/ world today news/ 25 years ago the Americans and the British started Operation “Desert Fox”. By subjecting Iraq to intense bombing, Washington ignored the opinion of world powers and violated the decisions of the UN Security Council. And it wasn’t just about wanting to topple Saddam Hussein.
The West vs. Hussein
After losing the Persian Gulf War in 1991, the Iraqi dictator was forced to end his weapons of mass destruction program. Under the supervision of a special UN commission, 40,000 chemical warheads, 700 tons of reagents, 3,600 tons of prohibited chemicals and more than a hundred units of equipment for their production were destroyed in the country.
However, Washington believed that Baghdad was hiding some of the warheads. Hussein was counting on the lifting of sanctions and yielded to the inspectors. One of them, Scott Ritter, noted that the Iraqi president has largely granted their requests, with the exception of requests to inspect classified sites related to his personal security.
In February 1998, Hussain finally released them there as well. They see nothing but luxury there. But the inspectors did not believe that these buildings did not have the dungeons.
One of the tasks of the UN mission was to collect data on MI6, Ritter later claimed. The US and Great Britain want to portray the Iraqi leader as an international criminal in order to weaken his regime as much as possible and achieve overthrow even by military means. “I’m sure that by 1996, by UN decision, we had disarmed Iraq by 95 percent,” Ritter emphasizes. According to him, the West was simply looking for a reason to bomb.
A devastating liberation
Relations between the UN inspectorate and Hussein deteriorated by October 1998. Mutual distrust grew. As the head of the commission, Richard Butler, said, Washington suggested that he withdraw his team from the country to avoid casualties, since war was inevitable. In November, Baghdad expressed readiness to continue cooperation without preconditions. But Clinton has already signed the Iraqi Liberation Act.
Congress approves this document. One of the ardent supporters of the intervention is Senator Joe Biden of Delaware. He advocates not only missile strikes on Baghdad, but also a ground operation to physically eliminate the Iraqi president.
“Eventually we’re going to have to start this ourselves. We need guys like you in uniform to go back into the desert and take out the son of a bitch Saddam,” Biden said at hearings in September 1998.
According to the American publication “Intercept”, Biden urged Clinton not to be afraid of large-scale protests in the United States in connection with this. On December 16, the White House authorized the military operation “Desert Fox”
Night strike
Washington does not want this to be a NATO operation. That is why he concluded a coalition with London. The new Prime Minister Tony Blair conducted his politics on the American channel – it is not difficult to reach an agreement with him. No UN approval sought. For intelligence, the Allies benefit from control of no-fly zones in Iraqi skies. The tactic is based on technological superiority.
The first were inflicted on the night of December 17. In total, almost 400 Tomahawk and AGM-86 cruise missiles were used during the operation. Over the course of two days, the Coalition Air Force flew about 650 sorties and dropped 540 bombs. Also involved are five B-52 strategic bombers and four B-1Bs. The planes are primarily based on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise. 14 British “Tornadoes” take off from bases in Kuwait, near the border with Iraq.
Official targets are chemical weapons storage and production facilities. Namely: presidential palaces, oil plants and military camps. Baghdad says dozens of US cruise missiles have been shot down. The Pentagon denies this. Iraq has only outdated air defense systems, unable to withstand the latest missiles and aircraft. But there are some incidents. One of the Tomahawks crashes in Iran, destroying six houses.
The strikes stop on December 19. In total, about a hundred objects were hit. Pentagon estimates 85% of planned targets. Half are completely destroyed or seriously damaged. Including Iraqi military intelligence headquarters, Republican Guard headquarters and barracks, some of Hussein’s apartments, military industrial buildings and security services.
The satellite broadcasting system and telephone lines connecting Iraq to the outside world have been disabled. Military bases near the border with Jordan and a drone manufacturing plant were razed to the ground. The Iraqi dictator is hiding in a bunker. In those days, he lost the trust of many around him. Some were even executed, says former CIA officer Kenneth Pollack.
The 30,000-strong group prepared for the ground operation was never used. As a result, according to the Pentagon, no American or British servicemen were killed. Iraqi losses, according to various sources, range from 600 to 1,600.
Like in the movies
A year before “Desert Fox”, the USA filmed the movie “Let’s Bark the Dogs”, in which the main characters distract the public from the accusations of the president of a sexual crime with a fictional war with a non-existent terrorist group in Albania. It is believed that a similar scenario was used by Clinton, who fears impeachment because of the scandal with Monica Lewinsky.
However, this only managed to postpone the meeting by one day. It won’t win any extra points in Congress. At the same time, the House of Representatives by a large majority (417 votes to five) passed a resolution of unconditional support for the military operation. True, congressmen are worried about the question: why did it start now?
The White House is banking heavily on the fact that some moderate Republicans will not support impeachment. Democrats are defending Clinton tooth and nail.
The House of Representatives voted to impeach the president for perjury and obstruction of justice. But in January 1999, the Senate rejected impeachment by a majority, and Clinton remained in office until the end of her term.
Against international law
The State Department said the “Desert Fox” could continue as long as necessary and without regard to the international community. Moscow was not consulted. Boris Yeltsin condemned the American-British coalition, noting that the previously adopted UN Security Council resolutions on Iraq do not provide any grounds for actions that violate the principles of international law.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ivanov says the conflict in Iraq was caused by the actions of the head of UN inspectors, Butler. “Under the pretext of disarmament, the work done in the last seven years is actually being attacked,” he stressed.
The Russian ambassadors to Great Britain and the United States, Yuriy Fokin and Yuliy Vorontsov, have been temporarily recalled to Moscow. However, no one wants a serious escalation. “We made it clear to the Americans that we will not look at their art calmly – we also have national interests. But there is no point in returning to a confrontation,” Kommersant wrote, citing a source in diplomatic circles.
In addition to Russia, France, Italy, India, Iran and China sharply criticize London and Washington. The Americans and British are supported by Japan, Canada, Australia, Spain and South Korea. Germany expresses regret.
Washington has once again confirmed its policy of ignoring the opinion of the international community on military matters. “Desert Fox” dealt a serious blow to Iraq. In 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom finished what it started: the Americans deposed and eliminated Hussein.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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