On this day, 33 years ago, August 18, 1992 (July 20, 1992, the United States, Britain and France decided to establish a "no-fly zone" in southern Iraq. On August 18, 1992, British Prime Minister John Major announced that Britain had decided to mobilize six Tornado fighter jets and two aerial refueling aircraft to open a "no-fly zone" in Iraq to protect Shiite Muslims in southern Iraq. A British official said that the United States, Britain and France will establish a no-fly zone in southern Iraq in the next few days to ban flights of Iraq military aircraft. Within the restricted area, allied aircraft will conduct round-the-clock patrols. On August 19, Iraq's ambassador to the European Community Zeid Haidar condemned the United States, Britain and France's plan to establish a "no-fly zone" in southern Iraq's airspace, and called this act a "blatant provocation." "This is nothing more than a provocative act used as an excuse for military action against Iraq," Haidar said in an interview on BBC television. Haidar said that the United Nations inspected Iraq's military facilities and found no fault. The United States, Britain and France are now using protecting Shiite Muslims as an excuse to take military action. He believes Bush is playing the Iraq card for political reasons. Egypt and Jordan have expressed deep concern about the plan by the United States, Britain and France to establish an air restricted zone in southern Iraq, believing it to be a "de facto plan to divide Iraq."