The U.S.-led war to dethrone Saddam Hussein began last Wednesday night, with the expiration of President George W. Bush’s 48-hour ultimatum for the Iraqi dictator and his sons to leave Iraq.

U of T adapted to a world at war with protests outside the U.S. consulate on University Ave. that began Thursday and continued into the weekend.

U of T President Robert Birgeneau released a memorandum before the war’s start asking students to “show tolerance and respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all members of our community by calling on our traditions of civility and freedom of expression.”

The war began with President Bush addressing the American people on March 19: “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.”

The first hours of the war did not see the promised “shock and awe” campaign—a massive air attack designed to break the Iraqi army’s will to fight. Instead, cruise missiles and Stealth bombers conducted a precision attack aimed at killing Hussein and his top advisors, hours after war broke out. The surprise decapitation attack appeared to have failed after Hussein appeared on Iraqi TV predicting a rout of the coalition forces.

In the days since war broke out, coalition forces have advanced from their staging positions in the Gulf emirate of Kuwait, launching attacks against southern Iraq in an attempt to secure oil fields and ports. The country’s only deep-water port, Umm Qasr, was captured early in the fighting, while naval vessels interdicted Iraqi dhows with cargoes of sea mines aboard. Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city and the capital of its restive southern region, was captured and mopping-up operations concluded Sunday.

On the road to Baghdad, the city of Nasiriya, an important river-crossing on the Euphrates, was reported captured yesterday, but at the cost of 20 U.S. soldiers’ lives. Iraqi tank and mortar-fire, manned by a motley combination of soldiers and irregulars known as the Fedayeen, pinned down Army units. A convoy of 507th Maintenance Company troops came under tank fire in a surprise attack, leading to the killing or capture of about 12 U.S. soldiers.

The captured Americans appeared on the Arabic TV network Al-Jazeera being questioned by Iraqi officers. Upon returning from a war-planning session at Camp David, President Bush said he was praying for the safe return and proper treatment of the prisoners, adding: “If not, the people who mistreat the prisoners will be treated as war criminals.”

Meanwhile, U.S. troops advanced towards Baghdad, bypassing many population centres in a race through the desert. Reports from the front showed the coalition forces beginning to engage Iraq’s Republican Guard units in Najaf, 160 kilometres south of the capital. U.K. troops, including the famous 7th armoured division “Desert Rats,” were securing oilfields, while Australian special forces attacked a communications bunker.

Airstrikes over Baghdad were stepped up over the weekend, resulting in 207 civilian casualties, according to the Iraqi ministry of information.

In Toronto, 5,000 people protested outside the U.S. consulate while 200 police officers stood guard. Four people were arrested for assaulting police.

Birgeneau’s memo, also signed by provost Shirley Neuman, outlined the administration’s policies on freedom of speech and pleaded for calm on the campus. “During these turbulent times in many parts of our global community, it is especially important that all those on campus respect the University’s policies and the law, so that freedom of speech, academic freedom and freedom of association may be safely enjoyed in an environment of tolerance and mutual respect, free of harassment,” the memo said.