Allied warplanes start the 'unofficial war'

Allied warplanes start the ‘unofficial war’
March 4 2003
By Nicholas Watt
London

Britain and the United States have all but fired the first shots of the second Gulf War by dramatically extending the range of targets in the flight-exclusion zones over Iraq to soften up the country for an allied ground invasion.

Allied pilots have attacked surface-to-surface missile systems and are believed to have hit multiple-launch rockets.

Targets hit in recent days include the Ababil-100, a Soviet-designed surface-to-air missile system adapted to hit targets on the ground, and the Astros 2 ground rocket launcher with a range of up to 90 kilometres. These would be used to defend Iraq in the event of an invasion or to attack allied troops stationed in Kuwait.

Britain and the US insist publicly that the rules for enforcing the flight-exclusion zones over the north and south of Iraq have not changed – pilots open fire if only targeted. But defence officials admit privately that there has been an aggressive upping of the ante to weaken Iraqi defences ahead of a ground invasion.

The full story here.