Operation Desert Fox

Bombing of Iraq (Operation Desert Fox)
Part of the
A Tomahawk cruise missile is fired from an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer during Operation Desert Fox in December 1998
Date 16–19 December 1998 Location Iraq Result Unclear Much of Iraqi military infrastructure destroyed Iraq bars weapon inspectors from returning Iraq begins shooting at British and American planes in the Iraqi no-fly zones
Belligerents
United States  United Kingdom	Iraq
Commanders and leaders
Bill Clinton William Cohen Anthony Zinni Tony Blair George Robertson Richard Johns Michael Boyce	Saddam Hussein Sultan al-Tai
Strength
30,500	Unknown
Casualties and losses
2 pilots dead	1400 Republican Guard members killed

Unclear

The December 1998 bombing of Iraq (code-named Operation Desert Fox) was a major four-day bombing campaign on Iraqi targets from 16 December 1998, to 19 December 1998, by the United States and United Kingdom. The contemporaneous justification for the strikes was Iraq's failure to comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions and its interference with United Nations Special Commission inspectors.

The operation was a major flare-up in the Iraq disarmament crisis. The stated goal of the cruise missile and bombing attacks was to strike military and security targets in Iraq that contributed to Iraq's ability to produce, store, maintain and deliver weapons of mass destruction. The bombing campaign had been anticipated since February 1998 and incurred wide-ranging criticism and support, at home and abroad.Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates initially announced they would deny U.S. military the use of local bases for the purpose of air strikes against Iraq.

U.S. President Bill Clinton had been working under a regional security framework of dual containment, which involved punishing Saddam Hussein's regime with military force whenever Iraq was challenging the United States or the international community.

Although there was no as there was during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom or a Declaration of War as in WWII, on 31 October 1998 Clinton signed into law H.R. 4655, the Iraq Liberation Act. The new Act appropriated funds for Iraqi opposition groups in the hope of removing Saddam Hussein from power and replacing his regime with a democratic government. Despite the act's intention being support of opposition groups, Clinton justified his order for US action under the Act.

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