Send
a Thank You to members of the US Military at Defend America.
Operation Enduring Freedom -
eradication of terrorists worldwide
Afghanistan (Oct. '01 - ?), Philippines (Feb. '02 -
July '02), Georgia (Feb. '02 - ?), Yemen (March '02 - ?)
- Wed, 3/19/03 - Bahrain
offers Iraqi President Saddam Hussein a sanctuary as the 48-hour
deadline demanded by the US for Hussein and his sons to leave Iraq
ends. Hussein refused the offer. At 8:40PM CST (daybreak
in Iraq; 1 hr and 40 minutes after the 48-hr deadline ended), air raid sirens began blasting in Baghdad, Iraq as
US F-117
stealth fighters dropped precision-guided bombs at an "Iraqi
leadership target" near the capital. These fighter jets
launched from the Doha air base in Qatar. White House spokesman
Ari Fleischer then announced "The opening stages of the
disarmament of the Iraqi regime have begun." President
Bush addressed US citizens from the White House at 9:15PM CST.
- Mon, 3/17/03 - President
George W. Bush addressed the nation and Iraq, advising Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein and his sons to leave Iraq within 48 hours or
face War with the US and its allies. Homeland
Security raised the Security threat level from Elevated to High
risk of terrorist attack.
- Day 493: Tue, 2/11/03 - Homefront: Al
Qaeda is still the "most urgent threat to US interests,"
says FBI Director Robert Mueller. CIA Director George Tenet says
the intelligence they are receiving is not idle chatter but "is the most specific we have
seen." Al Jazeera satellite network broadcast an audiotape
believed to be in Osama bin Laden's voice, calling all Muslims to back
Iraq against "the devil" and to "carry out homicide attacks against Americans".
- Day
492: Mon, 2/10/03 - Belgium, France, and Germany vetoed measures
allowing NATO to protect Turkey against an attack by Iraq. As
the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca (the five-day "hajj"
ritual) reaches its climax, Sheik Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah Al al-Sheik
advised the masses at Namira mosque on Mt. Arafat, "Your enemy would not defeat you with its vast troops and
equipment, but you will be defeated if your faith is
weakened." Next they begin Eid al-Adha, the feast of
sacrifice. Homefront: Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge
claims the US
is currently under the "the most significant"
terrorist threat since the 9/11/01 attacks. One realistic
threat is the attack of an entire building by releasing chemical or
biological weapons into its ductwork, so Homeland Security officials
recommend public buildings monitor access to their ductwork.
- Day 490: Sat, 2/8/03 - In response to the US's
request to allow 80,000 troops into Turkey, the country is allowing
38,000 US troops to enter and prepare a front in the event of a war
with Iraq. Homefront: The FBI is looking for Mohammed Sher Mohammad Khan,
relative to this heightened national alert status. View
the FBI's wanted poster of Khan.
- Day 489: Fri, 2/7/03 - Homefront: The national terror
alert was raised from elevated (yellow) to high (orange), the second
highest alert status, based on intelligence received from intercepted
communications between suspected terrorists. The
gathered information pointed to New York as a possible target by
biological, chemical, or radiological means, specifically subways and
hotels.
- Day 483: Sat, 2/1/03 - Homefront: The Columbia
space shuttle, its 16th day in orbit, disintegrated 203,000 feet above
north-central Texas, killing all seven astronauts aboard. It
was on course to its landing at Cape Canaveral, FL, traveling at
12,500 mph, when NASA's Mission Control lost contact about 9 AM.
People in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas said they heard a "big
bang" and saw flames in the sky. Nacogdoches residents
found metal debris strewn all across the town, many that were three
feet wide. In 42 years of human space flight, "there had
never been an accident during the descent to Earth or
landing." The crew included six Americans and an Israeli
national who was a fighter pilot and served in his country's air
force. Crew: Laurel
Blair Salton Clark, M.D. (Commander, USN), NASA Astronaut; William
C. McCool (Commander, USN), NASA Astronaut; Rick
Douglas Husband (Colonel, USAF), NASA Astronaut; Michael
P. Anderson (Lieutenant Colonel, USAF), NASA Astronaut; David
M. Brown (Captain, USN), NASA Astronaut; Kalpana
Chawla, PH.D., NASA Astronaut and, on this mission, first
Indian-born woman in space; Ilan
Ramon (Colonel, Israel Air Force), Payload Specialist and, on this
mission, first Israeli in space. View Kennedy
Space Center web. View NASA
space shuttle web.
- Day 467: Sun, 1/16/03 - Homefront: The Columbia space
shuttle lifted off for a 16-day mission orbiting the earth.
- Day
374: Tue, 10/15/02 - About 20,000 sailors and marines are onboard
two aircraft carrier battle groups, the USS Lincoln and the USS George
Washington, positioned within striking distance of Iraq. US
Marines have finished Operation Eager Mace '02 in Kuwait.
A Saudi
passenger tried to hijack a Saudi Arabian Airlines' Airbus 300 jet
shortly after it took off from Khartoum, Sudan at 10:15AM, but the
crew was able to subdue the man. He was arrested by Sudanese
officials. The plane was on its way to Jiddah, Saudi
Arabia. Homefront: The sniper in the Washington
D.C./Virginia/Maryland area, dubbed the "Beltway
Sniper" has shot his 11th victim since October 2nd, nine of
whom have died. Eyewitness reports give evidence that the sniper
may be of Middle Eastern descent. Victims
range in age from 13 to 72.
- Day
371: Sat, 10/12/02 (anniversary of the USS Cole bombing in Yemen
in 2000) - Two
Americans were among 188 people killed at two nightclubs in Bali
when bombs exploded. 300+ people were injured, including three
Americans. The probable handiwork of Jemaah Islamiah (a radical
Islamic group linked to al Qaeda), a bomb detonated in one club and as
the people left the building, a second blast, possibly a car bomb,
destroyed another club. An entire city block was
devastated. The majority of the victims were Australian.
Around the same time, there was also an explosion at the US Consular
on the island - no casualties reported.
- Day
370: Fri, 10/11/02 - Provincial elections in Pakistan along the
Afghan border were won by pro-Taliban groups who had campaigned with
an anti-American platform to end Pakistan's support for the US.
- Day 368: Wed, 10/9/02 - Two Kuwaiti civilians in a
truck opened fire on US marines working in training operations with
the Kuwaiti military, Operation Eager Mace, killing one US
soldier and injuring another. The other Marines shot and
killed the attackers.
- Day
367: Tue, 10/8/02 - A US soldier was injured in Afghanistan when a
blasting cap exploded in his hand. The blasting caps are used to
detonate and destroy confiscated munitions.
- Day 366: Mon, 10/7/02 (1 year anniversary of
Operation Enduring Freedom) - Homefront: President
Bush spoke to the nation about options regarding Iraq and Saddam
Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.
- Day
361: Wed, 10/2/02 - A bomb, believed to have been strapped to a
motorcycle, detonated outside a restaurant on the Philippine island of Mindanao.
One US soldier was killed. The al Qaeda-linked group Abu Sayyaf
is believed responsible. The restaurant was near the small
military base, Malagutay, where Filipino soldiers and a few remaining
US military are stationed.
- Data archive - Operation
Enduring Freedom and previous terrorist attacks on the US.
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