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07 January 1999

CENTCOM CHIEF BRIEFS ON GOALS, RESULTS OF OPERATION DESERT FOX

(Executions signal "some degree of internal unrest") (370)
By Rick Marshall
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- The United States has begun to see evidence of internal
unrest in Iraq, the commander-in-chief of the United States Central
Command, General Anthony Zinni, said at a Foreign Press Center
briefing January 7.
"We see internal problems. Obviously, there's been a number of
internal executions reported, not only in the military, the
civil-military leadership, but we've also heard reports" that some
civilian leaders in the southern region have been executed as well,
Zinni said.
"Obviously, these things signal to us that there's some degree of
internal unrest."
Iraq's recent and continuing attempts to violate the two No Fly Zones
is also a sign of Saddam Hussein's increasing desperation, Zinni said.
"These seem to be, by our estimation, a desperate attempt to get some
sort of event, to claim some sort of victory, or to use the event for
some sort of propaganda."
While not wishing to overstate the matter, Zinni said, his command's
overall assessment is that there are "significant internal problems in
Iraq."
Zinni said that his primary mission as CentCom commander is not to
overthrow Saddam Hussein but to preserve stability in the Gulf. The
territorial integrity of Iraq remains an important U.S. consideration,
as does the hope that one day the Iraqi people will be able to return
to the more stable and productive way of life they enjoyed before
Saddam Hussein took power.
Operation Desert Fox was a "very successful operation," Zinni said.
Iraq's ability to field weapons of mass destruction and threaten his
neighbors was significantly "degraded," while the cost in terms of
civilian casualties was kept very low. He said that estimates of the
number of Republic Guards killed ranged between 600 and 2,000.
"We feel our objectives were achieved," he stated.
Zinni praised the level of cooperation the United States received from
its allies in the Gulf region.
Asked whether his command used intelligence gathered by the United
Nations weapons inspectors -- UNSCOM -- Zinni said that the United
States, like all Security Council countries, followed UNSCOM's
activities, but the intelligence used during Desert Fox was
"fundamentally our own."