Air Assault on Iraq Called Off After 4 Nights

After one last fiery crescendo in the skies over Baghdad, President Clinton ended the air campaign against Iraq on Saturday, saying: “I’m confident we have achieved our mission.” Yet despite suffering more than 400 punishing bomb and missile strikes over four nights, Saddam Hussein’s government remained stubbornly defiant and proclaimed that it will bar any return of U.N. arms inspectors to the country.

“We have inflicted significant damage on Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction programs, on the command structures that direct and protect that capability, and on his military and security infrastructure,” Clinton said.

At the same time, Clinton said, the United States will maintain a strong military presence in the Persian Gulf region to use again if Hussein rebuilds his weapons of mass destruction or threatens either his neighbors or his own Kurdish population.

In blunt language, Clinton called for the ouster of the Iraqi leader.

“So long as Saddam remains in power, he will remain a threat to his people, his region and the world. With our allies, we must pursue a strategy to contain him and to constrain his weapons of mass destruction program,” he said.

Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, the only foreign leader to join the United States in the military campaign, also hailed it as a success that left “significant parts of Saddam’s military infrastructure . . . in ruins.”

Clinton’s announcement that the campaign was ending came at 2 a.m. today in Baghdad. There was no immediate reaction from the Iraqi government to the news.

At the Al Kindi Teaching Hospital, however, where he was overseeing the treatment of 18 people wounded in the final spate of attacks in Baghdad on Saturday night, Dr. Saeed Sultan was delighted.

“Everybody will receive this news with happiness,” he said.

100 Targets Developed Over a Full Year

During four nights of heavy bombardment, U.S. and British attacks struck at 100 targets developed over a full year, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said.

The campaign was a political gamble by the two Western allies, and its final ramifications are not yet clear.

The mission set off a wave of anger against the United States in Arab countries, opened a deep diplomatic fissure between the U.S. and Russia, and strained ties with some European partners, including France.

While there were no U.S. or British casualties, Iraqi officials have spoken of at least 45 civilian deaths from the strikes since Thursday morning, plus more than 100 injuries.

The Iraqis have not discussed the extent of any additional military casualties, which could be substantial, judging from U.S. and British statements that heavy strikes were carried out against the troops of the Republican Guard.

Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, however, said that “the number of martyrs among civilians is tens of times higher than that of military personnel.”

The final strikes in the Iraqi capital Saturday were dramatic.

The last assault occurred about 9:30 p.m. and hit unknown targets to the north of the city. In Baghdad itself, journalists were taken to see a 20-foot crater outside the Ministry of Labor.

In his speech, Clinton appeared to acknowledge that sending back the U.N. weapons inspectors will be difficult.

He charged that Baghdad has no credibility on pledges of cooperation after a year of violations and attempts to block inspections. Washington will support the return of the U.N. Special Commission, or UNSCOM, only if Iraq takes “demonstrative actions” to prove that it will fully comply, he said.

For their part, United Nations officials disputed Iraqi statements that the U.N. disarmament effort is finished.

“It’s premature to judge the future of UNSCOM on the basis of what Iraqi officials are saying today,” said Charles Duelfer, vice chairman of the U.N. inspections regime.

Throughout the conflict, Iraq has said that it was cooperating with UNSCOM but that the chief U.N. weapons inspector, Richard Butler, had made unjustifiable demands for access at the behest of the United States, which according to Iraq had been looking for an excuse to strike.

Iraqi leaders also deny that they retain banned biological, chemical, ballistic or nuclear weapons that are at the heart of the dispute.

Attacks Inflicted ‘Significant Damage’

At a briefing earlier Saturday, Cohen said the airstrikes had inflicted “significant damage” on the Iraqi military and that Baghdad’s missile program has been set back a year or more.

The termination of Operation Desert Fox was timed from the outset to occur Saturday after a 70-hour bombardment, U.S. officials said privately.

As designed, the campaign was actually slightly longer and had more targets than the original bombardment that was aborted at the last minute last month.

Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting from dawn to dusk, was always a factor in the timing, they said.

“The longer it ran into Ramadan, the more trouble we could incur,” one U.S. official said. “But we were willing to run over into Ramadan, and that sends a message to Saddam. . . .”

For Iraqis, Ramadan dawned amid a cacophony of antiaircraft fire and missile explosions Saturday. Among the destroyed buildings was the headquarters of the ruling Arab Baath Socialist Party, wiped out by a thunderous fireball.

Vice President Ramadan, addressing reporters at a news conference Saturday night, accused the United States and Britain of deliberately targeting civilians and said that the U.N. arms inspectors--that “commission of spies”--would never be allowed back into his country.

Anti-American emotions also ran high among ordinary citizens.

As she and her sisters watched the explosions from their rooftop at the hour when they should have been preparing and eating the first post-fast meal of Ramadan, Baghdad resident Damaar Rubai said only one thought kept crossing her mind: “That we would like to kill every American on this planet.”

In spite of his impeachment Saturday by the House of Representatives, Clinton devoted a good part of the day to the U.S. military operation. He huddled with his top national security team to go over the status of bombing raids of Iraq’s military and strategic facilities in order to determine whether they should go into a fifth day.

“Our mission is clear--to degrade Saddam’s capacity to develop and deliver weapons of mass destruction and threaten the region,” Clinton said in a broadcast from the White House. “I believe the mission is going well.”

Iraqi Vice President Ramadan said his nation was not willing to plead for the end of the raids. Officials in Baghdad seemed to accept the strikes as a price to be paid in order to get rid of the hated UNSCOM, which has been in charge of ferreting out and destroying Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

“The Special Commission is now behind us. Its mission is over,” Ramadan told reporters.

Although the strikes caused widespread condemnation in the Arab world, Clinton said in his radio address that the United States had no choice but to act.

“Had we failed to respond, it would have given Saddam a green light to rebuild his arsenal and threaten his neighbors,” he said.

Clinton also used the address to outline a three-pronged U.S. policy in the aftermath of Operation Desert Fox. The critical component will be a continued willingness to use force, especially under certain conditions.

“We stand ready to use force again if Saddam takes threatening action, such as seeking to reconstitute his weapons of mass destruction, menacing his neighbors or his own Kurdish citizens or challenging allied aircraft,” he said.

The second element will be an unrelenting commitment to punitive economic sanctions, despite appeals from Russia, France and China to begin easing the embargo.

Sanctions imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 have already cost Baghdad $120 billion in oil revenue and are considered essential in preventing Hussein from strengthening his weapons programs.

The third component, Clinton said, is to “strengthen our engagement with Iraqis who want a new government.”

Yet even before the military operation was over, the president cautioned that expectations should not be too high about what can be accomplished militarily.

“We must not harbor illusions, however, that change will come easily or quickly,” he said.

He pledged that Washington will push forward “with determination” to strengthen “global consensus” about steps to help Iraq establish a government “worthy of its people.”

In a separate address to Iraq’s Arab neighbors and the broader Islamic world, Clinton on Saturday said the United States had acted not out of its interests alone but because the Iraqi government threatened its own people and the Arab world.

“America understands that Saddam’s first victims are his own people,” the president said in a videotaped statement from the White House early Saturday morning to mark the beginning of Ramadan. “So we had to act. Saddam simply must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas or biological weapons.”

In an attempt to defuse any fallout from the fact that Operation Desert Fox ran over into the Muslim month of fasting, Clinton expressed his “deep respect” for the holy month, adding that the United States has the “most profound respect for Islam.”

How damaging the strikes were to the Iraqi regime remained uncertain, but its officials throughout the campaign showed little concern, stating that whatever was destroyed would eventually be rebuilt.

Except for fire from antiaircraft batteries, which do not have the range to threaten most U.S. flights, the attacks drew little defensive response from the Iraqi government, U.S. officials said.

At the Pentagon, U.S. officials sought to rebut news reports--based on information from Friday’s Pentagon damage assessments--suggesting that many of the strikes had been ineffective.

To prove his case, Cohen showed aerial photos of damaged barracks, electronics factories, engine repair facilities and presidential offices.

Pentagon officials have tried to carefully control public expectations about the success of the mission, fearing that either understating or exaggerating the results could set off a sharp negative public reaction.

The U.S. officials also gave a rundown to buttress their case.

They said that of 32 air defense sites struck, 14 were confirmed to have at least some damage. Of 11 chemical and biological sites struck, nine were confirmed damaged; of 20 command-and-control sites hit, 16 had some damage. Nineteen security forces installations were hit, and 16 were confirmed damaged.

“We have diminished his ability to threaten his neighbors,” Cohen said.

Daniszewski reported from Baghdad and Wright from Washington. Times staff writer Paul Richter in Washington contributed to this report.

IRAQ

Military assessment: U.S. officials said Saddam Hussein may need only a year to rebuild his missile program and key sites. A30

Anger in Islam: Many Muslims viewed the strikes on Iraq during the holy month of Ramadan as an affront to their religion. A30

Challenge in the air: Despite years of training, U.S. pilots said, missions like those in the Gulf require intense concentration. A30

Street protests: Demonstrators vented their rage at the U.S. and British throughout the Arab world, including in the West Bank. A30

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

After Desert Fox: U.S. Strategy in Iraq

President Clinton outlined U.S. strategy in Iraq in the wake of Operation Desert Fox:

THREAT OF FORCE: A strong military presence will be kept in the Gulf region, to be used if Baghdad tries to rebuild weapons of mass destruction, strikes out at its neighbors, challenges allied aircraft or moves against Iraq’s Kurdish population. “No-fly” zones will continue to be enforced.

SANCTIONS: A global economic embargo against Iraq that has cost the country more than $120 billion will continue. But so will an oil-for-food program that provides money for food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies.

INSPECTIONS: The U.S. supports the return of weapons inspectors to monitor the destruction of Iraq’s arsenal, if Baghdad demonstrates it would cooperate with the teams. Iraq has said the inspectors are no longer welcome.

SUPPORT FOR DISSIDENTS: The U.S. will intensify ties with Iraqi opposition groups and work with Radio Free Iraq to help information flow freely to the country. The long-term aim of this is to replace the government of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.