Radio Free Mike

a berlin blog

Tuesday, August 13, 2002

War?

Has anyone noticed the news on Debkafile? The U.S. and its allies have been skirmishing in Iraq. Never mind rumors of troops massing in Jordan, special forces in Kurdistan, or editorial-page throat-clearing about whether arms inspections are a good idea. Last week, according to Debkafile, we knocked out an Iraqi air-defense base and sent a fleet of warplanes to buzz Baghdad. Does this bother anyone? Are we at war, or not? Here's the heart of Debkafile's report, called "U.S. Iraq Campaign Has its First Engagement":

Tuesday August 6, at 0800 hours Middle East time, US and British air bombers went into action and destroyed the Iraqi air command and control center at al-Nukhaib in the desert between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The center contained advanced fiber optic networks recently installed by Chinese companies. DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military sources say the raid made military history. For the first time, the US air force used new precision-guided bombs capable of locating and destroying fiber optic systems. The existence of such weaponry was hitherto unknown.

Following the destruction of the facility, about 260 miles (415 kilometers), southwest of Baghdad, waves of US warplanes swept in from the Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia and from US aircraft carriers in the Gulf and flew over the Iraqi capital.

The Iraqi air force and anti-aircraft system held their fire on orders from above. This deep air penetration told the Americans that the early warning radar system protecting Baghdad and its environs from intrusion by enemy aircraft and missiles was inactive.

I happen to be a hawk on Iraq, but it bugs me that I have to learn about my own country's military maneuvers from a news service in Israel. No wonder Iraq closed down any hope of arms inspections over the weekend. They know the idea is a sham.

posted by Michael Scott Moore | 10:54 PM

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