March 19, 2003 – The U.S. begins the bombing and invasion of Iraq.

Same day – The ‘Project for the New American Century’ (PNAC) issues a “Statement on Post-War Iraq,” “supporting the military intervention in Iraq.” It has 26 signers.

The phrase “military intervention” is an Orwellianism, newspeak at its ugliest, rewording the invasion and conquest of another country. The best parallels for this kind of language can be found, however, not in fiction, but in the chapters of William L. Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich that deal with Germany’s invasion of a series of small countries in Western Europe before the Holocaust.

Same day, about – The Weekly Standard magazine publishes an article, “The Imminent War,” dated March 17, 2003, by editor and PNAC signatory William Kristol:

 
“So the editors of this magazine wrote in the December 1, 1997, issue, whose cover proclaimed, not so subtly, "Saddam Must Go." Saddam will soon be gone, thanks to the courage of one man above all, George W. Bush, very much aided by the equally impressive courage of another, Tony Blair. Obviously, we are gratified that the Iraq strategy we have long advocated--and whose contours were further specified in that December 1, 1997, issue, in articles by Zalmay Khalilzad and Paul Wolfowitz, Frederick W. Kagan, and Peter Rodman—has become the policy of the U.S. government, because we believe it is the right policy for the country and the world.”

 
Kristol and the Murdoch-owned Weekly Standard have been among the most consistent and ardent supporters of war with Iraq.  

Same day – Bush addresses the nation on primetime television:

 
“THE PRESIDENT: My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.         

          On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign. More than 35 countries are giving crucial support -- from the use of naval and air bases, to help with intelligence and logistics, to the deployment of combat units. Every nation in this coalition has chosen to bear the duty and share the honor of serving in our common defense.”

Same day -- Judith Miller publishes a flushed-with-success article on the front page of the New York Times, poised for the big breakthrough–finding caches of Iraq WMD:

 
“The Bush administration has deployed mobile labs and new specialized teams of intelligence officials and disarmament experts to Kuwait to help the military search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as soon as war begins, according to senior administration officials.                

          Defense officials are also reaching out to former international weapons inspectors, as part of an ambitious top-secret effort to rapidly find, secure and ultimately destroy the caches of chemical, biological and other unconventional weapons the administration asserts President Saddam Hussein is hiding.  

          In recent interviews, officials described the plans as one of the most delicate and crucial missions of the war against Iraq. Never before, they said, had the United States proposed to disarm a nation of unconventional weapons by force.      

          The Pentagon has deployed several new tactical units called mobile exploitation teams, or MET's, with state-of-the-art equipment and novel tactics to locate and survey at least 130 and as many as 1,400 possible weapons sites.         

          In addition, officials said the military was planning to find and interview hundreds of Iraqi scientists who worked on germ, chemical or nuclear-related projects, and to seek their cooperation in disarming Iraq of the weapons that the United Nations required Mr. Hussein to destroy after the Persian Gulf war in 1991.” (“Disarming Saddam Hussein; Teams of Experts to Hunt Iraq Arms”)

March 20, 2003 -- Bush discusses the Iraq war in a photo op with members of the Cabinet:

 
“THE PRESIDENT: I called my Cabinet together to review our strategies to make the world more peaceful, to make our country more secure, to make the lives of our citizens as healthy and as prosperous as possible.  

       We heard from Secretary Rumsfeld, who briefed us on the early stages of the war. There's no question we've sent the finest of our citizens into harm's way. They perform with great skill and great bravery. We thank them, we thank their loved ones, we appreciate their sacrifice.      

       We heard from Secretary Powell, who briefed us on the ever-growing coalition of the willing, nations who support our deep desire for peace and freedom. Over 40 nations now support our efforts. We are grateful for their determination, we appreciate their vision, and we welcome their support.”

Same day – Bush issues an Executive Order “Confiscating and Vesting Certain Iraqi Property”:

 
“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and in order to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12722 of August 2, 1990,

 
I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, hereby determine that the United States and Iraq are engaged in armed hostilities, that it is in the interest of the United States to confiscate certain property of the Government of Iraq and its agencies, instrumentalities, or controlled entities, and that all right, title, and interest in any property so confiscated should vest in the Department of the Treasury. I intend that such vested property should be used to assist the Iraqi people and to assist in the reconstruction of Iraq, and determine that such use would be in the interest of and for the benefit of the United States.

I hereby order:

Section 1. All blocked funds held in the United States in accounts in the name of the Government of Iraq, the Central Bank of Iraq, Rafidain Bank, Rasheed Bank, or the State Organization for Marketing Oil are hereby confiscated and vested in the Department of the Treasury, except for the following:

(a) any such funds that are subject to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations or the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, or that enjoy equivalent privileges and immunities under the laws of the United States . . .

(b) any such amounts that as of the date of this order are subject to post-judgment writs of execution or attachment in aid of execution of judgments pursuant to section 201 of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 . . .

 
Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to perform, without further approval, ratification, or other action of the President, all functions of the President set forth in section 203(a)(1)(C) of IEEPA with respect to any and all property of the Government of Iraq, including its agencies, instrumentalities, or controlled entities, and to take additional steps, including the promulgation of rules and regulations as may be necessary, to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate such functions in accordance with applicable law. The Secretary of the Treasury shall consult the Attorney General as appropriate in the implementation of this order.”

 
An obvious effect of this Executive Order issued at the beginning of the invasion is to claim effective control of Iraqi oil, since all entities controlled by the Iraqi government including the Oil Ministry are confiscated. The order is pallidly reported in major U.S. newspapers as ‘confiscating Iraqi funds frozen since the Gulf War.’

Same day – In a morning briefing at the Pentagon with Air Force General Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Rumsfeld delivers remarks warning Iraqi military personnel that they can be prosecuted for war crimes if they follow orders to destroy oil fields, dams or bridges. Rumsfeld calls the Iraqi regime “doomed” and threatens a U.S. attack on an unprecedented scale if the Iraqi military puts up resistance.