Iraq War

Birth Data

BBC reported 1st strike was at 5:34 AM BAT

Newsday reported time at about 5:30 AM BAT

CNN reported time at about 5:30 AM BAT

Biography

At about 9:35 PM EST +5.0 on March 19, 2003 (5:35 AM BAT –3.00 on March 20, 2003), "Operation Iraqi Freedom" began with the U.S. launching missiles at a “target of opportunity” on the basis of intelligence reports on the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein.

The build-up to "Operation Iraqi Freedom" has been an intense and anxious time for most of the world. Throughout the months of arms inspections in Iraq, UN debates, diplomatic efforts and war talk, Bush never wavered from his position: Iraq has weapons of mass destruction and Saddam must be removed from power. Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, risked his own political future by siding with the U.S., one of the few major European leaders to do so. On March 17, 2003 at 8:00 PM EST, without the support of the United Nations and despite global peace protests, Bush delivered a televised speech from the White House in Washington, DC, issuing an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein: leave Iraq with your sons within 48 hours or the US will wage war on your country. He followed the ultimatum with a message to the Iraqi people about the commitment of the U.S. to rebuild the country after Hussein’s ouster.

U.S. armed forces and their reserves have been stationed in countries bordering Iraq for several weeks prior to the initial phase of war, guarding water supplies and oil fields but mainly waiting in the desert for the declaration of war. North American, European, and Middle Eastern countries have put their citizens on high alert, preparing for terrorist reprisals that seem inevitable. Bahrain offered exile to Saddam Hussein in an effort to avert the war, but Hussein and his soldiers adamantly refused to leave, vowing to shed the blood of “American mothers’ sons.”

Please visit our sponsor: Astrology Software Shop