President George Bush gave a news conference in which he said that UN arms inspectors would be given sufficient warning to get out of Iraq before the war began. But a start date was not mentioned. Bush demanded that  UN stand up and be counted when it came to calling Iraq to account for 12 years of defying UN resolutions. 

The air war has already begun, with several hundred sorties a day being flown over southern Iraq, somewhat less over northern Iraq. More Iraqi targets are being bombed, particularly missile and communications units.  British warplanes have arrived in Kuwait and are operating over southern Iraq for the first time in over a decade.