U.S. Strikes Aimed at Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction

 

 By Jim Garamone
 
American Forces Press Service


 WASHINGTON -- President Clinton ordered a "strong and sustained" 
 air attack on Iraq Dec. 16 in response to continued Iraqi 
 attempts to build weapons of mass destruction.
 
 Tomahawk cruise missiles streaked toward Baghdad at 5 p.m. EST 
 to start Operation Desert Fox. Defense Secretary William S. 
 Cohen said U.S. goals are to "degrade" Iraq's military 
 capability, to stop Saddam Hussein from threatening his 
 neighbors, to strike at facilities engaged in making weapons of 
 mass destruction and to deprive Hussein of the means of 
 delivering those weapons. 
 
 British airmen also joined in the strikes.
 
 Cohen said he had ordered an air expeditionary wing and more 
 ground troops to the Persian Gulf region as a precaution. 
 Pentagon officials said the deployment order has been signed and 
 about 90 Air Force and Marine Corps aircraft will soon be 
 operating in the region. Deploying Army units include a brigade 
 from Fort Stewart, Ga.; Army Patriot missile batteries from Fort 
 Bliss, Texas, and Fort Bragg, N.C.; and a light infantry 
 battalion from Fort Drum, N.Y.
 
 The new U.S. forces will join 24,100 other service members 
 already stationed in the region. There are 201 U.S. aircraft in 
 the area, including 15 B-52H bombers based at Diego Garcia, in 
 the Indian Ocean. The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and its 
 battle group are scheduled to arrive in the Gulf Dec. 18.
 
 Pentagon officials said eight Navy ships started the strikes by 
 launching Tomahawk missiles. Army Gen. Henry Shelton, chairman 
 of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said strikes will be flown by the 
 U.S. Air Force and Royal Air Force pilots flying from bases in 
 the area and naval aviators from the USS Enterprise.
 
 Cohen said the president agreed with advisers: "We wanted to 
 strike quickly with no more warning, no more carrots for Saddam 
 and no chance to prepare for the attacks."
 
 The attacks followed a Dec. 15 report by chief U.N. arms 
 inspector Richard Butler that said Iraq's compliance with U.N. 
 resolutions had worsened since the U.N.-Iraqi confrontation in 
 November. U.S. planes had been in the air to strike Iraq Nov. 14 
 when Saddam agreed to abide completely by U.N. resolutions.
 
 Shelton said planning for another U.S. attack started Nov. 15. 
 "We assumed a worst-case scenario [about compliance]," he said. 
 He said the timing of the attack had to wait on Butler's report.
 
 "Frankly, we thought the report would be mixed," Cohen said. 
 "But in all five areas covered, Iraq had gotten worse."
 
 Cohen and Shelton were not specific about the attack. Shelton 
 said strikes generally would hit transport, air defense sites, 
 and command and control facilities. "We're going after 
 everything [involved with weapons of mass destruction] from 
 transport to manufacturing to delivery," Shelton said.
 
 He said U.S. forces will do all they can to avoid civilian 
 casualties, but said there will be some. 
 
 Pentagon officials estimate the Iraqis have 430,000 active duty 
 troops and 650,000 in reserve. About 17,000 Iraqi soldiers are 
 involved with air defense and the Iraqi air force still has 
 about 310 planes.
 
 

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