Operation Iraqi Freedom

1958 First military coup in Iraq
1979 Saddam Hussein of the Ba'ath-party obtains power
1981-1989 Borderincident with Iran results in war
1990 Iraq invades Kuwait on Augustus 2 – U.N. Security Council accepts resolution 660– Bush starts operation Dessert Shield as requested by Saudi Arabia – England, France, Italy, Canada, Bahrein, Egypt, Abu Dhabi and the UAE join Saudi Arabia
1991 Allied forces liberate Kuwait and invade Iraq in operation Dessert Storm
2001 Attack on the Twin Towers on September 11– Operation Enduring freedom
2003 Iraq after twelve years of sanctions and bombardments in no-fly zones – Weapon-inspections of Hans Blix amount to nothing and Iraq cooperates insufficiently – The U.S. and the U.K. want a new resulution to give Iraq a few months more time and make a war possible – The security councel is divided – France declares to veto any proposition that includes the possibility of a war – Germany, Belgium and Russia also want to continue the weapon-inspections without a possible war - Kofi Anan poses that the Security Council does not support the nascent war - The U.S. offers, on ground of resolutions 1441, 687 and 678, an ultimatum

2:00 Bush confronts Hussein with the ultimatum to leave Iraq in 48 hours or face war

Turkey: Protected by the Netherlands Army Patriot missles - U.S. is permitted to use Turkish airspace - Turkish troop occupy a small zone in Iraq near the Turkish border - Kurdish troops occupy a part of Northern Iraq- Bombing in the no fly zone in Iraq is intensified - Civilians and troops are instructed on use of gasmasks in nations including Iraq, Israel, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia

General Tommy Frank leading ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’ with coalition forces including aproximately 1050 aircraft and 300,000 troops from the U.S., U.K, and Australia
Qatar	Headquarters
U.K.	U.S. B-52 Stratofortress	20 cruise missiles – range 14,000 km – speed 1,047 kph
Kuwait	Patriots – troops – aircraft including A-10 – CH-47
Saudi Arabia	Patriots – troops – aircraft including AWACS – KC-10
Mediterean - Red Sea – Persian Gulf	Warships - submarines – carriers including the U.S.S. Lincoln - U.S.S.Constalation - U.S.S. Rooseveld	Tomohawk cruise missles ranging 1,600 km – EA-6B Prowler – F-14 – F-18
Over 12 counties in the Gulf region – 30 airfields	E-8 Joint Stars - E-3D Sentry – E-2 Hawkeye – P3 Orion	Coordination – reconnaicanse
	KC-135 – KC-10	Refueling
	C17 Globemaster III - C-130 – VC10 – C-2 Greyhound and Tristar	Transport and evacuation
	AC-130	Flying Fortress
	A-10 Warthog	Air to ground ordenance – 30 mm guns
	Gazelle – Cobra – SH-60 - AH-64 Apache – CH-46 Sea Knight - UH-60 Black Hawk	Helicopters
	OH-58D Kiowa	Observation – Scout helicopter - 1 Hellfire Missle and 6 Rockets
	RAF Lynx – Puma – Sea King - CH-47 Chinook	Helicopters
	B-1B	24 GPS guided bombs
	B-2 Spirit	16 GPS guided bombs or laser guided bunker busters, cruise missiles – 1,056 kph - range 11,000 km
	F-15 Eagle – F-16 Fighting Falcon
	F-117A Nighthawk	2 laser guided bunker busters - 1,047 kph
	RAF Tornado F3 and F4, Jaguar GR3 and Harrier GR7
	300,000 troops	40.000 U.K. troops – 2.000 Australian troops - U.S. 7th Cavalery - U.S. 3rd Infantery division – U.S. 101st Airborne - artillery

	Coalition activity	Iraqi activity
Thursday 20-03-03 D-day and G-day	Baghdad bombed by F-117A and 40 cruise missles – F-18 and F-14 sorties in South Iraq – Ground forces move into South Iraq - Umm Qasr occupied – A total of 100 Tomohawk cruise missles fired	Six missles fired at Kuwait City of which two are intercepted by Patriots – Nine oil wells near Basra set on fire - Two way artilery fire near Kuwait border
Friday 21-03 A-day and S-day	Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk bombed by over 500 cruise missles – Special forces occupy two airfields in Western Iraq near Al Rutha - Ground forces move further into South Iraq	Resistance in Umm Qasr
Saturday 22-03 Day 3	Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk and Tikrit bombed - Fighting near Umm Qasr, Basra, and Nasiriya – Oil wells near Basra occupied – Gunboat destroys Iraqi patrolboat in Northern Persian Gulf – Hundreds of POWs taken – Pentagon announces Nasiriya is occupied	Four U.S. Soldiers killed – Thousants of Iraqi forces lay down their weapons – Resistance in Umm Qasr
Sunday 23-03 Day 4	Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk and Tikrit bombed - Fighting near Umm Qasr, Basra, Nasiriya and Najav – Over 200 civilians injured in Baghdad bombing -10 U.S. military missing	1 U.S military killed and 13 injured in grenade attack agains 101st airborne in Northern Kuwait – Missle attack on U.S. Army base in Northern Kuwait was intercepted by Patriots – U.S. 7th cavalry reports civilians are used as human shields – 10 coalition military killed – At least five U.S. military captured
Monday 24-03 Day 5	Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk and Tikrit bombed – Fighting in Umm Qasr, Basra, Nasiriya, Najav and Karbala – Expansion of Northern front near Salahuddin	U.S. Apache downed – U.S. forces slowed down by troops including Fedayeem Saddam
Tuesday 25-03 Day 6	Baghdad bombed – U.S. destroy Iraqi GPS jammers – Pentagon report uprising in Basra and occupation of Umm Qasr – Euprate river crossed by coalition forces – British find gasmasks in abandoned Iraqi trenchholes - Iraqi hospital found to contain weapons – Coalition forces decide to try to enter Basra instead of bypassing	U.S. forces slowed down by sandstorms – Iraqi troops down a unmanned aircraft - Iraq denies Pentagons progress report
Wednesday 2-4 Day 14	Baghdad bombed - Heaviest fighting so far near Karbala and Kut	Iraq denies coalition progress reports
Thursday 3-4 Day 15	Heaviest bombardmentst so far on Baghdad - 7th Cavalary and 3rd Infantery close in on Saddam Airport 10 km from Baghdad	Sahaf denies coalition progress reports
Saturday 5-4 Day 17	Thirty U.S. tanks rush through parts of Baghdad – Saddam International airport occupied - Fighting between british troops and Republican Guard in Basra – British troop capture Ba’ath party members from their homes - Iraqi civilians set Ba’ath party office on fire in South Iraq	Sahaf denies coalition progress
Sunday 6-4 day 18	U.K. troops enter center of Basra with 100 tanks
Tuesday 8-4 day 20		Three A-10 warthogs hit by SAM in Baghdad– One A-10 downed – Pilot ejected and rescued
Wednesday 9-4 day 21	U.S. troops take center of Baghdad - Royal troops in Basra take off helmets to improve the relations with the civilians	Sahaf and other Iraqi government representatives disappeared
Sunday 13-4 day 25	Tikrit under fire by coalition forces – 7 U.S. POWs including Apache pilots and the March 23-POWs recaptured by coalition on approach to Tikrit - U.S. troops occupy banks and the ministry of oil	Ali Babbas loot buildings including hospitals in Baghdad
Monday 14-4 day 26	U.S. ministry of defense announces that Tikrit, Saddams last stand, is taken by coalition troops, thereby ending the war – Approximately one hundred civilian casualties due to bombing reported by Iraqi hospitals	Firefights in the night in Baghdad

On 20-05-03 the UN Security Council passed resolution 1483 that calls for a SFIR. The first Dutch troops were deployed in Iraq on 02-06-03. In the first two rotations of SFIR, marines formed the core of the Dutch troops. The main components of the thirth rotation were troops of the Royal Netherlands Army. The Royal Netherlands Airforce is present with three CH-47D Chinooks and six AH-64 Apaches, which are stationed in Air Force Base Tallil. A total of approximately 1300 Dutch troops are stationed in Al-Muthanna, a desert in the South of Iraq. The Dutch troops will remain in Iraq untill mid-2005.

		This page was updated in June 2004