Operation Desert Fox: A Four-Day Assault on Iraq

Strategic Insights -

Operation Desert Fox, a four-day airstrikes campaign by US and British forces, concluded on December 19, 1998, with the objective of weakening Saddam Hussein's regime and its ability to develop weapons of mass destruction. The operation's success was marked by significant damage inflicted on Iraq's military and security infrastructure, as well as its command structures and weapons of mass destruction programs. President Clinton announced the halt of airstrikes, emphasizing that future action would be taken if Iraq demonstrated belligerence towards the US or its allies.

Key Takeaways:

  • The operation resulted in 101 targets being attacked, with some targets being struck repeatedly, according to Defense Department officials.
  • U.S. and British forces encountered only slight Iraqi resistance and suffered no casualties, with General Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirming this.
  • British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that all British and American crews had returned safely.
  • Defense Secretary William Cohen acknowledged that the Pentagon's earlier explanations to the media about bomb-damage assessments were inadequate, with Cohen saying "I'm satisfied they've done a very professional job."
  • The airstrikes set back Iraq's ballistic missile programs by a year or more, according to Cohen.
  • The US would maintain economic sanctions against Iraq and support opponents of Hussein's regime, as stated by President Clinton.
  • Representative Sam Johnson of Texas explained that U.S. military forces in Iraq and the House of Representatives were both defending the Constitution.
  • The operation marked the third time in Clinton's presidency that U.S. forces struck at targets in Iraq, with the four-day assault being the largest of these airstrikes.

Statistics:

  • The operation involved 150 sorties by U.S. and British warplanes, as well as additional cruise missile strikes, on the first day of the attack.
  • General Shelton mentioned that satellite photos of the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing showed only "moderate" damage to the structure.
  • Similar "light" damage was noted in the case of the U.S. embassies bombed in Tanzania and Kenya, despite the deaths of more than 250 people.
  • The attack on Iraq's large oil refinery in Basra involved targeting "a tangle of piping" rather than the main structures of the refinery itself.
  • Air Force B-1 bombers made more traditional bomb runs in their first combat debut, dropping 500-pound bombs on targets like Iraqi Revolutionary Guard barracks.
  • Clinton reiterated that the US would welcome the return of U.N. arms inspectors with UNSCOM and the International Atomic Energy Agency if Iraq provided full cooperation.

Sources:

  • (c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News. Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at http://www.dallasnews.com/
  • Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.