2003 in Norwegian football
The 2003 season was the 98th season of competitive football in Norway.


2003 in Norwegian football, National teams, Norway women's national football team
September 20: Norway – France 2–0, World Cup 1st round


2003 in Norwegian football, National teams, Norway women's national football team
September 24: Norway – Brazil 1–4, World Cup 1st round


2003 in Norwegian football, National teams, Norway women's national football team
September 27: South Korea – Norway 1–7, World Cup 1st round


2003 in Norwegian football, National teams, Norway women's national football team
October 1: United States – Norway 1–0, World Cup quarterfinal


2003 in Norwegian music
The following is a list of notable events and releases of the year 2003 in Norwegian music.


2003 in Norwegian television
This is a list of Norwegian television related events from 2003.


2003 in Pancrase
The year 2003 is the 11th year in the history of Pancrase, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. In 2003 Pancrase held 14 events beginning with Pancrase: Hybrid 1.


2003 in Pancrase, Pancrase: Hybrid 1
Pancrase: Hybrid 1 was an event held on January 26, 2003 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Pancrase, Pancrase: Hybrid 2
Pancrase: Hybrid 2 was an event held on February 16, 2003 at the Osaka International Convention Center in Osaka, Osaka, Japan.


2003 in Pancrase, Pancrase: Hybrid 3
Pancrase: Hybrid 3 was an event held on March 8, 2003 at the Differ Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Pancrase, Pancrase: Hybrid 4
Pancrase: Hybrid 4 was an event held on April 12, 2003 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Pancrase, Pancrase: Hybrid 5
Pancrase: Hybrid 5 was an event held on May 18, 2003 at the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.


2003 in Pancrase, Pancrase: Hybrid 6
Pancrase: Hybrid 6 was an event held on June 7, 2003 at Differ Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Pancrase, Pancrase: Hybrid 7
Pancrase: Hybrid 7 was an event held on June 22, 2003 at Umeda Stella Hall in Osaka, Osaka, Japan.


2003 in Pancrase, Pancrase: 2003 Neo-Blood Tournament Opening Round
Pancrase: 2003 Neo-Blood Tournament Opening Round was an event held on July 27, 2003 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Pancrase, Pancrase: 2003 Neo-Blood Tournament Second Round
Pancrase: 2003 Neo-Blood Tournament Second Round was an event held on July 27, 2003 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Pancrase, Pancrase: 10th Anniversary Show
Pancrase: 10th Anniversary Show was an event held on August 31, 2003 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Pancrase, Pancrase: Hybrid 8
Pancrase: Hybrid 8 was an event held on October 4, 2003 at Osaka International Convention Center in Osaka, Osaka, Japan.


2003 in Pancrase, Pancrase: Hybrid 9
Pancrase: Hybrid 9 was an event held on October 31, 2003 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Pancrase, Pancrase: Hybrid 10
Pancrase: Hybrid 10 was an event held on November 30, 2003 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Pancrase, Pancrase: Hybrid 11
Pancrase: Hybrid 11 was an event held on December 21, 2003 at Differ Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Paraguayan football
The following article presents a summary of the 2003 football (soccer) season in Paraguay.


2003 in Paraguayan football, First division results, Torneo Apertura
The Apertura tournament was played in a single all-play-all system. At the end, the top six teams qualified to a playoff stage to determine the Apertura champion.


2003 in Paraguayan football, First division results, Torneo Apertura, Apertura playoff stage
The top six teams qualified to this stage and were divided into two groups. The top two teams in the Apertura points table (Libertad and Cerro Porteño) were given two bonus points to start the group stage.


2003 in Paraguayan football, First division results, Torneo Apertura, Apertura playoff stage
Libertad wins the Apertura tournament final by an aggregate score of 1-0.


2003 in Paraguayan football, First division results, Torneo Clausura
The Clausura tournament was played in a two-round all-play-all system, with the champion being the team with the most points at the end of the two rounds.


2003 in Paraguayan football, First division results, Torneo Clausura
*Since Olimpia and Libertad tied in points and goal difference at the end of the Clausura, a championship game playoff was played on November 30, with Libertad winning 6-5 in penalties after a 0-0 tie in regulation.


2003 in Paraguayan football, First division results, Championship game playoff
Since Libertad won both the Apertura and Clausura tournaments they were declared as the national champions and no playoff game was played.


2003 in Paraguayan football, First division results, Championship game playoff, Runners-up game playoff
Two games were played to determine the 2003 championship runners-up between Olimpia and Guaraní, who finished in second place in the Clausura and Apertura respectively. The winner of this playoff was guaranteed a spot in the 2003 Copa Libertadores.


2003 in Paraguayan football, First division results, Championship game playoff, Runners-up game playoff
Guaraní runners-up of the 2003 first division tournament by winning on an aggregate score of 4-3.


2003 in Paraguayan football, First division results, Relegation / Promotion
Tacuary finished second-to-last in the aggregate points table, so had to participate in the promotion play-off game against second division runners-up 3 de Febrero. Tacuary won the playoff game by an aggregate score of 4-2, so it remains in the first division.


2003 in Paraguayan football, Paraguay national team
The following table lists all the games played by the Paraguay national football team in official competitions during 2003.


2003 in Philippine television
The following is a list of events affecting Philippine television in 2003. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel launches, closures and rebrandings, as well as information about controversies and carriage disputes.


2003 in Polish television
This is a list of Polish television related events from 2003.


2003 in Portuguese television
This is a list of Portuguese television related events from 2003.


2003 in Pride FC
The year 2003 is the 7th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2003 had 6 events beginning with, Pride 25 - Body Blow.


2003 in Pride FC, Debut Pride FC fighters
The following fighters fought their first Pride FC fight in 2003:


2003 in Pride FC, Pride 25: Body Blow
Pride 25: Body Blow was an event held on March 16, 2003 at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan.


2003 in Pride FC, Pride 26: Bad to the Bone
Pride 26: Bad to the Bone was an event held on June 8, 2003 at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan.


2003 in Pride FC, Pride FC: Total Elimination 2003
Pride FC: Total Elimination 2003 was an event held on August 10, 2003 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.


2003 in Pride FC, Pride FC: Bushido 1
Pride FC: Bushido 1 Is an event held by the Pride Fighting Championships at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on October 5, 2003. The card was billed as Team Japan Vs. Team Gracie, with five bouts featuring a Japanese fighter represented by Hidehiko Yoshida and a member of the Gracie family represented by Royce Gracie. In the main event, Dos Caras, Jr. became the first Hispanic fighter to compete in Pride and the first to wear a lucha libre mask during a bout. He is now better known as WWE pro wrestler Alberto Del Rio.


2003 in Pride FC, Pride FC: Final Conflict 2003
Pride FC: Final Conflict 2003 was an event held on November 9, 2003 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. This event was host to the semi-finals and finals of the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix tournament. The first round of the tournament was contested at the Pride: Total Elimination 2003 event the previous August.


2003 in Pride FC, Pride FC: Shockwave 2003
Pride FC: Shockwave 2003 was an event held on December 31, 2003 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.


2003 in Russian football
2003 in Russian football saw the first title for PFC CSKA Moscow. Spartak Moscow, the Cup winners, had the worst league finish since 1976. The national team qualified for Euro 2004.


2003 in Russian football, National team
Russia national football team qualified for the Euro 2004. After finishing second to Switzerland in group 10, Russia overcame Wales in play-offs.


2003 in Russian football, Leagues, First Division
The First Division was extended from 18 teams in 2005 to 22. Amkar and Kuban won the promotion on the dramatic final day of the season, leaving Terek and Tom in the First Division.


2003 in Russian football, Leagues, First Division
Aleksandr Panov of Dynamo SPb became the top goalscorer with 23 goals.


2003 in Russian football, Leagues, Second Division
The Ural and Povolzhye zones of the Second Division were merged because of low number of clubs. The following clubs have earned promotion by winning tournaments in their respective zones:


2003 in Russian football, Cups
In a newly introduced Russian Super Cup Lokomotiv overcame CSKA 4–3 on penalties after the match ended 1–1. The match was held at the newly reconstructed Lokomotiv Stadium.


2003 in Russian football, Cups
The Russian Cup was won by Spartak Moscow, who beat Rostov in the final 1–0.


2003 in Russian football, UEFA club competitions, 2002–03 UEFA Champions League
Lokomotiv Moscow participated in the second group stage of the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League, where they finished fourth with just one point in a group which included A.C. Milan, Real Madrid, and Borussia Dortmund.


2003 in Russian football, UEFA club competitions, 2003–04 UEFA Champions League
CSKA Moscow were unsuccessful in the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League, as they lost in the second qualifying round to FK Vardar 2–3 on aggregate.


2003 in Russian football, UEFA club competitions, 2003–04 UEFA Champions League
Lokomotiv Moscow beat FC Shakhtar Donetsk to qualify for the group stage. They finished second in a group with Arsenal F.C., Internazionale Milano F.C., and FC Dynamo Kyiv. Lokomotiv were level on points with Inter but qualified for the knock-out rounds thanks to a 3–0 home win and away draw.


2003 in Russian football, UEFA club competitions, 2003–04 UEFA Cup
Torpedo Moscow beat F.C. Domagnano 9–0 on aggregate in the qualifying round. In the first round, they needed a penalty shootout to overcome PFC CSKA Sofia. In the second round, Torpedo lost 1–2 on aggregate to Villarreal CF.


2003 in Russian football, UEFA club competitions, 2003–04 UEFA Cup
Spartak Moscow knocked out Esbjerg fB and Dinamo București in the first two rounds and qualified for the spring phase of the competition.


2003 in Rwanda
The following lists events that happened during 2003 in Rwanda.


2003 in Scottish television
This is a list of events in Scottish television from 2003.


2003 in Shooto
The year 2003 is the 15th year in the history of Shooto, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. In 2003 Shooto held 17 events beginning with, Shooto: 1/24 in Korakuen Hall.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: 1/24 in Korakuen Hall
Shooto: 1/24 in Korakuen Hall was an event held on January 24, 2003, at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: 2/6 in Kitazawa Town Hall
Shooto: 2/6 in Kitazawa Town Hall was an event held on February 6, 2003, at Kitazawa Town Hall in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: 2/23 in Korakuen Hall
Shooto: 2/23 in Korakuen Hall was an event held on February 23, 2003, at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: 3/18 in Korakuen Hall
Shooto: 3/18 in Korakuen Hall was an event held on March 18, 2003, at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: Gig Central 3
Shooto: Gig Central 3 was an event held on March 30, 2003, at The Nagoya Civic Assembly Hall in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: 5/4 in Korakuen Hall
Shooto: 5/4 in Korakuen Hall was an event held on May 4, 2003, at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: Shooter's Dream 2
Shooto: Shooter's Dream 2 was an event held on May 30, 2003, at Kitazawa Town Hall in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto 2003: 6/27 in Hiroshima Sun Plaza
Shooto 2003: 6/27 in Hiroshima Sun Plaza was an event held on June 27, 2003, at The Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Hiroshima, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: 7/13 in Korakuen Hall
Shooto: 7/13 in Korakuen Hall was an event held on July 13, 2003, at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: 8/10 in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium
Shooto: 8/10 in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium was an event held on August 10, 2003, at Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: 9/5 in Korakuen Hall
Shooto: 9/5 in Korakuen Hall was an event held on September 5, 2003, at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: Gig Central 4
Shooto: Gig Central 4 was an event held on September 21, 2003, at Port Messe Nagoya in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: Gig West 4
Shooto: Gig West 4 was an event held on October 12, 2003, at The Namba Grand Kagetsu Studio in Osaka, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: Who is Young Leader!
Shooto: Who is Young Leader! was an event held on October 31, 2003, at Kitazawa Town Hall in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: Wanna Shooto 2003
Shooto: Wanna Shooto 2003 was an event held on November 3, 2003, at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: 11/25 in Kitazawa Town Hall
Shooto: 11/25 in Kitazawa Town Hall was an event held on November 25, 2003, at Kitazawa Town Hall in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan.


2003 in Shooto, Shooto: Year End Show 2003
Shooto: Year End Show 2003 was an event held on December 14, 2003, at The Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan.


2003 in Singapore
The following lists events that happened during 2003 in Singapore.


2003 in South Africa
The following lists events that happened during 2003 in South Africa.


2003 in South Africa, Incumbents, Cabinet
The Cabinet, together with the President and the Deputy President, forms part of the Executive.


2003 in South African sport
'See also: 2002 in South African sport, 2003 in South Africa, 2004 in South African sport and the Timeline of South African sport.


2003 in South African television
This is a list of South African television related events from 2003.


2003 in South Korean music
The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in 2003 in music in South Korea.


2003 in Spanish television
This is a list of Spanish television related events from 2003.


2003 in Sri Lanka
The following lists events that happened during 2003 in Sri Lanka.


2003 in Sudan
The following lists events that happened during 2003 in Sudan.


2003 in Swedish football
The 2003 season in Swedish football started in January 2003 and ended in December 2003.


2003 in Swedish television
This is a list of Swedish television related events from 2003.


2003 in São Tomé and Príncipe
The following lists events that happened during 2003 in the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe.


2003 in Taiwan
Events from the year 2003 in Taiwan, Republic of China. This year is numbered Minguo 92 according to the official Republic of China calendar.


2003 in Thailand
The year 2003 was the 222nd year of the Rattanakosin Kingdom of Thailand. It was the 58th year in the reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), and is reckoned as year 2546 in the Buddhist Era. The war on drugs of Thaksin Shinawatra's government was launched this year, resulting in almost 3,000 deaths.


2003 in Turkish television
This is a list of Turkish television related events from 2003.


2003 in UFC
The year 2003 is the 11th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. In 2003, the UFC held five events beginning with UFC 41: Onslaught.


2003 in UFC, Debut UFC fighters
The following fighters fought their first UFC fight in 2003:


2003 in Universal Reality Combat Championship
The year 2003 is the 2nd year in the history of the Universal Reality Combat Championship, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the Philippines. In 2003 the URCC held 2 events beginning with, URCC 2: Night of Champions.


2003 in Universal Reality Combat Championship, URCC 2: Night of Champions
URCC 2: Night of Champions was an event held on April 12, 2003 at Phil Sports Arena in Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines.


2003 in Universal Reality Combat Championship, URCC 3: Siege at the Fort
URCC 3: Siege at the Fort was an event held on September 20, 2003 at The Fort in Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines.


2003 in WEC
The year 2003 is the 3rd year in the history of World Extreme Cagefighting, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. In 2003 WEC held 3 events beginning with, WEC 6: Return of a Legend.


2003 in WEC, WEC 6: Return of a Legend
WEC 6: Return of a Legend was an event held on March 27, 2003 at the Tachi Palace in Lemoore, California, United States.


2003 in WEC, WEC 7: This Time It's Personal
WEC 7: This Time It's Personal was an event held on August 9, 2003 at the Tachi Palace in Lemoore, California, United States.


2003 in WEC, WEC 8: Halloween Fury 2
WEC 8: Halloween Fury 2 was an event held on October 17, 2003 at the Tachi Palace in Lemoore, California, United States.


2003 in Wales
This article is about the particular significance of the year 2003 to Wales and its people.


2003 in anime, Accolades
At the Mainichi Film Awards, Tokyo Godfathers won the Animation Film Award and Winter Days won the Ōfuji Noburō Award. Internationally, Millennium Actress was nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature, the third consecutive year an anime was nominated for the award.


2003 in anime, Releases
This list contains numerous notable entries of anime which debuted in 2003. It is not a complete list and represents popular works that debuted as TV, OVA and Movie releases. Web content, DVD specials, TV specials are not on this list.


2003 in architecture
The year 2003 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.


2003 in association football
The following are the football (soccer) events of the year 2003 throughout the world.


2003 in baseball
The following are the baseball events of the year 2003  throughout the world.


2003 in baseball, Champions, Major League Baseball
Click on any series score to link to that series' page. Higher seed has home field advantage during Division Series and League Championship Series. American League has home field advantage during World Series as a result of the American League victory in the 2003 All-Star Game. American League is seeded 1-3/2-4 as a result of AL regular season champion (New York Yankees) and AL wild card (Boston Red Sox) coming from the same division. National League is seeded 1-3/2-4 as a result of NL regular season champion (Atlanta Braves) and NL wild card (Florida Marlins) coming from the same division.


2003 in basketball
The following are the basketball events of the year 2003  throughout the world.


2003 in comics
Notable events of 2003 in comics. See also List of years in comics.


2003 in country music
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 2003.


2003 in country music, Top hits of the year
The following songs placed within the Top 20 on the Hot Country Songs charts in 2003:


2003 in country music, Top new album releases
The following albums placed within the Top 50 on the Top Country Albums charts in 2003:


2003 in film, Highest-grossing films
The top 10 films released in 2003 by worldwide gross are as follows:


2003 in film, Highest-grossing films
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King grossed more than $1.14 billion, making it the highest-grossing film in 2003 worldwide and in North America and the second-highest-grossing film up to that time. It was also the second film to surpass the billion-dollar milestone after Titanic in 1997. It currently ranks as the 24th-highest-grossing film of all time, unadjusted for inflation.


2003 in film, Highest-grossing films
Finding Nemo was the highest-grossing animated movie of all time until being overtaken by Shrek 2 in 2004. It is currently the 13th-highest-grossing animated film after its 3D release.


2003 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and tabletop role-playing games published in 2003. For video games, see 2003 in video gaming.


2003 in hammer throw
This page lists the World Best Year Performance in the year 2003 in both the men's and the women's hammer throw. The main event during this season were the 2003 World Athletics Championships in Paris, France, where the final of the men's competition was held on Tuesday August 25, 2003. The women had their final three days later, on Thursday August 28, 2003.


2003 in heavy metal music
This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 2003.


2003 in hip hop music
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2003.


2003 in home video
The following events occurred in the year 2003 in home video.


2003 in home video, Movie releases
The following movies were released on video on the following dates:


2003 in home video, TV show releases
The following television shows were released on video on the following dates:


2003 in ice hockey
The following is a chronicle of events during the year 2003 in ice hockey.


2003 in jazz
This is a timeline documenting events of Jazz in the year 2003.


2003 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 2003.


2003 in machinima
The following is a list of notable machinima-related events in the year 2003.


2003 in modern pentathlon
This article lists the main modern pentathlon events and their results for 2003.


2003 in motoring
2003 in motoring includes developments in the automotive industry that occurred throughout the year 2003 by various automobile manufacturers, grouped by country. The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the Earth's most important economic sectors by revenue.


2003 in motoring, United Kingdom
The Aston Martin DB9 was launched, replacing the nine-year-old DB7.


2003 in motoring, France
The Peugeot 307 CC was launched after replacing the 306 Cabriolet.


2003 in motoring, Japan
The Mazda RX-8 was the precessor to the RX-7, it is a 4-door quad coupe. The Nissan 350Z is the replacement of the old 300ZX.


2003 in motorsport
The following is an overview of the events of 2003 in motorsport including the major racing events, motorsport venues that were opened and closed during a year, championships and non-championship events that were established and disestablished in a year, and births and deaths of racing drivers and other motorsport people.


2003 in motorsport, Annual events
The calendar includes only annual major non-championship events or annual events that had significance separate from the championship. For the dates of the championship events see related season articles.


2003 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2003.


2003 in music, Awards
The following artists are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: AC/DC, The Clash, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, The Police, The Righteous Brothers


2003 in paleontology
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 2003.


2003 in paleontology, Conodont paleozoology
German paleontologist and stratigrapher Heinz Walter Kozur (1942-2013) described the conodont genus Carnepigondolella.


2003 in paleontology, Vertebrate paleozoology, Parareptiles
This was one of the largest herbivores of their time


2003 in paleontology, Vertebrate paleozoology, Non-avian dinosaurs
Nomen nudum; possibly a junior synonym of Giraffatitan or Brachiosaurus


2003 in paleontology, Vertebrate paleozoology, Newly named birds
A Sagittariidae, relative of the secretarybird. The type species of Amanuensis Mourer-Chauviré, 2003.


2003 in paleontology, Vertebrate paleozoology, Newly named birds
The type species of Amitabha Gulas-Wroblewski & Wroblewski, 2003. Placed in crown Galliformes, but only compared with Phasianidae, not with other Eocene birds from North America.


2003 in paleontology, Vertebrate paleozoology, Newly named birds
Initially thought to be an Idiornithidae, Cariamiformes but in 2011 reinterpreted as an Opisthocomidae, a relative of the hoatzin. The type species of Namibiavis Mourer-Chauviré, 2003.


2003 in paleontology, Vertebrate paleozoology, Synapsids, Non-mammalian
an anomodont; replacement name for Lanthanocephalus Modesto, Rubidge & Welman, 2002, preoccupied by the cnidarian genus Lanthanocephalus Williams & Starmer, 2000


2003 in paleontology, Vertebrate paleozoology, Synapsids, Mammals
A Caracal. Boscaini et al. (2016) considered this species to be a junior synonym of Lynx issiodorensis.


2003 in paleontology, Vertebrate paleozoology, Synapsids, Mammals
A catarrhine of uncertain affinity. The type species is K. morotoensis.


2003 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).


2003 in poetry, Works published in English
Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:


2003 in poetry, Works published in English, New Zealand, Poets in Best New Zealand Poems
Poems from these 25 poet s were selected by Elizabeth Smither for Best New Zealand Poems 2002, published online this year:


2003 in poetry, Works published in English, United States, Poets included in The Best American Poetry 2003
The 75 poets included in The Best American Poetry 2003, edited by David Lehman, co-edited this year by Yusef Komunyakaa:


2003 in poetry, Works published in other languages, India
In each section, listed in alphabetical order by first name:


2003 in poetry, Deaths
Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


2003 in professional wrestling
2003 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.


2003 in professional wrestling, Title changes, WWE
Raw and SmackDown each had a world championship, a secondary championship, and a tag team championship for male wrestlers. SmackDown also had a title for their cruiserweight wrestlers. There was only one women's championship and it was exclusive to Raw.


2003 in rail transport
This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 2003.


2003 in science
The year 2003 was an exciting one for new scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs progress in many scientific fields. Some of the highlights of 2003, which will be further discussed below, include: the anthropologic discovery of 350,000-year-old footprints attesting to the presence of upright-walking humans; SpaceShipOne flight 11P making its first supersonic flight; the observation of a previously unknown element, moscovium was made; and the world's first digital camera with an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display is released by Kodak.


2003 in science
The year 2003 is also notable for the disintegration of the Columbia Space Shuttle upon its re-entry into earth's atmosphere, a tragic disaster which took the lives of all seven astronauts on board; the Concorde jet made its last flight, bringing to an end the era of civilian supersonic travel, at least for the time being; and the death of Edward Teller, physicist and inventor of the hydrogen bomb.


2003 in spaceflight
This article outlines notable events occurring in 2003 in spaceflight, including major launches and EVAs. The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on 1 February 2003.


2003 in sports
2003 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.


2003 in sports, Mixed martial arts
The following is a list of major noteworthy MMA events during 2003 in chronological order.


2003 in sumo
The following are the events in professional sumo during 2003.


2003 in tennis
This page covers all the important events in the sport of tennis in 2003. Primarily, it provides the results of notable tournaments throughout the year on both the ATP and WTA Tours, the Davis Cup, and the Fed Cup.


2003 in tennis, WTA, WTA Tier I
† Henin became the 13th World #1 in the history of women's tennis after her victory in the Zurich Open final.


2003 in the Bahamas
This article lists events from the year 2003 in The Bahamas.


2003 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The following lists events that happened during 2003 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.


2003 in the European Union
The year was designated the European Year of People with Disabilities by the Council of Europe.


2003 in the Netherlands
This article lists some of the events that took place in the Netherlands in 2003.


2003 in the Palestinian territories, Events, Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The most prominent events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict which occurred during 2003 include:


2003 in the Palestinian territories, Events, Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The most prominent Palestinian militant acts and operations committed against Israeli targets during 2003 include:


2003 in the Palestinian territories, Events, Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The most prominent Israeli military counter-terrorism operations (military campaigns and military operations) carried out against Palestinian militants during 2003 include:


2003 in the Philippines
2003 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 2003.


2003 in the United Arab Emirates
Events from the year 2003 in the United Arab Emirates.


2003 in the decathlon
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by JJMC89 bot III (talk | contribs) at 21:10, 9 April 2020 (Moving Category:Years in the decathlon to Category:Decathlon by year per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2003 in the decathlon
This page lists the World Best Year Performance in the year 2003 in the men's decathlon. One of the main events during this season were the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France, where the competition started on Monday August 26, 2003 and ended on Tuesday August 27, 2003.


2003 in the environment
This is a list of notable events relating to the environment in 2003. They relate to environmental law, conservation, environmentalism and environmental issues.


2003 in the sport of athletics
This article contains an overview of the sport of athletics, including track and field, cross country and road running, in the year 2003.


2003 in the sport of athletics
The foremost competition of the year was the 2003 World Championships in Athletics, followed by the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships. At regional level, athletics was featured at two major games that were held that year: the 2003 Pan American Games and the 2003 All-Africa Games.


2003 in video games
2003 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games and several new titles such as Beyond Good & Evil, Manhunt, Call of Duty, Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga, PlanetSide, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, True Crime: Streets of LA, and WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain.


2003 in video games, Trends
Computer games continue to lose ground to console video games with a US sales drop of 14% in 2003. Total 2003 entertainment software sales in the United States grew slightly to US$7 billion; console sales increased to $5.8 billion and computer games accounted for the remaining $1.2 billion.


2003 in video games, Trends, Handheld game systems
Additionally, two new handheld consoles were introduced in 2003, the Game Boy Advance SP (an enhanced GBA) and Nokia's N-Gage.


2003 in video games, Trends, Video game sales
The top 10 selling console video games in 2003 in the United States ranked by units sold, according to , were:


2003 in video games, Titles with notable critical reception
Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.


2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 days of major combat operations, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq.


2003 invasion of Iraq
This early stage of the war formally ended on 1 May 2003 when U.S. President George W. Bush declared the "end of major combat operations", after which the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was established as the first of several successive transitional governments leading up to the first Iraqi parliamentary election in January 2005. U.S. military forces later remained in Iraq until the withdrawal in 2011.


2003 invasion of Iraq
The U.S.-led coalition sent 177,194 troops into Iraq during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from 19 March to 1 May 2003. About 130,000 arrived from the U.S. alone, with about 45,000 British soldiers, 2,000 Australian soldiers, and 194 Polish soldiers. Thirty-six other countries were involved in its aftermath. In preparation for the invasion, 100,000 U.S. troops assembled in Kuwait by 18 February. The coalition forces also received support from the Peshmerga in Iraqi Kurdistan.


2003 invasion of Iraq
According to U.S. President George W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, the coalition aimed "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people." Others place a much greater emphasis on the impact of the September 11 attacks, on the role this played in changing U.S. strategic calculations, and the rise of the freedom agenda. According to Blair, the trigger was Iraq's failure to take a "final opportunity" to disarm itself of alleged nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that U.S. and British officials called an immediate and intolerable threat to world peace.


2003 invasion of Iraq
In a January 2003 CBS poll, 64% of Americans had approved of military action against Iraq; however, 63% wanted Bush to find a diplomatic solution rather than go to war, and 62% believed the threat of terrorism directed against the U.S. would increase due to war. The invasion of Iraq was strongly opposed by some long-standing U.S. allies, including the governments of France, Canada, Germany, and New Zealand. Their leaders argued that there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that invading that country was not justified in the context of UNMOVIC's 12 February 2003 report. About 5,000 chemical warheads, shells or aviation bombs were discovered during the Iraq War, but these had been built and abandoned earlier in Saddam Hussein's rule before the 1991 Gulf War. The discoveries of these chemical weapons did not support the government's invasion rationale.


2003 invasion of Iraq
On 15 February 2003, a month before the invasion, there were worldwide protests against the Iraq War, including a rally of three million people in Rome, which the Guinness Book of Records listed as the largest ever anti-war rally. According to the French academic Dominique Reynié, between 3 January and 12 April 2003, 36 million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000 protests against the Iraq war.


2003 invasion of Iraq
The invasion was preceded by an airstrike on the Presidential Palace in Baghdad on 20 March 2003. The following day, coalition forces launched an incursion into Basra Province from their massing point close to the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border. While special forces launched an amphibious assault from the Persian Gulf to secure Basra and the surrounding petroleum fields, the main invasion army moved into southern Iraq, occupying the region and engaging in the Battle of Nasiriyah on 23 March. Massive air strikes across the country and against Iraqi command-and-control threw the defending army into chaos and prevented an effective resistance. On 26 March, the 173rd Airborne Brigade was airdropped near the northern city of Kirkuk, where they joined forces with Kurdish rebels and fought several actions against the Iraqi Army, to secure the northern part of the country.


2003 invasion of Iraq
The main body of coalition forces continued their drive into the heart of Iraq and met with little resistance. Most of the Iraqi military was quickly defeated and the coalition occupied Baghdad on 9 April. Other operations occurred against pockets of the Iraqi Army, including the capture and occupation of Kirkuk on 10 April, and the attack on and capture of Tikrit on 15 April. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and the central leadership went into hiding as the coalition forces completed the occupation of the country. On 1 May President George W. Bush declared an end to major combat operations: this ended the invasion period and began the period of military occupation.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion
Hostilities of the Gulf War were suspended on 28 February 1991, with a cease-fire negotiated between the UN Coalition and Iraq. The U.S. and its allies tried to keep Saddam in check with military actions such as Operation Southern Watch, which was conducted by Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) with the mission of monitoring and controlling airspace south of the 32nd Parallel (extended to the 33rd Parallel in 1996) as well as using economic sanctions.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion
It was revealed that a biological weapons (BW) program in Iraq had begun in the early 1980s with help from the U.S. and Europe in violation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) of 1972. Details of the BW program—along with a chemical weapons program—surfaced after the Gulf War (1990–91) following investigations conducted by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) which had been charged with the post-war disarmament of Saddam's Iraq. The investigation concluded that the program had not continued after the war. The U.S. and its allies then maintained a policy of "containment" towards Iraq.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion
This policy involved numerous economic sanctions by the UN Security Council; the enforcement of Iraqi no-fly zones declared by the U.S. and the UK to protect the Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan and Shias in the south from aerial attacks by the Iraqi government; and ongoing inspections. Iraqi military helicopters and planes regularly contested the no-fly zones.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion
In October 1998, removing the Iraqi government became official U.S. foreign policy with enactment of the Iraq Liberation Act. Enacted following the expulsion of UN weapons inspectors the preceding August (after some had been accused of spying for the U.S.), the act provided $97 million for Iraqi "democratic opposition organizations" to "establish a program to support a transition to democracy in Iraq." This legislation contrasted with the terms set out in United Nations Security Council Resolution 687, which focused on weapons and weapons programs and made no mention of regime change.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion
One month after the passage of the Iraq Liberation Act, the U.S. and UK launched a bombardment campaign of Iraq called Operation Desert Fox. The campaign's express rationale was to hamper Saddam Hussein's government's ability to produce chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, but U.S. intelligence personnel also hoped it would help weaken Saddam's grip on power.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion
With the election of George W. Bush as president in 2000, the U.S. moved towards a more aggressive policy toward Iraq. The Republican Party's campaign platform in the 2000 election called for "full implementation" of the Iraq Liberation Act as "a starting point" in a plan to "remove" Saddam. After leaving the George W. Bush administration, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said that an attack on Iraq had been planned since Bush's inauguration and that the first United States National Security Council meeting involved discussion of an invasion. O'Neill later backtracked, saying that these discussions were part of a continuation of foreign policy first put into place by the Clinton administration.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion
Despite the Bush administration's stated interest in invading Iraq, little formal movement towards an invasion occurred until the 11 September attacks. For example, the administration prepared Operation Desert Badger to respond aggressively if any Air Force pilot was shot down while flying over Iraq, but this did not happen. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld dismissed National Security Agency (NSA) intercept data available by midday of the 11th that pointed to al-Qaeda's culpability, and by mid-afternoon ordered the Pentagon to prepare plans for attacking Iraq.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion
According to aides who were with him in the National Military Command Center on that day, Rumsfeld asked for: "best info fast. Judge whether good enough hit Saddam Hussein at same time. Not only Osama bin Laden." A memo written by Rumsfeld in November 2001 considers an Iraq war. The rationale for invading Iraq as a response to 9/11 has been widely questioned, as there was no cooperation between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion
On 20 September 2001, Bush addressed a joint session of Congress (simulcast live to the world), and announced his new "War on Terror". This announcement was accompanied by the doctrine of "pre-emptive" military action, later termed the Bush Doctrine. Allegations of a connection between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda were made by some U.S. Government officials who asserted that a highly secretive relationship existed between Saddam and the radical Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda from 1992 to 2003, specifically through a series of meetings reportedly involving the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS). Some Bush advisers favored an immediate invasion of Iraq, while others advocated building an international coalition and obtaining United Nations authorization. Bush eventually decided to seek UN authorization, while still reserving the option of invading without it.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
While there had been some earlier talk of action against Iraq, the Bush administration waited until September 2002 to call for action, with White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card saying, "From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August." Bush began formally making his case to the international community for an invasion of Iraq in his 12 September 2002 address to the United Nations General Assembly.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
Key U.S. allies in NATO, such as the United Kingdom, agreed with the U.S. actions, while France and Germany were critical of plans to invade Iraq, arguing instead for continued diplomacy and weapons inspections. After considerable debate, the UN Security Council adopted a compromise resolution, UN Security Council Resolution 1441, which authorized the resumption of weapons inspections and promised "serious consequences" for non-compliance. Security Council members France and Russia made clear that they did not consider these consequences to include the use of force to overthrow the Iraqi government. Both the U.S. ambassador to the UN, John Negroponte, and the UK ambassador, Jeremy Greenstock, publicly confirmed this reading of the resolution, assuring that Resolution 1441 provided no "automaticity" or "hidden triggers" for an invasion without further consultation of the Security Council.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
Resolution 1441 gave Iraq "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" and set up inspections by the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Saddam accepted the resolution on 13 November and inspectors returned to Iraq under the direction of UNMOVIC chairman Hans Blix and IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
As of February 2003, the IAEA "found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq"; the IAEA concluded that certain items which could have been used in nuclear enrichment centrifuges, such as aluminum tubes, were in fact intended for other uses. UNMOVIC "did not find evidence of the continuation or resumption of programs of weapons of mass destruction" or significant quantities of proscribed items.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
UNMOVIC did supervise the destruction of a small number of empty chemical rocket warheads, 50 liters of mustard gas that had been declared by Iraq and sealed by UNSCOM in 1998, and laboratory quantities of a mustard gas precursor, along with about 50 Al-Samoud missiles of a design that Iraq stated did not exceed the permitted 150 km range, but which had traveled up to 183 km in tests. Shortly before the invasion, UNMOVIC stated that it would take "months" to verify Iraqi compliance with resolution 1441.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
In October 2002, the U.S. Congress passed the "Iraq Resolution". The resolution authorized the President to "use any means necessary" against Iraq. Americans polled in January 2003 widely favored further diplomacy over an invasion. Later that year, however, Americans began to agree with Bush's plan. The U.S. government engaged in an elaborate domestic public relations campaign to market the war to its citizens. Americans overwhelmingly believed Saddam did have weapons of mass destruction: 85% said so, even though the inspectors had not uncovered those weapons. Of those who thought Iraq had weapons sequestered somewhere, about half responded that said weapons would not be found in combat. By February 2003, 64% of Americans supported taking military action to remove Saddam from power.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
The Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division (SAD) teams, consisting of the paramilitary operations officers and 10th Special Forces Group soldiers, were the first U.S. forces to enter Iraq, in July 2002, before the main invasion. Once on the ground, they prepared for the subsequent arrival of U.S. Army Special Forces to organize the Kurdish Peshmerga. This joint team (called the Northern Iraq Liaison Element (NILE)) combined to defeat Ansar al-Islam, a group with ties to al-Qaeda, in Iraqi Kurdistan. This battle was for control of the territory that was occupied by Ansar al-Islam. It was carried out by Paramilitary Operations Officers from SAD and the Army's 10th Special Forces Group. This battle resulted in the defeat of Ansar and the capture of a chemical weapons facility at Sargat. Sargat was the only facility of its type discovered in the Iraq war.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
SAD teams also conducted missions behind enemy lines to identify leadership targets. These missions led to the initial air strikes against Saddam and his generals. Although the strike against Saddam was unsuccessful in killing him, it effectively ended his ability to command and control his forces. Strikes against Iraq's generals were more successful and significantly degraded the Iraqi command's ability to react to, and maneuver against, the U.S.-led invasion force. SAD operations officers successfully convinced key Iraqi Army officers to surrender their units once the fighting started.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
NATO member Turkey refused to allow the U.S. forces across its territory into northern Iraq. Therefore, joint SAD and Army Special forces teams and the Pershmerga constituted the entire Northern force against the Iraqi army. They managed to keep the northern divisions in place rather than allowing them to aid their colleagues against the U.S.-led coalition force coming from the south. Four of these CIA officers were awarded the Intelligence Star for their actions.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
In the 2003 State of the Union address, President Bush said "we know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several mobile biological weapons labs". On 5 February 2003, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations General Assembly, continuing U.S. efforts to gain UN authorization for an invasion. His presentation to the UN Security Council contained a computer-generated image of a "mobile biological weapons laboratory". However, this information was based on claims of Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, codenamed "Curveball", an Iraqi emigrant living in Germany who later admitted that his claims had been false.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
Powell also presented evidence alleging Iraq had ties to al-Qaeda. As a follow-up to Powell's presentation, the United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, Australia, Denmark, Japan, and Spain proposed a resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq, but NATO members like Canada, France, and Germany, together with Russia, strongly urged continued diplomacy. Facing a losing vote as well as a likely veto from France and Russia, the US, UK, Poland, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Japan, and Australia eventually withdrew their resolution.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
Opposition to the invasion coalesced in the worldwide 15 February 2003 anti-war protest that attracted between six and ten million people in more than 800 cities, the largest such protest in human history according to the Guinness Book of World Records.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
On 16 March 2003, Spanish Prime Minister, José María Aznar, UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, President of the United States George W. Bush, and Prime Minister of Portugal, José Manuel Durão Barroso as host, met in the Azores, to discuss the invasion of Iraq, and Spain's potential involvement in the war, as well as the beginning of the invasion. This encounter was extremely controversial in Spain, even now remaining a very sensitive point for the Aznar government. Almost a year later, Madrid suffered the worst terrorist attack in Europe since the Lockerbie bombing, motivated by Spain's decision to participate in the Iraq war, prompting some Spaniards to accuse the Prime Minister of being responsible.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
In March 2003, the United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Australia, Spain, Denmark, and Italy began preparing for the invasion of Iraq, with a host of public relations and military moves. In his 17 March 2003 address to the nation, Bush demanded that Saddam and his two sons, Uday and Qusay, surrender and leave Iraq, giving them a 48-hour deadline.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
The UK House of Commons held a debate on going to war on 18 March 2003 where the government motion was approved 412 to 149. The vote was a key moment in the history of the Blair administration, as the number of government MPs who rebelled against the vote was the greatest since the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. Three government ministers resigned in protest at the war, John Denham, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, and the then Leader of the House of Commons Robin Cook.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Prelude to the invasion, Preparations for war
In a passionate speech to the House of Commons after his resignation, he said, "What has come to trouble me is the suspicion that if the 'hanging chads' of Florida had gone the other way and Al Gore had been elected, we would not now be about to commit British troops to action in Iraq." During the debate, it was stated that the Attorney General had advised that the war was legal under previous UN Resolutions.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Attempts to avoid war
In December 2002, a representative of the head of Iraqi Intelligence, the General Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti, contacted former Central Intelligence Agency Counterterrorism Department head Vincent Cannistraro stating that Saddam "knew there was a campaign to link him to 11 September and prove he had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)." Cannistraro further added that "the Iraqis were prepared to satisfy these concerns. I reported the conversation to senior levels of the state department and I was told to stand aside and they would handle it." Cannistraro stated that the offers made were all "killed" by the George W. Bush administration because they allowed Saddam to remain in power, an outcome viewed as unacceptable. It has been suggested that Saddam Hussein was prepared to go into exile if allowed to keep US$1 billion.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Attempts to avoid war
Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's national security advisor, Osama El-Baz, sent a message to the U.S. State Department that the Iraqis wanted to discuss the accusations that the country had weapons of mass destruction and ties with Al-Qaeda. Iraq also attempted to reach the U.S. through the Syrian, French, German, and Russian intelligence services.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Attempts to avoid war
In January 2003, Lebanese-American Imad Hage met with Michael Maloof of the U.S. Department of Defense's Office of Special Plans. Hage, a resident of Beirut, had been recruited by the department to assist in the war on terror. He reported that Mohammed Nassif, a close aide to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, had expressed frustrations about the difficulties of Syria contacting the United States, and had attempted to use him as an intermediary. Maloof arranged for Hage to meet with civilian Richard Perle, then head of the Defense Policy Board.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Attempts to avoid war
In January 2003, Hage met with the chief of Iraqi intelligence's foreign operations, Hassan al-Obeidi. Obeidi told Hage that Baghdad did not understand why they were targeted and that they had no WMDs. He then made the offer for Washington to send in 2000 FBI agents to confirm this. He additionally offered petroleum concessions but stopped short of having Saddam give up power, instead suggesting that elections could be held in two years. Later, Obeidi suggested that Hage travel to Baghdad for talks; he accepted.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Attempts to avoid war
Later that month, Hage met with General Habbush and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz. He was offered top priority to U.S. firms in oil and mining rights, UN-supervised elections, U.S. inspections (with up to 5,000 inspectors), to have al-Qaeda agent Abdul Rahman Yasin (in Iraqi custody since 1994) handed over as a sign of good faith, and to give "full support for any U.S. plan" in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. They also wished to meet with high-ranking U.S. officials. On 19 February, Hage faxed Maloof his report of the trip. Maloof reports having brought the proposal to Jaymie Duran. The Pentagon denies that either Wolfowitz or Rumsfeld, Duran's bosses, were aware of the plan.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Attempts to avoid war
On 21 February, Maloof informed Duran in an email that Richard Perle wished to meet with Hage and the Iraqis if the Pentagon would clear it. Duran responded "Mike, working this. Keep this close hold." On 7 March, Perle met with Hage in Knightsbridge, and stated that he wanted to pursue the matter further with people in Washington (both have acknowledged the meeting). A few days later, he informed Hage that Washington refused to let him meet with Habbush to discuss the offer (Hage stated that Perle's response was "that the consensus in Washington was it was a no-go"). Perle told The Times, "The message was 'Tell them that we will see them in Baghdad.′"


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
George Bush, speaking in October 2002, said that "The stated policy of the United States is regime change. ... However, if Saddam were to meet all the conditions of the United Nations, the conditions that I have described very clearly in terms that everybody can understand, that in itself will signal the regime has changed." Citing reports from certain intelligence sources, Bush stated on 6 March 2003 that he believed that Saddam was not complying with UN Resolution 1441.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
In September 2002, Tony Blair stated, in an answer to a parliamentary question, that "Regime change in Iraq would be a wonderful thing. That is not the purpose of our action; our purpose is to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction..." In November of that year, Blair further stated that, "So far as our objective, it is disarmament, not regime change – that is our objective. Now I happen to believe the regime of Saddam is a very brutal and repressive regime, I think it does enormous damage to the Iraqi people ... so I have got no doubt Saddam is very bad for Iraq, but on the other hand I have got no doubt either that the purpose of our challenge from the United Nations is the disarmament of weapons of mass destruction, it is not regime change."


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
At a press conference on 31 January 2003, Bush again reiterated that the single trigger for the invasion would be Iraq's failure to disarm, "Saddam Hussein must understand that if he does not disarm, for the sake of peace, we, along with others, will go disarm Saddam Hussein." As late as 25 February 2003, it was still the official line that the only cause of invasion would be a failure to disarm. As Blair made clear in a statement to the House of Commons, "I detest his regime. But even now he can save it by complying with the UN's demand. Even now, we are prepared to go the extra step to achieve disarmament peacefully."


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
Additional justifications used at various times included Iraqi violation of UN resolutions, the Iraqi government's repression of its citizens, and Iraqi violations of the 1991 cease-fire.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
The main allegations were: that Saddam possessed or was attempting to produce weapons of mass destruction, which Saddam Hussein had used in places such as Halabja, possessed, and made efforts to acquire, particularly considering two previous attacks on Baghdad nuclear weapons production facilities by both Iran and Israel which were alleged to have postponed weapons development progress; and, further, that he had ties to terrorists, specifically al-Qaeda.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
While it never made an explicit connection between Iraq and the 11 September attacks, the George W. Bush administration repeatedly insinuated a link, thereby creating a false impression for the U.S. public. Grand jury testimony from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing trials cited numerous direct linkages from the bombers to Baghdad and Department 13 of the Iraqi Intelligence Service in that initial attack marking the second anniversary to vindicate the surrender of Iraqi armed forces in Operation Desert Storm. For example, The Washington Post has noted that,


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
While not explicitly declaring Iraqi culpability in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, administration officials did, at various times, imply a link. In late 2001, Cheney said it was "pretty well confirmed" that attack mastermind Mohamed Atta had met with a senior Iraqi intelligence official. Later, Cheney called Iraq the "geographic base of the terrorists who had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11."


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
Steven Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland, observed in March 2003 that "The administration has succeeded in creating a sense that there is some connection [between 11 Sept. and Saddam Hussein]". This was following a The New York Times/CBS poll that showed 45% of Americans believing Saddam Hussein was "personally involved" in the 11 September atrocities.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
As The Christian Science Monitor observed at the time, while "Sources knowledgeable about U.S. intelligence say there is no evidence that Saddam played a role in the 11 Sept. attacks, nor that he has been or is currently aiding Al Qaeda. ... the White House appears to be encouraging this false impression, as it seeks to maintain American support for a possible war against Iraq and demonstrate seriousness of purpose to Saddam's regime."


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
The CSM went on to report that, while polling data collected "right after 11 Sept. 2001" showed that only 3 percent mentioned Iraq or Saddam Hussein, by January 2003 attitudes "had been transformed" with a Knight Ridder poll showing that 44% of Americans believed "most" or "some" of the 11 September hijackers were Iraqi citizens.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
According to General Tommy Franks, the objectives of the invasion were, "First, end the regime of Saddam Hussein. Second, to identify, isolate and eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Third, to search for, to capture and to drive out terrorists from that country. Fourth, to collect such intelligence as we can related to terrorist networks. Fifth, to collect such intelligence as we can related to the global network of illicit weapons of mass destruction. Sixth, to end sanctions and to immediately deliver humanitarian support to the displaced and to many needy Iraqi citizens. Seventh, to secure Iraq's oil fields and resources, which belong to the Iraqi people. And last, to help the Iraqi people create conditions for a transition to a representative self-government."


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
The BBC has also noted that, while President Bush "never directly accused the former Iraqi leader of having a hand in the attacks on New York and Washington", he "repeatedly associated the two in keynote addresses delivered since 11 September", adding that "Senior members of his administration have similarly conflated the two." For instance, the BBC report quotes Colin Powell in February 2003, stating that "We've learned that Iraq has trained al-Qaeda members in bomb-making and poisons and deadly gases. And we know that after September 11, Saddam Hussein's regime gleefully celebrated the terrorist attacks on America." The same BBC report also noted the results of a recent opinion poll, which suggested that "70% of Americans believe the Iraqi leader was personally involved in the attacks."


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
Also in September 2003, The Boston Globe reported that "Vice President Dick Cheney, anxious to defend the White House foreign policy amid ongoing violence in Iraq, stunned intelligence analysts and even members of his own administration this week by failing to dismiss a widely discredited claim: that Saddam Hussein might have played a role in the 11 Sept. attacks." A year later, presidential candidate John Kerry alleged that Cheney was continuing "to intentionally mislead the American public by drawing a link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11 in an attempt to make the invasion of Iraq part of the global war on terror."


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
Throughout 2002, the Bush administration insisted that removing Saddam from power to restore international peace and security was a major goal. The principal stated justifications for this policy of "regime change" were that Iraq's continuing production of weapons of mass destruction and known ties to terrorist organizations, as well as Iraq's continued violations of UN Security Council resolutions, amounted to a threat to the U.S. and the world community.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
The Bush administration's overall rationale for the invasion of Iraq was presented in detail by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to the United Nations Security Council on 5 February 2003. In summary, he stated,


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction; he's determined to make more. Given Saddam Hussein's history of aggression ... given what we know of his terrorist associations and given his determination to exact revenge on those who oppose him, should we take the risk that he will not some day use these weapons at a time and the place and in the manner of his choosing at a time when the world is in a much weaker position to respond? The United States will not and cannot run that risk to the American people. Leaving Saddam Hussein in possession of weapons of mass destruction for a few more months or years is not an option, not in a post–September 11 world.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
Since the invasion, the U.S. government statements concerning Iraqi weapons programs and links to al-Qaeda have been discredited, though chemical weapons were found in Iraq during the occupation period. While the debate of whether Iraq intended to develop chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons in the future remains open, no WMDs have been found in Iraq since the invasion despite comprehensive inspections lasting more than 18 months. In Cairo, on 24 February 2001, Colin Powell had predicted as much, saying, "[Saddam] has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbours." Similarly, assertions of operational links between the Iraqi regime and al-Qaeda have largely been discredited by the intelligence community, and Secretary Powell himself later admitted he had no proof.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
In September 2002, the Bush administration said attempts by Iraq to acquire thousands of high-strength aluminum tubes pointed to a clandestine program to make enriched uranium for nuclear bombs. Powell, in his address to the UN Security Council just before the war, referred to the aluminum tubes. A report released by the Institute for Science and International Security in 2002, however, reported that it was highly unlikely that the tubes could be used to enrich uranium. Powell later admitted he had presented an inaccurate case to the United Nations on Iraqi weapons, based on sourcing that was wrong and in some cases "deliberately misleading."


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale
The Bush administration asserted that the Saddam government had sought to purchase yellowcake uranium from Niger. On 7 March 2003, the U.S. submitted intelligence documents as evidence to the International Atomic Energy Agency. These documents were dismissed by the IAEA as forgeries, with the concurrence in that judgment of outside experts. At the time, a US official stated that the evidence was submitted to the IAEA without knowledge of its provenance and characterized any mistakes as "more likely due to incompetence not malice".


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale, Iraqi drones
In October 2002, a few days before the US Senate vote on the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution, about 75 senators were told in closed session that the Iraqi government had the means of delivering biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) drones that could be launched from ships off the US' Atlantic coast to attack US eastern seaboard cities. Colin Powell suggested in his presentation to the United Nations that UAVs were transported out of Iraq and could be launched against the United States.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale, Iraqi drones
In fact, Iraq had no offensive UAV fleet or any capability of putting UAVs on ships. Iraq's UAV fleet consisted of less than a handful of outdated Czech training drones. At the time, there was a vigorous dispute within the intelligence community whether the CIA's conclusions about Iraq's UAV fleet were accurate. The US Air Force denied outright that Iraq possessed any offensive UAV capability.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Casus belli and rationale, Human rights
As evidence supporting U.S. and British charges about Iraqi Weapons of mass destruction and links to terrorism weakened, some supporters of the invasion have increasingly shifted their justification to the human rights violations of the Saddam government. Leading human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch have argued, however, that they believe human rights concerns were never a central justification for the invasion, nor do they believe that military intervention was justifiable on humanitarian grounds, most significantly because "the killing in Iraq at the time was not of the exceptional nature that would justify such intervention."


2003 invasion of Iraq, Legality of invasion, US domestic law
The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 was passed by Congress with Republicans voting 98% in favor in the Senate, and 97% in favor in the House. Democrats supported the joint resolution 58% and 39% in the Senate and House respectively. The resolution asserts the authorization by the Constitution of the United States and the Congress for the President to fight anti-United States terrorism. Citing the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, the resolution reiterated that it should be the policy of the United States to remove the Saddam Hussein regime and promote a democratic replacement.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Legality of invasion, US domestic law
The resolution "supported" and "encouraged" diplomatic efforts by President George W. Bush to "strictly enforce through the U.N. Security Council all relevant Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq" and "obtain prompt and decisive action by the Security Council to ensure that Iraq abandons its strategy of delay, evasion, and noncompliance and promptly and strictly complies with all relevant Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq." The resolution authorized President Bush to use the Armed Forces of the United States "as he determines to be necessary and appropriate" to "defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions regarding Iraq."


2003 invasion of Iraq, Legality of invasion, International law
The legality of the invasion of Iraq under international law has been challenged since its inception on a number of fronts, and several prominent supporters of the invasion in all the invading nations have publicly and privately cast doubt on its legality. It has been argued by US and British governments that the invasion was fully legal because authorization was implied by the United Nations Security Council. International legal experts, including the International Commission of Jurists, a group of 31 leading Canadian law professors, and the U.S.-based Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, have denounced this rationale.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Legality of invasion, International law
On Thursday 20 November 2003, an article published in the Guardian alleged that Richard Perle, a senior member of the administration's Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee, conceded that the invasion was illegal but still justified.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Legality of invasion, International law
The United Nations Security Council has passed nearly 60 resolutions on Iraq and Kuwait since Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The most relevant to this issue is Resolution 678, passed on 29 November 1990. It authorizes "member states co-operating with the Government of Kuwait ... to use all necessary means" to (1) implement Security Council Resolution 660 and other resolutions calling for the end of Iraq's occupation of Kuwait and withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Kuwaiti territory and (2) "restore international peace and security in the area." Resolution 678 has not been rescinded or nullified by succeeding resolutions and Iraq was not alleged after 1991 to invade Kuwait or to threaten to do so.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Legality of invasion, International law
Resolution 1441 was most prominent during the run-up to the war and formed the main backdrop for Secretary of State Colin Powell's address to the Security Council one month before the invasion. According to an independent commission of inquiry set up by the government of the Netherlands, UN resolution 1441 "cannot reasonably be interpreted (as the Dutch government did) as authorising individual member states to use military force to compel Iraq to comply with the Security Council's resolutions." Accordingly, the Dutch commission concluded that the 2003 invasion violated international law.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Legality of invasion, International law
At the same time, Bush Administration officials advanced a parallel legal argument using the earlier resolutions, which authorized force in response to Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Under this reasoning, by failing to disarm and submit to weapons inspections, Iraq was in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolutions 660 and 678, and the U.S. could legally compel Iraq's compliance through military means.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Legality of invasion, International law
Critics and proponents of the legal rationale based on the U.N. resolutions argue that the legal right to determine how to enforce its resolutions lies with the Security Council alone, not with individual nations.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Legality of invasion, International law
In February 2006, Luis Moreno Ocampo, the lead prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, reported that he had received 240 separate communications regarding the legality of the war, many of which concerned British participation in the invasion. In a letter addressed to the complainants, Mr. Moreno Ocampo explained that he could only consider issues related to conduct during the war and not to its underlying legality as a possible crime of aggression because no provision had yet been adopted which "defines the crime and sets out the conditions under which the Court may exercise jurisdiction with respect to it." In a March 2007 interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Moreno Ocampo encouraged Iraq to sign up with the court so that it could bring cases related to alleged war crimes.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Legality of invasion, International law
United States Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich held a press conference on the evening of 24 April 2007, revealing US House Resolution 333 and the three articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney. He charged Cheney with manipulating the evidence of Iraq's weapons program, deceiving the nation about Iraq's connection to al-Qaeda, and threatening aggression against Iran in violation of the United Nations Charter.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Multilateral support
In November 2002, President George W. Bush, visiting Europe for a NATO summit, declared that, "should Iraqi President Saddam Hussein choose not to disarm, the United States will lead a coalition of the willing to disarm him."


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Multilateral support
Thereafter, the Bush administration briefly used the term Coalition of the Willing to refer to the countries who supported, militarily or verbally, the military action in Iraq and subsequent military presence in post-invasion Iraq since 2003. The original list prepared in March 2003 included 49 members. Of those 49, only six besides the U.S. contributed troops to the invasion force (the United Kingdom, Australia, Poland, Spain, Portugal, and Denmark), and 33 provided some number of troops to support the occupation after the invasion was complete. Six members have no military, meaning that they withheld troops completely.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Invasion force
A U.S. Central Command, Combined Forces Air Component Commander report, indicated that, as of 30 April 2003, 466,985 U.S. personnel were deployed for the invasion of Iraq. This included;


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Invasion force
Approximately 148,000 soldiers from the United States, 45,000 British soldiers, 2,000 Australian soldiers and 194 Polish soldiers from the special forces unit GROM were sent to Kuwait for the invasion. The invasion force was also supported by Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters, estimated to number upwards of 70,000. In the latter stages of the invasion, 620 troops of the Iraqi National Congress opposition group were deployed to southern Iraq.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Invasion force
Canada discretely contributed some military resources towards the campaign, such as personnel from the Royal Canadian Air Force who crewed American planes on missions in Iraq in order to train with the platforms, and eleven Canadian aircrew who manned AWACS aircraft.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Invasion force
The Canadian Armed Forces had ships, planes, and 1,200 Royal Canadian Navy personnel at the mouth of the Persian Gulf to help support Operation Enduring Freedom, and a secret U.S. briefing cable noted that despite public promises by Canadian officials that these assets would not be used in support of the war in Iraq, "they will also be available to provide escort services in the Straits and will otherwise be discreetly useful to the military effort."


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Invasion force
However, the Department of National Defence issued an order to naval commanders to not do anything in support of the American-led operation, and it is not known whether this order was ever broken. Eugene Lang, chief of staff to then-defence minister John McCallum, stated that it is "quite possible" that Canadian forces indirectly supported the American operation. According to Lang, Canada's military strongly advocated to be involved in the Iraqi War instead of the war in Afghanistan, and Canada mainly decided to keep its assets in the Gulf to maintain good relations with America. Brigadier General Walter Natynczyk, of the Canadian Army, was Deputy Commanding General of the Multi-National Corps – Iraq, which comprised 35,000 American soldiers in ten brigades spread across Iraq.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Invasion force
Plans for opening a second front in the north were severely hampered when Turkey refused the use of its territory for such purposes. In response to Turkey's decision, the United States dropped several thousand paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade into northern Iraq, a number significantly less than the 15,000-strong 4th Infantry Division that the U.S. originally planned to use for opening the northern front.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Preparation
CIA Special Activities Division (SAD) Paramilitary teams entered Iraq in July 2002 before the 2003 invasion. Once on the ground they prepared for the subsequent arrival of US military forces. SAD teams then combined with U.S. Army Special Forces to organize the Kurdish Peshmerga. This joint team combined to defeat Ansar al-Islam, an ally of Al Qaida, in a battle in the northeast corner of Iraq. The U.S. side was carried out by Paramilitary Officers from SAD and the Army's 10th Special Forces Group.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Preparation
SAD teams also conducted high-risk special reconnaissance missions behind Iraqi lines to identify senior leadership targets. These missions led to the initial strikes against Saddam Hussein and his key generals. Although the initial strikes against Saddam were unsuccessful in killing the dictator or his generals, they were successful in effectively ending the ability to command and control Iraqi forces. Other strikes against key generals were successful and significantly degraded the command's ability to react to and maneuver against the U.S.-led invasion force coming from the south.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Preparation
SAD operations officers were also successful in convincing key Iraqi army officers to surrender their units once the fighting started and/or not to oppose the invasion force. NATO member Turkey refused to allow its territory to be used for the invasion. As a result, the SAD/SOG and U.S. Army Special Forces joint teams and the Kurdish Peshmerga constituted the entire northern force against government forces during the invasion. Their efforts kept the 5th Corps of the Iraqi army in place to defend against the Kurds rather than moving to contest the coalition force.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Preparation
According to General Tommy Franks, April Fool, an American officer working undercover as a diplomat, was approached by an Iraqi intelligence agent. April Fool then sold the Iraqi false "top secret" invasion plans provided by Franks' team. This deception misled the Iraqi military into deploying major forces in northern and western Iraq in anticipation of attacks by way of Turkey or Jordan, which never took place. This greatly reduced the defensive capacity in the rest of Iraq and facilitated the actual attacks via Kuwait and the Persian Gulf in the southeast.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Defending force
The number of personnel in the Iraqi military before the war was uncertain, but it was believed to have been poorly equipped. The International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the Iraqi armed forces to number 538,000 (Iraqi Army 375,000, Iraqi Navy 2,000, Iraqi Air Force 20,000 and air defense 17,000), the paramilitary Fedayeen Saddam 44,000, Republican Guard 80,000 and reserves 650,000.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Defending force
Another estimate numbers the Army and Republican Guard at between 280,000 and 350,000 and 50,000 to 80,000, respectively, and the paramilitary between 20,000 and 40,000. There were an estimated thirteen infantry divisions, ten mechanized and armored divisions, as well as some special forces units. The Iraqi Air Force and Navy played a negligible role in the conflict.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Defending force
During the invasion, foreign volunteers traveled to Iraq from Syria and took part in the fighting, usually commanded by the Fedayeen Saddam. It is not known for certain how many foreign fighters fought in Iraq in 2003, however, intelligence officers of the U.S. First Marine Division estimated that 50% of all Iraqi combatants in central Iraq were foreigners.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Military aspects, Defending force
In addition, the Kurdish Islamist militant group Ansar al-Islam controlled a small section of northern Iraq in an area outside of Saddam Hussein's control. Ansar al-Islam had been fighting against secular Kurdish forces since 2001. At the time of the invasion they fielded about 600 to 800 fighters. Ansar al-Islam was led by the Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who would later become an important leader in the Iraqi insurgency. Ansar al-Islam was driven out of Iraq in late March by a joint American-Kurdish force during Operation Viking Hammer.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion
Since the 1991 Gulf War, the U.S. and UK had been attacked on Iraqi air defenses while enforcing Iraqi no-fly zones. These zones, and the attacks to enforce them, were described as illegal by the former UN Secretary General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and the French foreign minister Hubert Vedrine. Other countries, notably Russia and China, also condemned the zones as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. In mid-2002, the U.S. began more carefully selecting targets in the southern part of the country to disrupt the military command structure in Iraq. A change in enforcement tactics was acknowledged at the time, but it was not made public that this was part of a plan known as Operation Southern Focus.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion
The amount of ordnance dropped on Iraqi positions by Coalition aircraft in 2001 and 2002 was less than in 1999 and 2000 which was during the Clinton administration. However, information obtained by the UK Liberal Democrats showed that the UK dropped twice as many bombs on Iraq in the second half of 2002 as they did during the whole of 2001. The tonnage of UK bombs dropped increased from 0 in March 2002 and 0.3 in April 2002 to between 7 and 14 tons per month in May–August, reaching a pre-war peak of 54.6 tons in September – before the U.S. Congress' 11 October authorization of the invasion.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion
The 5 September attacks included a 100+ aircraft attack on the main air defense site in western Iraq. According to an editorial in New Statesman this was "Located at the furthest extreme of the southern no-fly zone, far away from the areas that needed to be patrolled to prevent attacks on the Shias, it was destroyed not because it was a threat to the patrols, but to allow allied special forces operating from Jordan to enter Iraq undetected."


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion
Tommy Franks, who commanded the invasion of Iraq, has since admitted that the bombing was designed to "degrade" Iraqi air defences in the same way as the air attacks that began the 1991 Gulf War. These "spikes of activity" were, in the words of then British Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, designed to 'put pressure on the Iraqi regime' or, as The Times reported, to "provoke Saddam Hussein into giving the allies an excuse for war". In this respect, as provocations designed to start a war, leaked British Foreign Office legal advice concluded that such attacks were illegal under international law.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion
Another attempt at provoking the war was mentioned in a leaked memo from a meeting between George W. Bush and Tony Blair on 31 January 2003 at which Bush allegedly told Blair that "The US was thinking of flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in UN colours. If Saddam fired on them, he would be in breach." On 17 March 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave the country, along with his sons Uday and Qusay, or face war.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Preceding special forces mission in al-Qa'im
On the night of 17 March 2003, the majority of B and D squadron British 22nd SAS Regiment, designated as Task Force 14, crossed the border from Jordan to conduct a ground assault on a suspected chemical munitions site at a water-treatment plant in the city of al-Qa'im. It had been reported that the site might have been a SCUD missile launch site or a depot; an SAS officer was quoted by author Mark Nicol as saying "it was a location where missiles had been fired at Israel in the past, and a site of strategic importance for WMD material."


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Preceding special forces mission in al-Qa'im
The 60 members of D squadron, along with their 'Pinkie' DPVs (the last time the vehicles were used before their retirement), was flown 120 km into Iraq in 6 MH-47Ds in 3 waves. Following their insertion, D squadron established a patrol laager at a remote location outside al-Qa'im and awaited the arrival of B squadron, who had driven overland from Jordan. Their approach to the plant was compromised, and a firefight developed which ended in one 'pinkie' having to be abandoned and destroyed. Repeated attempts to assault the plant were halted, leading the SAS to call in an air strike which silenced the opposition.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening salvo: the Dora Farms strike
In the early morning of 19 March 2003, U.S. forces abandoned the plan for initial, non-nuclear decapitation strikes against 55 top Iraqi officials, in light of reports that Saddam Hussein was visiting his sons, Uday and Qusay, at Dora Farms, within the al-Dora farming community on the outskirts of Baghdad. At approximately 05:30 UTC, two F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighters from the 8th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron dropped four enhanced, satellite-guided 2,000-pound GBU-27 'Bunker Busters' on the compound. Complementing the aerial bombardment were nearly 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from at least four ships, including the  Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Cowpens (CG-63), credited with the first to strike,  Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Donald Cook, and two submarines in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening salvo: the Dora Farms strike
One bomb missed the compound entirely and the other three missed their target, landing on the other side of the wall of the palace compound. Saddam Hussein was not present, nor were any members of the Iraqi leadership. The attack killed one civilian and injured fourteen others, including four men, nine women and one child. Later investigation revealed that Saddam Hussein had not visited the farm since 1995.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack
On 19 March 2003 at 21:00, the first strike of the operation was carried out by members of the 160th SOAR: a flight of MH-60L DAPs (Direct Action Penetrators) and four 'Black Swarm' flights – each consisting of a pair of AH-6M Little Birds and a FLIR equipped MH-6M to identify targets for the AH-6s (each Black swarm flight was assigned a pair of A-10As) engaged Iraqi visual observation posts along the southern and western borders of Iraq. Within seven hours, more than 70 sites were destroyed, effectively depriving the Iraqi military of any early warning of the coming invasion.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack
As the sites were eliminated, the first heliborne SOF teams launched from H-5 air base in Jordan, including vehicle-mounted patrols from the British and Australian components transported by the MH-47Ds of the 160th SOAR. Ground elements of Task Force Dagger, Task Force 20, Task force 14, and Task Force 64 breached the sand berms along the Iraqi border with Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait in the early morning hours and drove into Iraq. Unofficially, the British, Australians, and Task Force 20 had been in Iraq weeks prior.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack
On 20 March 2003 at approximately 02:30 UTC or about 90 minutes after the lapse of the 48-hour deadline, at 05:34 local time, explosions were heard in Baghdad. Special operations commandos from the CIA's Special Activities Division from the Northern Iraq Liaison Element infiltrated throughout Iraq and called in the early air strikes. At 03:16 UTC, or 10:16 pm EST, George W. Bush announced that he had ordered an attack against "selected targets of military importance" in Iraq. When this word was given, the troops on standby crossed the border into Iraq.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack
Before the invasion, many observers had expected a longer campaign of aerial bombing before any ground action, taking as examples the 1991 Persian Gulf War or the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. In practice, U.S. plans envisioned simultaneous air and ground assaults to incapacitate the Iraqi forces quickly which resulted in the Shock and awe military campaign attempting to bypass Iraqi military units and cities in most cases.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack
The assumption was that superior mobility and coordination of Coalition forces would allow them to attack the heart of the Iraqi command structure and destroy it in a short time, and that this would minimize civilian deaths and damage to infrastructure. It was expected that the elimination of the leadership would lead to the collapse of the Iraqi Forces and the government, and that much of the population would support the invaders once the government had been weakened. Occupation of cities and attacks on peripheral military units were viewed as undesirable distractions.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack
Following Turkey's decision to deny any official use of its territory, the Coalition was forced to modify the planned simultaneous attack from north and south. Special Operations forces from the CIA and U.S. Army managed to build and lead the Kurdish Peshmerga into an effective force and assault for the North. The primary bases for the invasion were in Kuwait and other Persian Gulf nations. One result of this was that one of the divisions intended for the invasion was forced to relocate and was unable to take part in the invasion until well into the war. Many observers felt that the Coalition devoted sufficient numbers of troops to the invasion, but too many were withdrawn after it ended, and that the failure to occupy cities put them at a major disadvantage in achieving security and order throughout the country when local support failed to meet expectations.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack
The invasion was swift, leading to the collapse of the Iraqi government and the military of Iraq in about three weeks. The oil infrastructure of Iraq was rapidly seized and secured with limited damage in that time. Securing the oil infrastructure was considered of great importance. In the first Gulf War, while retreating from Kuwait, the Iraqi army had set many oil wells on fire and had dumped oil into the Gulf waters; this was to disguise troop movements and to distract Coalition forces.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack
Before the 2003 invasion, Iraqi forces had mined some 400 oil wells around Basra and the Al-Faw peninsula with explosives. Coalition troops launched an air and amphibious assault on the Al-Faw peninsula during the closing hours of 19 March to secure the oil fields there; the amphibious assault was supported by warships of the Royal Navy, Polish Navy, and Royal Australian Navy.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack
In the meantime, Royal Air Force Tornados from 9 and 617 Squadrons attacked the radar defence systems protecting Baghdad, but lost a Tornado on 22 March along with the pilot and navigator (Flight Lieutenant Kevin Main and Flight Lieutenant Dave Williams), shot down by an American Patriot missile as they returned to their air base in Kuwait. On 1 April, an F-14 from USS Kitty Hawk crashed in southern Iraq reportedly due to engine failure, and a S-3B Viking plunged off the deck of the USS Constellation after a malfunction and an AV-8B Harrier jump jet went into the Gulf while it was trying to land on the USS Nassau.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack
British 3 Commando Brigade, with the United States Navy's Special Boat Team 22, Task Unit Two , as well as the United States Marine Corps' 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit  and the Polish Special Forces unit GROM attached, attacked the port of Umm Qasr. There they met with heavy resistance by Iraqi troops. A total of 14 Coalition troops and 30–40 Iraqi troops were killed, and 450 Iraqis taken prisoner.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack
The British Army's 16 Air Assault Brigade alongside elements of the Royal Airforce Regiment also secured the oil fields in southern Iraq in places like Rumaila while the Polish commandos captured offshore oil platforms near the port, preventing their destruction. Despite the rapid advance of the invasion forces, some 44 oil wells were destroyed and set ablaze by Iraqi explosives or by incidental fire. However, the wells were quickly capped and the fires put out, preventing the ecological damage and loss of oil production capacity that had occurred at the end of the Gulf War.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack
In keeping with the rapid advance plan, the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division moved westward and then northward through the western desert toward Baghdad, while the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force moved along Highway 1 through the center of the country, and 1 (UK) Armoured Division moved northward through the eastern marshland.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack
During the first week of the war, Iraqi forces fired a Scud missile at the American Battlefield Update Assessment center in Camp Doha, Kuwait. The missile was intercepted and shot down by a Patriot missile seconds before hitting the complex. Subsequently, two A-10 Warthogs attacked the missile launcher.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack, Battle of Nasiriyah
Initially, the 1st Marine Division (United States) fought through the Rumaila oil fields, and moved north to Nasiriyah—a moderate-sized, Shi'ite-dominated city with important strategic significance as a major road junction and its proximity to nearby Tallil Airfield. It was also situated near a number of strategically important bridges over the Euphrates River. The city was defended by a mix of regular Iraqi army units, Ba'ath loyalists, and Fedayeen from both Iraq and abroad. The United States Army 3rd Infantry Division defeated Iraqi forces entrenched in and around the airfield and bypassed the city to the west.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack, Battle of Nasiriyah
On 23 March, a convoy from the 3rd Infantry Division, including the female American soldiers Jessica Lynch, Shoshana Johnson, and Lori Piestewa, was ambushed after taking a wrong turn into the city. Eleven U.S. soldiers were killed, and seven, including Lynch and Johnson, were captured. Piestewa died of wounds shortly after capture, while the remaining five prisoners of war were later rescued. Piestewa, who was from Tuba City, Arizona, and an enrolled member of the Hopi Tribe, was believed to have been the first Native American woman killed in combat in a foreign war.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack, Battle of Nasiriyah
On the same day, U.S. Marines from the Second Marine Division entered Nasiriyah in force, facing heavy resistance as they moved to secure two major bridges in the city. Several Marines were killed during a firefight with Fedayeen in the urban fighting. At the Saddam Canal, another 18 Marines were killed in heavy fighting with Iraqi soldiers. An Air Force A-10 was involved in a case of friendly fire that resulted in the death of six Marines when it accidentally attacked an American amphibious vehicle.


2003 invasion of Iraq, Invasion, Opening attack, Battle of Nasiriyah
Two other vehicles were destroyed when a barrage of RPG and small arms fire killed most of the Marines inside. A Marine from Marine Air Control Group 28 was killed by enemy fire, and two Marine engineers drowned in the Saddam Canal. The bridges were secured and the Second Marine division set up a perimeter around the city.