President Bush ordered an airstrike Friday on Iraqi
military sites south of Baghdad to destroy five military command
sites that threatened American and British aircraft. White House
spokesman Ari Fleischer said the action was “a routine strike” to
enforce the no-fly zone in Iraq and protect U.S. personnel. Bush
authorized the strike Thursday morning. British and U.S. planes took part in the attack. Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold said the strike involved 24 aircraft that targeted Iraqi command sites that control radar that had increased their frequency and sophistication and threatened U.S. jets patrolling Iraqi air space.
The Pentagon said it took about 2 1/2 hours for the operation, the first ordered by Bush since taking office. All U.S. and British planes involved in the attack returned safely, the official said. The strike was the first against targets outside the southern no-fly zone since December 1998, when U.S. and British planes staged a four-day air campaign against Iraq. The strike did not appear to mark a departure from U.S. policy toward Iraq. The Clinton administration said any military target in Iraq that threatened allied planes enforcing “no-fly” zones over northern and southern Iraq were fair game.
However, the new Bush administration released millions of dollars to Iraqi opposition groups to work inside the country to destabilize President Saddam Hussein’s hold on power.
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