Operation Desert Fox - Definition and Overview

A Tomahawk cruise missile (TLAM) is fired from an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer during the fourth wave of attacks on Iraq.

It was a major flare-up in the Iraq disarmament crisis. The stated goal of the cruise missile and bombing attacks was to "degrade" Saddam Hussein's ability to produce weapons of mass destruction.

In reaction to the attack, three of five permanent members of the UN Security Council (Russia, France, and the People's Republic of China) called for lifting of the eight-year oil embargo on Iraq, recasting or disbanding UNSCOM, and firing its chairman, Australian diplomat Richard Butler.

The strikes came at a particularly difficult time for US President Bill Clinton, as he was impeached on December 19.

See also: Iraq disarmament crisis timeline 1997-2000

External links

• Operation Desert Fox (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/02/iraq_events/html/desert_fox.stm) - BBC News