March 17th and 19th, 2003: President Bush's Speech to the United Nations
Operation Iraqi Freedom begins
Bush making speech in front of the UN
On March 17th, 2003 United States President George W. Bush went before the United Nations to declare his intent to send US troops into Iraq. He begins by relating the current situation to the original Persian Gulf War. Tales of deceit by the Iraqi government and Iraqi officials are told. He tells them that the Iraqi government, specifically Saddam Hussein, had been repeatedly in violation of UN Security Council resolution 1441. Bush also gives a message to the people and soldiers of Iraq, stating that the US is not after them, just their "tyrant leaders". Promises of food, health, and freedom are made. George Bush concludes his speech by presenting Saddam Hussein with an ultimatum: Leave the country with your sons (Uday and Qusay), or we will remove you by force. The UN moved the last few of their inspectors out of Iraq the next day and on the morning of March 19th, 2003 the first of many bombing missions that day targeting Iraqi military facilities (specifically those in the "No-Fly Zone") were run. This was the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, an almost half-decade long "conflict" (Wars are declared only by congress) that would cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars. Initial bombing missions were flown over the Dora Farms, where it was reported that Saddam Hussein was visiting his two sons, Uday and Qusay, and his (Saddam's) daughters. This was unsuccessful, as all missles aimed at the facility missed the compund, and that later intelligence revealed that Saddam Hussein hadn't been there since 1995. This was just a taste of what the war was going to be like.
