“The opening stages of the disarmament of the Iraqi regime have begun.” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer signaled the beginning of a second U.S. war with Iraq in 12 years. President Bush told the nation of beginning of the attack during a live address at 10:15 Wednesday night. His address came a little over two hours after Bush ordered Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to leave the Middle Eastern country or face military action. On Monday, Bush gave Saddam and his regime 48 hours to depart Iraq. The deadline for that ultimatium passed at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. The king of Behrain, a Persian Gulf country, had offered safe exile to the Iraqi president. The first strikes in the war were to be small attacks against targets of military importance. About 300,000 troops from both the United States and England are in the Persian Gulf region. “This will not be a campaign of half measures, and we will accept no outcome except victory,” Bush said in his address.