ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 4, 1996 TAG: 9609040116
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
The United States fired a hailstorm of cruise missiles at Iraqi air-defense sites for the second time in 24 hours to destroy targets that survived Tuesday's initial attack.
The strike came 12 hours after President Clinton warned that a defiant Saddam Hussein must ``pay a price'' for his boldest aggression since the Persian Gulf War.
Acknowledging that the first effort had fallen short, Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said, ``This is what we would call a mop-up operation.''
He said two of the four Iraqi air defense targets had to be struck again. He did not elaborate.
Another official put it this way: ``We have to go back and get what we missed.''
``Like the initial strike, tonight's attack is necessary to ensure the safety of aircraft and crews operating in the expanded no-fly zone,'' White House spokesman Mike McCurry said.
He said U.S. military forces ``carried out additional strikes against Iraqi air defense sites located below the 33rd parallel,'' beginning at 8 p.m. EDT, which was this morning in Iraqi time.
A total of 17 cruise missiles were fired from three U.S. Navy ships and one submarine in the Persian Gulf, Pentagon sources said. Twenty-seven had been fired during the initial operation.
An administration official said that if the second strike is successful, ``there will be no way'' that Saddam could attack either Jordan or Kuwait. ``It is to ensure that we can rule the skies over Iraq,'' he said.
The sea-launched cruise missiles were fired from the destroyer USS Russell, the destroyer USS Hewitt, the guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon and the submarine USS Jefferson City.
In a speech before an evening meeting of the National Guard Association, Clinton restated his case against Saddam, saying that it was important for the United States to make clear that ``reckless acts have consequences.''
Clinton said the attack and the extension of the ``no-fly'' zone in southern Iraq have ``reduced Saddam's ability to strike our again at his neighbors.''
To do less, he said, would encourage Saddam in the sort of aggression then-President Bush was forced to curb in 1991 during the Persian Gulf War.
``We do not want that to happen again,'' Clinton said. ``Therefore I had to do what I did today.''
After U.S. missiles roared into Iraq in the first strike, U.S. allies watched from the sidelines, some of them voicing sharp criticism.
France, Spain and Russia objected, as did China. Saudi Arabia refused to allow Saudi-based U.S. planes to take part in the assault. Britain, Germany and Japan applauded Clinton's action.
Two months from the presidential election, Clinton's decision became grist for partisan criticism. Some Republicans charged that he had been too slow to recognize the Kurds' rapidly deteriorating situation and the movement of Iraqi troops.
Rival presidential candidate Bob Dole mixed strong support for the first strike with subdued criticism of Clinton on Tuesday, suggesting ``the beginning of decisive action'' had been too long in coming.
The Republican presidential nominee, who the day before had accused Clinton of ``weak leadership'' in dealing with Saddam, told a cheering audience of American Legion veterans in Salt Lake City that he supported U.S. troops in the attack ``without hesitation or reservation.'' And, he added, ``In matters like this, all of us think not as Republicans or Democrats but as Americans.''
The attacks - the second action against Iraq during the Clinton administration - were intended to punish Saddam for his bloody siege of the Kurdish-controlled city of Irbil.
``Our objectives are limited but clear: to make Saddam pay a price for the latest act of brutality, reducing his ability to threaten his neighbors and America's interests,'' Clinton said in a nationally broadcast statement.
Clinton said Saddam's army still controlled Irbil and remained deployed for further attacks, despite claims it was withdrawing. Later, however, McCurry said, ``There have been movements in and around Irbil and in the corridor extending to the southeast, along the lines toward Chemchemal and Sulaymaniyah'' - two other Kurdish areas.
``We have given him a strong message,'' Defense Secretary William Perry said. ``We expect to see changes in behavior, we will be watching very carefully. We reserve the right to take future military actions.''
The Defense Department confirmed Iraqi reports of five Iraqi deaths but Bacon rejected claims by Iraqi officials that a missile struck a housing complex.
In addition to extending the U.N.-enforced ``no-fly'' zone in southern Iraq from the Kuwaiti border north to the suburbs of Baghdad, Clinton also put a freeze on a U.N.-brokered oil-for-food deal. He said he wanted assurances the food would reach the needy and not replenish Iraqi government resources.
Deputy U.S. Ambassador Edward Gnehm told the U.N. Security Council: ``Iraq is now consolidating its control of Irbil, and there is evidence that Iraqi forces are preparing to extend their control deeper into northern Iraq. In Irbil, there are already widespread reports of mass executions, detentions, looting and house-to-house searches by the secret police.''
Clinton said that ``limited withdrawals'' announced by Iraq ``do not change the reality. Saddam Hussein's army today controls Irbil, and Iraqi units remain deployed for further attacks.''
He appeared uncomfortable when asked about the refusal of some allies to endorse his decision.
``I believe we have historically - at least in recent decision - taken the lead in matters like this, and I think this was our responsibility at this time,'' Clinton said.
Clinton talked at length Monday night with French President Jacques Chirac. France did not endorse the U.S. strike, urging a political solution instead.
LENGTH: Long : 108 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Map by AP.by CNB