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To: Frank Pembleton who wrote (93400)	8/10/2001 8:27:54 AM
From: Frank Pembleton	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

Warplanes strike Iraq U.S. and British launch largest attack since February By ROBERT BURNS-- The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. and British warplanes bombed three sites in southern Iraq on Friday in response to increased efforts by Iraqi air defenses to shoot down allied pilots, defense officials said. It was the largest allied strike against Iraq since February. Friday's strike was carried out by nearly 20 U.S. and British attack planes supported by about 30 electronic warfare and other aircraft, one defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The U.S. planes were launched from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise in the Persian Gulf, the official said, and from land bases in the region which the official would not describe in detail. Some of the support aircraft apparently flew from bases in Saudi Arabia. The planes struck targets described by the defense official as a military communications center, a surface-to-air missile launching site and a radar -- all elements of Iraq integrated air defense network. All three targets were in southern Iraq, where U.S. and British planes have been enforcing a "no fly" zone since shortly after the end of the 1991 Gulf War to protect Shiite rebels against attacks by government forces. Iraq in recent months has stepped up efforts to shoot down the allied planes patrolling "no fly" zones in both southern and northern Iraq. At Incirlik air base in Turkey, where planes patrolling the northern zone are based, a spokesman said allied aircraft flew a patrol over northern Iraq on Friday and Iraqi gunners opened fire with anti-aircraft guns and surface-to-air missiles but the aircraft did not strike back. On Tuesday, U.S. Air Force planes bombed an air defense site in northern Iraq, north of the city of Mosul, and President Bush pledged to keep Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's military ambitions in check. U.S. European Command said U.S. pilots acted in self-defense after Iraq launched surface-to-air missiles and fired anti-aircraft artillery. Officials said it was not a planned attack in response to the recent near-miss Iraqi attack on a U.S. Air Force U-2 reconnaissance plane. Friday's attack, however, was a direct response to Iraq's more aggressive actions against allied patrols, one defense official said. In his comments Tuesday, Bush said he had been briefed but was not directly involved in the decision. "Our military can make decisions as they see fit to protect our pilots, unless of course it's close to Baghdad, in which case it requires my approval. The missions that took place were fully in accordance with established allied war plans." Iraq considers the no-fly zones to be illegal and has mounted a sustained effort to shoot down a U.S. or British plane. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Aug. 3 that Iraq has rebuilt its air defenses since U.S. and British warplanes attacked radar and communications targets around Baghdad on Feb. 16.