This article is about the Anglo-American 2003 Invasion of Iraq. For more information on this particular part of the topic, see Support and opposition for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

In March 2003 the US government announced that "diplomacy has failed" and that it would proceed with a "coalition of the willing" to rid Iraq of its alleged weapons of mass destruction. The 2003 Iraq war officially started a few days later. Combatants Coalition Forces: United States United Kingdom South Korea Australia Poland Romania others. ... This page contains links to several topics relating to Support and opposition for the US-led invasion of Iraq and the consequent 2003 Iraq war. ... March 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - → // Events March 1, 2003 Iraq disarmament crisis: The Turkish speaker of Parliament voids the vote accepting U.S. troops involved in the planned invasion of Iraq into Turkey on constitutional grounds. ... For the album, see Weapons of Mass Destruction (album). ... Combatants Coalition Forces: United States United Kingdom South Korea Australia Poland Romania others. ...

Prior to this decision, there had been a good deal of diplomacy and debate amongst the members of the UN Security Council over how to deal with Iraq. This article examines the positions of these states as they changed over the period 2002-2003. A session of the Security Council in progress The United Nations Security Council is the most powerful organ of the United Nations. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Prior to 2002, the UN Security Council had passed sixteen resolutions on Iraq. In 2002, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1441 on Iraq unanimously. In 2003, the US, UK, and Spanish governments proposed another resolution on Iraq, which they called the "eighteenth resolution" and others called the "second resolution". This proposed resolution was subsequently withdrawn because not enough countries would have supported it, making it a political mistake for its sponsors. For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441 is a resolution by the UN Security Council, passed unanimously on November 8, 2002, offering Iraq a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations that had been set out in several previous resolutions (resolution 660, resolution 661, resolution 678, resolution 686, resolution 687... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On September 16, 2004 Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations, speaking on the invasion, said, "I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN charter. From our point of view, from the charter point of view, it was illegal." [1] September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Kofi Atta Annan (born April 8, 1938) is a diplomat of Ghanaian ancestry who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1, 1997 to December 31, 2006. ...

Positions of Security Council members

• United States - The US maintained that Iraq was not cooperating with UN inspectors and had not met its obligations to 17 UN resolutions. The US felt that resolution 1441 called for the immediate, total disarmament of Iraq and continued to show frustration at the fact that months after the resolution was passed Iraq was still not disarming. Language in Resolution 1441 recalled that the use of "all means necessary" was still authorized and in effect from UN Resolution 678, and therefore maintained that if Iraq failed to comply with the "one final chance to comply" provision of resolution 1441, then military action would be the result.
• United Kingdom - Within the United Nations Security Council, the United Kingdom was the primary supporter of the U.S. plan to invade Iraq. Tony Blair, the British prime minister, publicly and vigorously supported American policy on Iraq, but was perceived by some to exert a moderating influence on the American president George W. Bush. British public opinion polls in late January showed that the public support for the war was deteriorating. It had fallen from 50% to 30% by March.
• France - On January 20, 2003, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said, "We think that military intervention would be the worst possible solution," although France believed that Iraq may have had an ongoing chemical and nuclear weapons program. Villepin went on to say that he believed the presence of UN weapons inspectors had frozen Iraq's weapons programs. France also suggested that it would veto any resolution allowing military intervention offered by the U.S. or Britain. The most important French speech during the crisis was made by De Villepin at the UN Security Council on the February 14, 2003, after UN Chief Inspector Hans Blix presented is detailed report (see below). De Villepin detailed the three major risks of a "premature recourse to the military option", especially the "incalculable consequences for the stability of this scarred and fragile region". He said that "the option of war might seem a priori to be the swiftest, but let us not forget that having won the war, one has to build peace". He emphasized that "real progress is beginning to be apparent" through the inspections, and that, "given the present state of our research and intelligence, in liaison with our allies", the alleged links between al-Qaeda and the regime in Baghdad explained by Colin Powell were not established. He concluded by referring to the dramatic experience of "old Europe" during WWII. This "impassioned" speech "against war on Iraq, or immediate war on Iraq", won "an unprecedented applause", said Sir David Frost (BBC News). The complete text is available at the Ambassy of France in the United States. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov also garnered unusual applause inside the chamber with his speech against the war. Britain and the U.S. sharply criticized France for this position in March, 2003.
• Germany - On January 22, German chancellor Gerhard Schröder at a meeting with French president Jacques Chirac said that he and Mr. Chirac would do all they could to avert war. At the time, Germany was presiding over the Security council.
• Russia - On the same day, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said that "Russia deems that there is no evidence that would justify a war in Iraq." On January 28, however, Russia's opinion had begun to shift following a report the previous day by UN inspectors which stated that Iraq had cooperated on a practical level with monitors, but had not demonstrated a "genuine acceptance" of the need to disarm. Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated that he would support a US led war if things did not change and Iraq continued to show a reluctance to completely cooperate with inspection teams. However, Putin continued to stress that the US must not go alone in any such military endeavor, but instead must work through the UN Security Council. He also stressed the need for giving the UN inspectors more time.
• China - The People's Republic of China supported continued weapons inspections. On January 23, the Washington Post reported that the Chinese position was "extremely close" to that of France.
• Angola - Angola supported continued inspections, but had not taken a stand on disarmament by military action.
• Bulgaria - Bulgaria suggested that it would support the use of military force to disarm Iraq, even without UN backing.
• Cameroon - Cameroon encouraged the continued inspections, but had not taken a firm stand on whether the country would support a US led strike to invade Iraq.
• Chile - Chile indicated that it would like inspections to continue, but had not taken a position on the use of military force to disarm Iraq.
• Guinea - Guinea supported further inspections, but had not taken a position on the use of military force to disarm Iraq.
• Mexico - Mexico supported further inspections, and indicated that it would support a US led military campaign if it was backed by the UN. The country hinted that it might consider supporting a military campaign without UN backing as well. President Vicente Fox heavily criticized the war when it started.
• Pakistan - Pakistan supported continued inspections.
• Syria - Syria seemed to feel that Iraq was cooperating and meeting its obligations under UN resolutions. Syria would have liked to see UN sanctions on Iraq lifted.
• Spain - Spain supported the US's position on Iraq and supported the use of force to disarm Iraq, even without UN approval.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is the organ of the United Nations charged with maintaining peace and security among nations. ... Combatants Coalition Forces: United States United Kingdom South Korea Australia Poland Romania others. ... For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the UK Labour Party, and Member of the UK Parliament... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (born 14 November 1953 in Rabat, French Morocco) simply known as Dominique de Villepin ( —  , is a French diplomat and politician. ... February 14 is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 22 is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...   [] (born April 7, 1944), German politician, was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. ... Jacques René Chirac (born November 29, 1932 in Paris) is a French politician and the current President of the French Republic. ... Igor Sergeyevich Ivanov (Russian, Игорь Сергеевич Иванов) became Russias Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1998, succeeding Yevgeny Primakov. ... January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Russian: ) (born October 7, 1952) is the incumbent President of Russia. ... January 23 is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... ... Vicente Fox Quesada[1] (born July 2, 1942) served as President of Mexico from December 1, 2000 to December 1, 2006. ...

Analysis

According to Britain, a majority of the U.N. Security Council members supported its proposed 18th resolution which gave Iraq a deadline to comply with previous resolutions, until France announced that they would veto any new resolution that gave Iraq a deadline. However, for a resolution to pass a supermajority of 9 out of 15 votes are needed. Only four countries announced they would support a resolution backing the war. A supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple majority in order to have effect. ...

In the mid 1990s, France, Russia and other members of the U.N. Security Council asked for sanctions on Iraq to be lifted. The sanction were criticized for making the people suffer and being the cause of a humanitarian catastrophe [2].

Many people also felt that many of the governments that had aligned themselves with the US, despite strong opposition among their constituencies, did so because of their own economic ties to the United States. The United States used strong pressure and threats against other nations to attempt to coerce nations on the Security Council to support them. For example, Mexican diplomats complained that talks with American officials had been "hostile in tone", and had shown little concern for the Mexican government's need to accommodate the overwhelmingly antiwar sentiment of its people. One Mexican diplomat reported that the US told them that "any country that doesn't go along with us will be paying a very heavy price." [3]

The Institute for Policy Studies published a report [4] analyzing what it called the "arm-twisting offensive" by the United States government to get nations to support it. Although President Bush described nations supporting him as the "coalition of the willing", the report concluded that it was more accurately described as a "coalition of the coerced." According to the report, most nations supporting Bush "were recruited through coercion, bullying, and bribery." The techniques used to pressure nations to support the United States included a variety of incentives including:

• Promises of aid and loan guarantees to nations who support the U.S.
• Promises of military assistance to nations who support the U.S.
• Threats to veto NATO membership applications for countries who don't do what the U.S. asks
• Leveraging the size of the U.S. export market and the U.S. influence over financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
• Deciding which countries receive trade benefits under such laws as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which, as one of its conditions for eligibility for such benefits, requires that a country does "not engage in activities that undermine United States national security interests".
• Deciding what countries it should buy oil from in stocking its strategic reserves. The U.S. has exerted such pressure on several oil-exporting nations, such as Mexico.

At a press conference, the White House press corps broke out in laughter when Ari Fleischer denied that "the leaders of other nations are buyable". In May 2000, the U.S. Congress approved legislation known as the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or . ...

In addition to the above tactics, the British newspaper The Observer published an investigative report revealing that the National Security Agency of the United States was conducting a secret surveillance operation directed at intercepting the telephone and email communications of several Security Council diplomats, both in their offices and in their homes. This campaign, the result of a directive by National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, was aimed primarily at the delegations from Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Mexico, Guinea and Pakistan. The investigative report cited an NSA memo which advised senior agency officials that it was "'mounting a surge' aimed at gleaning information not only on how delegations on the Security Council will vote on any second resolution on Iraq, but also 'policies', 'negotiating positions', 'alliances' and 'dependencies' - the 'whole gamut of information that could give US policymakers an edge in obtaining results favourable to US goals or to head off surprises'." The National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) is the U.S. governments cryptologic organization. ... The British newspaper The Observer published an investigative report revealing that the National Security Agency of the United States was conducting a secret surveillance operation directed at intercepting the telephone and email communications of several U.N. Security Council diplomats, both in their offices and in their homes. ... Condoleezza Rice (born November 14, 1954) is the 66th United States Secretary of State, and the second in the administration of President George W. Bush to hold the office. ...

The authenticity of this memo has been called into question by many in the US and it is still unclear whether it is legitimate. [5] The story was carried by the European and Australian press, and served as a further embarrassment to the Bush Administration's efforts to rally support for his war. Wayne Madsen, who was a communications security analyst with the NSA in the 1980s, believes that the memo is authentic, and believes that this memo was aimed at other nations who are part of the ECHELON intelligence network, namely Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom. Additionally, a member or Britain's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Katharine Gun was charged under the official secrets Act in connection with the leaking of the memo. She stated her intention to plead not guilty on the grounds that her actions were justified to prevent an illegal war. The prosecution declined to present any evidence at her trial. The 1980s refers to the years of 1980 to 1989. ... A radome at RAF Menwith Hill, a site with satellite downlink capabilities used by ECHELON. ECHELON is a name used to describe a highly secretive world-wide signals intelligence and analysis network run by the US and UK intelligence community that has been reported by a number of sources including... The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is a British intelligence agency responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance. ... The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) (previously named the Government Code and Cipher School (GC&CS)) is the main British intelligence service providing signals intelligence (SIGINT). ... Katharine Teresa Gun (born 1974) is a former employee of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), a British intelligence agency. ...

Clare Short, a UK cabinet minister who resigned in May 2003 over the war, stated in media interviews that British intelligence regularly spied on UN officials. She stated that she had read transcripts of Kofi Annans conversations. Clare Short PC (born 15 February 1946) is a dowdy, matronly British politician and a member of the British Labour Party. ...

Colin Powell's presentation

Computer-generated image of an alleged mobile production facility for biological weapons. Absence of more substantial proofs undermined the credibility of the speech on the international scene. Russian experts have always questioned the likelihood of such mobile facilities, which are extremely dangerous and difficult to manage.

On February 5, 2003, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell presented a case for military intervention in Iraq to the UN Security Council. Image File history File links Colin Powells UN presentation slide showing alleged mobile production facility for biological weapons. ... Image File history File links Colin Powells UN presentation slide showing alleged mobile production facility for biological weapons. ... February 5 is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. ... General Colin Luther Powell, United States Army (Ret. ...

Powell presented an array of evidence from satellite images to (alleged) intercepted military communications and computer-generated images depicting mobile biological weapon production systems (the likelihood of these mobile systems have been questioned by experts, notably Hans Blix). By the United States government's own judgment, the evidence did not amount to a "smoking gun." U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld argued that if the US waited for a smoking gun, it would be too late.   (born 28 June 1928 in Uppsala, Sweden) is a Swedish diplomat and politician. ... The United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense, concerned with the armed services and The Secretary is a member of the Presidents Cabinet. ... Donald Henry Rumsfeld, (born July 9, 1932) is a U.S. politician and businessman, who was the 13th Secretary of Defense under President Gerald Ford from 1975–1977, and the 21st Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush from 2001–2006. ...

The Iraqi government continued to claim that they had no weapons of mass destruction and were fully cooperating with UN Resolution 1441.

Powell also sought to draw links between Iraqi officials and the Al-Qaida terrorist network, particularly terrorist interest in Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ... For the album, see Weapons of Mass Destruction (album). ...

After Powell's speech, polls showed increased support for war against Iraq in the US. See American popular opinion of war on Iraq. Governments of other countries showed they were not convinced by Powell's speech and argued that when the US documents were made available to UN weapons inspectors those would be able to confirm the accusations. Shortly afterwards a document allegedly proving Iraqi attempts to buy uranium in Niger was proven to be a forgery, cf. September Dossier. However, Powell never asserted in his speech that Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Niger, thus the preceding sentence bears no relevance whatsoever to the topic at hand. Anti war demonstration in Washington DC President Bush meets troops Support for the U.S. plan to invade Iraq started out incredibly high in early 2002, but began to slip later in the year. ... The September Dossier is the name given to a document published by the United Kingdom Labour government on 24 September 2002. ...

The complete text of the presentation is available at the U.S. Department of State.

Report of Hans Blix on February 14

See http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/sc7664.p2.doc.htm for a detailed report. UN Chief Inspector Hans Blix presented on February 14 a report to the UN Security council. Mr. Blix gave an update of the situation in Iraq, and he stated that the Iraqis were now more proactive in their cooperation. He also rebutted some of the arguments proposed by Mr. Powell. Mr. Blix questioned the interpretations of the satellite images put forward by Powell, and stated that alternate interpretations of the satellite images were in fact credible. He also stated that the Iraqis have in fact never received early warning of the inspectors visiting any sites (an allegation made by Mr. Powell during his presentation.) International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohammed ElBaradei also said that he did not believe the Iraqis have a nuclear weapons program, in disagreement with Mr. Powell.   (born 28 June 1928 in Uppsala, Sweden) is a Swedish diplomat and politician. ... February 14 is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

This report of February 14 and the protests of February 15 appear to have created reluctance in some of the members of the Security Council over the war on Iraq. A second resolution was being drafted with the intention that it would find Iraq in "material breach" and the "serious consequences" of resolution 1441 should be implemented. February 14 is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... February 15 is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

UN weapons inspector Blix expressed skepticism over Iraq's claims to have destroyed its stockpiles of anthrax and VX nerve agent in Time magazine. Blix said he found it "a bit odd" that Iraq, with "one of the best-organized regimes in the Arab world," would claim to have no records of the destruction of these illegal substances. "I don't see that they have acquired any credibility," Blix said. "There has to be solid evidence of everything, and if there is not evidence, or you can't find it, I simply say, 'Sorry, I don't find any evidence,' and I cannot guarantee or recommend any confidence."

Report of Hans Blix on March 7

On 7 March 2003, Hans Blix made his twelfth quarterly report on the status of UNMOVIC's efforts to verify Iraq's disarmament. A transcript of his presentation is available at CNN.[6] March 7 is the 66th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (67th in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) was created through the adoption of Security Council resolution 1284 of 17 December 1999. ...

Outbreak of War

Eventually the war started without a further resolution, which was seen by many governments throughout the world as a violation of international law. The United States had decided that it was unlikely to gain support from the Security Council, and decided to lead its coalition of the willing into war. A similar event had taken place once before when Russia had vetoed the intervention in former Yugoslavia. However, that intervention was later justified by a UN Security Council resolution. Capital Belgrade Language(s) Serbo-Croatian, Slovenian, Macedonian Government Socialist republic President  - 1945 - 1953 Ivan Ribar  - 1991 Stjepan Mesić Prime Minister  - 1945 - 1963 Josip Broz Tito  - 1989 - 1991 Ante Marković Historical era Cold War  - Proclamation November 29, 1943  - UN membership October 24, 1945  - Constitution February 21, 1974  - dissolution June 25...

See also

• Iraq disarmament crisis
• Worldwide government positions on war on Iraq
• Popular opposition to war on Iraq
• Protests against the 2003 Iraq war
• American popular opinion of war on Iraq
• American government position on war on Iraq
• Command responsibility
• War of aggression

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article describes the positions of world governments prior to the actual initiation of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and not their current positions as they may have changed since then. ... Anti war protests in France Many commentators have opined that popular opposition to war on Iraq exceeded the movement against the Vietnam War in scale, even before the war was declared. ... This article is about protests concerning the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ... Anti war demonstration in Washington DC President Bush meets troops Support for the U.S. plan to invade Iraq started out incredibly high in early 2002, but began to slip later in the year. ... American government position on war on Iraq: The administrations position Much of the position is summed up in the main article on the United States governments case for military intervention in Iraq can be seen in the presentation that Secretary of State Colin Powell made to the UN... Peace Palace in The Hague Command responsibility, sometimes referred to as the Yamashita standard, or the Medina standard is the doctrine of hierarchical accountability in cases of war crimes. ... In international law, a war of aggression is generally considered to be any war for which the purpose is not to repel an invasion, or respond to an attack on the territory of a sovereign nation. ...

External links

• UN & Iraq War
• "Blix left out data from U.N. testimony"
• U.S. military analysts say unmanned Iraqi drones not usable as weapons
• Blix attacks 'shaky' intelligence on weapons