News
World braces as deadline looms
Published: Mar 18, 2003 - 12:45 PM
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- With the clock ticking down on the 48-hour deadline for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons to leave the country, the United States and the world are bracing for war -- and the possibility of terrorist retaliation.
In a news conference Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge laid out the details of a unified security plan called "Operation Liberty Shield." (Full story)
The plan would increase security at ports, borders, railroads and airports and other key infrastructure.
It also calls for detaining asylum seekers from countries where terrorist groups have been known to operate.
"We have taken these actions because intelligence reporting indicates that while al Qaeda and those sympathetic to their cause are still a principal threat," Ridge said, "Iraqi state agents, Iraqi surrogate groups, other regional extremist organizations and ad hoc groups or disgruntled individuals may use this time period to conduct terrorist attacks against the United States and our interests either here or abroad."
The U.S. government raised the national terror threat level from yellow, or "elevated," to orange, or "high," shortly after President Bush issued an ultimatum to Saddam on Monday night. Orange is the second-highest level in the nation's five-tiered, color-coded threat alert system.
In his address, Bush warned Saddam to leave Iraq by 4 a.m. Thursday (8 p.m. EST Wednesday) or face military action.
Saying the "danger is clear" that the Iraqi regime would provide terrorists with biological, chemical or nuclear weapons, Bush said war would begin "at a time of our choosing" should Saddam not leave Iraq. (Full story)
As part of the tightened security efforts, the Secret Service has expanded the security perimeter around the White House complex, barring pedestrians unless they have an appointment or an official pass. Tours have also been suspended.(Full story)
California Gov. Gray Davis on Tuesday increased the on-duty hours of state highway patrol officers and doubled their presence at "trophy buildings" and other high-profile potential targets. The California National Guard has been guarding the Golden Gate Bridge since the September 11 attacks, and that duty could be expanded to other major bridges in the area.
New York authorities are implementing Operation Atlas, a plan to bolster security throughout the city, a law enforcement source said. Atlas, which could cost the city more than $5 million per week, will go into full effect should war with Iraq begin, a source said. (Full story)
The NCAA is considering postponing the start of the men's and women's college basketball tournaments if war breaks out, The Associated Press reports. The first men's game is Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio, with the rest of the first round starting Thursday. The women's tournament starts Saturday. (Full story)
Exodus from Iraq
The United Nations has started evacuating its expatriate personnel, including dozens of weapons inspectors, from Iraq. (CNN's Nick Robertson, On the Scene)
The first group left Saddam International Airport around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday (2:30 a.m. EST), an airport official said, and arrived a short time later in Larnaca, Cyprus.
Before the evacuation began, there were 134 international staffers in Baghdad, including 60 inspectors from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The rest are humanitarian workers.
It was not clear whether the United Nations would evacuate its Iraqi staff. (Full story)
In northern Iraq, thousands of Iraqi Kurds were leaving key population centers for the countryside, fearing that a U.S.-led attack could lead Saddam to lash out against them.
The refugee agency for the United Nations is making plans to handle 600,000 refugees if a war takes place in Iraq, a monumental task that will require $60 million, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement Tuesday.
Saddam and his son Uday Hussein on Tuesday rejected Bush's ultimatum ordering the family to leave Iraq or face military action. Broadcast on Iraqi television, a statement from the Revolutionary Command Council said the country is ready to confront a U.S.-led attack. (Full story)
But a U.S. official said that intercepts of Iraqi military radio traffic indicate that a number of Iraqi military units "are not going to hold it together" in the event of invasion.
U.S. military officials said Tuesday that Iraqi Republican Guard military units south of Baghdad may have chemical munitions filled with a form of VX nerve agent as well as mustard gas.
The United States also has indications of sabotage against oil fields in the southern Iraqi region of Rumailah, where a number of wells are spilling oil in the desert, officials said.
World reaction
Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair leaves Downing Street in London for the House of Commons on Tuesday.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair faces a difficult task Tuesday, trying to win the backing of his party for his decision to join the United States in military action against Iraq. Tuesday's debate and vote in the House of Commons comes after senior Cabinet minister Robin Cook resigned, saying he could not support a war without international agreement or domestic support.
Blair's government has asked the House of Commons to support its decision to use "all means necessary" to strip Saddam of any weapons of mass destruction. (Full story)
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said Tuesday that Spain would not send combat troops to fight alongside the United States and Britain in the expected war on Iraq.
Instead, he said, Spain would send a hospital ship, Army engineers who could defuse land mines, and other Spanish troops trained in decontaminating nuclear, chemical or biological attacks. (Full story)
Turkey's Cabinet on Tuesday is to discuss a proposal to let U.S. troops attack Iraq from Turkish soil in the event of war, and it is expected to present the matter to the Turkish parliament for a vote Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener said. Lawmakers rejected the measure in a previous vote, denying the United States the chance to base 62,000 troops in Turkey. (Full story)
France's ambassador to the United States, Jean-David Levitte, said Tuesday that his country might re-think its position on war with Iraq if Saddam were to use biological or chemical weapons against coalition forces. (Full story)
"If Saddam Hussein were to use chemical and biological weapons, this would change the situation completely and immediately for the French government," Jean-David Levitte said.
CNN Correspondents Rym Brahimi, Andrea Koppel, Suzanne Malveaux and Barbara Starr and Producer Elise Labott contributed to this report. For latest developments, see CNN.com's Iraq Tracker.
The plan would increase security at ports, borders, railroads and airports and other key infrastructure.
It also calls for detaining asylum seekers from countries where terrorist groups have been known to operate.
"We have taken these actions because intelligence reporting indicates that while al Qaeda and those sympathetic to their cause are still a principal threat," Ridge said, "Iraqi state agents, Iraqi surrogate groups, other regional extremist organizations and ad hoc groups or disgruntled individuals may use this time period to conduct terrorist attacks against the United States and our interests either here or abroad."
The U.S. government raised the national terror threat level from yellow, or "elevated," to orange, or "high," shortly after President Bush issued an ultimatum to Saddam on Monday night. Orange is the second-highest level in the nation's five-tiered, color-coded threat alert system.
In his address, Bush warned Saddam to leave Iraq by 4 a.m. Thursday (8 p.m. EST Wednesday) or face military action.
Saying the "danger is clear" that the Iraqi regime would provide terrorists with biological, chemical or nuclear weapons, Bush said war would begin "at a time of our choosing" should Saddam not leave Iraq. (Full story)
As part of the tightened security efforts, the Secret Service has expanded the security perimeter around the White House complex, barring pedestrians unless they have an appointment or an official pass. Tours have also been suspended.(Full story)
California Gov. Gray Davis on Tuesday increased the on-duty hours of state highway patrol officers and doubled their presence at "trophy buildings" and other high-profile potential targets. The California National Guard has been guarding the Golden Gate Bridge since the September 11 attacks, and that duty could be expanded to other major bridges in the area.
New York authorities are implementing Operation Atlas, a plan to bolster security throughout the city, a law enforcement source said. Atlas, which could cost the city more than $5 million per week, will go into full effect should war with Iraq begin, a source said. (Full story)
The NCAA is considering postponing the start of the men's and women's college basketball tournaments if war breaks out, The Associated Press reports. The first men's game is Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio, with the rest of the first round starting Thursday. The women's tournament starts Saturday. (Full story)
Exodus from Iraq
The United Nations has started evacuating its expatriate personnel, including dozens of weapons inspectors, from Iraq. (CNN's Nick Robertson, On the Scene)
The first group left Saddam International Airport around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday (2:30 a.m. EST), an airport official said, and arrived a short time later in Larnaca, Cyprus.
Before the evacuation began, there were 134 international staffers in Baghdad, including 60 inspectors from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The rest are humanitarian workers.
It was not clear whether the United Nations would evacuate its Iraqi staff. (Full story)
In northern Iraq, thousands of Iraqi Kurds were leaving key population centers for the countryside, fearing that a U.S.-led attack could lead Saddam to lash out against them.
The refugee agency for the United Nations is making plans to handle 600,000 refugees if a war takes place in Iraq, a monumental task that will require $60 million, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement Tuesday.
Saddam and his son Uday Hussein on Tuesday rejected Bush's ultimatum ordering the family to leave Iraq or face military action. Broadcast on Iraqi television, a statement from the Revolutionary Command Council said the country is ready to confront a U.S.-led attack. (Full story)
But a U.S. official said that intercepts of Iraqi military radio traffic indicate that a number of Iraqi military units "are not going to hold it together" in the event of invasion.
U.S. military officials said Tuesday that Iraqi Republican Guard military units south of Baghdad may have chemical munitions filled with a form of VX nerve agent as well as mustard gas.
The United States also has indications of sabotage against oil fields in the southern Iraqi region of Rumailah, where a number of wells are spilling oil in the desert, officials said.
World reaction
Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair leaves Downing Street in London for the House of Commons on Tuesday.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair faces a difficult task Tuesday, trying to win the backing of his party for his decision to join the United States in military action against Iraq. Tuesday's debate and vote in the House of Commons comes after senior Cabinet minister Robin Cook resigned, saying he could not support a war without international agreement or domestic support.
Blair's government has asked the House of Commons to support its decision to use "all means necessary" to strip Saddam of any weapons of mass destruction. (Full story)
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said Tuesday that Spain would not send combat troops to fight alongside the United States and Britain in the expected war on Iraq.
Instead, he said, Spain would send a hospital ship, Army engineers who could defuse land mines, and other Spanish troops trained in decontaminating nuclear, chemical or biological attacks. (Full story)
Turkey's Cabinet on Tuesday is to discuss a proposal to let U.S. troops attack Iraq from Turkish soil in the event of war, and it is expected to present the matter to the Turkish parliament for a vote Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener said. Lawmakers rejected the measure in a previous vote, denying the United States the chance to base 62,000 troops in Turkey. (Full story)
France's ambassador to the United States, Jean-David Levitte, said Tuesday that his country might re-think its position on war with Iraq if Saddam were to use biological or chemical weapons against coalition forces. (Full story)
"If Saddam Hussein were to use chemical and biological weapons, this would change the situation completely and immediately for the French government," Jean-David Levitte said.
CNN Correspondents Rym Brahimi, Andrea Koppel, Suzanne Malveaux and Barbara Starr and Producer Elise Labott contributed to this report. For latest developments, see CNN.com's Iraq Tracker.
