Once Should be Enough, Says Desert Fox Commander

 


 By Linda D. Kozaryn

 
American Forces Press Service




 WASHINGTON – If he’s smart, Saddam Hussein won’t want a 

 repeat of Operation Desert Fox, Marine Corps Gen. Anthony 

 C. Zinni said here Dec. 21. 

 

 But, if the Iraqi dictator hasn’t yet learned his lesson, 

 U.S. forces will be standing by ready to act, the general 

 said.

 

 Zinni, who heads U.S. Central Command, planned and led the 

 four-day air campaign against Iraqi military targets Dec. 

 16 to 19. Addressing reporters at the Pentagon, the Desert 

 Fox commander declared the mission effectively achieved 

 U.S. objectives. 

 

 Although all the results were not yet in, Zinni said, 

 further analysis may prove the mission to be the most 

 accurate U.S. air campaign ever conducted. Specialists are 

 still doing battle damage assessments, he said, but 

 preliminary results indicated the strikes hit 85 percent of 

 the targets. 

 

 Of those, Zinni continued, military officials considered 74 

 percent fully successful in meeting the intended objective, 

 which could range from temporarily disrupting a command and 

 control function to completely destroying a facility.

 

 The strikes hit airfields, bunker complexes, maintenance 

 facilities, Republican Guard barracks and headquarters, 

 radio jamming centers and ballistic missile facilities. 

 Despite Iraqi claims that the United States struck empty 

 buildings, Zinni said, Saddam Hussein clearly suffered a 

 defeat.

 

 Throughout the operation, CENTCOM planners made every 

 effort to avoid civilian casualties, the general said. They 

 did, however, specifically target Republican Guard 

 facilities. These elite troops, the most ruthless of 

 Hussein’s forces, normally lead Iraqi attacks and enforce 

 discipline among the regular army, Zinni said. 

 

 No Iraqi military casualty statistics were available, Zinni 

 said, but military officials were certain Republican Guard 

 infrastructure – barracks, command and control facilities -

 - had been significantly destroyed or disrupted.

 

 Overall, Operation Desert Fox involved more than 30,000 

 U.S. troops in the Gulf, and 10,000 more from outside 

 Central Command. “We flew over 600 sorties in four days,” 

 Zinni said. “Over 300 of those were night-strike sorties.” 

 

 More than 300 aircraft involved in strike and support roles 

 delivered over 600 pieces of ordnance and 90 cruise 

 missiles, he continued. Over 40 ships performed strike and 

 support roles, with 10 launching over 300 missiles. 

 

 “Thousands of ground troops deployed to protect Kuwait and 

 to respond to any counter action,” the commander added. 

 “Hundreds of our special operations forces also deployed to 

 carry out their assigned missions.”

 

 American and British service members performed 

 “magnificently,” Zinni said. “I could not have asked for 

 better.” The fact that there were no casualties was 

 particularly noteworthy, he added. "Even in peacetime, 

 exercises of this scale can be dangerous. To do this 

 without any casualties in the environment our forces faced, 

 was truly remarkable.”

 

 Military planners are now working out what aspects of the 

 force will remain in the Gulf to enforce the U.S. 

 containment strategy, Zinni said. How long they’ll stay 

 remains undetermined. 

 

 The U.S. presence is “a force for stability in the region,” 

 the commander said. “I don’t think anyone has a crystal 

 ball and can predict when Saddam will go away. He is still 

 a threat and [regional allies] appreciate us being there 

 providing a deterrent to that threat. Our vital interests 

 require our presence.”