1998 bombing of Iraq
The 1998 bombing of Iraq (code-named Operation Desert Fox) was a major four-day bombing campaign on Iraqi targets from 16 to 19 December 1998, by the United States and the United Kingdom. On 16 December 1998, Bill Clinton announced that he had ordered strikes against Iraq. The strikes were launched as a result of Iraq's failure to comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions and its interference with United Nations Special Commission inspectors who were looking for weapons of mass destruction. The inspectors had been sent in 1997 and were repeatedly refused access to certain sites, this used by the United States to begin military action.
| Operation Desert Fox | |
|---|---|
| Part of the prelude to the Iraq War | |
A Tomahawk cruise missile is fired from an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer during Operation Desert Fox in December 1998 | |
| Location | |
| Commanded by | Bill Clinton William Cohen Anthony Zinni Tony Blair George Robertson Michael Boyce |
| Date | 16 – 19 December 1998 |
| Executed by | United States Armed Forces Royal Air Force |
| Outcome | Coalition military success Politically inconclusive
|
| Casualties | 242–1,400 Iraqi soldiers killed or wounded all targets were destroyed or suffered varying levels of damage |
The operation was a major flare-up in the Iraq disarmament crisis. The stated goal of the cruise missile and bombing attacks was to strike military and security targets in Iraq that contributed to its ability to produce, store, maintain, and deliver weapons of mass destruction. The bombing campaign had been anticipated earlier in the year and incurred criticism in the U.S. and abroad. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates initially announced they would deny the U.S. military the use of local bases for the purpose of air strikes against Iraq.
The operation was criticized by Clinton's detractors, accusing him of using the bombing to direct attention away from the ongoing impeachment proceedings against him.