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Iraq fires missiles Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/5438614.htmhttp://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/5438614.htm
Posted on Thu, Mar. 20, 2003
Iraq fires missiles
Positions in Kuwait targeted; Patriot defense does job
By S. THORNE HARPER and SARA OLKON
Knight Ridder Newspapers
ATTACK POSITION BALDWIN, KUWAIT – Iraq launched missile attacks against U.S. positions in northern Kuwait Thursday. There were no reports of injury or damage.
Patriot missiles intercepted three of the missiles, said Army Lt. Col. Geoff Ward, assistant commander of the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.
Another missile fell near a Marine headquarters unit, leaving a small crater but doing no other damage.
Soldiers and Marines throughout northern Kuwait donned gas masks throughout the day. At an air base near Iraq, chemical weapons alerts were issued three times. At least once the alert was lifted after a Patriot missile reportedly intercepted an Iraqi attack.
Ward said the missiles appeared to have been headed toward Camp Doha, the main U.S. headquarters in Kuwait, 3rd Infantry Division headquarters, a few miles from Camp Doha and, possibly, the main U.S. military airfield here.
The times of the missile launches were not provided, but Ward said they coincided with three chemical alarm soundings.
Chemical alarms sounded first about 11 a.m. local time. A few trucks in the convoy of Army supply vehicles joined the alarm, honking horns three times and flashing headlights.
The same thing occurred about 12:35 p.m. and again about 1:30 p.m. The Army did not say if chemical weapons had been detected on the intercepted missiles.
A fourth alarm sounded about 2:55 p.m. There was no immediate indication of whether the alarm coincided with another missile launch.
At an air base near Iraq, which cannot be further identified under coverage rules, the first alert came at 12:30 p.m. local time.
A wavering, shaken female voice came over the outdoor sound system: "Attention on site, Alarm red, Mopp level four,’’ a reference to the chemical suits carried by all workers here.
At 12:55, a voice over the sound system announced Code Black, the attack is over. Then at 1:10, that no chemical agents had been detected.
Twenty minutes later, the red alarm sounded again. Gas masks went back on. One man dug in his chemical bag for a book.
At 1:50 p.m., Chief of the Air Control Squadron for the Air Force, Christopher Hansen, announced to the bunker that two TBMs (theater ballistic missiles) had "been engaged" (taken out) by Patriots.
Cheers and applause rang.
The attack came after U.S. forces launched their long-awaited war against Saddam Hussein, targeting him personally with a barrage of cruise missiles and bombs as a prelude to invasion.
Inside southern Iraq, a helicopter carrying U.S. special forces crashed hours before the U.S. missile strikes, U.S. officials said. There were no casualties in the incident.
The opening salvo against Saddam was not the expected all-out aerial bombardment, but instead a surgical strike seeking to eliminate the Iraqi leader and his inner circle even before an invasion. Saddam assailed the attack as a "shameful crime," while President Bush said the world's security was at stake.
Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said the U.S. strikes killed one person, injured several and hit a customs office and some empty Iraqi TV buildings, among other targets. There was no way to verify his report.
Coinciding with the strikes on Baghdad, about 1,000 U.S. troops launched a raid on villages in southeastern Afghanistan, hunting for members of the al-Qaida terrorist network. The U.S. operation - triggered by radio transmissions interecepted from caves in the region - appeared to signal to Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants that war with Iraq would not mean any kind of respite for them.
The State Department warned U.S. citizens abroad that they face increased danger of retaliatory terrorist actions and anti-American violence.
The first missiles hit targets in Baghdad shortly before dawn Thursday, less than two hours after Bush's deadline of 8 p.m. EST Wednesday for Saddam to yield power.
Bush briefly addressed the nation to announce that war had begun. He said the barrage marked the start of a "broad and concerted" operation to "disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger."
"I assure you, this will not be a campaign of half measures, and we will accept no outcome but victory," the president said.
U.S. and British troops massed in northern Kuwait were still awaiting orders to cross into Iraq, but welcomed news of the first strikes.
"It's about time," said Lance Cpl. Chad Borgmann, 23, of Sidney, Neb., a member of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. "We've been here a month and a week. We're ready to go."
Even before any shooting, 17 Iraqi soldiers surrendered to American soldiers. U.S. officers said they expected mass surrenders by Iraqi troops in the early stages of the war.
The initial salvos against Baghdad consisted of 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from Navy ships in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, as well as precision-guided 2,000-pound bombs dropped from two F-117A Nighthawk stealth jets.
U.S. officials said the attacks were not a sign that the main air offensive against Iraq had begun, but were approved by Bush in response to intelligence on the whereabouts of Saddam and other Iraqi leaders.
About two hours after the cruise missiles hit, a subdued-looking Saddam appeared on Iraqi television in a military uniform and vowed an Iraqi victory. There was no way to determine immediately whether the remarks were taped before the U.S. attacks.
"We promise you that Iraq, its leadership and its people will stand up to the evil invaders," he said. "They will face a bitter defeat, God willing."
Hundreds of armed members of Saddam's Baath party and security forces took up positions in Baghdad after the attack, though the streets of the capital were mostly empty of civilians. There were no signs during the day of regular army troops or armor in or outside Baghdad, where Saddam was widely expected to make his final stand.
Across the United States, the start of war was an emotional moment for families of U.S. troops.
"I thought I was prepared for this, but I'm really not," said Suzanne Hoefler of Coronado, Calif., whose husband, Navy Petty Officer John Hoefler, left in January for the Persian Gulf.
State and local authorities intensified security measures, hoping to shield power plants, bridges, state capitols and other facilities against possible retaliatory strikes. In New York City, police prowled streets with bomb-sniffing dogs, submachine guns and radiation detectors.
"There is a two-front war here," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "One is on the streets of our cities, and one is overseas."
In other nations, reactions varied dramatically. Both Russia and China demanded an immediate halt to the military action, which Russian President Vladimir Putin called "a big political mistake." Religious parties in Pakistan called for a general strike Friday to protest U.S. policy.
Support for Washington came from allies Britain and Japan, among others. Australia, which has contributed 2,000 soldiers to the U.S.-led force, said its warships and fighter jets were involved in combat support operations Thursday.
The European Union, whose members split over how to force Saddam to disarm, declared Thursday that the world had entered "a new and dangerous phase" and expressed deep dismay that diplomacy had failed to prevent war.
In Israel, civilians began carrying gas masks and air defense units were placed on highest alert to intercept any incoming Iraqi missiles.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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