01
In the Gulf War, the US military used the sci-fi war model to wake up many countries, but did not wake up Saddam Hussein.
For various reasons, after the liberation of Kuwait, the multinational force led by the United States stopped military operations and did not overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime, which gave The illusion that Saddam Hussein, who survived the disaster, did not seem to dare to do anything to him.
Wreckage of Iraqi vehicles destroyed during the Gulf War
Based on this understanding, Saddam Hussein continued to make a high-profile anti-American ambition to become the leader of the Arab world, secretly growing.
On the other hand, although the United States did not get rid of Saddam Hussein, it prompted the United Nations to adopt a series of resolutions to sanction Iraq, comprehensively curbing Iraq's re-emergence as a regional military power, and if Saddam Hussein dared to be tough, it would be deterred by force.
In the face of the US "containment + deterrence" policy, Iraq has launched a tit-for-tat "anti-containment" policy.
From the T-shirt of Saddam's head in the movie "Truant Veyron", it can be seen that this is a 1991 film
The struggle between the United States and Iran is mainly reflected in three aspects:
The first is economic sanctions. Since the day Iraq invaded Kuwait, the United Nations has adopted more than a dozen resolutions against Iraq, most of which relate to comprehensive economic sanctions and trade blockades against Iraq on land, sea and air.
Saddam Hussein was arrogant and called on the Iraqi people to cut back on food and clothing and unite to crush foreign sanctions. The government lowered food quotas, imposed controls on medicines, cracked down on hoarding or resale of food, encouraged people to break the embargo by smuggling, and emphasized that smuggling was a state obligation.
Anti-American is very cool, but the living standards of the anti-American people are mostly unsatisfactory. The 10-year-long economic sanctions have brought Iraq's economy to a standstill, the living standards of the population to continue to decline, and the military's combat effectiveness to decline significantly.
The second is the verification of weapons. Pursuant to the Security Council resolution, the United Nations established a special committee to oversee and destroy Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and all weapons of mass destruction. Iraq considers this a violation of national sovereignty and firmly opposes it.
United Nations inspectors destroy iraq-fixed missile launchers
The United States also did not bother to talk nonsense, dispatched troops, suppressed the border, and Iraq saw a hard top, which announced its acceptance of the Security Council resolution to allow the international community to monitor Iraq's defense industry for a long time. Although the matter ended with an Iraqi compromise, this was only the beginning, and since then the two sides have repeatedly clashed on this issue.
Finally, there is political confrontation. In order to prevent Saddam Hussein's suppression of Kurdish forces, the United States and allies have established "safe zones" in northern Iraq, and in order to protect Iraqi Shiite Muslims, they have set up "no-fly zones" in southern Iraq, and sent aircraft to patrol, monitor and even launch air strikes in these two areas to restrict the movement of Iraqi troops.
Iraq, for its part, sent air defence forces to both areas, occasionally firing on patrol aircraft in protest.
In addition, the United States has supported various Iraqi opposition groups to overthrow Saddam Hussein's rule.
Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi generals
In the 10 years from the 1991 Gulf War to the 9/11 incident in 2001, the United States and Iraq played the game of "tom and jerry" countless times around containment and counter-containment.
During this period, the United States launched 6 large-scale military strikes against Iraq, and the "Desert Fox" operation today is the largest of them.
02
The immediate cause of the matter is the problem of weapons verification.
Since the second half of 1997, iraq and the United Nations Weapons Verification Group have been in constant friction and deteriorating relations over the location of the verification and the composition of the team.
On the grounds that the verification team was manipulated by the United States and espionage, Iraq repeatedly obstructed and expelled the verification team in order to put pressure on the United Nations to relax or even lift sanctions on itself.
The United States believes that weapons verification is one of the prerequisites for the lifting of sanctions, and it has strengthened sanctions against Iraq on the grounds that Iraq refuses to implement UN Security Council resolutions, and has repeatedly increased troops to the Gulf region to force Iraq to cooperate with the verification, thus forming a weapons verification crisis.
Although each crisis ended with Iraqi concessions under the mediation of Russia, France and other countries, from the second half of 1997 to the second half of 1998, three weapons verification crises broke out in just one year, which shows that Saddam Hussein no longer wants to perfunctory the United Nations verification team on the face.
Similarly, the United States is becoming increasingly impatient with Saddam's "hide-and-seek" game.
Aziz (center)
In August 1998, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Aziz unilaterally declared that Iraq was free of any prohibited weapons and demanded that the United Nations lift sanctions against Iraq.
The UN Special Committee believes that whether you have said it or not, we suspect that you have concealed a lot of weapons of mass destruction without declaration, and this matter is far from over.
UNSCOM is not a rubber stamp, it has the Security Council endorsement. Soon, the Security Council adopted resolution 1134, which required Iraq to cooperate with UNSCOM or else impose sanctions.
Saddam Hussein did not bother to pretend again, and announced the suspension of cooperation with UNSCOM. I won't cooperate, you love it.
On December 8, UNSCOM Director Butler wrote a report to UN Secretary-General Annan stating that Iraq had not cooperated with the weapons inspection efforts and decided to withdraw all inspectors from Iraq.
The report also states that Iraq has never given a credible account of the whereabouts of 40-70 missile warheads with biological or chemical warfare agents, and that Iraq can produce 350 litres of weapons-ready malignant anthrax pathogens per week, which is enough to make 2 missile warheads or four bombs.
Clinton and Lewinsky
Annan hadn't made much of a statement, and Clinton couldn't sit still.
This year, Because Clinton did not manage his own zipper, he fell into the peach news with female interns, which led to the impeachment of the president, Clinton was disgraced, the president's throne was shaken, and his mood was very unbeautiful.
At this juncture, Saddam Hussein's stabbing behavior undoubtedly made Clinton even angrier.
People are always forgetful, especially unpleasant memories. The United States is determined to teach Saddam Hussein a hard lesson and let him recall the feeling of the Gulf War seven years ago. Isn't your head very iron, can you iron over the "tomahawk"?
The beating of Saddam Hussein was a requirement of the U.S. national strategy, and according to Clinton, the offensive was to strike Iraq's biological, chemical, and atomic weapons and weaken Iraq's military forces threatening its neighbors.
Of course, the president can also take the opportunity to vent his unhappiness, if the blow effect is good, it can also divert the attention of domestic and foreign countries, so that everyone does not always stare at the president's crotch.
Gray-headed Clinton
On December 16, 1998, the United States launched a military operation code-named "Desert Fox". The operation lasted 70 hours, and the United States mobilized more than 30,000 people, more than 290 aircraft and 22 warships, including aircraft carriers, and more than 6 reconnaissance satellites to launch air strikes against more than 120 targets in Iraq.
Britain, a good friend of the United States, sent 18 aircraft and 2 warships to accompany the game.
03
Operation Desert Fox continues the style of Operation Desert Storm, which is not so much a war as a game of abuse.
Like the Red Alert 2 game, Iraq has only a few anti-aircraft infantry, but it has to face the bombardment of Black Hawk fighters, invaders fighters, and aircraft carrier-based aircraft.
The main targets of Operation Desert Fox were the Iraqi Presidential Palace, the Republican Guard, nuclear facilities, chemical and biological weapons factories, and missile development plants.
The first air strike occurred on the night of December 17 (Baghdad time), the U.S. military first dispatched EA-6B electronic warfare aircraft, suppressed Iraq's radar, cruised the "Enterprise" nuclear-powered aircraft carrier battle group in the Persian Gulf to launch "Tomahawk" cruise missiles, and sent more than 70 F/A-18 and F-14 fighters, carrying laser-guided bombs, to launch air strikes on the Iraqi Republican Guard's barracks, air defense settings, airfields, military command centers and control centers.
In four hours, the U.S. military fired more than 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles, hitting more than 50 targets in Iraq.
The second airstrike took place on the night of December 18, when the U.S. Navy continued to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles and launched carrier-based aircraft to bomb, as well as U.S. Air Forces deployed in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Turkey, and the indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.
The B-52 strategic bomber took off from the military base on the island of Diego Garcia and flew more than 4,000 kilometers to launch the AGM-86 cruise missile, a cattle knife for chicken killing, just to show off.
U.S. B-1 bombers took Operation Desert Fox as their first actual combat and dropped 84 conventional bombs at the camp of the Iraqi Republican Guard.
At the same time, the US F-117 stealth bomber is rushing to the bay, and the "Carl Vinson" aircraft carrier is also chopping waves and rushing forward. They participated in the third and fourth air strikes.
The third and fourth air raids occurred in the early morning and evening of December 19, respectively, the targets of the US air raids expanded to television stations and oil fields and other facilities, US Defense Secretary Cohen claimed: Cruise missiles attacked nearly 100 targets in 3 days, with a hit rate of 75%.
In the face of the indiscriminate bombardment of the US military, Iraq's reaction can be summed up in one sentence: he is stronger than him, the breeze blows the hills, he blows up by him, and the bright moon shines on the river.
EA-6B electronic warfare aircraft
Although the U.S. military only used EA-6B electronic warfare aircraft, the Iraqi army still remembers the bitter lessons of the Gulf War, and they know that counterattacks are ineffective - the U.S. military's electronic fighters, decoys, and high-speed anti-radiation missiles can defuse counterattacks, and once counterattacked, they will inevitably suffer more fierce blows from the US military, and the gains will outweigh the losses.
As a result, the Iraqi army's most advanced air defense systems and radars have remained silent, surface-to-air missiles have been shifted in hiding, fighters have been hidden in the jungle, and they have also taken advantage of the U.S. military's mentality of not attacking civilians to disperse Republican Guard personnel and tanks into civilian houses.
The Iraqi military command strictly ordered the air defense forces not to launch any missiles. The anti-aircraft forces used only a small number of anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns, blindly strafing in the night sky, proving that I resisted.
On December 18, the General Command of the Iraqi Armed Forces issued a communiqué saying: The Iraqi armed forces and air defense forces have resisted the missile air strikes launched by the United States and britain against Iraq since the early morning of the 17th.
It is not so much to resist, but to dodge, because it did not dare to top at all, which is about the same as lying flat.
Saddam Hussein comics
During the air raids, Baghdad did not implement light control, traffic control and security controls, and although the streets were not as busy as usual, there was also a lot of traffic, and there were even wedding convoys.
The reason may be that Iraqis have been numbed by the war and long-term sanctions, tired of this kind of lifeless and non-living, and it does not matter how much they bomb, they lie flat.
On December 20, the United States and britain simultaneously announced the cessation of air raids, and Operation Desert Fox ended.
04
Operation Desert Fox cost about $1.5 billion, the U.S. military launched 415 cruise missiles, more than the 323 in the Gulf War, and the cruise missiles alone cost nearly $500 million, accounting for about 1/3 of the entire operation cost.
The first two air raids, the "Tomahawk" on the "Enterprise" aircraft carrier, consumed 80% in the blink of an eye, so that after the last two air raids, the US military had to make careful calculations and reduce the use of the "Tomahawk".
Of the more than 120 targets hit, 97 were hit, 43 were severely destroyed, 42 were moderately damaged and 12 were lightly damaged.
Different situations before the attack on the headquarters of the Iraqi Military Intelligence Service (left) and after the attack (right).
According to the post-war assessment report released by the US Department of Defense, Operation Desert Fox attacked 27 anti-aircraft missile positions, 18 command and control centers, 11 weapons of mass destruction facilities, 8 Republican Guard camps and dozens of other important facilities in Iraq, most of which were damaged to a moderate or greater extent, Iraq's elite Republican Guard was severely damaged, and unconventional weapons were regressed for 2 years, greatly weakening Iraq's war potential.
A total of 1,400 Iraqi troops were killed, and U.S. troops lost zero war damage to their combat aircraft, resulting in 2 fatalities.
After being taught a lesson by the United States, did Saddam Hussein give in?
No.
The heart of the "contemporary Saladin" is higher than the sky, either standing on the top of the mountain, or trapped in the bottom of the deep valley, never frank and flat, how can he admit it to the US imperialists.
Do you want to try the sharpness of my sword?
Besides, if you instigate it at this time, it will not be in vain.
Iraq claims that United Nations inspectors will never be allowed to enter Iraq unless the United Nations lifts sanctions against Iraq.
Weapons verification reached an impasse, the United Nations was in a dilemma, and the Security Council adopted resolution 1284, deciding to establish a "nuclear commission" to replace the previous ad hoc committee, and the director was replaced by former Swedish Foreign Minister Brix, who satisfied Iraq.
However, Iraq continues to refuse to implement resolution 1248 for various reasons, and weapons verification has been stalled.
After 9/11, when the United States attacked the Afghan Taliban, Bush still kept in mind the issue of weapons verification when he shouted at Saddam Hussein, saying: ... As for Saddam Hussein, he needs to return weapons inspectors to his country and show us that he has not instructed anyone to develop weapons of mass destruction.
The issue of weapons of mass destruction and weapons verification was one of the main reasons why the United States took down the SAM regime in 2003.
The Terrorist Class of Iraq in Red Alert 2, the Radiation Sappers
Does Iraq have weapons of mass destruction?
In previous weapons inspections, UNSCOM dispatched 397 verification and monitoring teams to Iraq, totaling more than 3,500 person-times, conducted more than 20,000 inspections of more than 7,000 locations throughout Iraq, and verified and destroyed about twice as many weapons of mass destruction as the United States destroyed in the Gulf War.
In other words, Iraq did have weapons of mass destruction before.
After the inventory and destruction of United Nations inspectors and the blows of Operation Desert Fox by the United States and British forces, many believe that Iraq cannot in fact possess weapons of mass destruction.
After the Iraq War, the U.S. military found no evidence for the nuclear and biological weapons allegations, and only a few thousand discarded chemical weapons were found.
【References】
U.S.-Iraq Relations in Saddam Hussein's Time
"Analysis Report on the Operation of the Desert Fox" in the United States and Britain
"Desert Fox" Operation Review
The Desert Fox Chronicles
Operation Desert Fox – A Typical "Asymmetric Operation"