Desert Fox Target Toll Climbs Past 75 Iraqi Sites

 


 By Paul Stone

 
American Forces Press Service




 WASHINGTON -- U.S. and British air and naval forces have 

 attacked more than 75 Iraqi military targets after two nights of 

 bombing in Operation Desert Fox, Pentagon leaders said here.

 

 As the Pentagon prepared Dec. 18 for possible additional 

 strikes, Defense Secretary William Cohen and Army Gen. Hugh 

 Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, updated Pentagon 

 reporters on the status of operations.

 

 Shelton said Dec. 17 bombings, for the first time in Desert Fox, 

 involved both joint and combined operations. U.S Navy, Marine 

 Corps and Air Force assets, as well as those from Great Britain, 

 worked together in a coordinated strike effort, he said.

 

 "We're very, very proud of our combined forces and very 

 satisfied with the results thus far," Cohen said. "Our forces 

 are intensely and intently focused on their jobs and doing 

 [them] well." 

 

 Cohen emphasized there have been no U.S. casualties to date, and 

 all aircraft and personnel have returned safely following their 

 missions. He also announced Desert Fox has now employed more 

 Tomahawk cruise missiles than were used in the 1991 Persian Gulf 

 War, though he declined to provide exact figures.

 

 Shelton and Cohen said the second night's air strikes continued 

 to focus on weapons of mass destruction sites, security sites 

 and forces, integrated air defense and airfields, and Iraqi 

 leader Saddam Hussein's military command and control 

 infrastructure.

 

 "We haven't destroyed his total capability, but we have 

 certainly reduced his assets," Shelton said.

 

 Defense officials summarized the targets during the briefing: 27 

 surface-to-air missile sites, 18 command and control facilities, 

 19 sites housing security details for Hussein's weapons of mass 

 destruction program, 11 weapons of mass destruction industrial 

 and production facilities, eight Republican Guard facilities, 

 and five airfields.

 

 Cohen said it's too early to assess the overall success rate, 

 but added he's satisfied with the results so far. He declined to 

 say whether more attacks are planned and re-emphasized that the 

 objective of Desert Fox is to degrade Iraq's military 

 capabillities, not to destabilize Hussein's regime.

 

 Defense officials at the briefing said many attacks focused on 

 destroying or degrading targets in southern Iraq, such as 

 surface-to-air missile sites, airfields, and command and control 

 sites. This, they said, has helped create a safer corridor for 

 pilots to reach northern targets.