DECEMBER 2002

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld starts troop buildup in Middle East. Iraq issues declaration denying possesion of weapons of mass destruction. U.S. and U.K. reject the declaration, claiming Iraq is in “material breach” of U.N. resolutions. U.S. sets Jan. 27 as the decision day for war against Iraq. Inspections team finds “zilch” evidence of weapons of mass destruction. Iraqi exiles at a fractious meeting in London agree on power-sharing plan for post-Saddam Iraq.

JANUARY 2003

Blix says December declaration was incomplete but inspectors have not found “smoking guns” indicating weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. British begin to deploy troops. Blair says U.K. and U.S. could act against Iraq without a second U.N. resolution. The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency says inspectors need “a few months” to finish their work. Inspectors find chemical weapon warheads unaccounted for in the declaration. Arab nations urge Saddam to leave Iraq. U.S. promises immunity if he goes into exile. Thousands of demonstrators protest potential war.

FEBRUARY 2003

Powell makes U.S. case for war to U.N. Security Council. NATO reaches deadlock between U.S. and France, Germany and Belgium over whether to protect Turkey in case of an Iraqi attack. Inspectors find missiles made illegal under the Gulf War ceasefire, which Saddam agrees to destroy. Blix reports that Iraq is largely cooperating with inspections. France, Germany and Russia issue step-by-step plan for disarmament as an alternative to American war plans. Millions demonstrate around the world from Feb. 14-15 against a possible U.S. attack on Iraq.

MARCH 7, 2003

U.S., Britain and Spain propose ordering Saddam to give up banned weapons by March 17 or face war; other nations led by France on polarized U.N. Security Council oppose any new resolution authorizing military action.

MARCH 14, 2003

More than a week of intense diplomacy fails to persuade enough members of U.N. Security Council to vote for a resolution authorizing force. Bush criticizes France for its opposition.

MARCH 16, 2003

After a meeting on the Azores, Bush, Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar warn that the diplomatic window will close within a day.

MARCH 17, 2003

U.S. withdraws its U.N. resolution without a vote, and Bush threatens war unless Saddam and family evacuate Iraq in 48 hours.

MARCH 19, 2003, 8 p.m. (EST)

Saddam allows Bush’s deadline to pass.

MARCH 19, 2003, 10:15 p.m. (EST)

In an Oval Office address, Bush announces that U.S. forces have launched air strikes against “targets of military importance,” describing the action as the opening salvo in an operation to “disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.”

—Associated Press material was used in the compilation of this timeline.