting in 
January 2004, foreign visitors requiring visas would be photographed and 
fingerprinted when they entered the United States so that they could be compared 
with lists of designated terrorists.

Senator Sam Brownback introduced the Iran Democracy Act, which would provide $50 
million to opposition groups in Iran and would support a referendum concerning 
the establishment of a secular democracy there.

In Buffalo’s U.S. District Court, Mukhtar al-Bakri, the last of the so-called 
"Lackawanna Six," pleaded guilty to having supported al-Qaeda. In addition to 
having attended a training camp in Afghanistan, he said that he had even had an 
audience with Osama bin Laden. 

May 20, 2003: The United States, Britain, Germany, and Italy closed their 
diplomatic and consular missions in Saudi Arabia in view of warnings of terrorist 
attacks. The United States reopened its missions the next day; the other 
countries did so on May 24.

May 21, 2003: U.S. forces were placed on maximum alert and the Department of 
Homeland Security declared the second-highest level of domestic alert after al-
Jazeera broadcast an audiotape from al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who called 
for attacks on U.S., British, Australian, and Norwegian Embassies, companies, and 
employees in response to the U.S. war with Iraq. Norwegians were puzzled to be on 
al-Qaeda’s target list; although Norway had taken part in the campaign in 
Afghanistan, it had not been involved in the war with Iraq.

Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld said that al-Qaeda leaders were active in Iran. 
Since the Riyadh bombings were attributed to al-Qaeda members operating from Iran, 
future meetings with Iranian officials in Geneva were postponed.

May 22, 2003: The UN Security Council (except Syria) adopted Resolution 1483, 
recognizing the United States and Great Britain as the occupying powers in Iraq, 
supporting the establishment of an Interim Iraqi Administration, providing for an 
end to sanctions and the establishment of a development fund based on oil sales. 
The "oil for food" program would continue for 6 more months, after which funds 
remaining in the account would be transferred to a development fund in the central 
bank. The United Nations was urged to assume an unspecified role in Iraq.

During a G-8 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Paris, Secretary of State Powell 
praised France for voting for Resolution 1483, but warned that "disagreements of 
the past" had not been forgotten. He also denied that Defense Department decisions 
not to invite France to military exercises and to limit U.S. participation in the 
Paris Air Show were not part of "overall administration policy."

May 23, 2003: U.S. authorities announced the dissolution of the Iraqi Army, the 
Republican Guard, and the Defense Ministry.

May 24, 2003: Secretary-General Annan announced the appointment of Brazilian 
diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello as the UN Special Representative in Iraq. 

May 26, 2003: Chairman of the JCS Gen. Myers said on NBC-TV’s "Today" show that 
al-Qaeda had been in Iran "off and on for some time, particularly after our actions 
in Afghanistan." Iran’s official radio station announced that several al-Qaeda 
members had been arrested, but none were senior members.

May 27, 2003: Secretary of State Powell denied that the United States sought 
"regime change" in Iran; "Our policies with respect to Iran have not changed." 
White House Press Secretary Fleischer called Iran’s measures against al-Qaeda 
"insufficient." Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld warned Iran not to interfere with U.S. 
efforts to reconstruct Iraq during a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in 
New York.

May 28, 2003: Moroccan officials announced that the death in prison of the "general 
coordinator" of the May 16 bombings in Casablanca.

Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef announced the arrest of 11 al-Qaeda members in 
Medina who were suspects in the May 12 bombings in Riyadh.

May 29, 2003: British Prime Minister Blair visited Iraq, met with British and U.S. 
officials, and addressed British soldiers in Basra. Meanwhile the BBC claimed that 
Blair had pressured British officials to "transform" and "sex up" the September 2002 
report on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Blair denied the allegation the next 
day.

In Baghdad, Lt. Gen. David McKiernan, commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, 
declared that "the war has not ended." Attacks on U.S. forces "are not criminal 
activities, they are combat activities." He added, "We’re still in the process of 
removing the regime."

May 30, 2003: Homeland Security Secretary Ridge announced that the U.S. terror alert 
level would be lowered from "orange" (high risk) to "yellow" (elevated risk) after 
10 days of heightened alert.

The Defense Department announced that it would send an Iraq Survey Group comprising 
1,300-1,400 personnel to search for weapons of mass destruction. The Group replaced 
the 200-member 75th Exploitation Force.

Secretary of State Powell and CIA Director Tenet both defended the intelligence on 
which U.S. actions against Iraq had been based.

At the end of a meeting of Organization of the Islamic Conference Foreign Ministers 
in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi denied U.S. charges that his 
country was harboring al-Qaeda fugitives, developing nuclear weapons, or aiding the 
anti-U.S. resistance in Iraq.

May 31, 2003: During a visit to Krakow, Poland, President Bush proposed a 
Proliferation Security Initiative, according to which the United States and its 
allies could search and seize ships or aircraft carrying materials usable in 
weapons of mass destruction.

June 1, 2003: The United States and Britain announced the appointment of an Iraqi 
advisory council to advise the Coalition.

June 2, 2003: Blix reported once more to the UN Security Council and said that 
UNMOVIC had been unable to prove or disprove that Iraq had weapons of mass 
destruction. While no evidence had been found of "continuation or resumption" of 
weapons programs, a "long list of proscribed items" were still un-accounted for. He 
urged the Security Council to keep his inspection team in being for future use.

During the G-8 Economic Summit in Evian, France, British Prime Minister Blair 
insisted he was "100% behind the evidence" of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and 
denied that he and President Bush had made a secret agreement in September to attack 
Iraq. President Bush attempted to mend relations with French President Chirac, who 
still said that he believed the war with Iraq was "illegitimate and illegal" in the 
absence of UN approval. The Summit issued a communiqué describing the combination of 
terrorism and weapons of mass destruction as "the pre-eminent threat to international 
security" and warning Iran and North Korea to end their nuclear weapons program or 
face "if necessary, other measures in accordance with international law." President 
Chirac denied that the communiqué implied any threat of force. The communiqué also 
did not include a proposal by Bush that ships and aircraft suspected of carrying 
prohibited weapons materials could be searched or seized in international waters or 
airspace.

In Rome, Secretary of State Powell again insisted that Iraq had weapons of mass 
destruction. Meanwhile, Senator John Warner (R-Virginia) announced that the Senate 
Armed Services Committee would hold hearings on the failure to them. The next day, 
Senator Pat Roberts announced that the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence 
would also investigate U.S. prewar intelligence.

As Iraqi political groups held an emergency meeting to discuss U.S. plans to 
establish an advisory council, Administrator Bremer said that the plan was in 
accord with Resolution 1483, which guaranteed U.S. and British authority in Iraq 
pending the election of a new government.

June 3, 2003: The Select Committee on Foreign Affairs of Britain’s House of Commons 
began investigating the intelligence behind the war with Iraq, with special 
interest in reports about alleged weapons of mass destruction.

June 5, 2003: A female Chechen suicide bomber blew up a bus near Mozdok, killing 
17 persons. Twelve of the dead were Russian military personnel.

June 6, 2003: The Defense Department released a declassified version of a September 
2002 DIA study that noted the lack of "reliable information" about the state of 
Iraq’s chemical weapons programs. Hans Blix, meanwhile, told the BBC that 
inspections initiated on the basis of U.S. and British intelligence had failed to 
find anything.

June 7, 2003: The New York Times reported that 13,000 out of 82,000 Arab and Muslim 
men who had registered with immigration authorities could be deported for violation 
of immigration regulations. Only 11 were suspected of terrorist connections. 

A car bomb explosion in Kabul killed four German peacekeeping troops and one Afghan. 
German Defense Minister Struck suspected that it was a suicide bombing; Afghan 
officials suspected an al-Qaeda connection.

June 9, 2003: U.S. and British forensic experts concluded that a mass grave found 
near Salman Pak contained at least 100 Iraqi political prisoners and deserters who 
apparently had been executed shortly before the war.

Russia’s Federal Security Service announced the arrest in Moscow of 55 members of a 
radical Islamic group named Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation). Most were said to 
be from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, or Uzbekistan, and they were suspected of planning 
attacks in Moscow and Chechnya.

June 10, 2003: Secretary-General Annan announced that Demitrius Perricos would 
replace Hans Blix as head of UNMOVIC; Perricos was the deputy executive chairman.

June 11, 2003: A suicide bombing aboard a bus in Jerusalem killed 16 persons and 
wounded at least 70, one of whom died later. HAMAS claimed that the attack was 
revenge for an Israeli helicopter attack on HAMAS leader Abdelaziz al-Rantisi in 
Gaza City the day before.

June 12, 2003: NATO Defense Ministers met in Brussels. They agreed that NATO would 
assume charge of peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan in August, as well as providing 
technical support for a Polish-led multinational force in Iraq. Countries announcing 
that they would provide troops for service in Iraq included Spain (1,200), Ukraine 
(1,700), Bulgaria (500), and Poland (2,300).

June 13, 2003: Thai police arrested Narong Penanam for having 66 pounds of 
radioactive material intended for use in a "dirty bomb." Narong was said to have 
obtained cesium-137 from Russia by way of Laos.

June 14, 2003: Thai Premier Thaksin Shinawatra announced that police had thwarted a 
plot by Jemaah Islamiah to bomb embassies in Bangkok during the October APEC Forum 
meeting. Three suspects had been arrested and the bomb-maker was being sought. Their 
trials began September 2.

June 16, 2003: Britain appointed UN Ambassador Greenstock as its special envoy to 
Iraq.

June 17, 2003: Senior U.S., Afghan, and Pakistani officials met in Islamabad to form 
a new commission on terrorism and border security. They agreed to hold regular 
meetings.

June 18, 2003: U.S. forces in Iraq arrested 50 members of Saddam Hussein’s security 
services near Tikrit and seized more that $8.5 million in cash and over $1 million in 
jewels. In Baghdad, U.S. soldiers fired on a crowd of discharged Iraqi soldiers 
demanding back pay and pensions, killing two. Deputy Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz 
said that a "guerrilla war" was taking place in Iraq, but "we can win it."

U.S. aircraft attacked a three-vehicle convoy with missiles near the Iraq-Syrian 
border. One vehicle was apparently destroyed on the Syrian side of the border; 5 
Syrian border guards were wounded and were held by U.S. forces until June 29. U.S. 
forces were unable to prove that senior Iraqi officials were in the convoy; it was 
thought that Saddam Hussein might have been there.

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace told the House Armed 
Services Committee that 20,000 troops from at least 12 nations would begin relieving 
some U.S. forces in Iraq within 2 to 3 months. Britain and Poland would lead two 
multinational divisions that would include contingents from Italy, Spain, Ukraine, 
Honduras, Denmark, the Netherlands, and El Salvador.

During a visit to London, Pakistani President Musharraf said that although he agreed 
"in principle" about sending peacekeeping forces to Iraq, his country could not 
afford it and it would be politically impossible to be the only Muslim country to do 
so or to do it without UN approval. He said that peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan 
should be expanded from 14,000 to 40 to 50,000 so that the new government could 
exert authority in the provinces.

June 19, 2003: Attorney General Ashcroft announced the arrest of Iyman Faris, a 
Kashmiri-born U.S. citizen, on charges of plotting with al-Qaeda to destroy the 
Brooklyn Bridge. Faris pleaded guilty.

June 20, 2003: Secretary of State Powell said that Syrian measures to control 
terrorist groups were "totally inadequate."

During the EU Summit meeting in Porto Carras, Greece, the European Union announced 
a new security paper. Although it agreed with the United States about the threats 
of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, it said that the European Union 
should use armed force only with UN approval and after diplomatic and economic 
measures had failed. It urged HAMAS to give up violence and warned that 
restrictions on its fund-raising might follow.

The United States closed its embassy in Nairobi for 5 days, citing possible 
terrorist threats. When the embassy reopened, a spokesman said that business hours 
would be varied.

June 21, 2003: In his weekly radio address, President Bush said that "dangerous 
pockets of the old regime" and "their terrorist allies" were responsible for 
continuing attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq. He said that the search for weapons of
mass destruction would continue "no matter how long it takes."

On the eve of the resumption of Iraq’s oil exports, an explosion damaged an oil 
pipeline in Hit. Sabotage was suspected.

June 22, 2003: Iraq resumed oil exports with the sale of a million barrels to Turkey. 
A second explosion damaged an oil pipeline near the Syrian border; sabotage was again 
suspected.

June 23, 2003: Walter Slocombe of the Coalition Provisional Authority said that a new 
Iraqi army of 40,000 would be organized within 3 years, 12,000 within the first year. 
An additional 200-250,000 former soldiers would receive monthly stipends ranging from 
$50 to $150 if they renounced participation in the Baath Party.

Malawi announced the arrest of 5 al-Qaeda suspects in Blantyre.. One each came from 
Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya; the other two were Turks. The CIA apparently provided 
assistance.

June 24, 2003: Iraqi insurgents killed six British soldiers in the southern Iraqi town 
of Majar al-Kabir. Defense Secretary Hoon said that attacks on Coalition forces were 
not a sign of increasing instability.

Kenya arrested four suspects in the November 2002 attack on an Israeli hotel in 
Mombasa.

Pakistani President Musharraf met with President Bush at Camp David, and was offered 
$3 billion in economic and military aid. He agreed to take steps toward democracy, 
suspend weapons technology exchanges with North Korea, and to fight terrorist groups 
more effectively.

June 25, 2003: The annual U.S.-EU Summit in Washington issued a joint statement in 
which they agreed to "strengthen identification, control, and interdiction" of illegal 
weapons shipment and to increase funding for the IAEA. They also signed an agreement 
for the extradition of terrorist suspects as long as they did not face capital 
punishment in the United States. President Bush was unable to persuade the EU to end 
funding of the political wing of HAMAS.

In response to sabotage of Baghdad’s electrical system, Administrator Bremer 
announced the establishment of a security force of former Iraqi soldiers that would 
protect utilities and oil facilities.

Iraqi scientist Mahdi Obeidi turned over to U.S. forces blueprints and equipment for 
enriching uranium that had been buried in his rose garden since 1991. The IAEA said 
that the finding showed that the prospect of UN inspections had halted Iraq’s nuclear 
program; the United States said that the finding showed that the program had only 
been suspended.

June 26, 2003: The New York Times reported that the State Department’s Bureau of 
Intelligence and Research disputed the CIA’s conclusion that two Iraqi trailers were 
mobile biological weapons laboratories.

June 29, 2003: As attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq continued, they responded with a 
campaign in central Iraq known as "Operation Sidewinder." 

July 2, 2003: Polish Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski announced that his country 
would send 9,200 troops to central Iraq by September.

July 3, 2003: President Bush announced that six foreign nationals being held at 
Guantanamo Bay would be suitable for trial by a military tribunal. The six were al-
Qaeda members.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1490, ending the mandate of 
the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM) and terminating the Iraq-Kuwait 
demilitarized zone, effective October 6.

July 5, 2003: Two female suicide bombers attacked a rock festival outside Moscow, 
killing 13 other persons. The bombers were believed to be Chechen rebels. President 
Putin later claimed that there was a connection with international terrorist groups.

July 6, 2003: The New York Times published an article in which former Ambassador 
Joseph C. Wilson described his mission to Niger, in which he had been unable to find 
evidence that Iraq had attempted to purchase uranium there. The next day, the White 
House conceded that President Bush had relied on "incomplete and possibly inaccurate 
information" when he mentioned in his State of the Union address that, according to 
the British Government, Iraq had tried to obtain uranium in Africa.

July 7, 2003: Civil Administrator Bremer announced that new banknotes would be printed 
to replace the "Saddam dinar" on a one-for-one basis, starting in mid-October. Bremer 
also announced the inauguration of an elected 37-member city council in Baghdad.

July 13, 2003: The Iraqi Governing Council held its first meeting in Baghdad. The 
Council had been formed by Civil Administrator Bremer and a seven-member "leadership 
council." Its 25 members comprised 13 Shi’ites, 5 Sunnis, 5 Kurds, 1 Christian, and 1 
Turkmen. Two members were women. The Council’s first decision was to abolish holidays 
associated with Saddam Hussein’s rule and to declare April 9 a national holiday.

July 14, 2003: German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer began a 4-day official visit to 
Washington in an attempt to mend relations with the United States. In the course of 
the visit, Fischer said that German troops would only go to Iraq at the invitation of 
a "legitimate" Iraqi provisional government and under a UN Security Council mandate.

Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Singh announced that his government would 
not send troops to Iraq without a UN mandate.

July 16, 2003: Gen. John Abizaid, who had succeeded Gen. Franks as chief of CENTCOM, 
held a press conference in Qatar and admitted that U.S. forces faced "a classical 
guerrilla-type campaign" in Iraq.

Britain assumed charge of a multinational force in southeast Iraq, with its 
headquarters in Basra.

July 17, 2003: British Prime Minister Blair visited Washington, met with President 
Bush, and addressed a joint session of Congress. He said that he still expected Iraqi 
weapons of mass destruction to be found, and even if they were not, the United States 
and Great Britain had been justified in removing "a threat that is at its least 
responsible for human carnage and suffering."

Eleven al-Qaeda detainees at Guantanamo Bay were returned to Pakistan.

July 18, 2003: The White House announced that two al-Qaeda members who were British 
subjects and were held at Guantanamo Bay would not be tried by a military tribunal and 
would not be subject to the death penalty.

UN Secretary-General Annan called on the occupying powers in Iraq to establish "a 
clear timetable leading to the full restoration of sovereignty."

July 21, 2003: A German court approved the extradition to the United States of two 
Yemeni nationals who were al-Qaeda suspects on condition that they would not be tried 
by a military tribunal and would not face the death penalty.

July 22, 2003: Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division killed Saddam Hussein’s sons 
Udai and Qusai in a 5-hour gun battle in Mosul. A son of Qusai and an Iraqi 
bodyguard were also killed; five other Iraqis and four U.S. soldiers were wounded.

July 23, 2003: After a 5-day visit to Iraq, Deputy Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz 
said that although many worst-case scenarios had not taken place in Iraq, the United 
States had not expected that there would be continued resistance by Baath Party 
loyalists.

President Bush announced that Civil Administrator Bremer had devised a 
"comprehensive strategy" to measure progress toward establishing a new government in 
Iraq.

July 24, 2003: Congress released a declassified version of a report by a joint panel 
of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees about the intelligence background of 
the September 11 attacks. Twenty-eight pages dealing with the possible involvement of 
foreign governments were heavily censored, leading to speculation about whether they 
described the funding of al-Qaeda terrorists by Saudi nationals. Saudi Ambassador 
Prince Bandar bin Sultan called the claims "outrageous."

July 26, 2003: The House of Councillors of Japan’s Diet voted (136 to 102) to send 
Japanese Self-Defense Force personnel to Iraq to take part in humanitarian and 
logistical operations in "safe areas."

July 29, 2003: President Bush declined a request by the Saudi Government for 
declassification of the censored parts of the September 11 report, saying that it 
would hamper further investigations.

The al-Arabiya television network broadcast an audiotape by Saddam Hussein in which 
he described his dead sons as "the honor of this nation" and predicted that "America 
will be defeated."

July 30, 2003: President Bush said during a news conference that he was ultimately 
responsible for the inclusion in his State of the Union address of an erroneous 
report about Iraqi attempts to purchase nuclear materials. He said that close 
examination of "miles of documents" captured in Iraq ultimately would verify Iraq’s 
weapons of mass destruction programs.

The Iraqi Governing Council agreed on who would be its presiding officers. Eight of 
its 25 members would serve rotating, month-long terms as chairman. Ibrahim Jaaferi, 
leader of the Shi’ite Da’wa Party, was the Council’s first chairman.

August 1, 2003: A suicide truck bomb exploded outside a Russian military hospital in 
Mozdok, killing 50 persons and wounding 70. The bomber was thought to be a Chechen 
rebel affiliated with Shamil Basayev. Basayev later denied responsibility.

August 5, 2003: A car bomb exploded outside the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, 
killing 10 persons and wounding 150. One of the dead was a Dutch citizen. The wounded 
included an American, a Canadian, an Australian, and two Chinese. Indonesian 
authorities suspected the Jemaah Islamiah, which had carried out the October 12, 2002, 
bombing in Bali.

The first death of a U.S. contract employee in Iraq occurred when a truck carrying an 
employee of the Halliburton Company hit a land mine north of Tikrit.

August 7, 2003: A car bomb exploded outside the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, 
killing 19 persons and wounding 65. Most of the victims were apparently Iraqis, 
including 5 police officers. No group claimed responsibility.

Gen. Abizaid, chief of CENTCOM, met with Kurdish leaders in Mosul and made an 
unsuccessful attempt to persuade them to allow Turkish troops to enter Iraq for 
peacekeeping operations.

An Indonesian court in Denpasar, Bali, convicted Amrozi of involvement in the Bali 
bombing and sentenced him to death. Amrozi had admitted to buying the explosives, 
but denied taking part in the planning; his lawyers planned to appeal.

August 10, 2003: Administrator Bremer told The New York Times that the Ansar al-
Islam group, which was thought to have connections with al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, 
may have been involved in the bombing of the Jordanian Embassy.

August 11, 2003: NATO assumed control of the ISAF in Afghanistan.

August 12, 2003: The first suicide bombings since the June 29 Israeli-Palestinian 
truce took place. The first, in a supermarket at Rosh Haayin, Israel, killed 1 person 
and wounded 14. The second, at a bus stop near the Ariel settlement in the West Bank, 
killed 1 person and wounded 3. The al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades claimed responsibility 
for the first; HAMAS claimed responsibility for the second.

Hemant Lakhani, a British international arms dealer, was arrested near the Newark 
Airport for attempting to smuggle a Russian-made surface-to-air missile into the 
United States for sale to Islamist terrorists. The arrest followed 18 months of 
cooperation between U.S., British, and Russian intelligence services. Lakhani was not 
known to have al-Qaeda connections.

August 13, 2003: The Iraqi Governing Council announced the formation of a 25-member 
committee to discuss plans for a new constitution. 

August 14, 2003: Thai police assisted by CIA agents arrested Ridaun Isamuddin, better 
known as Hanbali, in Ayutthaya. Hanbali, former operations chief of Jemaah Islamiah, 
was suspected of organizing bombings in Indonesia and the Philippines and was said to 
be the most senior non-Arab member of al-Qaeda.

In Hamburg, Abdelghani Mzoudi went on trial for having aided the September 11 
terrorists as part of al-Qaeda’s "Hamburg cell."

The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1500, establishing a UN Assistance Mission 
for Iraq (UNAMI), with a staff of 300 and an initial mandate of 12 months. The 
resolution also welcomed the establishment of the Iraqi Governing Council as a first 
step toward establishment of a new government. The vote was 14 to 0, with Syria 
abstaining.

August 18, 2003: The al-Arabiya television network broadcast a purported statement by 
al-Qaeda that claimed that Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar were still alive and that 
foreign Islamist jihadis were involved in recent attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq.

August 19, 2003: A truck loaded with surplus Iraqi ordnance exploded outside the UN 
Headquarters in Baghdad’s Canal Hotel. A hospital across the street was also heavily 
damaged. The 23 dead included UN Special Representative Sergio Viera de Mello. More 
than 100 persons were wounded. It was not clear whether the bomber was a Baath Party 
loyalist or a foreign Islamic militant.

A suicide bombing aboard a bus in Jerusalem killed 20 persons and injured at least 
100, one of whom died later. Five of the dead were American citizens. HAMAS and 
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility, although HAMAS leader al-Rantisi said that his 
organization remained committed to the Israeli-Palestinian truce while reserving the 
right to respond to Israeli military actions.

August 21, 2003: U.S. forces in Iraq announced the capture of Gen. Ali Hassan 
al-Majid, a cousin of Saddam Hussein who was known as "Chemical Ali" for his use of 
poison gas against Kurdish rebels and civilians in the 1980s. 

August 26, 2003: A roadside bomb explosion in Iraq killed a U.S. soldier, bringing 
the U.S. postwar death toll in Iraq to 139 and exceeding the number of combat 
deaths 
during the war.

The Treasury Department announced that an agreement with Saudi Arabia would allow 
15 FBI and IRS agents to be stationed in the country to track the financial 
connections of terrorist groups.

August 29, 2003: A car bomb explosion outside the Shrine of the Imam Ali in Najaf, 
Iraq, killed at least 81 persons and wounded at least 140. The dead included the 
Ayatollah Mohammed Bakir al-Hakim, one of four leading Shi’ite clerics in Iraq. 
Al-Hakim had been the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in 
Iraq (SCIRI) since its establishment in 1982, and SCIRI had recently agreed to 
work with the U.S.-sponsored Iraqi Governing Council. It was not known whether the 
perpetrators were Baath Party loyalists, rival Shi’ites, or foreign Islamists.

September 1, 2003: The Iraqi Governing Council announced the formation of a new 
Cabinet. The 25-member body included 13 Shi’ites, 5 Sunni Muslims, 5 Kurds, a 
Turkoman, and an Assyrian Christian. The one female member was Public Works 
Minister Nesreen Berwari, a Kurd. The Cabinet assumed office September 3.

British troops captured Haji Qalam at his home in Kabul; Qalam was believed to 
have planned the June suicide bombing of a German army bus.

September 2, 2003: An Indonesian court convicted Abu Bakar Bashir, alleged 
spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah (JI), of subversion and sentenced him to 4 
years’ imprisonment. Bashir was acquitted of treason; judges claimed there was 
insufficient evidence that he was head of JI. The judges also found evidence 
linking him to specific terrorist attacks to be insufficient.

September 3, 2003: Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld visited Baghdad and said that his 
highest priority would be to recruit, train, and deploy Iraqi security forces. He 
had said earlier that all former military personnel up to the rank of lieutenant-
colonel were potentially eligible.

An international division under Polish command assumed responsibility for south-
central Iraq.

International financial experts met in Brussels to plan for a conference to be held 
in Madrid to discuss the economic reconstruction of Iraq.

September 4, 2003: Vanity Fair magazine published an article in which former White 
House adviser Richard Clarke confirmed that, after the September 11 attacks, senior 
officials had allowed a number of prominent Saudis, including relatives of Osama 
bin Laden, to leave the country. Dale Watson, formerly of the FBI, said that none 
had been interviewed by law enforcement agencies.

September 6, 2003: EU Foreign Ministers placed the political wing of HAMAS on its 
list of organizations supporting terrorism.

September 7, 2003: President Bush delivered an address to the nation in which he 
called Iraq the "central front" of the war on terrorism. He announced a request for 
a supplemental appropriation of $87 billion: $66 billion for military operations in 
Iraq and Afghanistan, $20 billion for reconstruction in Iraq, and $800 million for 
reconstruction in Afghanistan. He said that he expected other countries to 
contribute to the reconstruction of Iraq, and urged them to consider sending 
peacekeeping forces there.

September 8, 2003: The British Government announced that it would send 1,200 more 
troops to Iraq. Up to 1,000 more might follow after a review of the situation.

September 9, 2003: Two suicide bombings took place in Israel. The first, at a bus 
stop near the Tsrifin army base southeast of Tel Aviv, killed 7 soldiers and 
wounded 14 soldiers and a civilian. The second, at a café in Jerusalem’s German 
Colony neighborhood, killed 6 persons and wounded 40. HAMAS claimed 
responsibility the next day.

Iraq sent a delegation headed by Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari to an Arab League 
Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Cairo. Zebari announced that Iraq would "adopt a new 
foreign policy" based on peaceful relations with neighboring countries.

September 10, 2003: In a speech at the FBI training academy at Quantico, Virginia, 
President Bush said that he might ask Congress to pass another Patriot Act that 
would expand the use of capital punishment in terrorist cases, restrict bail for 
suspected terrorists, and make it easier for law enforcement to seize documents.

James Yee, a Muslim chaplain in the U.S. Army at Guantanamo Bay, was arrested for 
unauthorized possession of classified materials, leading to suspicions that there 
was an al-Qaeda spy ring on the base. Two other arrests followed: Airman Ahmad al-
Halabi and civilian translator Ahmed Mehalba.

An Indonesian court on Bali convicted Imam Samudra of plotting the October 12, 
2002 bombings and sentenced him to death. Samudra denied belonging to Jemaah 
Islamiah but was otherwise unrepentant.

September 11, 2003: Spanish police arrested Syrian-born al-Jazeera reporter 
Tayseer Alouni and charged him with supplying money and information to al-Qaeda 
Alouni denied the charges.

September 13, 2003: Secretary of State Powell attended a meeting in Geneva of 
Foreign Ministers of the other permanent members of the UN Security Council and 
found them cool to the U.S. plan for the political reconstruction of Iraq.

September 14, 2003: Secretary of State Powell visited Baghdad and warned that a 
too-rapid transfer of power in Iraq would fail.

September 16, 2003: Under Secretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton told 
the House International Relations Committee that Syria was still developing 
weapons of mass destruction, supporting terrorist groups, and had failed to 
prevent Islamic militants from crossing into Iraq. Syrian Foreign Minister al-
Sharaa denied the charges.

September 17, 2003: President Bush said that although no evidence had yet been 
found, "there’s no question that Saddam Hussein had al-Qaeda ties."

Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon issued an international arrest order for Osama bin 
Laden and other al-Qaeda members on the grounds that the September 11 attacks had 
been "planned partially in Spain."

The al-Arabiya television network broadcast an audiotape in which Saddam Hussein 
urged U.S. forces to leave Iraq or face the consequences.

September 18, 2003: An Indonesian court on Bali convicted Ali Imron of 
participating in the October 2002 bombings. Since he had cooperated with 
authorities and shown remorse, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to close mosques where 
"extremist Islam" was being preached and to expel foreign-born imams who preached 
fundamentalist sermons.

September 20, 2003: Gunmen shot and seriously wounded Akila Hashimi, one of three 
female members of the Iraqi Governing Council, near her home in Baghdad. She died 
September 25.

The leaders of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom met in Berlin, but were 
unable to agree on a common position regarding a UN Security Council draft 
resolution on Iraq. The next day, French President Chirac proposed an immediate 
transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi Governing Council, with a gradual transfer of 
power taking place over 6 to 9 months.

September 22, 2003: A second suicide bomb attack on the UN Headquarters in Baghdad 
killed the bomber and an Iraqi security guard and wounded 19 other persons. 
Secretary-General Annan then considered withdrawing all UN personnel from Iraq. 

September 23, 2003: President Bush addressed the UN General Assembly and defended 
the U.S. war on terrorism. He also called on the UN Security Council to adopt a 
resolution to criminalize the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. He 
faced much criticism of U.S. unilateral action, notably from Secretary-General 
Annan and French President Chirac. His efforts to persuade other countries to 
contribute troops or funds for the reconstruction of Iraq were unsuccessful.

A brigade comprising Spanish and Central American soldiers assumed responsibility 
for the city of Najaf.

September 24, 2003: Saudi Arabian officials announced that suspected al-Qaeda 
member Zubayr Rimi had been killed in a gun battle with security forces in Jizan. 
Rimi was suspected of involvement in the May 12 bombings in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia 
also transferred nine suspects to Yemen. Some were suspected of involvement in the 
bombing of the French tanker Limburg.

September 25, 2003: Secretary-General Annan announced that most of the UN’s 86 
relief workers in Iraq would be "temporarily" withdrawn to Jordan

Philippines President Macapagal-Arroyo expressed willingness to send troops and 
aid to Iraq if a UN role could be defined.

September 26, 2003: Secretary of State Powell announced that the United States 
would give the Iraqi Governing Council six months to draft a new constitution.

Administrator L. Paul Bremer told a Pentagon news conference that U.S. forces in 
Iraq held 248 non-Iraqis, including 19 suspected al-Qaeda members.

September 27, 2003: After meeting with President Bush at Camp David, Russian 
President Putin said during a joint news conference that their friendship had 
enabled him to prevent Russia from opposing the U.S. war with the Taliban. He said 
that Russian participation in the reconstruction of Iraq would depend on passage 
of a UN resolution. He also denied that Russia was helping Iran to develop nuclear 
weapons.

September 28, 2003: The al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya networks played an audiotape from 
al-Qaeda’s Ayman Zawahiri in which he called for the overthrow of Pakistan’s 
President Musharraf and urged Muslims to fight the "Christian-Zionist crusade."

September 30, 2003: A Belgian court convicted two Tunisian members of al-Qaeda. 
Nizar Trabelsi was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for plotting an attack on a 
U.S. military base, and Tarek Maroufi got 6 years for being an al-Qaeda recruiter. 
Sixteen other North Africans were convicted of lesser charges.

October 2, 2003: David Kay, head of the Iraq Survey Group, gave closed briefings to 
the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. His group concluded that Iraq’s 
nuclear weapons program was in "the very most rudimentary state." While no chemical 
or biological weapons had been found, "significant amounts of equipment " and 
"dozens of WMD-related program activities" had been found. The investigation had 
been hampered by looting of Iraqi laboratories and records areas and the apparent 
destruction of documents. Kay estimated that 6 to 9 more months would be needed for 
further investigations. Only 10 out of 130 Iraqi weapons depots had been thoroughly 
inspected.

Federal Judge Leonie M. Brinkema forbade the prosecution to present evidence that 
suspected hijacker Zacarias Moussaoui had been involved in the September 11 attacks 
and ruled that Moussaoui would not be eligible for the death penalty if he were 
convicted of being part of an al-Qaeda conspiracy.

Pakistani authorities reported the killing of 8 suspected al-Qaeda members and the 
capture of 18 and the seizure of ordnance and surveillance equipment in the South 
Waziristan tribal area.

An Indonesian court sentenced Islamic religious teacher Ali Gufron, known as 
Mukhlas, to death for his role in organizing the Bali bombing. 

October 4, 2003: A female Palestinian suicide bomber attacked a restaurant in Haifa, 
killing 19 Israelis and wounding at least 55. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. 
Israel responded by bombing a terrorist training camp in Syria the next day.

October 6, 2003: President Bush announced the formation of an Iraq Stabilization 
Group that would be headed by National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. The Group 
would coordinate the efforts of government agencies involved in the reconstruction 
of Iraq.

October 7, 2003: U.S. Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad warned that the Taliban and al-
Qaeda might be planning "more spectacular attacks" to disrupt the reconstruction of 
Afghanistan.

After an informal meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Colorado Springs, NATO agreed 
in principle to authorize the International Security Assistance Force to operate 
outside Kabul. 

The Turkish Parliament voted (358 to 183) to send peacekeeping troops to Iraq. The 
Iraqi Governing Council, particularly its Kurdish members, was hostile to the idea.

The House International Relations Committee voted (33 to 2) to impose economic 
sanctions on Syria until the President had certified that it had ended its support 
for terrorist groups, its occupation of Lebanon, its missile and weapons of mass 
destruction programs, and its support for insurgents in Iraq. The sanctions could be 
waived except for those preventing the dale of "dual use" technology.

October 9, 2003: Three terrorist incidents in Baghdad caused 12 deaths. Gunmen 
assassinated a Spanish military attaché. An ambush in Sadr City killed two U.S. 
soldiers and wounded four; an ambush in the town of Baqubah killed another soldier. 
A suicide car bomb attack on a Baghdad police station killed 8 Iraqis and wounded 40 
as they were about to be paid.

During the NATO Defense Ministers’ meeting in Colorado Springs, Russian Defense 
Minister Ivanov said that he expected U.S. forces to withdraw from bases in 
Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan after Afghanistan had been stabilized. He also said that 
Russia reserved the right to intervene in former Soviet republics if the rights of 
their ethnic Russian communities were threatened.

October 11, 2003: Organization of the Islamic Conference representatives met in 
Putrajaya, Malaysia and called for the prompt withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq 
and UN administration of the reconstruction process. Iraqi Governing Council 
spokesman Riyadh al-Fadhli opposed the deployment of peacekeeping forces from Turkey 
or from other neighboring countries.

Secretary of State Powell said that he was seeking support for a new Security Council 
resolution concerning Iraq, and hoped to reach a decision by October 13.

October 12, 2003: Two suicide car bombs exploded outside the Baghdad Hotel, killing 8 
persons and wounding 32. The hotel was said to house U.S. officials; 3 of whom were 
slightly wounded. Iraqi and U.S. guards apparently kept the vehicles from actually 
reaching the hotel.

Philippine police on Mindanao Island shot and killed Fathur Rahman al-Ghozi, a leader 
of Jemaah Islamiah, who had escaped from prison in Manila on July 14. Al-Ghozi had 
been arrested in Manila in January and had been convicted of plotting to bomb the U.S. 
Embassy and other Western targets in Singapore. He was suspected of bombing the home 
of the Philippine ambassador to Indonesia in August 2000, and of a series of bombings 
in December 2000 that killed 22 people in Manila.

In a speech to the Heritage Foundation, Vice President Cheney defended U.S. policy in 
Iraq and said that the United States did not need "unanimous international assent" to 
act against security threats.

October 13, 2003: The United States outlined a draft resolution for the UN Security 
Council that would define the terms of its role in Iraq. The draft set a December 15 
deadline for the Iraqi Governing Council to produce a timetable for drafting a 
constitution and holding elections, and spoke of a wider UN role in the 
reconstruction of Iraq "as circumstances permit."

The UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution that would authorize 
peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan to operate outside Kabul.

Participants in the OIC meeting in Malaysia sought to decide what role Islamic 
countries should play in the reconstruction of Iraq. The consensus appeared to be 
that no active role was likely until the United Nations authorized such a role.

October 14, 2003: At the United Nations, a U.S.-sponsored draft resolution 
concerning Iraq gained ground as Russia, France, and Germany agreed to amendments 
that conceded U.S. control over the transfer of power to a future Iraqi government. 
They still favored a stronger Security Council role in monitoring the transition 
process. Secretary-General Annan was also said to be displeased with the U.S. draft 
resolution. Ambassador Negroponte said that he intended to seek a vote on October 15.

As President Bush prepared for a trip to Asia, National Security Advisor Rice said 
that he intended to seek more assistance for the war on terrorism and for the 
reconstruction of Iraq. She called Southeast Asia "an area of great concern on the 
terrorism front" and said that Bush would offer support to countries of the region 
in their campaigns against terrorism.

The U.S. Treasury Department declared Pakistan’s Al Akhtar Trust International to be 
a sponsor of terrorist activity in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq.

A car bomb exploded outside the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad, killing the bomber and 
in Iraqi bystander. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the attack would not 
change Turkey’s plans to send peacekeeping troops to Iraq.

The United States and Germany signed an agreement to allow the sharing of evidence 
in major international criminal cases. In a bow to German objections to capital 
punishment, the agreement allowed either side to deny information "if essential 
interests" of either side would be harmed.

October 15, 2003: Ambassador Negroponte reported that an agreement had been reached 
with Russia, China, and Pakistan on a UN Security Council resolution concerning 
Iraq. Under the latest version of the resolution, U.S. forces would be part of a 
UN-mandated force whose mandate would expire when a new Iraqi government took 
office. After meeting with his French and German counterparts, Russian Permanent 
Representative Sergei Lavrov asked that the vote be delayed for a day so that he 
could consult with his government, and so that President Putin could consult with 
the leaders of France and Germany.

The House of Representatives approved by a vote of 398 to 4 a resolution calling on 
the President to impose economic sanctions on Syria if it continued to support 
terrorist groups, to occupy Lebanon, and to seek weapons of mass destruction.

A remote-controlled bomb destroyed a car in a U.S. diplomatic convoy in the 
northern Gaza Strip. Three security guards were killed and a fourth was wounded. 
President Arafat and Prime Minister Qurei condemned the attack, while the major 
Palestinian militant groups denied responsibility. The next day, Palestinian 
security forces arrested several suspects, some of whom belonged to the Popular 
Resistance Committees.

October 16, 2003: The UN Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 1511, 
which authorized a multinational force under U.S. command in Iraq and set a 
December 15 deadline for the Iraqi Governing Council to draft a timetable to draft 
a constitution and hold elections for a new government. Both the timetable and the 
role of the multinational force would be subject to review, and the force’s mandate 
would expire when the new government took office. The resolution also provided for 
a broader UN role in the reconstruction of Iraq, condemned recent terrorist attacks 
there, and called on member states to prevent terrorists from going to Iraq and 
urged them to contribute to the reconstruction.

After the vote, France, Russia, Germany, and Pakistan announced that they did not 
plan to make any new contributions to reconstructing Iraq and regretted that the 
resolution did not provide more authority to the UN. Secretary of State Powell 
called the resolution "a great achievement," but did not expect immediate results 
in terms of contributions.

During a stop in California while en route to Asia, President Bush said: "America 
is following a new strategy. We are not waiting for further attacks. We are 
striking our enemies before they can strike us again." He also said that he would 
discuss the importance of bringing Islamic militants to justice when he visited 
Indonesia. In an interview with Indonesian television, Bush said that he was ready 
to resume military-to-military cooperation with Indonesia.

In Portland, Oregon, the last two members of a reputed terrorist cell pleaded 
guilty to having attempted to travel to Afghanistan to join the Taliban. The plot 
had failed when Pakistani officials refused to give them visas. Four members of the 
"Portland Seven" had already pleaded guilty; another, a Jordanian, remained at 
large. Attorney-General Ashcroft told reporters that the Patriot Act had been 
instrumental in securing the pleas.

October 17, 2003: During a visit to Japan, President Bush thanked Prime Minister 
Junichiro Koizumi for pledging $1.5 billion in reconstruction aid and peacekeeping 
troops for Iraq.

Saudi authorities said that they had disrupted an al-Qaeda cell during the summer. 
One of the seven to ten suspects was said to be a Saudi-born American citizen.

October 18, 2002: President Bush visited Manila and addressed a joint session of 
the Philippine Congress. He called terrorists the latest totalitarian threat to 
civilization, warned that nations not taking part in the war on terrorism 
endangered others, and specifically mentioned Jamaah Islamiya and Abu Sayyaf as 
regional threats. He promised a 5-year program to upgrade the Philippine armed 
forces. 

Al-Jazeera broadcast an audiotape in which Osama bin Laden urged Iraqis to resist 
the U.S. occupation and youths from neighboring countries to join a jihad against 
it. He also promised more "martyrdom operations inside and outside the United 
States."

October 20, 2003: The Federal Register announced the freezing of the U.S. assets 
of the Algerian-based Dhamat Houmet Daawa Salafia, which was said to have 
terrorist connections.

The Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry announced the arrest of a large number of 
terrorist subjects and the seizure of a large quantity of weapons and ammunition.

October 21, 2003: The APEC Economic Cooperation Summit, which President Bush 
attended, issued a communiqué in which it called the proliferation of weapons of 
mass destruction a challenge to promoting free and prosperous economies. It also 
promised to ensure the security of its peoples. Participants were working on an 
agreement to control the production, storage, and export of shoulder-fired 
surface-to-air missiles.

After leaving the APEC Summit, President Bush flew from Bangkok to Singapore for a 
meeting with Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. Singapore subsequently sent one 
transport plane and one warship to Iraq.

The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. officials now believed that captured 
al-Qaeda leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed may have killed reporter Daniel Pearl.

October 22, 2003: President Bush met with Indonesian President Sukarnoputri on Bali 
and offered $157 million to assist the Indonesian educational system. He also met 
with religious leaders and assured them that the war on terrorism was not a war on 
Islam.

The United Nations released a report that was highly critical of its failure to 
provide security for its office in Baghdad, which was destroyed by a truck bomb on 
August 19.

In a memorandum to senior Defense Department officials, dated October 16, Secretary 
of Defense Rumsfeld suggested that the Defense Department was ill-suited to 
conducting a war on terrorism and that a new organization might be needed for the 
purpose. He predicted that there would be a "long, hard slog" before victory was 
reached in Afghanistan and Iraq.

October 23, 2003: President Bush addressed the Australian Parliament in Canberra 
and warned against terrorists who hoped to gain chemical, biological, or nuclear 
weapons and praised Prime Minister Howard for his country’s military support in 
Afghanistan and Iraq.

October 24, 2003: The International Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq 
ended in Madrid with a total of $9 billion in loans and $4 billion in grants 
having been pledged. These sums, plus the $20 billion pledged by the United States, 
were well short of the $56 billion that the United Nations and the World Bank had 
said would be needed within 5 years. Secretary of State Powell said that the sum 
was still larger than expected, and Treasury Secretary Snow called the conference 
"an enormous success."

The British Government warned of possible terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia and 
repeated that its warning against unnecessary travel there remained in effect.

October 25, 2003: A convoy of civilian contract employees was attacked near 
Habbaniya with a roadside bomb, rocket-propelled grenades, and small arms fire. 
Three employees of the British-based firm European Landmines Solutions were 
killed and two were wounded.

Opponents of the war in Iraq demonstrated in major U.S. and European cities.

October 26, 2003: Iraqis using an improvised rocket launcher bombarded the al-
Rashid Hotel in Baghdad, killing 1 U.S. Army officer and wounding 17 persons. The 
wounded included 4 U.S. military personnel and 7 American civilians. Deputy 
Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz, who was staying at the hotel, was not 
injured. After visiting the wounded, he said of the perpetrators, "They’re not 
going to scare us away; we’re not giving up on this job."

October 27, 2003: A series of suicide car bombings in Baghdad killed 35 persons 
and wounded at least 230. One U.S. soldier was killed and 8 were wounded. Four 
attacks were directed at Iraqi police stations, the fifth and most destructive was 
directed at the International Committee of the Red Cross headquarters, where at 
least 12 persons were killed. A sixth attack failed when a car bomb failed to 
explode and the bomber was wounded and captured by Iraqi police. U.S. and Iraqi 
officials suspected that foreign terrorists were involved; the unsuccessful bomber 
said he was a Syrian national and carried a Syrian passport. After a meeting with 
Administrator Bremer, President Bush said, "The more successful we are on the 
ground, the more these killers will react."

Secretary of State Powell said that while he expected international organizations 
to reassess their security needs, he hoped that they would be able to stay in Iraq: 
"Their work is needed. And if they are driven out, the terrorists win."

October 28, 2003: U.S. officials announced that Faris Abdul Razaq al-Assam, one of 
three deputy mayors of Baghdad, had been assassinated by two gunmen on October 26. 
President Bush, meanwhile, said during a press conference that although Baath Party 
loyalists and "foreign terrorists" made Iraq "dangerous," no additional U.S. troops 
would be needed there.

Deputy Secretary of State Armitage told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that 
although Iran’s nuclear program and its sheltering of al-Qaeda and Ansar al-Islam 
members were still matters of concern, the United States was "prepared to engage in 
limited discussions . . . about areas of mutual interest, as appropriate." 
Normalizing relations was not being considered, but, in a reply to Senator Chuck 
Hagel, Armitage said that the United States was not seeking "regime change" in Iran.

CIA operatives William Carlson and Christopher Mueller were killed in an ambush in 
southeastern Afghanistan. Both were members of the Directorate of Operations and 
were veterans of the Army and Navy Special Operations forces, respectively. The 
Agency did not say whether Carlson and Mueller had taken part in a battle in 
Paktika Province in which 18 Taliban rebels were killed and 6 Afghan militiamen 
were wounded. 

October 29, 2003: International organization responded to the latest bombings in 
Iraq by announcing the withdrawal of most of their personnel. The United Nations 
intended to withdraw its last 17 staff from Baghdad to either Cyprus or Jordan, 
ostensibly for consultation and pending review of security arrangements. Forty-
three personnel would remain in Irbil. The International Committee of the Red 
Cross announced that it would withdraw some of its personnel from Iraq, while 
Doctors Without Borders said that all 7 non-Iraqi personnel would move to Jordan. 

Iranian spokesman Abdullah Ramezanzadeh responded to Armitage’s pronouncements by 
saying that his government would not share information about terrorists, turn over 
suspects, or resume dialogue until the United States ended sanctions and undertook 
other confidence-building measures.

October 30, 2003: An explosion of undetermined origin set fire to several buildings 
near Baghdad’s bazaar. One person was killed and several others injured.

Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld said during a news conference that videotapes shown 
on Fox News in which Iraqi militiamen tortured, maimed, and killed prisoners 
"portray a regime that was about a vicious as any regime could conceivably be."

Former President Clinton met with UN Secretary-General Annan in New York and 
praised the creation of a fund that would allow donations for Iraqi reconstruction 
to be made outside the control of the Coalition Provisional Authority.

October 31, 2003: The U.S. Army reported that a Special Forces soldier had been 
fatally wounded in a battle with the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.

UN Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno told the Security 
Council that the Taliban controlled three districts in Afghanistan that adjoined 
Pakistan. The United Nations had suspended operations in four southern provinces 
and in much of Kandahar province.

Secretary of State Powell told ABC "Nightline" that he was skeptical about reports 
that either Saddam Hussein or Izzat Ibrahim was coordinating attacks in Iraq.

The Federal Register announced the designation of the Communist Party of Nepal 
(Maoist) as a terrorist organization under Executive Order 13224, thereby blocking 
its assets in the United States and barring most transactions with it.

November 1, 2003: Taliban rebels kidnapped Turkish engineer Hasan Onal and his 
Afghan driver as they worked on reconstruction of the Kabul-Kandahar highway in 
eastern Afghanistan. They demanded the release of six Taliban prisoners. Onal was 
released "without conditions" November 29 after negotiations between his captors 
and tribal authorities.

In Baghdad, leaflets warning of a "day of resistance" reduced daily commerce and 
led most students to stay away from school. During a news conference, Bremer spoke 
of the need to include members of Iraq’s former army in the country’s new army. 
The goal was to expand Iraq’s new army to 200,000 by September 2004.

In his weekly radio address, President Bush said, "Leaving Iraq prematurely would 
only embolden the terrorists and increase the danger to America."

November 2, 2003: Iraqi insurgents shot down a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter 
near Fallujah, apparently with an SA-7 shoulder-fired missile. Fifteen soldiers 
were killed and 25 wounded. Another soldier died November 6.

Foreign Ministers of Turkey, Iran, and Arab countries bordering Iraq concluded a 
2-day meeting in Damascus. They condemned terrorist attacks in Iraq and called for 
cooperation to control their borders with Iraq. Hoshayr Zebari, Foreign Minister of 
the Iraqi Governing Council, had declined a last-minute invitation to the 
conference and said that the Council would not be bound by its decisions.

November 3, 2003: The Afghan Government released a new constitution drafted by a 
35-member commission. The document proposed an elected president and vice president 
who would serve 5-year terms, a bicameral legislature, an independent judiciary, a 
central bank, and a human rights commission. The president’s nominations to his 
cabinet and the supreme court would be approved by the legislature. The president 
would appoint a third of the legislature’s upper house, and a third of the 
appointees were to be women. Each province was to elect a woman to the lower house. 
While not mandating Islamic law and providing for freedom of religion, the 
constitution said that no law could be contrary to Islam and declared Afghanistan 
to be an Islamic Republic. Approval would follow a December meeting of a 500-member 
loya jirga, or national assembly. Presidential elections would be held 6 months 
after the constitution’s approval, with legislative elections to follow a year 
later.

November 4, 2003: Administrator Bremer said that he was more favorably disposed to 
a proposal by the Iraqi Governing Council to organize a paramilitary security force 
that would include a domestic intelligence capability. Meanwhile four persons were 
wounded in an apparent mortar or rocket attack on the U.S. headquarters compound in 
Baghdad.

In Washington, Turkish Ambassador Osman Faruk Logoglu said that his government was 
still willing to send troops to Iraq, but only if the Iraqi Governing Council 
formally invited the