European Stars And Stripes
March 2, 1999
Pg. 2Attacks Become Workaday For U.S. Campaign In Gulf
By Ward Sanderson, Staff Writer
America is again at war in the Persian Gulf - albeit a low-intensity one of potshots, rather than poundings.
More than two months after the four days and 100 targets of Operation Desert Fox, the United States, with help from the British, continues an almost daily string of airstrikes against Iraq at the provocation of President Saddam Hussein's air defenses.
Monday's attacks were the latest, when a group of Air Force F-15Es dropped a total of 30 bombs on anti-aircraft batteries, communications and radio relay sites near Mosul after being targeted by Iraqi radar. No U.S. planes were damaged, and the damage to Iraqi defenses was still under investigation, according to the U.S. European Command.
While Operation Desert Fox was caused by Saddam's refusal to allow United Nations weapons inspectors free access to potential storage sites, the latest attacks are a result of Saddam's challenge of the two no-fly zones set up after the Gulf War.
It's a challenge the United States has been happy to accept - and one that has allowed pilots to fire missiles and drop bombs on Saddam's military in response, including targeting Iraqi defenses that don't pose immediate threats to them.
And as the United States, which has openly called for Saddam's ouster, vows to enforce the no-fly zones, Saddam defiantly vows to shoot those patrols down.
"This thing could go on indefinitely," said John Pike, a defense analyst with the Federation of American Scientists, a Washington think tank.
"He's using airplanes, which we're not shooting down. And he's using anti-aircraft artillery, of which he has an ample supply. We might run out of interesting targets . (but) this sitzkrieg could last the rest of the millennium."
Pentagon officials have said American and British planes have destroyed 20 percent of Iraq's surface-to-air missile systems, having fired on more than 50 sites since December. Iraqi fighters have violated the no-fly zones more than 100 times, though the Iraqis have only lost one plane, when it ran out of gas while being pursued. And though the numbers are sketchy, Iraq claims about 30 people have died in the raids.
The Pentagon said last week that it has fewer big missiles to target. Apparently, Saddam has pulled many of his missiles back into his country's core, out of the no-fly zones. Now Iraq is increasingly switching to anti-aircraft guns - less effective than surface-to-air missiles.
"He's been shooting them into the air against airplanes, and they have not proven to be particularly effective," Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said during a briefing last week.
There are also fears Saddam may reload: Britain's Sunday Telegraph two weeks ago reported that Russia made a $160 million deal with Iraq to muscle-up its dwindling missiles and upgrade its squadrons of MiGs. Russia denies that.
"We've seen those reports, and they're obviously very worrisome," Bacon said during the Pentagon briefing. "This is something we monitor very closely."
For the record, Pentagon officials say their goal in the no-fly zones is to simply enforce U.N. resolutions.
"You've got to look at why they were instituted to begin with," said Marine Lt. Col. Pat Sivigny, a Pentagon spokesman. He said the patrols and strikes will end "when Saddam comes in compliance with U.N. security resolutions."
But the zones have been around since 1991. So why does Saddam fire at patrols now? Analyst Pike has two theories:
Theory No. 1 - Saddam is keeping his military busy, so they don't have time to overthrow him.
Theory No. 2 - "He'll get lucky, we'll blow up an orphanage," Pike said. "That will put international pressure on easing up on the no-fly zones."
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