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Iraq skies fall silent as Desert Fox ends

Released: 20 Dec 1998

WASHINGTON -- After launching hundreds of cruise missiles and dropping untold tons of bombs from allied aircraft, the Operation Desert Fox assault against Iraqi military targets ended Dec. 19.

President Clinton, following the advice of his national security team, told the nation "the operation is now complete, in accordance with our 70-hour plan."

Based on what he called "preliminary results," the president said four nights of bombing sites suspected for production of weapons of mass destruction and other military and security targets had met allied goals.

"Our objectives in this military action," Clinton said, "were clear: to degrade Saddam's weapons of mass destruction program and related delivery systems, as well as his capacity to attack his neighbors."

The president added, "We have inflicted significant damage on Saddam's weapons of mass destruction programs, on the command structures that direct and protect that capability, and on his military and security infrastructure."

The commander in chief also said U.S. forces would stand ready to strike again if Iraq, which has already announced it will not permit more United Nations weapons inspections, continues to defy U.N. resolutions.

Clinton described the short-term U.S. strategy toward Iraq:

-- Maintain a strong military presence in the area, and remain ready to use it if Saddam tries to rebuild weapons of mass destruction, strikes out at his neighbors, challenges allied aircraft, or moves against the Kurds -- continue to enforce no-fly zones in the north, and from the southern suburbs of Baghdad to the Kuwaiti border.

-- Sustain what have been among the most extensive sanctions in U.N. history.

"To date," Clinton said, "[the sanctions] have cost Saddam more than $120 billion, resources that otherwise would have gone toward rebuilding his military. At the same time, we will support a continuation of the oil-for-food program, which generates more than $10 billion a year for food, medicine and other critical humanitarian supplies for the Iraqi people. We will insist that Iraq's oil be used for food, not tanks."

-- Welcome the return of the U.N. Special Commission and International Atomic Energy Agency back into Iraq to pursue their mandate from the United Nations -- provided that Iraq first takes concrete, affirmative and demonstrable actions to show that it will fully cooperate with the inspectors.

However, the president added, "If UNSCOM is not allowed to resume its work on a regular basis, we will remain vigilant and prepared to use force if we see that Iraq is rebuilding its weapons programs."

Clinton said he was "terribly proud of our men and women in uniform. Once again, they have done a difficult job with skill, dedication and determination."

Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen agreed.

"We gave our forces a very difficult job to execute, and they performed it with great speed and also with great skill," he said. "There were no U.S. or British casualties, but as we all know, our armed forces put themselves in harm's way every single day. All Americans should be proud of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who executed Operation Desert Fox."

Assessing the overall campaign, the secretary said, "We've degraded Saddam Hussein's ability to deliver chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. We've diminished his ability to wage war against his neighbors."

Cohen said U.S. forces attacked about 100 targets over four nights, adding, "We concentrated on military targets, and we worked very hard to keep civilian casualties as low as possible. Our goal was to weaken Iraq's military power, not to hurt Iraq's people."

To that end, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Henry H. Shelton said Air Force combat forces shined throughout the operation. According to his tally, American and British war planes flew more than 650 strike and strike-support sorties. Air Force B-52s launched more than 90 cruise missiles, and U.S. ships launched more than 325 Tomahawk cruise missiles against almost 100 targets.

In addition, Desert Fox saw the combat debut of the B-1B Lancer. During their sorties aircrews dropped 500-pound conventional bombs onto Iraqi targets.

The general also noted the role played by aircrews who moved and supported forces into and around the area of operations. These included Air Force and Air National Guard crews of the U.S. Transportation Command flying C-17 Globemasters, C-141 Starlifters and C-5 Galaxies.

These crews, Shelton said, "know how critical their contributions are to the overall operation. So do the crews of the aerial refueling aircraft, without whose support these strikes, indeed, even getting the equipment to the fight, would not have been possible.

"In fact," he said, "I think their motto should probably be 'try fighting without us.'"

The chairman also had words for "the families of all of our servicemen and women and particularly to those loved ones who are serving in the Gulf or getting ready to go out as part of our crisis response force.

"I know it's been difficult, especially during this holiday season, to watch your husband, wife, son or daughter, mom or dad pick up that ruck sack one more time to answer our nation's call. America is very proud of you all."