Tracking the Road to War in Iraq

AUGUST 2, 1990

Iraq invades Kuwait.

JANUARY 17, 1991

U.S.-led coalition launches air war against Iraq, liberating Kuwait just over a month later.

DECEMBER 16, 1998

U.N. weapons inspectors withdraw from Iraq after Iraq is accused of failing to cooperate with search for weapons of mass destruction. Hours later, four days of U.S.-British air and missile strikes on Baghdad begin.

FEBRUARY 16, 2001

Executing President Bush’s first military attack order and the first air stike outside no-fly zones in more than two years, American warplanes join British fighters in bombing sites around Baghdad; 24 planes hit air defense radars and other targets that U.S. officials say pose growing threat to allied air patrols.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

In an apparent terrorist attack, two planes crash into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon building in Arlington, VA. A fourth plane crashes in Shanksville, Pa.

NOVEMBER 21, 2001

During a visit with troops in Fort Campbell, Ky., Bush discusses carrying the fight to other nations that support terrorists. “Afghanistan is just the beginning of the war against terror,” he says. “Across the world and across the years, we will fight these evil ones.”

JANUARY 2002

Bush vows in his State of the Union address to ensure that the “axis of evil”—Iraq, Iran and North Korea—will not threaten the U.S. Soon after, senior politicians begin to line up behind a potential war against Iraq. Iraq continues to refuse weapons inspections. The Bush administration pledges $2.4 million to the dissident Iraqi National Congress.

FEBRUARY 2002

Secretary of State Colin Powell says “regime change” is necessary in Iraq and the United States “might have to do it alone.”

MAY 2002

Visiting Europe, Bush tries to calm worries among allies. “I have no war plans on my desk,” he says.

JUNE 1, 2002

Bush tells West Point graduates U.S. will strike pre-emptively against suspected terrorists or governments that help them if that is necessary to protect Americans.

JULY 2002

U.N. talks with Iraq in Vienna fail to reach agreement. Senate Foreign Relations Committee opens hearings on Iraq.

AUGUST 2002

Iraq first invites U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix to Baghdad. Bush pledges to consult with Congress and allies before acting. He promises to “explore all options and all tools at my disposal; diplomacy, international pressure, perhaps the military” but maintains that regime change is necessary in Iraq.

SEPTEMBER 2002

Bush meets with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at Camp David. Then, a day after the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush challenges the U.N. to confront the “grave and gathering danger” of Iraq—or allow the U.S. to do so. Bush asks Congress for authority to “use all means,” including military force if necessary, to disarm and overthrow Saddam if he does not comply with U.N. demands.

OCTOBER 2002

Saddam wins another seven-year term as president, capturing 100 percent of votes in national “referendum.” In national address, Bush calls Saddam a “murderous tyrant” and says he must disarm Iraq or face a U.S.-led coalition to remove him from power. House of Representatives votes 296-133 and Senate votes 77-23 authorizing Bush to use military force if necessary against Iraq.

NOVEMBER 2002

U.N. Security Council unanimously adopts a resolution requiring return of inspectors and threatening “serious consequences” for Iraq if it fails to cooperate. Iraq accepts the U.N. resolution, and weapons inspections begin. Russian President Vladimir Putin warns the U.S. not to go it alone against Iraq.

DECEMBER 2002

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld starts troop buildup in Middle East. Iraq issues declaration denying possesion of weapons of mass destruction. U.S. and U.K. reject the declaration, claiming Iraq is in “material breach” of U.N. resolutions. U.S. sets Jan. 27 as the decision day for war against Iraq. Inspections team finds “zilch” evidence of weapons of mass destruction. Iraqi exiles at a fractious meeting in London agree on power-sharing plan for post-Saddam Iraq.

JANUARY 2003

Blix says December declaration was incomplete but inspectors have not found “smoking guns” indicating weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. British begin to deploy troops. Blair says U.K. and U.S. could act against Iraq without a second U.N. resolution. The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency says inspectors need “a few months” to finish their work. Inspectors find chemical weapon warheads unaccounted for in the declaration. Arab nations urge Saddam to leave Iraq. U.S. promises immunity if he goes into exile. Thousands of demonstrators protest potential war.

FEBRUARY 2003

Powell makes U.S. case for war to U.N. Security Council. NATO reaches deadlock between U.S. and France, Germany and Belgium over whether to protect Turkey in case of an Iraqi attack. Inspectors find missiles made illegal under the Gulf War ceasefire, which Saddam agrees to destroy. Blix reports that Iraq is largely cooperating with inspections. France, Germany and Russia issue step-by-step plan for disarmament as an alternative to American war plans. Millions demonstrate around the world from Feb. 14-15 against a possible U.S. attack on Iraq.

MARCH 7, 2003

U.S., Britain and Spain propose ordering Saddam to give up banned weapons by March 17 or face war; other nations led by France on polarized U.N. Security Council oppose any new resolution authorizing military action.

MARCH 14, 2003

More than a week of intense diplomacy fails to persuade enough members of U.N. Security Council to vote for a resolution authorizing force. Bush criticizes France for its opposition.

MARCH 16, 2003

After a meeting on the Azores, Bush, Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar warn that the diplomatic window will close within a day.

MARCH 17, 2003

U.S. withdraws its U.N. resolution without a vote, and Bush threatens war unless Saddam and family evacuate Iraq in 48 hours.

MARCH 19, 2003, 8 p.m. (EST)

Saddam allows Bush’s deadline to pass.

MARCH 19, 2003, 10:15 p.m. (EST)

In an Oval Office address, Bush announces that U.S. forces have launched air strikes against “targets of military importance,” describing the action as the opening salvo in an operation to “disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.”

—Associated Press material was used in the compilation of this timeline.