1 THE IRAQ WAR -- PART I: The U.S. Prepares for Conflict, 2001 National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 326 Timeline By Joyce Battle 1985 – Academic Albert Wohlstetter supporter, neoconservative Richard Perle, introduces Iraqi expatriate Ahmad Chalabi reportedly raises most of the group’s to Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle, funding from defense contractors and a neoconservatives later influential in the right-wing foundation. Bandar attracts George W. Bush administration. 1 support from several Jewish organizations by telling them that if Saddam Hussein 1989 -- Petra Bank of Amman, founded were eliminated other governments in the by Ahmad Chalabi and influential through region would deal with the Arab-Israeli its strategic lending to prominent conflict on more “pragmatic terms."5 Jordanians, including the king of Jordan’s brother, is seized by the government for October 10, 1990 -- An informal alleged irregularities. Chalabi flees the association called the Congressional country in the trunk of a car. Two years Human Rights Caucus holds a hearing on later he is convicted in absentia for reported Iraqi atrocities. The association embezzlement and fraud and sentenced to is chaired by Tom Lantos (D-CA) and John 22 years in prison.2 Porter (R-IL) who also head the Congressional Human Rights Foundation, 1990 – Prominent neoconservative which is headquartered in free office space academic Bernard Lewis meets Ahmad at Hill & Knowlton's Washington, D.C. Chalabi and becomes one of his leading office. At the hearing a 15-year-old advocates.3 Kuwaiti girl says she witnessed Iraqi soldiers leaving babies on the floor to die August 2, 1990 -- Iraq invades Kuwait, in order to steal incubators; the story is accusing it of conspiring with the U.S. to widely repeated as fact. In reality the girl both steal its oil and drive down oil prices. is the Kuwaiti ambassador’s daughter and was coached by Hill & Knowlton in what August 2, 1990 -- Kuwait’s ruling family was later shown to be false testimony.6 hires Hill & Knowlton to lobby for a U.S. war against Iraq; the company Late 1990 -- President George H.W. Bush coordinates the work of a number of decides to drive Iraq out of Kuwait with public relations firms including the Rendon military force. As the heads of the Joint Group. Polls to identify themes most Chiefs of Staff and the Central Command, likely to win public support for war find Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf are that depicting Iraqi leader Saddam in charge of war planning, but Defense Hussein as a dangerous madman who Secretary Dick Cheney is displeased with commits atrocities against his own people their work. He has DOD official Paul is most effective.4 Wolfowitz work with his aide Scooter Libby and Henry Rowen, also of DOD, to September 1990 -- Rep. Stephen Solarz secretly draw up an alternative plan. (D-N.Y) sets up the Committee for Peace While Powell is traveling abroad Cheney and Security in the Gulf to lobby for war presents the alternative to Bush, who against Iraq with support from rejects it.7 conservatives and some hawkish Democratic activists, along with Saudi February 2, 1991 – At the end of the ambassador to the U.S. Prince Bandar. A Persian Gulf War U.S. propaganda outlets 2 in the region encourage Kurdish and York Times and causes the Bush Shi’ite insurrections in Iraq that are administration major embarrassment.12 quickly suppressed. The Bush administration is criticized for not invading March 4, 1992 – Future George W. Bush Iraq but its defenders, like Dick Cheney, administration official Douglas Feith and say this would have left the U.S. his fellow neoconservative Frank Gaffney entangled in a long-term occupation. The write a Washington Times commentary U.S. sets up no-fly zones over northern excoriating the George H.W. Bush and southern Iraq and many in the administration for criticizing the right-wing administration expect, wrongly, that a Likud Party for expanding illegal Israeli coup will soon overthrow Saddam settlements in the occupied West Bank.13 Hussein.8 1993 – When George H.W. Bush is April 3, 1991 -- U.N. Security Council defeated by Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney joins resolutions impose sanctions on Iraq to the American Enterprise Institute where force it to destroy its nonconventional he is increasingly influenced by neocon 14 weapons programs. The sanctions last AEI members, including Richard Perle. until 2003 and devastate Iraq’s economy, infrastructure, and society; this includes May 1993 -- Laurie Mylroie, an Iraq doubling its child mortality rate.9 policy advisor for the Clinton-for-president campaign, no longer in favor with the Around May 1991 -- George H.W. Bush administration, meets with FBI agents to signs a top secret directive authorizing a explain her theory that Iraq was behind CIA covert operation to overthrow the February 1993 World Trade Center Saddam Hussein, using any means bombing. Afterwards they do not return 15 necessary including lethal force. The her calls. agency concludes at the outset that there is no chance of success since it has no November 1993 -- Ahmad Chalabi reliable assets in Iraq.10 promotes a plan he calls “The End Game” for overthrowing Saddam Hussein, Around May 11, 1991 -- The CIA hires envisioning a revolt by INC-led Shi’ites in the Rendon Group for propaganda southern Iraq and Kurds in the north that operations against Iraq. Rendon would inspire a military uprising and lead assembles anti-government Iraqis under to the installation of an INC-dominated the rubric Iraqi National Congress, and regime friendly to the U.S. and Israel. helps install Ahmad Chalabi, recently Chalabi uses some of his substantial CIA convicted in Jordan for fraud and funding to start building an armed 16 embezzlement, as INC chief.11 militia. February 1992 – Defense Department 1994 – A CIA case officer accompanied policy under secretary Paul Wolfowitz has by Ahmad Chalabi visits “a forgery shop” his deputy Zalmay Khalilzad secretly draft run by the INC in Kurdistan, where people a paper, “Defense Planning Guidance“, scan Iraqi intelligence documents into 17 outlining military planning for the next computers to create disinformation. century. It calls for the Pentagon to “establish and protect a new order” to 1994 -- Republican electoral gains in deter any possible rivals from even trying Congress lead to increasing to compete with a hegemonic U.S. and neoconservative influence on Middle East 18 contemplates preemptive use of nuclear, policy debates. biological, and chemical weapons, “even in conflicts that do not directly engage U.S. October 29, 1994 – President Clinton interests.” The draft is leaked to the New signs a Memorandum of Amplification replacing Bush’s 1991 finding authorizing 3 covert action to overthrow Saddam Israel has the right to expropriate the Hussein.19 occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. They also advise Israel to privatize its economy, March 5, 1995 -- An attempt by Ahmad to indirectly undermine Syria by Chalabi and the CIA to execute what is overthrowing Iraqi president Saddam essentially Chalabi’s “End Game” plan fails Hussein, and to work with the king of dismally. Over State Department Jordan to restore a monarchy to Iraq. objections NSC official Martin Indyk had (Britain installed generally amenable authorized a clandestine CIA operation monarchs in both Jordan and Iraq after under which Chalabi’s militia in alliance World War I; Ahmad Chalabi’s family was with tribal leaders won over by bribes part of a wealthy elite during that era, would provoke urban disturbances in Iraq which was ended by a 1958 revolution.)23 and sabotage government facilities. Shi’ite groups were to attack in the south Spring-Summer 1996 -- A CIA and the Iraqi army was to then join the undercover operation attempting to uprising. The scheme was discovered by organize an officers’ coup against Saddam Saddam Hussein’s government but Hussein is discovered and routed by Iraq. Chalabi refused to abort the operation; it Meanwhile, one faction among highly failed, no Iraqi military officers rebelled, divided Iraqi Kurds invites forces loyal to many INC members were executed. The Saddam Hussein into Kurdistan to crush CIA and DIA turned against Chalabi as its rivals; the Iraqi military captures and ineffectual but the Defense Department kills hundreds of Ahmad Chalabi’s continued funding the INC. Chalabi supporters and many others flee to the retreated to London and relied U.S.24 increasingly on neoconservative pundits and the U.S. Congress for support.20 September 27, 1996 – Paul Wolfowitz attributes Iraq’s crushing of the recent August 8, 1995 – Saddam Hussein’s CIA coup attempt to Clinton son-in-law, Gen. Hussein Kamel, defects. administration ineptitude and writes that He tells U.N. inspectors they have been Saddam Hussein still has “a loaded gun -- highly effective in Iraq and that all and it’s pointed at us.”25 chemical, biological, missile, and nuclear related weapons have been destroyed. June 1997 – Ahmad Chalabi tells the After this high-level defection the Iraqi Jewish Institute for National Security government gives huge volumes of Affairs that overthrowing Saddam Hussein documentation on its former weapons and replacing him with a regime “at peace programs to the U.N.21 with its neighbors” would be easy if the U.S. supported an INC-led insurgency. 1996 -- Chalabi and a dedicated Later he tells the Jerusalem Post that he supporter, Francis Brooke, set up shop in would facilitate export of Iraqi oil to Georgetown to lobby for the INC. They Israel.26 study the methods of the African National Congress and various pro-Israel groups in October 1997 -- The International order to refine their technique.22 Atomic Energy Agency issues a definitive report declaring Iraq to be free of nuclear July 1996 – Future Bush administration weapons; its main author later says it was officials Douglas Feith and David Wurmser "highly unlikely" that Iraq could conceal a (later an advisor to Dick Cheney) are nuclear weapons program from modern among the authors of an advisory paper detection systems.