U.S. warns Iraq against attacks in no-fly zone

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, JULY 27. After what seemed to be a brief respite on the rhetoric front with Iraq, the Bush administration has warned Baghdad that it reserved the right to retaliate should American or British planes come under missile attacks in the no-fly zone. And the President, Mr. George W. Bush, has said that Mr. Saddam Hussein ``is still a menace and a problem''.

The tough words for Iraq have to be seen in the backdrop of a U-2 spy plane coming under fire by a SAM-2 modified missile. The pilot flying at some 70,000 feet is said to have felt a ``shock wave'', as the plane had a close call with the missile which officials here believe has been modified to allow for extra fuel and was fired apparently without the use of a targetting radar.

``We're going to keep the pressure on Iraq. The no-fly zone is still in place... There is no question that Saddam Hussein is still a menace and a problem. And the United States and our allies must (keep) the pressure on him'', Mr. Bush remarked. At the Pentagon, officials said the U.S. reserved the right to respond ``at the place and time of our choosing''.

American and British warplanes have been flying the no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq since the end of the Gulf War. The exclusion zones were set up to protect the Kurds and the Shiites from being attacked by the Iraqi military. Although Iraq has repeatedly fired at aircraft patrolling the skies, it has not managed to shoot down even a single plane. The U.S., in such circumstances, has responded by targetting Iraqi missile and radar sites with missiles and bombs.

One of the things pointed out in official quarters here is that while the Republican administration has been inclined to review its sanctions policy against Baghdad, it is not for reviewing the policy on the no-fly zones. ``Our policy has been focussed on keeping (Mr. Hussein) isolated, containing the threat that he posed to his neighbours, to the region, to regional stability'', the State Department has maintained.

Even while giving the intention of stepping up pressure on the regime in Baghdad, the White House is trying to downplay the incident involving the U-2. ``There's always been a game of cat- and-mouse there in the Persian Gulf since the end of the Gulf War. And the President has made it clear he will continue to protect America's interests in the region. That's what you see happening and, frankly, that is nothing new'', the White House spokesman, Mr. Ari Fleischer, said.

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Section  : International
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