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Iraq
U.S. Hits Ballistic Missile Launcher in Southern Iraq
2003-02-11
U.S. planes bombed a ballistic missile launcher in southern Iraq on Tuesday, Pentagon officials said, in the first operation against Iraqi weapons that are meant to hit ground targets instead of aircraft or ships.
Interesting milestone.
Eight American warplanes dropped a total of 16 bombs on the Iraqi missile system near Basra at about 11 a.m. EST, Pentagon officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A statement from U.S. Central Command said the Iraqis had moved the mobile missile-launching system into the southern no-fly zone.
Military people, help me out here: isn't this a pretty large number of bombs and aircraft for 1 launcher?
The donkey dong Ababil is a solid-fueled missile developed after the 1991 Gulf War. Iraq says it does not fly farther than the 93-mile limit on Iraqi missiles imposed by United Nations sanctions. The United States and Britain say the Ababil probably either has a longer range or could easily be modified to fly farther. U.S. officials say the Ababil also can be used to carry chemical or biological warheads.
Hence the overkill?
Even under the U.N. limit, an Ababil missile fired from Basra could easily reach Kuwait, where thousands of U.S. troops are massing in preparation for a possible invasion of Iraq.
David Warren has another good article today alluding to a briefing given to NATO by a German intelligence officer detailing the Iraqi WMD threat to Turkey. Apparantly it went well beyond Powell's briefing and had a strong impact on the non-Weasels present at the meeting.
Posted by:JAB

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Posted by: John Anderson   2003-02-12 00:43:46  

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Posted by: Dishman   2003-02-11 19:25:49  

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Posted by: Rex Mundi   2003-02-11 18:45:07  

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Posted by: JAB   2003-02-11 18:21:05  

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