MilitaryBaghdadOperation Horoscope

Biography

American and British air strike of radar stations and air defense command centers in Iraq. The raid, carried out by more than three dozen aircraft shortly after nightfall in Baghdad represented an escalation of the long-running, low-level skirmishes between Allied and Iraqi forces. The bombings were the first in two years against Iraqi targets north of the no-fly zone over southern Iraq that U.S. and British planes have patrolled since 1992. President G.W. Bush authorized the strike on Thursday because of increased Iraqi aggression and resistance to allowing their armaments to be examined. The targets were named as five sites with as many as 20 radar and command centers. The operation began at 11:20 AM EST from Kuwait (19:20 in Baghdad) and the strike was noted as beginning shortly after 12:30 PM EST (20:30 in Baghdad). At 13:40, in shortly over an hour, the aircraft had all cleared Iraqi airspace and were in the process of recovering to their stations. Read less