ECHOS Home ‘The Mirage’
Towards the end of the last century Iraq denied all calls by the United Nations inspectors to inform them about their research and activities in the nuclear field, especially relating to weapons of mass destruction. Because of the terror attacks of 11/9th 2001 in New York, the U.S.A. decided not to tolerate this attitude anymore. They more or less forced the United Nations Security Council to follow this action, and eventually the United Nations Security Council in November 2002 confirmed resolution 1441, which offered Iraq a last chance to carry out former resolutions on strict results. March 2003, the U.S.A. and U.K. concluded that Iraq did not comply, and decided for armed intervention.
In the early morning of the 20th of March 2003, the Iraqi capital was attacked by planes and cruise missiles from coalition forces. The ground company started the same night, launched from the Arabian peninsular. The coalition marched on quickly and captured Bagdad on the 9th of April. Five days later the last bastion of Saddam Hussein collapsed: his place of birth Tikrit.
On the 22nd of May, the United Nations Security Council confirmed resolution 1483, which established SFIR in Iraq. This Stabilisation Force operates under the responsibility of the U.S.A. and U.K. They were tasked to assist the Iraqi people with the redevelopment of their country, the reformation of the authorities, and creating physical and economic stability and safety.
As Dutch forces cooperated in this stabilisation effort for some years, we build three ECHOS Homes in the southern region of Iraq, to offer soldiers places to relax and recreate. ECHOS Home ‘the Mirage’ is the last of these remaining, and is situated at Basrah Airport. ‘The Mirage’ is manned by an international team of staff, who have courageously maintained their services to soldiers, even under regular fire.
09.00 - 22.00