Asia and the Pacific

A new respiratory virus, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), appeared in China's Guangdong province in March and quickly spread via air travel to thousands of others in dozens of countries in the region and beyond. The mortality rate, about 6-10%, is higher than that for influenza, which kills about 250,000 per year worldwide. Health authorities have attempted to keep the disease from spreading further or from becoming a permanent disease. Unfortunately, China was slow to respond to the outbreak and to inform foreign countries of it, and that may have cost some valuable time. By the end of April there were over 6,000 cases worldwide, including almost 4,000 in China and over 1,500 in Hong Kong. The outbreak has depressed regional economic activity significantly (Reuters).

1 APRIL 2003

Ivory Coast

At talks in Accra, Ghana, between rebels and the Prime Minister, the MPCI tentatively agreed to participate in the new power-sharing government (Reuters).

1-3 APRIL 2003

Iraq

1st Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) resumed its northern advance on the 1st. 5th Regimental Combat Team (RCT 5) advanced northeast along Highway 27 toward Al Kut, seizing a bridge over the Saddam Canal. The next day it seized two crossings over the Tigris west of Al Kut. Meanwhile RCT 1 had advanced to Al Kut from the south. On the 3rd, RCT 7 destroyed the Baghdad Republican Guard Division's two western brigades. Also on the 3rd, RCT 5, having already begun advancing toward Baghdad, reached Al Aziziyah and overcame resistance from a mix of elements of the Al Nida Republican Guard Division, Fedayeen and foreign fighters. I MEF did not enter Al Kut but instead continued toward Baghdad, leaving behind a small force to contain the remnants of the Baghdad Division.1

2 APRIL 2003

Iraq

Early on the 2nd, the 3rd Infantry Division attacked north through the 'Karbala Gap', the area between and immediately north of Karbala and Lake al-Razzazah.2 By now the Medina Republican Guard Division in the Karbala area had been largely destroyed by air and artillery attacks, and the 3rd Infantry advanced quickly against little resistance.3 Later that day, elements of the division's 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) reached the Euphrates at Yasin al-Khudayr and seized a crossing over the river.4

Democratic Republic of Congo

Agreement was reached between the government and rebel groups on a transitional government. President Joseph Kabila would lead it along with four vice-presidents representing the current government, the two largest rebel groups and the unarmed political opposition. The transitional government would last two and a half years, after which elections would be held. Certain issues were still unresolved, such as the integration of government and rebel forces into a new national army (AP).

2-10 APRIL 2003

Iraq

The 101st Airborne Division attacked the Hammurabi Republican Guard Division in the Al Hillah area with the object of securing the right flank of the 3rd Infantry Division's northward advance. This was one of the few instances of major organized resistance to US forces. The Americans relied on powerful artillery and air support to slowly but thoroughly destroy the Iraqi defense at little cost to themselves. The fighting in Hillah and its surrounding area persisted until 10 April.5 By the 7th, Al Hillah itself was isolated, and by the 9th it had fallen.6

3 APRIL 2003

Iraq

The 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd BCT advanced from the Yasin al-Khudayr bridgehead northeast to Objective 'Saints', the intersection of Highways 1 and 8, about 15 kilometers south of the Baghdad city center.7 At the same time, other elements of 3rd Infantry, advancing quickly up the east bank of the Euphrates, reached Saddam International Airport and Baghdad's western approaches. There were counterattacks from Fedayeen which were brushed aside.8

Democratic Republic of Congo

The UN estimated that 150-350 civilians were massacred in Drodo in Ituri province. The source of the attack was not immediately known, but there were allegations that an ethnic Lendu militia killed the ethnic Hema tribespeople (Reuters).

Philippines

A bomb exploded in Davao, killing 16 (Reuters).

4 APRIL 2003

Iraq

There were Iraqi counterattacks against US forces around the Abu Ghraib expressway which included some armored support; they were easily disposed of. US forces began probing attacks into the airport.9

Elements of 82nd Airborne Division took Samawah – which had been bypassed by the 3rd Infantry Division – against minimal resistance.10

Colonel Joseph Dowdy was relieved of command of RCT 1 by I MEF commander General James Mattis and replaced with the RCT 1 G-3, Col. John Toolan. It appeared that Mattis was dissatisfied with the operating tempo of RCT 1 under Dowdy.11

5 APRIL 2003

Iraq

By morning the Americans were in control of the airport's runways and the international terminal. Some Iraqi armor counterattacked ineffectively.12

Meanwhile, part of 2nd BCT, a battalion-size armored force with air support, conducted a raid up Highway 8 into southern Baghdad. The Americans estimated there were two Republican Guard brigades and 15,000 Fedayeen still in the city. However, they apparently were not organized into a coherent defensive force. The raid appeared to take the Iraqis by surprise. They resisted fiercely but ineffectively while taking heavy casualties.13

Also that day, the 3rd BCT advanced north of Highway 10, maneuvering around the western edge of Baghdad toward the north side of the city.14

Honduras

Sixty-six people died in a jail riot in La Ceiba (Reuters).

6 APRIL 2003

Iraq

The 3rd Infantry Division's 3rd BCT reached positions north of Baghdad where Highway 1 exited the city.15

By now elements of I MEF had reached the Diyala River on Baghdad's eastern outskirts.16

Elements of the 101st Airborne Division overcame the last resistance from irregular forces in Karbala.17

Serbia and Montenegro

Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic said the majority of those involved in the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic were in custody and had confessed, including Zvezdan Jovanovic, a former deputy commander of the Unit for Special Operations (JSO). Most of the others were members of the Zemun crime gang. Police were still looking for Milorad "Legija" Lukovic, former JSO commander and a leader of the Zemun gang (Reuters).

6-7 APRIL 2003

Iraq

British forces launched a full-scale assault on Basra. In preceding days they had conducted special operations and increasingly strong raids into the city to develop intelligence and weaken Iraqi defenses, which consisted mainly of Ba'athists and Fedayeen. By the evening the British were largely in control, and they ended the last organized resistance the following day .18

7-8 APRIL 2003

Iraq

The 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd BCT began attacking toward the center of Baghdad early on the 7th. There was heavy resistance from Fedayeen militia, but they took by far the worst of the fighting as the Americans steadily pushed up Highway 8. By the night of 7-8 April they were able to thrust rapidly into central Baghdad, into the 'regime district' of ministries and palaces on the west bank of the Tigris River.19

On the evening of the 7th the Iraqis launched a determined counterattack against the left flank of 3rd BCT, at a crossing over the Tigris River on the northern outskirts of Baghdad. A brief artillery barrage was followed by a combined-arms assault. A fierce but one-sided battle developed as major artillery and air strikes were brought to bear to stop the Iraqis by the next morning.20

Meanwhile, I MEF crossed the Diyala River on the 7th; the next day it took Rashid Airfield.21

8 APRIL 2003

Iraq

A battalion of the 3rd Infantry Division's 3rd BCT linked up with the 1st BCT at what was now called Baghdad International Airport.22

Diplomatic Affairs

US President Bush and British Prime Minister Blair met near Belfast. They discussed plans for post-war Iraq as well as the situation in Northern Ireland.

The US State Department had drawn up detailed plans for postwar Iraq, but the Department of Defense (DOD) had been given control of the postwar effort and had shut the State Department out of key discussions and decisions.23 The US intended, in the immediate aftermath of the war, to install a civil administration organized by the DOD and headed by retired US Lieutenant General Jay Garner, the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA). ORHA would prepare for the creation of an interim government. Bush said, "We will move as quickly as possible to place governmental responsibilities under the control of an interim authority composed of Iraqis from both inside and outside the country....The interim authority will serve until a permanent government can be chosen by the Iraqi people." Many countries argued that the UN should take the lead role in reconstructing Iraq. Bush and Blair said the UN would have an important role but did not specify how much power it would have (Reuters). The coalition did not have a definitive plan for the post-invasion period in Iraq, other than to be prepared for a humanitarian crisis. ORHA focused much of its planning toward this end; ironically perhaps, such a crisis did not develop anywhere in Iraq.24 Instead, security proved to be the main problem after the invasion.

Ultimately ORHA was inadequate to its task. On 12 May, Garner was replaced by Paul Bremmer, and ORHA became the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).25

While inadequate organization was an obstacle to reconstruction, providing security in the country was a challenge that gave the US the most difficulty. Looting became a serious problem for weeks following the fall of Baghdad (see 9-10 April). General Franks did not even allow Garner's team to go to Baghdad until nearly two weeks after its fall to US forces due to security concerns.26 One of the first acts of the occupying forces was to dismantle the Iraqi security forces (see 23 May 2003). This contributed to a security vacuum which could not be filled by the US and British forces due to the fact that they were too small for such a task and due to the ambivalence of most Iraqis toward them.27 The US set about creating new military and police forces from scratch, but this would take time. Saddam loyalists, Sunni Muslims and Islamic militants took advantage of the situation to begin attacking US forces, particularly in the central and northern parts of the country, and to oppose the efforts of the CPA, and later, the interim Iraqi government the US put in place. Additionally, the lack of security complicated efforts to incorporate Iraq's bureaucracy into the postwar civilian administration.28

Another obstacle to reconstruction was simply that the country's vital infrastructure – including power and water supply facilities – was in poor shape after over a decade of war and economic sanctions. For example, Iraq's power plants should have been able to supply 7,800 megawatts of electricity but were only producing about 4,500 before the invasion due to chronic breakdowns, poor maintenance, old equipment and residual damage from the 1991 war. Power outages were common. The looting which broke out after the fall of Baghdad, and later the sabotage by opponents of the American occupation, only made things worse.29

Israel, Gaza Strip

An Israeli airstrike on a car in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighborhood killed a senior Hamas leader, Sa'ad al-Arabeed, another militant, and five civilians, and wounded over 40 others (Reuters).

8-10 APRIL 2003

Iraq

A task force from I MEF took Al Amarah, receiving no serious resistance from the Iraqi 10th Armored Division.30

9-10 APRIL 2003

Iraq

I MEF advanced into eastern Baghdad. The Marines frequently encountered groups of Iraqi civilians who enthusiastically welcomed them, but also ran into some resistance from Hussein loyalists and foreign fighters.31

By now, looting by criminal elements as well as poor Iraqis was becoming a serious problem. Their first targets were in the government quarter of Baghdad; seventeen out of 23 ministries were pillaged. There were too few US troops to protect them all. Over the next few weeks, hospitals, schools and other facilities and city infrastructure were also ransacked.32

10 APRIL 2003

Iraq

A battalion from 3rd Infantry Division's 3rd BCT advanced down the west bank of the Tigris River to downtown Baghdad, linking up with 2nd BCT.33 By now organized Iraqi resistance in Baghdad was over.

In Najaf, a mob killed senior cleric Abdul Majid al-Khoei and an aide (Reuters).

11 APRIL 2003

Iraq

US and Kurdish forces entered Mosul and Kirkuk (Reuters). Most of the Iraqi 5th and 1st Corps, deployed in the North, apparently had broken up and disbanded by this time.34

Venezuela

Government and opposition negotiators said they had agreed to work toward holding a referendum on President Hugo Chavez's rule after 19 August (Reuters).

12 APRIL 2003

Hungary, Foreign Policy

In a referendum, about 84% voted in favor of accession to the EU in May 2004. Turnout was about 46% (Reuters).

Europe

Police estimated about 20,000 people demonstrated in London against US and British occupation of Iraq. There were smaller protests in Berlin, Paris and Rome (Reuters).

12-19 APRIL 2003

Nigeria, Politics

On the 12th, parliamentary elections were held for all 109 seats in the Senate and all 360 seats in the House of Representatives. President Olusegun Obasanjo's People's Democratic Party (PDP) dominated the results. The All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) finished a distant second in both bodies. There were allegations by the ANPP of irregularities.

The presidential election was held on the 19th. President Obasanjo reportedly won 61.9% of the votes, Muhammadu Buhari of the ANPP won 32.2%, and six other candidates split the rest. There were allegations by the opposition and by foreign observers of electoral fraud in many areas. Obasanjo's percentage of the vote was almost identical to what he received in February 1999 (IFES, Reuters).

13 APRIL 2003

Israel

Prime Minister Sharon said it would be necessary to remove some settlements from the West Bank to achieve peace with the Palestinians. "Our whole history is bound up with these places: Bethlehem, Shiloh, Beit El. I know that we will have to part with some of these places....There will be a parting from places that are connected to the whole course of our history....As a Jew, this agonizes me. But I have decided to make every effort to reach a settlement", he said (Reuters).

Iraq

Elements of I MEF took Tikrit.35

14 APRIL 2003

Canada, Politics

In provincial elections in Quebec, the Liberal Party defeated its separatist opponents (Reuters).

15 APRIL 2003

Iraq

US forces arrested Abu Abbas in southern Baghdad (Reuters).

Lebanon, Politics

Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri resigned (Reuters).

16-17 APRIL 2003

Europe, Diplomatic Affairs

EU leaders met at a summit in Athens, Greece. They discussed the EU's eastward expansion and Iraqi reconstruction (Reuters).

17 APRIL 2003

Russia

Sergei Yushenkov, leader of the Liberal Russia party, was assassinated in Moscow (Reuters).

18 APRIL 2003

Middle East and North Africa, Diplomatic Affairs

The foreign ministers of Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to discuss Iraq. Afterwards, they released a joint statement saying that US forces should reestablish security and withdraw as soon as possible, allowing Iraqis to form their own government. Only then should UN sanctions be ended. "...the Iraqi people should administer and govern the country by themselves, and any exploitation of their national resources should be in conformity with the will of the legitimate Iraqi government and its people", the statement said. The US envisioned the passage of some time before a permanent government was created, and wanted to end the sanctions and resume oil exports quickly (Reuters).

Iraq

In Baghdad, tens of thousands of protesters called on US forces to leave the country (Reuters).

20 APRIL 2003

Middle East and North Africa, Diplomatic Affairs

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus to discuss Iraq and other issues. Both countries want Iraq to remain united (Reuters).

Israel, Gaza Strip

Israeli forces raided Rafah refugee camp (Reuters).

21 APRIL 2003

Diplomatic Affairs

Argentine lawyer Luis Moreno Ocampo was elected as the International Criminal Court's (ICC) first prosecutor by the assembly of ratifying states. To date, 139 had signed and 89 had ratified the treaty creating the tribunal (Reuters).

22 APRIL 2003

Cyprus

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash authorized opening checkpoints on the Green Line for day trips (Reuters).

23 APRIL 2003

Western Hemishpere, Diplomatic Affairs

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe met Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. They agreed to increase cooperation in border security, energy and other areas (Reuters).

27 APRIL 2003

Paraguay, Politics

The presidential election was won by Nicanor Duarte Frutos of the Colorado Party with 38.4% of the vote. Julio Cesar Franco won 24.5%; Pedro Fadul won 22.4% (IFES, Reuters).

27 APRIL-14 MAY 2003

Argentina, Politics

In the presidential election on 27 April, Carlos Menem won 24.3% of the vote and Nestor Kirchner won 22.0% in a crowded field. Menem and Kirchner were to have a runoff on 18 May, but Menem quit the race on the 14th. Opinion polls had shown Kirchner enjoying a considerable lead (Reuters, IFES).

28 APRIL 2003

Iraq

During an encounter with protestors at Falluga, US troops shot at least a dozen Iraqis (Reuters).

29 APRIL 2003

Qatar, Politics

A referendum was held on a new constitution. According to the Interior Ministry, over 71,000 of 80,000 eligible voters participated, and 96.6% of those supported the new constitution. Under the new measure, the emir appoints the Prime Minister and cabinet, but they are accountable to the new Shura council, which can remove a minister by a two-thirds vote. The council also has the power to approve or reject a budget proposal. The emir has to give a reason for rejecting a draft law, and is obliged to approve it if the council passes it again with a two-thirds majority. Thirty of the council's 45 members will be elected and the rest appointed by the emir. Elections are expected in 2004 (Reuters).

Pakistan

Security forces arrested six al Qaeda members in Karachi, including Waleed Muhammad Bin Attash, alias Khalid Al-Attash, a Yemeni national believed to be one of al Qaeda's top operatives (Reuters).

Europe, Diplomatic Affairs

British Prime Minister Blair met Russian President Putin near Moscow. They were unable to agree on any quick removal of UN sanctions on Iraq (Reuters).

30 APRIL 2003

Libya, Foreign Policy

Foreign Minister Mohammed Abderrahmane Chalgam said his government had accepted responsibility for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and set up a fund to compensate victims' families. The US said it had yet to get official confirmation on the Libyan move (Reuters).

Israel

A suicide bomber killed three people in Tel Aviv (Reuters).

APRIL-MAY 2003

Nigeria

In mid-April, Nigerian oil workers seized control of four offshore oil rigs over a labor-management dispute, taking about a hundred foriegn workers hostage. They agreed to release the hostages at the beginning of May (Reuters).

Notes

1. Col. Nicholas E. Reynolds, USMCR (Ret.), Basrah, Baghdad and Beyond: The U.S. Marine Corps in the Second Iraq War, Annapolis, Naval Institute Press, 2005, pp. 96, 103.

2. Todd S. Purdum, A Time of Our Choosing: America's War in Iraq, New York, Times Books, 2003, p. 185.

3. Col. Gregory Fontenot, U.S. Army (Ret.), Lt. Col. E. J. Degan, USA, and Lt. Col. David Tohn, USA, On Point: The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 2005, p. 248; Purdum, A Time of Our Choosing, p. 186.

4. Purdum, A Time of Our Choosing, p. 186; Fontenot, et al., On Point, p. 288.

5. John Keegan, The Iraq War, New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2004 , pp. 162-163.

6. Fontenot, et al., On Point, p. 249.

7. Purdum, A Time of Our Choosing, p. 188.

8. Keegan, The Iraq War, p. 191; Purdum, A Time of Our Choosing, p. 187.

9. Keegan, The Iraq War, p. 192.

10. Keegan, The Iraq War, pp. 160-161.

11. Reynolds, Basrah, Baghdad and Beyond, pp. 96-97.

12. Keegan, The Iraq War, pp. 192-193.

13. Keegan, The Iraq War, pp. 193-194; Purdum, A Time of Our Choosing, pp. 195-98.

14. Fontenot, et al., On Point, pp. 315-17.

15. Fontenot, et al., On Point, p. 321.

16. Reynolds, Basrah, Baghdad and Beyond, p. 106.

17. Purdum, A Time of Our Choosing, p. 200.

18. Keegan, The Iraq War, pp. 178-182.

19. Keegan, The Iraq War, pp. 195-198.

20. Fontenot, et al., On Point, pp. 374-76.

21. Keegan, The Iraq War, pp. 199-201; Purdum, A Time of Our Choosing, p. 209.

22. Fontenot, et al., On Point, p. 377.

23. Keegan, The Iraq War, pp. 199-201; Purdum, A Time of Our Choosing, p. 232.

24. Reynolds, Basrah, Baghdad and Beyond, p. 143.

25. Keegan, The Iraq War, p. 210.

26. Purdum, A Time of Our Choosing, p. 235.

27. It is worth pointing out that the posture sometimes adopted by US forces may have reduced the level of cooperation between Iraqis and Americans. When the Army's 4th Infantry Division relieved I MEF in the Tikrit area in mid-April, Marine General Mattis noticed the 4th ID's abundance of armored vehicles and limited number of dismounted infantry compared to Marine units and said, “the lack of Army dismounts is creating a void in personal contact and public perception....Our forces need to project confidence in the security environment we have created. That is best exemplified in light, mobile forces in contact with the local citizenry sans helmets and flak jackets and without armored vehicles” (Reynolds, Basrah, Baghdad and Beyond, p. 119).

28. Purdum, A Time of Our Choosing, p. 232.

29. Purdum, A Time of Our Choosing, p. 231.

30. Reynolds, Basrah, Baghdad and Beyond, p. 94.

31. Reynolds, Basrah, Baghdad and Beyond, pp. 108-10.

32. Keegan, The Iraq War, p. 206.

33. Fontenot, et al., On Point, p. 377.

34. Cordesman, The Iraq War, pp. 115-116.

35. Purdum, A Time of Our Choosing, p. 221.