[Eagle of Liberty]

Here is a good link to a press briefing on the bombings with Secretary Cohen and others.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/july-dec98/dod_12-18.html

There was one question in particular that I found interesting:

REPORTER: Mr. Secretary, can I ask -- first of all, could I ask both of you gentlemen has the third round of strikes begun? Have bombing raids, today's bombing raids begun yet? And also, Mr. Secretary, you said a wide range of military targets continue to be hit, and yet Tariq Aziz said on television today that number one, you had hit the oil refinery in Basra, and number two, you had hit a radio and television facility. Is that true, and are those military targets?

SEC. COHEN: Well, the radio and television facilities are, indeed, part of the command and control operations of Saddam Hussein and how he communicates to the Iraqi people as far as his propaganda is concerned. So those were, indeed, part of our target base. With respect to the facility in Basra, that is a very limited attack on a facility that provides for the illegal shipment of oil out of that facility. So that is one of the illegal shipments that he uses at that facility to produce oil in violation of the Security Council resolutions. So that has been in effect.

[CommieCutter]

One of the books from Bill Gertz touches on this very thing. It talked about how the Clinton admin new all along Saddam had an illegal oil shipment program and they just stood back and let it happen.
I think it's from Bill's 'Treachery' book.

[PhiKapMom]

Thanks for those transcripts! Makes me mad all over again at the RATs.