Iraq timeline
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Nayirah Tearfully Describes Iraqi Atrocities in Occupied Kuwait
Although there were human rights abuses committed in Kuwait by the invading Iraqi military, the ones best known in the US were an invention of the... Read more
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UN Security Council Resolutions Authorize the Use of Force to Expel Iraq from Kuwait
A long series of UN Security Council resolutions and Arab League resolutions were passed regarding the invasion. One of the most important was... Read more
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US Congress Authorizes the Use of Force to Expel Iraqi Troops from Kuwait
On 12 January 1991 the United States Congress authorized the use of military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait. The votes were 52-47 in the US... Read more
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The Gulf War Begins
The origins of the Gulf War began many years before the US officially declared it early in 1991. Iraq and Kuwait had tensions that traced back to... Read more
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Operation Instant Thunder, the Coalition Air Campaign Against Iraqi Forces, Begins
A day after the deadline set in Resolution, the coalition launched a massive air campaign which began the general offensive codenamed Operation... Read more
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Iraqi Forces Cause the Gulf War Oil Spill
On January 21, 1991, Iraqi forces opened valves at the Sea Island oil terminal and dumped oil from several tankers into the Persian Gulf. The... Read more
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Battle of Khafji
On January 29, Iraq attacked and occupied the lightly defended Saudi city of Khafji with tanks and infantry. However, the Battle of Khafji ended... Read more
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US Air Force Destroys the Amiriyah Blockhouse, Killing 408 Civilians
The Amiriyah shelter massacre was the killing of more than 408 civilians on February 13, 1991 during the Gulf War, when an air-raid shelter... Read more
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Iraq Agrees to a Soviet Proposed Cease-Fire Agreement
On February 22, 1991, Iraq agreed to a Soviet-proposed cease-fire agreement. The agreement called for Iraq to withdraw troops to pre-invasion... Read more
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Coalition Forces Enter Iraq
Shortly after the SCUD attack which killed 28 US troops in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. VII Corps assembled in full strength and, spearheaded by... Read more
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Iraqi Missile Strike Kills 28 US Reservists
On the evening of February 25, 1991, an Iraqi scud missile plunged into a barracks/warehouse used to house U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 475th... Read more
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Iraqi Troops Begin Retreating From Kuwait
The Coalition advance was much swifter than US generals had expected. On February 26, Iraqi troops began retreating from Kuwait, setting fire to... Read more
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George H.W. Bush Declares Kuwait Liberated
Exactly 100 hours after to ground campaign began, Iraq retreated from Kuwait City, and US President George H.W. Bush declared an end to offensive... Read more
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Operation Desert Fox
The December 1998 bombing of Iraq (code-named Operation Desert Fox) was a major four-day bombing campaign on Iraqi targets from December 16–19,... Read more
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CIA Operatives, Joined by JSOC, Prepare the Iraqi Battlespace for the US-led Invasion
The first CIA team entered Iraq on July 10, 2002. This team was composed of members of the CIA's famed Special Activities Division and was later... Read more
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President Bush Announces that Time is Running Out for UN Inspections in Iraq
Two weeks before he would launch the invasion of Iraq, President Bush announces at a press conference that time is running out on the UN... Read more
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The US-led Invasion of Iraq Begins
At approximately 02:30 UTC, or about 90 minutes after the lapse of the 48-hour deadline, at 5:30 am local time, explosions were heard in Baghdad.... Read more
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United States Invades Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1, 2003, was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents... Read more
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Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf, Information Minister of Iraq, Claims No US Troops Are In Baghdad
Al-Sahhaf is known for his daily press briefings in Baghdad during the 2003 Iraq War. His colorful appearances caused him to be nicknamed Baghdad... Read more
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Baghdad Falls to US Troops
San Francisco Chronicle - After a spectacular foray in the early morning, with U.S. and Iraqi troops trading bursts of fire, the Americans captured... Read more
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President Bush Declares "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq
On May 1, 2003, Bush became the first sitting President to make an arrested landing in a fixed-wing aircraft on an aircraft carrier when he arrived... Read more
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Iraqi Insurgency Begins to Swell
After President Bush's speech on May 1, 2003 (the "Mission Accomplished" speech), coalition forces noticed a gradually increasing flurry of attacks... Read more
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Operation Peninsula Strike
Operation Peninsula Strike was a series of raids conducted by American troops from June 9 to June 13, 2003 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It... Read more
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Uday and Qusay Hussein Killed in a Firefight with US Troops
On 22 July 2003, Task Force 20, aided by troops of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division, had a showdown with Uday, Qusay and Qusay's 14-year-old... Read more
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The Ramadan Offensive
In October 2003, the intensity and pace of insurgent attacks began to increase. Finally, at the end of October, a series of four simultaneous... Read more
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