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, thus compelling the U.S. to launch strikes.
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.
Background
U.S. President Bill Clinton had been working under a regional security framework of dual containment, which involved punishing Saddam Hussein's regime with military force whenever Iraq challenged the United States or the international community.
Although there was no Authorization for Use of Military Force as there was during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, nor was there a declaration of war as in World War II, Clinton signed the Iraq Liberation Act into law on 31 October 1998. The new act appropriated funds for Iraqi opposition groups in the hope of removing Saddam Hussein from power and replacing his regime with a democratic government. Despite the act's intention of supporting opposition groups, Clinton used the act to justify the bombing.
Prior to Desert Fox, the U.S. almost led a bombing campaign against Saddam called Operation Desert Thunder. It was abandoned at the last minute when Iraq allowed the UN to continue weapons inspections.
Degrading WMD capabilities
Clinton administration officials said the aim of the mission was to "degrade" Iraq's ability to manufacture and use weapons of mass destruction, not to eliminate it. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, when questioned about distinction, commented that the operation did not strive to fully eliminate Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, but instead to make their use and production more difficult and unreliable.
The main targets of the bombing included weapons research and development installations, air defense systems, weapon and supply depots, and the barracks and command headquarters of Saddam's elite Republican Guard. Iraqi air defense batteries, unable to target the American and British jets, began to blanket the sky with near random bursts of flak fire, however the air strikes continued, and cruise missile barrages launched by naval vessels began being used in addition to bombs dropped the planes. By the fourth night most of the specified targets had been damaged or destroyed and the operation was deemed a success.
Military operations
U.S. Navy aircraft from Carrier Air Wing Three, flying from the , and Patrol Squadron Four flew combat missions from the Persian Gulf in support of ODF. The operation marked the first time that women flew combat sorties as U.S. Navy strike fighter pilots and the first combat use of the U.S. Air Force's B-1B bomber. Ground units included the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), of which 2nd Battalion 4th Marines served as the ground combat element. The U.S. Air Force sent several sorties of F-16s from Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base into Iraq to fly night missions in support of the operation.