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Please remove this message once the article has been expanded. | Operation Desert Fox was the military codename for a major four-day bombing campaign on Iraqi targets from December 16-December 19, 1998 by the United States and United Kingdom. These strikes were undertaken in response to Iraq's continued failure to comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions as well as their interference with United Nations Special Commission inspectors. Image File history File links Wiki_letter_w. ...
The post-Cold War era is a time period following the end of the Cold War. ...
Image File history File links The Arabian Gulf, Dec. ...
December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...
December 19 is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...
Map of the Persian Gulf. ...
Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a retired general in the United States Marine Corps and a former Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command. ...
Saddam Hussein Saddām Hussein ʻAbd al-Majid al-Tikrītī (Often spelt Husayn or Hussain; Arabic صدام حسين عبدالمجيد التكريتي; born April 28, 1937 1) was President of Iraq from 1979 to 2003. ...
December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
December 19 is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...
The United Nations Security Council is the most powerful organ of the United Nations (UN). ...
United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) was a United Nations organisation performing arms inspections in Iraq after the Gulf War. ...
It was a major flare-up in the Iraq disarmament crisis. The stated goal of the cruise missile and bombing attacks was to "degrade" Saddam Hussein's ability to produce weapons of mass destruction. The issue of Iraqs disarmament reached a crisis in 2002-2003, when U.S. President George W. Bush demanded a complete end to alleged Iraqi production and use of weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq comply with UN Resolutions requiring UN inspectors unfettered access to areas those inspectors...
A Tomahawk cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile which uses a lifting wing and most often a jet propulsion system to allow sustained flight. ...
Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) generally include nuclear, biological, chemical and, increasingly, radiological weapons. ...
Background convinced the U.S. intelligence community that their suspicions were correct about the facility’s chemical weapons role and that there was a risk of chemical agents getting into the hands of al Qaeda, whose interest in obtaining such weapons was clear." (Page 9) (PDF)
The 9/11 Commission Report noted that a passage regarding this plant caused Richard A. Clarke "who for years had read intelligence reports on Iraqi-Sudanese cooperation on chemical weapons, to speculate to Berger that a large Iraqi presence at chemical facilities in Khartoum was 'probably a direct result of the Iraq–Al Qida agreement.'" (page 128) (PDF) "This language about al Qaeda's "understanding" with Iraq had been dropped, however, when a superseding indictment was filed in November 1998." [1] The cover of the final 9/11 report, which can be purchased in bookstores across the United States and around the world The 9/11 Commission Report, formally titled The Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, is the official report on the events...
Richard A. Clarke (born 1951) provided national security advice to four U.S. presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, consulting on issues of intelligence and terrorism, from 1973 to 2003. ...
The Clinton Administration attacked the al-Shifa plant with cruise missiles on August 20, 1998. August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...
President Clinton announced a new policy toward Iraq of "regime change." On October 31, 1998 the president signed into law H.R. 4655, the "Iraq Liberation Act." [2] [3] The new Act appropriated funds to Iraqi opposition groups in the hope of removing Saddam Hussein from power and replacing his regime with a democracy. October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ...
1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...
The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-338) [1] (codified in a note to 22 USCS § 2151) is an United States Congressional statement of policy calling for regime change in Iraq. ...
The Act also said that "Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize or otherwise speak to the use of United States Armed Forces," except in direct aid to an active Iraqi rebellion.
The Planning The justification for Desert Fox, after a lot of twists and turns regarding Iraq’s alleged unwillingness to cooperate with the UN, came on December 15, 1998, when chief UN inspector Butler filed a report to the UN Security Council charging that Iraq had failed to provide the promised “full cooperation” to inspectors and had further initiated “new forms of restrictions upon the commission’s work.” Earlier in the year, Iraq accused Butler and other UNSCOM officials of acting as spies for the United States, claims later supported by Scott Ritter, an American officer on UNSCOM's staff. December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...
A session of the Security Council in progress The United Nations Security Council is the most powerful organ of the United Nations. ...
UNSCOM weapons inspectors were not expelled from the country by Iraq as has often been reported (and as George W. Bush alleged in his infamous "axis of evil" speech). Rather, according to Butler himself in his book Saddam Defiant (2000), it was U.S. Ambassador Peter Burleigh, acting on instructions from Washington, who suggested Butler pull his team from Iraq in order to protect them from the forthcoming U.S. and British airstrikes.
The potential number of targets for an air campaign focused on Iraq’s WMD was quite large. Coalition sources listed some 100 chemical-related facilities and another 90 biological-related facilities across the country. Although this target list did not include most of a large number of dual use facilities, many inspected and monitored by UNSCOM. Secretary Cohen noted that attacking Iraq’s missile research and development and production program was the surest way to “degrade” and “diminish” Saddam’s ability to use WMD and otherwise threaten his neighbours. Still, even here, the number of potential targets was extensive; UNSCOM had been monitoring 63 missile-related sites and some 2,000 missiles that were permitted by the UN. In the end though US and British aircraft would eventually strike only eleven during Desert Fox and these were nearly all missile-related. United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) was a United Nations organisation performing arms inspections in Iraq after the Gulf War. ...
The final target list contained roughly 100 sites or facilities, including the eleven noted above, and reflected the narrow focus of the operation. American and British planners benefited from the wealth of information on Iraq’s WMD and security apparatus gathered over several years by UNSCOM as well as an in-depth knowledge of Iraq’s air defenses gained from years of no-fly zone enforcement. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander General Anthony Zinni, USMC, insisted that strikes take place against only targets identified with a high degree of certainty. He and his planners were well aware that completed WMD, in the form of warheads or other stockpiles, were easy to hide. Zinni and his planners would focus on delivery systems instead. And to achieve the greatest effect and surprise, Zinni did not start a time-consuming and visible build up of forces that would give the Iraqis an opportunity to disperse personnel and WMD-related equipment. He also directed the preparation of two options, a “heavy” and a “light.” The former would hit more targets over a period of several days, the latter a smaller number of targets more rapidly. Zinni favored the “heavy” option. A General is an officer of high military rank. ...
Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a retired general in the United States Marine Corps and a former Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command. ...
Planners created seven broad target categories: Integrated Air Defense System (IADS); Command and Control; WMD Security (generally Special Republican Guards units); WMD Industry and Production; Republican Guards; Airfields; and one simply listed as “Economic.” CENTCOM planners purposely avoided “dual-use” facilities in order to minimize collateral damage. Likewise, CENTCOM and Administration spokesmen stated publicly that airstrikes would not target known WMD stockpiles or storage sites in order to avoid widespread collateral damage.
The Operation Operation Desert Fox began in the early hours of December 16. On the first nigh a 33 aircraft force launched from the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) , consisting of F-14s, F/A-18s and EA-6Bs supported by E-2C Hawkeye and S-3B Viking aircraft. The first night of air strikes was conducted by the Navy only and in the form of nearly 250 ship or submarine-launched Tomahawk land-attack missiles (TLAM), no US Air Force or Royal Air Force participated, not even aerial tankers. It was designed for a cycle to achieve the element of surprise. F-14 Tomcats from VF-32 were armed with 1000-lb GBU-16 laser guided bombs and were assigned most of the hard targets because of the greater LANTIRN capability of the aircraft, collateral damage was unacceptable Their targets was within Baghdad city limits. The strikes apparently caught Baghdad off guard. Subsequent post-strike indicated that General Zinni’s plan had achieved the desired degree of surprise. Over the course of approximately four and a half hours, US forces attacked more than 50 of the 100 targets on the target list, many of them part of Iraq’s air defense network. The eighth USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was the worlds first nuclear aircraft carrier and the seventh U.S. Navy ship of the name. ...
Sailors prepare an F-14 Tomcat for flight on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003). ...
The F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather fighter and attack aircraft. ...
The EA-6B Prowler is the United States Navys and the United States Marine Corpss primary electronic warfare aircraft. ...
The Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is the United States Navys all-weather, aircraft carrier-based tactical warning and control system aircraft. ...
The Lockheed S-3 Viking is a United States Navy jet aircraft used to hunt and destroy enemy submarines and provide surveillance of surface shipping. ...
Seal of the Air Force. ...
The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ...
The VF-32 Swordsmen is a U.S. Navy fighter squadron stationed at NAS Oceana. ...
American Paveway-series laser-guided bomb, based on the Mk 83 general-purpose bomb, but with laser seeker and wings for guidance. ...
Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night, or LANTIRN, is a system for use on the USAFs premier fighter aircraft -- the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon (C & D models). ...
On the second day, B-52s based on the island of Diego Garcia and employing air-launched cruise missiles (ALCM) joined in the fray. The B-1 bomber also made its combat debut on the night of December 17, striking at Republican Guard and other military targets. US aircraft based in Kuwait now took part, as did Britain’s 12 Kuwait-based Panavia Tornado aircraft. British combat aircraft logged 32 sorties between 17 and 19 December, striking 11 sites, including two command and control facilities, two Republican Guard bases, six air defense sites and one airfield. British efforts eventually represented 15 per cent of the total number of missions flown during Desert Fox. B-52 can refer to the following: The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber aircraft A hairstyle popular in the 1950s and 1960s, named after the aircraft A rock band, The B-52s, named after the hairstyle A cocktail This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists...
Diego Garcia () is a 44 square kilometre (17 square mile) atoll located in the heart of the Indian Ocean, some 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) south of Indias southern coast. ...
The Boeing IDS (formerly Rockwell) B-1B Lancer is a long-range strategic bomber in service with the USAF. Together with the B-52 Stratofortress, it is the backbone of the United Statess long-range bomber force. ...
December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
Republican Guard is the organization of a republic which serves to protect the President and the government. ...
ADV: RAF Tornado F3 RAF Tornado ZA463 Luftwaffe Tornados at CFB Goose Bay, Labrador The Panavia Tornado designates a family of twin-engine fighters jointly developed as the Multi-role combat aircraft or MRCA for United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. ...
By December 19, US and British aircraft and missiles had struck 97 facilities. This total included the following targets and facilities: 32 SAM or IADS; 20 command and control; 18 “security” facilities, including SRG units; 11 WMD industry and production; nine Republican Guard headquarters and barracks, including those of three heavy divisions and 1 infantry division in the Baghdad region; six airfields; and an oil refinery at Basra, the sole “economic” target on the list. The Department of Defense would not speculate on the number of Iraqi military casualties the raids had caused to this point. Baghdad claimed dozens of civilians had been killed, and admitted to only a very small number of military casualties.
According to General Zinni, the operation was so successful that he saw no need to extend the operation into Ramadan, due to begin on December 19. It would be, in Zinni’s words, “bombing for bombing’s sake.” With the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also declaring themselves “satisfied” with the progress of Desert Fox, President Clinton appeared on television the evening of December 19 and declared “victory.” The President re-stated the operation’s main goals, and concluded that “[I]t will take some time to make a detailed assessment of our operation, but based on the briefing I’ve just received, I am confident we have achieved our mission.” Ramadan or Ramadhan (Arabic: رمضان) is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and the holiest month in Islam. ...
Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States of America symbol The Joint Chiefs of Staff, photographed in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gold Room in the Pentagon on Jan. ...
The Pentagon determined that over the course of a 70-hour air campaign, US and British warplanes hit 85% of 100 targets. Analysts determined further that 74% of all strikes were “highly effective.” General Zinni summarized the effort during a press conference on December 21. Desert Fox involved 30,000 personnel, with another 10,000 in support outside the CENTCOM area of responsibility. The operation included more than 600 sorties, including 300 night strike sorties, flown by more than 300 combat and support aircraft. Aircraft employed 600 pieces of air-dropped ordnance, 90 air-launched cruise missiles, and 325 TLAMs. Forty naval vessels supported Desert Fox in one fashion or another and thousands of ground troops deployed to protect Kuwait against a possible Iraqi counterattack. Several weeks after the conclusion of the operation, General Zinni “upped” the estimate on the time it would take Iraq between one to two years to repair the damage it sustained on it's facilities. He based that assessment in part on the determination that many of the structures hit were not empty, as previously thought. Unique facilities and pieces of test equipment related to missile development had been destroyed. Likewise, additional analysis of damage indicated that weapon penetration of many buildings was deeper, causing structural damage beyond repair. Still hesitant to either discuss or confirm the number of Iraqi casualties, Zinni estimated anywhere from 600 to 2000 Republican Guard troops were killed. Subsequent reports settled on 600 killed from the Special Republican Guard and 800 from the Republican Guard.
Reaction In reaction to the attack, three of five permanent members of the UN Security Council (Russia, France, and the People's Republic of China) called for lifting of the eight-year oil embargo on Iraq, recasting or disbanding UNSCOM, and firing its chairman, Australian diplomat Richard Butler. A session of the Security Council in progress The United Nations Security Council is the most powerful organ of the United Nations. ...
United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) was a United Nations organisation performing arms inspections in Iraq after the Gulf War. ...
This page is about negotiations; for the board game, see Diplomacy (game). ...
Richard Butler (born May 13, 1942) served as an Australian diplomat, United Nations weapons inspector, and Governor of Tasmania. ...
According to published reports, Saddam Hussein immediately sought revenge against the U.S. in a manner that would allow him to deny responsibility. They claim that Saddam sought to direct terrorist organizations to attack U.S. targets. Farouk Hijazi, Iraq's ambassador to Turkey, reportedly met with bin Laden. ([4], [5]) Corriere della Sera, a Milan newspaper, translated by the CIA, reads: “Saddam Hussayn and Usama bin Ladin have sealed a pact. Faruk Hidjazi, the former Director of the Iraqi Secret Services and now the country’s Ambassador to Turkey, held a secret meeting with the extremist leader on 21 December.” The newspaper had direct quotes from Hijazi without specifying the source of the quotes. (Page 328)(PDF) December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
On January 11, 1999 Newsweek magazine reported an Arab intelligence officer, reported to know Saddam personally, told Newsweek: "very soon, you will be witnessing large-scale terrorist activity by the Iraqis." The planned attacks are said to be Saddam's revenge for the "continuing aggression" posed by the no fly zones that show the countries are still at war since Operation Desert Fox.[6] January 11 is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...
On January 31, 1999, Moscow newspaper Novosti claimed that "hundreds of Afghan Arabs are undergoing sabotage training in Southern Iraq and are preparing for armed actions on the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border. They have declared as their goal a fight against the interests of the United States in the region." [7] January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...
No such attacks ever materialized. The 9/11 Commission report notes that after American missiles destroyed Iraqi intelligence headquarters in 1993 as punishment for a bungled assassination plot against George H.W. Bush, "no further intelligence came in about terrorist acts planned by Iraq." [8] It also reported that the Commission's investigation had uncovered no "evidence indicating that Iraq cooperated with al Qaeda in developing or carrying out any attacks against the United States," and no evidence of any "collaborative operational relationship." [9] Order: 41st President Vice President: Dan Quayle Term of office: January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993 Preceded by: Ronald Reagan Succeeded by: Bill Clinton Date of birth: June 12, 1924 Place of birth: Milton, Massachusetts First Lady: Barbara Pierce Bush Political party: Republican George Herbert Walker Bush, KBE (born June...
- See also: Iraq disarmament crisis timeline 1997-2000
Timeline of events related to the Iraq disarmament crisis Continued from Iraq disarmament crisis timeline 1990-1996 February, 1997 Iraq allows UNSCOM to remove the missile parts found last September March 26, 1997 US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright delivers a speech at Georgetown University in which she argues that...
Criticism Some critics of the Clinton administration expressed concern over the timing of Operation Desert Fox. The four-day bombing campaign occurred at the same time the U.S. House of Representatives was considering articles of impeachment against President Clinton. Clinton was impeached on December 19, the last day of the bombing campaign. Critics claimed the timing of this operation was a so-called "Wag the Dog" scenario aimed at diverting media attention away from the impeachment proceedings. A few months earlier, similar criticism was leveled during Operation Infinite Reach, wherein missile strikes were ordered against suspected terrorist bases in Sudan and Afghanistan (August 20). The missile strikes began three days after Clinton was called to testify before a grand jury during the Lewinsky scandal and his subsequent nationally televised address later that evening (August 17), in which Clinton admitted having an inappropriate relationship with the White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Depiction of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, then President of the United States, in 1868. ...
Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body formally levels charges against a high official of government. ...
Wag the Dog (1997) is a film starring Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro and Anne Heche about a Washington spin doctor (De Niro) who distracts the electorate from a presidential sex scandal by hiring a Hollywood producer (Hoffman) to create a fake war. ...
Operation Infinite Reach was a US cruise missile strike on purported terrorist bases in Afghanistan and Sudan on August 20, 1998. ...
TIME magazines special report. ...
Monica Lewinsky as she appeared on the cover of her book, Monicas Story. Monica Lewinsky receives a hug from U.S. President Bill Clinton during a fundraising event in Washington, DC, October, 1996 Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American woman who was thrust into the...
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