U.S. Bombing Watch Methodology

U.S. Bombing Watch: Archive of U.S. Bombings, Invasions and Occupations of Iraq

A service of the Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace

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There are three main facets to the U.S. Bombing Watch archive: U.S./U.K. bombings of Iraq from 1999 to 3/19/2003; U.S./U.K. Invasion of Iraq from 3/19/2003 to 4/16/2003; and finally, the continuing U.S./U.K. Invasion and Occupation from 4/16/2003 to the present. In the future the U.S. Bombing Watch team is planning to compile a listing of all U.S. bombings of Iraq from March, 1991 to December 1998, as well as create an online chronicle of the Jan-March, 1991 U.S. invasion, slaughter and brief occupation of Iraq (mainstream historians call this the 'Persian Gulf War').

Note this archive has been primarily focused on U.S. bombings and military invasions of Iraq; the extremely important experience of the U.N. sanctions (mainly maintained by the U.S.) is instructive for the level of indirect violence the sanctions caused, killing off over 1.5 million Iraqis, about 50% of these deaths were Iraqi children under the age of 5. For more on the U.N. sanctions against Iraq, please visit the invaluable Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq's "About Sanctions" page.

Beginning just after the U.S. invasion and subsequent brief occupation of Iraq, the U.S. imposed what it called a northern 'no-fly-zone' extending for nearly 1/3 of Iraq north of Baghdad. A short time later the U.S. imposed a similar southern 'no-fly-zone' extending for another 1/3 of Iraq just south of Baghdad. The United Nation's has never authorized the creation and maintenance of these no-fly-zones.

The official U.S. stated purpose of these zones was to protect Iraqi Kurds and Shia from Iraq's government, as well as to help 'contain' the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein from any suspicious actions towards neighbors Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The 'no' in 'no-fly-zones' pertained to a prohibition against Iraq flying its own jets, both civilian and military. This prohibition did not extend to Iraq's northern neighbor Turkey who throughout the 1990s made it nearly an annual occasion to invade northern Iraq with soldiers and fighter jets to massacre and wantonly suppress the Kurdish freedom struggle ongoing in Turkey and Iraq.

Over the 12-year lifespan of these 'no-fly-zones' the United States along with its junior partner, the United Kingdom, bombed hundreds and hundreds of various civilian and military sites throughout Iraq, including outside of both north and south 'no-fly-zones.' Well more than a thousand civilians and soldiers were killed in these attacks.

At this time the U.S. Bombing Watch archive includes an attempt, from 1999 to 3/19/2003, to chronicle all these illegal and immoral U.S./U.K. bombings of Iraq. In the future we're planning on updating this archive to includes the dozens of U.S. bombings of Iraq prior to 1999, including the massive onslaught of Baghdad during Ramadan, December 1998.

Starting on March 19, 2003 the United States along with its junior partner, the United Kingdom, escalated beyond regular 'no-fly-zone' bombings to a full scale invasion and eventual long-term occupation. The U.S. Bombing Watch changed during this 29 day period to include key stories of the invasion from Eyewitnesses, Alternative Media and the Corporate Media (mainstream media). A special emphasis was placed on stories highlighting the massive suffering and massacre of Iraqi civilians.

This third phase of U.S. Bombing Watch is basically a scaled down version of the coverage of the preceeding 29 day invasion of Iraq. Key stories highlighting both the record of U.S. human rights violations of Iraqis and Iraqi resistance to U.S. occupation will continue to be published and linked at U.S. Bombing Watch.

Over the next year, the U.S. Bombing Watch team plans to update the archive to include the totality of the record of U.S. aggression against Iraq, from 1990 to present. If you've got online records or links to stories of U.S. aggression against Iraq prior to 1999, please email us at: ccmep_website@yahoo.com.