Posted on 01/27/2003 3:51:12 PM PST by doug from upland
U.S. intensifies bombing raids in power, duration
Knight Ridder News Service
December 18, 1998
Special Sections:
The President in Crisis
| US-Iraq conflict
Washington -- The United States pummeled Iraq on Thursday for the second day with larger, more lethal cruise missiles, and the Clinton administration picked up political support at home for the bombing campaign.
Instead of relying on another barrage of cruise missiles from the safety of ships at sea, commanders ordered B-52 bombers to strike Iraqi military targets with cruise missiles twice as powerful as those used in Wednesday's attack. Two missiles struck Baghdad, according to senior military officials.
At the same time, F-16 CJ fighters and British Tornadoes left bases in Kuwait to attack Iraqi air defenses in southern Iraq, officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Navy fighters joined in. Thursday's attack began about 10 a.m. CST and lasted nearly twice as long as Wednesday's six-hour strike.
"I am convinced the decision I made to order this military action, though difficult, was absolutely the right thing to do," President Clinton said Thursday. "It is in our interest and in the interests of people all around the world."
Like the first wave of attacks, the second was shrouded in relative secrecy as Pentagon officials declined to provide details of targets struck or exact damage done.
However, they showed photographs of what they said were an Iraqi military installation in southern Iraq and the military intelligence headquarters in Baghdad. Both buildings appeared to be nearly destroyed by the attacks Wednesday.
"His headquarters is now rubble," said Gen. Henry Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"Our early assessment of military action against Iraq shows that our forces are performing well," Secretary of Defense William Cohen said after Wednesday's attack. "We are achieving good coverage of our targets, and as a result we are advancing our goal of containing Saddam Hussein."
Cohen said there were no American casualties as of Thursday. Iraqi officials reported in the middle of Thursday's attack that 25 people had died and 75 were injured.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Sahaf said during a news conference in Baghdad that among the targets hit by the 200 U.S. cruise missiles unleashed Wednesday were a pesticides company, a mechanic training center and a small factory for making batteries.
"These are examples to show you (what) cheap liars are the officials, the leaders of the American regime and the British regime," al-Sahaf said.
Cohen insisted the United States is concentrating on military targets. "We are not attacking the people of Iraq," he said. Cohen and Shelton said the United States had attacked airfields, air defense sites, command and control centers and suspected weapons sites, mostly in southern Iraq.
Shelton said that while most attacks had been effective, "some were less successful."
He did not elaborate, but two senior military officials acknowledged that at least one and possibly several Tomahawk cruise missiles went astray during the first night's attack. While it was not clear right away why the missiles apparently failed, officials believed they had either mechanical or computer breakdowns.
The attacks on air defenses were designed to make it safer for piloted aircraft to strike deeper into Iraq in attacks that are expected to continue today.
Fifty-one combat aircraft from the United States, including F-117 Stealth fighters and F-15 fighters, were ordered to the gulf Wednesday, along with a Navy carrier and 5,600 Army soldiers from Georgia, Texas and New York. They will join the 24,000 troops already in the region and are expected to arrive this weekend.
Military officials hope to suspend the bombing campaign at about the same time. The Clinton administration then will demand that the United Nations weapons inspectors begin anew their check on suspected weapons sites, according to officials with the National Security Council. If Hussein refuses, they say, the strikes would start again.
The additional forces would allow the United States to step up attacks against Iraq, strike targets that may not have been destroyed or retaliate if Iraq strikes out against neighboring countries, such as Kuwait or Israel. The forces could remain indefinitely.
Even as a buildup was under way, questions arose about the purpose of the offensive. Cohen said the United States wanted only to diminish Iraq's effort to build forbidden chemical and biological weapons as well its military capabilities. But Shelton indicated that if attacks against the Iraqi military and intelligence agencies weakened Hussein's regime, that would be "added value."
In a show of decidedly mixed backing, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to voice support for U.S. troops. At the same time, many lawmakers who had backed the initial attack warned that support would dissolve if Clinton didn't attempt to topple the regime and instead stopped short after it had exhausted military targets in Iraq.
"The basic problem which the president must now address is how to change the Saddam regime," said Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.). "This goes well beyond the limited missions of the current military strikes."
The strikes divided the U.N. Security Council and drew protests from Russia, China, France and Iraq.
Vice President Al Gore, at Clinton's direction, called Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov and tried to smooth over U.S.-Russian differences. But Russian President Boris Yeltsin, furious about the attacks, recalled his ambassador from Washington for "consultations." Clinton planned to call Yeltsin.
Russian officials said the attacks against Iraq could derail approval by parliament of the long-delayed START II nuclear reduction treaty.
Seeking diplomatic support, Clinton called the leaders of Israel, Egypt, Jordan and France, while Secretary of State Madeleine Albright contacted officials in more than 20 countries.
Albright said she found among Arab leaders "a full understanding of why we have undertaken military action. Most expressed the view that Saddam Hussein is entirely responsible for the military strikes now under way." Clinton forcefully rejected Republican criticism that he ordered the strikes to stop the impeachment momentum. "I don't think any serious person would believe that any president would do such a thing," Clinton said at an Oval Office briefing with his top national security advisers.
Three-fourths of Americans support the bombing of Iraq, according to a handful of polls released Thursday. A majority say they think Clinton ordered the attack because it was the right thing to do. Still, about three in 10 were suspicious that Clinton's purpose in ordering the raids was to delay the impeachment vote.
In Baghdad, buildings shook and parts of the skyline glowed orange late Thursday.
After at least a dozen explosions, a pall of white smoke hung over the center of the Iraqi capital. The impact of one explosion rocked the government press center in downtown Baghdad.
The city was hit Thursday night, and then again before dawn today after a lull of several hours.
Startled Iraqi motorists stomped on the gas at the noise, speeding off to safety. Earlier, air raid sirens had screamed repeatedly during the day in a series of nerve-jarring false alarms.
Hussein visited some of the targeted sites Thursday, including the house of his daughter Hala, Baghdad Radio reported. Hala, the youngest of his three daughters, was safe, but the house was demolished, it said.
Residents of Baghdad lined up at gas stations Thursday to stock up on fuel -- one indication they thought that more U.S. airstrikes were coming.
But many people went about their normal routines -- government workers showed up at their offices and children went to school -- and some gave a show of defiance.
"Where is this Clinton? I wish I could get my hands on him," Salam Mohammed, 34, mumbled from a bed in Baghdad's al-Yarmouk Hospital bed, his face bandaged and his body trembling.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
"Where is this Clinton? I wish I could get my hands on him," Salam Mohammed, 34, mumbled from a bed in Baghdad's al-Yarmouk Hospital bed, his face bandaged and his body trembling.
Me too, Salam.
Probably took out a building containing Rose Law Firm billing documents under subpeona.
They were taking turns sleeping in the Lincoln bedroom.
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Good response, Sam. I would change it slightly --- They were taking turns sleeping with each other in the Lincoln bedroom.
I wonder what Clinton thought when he heard that.
Oh, he waited until AFTER the attack to notify our "allies"?????????
My fervent prayer is that with the investigation of Scott Ritter we are given the SMOKING GUN. Then we won't hear that phrase again, and the Clintonistas will go into hiding.
Where was Hollywood during Clinton's unprovoked attack on Serbia with a 78 day bombing campiagn with mostly dumb bombs? 78 days was a long time- time enough to organize protests and marches? There were none. That the Holloywood stars were totally silent on those matters (and others) and continue to support a man who put pilots in harms way to save his own ass tells us all we need to know about their integrity and honesty. These left wing hollywood stars don't hate "war"- they just hate Bush.
Well he never got around to the basic problem during his remaining tenure......
As they sat there, each being worked on by a different barber, not a word was spoken. The barbers were both afraid to start a conversation, for fear it would turn to politics. As the barbers finished their shaves, the one who had Clinton in his chair reached for the aftershave.
Clinton was quick to stop him saying, "No thanks, my wife Hillary will smell that and think I've been in a whorehouse,"
The second barber turned to Bush and said, "How about you?" Bush replied, "Go ahead, Laura doesn't know what the inside of a whorehouse smells like."
I just heard on Bill O'Rielly the Hollywood Nit Wits put out another ad in the New York Times basically calling America terrorist
Bill says you can go to his website to get a link to send these people an email
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