16 December 1998
U.S.-UK MILITARY STRIKE PUNISHES IRAQI PATTERN OF OBSTRUCTION
(Cohen orders additional military forces to the Gulf) (830) By Jacquelyn S. Porth USIA Security Affairs Correspondent Washington -- Secretary of Defense Cohen says the United States -- joined by Great Britain -- launched "a serious and sustained" military strike against Iraq December 16 to degrade Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's capability to threaten his neighbors with nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and the missile systems to deliver them. Summarizing the military goals of the operation, Cohen said, "We want to degrade Saddam Hussein's ability to make and to use weapons of mass destruction. We want to diminish his ability to wage war against his neighbors, and we want to demonstrate the consequences of flouting international obligations." Cohen said Iraq, despite appeals from the United Nations Security Council and the Arab world, had "once again refused to reverse its course." The Secretary said Iraq had "spurned diplomacy and all reasonable efforts to resolve this crisis peacefully." Iraq has exhausted "all options but the use of force," the Secretary emphasized. He pointed out that Saddam Hussein has pursued "a planned systematic pattern of obstruction and delay" to evade U.N. Security Council mandates, pursuing obstruction over openness, and confrontation over cooperation. The United States and the world community "cannot allow Iraq to brazenly break its promises," Cohen explained. Faced with Iraq's "outright refusal to obey its international obligations," he said, "the United States acted to restrict the threat it poses to its neighbors and to international order." "We intend to deliver a substantial blow," Cohen said of the joint military operation. "The world knows that it cannot trust Saddam Hussein," he said, but it can trust the United States. He also alluded to the fact that the U.S. and Britain have "the necessary support" of other unnamed nations in their effort to conduct the military operation against Iraq. The Secretary said President Clinton had clearly established on November 15 five key benchmarks requiring Iraq to: -- Resolve all outstanding UNSCOM (United Nations Special Commission) issues; -- Provide full unfettered access to UNSCOM inspectors; -- Supply all relevant documents; -- Accept all Security Council resolutions related to weapons of mass destruction; and -- Not interfere with either the independence or professional expertise of the inspectors. Cohen stressed that before "Operation Desert Fox" was launched, Saddam Hussein had been given "every opportunity" to comply fully with the requirements of the 120-member UNSCOM team. However, in the UNSCOM report that he presented to the Security Council December 15, UNSCOM Executive Chairman Richard Butler made it clear that the inspectors could not carry out their work, thereby justifying their withdrawal from Iraq. To underline U.S. determination to deter Iraq's intransigence, Cohen indicated that he is increasing the size of U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf with additional ground troops and one Air Expeditionary wing with 36 combat aircraft including fighters, bombers and anti-defense aircraft. The F-117 Stealth aircraft will provide additional strength. In addition, the U.S. Carl Vinson carrier battlegroup will arrive in the area on December 18 to bolster that presence. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Henry Shelton, who, with Cohen addressed reporters at the Defense Department while the operation was still ongoing, said it included U.S. and British air forces from land bases in the region as well as U.S. naval aircraft from the aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Enterprise; B-52 bombers from Diego Garcia; and Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from U.S. naval ships. With the military operation still in progress, Shelton declined to discuss targets located in Iraq or the number of air sorties being flown by U.S. and British forces. He would only say that the targets were generally selected if they related to Iraq's security or its ability to manufacture and deliver weapons. He also would not discuss damage assessment. As to the question of duration of the strikes, Cohen would only say the military mission would continue until its goals are achieved. Even after the military operation has concluded, Cohen said, the U.S. will remain in place "indefinitely," supported by U.S. allies in the Gulf, "in the event that Saddam seeks to reconstitute his weapons of mass destruction" or seeks to strike out at his neighbors. Cohen was questioned closely about the timing of the military strike and looming impeachment vote against President Clinton. The only factor that dictated the timing of the operation was the national security interest of the United States, he said, adding that he was willing to stake his 30-year career as a public servant on that. Shelton, too, supported the President's decision saying the timing was tied to a window of opportunity dictated by such factors as the need for tactical surprise and the rotation of U.S. B-52 aircraft. He described it as a military decision taken "at the right time."
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
