Primary Sources > Newspaper Article
Directions: Analyze the newspaper article and identify the following: Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, and Summary (SOAPS).
U.S. and Allies Open Air War on Iraq; Bomb Baghdad and Kuwaiti Targets; 'No Choice' But Force, Bush Declares; No Ground Fighting Yet; Call to Arms by Hussein
By Andrew Rosenthal, Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Thursday, Jan. 17 -- The United States and allied forces Wednesday night opened the long threatened war to drive President Saddam Hussein's army from Kuwait, striking Baghdad and other targets in Iraq and Kuwait with waves of bombers and cruise missiles launched from naval vessels.
"The liberation of Kuwait has begun," President Bush said in a three-sentence statement confirming the start of the attack that was read by his spokesman, Marlin Fitzwater, shortly after the raids began.
Later, in a televised address to the nation from the Oval Office a somber Mr. Bush said that after months of continuous diplomatic overtures had failed to produce movement by Iraq, the United States and its allies "have no choice but to force Saddam from Kuwait by force. We will not fail."
No Planes Reported Missing
United States officials said shortly after midnight Wednesday that none of the planes that took part in the night-time raids were reported missing.
In Baghdad, Mr. Hussein said in a speech broadcast by the Iraqi radio that "the mother of all battles had begun," according to news service reports. He called Mr. Bus a "hypocritical criminal" and vowed to crush "the satanic intentions of the White House." It was unclear when Mr. Hussein had read his remarks, whether they had been pre-recorded or where he was at the time.
Mr. Bush said his goal "is not the conquest of Iraq, it is the liberation of Kuwait." But he also said, "We are determined to knock out Saddam Hussein's nuclear bomb potential. We will also destroy his chemical weapons facilities."
3 Other Nations Take Part
Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and Gen. Colin L. Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon Wednesday night that those targets had been among those assigned to the first wave of American F-117 Stealth fighter-bombers, F-15 fighter-bombers, British Tornado attack planes and Saudi and Kuwaiti F-15's that raided Iraqi military targets about 3 A.M. local time Thursday (7 P. M. Wednesday Eastern Standard time.)
Administration officials also said United States navy ships in the waters off the Arabian Peninsula had fired ground-hugging cruise missiles at targets that had been programmed into their guidance systems for months. The officials said the ships fired a total of 50 Tomahawk missiles in an assault on Iraqi command and communications centers.
Seeking to Avoid Civilians
Mr. Cheney said the initial targets were spread throughout Iraq Kuwait and were chosen to "do everything possible to avoid injury to civilians." Both officials declined to say if there had been any American or allied losses, or to describe in any detail how badly they thought they had damaged Baghdad or the other Iraqi targets.
"The response of the Iraqi forces at this point has been limited," Mr. Cheney said, leading analysts to conclude that the allies may have succeeded in their goal of largely incapacitating Iraq's Air Force at the outset.
But Mr. Cheney said that the war was just beginning and that "it is likely to run for a long period of time."
Reports of New Attack
Cable News Network reported that anti-aircraft fire resumed in Baghdad about 9:30 A. M., Iraqi time and that its correspondents heard explosions that sounded like bombs in the far distance from their central Baghdad hotel.
The network also reported the first sighting of President Hussein since the start of the attacks, by a Western television technician at a Baghdad television center this afternoon.
Mr. Cheney said the United States could not confirm reports that Iraq had fired Soviet-made Scud missiles at allied positions after the attack began. Reuters reported from Bahrain that the civil defense authorities there had detected missile launches but that the weapons fell short of their targets.
Assuring Americans that ground forces were not yet engaged in the battle, the President added: "Five months ago, Saddam Hussein started the cruel war against Kuwait. Tonight, the battle has been joined."
He said initial reports indicated that "our operations are proceeding according to plan."
"Our objectives are clear," he said. "Saddam Hussein's forces will leave Kuwait, the legitimate Government of Kuwait will be restored to its rightful place and Kuwait will once again be free."
"Some may ask, why act now? Why not wait?" the President said. "The answer is clear. The world could wait no longer."
Repeating his promises that Saudi Arabia would not become "another Vietnam," Mr. Bush said he would bring American troops home as soon as possible.
"I'm hopeful that this fighting will not go on for long and that casualties will be held to a n absolute minimum," he said. "Our troops will have the best possible support in the entire world, and they will not be asked to fight with one hand tied behind their back."
In the written statement issued earlier, Mr. Fitzwater said: "In conjunction with the forces of our coalition partners, the United States has moved under the code name Operation Desert Storm to enforce the mandates of the United Nations Security Council. As of 7 o'clock P. M., Operation Desert Storm forces were engaging targets in Iraq and Kuwait."
The current President of the United Nations Security Council, Bagbeni Adeito Nzengeya of Zaire, convened the Council late Wednesday night to discuss the outbreak of fighting.
Security Council Resolution 678, which authorized the use of force against Iraq after Jan. 15, also requires "the states concerned" to keep the Council regularly informed about any action they take under the resolution.
Skies Over Baghdad Alight
The nighttime attack was first reeled in television reports by American corespondents in Baghdad that the skies over the Iraqi capital were alight with anti-aircraft and tracer fire. Initial reports were that multiple waves of warplanes bombed central Baghdad, hitting ail refineries and the airport.
Mr. Bush notified Congressional leaders of the planned attack between 6 and 7 P. M., telephoning House Speaker Thomas S. Foley and Robert C. Byrd, the President pro tem of the Senate. In a letter and a report he also sent the formal notification as required under the war resolution passed by the House and Senate last week, that all efforts at diplomacy had failed and that he had made his final decision to commit America to its first all-out war since Vietnam.
"The Government of Iraq remains completely intransigent in rejecting the U.N. Security Council's demands, despite the exhaustive use by the United States and the United Nations of all appropriate diplomatic, political and economic measures to persuade or compel Iraq to comply," the report said.
Foley Urges Unity
Mr. Foley said: "We must now pray for a conflict that ends quickly, decisively and with a minimum of loss of life. We must now stand united in support of our armed forces in the gulf who have embraced the duty and burden of conducting war."
Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, the Republican Leader said, "The cause of this war is Iraqi aggression, not American determination.
"In New York, the United Nations Secretary General, Javier Perez de Cue-Har, said, "I think it is for me to express deep sorrow."
United States officials said that the decision to go to war had been developing over several days, and that Mr. Bush had been working on at least four drafts of his speech for two or three weeks.
But he put into motion the actual order for battle only at 8 A. M. Wednesday, when Saudi officials said Secretary of State James A. baker 3d called in the Saudi Ambassador, Prince Bandar bin sultan, and told him that American forces would attack Iraq.
Code Word to King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, using a prearranged code word, the informants said. The King then repeated back a code word that constituted the final acknowledgment that the offensive would begin.
Mr. Bush monitored the offensive from the Oval Office, where he had watched the evening news and waited for the first signs of attack with Vice President Dan Quayle, Brent Scowcroft, the national security adviser, and John H. Sununu, the White House Chief of staff. Mr. Scowcroft spent the night in the Situation Room in the White House basement, connected electronically to the Central Intelligence Agency, the State Department and the pentagon, where Mr. Cheney and General Powell worked through the night as well.
Making good o his repeated warnings to Mr. Hussein, who had defied 12 United Nations resolutions and a naval blockade, Mr. Bush began the largest American military offensive since the Vietnam War about 19 hours after the expiration of the United Nations deadline for Iraq to leave Kuwait peacefully. The President said he decided to order the attack because "the world could wait no longer." He added "Sanctions, though having some effect showed no signs of accomplishing their objective."
He said he had hoped that the Congressional vote authorizing the use of force last weekend would prompt Mr. Hussein to agree to withdraw from Kuwait. "Instead he remained intransigent, certain that time was on his side," Mr. Bush said.
"No president can easily commit our sons and daughters to war," he said.
Mr. Fitzwater's statement about the start of war was prepared Tuesday night, the President's spokesman said, but Mr. bush could have withheld the final order to attack "if there was a massive pullout by Saddam Hussein."
"It could have been changed," Mr. Fitzwater said.
Late Wednesday night, the White House said that Mr. Bush had authorized the Energy Secretary, James Watkins, to distribute 1.12 million barrels a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next 30 days in a measure "designed to promote stability in world markets."
The United States had spent the day formalizing a command system under which international forces are expected to fight under the United Nations auspices but under the actual leadership of the United States.
Bush Calls Other Leaders
Mr.. Bush called Prime Minister John Major of Britain and other leaders of the anti-Iraqi alliance Wednesday from his private study to inform them that the attack was about to begin.
"The White House also sought to reassure the American people that all prospects for a peaceful solution had been exhausted, leaving Mr. Bush no choice but to begin what he has said will be an overwhelming display of air, sea and land power that will end Iraq's occupation of Kuwait swiftly and decisively.
"This military action, taken in accord with United Nations resolutions and with the consent of the United States Congress, follows months of constraint and virtually endless diplomatic activity on the part of the United Nations, the United States and many, many other countries," Mr. Bush said.
Some of those who had opposed the Congressional resolution on the use of force issued statements rallying behind the President.
'Unite Behind Our Troops'
Senator David L. Boren, Democrat of Oklahoma and chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee, said: "Now that the war has begun, all Americans should unite behind our troops. We hope and pray that victory will come quickly and with minimum loss of life."
The House majority leader, Richard A. Gephardt, said, "My prayers and thoughts are with the soldiers and their families, and my hopes are for a swift and successful conclusion to this war."
Although initial reports from Saudi Arabia and Iraq were very sketchy, the first wave of attacks appeared, as expected to exploit the alliance's overwhelming air power perhaps in an attempt to bomb strategic command targets in Baghdad.
Reports from members of the news pool stationed in Saudi Arabia with American forces said two squadrons F-15E fighter-bombers loaded with bombs and air-to-air missiles took off at 12:50 A. M. local time today from the largest American military base, in central Saudi Arabia.
They made the 600- mile plus flight to Baghdad in about 90 minutes, flying into the clear night sky in pairs. "We've been waiting here for five months now," said Col. Ray Davies, the base's chief maintenance officer. "Now we finally got to do what we were sent here to do."
A steady stream of F-15E's were taking off from central and eastern Saudi Arabia, part of an international air force that includes the deadliest, fastest and most technologically advanced warplanes in the world.
The United States alone has about 1,800 warplanes in the Persian Gulf region, based at military installations in Saudi Arabia and abroad six aircraft carriers plying the gulf, the Red Sea, and the Arabian Sea.
The Pentagon said Wednesday that there were now 425,000 American soldiers stationed in the region after the swiftest and largest mobilization of arms in American military history. There are an additional 265,000 troops from 27 other countries, facing what the Pentagon estimates is an Iraqi Army of 545,000 in southern Iraq and Kuwait.
From Baghdad, television broadcasts said the pounding of the city continued intermittently through the night. The city had gone black, shaking from bomb reports as the night sky was pierced by tracers from batteries of anti-aircraft weapons massed around the city. At one point, reporters in Baghdad said volleys of anti-aircraft fire, and the glow of distant explosions lit the entire night sky.
A Cable News Network correspondent said he had seen a fire near a mosque, while another reported that a refinery near the presidential palace was being fired on. Loud explosions and machine-gun fire could be heard in the background as the reporters spoke by telephone with their organizations in the United States.
In Saudi Arabia, news reports said that air raid sirens had been turned on at air bases and that reporters had been ordered to go inside and advised to put on their gas masks, but there were no reports of enemy attacks.
Congress had given Mr. Bush authority to use force against Iraq on Saturday after a long and emotional debate. The President also acted with the authorization of the United Nations. It had given Iraq until Tuesday to leave Kuwait, which Baghdad occupied on Aug. 2 in a lighting raid that shattered that the United States and Europe had would be a time of peace following the end of the cold war.
The American response had been orchestrated over the next five months, as Mr. Bush moved virtually the entire might of the nation's non-nuclear forces to the gulf while the United Nations sought to dislodge Iraq from Kuwait through a constantly tightening choke hold of economic sanctions.
The United States had expressed growing impatience with the sanctions, however, and the planning for war was stepped up sharply after Nov. 29, when the United Nations approved the resolution authorizing the use of force if Iraq did not withdraw by Jan. 15.
U.S. and Allies Open Air War on Iraq; Bomb Baghdad and Kuwaiti Targets; 'No Choice' But Force, Bush Declares; No Ground Fighting Yet; Call to Arms by Hussein
By Andrew Rosenthal, Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Thursday, Jan. 17 -- The United States and allied forces Wednesday night opened the long threatened war to drive President Saddam Hussein's army from Kuwait, striking Baghdad and other targets in Iraq and Kuwait with waves of bombers and cruise missiles launched from naval vessels.
"The liberation of Kuwait has begun," President Bush said in a three-sentence statement confirming the start of the attack that was read by his spokesman, Marlin Fitzwater, shortly after the raids began.
Later, in a televised address to the nation from the Oval Office a somber Mr. Bush said that after months of continuous diplomatic overtures had failed to produce movement by Iraq, the United States and its allies "have no choice but to force Saddam from Kuwait by force. We will not fail."
No Planes Reported Missing
United States officials said shortly after midnight Wednesday that none of the planes that took part in the night-time raids were reported missing.
In Baghdad, Mr. Hussein said in a speech broadcast by the Iraqi radio that "the mother of all battles had begun," according to news service reports. He called Mr. Bus a "hypocritical criminal" and vowed to crush "the satanic intentions of the White House." It was unclear when Mr. Hussein had read his remarks, whether they had been pre-recorded or where he was at the time.
Mr. Bush said his goal "is not the conquest of Iraq, it is the liberation of Kuwait." But he also said, "We are determined to knock out Saddam Hussein's nuclear bomb potential. We will also destroy his chemical weapons facilities."
3 Other Nations Take Part
Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and Gen. Colin L. Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon Wednesday night that those targets had been among those assigned to the first wave of American F-117 Stealth fighter-bombers, F-15 fighter-bombers, British Tornado attack planes and Saudi and Kuwaiti F-15's that raided Iraqi military targets about 3 A.M. local time Thursday (7 P. M. Wednesday Eastern Standard time.)
Administration officials also said United States navy ships in the waters off the Arabian Peninsula had fired ground-hugging cruise missiles at targets that had been programmed into their guidance systems for months. The officials said the ships fired a total of 50 Tomahawk missiles in an assault on Iraqi command and communications centers.
Seeking to Avoid Civilians
Mr. Cheney said the initial targets were spread throughout Iraq Kuwait and were chosen to "do everything possible to avoid injury to civilians." Both officials declined to say if there had been any American or allied losses, or to describe in any detail how badly they thought they had damaged Baghdad or the other Iraqi targets.
"The response of the Iraqi forces at this point has been limited," Mr. Cheney said, leading analysts to conclude that the allies may have succeeded in their goal of largely incapacitating Iraq's Air Force at the outset.
But Mr. Cheney said that the war was just beginning and that "it is likely to run for a long period of time."
Reports of New Attack
Cable News Network reported that anti-aircraft fire resumed in Baghdad about 9:30 A. M., Iraqi time and that its correspondents heard explosions that sounded like bombs in the far distance from their central Baghdad hotel.
The network also reported the first sighting of President Hussein since the start of the attacks, by a Western television technician at a Baghdad television center this afternoon.
Mr. Cheney said the United States could not confirm reports that Iraq had fired Soviet-made Scud missiles at allied positions after the attack began. Reuters reported from Bahrain that the civil defense authorities there had detected missile launches but that the weapons fell short of their targets.
Assuring Americans that ground forces were not yet engaged in the battle, the President added: "Five months ago, Saddam Hussein started the cruel war against Kuwait. Tonight, the battle has been joined."
He said initial reports indicated that "our operations are proceeding according to plan."
"Our objectives are clear," he said. "Saddam Hussein's forces will leave Kuwait, the legitimate Government of Kuwait will be restored to its rightful place and Kuwait will once again be free."
"Some may ask, why act now? Why not wait?" the President said. "The answer is clear. The world could wait no longer."
Repeating his promises that Saudi Arabia would not become "another Vietnam," Mr. Bush said he would bring American troops home as soon as possible.
"I'm hopeful that this fighting will not go on for long and that casualties will be held to a n absolute minimum," he said. "Our troops will have the best possible support in the entire world, and they will not be asked to fight with one hand tied behind their back."
In the written statement issued earlier, Mr. Fitzwater said: "In conjunction with the forces of our coalition partners, the United States has moved under the code name Operation Desert Storm to enforce the mandates of the United Nations Security Council. As of 7 o'clock P. M., Operation Desert Storm forces were engaging targets in Iraq and Kuwait."
The current President of the United Nations Security Council, Bagbeni Adeito Nzengeya of Zaire, convened the Council late Wednesday night to discuss the outbreak of fighting.
Security Council Resolution 678, which authorized the use of force against Iraq after Jan. 15, also requires "the states concerned" to keep the Council regularly informed about any action they take under the resolution.
Skies Over Baghdad Alight
The nighttime attack was first reeled in television reports by American corespondents in Baghdad that the skies over the Iraqi capital were alight with anti-aircraft and tracer fire. Initial reports were that multiple waves of warplanes bombed central Baghdad, hitting ail refineries and the airport.
Mr. Bush notified Congressional leaders of the planned attack between 6 and 7 P. M., telephoning House Speaker Thomas S. Foley and Robert C. Byrd, the President pro tem of the Senate. In a letter and a report he also sent the formal notification as required under the war resolution passed by the House and Senate last week, that all efforts at diplomacy had failed and that he had made his final decision to commit America to its first all-out war since Vietnam.
"The Government of Iraq remains completely intransigent in rejecting the U.N. Security Council's demands, despite the exhaustive use by the United States and the United Nations of all appropriate diplomatic, political and economic measures to persuade or compel Iraq to comply," the report said.
Foley Urges Unity
Mr. Foley said: "We must now pray for a conflict that ends quickly, decisively and with a minimum of loss of life. We must now stand united in support of our armed forces in the gulf who have embraced the duty and burden of conducting war."
Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, the Republican Leader said, "The cause of this war is Iraqi aggression, not American determination.
"In New York, the United Nations Secretary General, Javier Perez de Cue-Har, said, "I think it is for me to express deep sorrow."
United States officials said that the decision to go to war had been developing over several days, and that Mr. Bush had been working on at least four drafts of his speech for two or three weeks.
But he put into motion the actual order for battle only at 8 A. M. Wednesday, when Saudi officials said Secretary of State James A. baker 3d called in the Saudi Ambassador, Prince Bandar bin sultan, and told him that American forces would attack Iraq.
Code Word to King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, using a prearranged code word, the informants said. The King then repeated back a code word that constituted the final acknowledgment that the offensive would begin.
Mr. Bush monitored the offensive from the Oval Office, where he had watched the evening news and waited for the first signs of attack with Vice President Dan Quayle, Brent Scowcroft, the national security adviser, and John H. Sununu, the White House Chief of staff. Mr. Scowcroft spent the night in the Situation Room in the White House basement, connected electronically to the Central Intelligence Agency, the State Department and the pentagon, where Mr. Cheney and General Powell worked through the night as well.
Making good o his repeated warnings to Mr. Hussein, who had defied 12 United Nations resolutions and a naval blockade, Mr. Bush began the largest American military offensive since the Vietnam War about 19 hours after the expiration of the United Nations deadline for Iraq to leave Kuwait peacefully. The President said he decided to order the attack because "the world could wait no longer." He added "Sanctions, though having some effect showed no signs of accomplishing their objective."
He said he had hoped that the Congressional vote authorizing the use of force last weekend would prompt Mr. Hussein to agree to withdraw from Kuwait. "Instead he remained intransigent, certain that time was on his side," Mr. Bush said.
"No president can easily commit our sons and daughters to war," he said.
Mr. Fitzwater's statement about the start of war was prepared Tuesday night, the President's spokesman said, but Mr. bush could have withheld the final order to attack "if there was a massive pullout by Saddam Hussein."
"It could have been changed," Mr. Fitzwater said.
Late Wednesday night, the White House said that Mr. Bush had authorized the Energy Secretary, James Watkins, to distribute 1.12 million barrels a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next 30 days in a measure "designed to promote stability in world markets."
The United States had spent the day formalizing a command system under which international forces are expected to fight under the United Nations auspices but under the actual leadership of the United States.
Bush Calls Other Leaders
Mr.. Bush called Prime Minister John Major of Britain and other leaders of the anti-Iraqi alliance Wednesday from his private study to inform them that the attack was about to begin.
"The White House also sought to reassure the American people that all prospects for a peaceful solution had been exhausted, leaving Mr. Bush no choice but to begin what he has said will be an overwhelming display of air, sea and land power that will end Iraq's occupation of Kuwait swiftly and decisively.
"This military action, taken in accord with United Nations resolutions and with the consent of the United States Congress, follows months of constraint and virtually endless diplomatic activity on the part of the United Nations, the United States and many, many other countries," Mr. Bush said.
Some of those who had opposed the Congressional resolution on the use of force issued statements rallying behind the President.
'Unite Behind Our Troops'
Senator David L. Boren, Democrat of Oklahoma and chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee, said: "Now that the war has begun, all Americans should unite behind our troops. We hope and pray that victory will come quickly and with minimum loss of life."
The House majority leader, Richard A. Gephardt, said, "My prayers and thoughts are with the soldiers and their families, and my hopes are for a swift and successful conclusion to this war."
Although initial reports from Saudi Arabia and Iraq were very sketchy, the first wave of attacks appeared, as expected to exploit the alliance's overwhelming air power perhaps in an attempt to bomb strategic command targets in Baghdad.
Reports from members of the news pool stationed in Saudi Arabia with American forces said two squadrons F-15E fighter-bombers loaded with bombs and air-to-air missiles took off at 12:50 A. M. local time today from the largest American military base, in central Saudi Arabia.
They made the 600- mile plus flight to Baghdad in about 90 minutes, flying into the clear night sky in pairs. "We've been waiting here for five months now," said Col. Ray Davies, the base's chief maintenance officer. "Now we finally got to do what we were sent here to do."
A steady stream of F-15E's were taking off from central and eastern Saudi Arabia, part of an international air force that includes the deadliest, fastest and most technologically advanced warplanes in the world.
The United States alone has about 1,800 warplanes in the Persian Gulf region, based at military installations in Saudi Arabia and abroad six aircraft carriers plying the gulf, the Red Sea, and the Arabian Sea.
The Pentagon said Wednesday that there were now 425,000 American soldiers stationed in the region after the swiftest and largest mobilization of arms in American military history. There are an additional 265,000 troops from 27 other countries, facing what the Pentagon estimates is an Iraqi Army of 545,000 in southern Iraq and Kuwait.
From Baghdad, television broadcasts said the pounding of the city continued intermittently through the night. The city had gone black, shaking from bomb reports as the night sky was pierced by tracers from batteries of anti-aircraft weapons massed around the city. At one point, reporters in Baghdad said volleys of anti-aircraft fire, and the glow of distant explosions lit the entire night sky.
A Cable News Network correspondent said he had seen a fire near a mosque, while another reported that a refinery near the presidential palace was being fired on. Loud explosions and machine-gun fire could be heard in the background as the reporters spoke by telephone with their organizations in the United States.
In Saudi Arabia, news reports said that air raid sirens had been turned on at air bases and that reporters had been ordered to go inside and advised to put on their gas masks, but there were no reports of enemy attacks.
Congress had given Mr. Bush authority to use force against Iraq on Saturday after a long and emotional debate. The President also acted with the authorization of the United Nations. It had given Iraq until Tuesday to leave Kuwait, which Baghdad occupied on Aug. 2 in a lighting raid that shattered that the United States and Europe had would be a time of peace following the end of the cold war.
The American response had been orchestrated over the next five months, as Mr. Bush moved virtually the entire might of the nation's non-nuclear forces to the gulf while the United Nations sought to dislodge Iraq from Kuwait through a constantly tightening choke hold of economic sanctions.
The United States had expressed growing impatience with the sanctions, however, and the planning for war was stepped up sharply after Nov. 29, when the United Nations approved the resolution authorizing the use of force if Iraq did not withdraw by Jan. 15.