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US unleashes war on Iraq; Saddam urges resistance
( 2003-03-20 15:15 ) (7 )

An explosion is seen in Baghdad as the US launched a war on Iraq with air strikes on the capital. [AFP]

The United States launched the opening salvoes of its war against Iraq early Thursday bombing Baghdad as President George W. Bush vowed to accept "no outcome but victory" in his campaign to oust Saddam Hussein.

But only hours after limited air strikes hit the Iraqi capital, Saddam appeared on Iraqi television to urge resistance against the "cowardly aggression" of the US, vowing to Iraqis: "You will be victorious against your enemies."

The attacks hit the southeast area of Baghdad, sending huge clouds of smoke billowing into the dawn sky after the Iraqi president spurned an 0100 GMT ultimatum to seek exile or face war.

Bush, in an address to the nation, said forces had begun "striking selected targets of military importance" in a war "to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger."

But he warned the campaign "could be longer and more difficult than some predict."

Anti-aircraft guns fired at warplanes or cruise missiles over the Iraqi capital, making flashes of light in the sky. The streets remained almost empty and the city had an appearance of calm.

"These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign," Bush said in his address.

"Now that conflict has come, the only way to limit its duration is to apply decisive force. And I assure you, this will not be a campaign of half measures and we will accept no outcome but victory."

Bush said the United States and its allies "will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder."

"The enemies you confront will come to know your skill and bravery. The people you liberate will witness the honorable and decent spirit of the American military," he said.

The strikes on Baghdad came some 90 minutes after Bush's 48-hour deadline to Saddam and his two sons to quit the country expired.

US Navy vessels fired off more than 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles against at least two targets around the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a senior officer said.

US defense department officials would not confirm reports that B-2, B-1, B-52 bombers also were used in the strikes.

Officials in Washington said the attacks were not the start of the air campaign: "It is a limited thing. It ain't A-Day," said one Pentagon official, referring to the slogan for the start of the air war.

US media, citing unnamed Pentagon officials, said the attacks sought "leadership targets," including Saddam, but these reports were described by another official as exaggerated.

The United States and Britain have 280,000 troops awaiting orders to descend on Iraq, in what US officials say will be a blistering "shock and awe" operation aimed at hammering Saddam's forces into quick submission.

Saddam appeared on television dressed in military uniform and black beret vowing "Iraq will emegre victorious", but it was unclear whether it was a pre-recorded address.

British government sources said Thursday's action was not the start of the main campaign, but added there was no information on whether a ground attack had been ordered yet. It was unclear whether British forces were involved in Thursday's early strikes.

Norman Schwarzkopf, who led US forces in the 1991 Gulf war that drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait, expressed surprise at the limited scope of the opening volleys in the US campaign.

"We all believed that it would begin with a giant attack on downtown Baghdad and instead it's a very, very small operation." he told the MSNBC television network.

Bush said Saddam had placed Iraqi troops and equipment in civilian areas, "attempting to use innocent men, women and children as shields for his own military; a final atrocity against his people."

The State Department warned US citizens "of an increased potential for anti-American violence, including terrorist actions against US citizens."

But the start of hostilites prompted concern across the world, with many governments boosting security measures. Germany expressed grave unease and urged that all measures be taken to avoid a "humanitarian catastrophe".

New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark voiced "profound regret that the diplomatic process being conducted in the Security Council and through the inspection and disarmament process was unable to run its course."

Japan and South Korea both pledged their support for the US.

But Iraq's UN ambassador said the air raids were a breach of international law and a protest would be made, while Information Minister Mohamed Saeed al-Sahhaf said the strikes were "flagrant aggression."

The United States and Britain made clear earlier in the week they would go to war without further backing of the UN Security Council, after strong opposition to the US plans by veto-wielding France and Russia.

Opponents of the war led by France had called on the United States to give more time to UN inspectors, who returned to Iraq after a four-year hiatus following Security Council Resolution 1441 in November.

A day ahead of the attack Saddam said he no longer had weapons of destruction.

But Washington made clear that eliminating such weapons was not enough and that Saddam, who has ruled Iraq with an iron first since 1979, must leave the country with the rest of the top Iraqi leadership.

US forces have dropped hundreds of thousands of leaflets on Iraqi troop positions, giving detailed instructions on how to capitulate and escape attack.

Bush has linked Iraq to an "axis of evil" that includes next-door Iran as well as North Korea, and says Saddam is a tyrant who must be ousted as part of Washington's campaign against terrorism.