Carrier battlegroups rely heavily on AWACS, which are seriously vulnerable, particularly to long range anti-radar missiles.
From k2dave’s 2nd link(first line):
Bagdad “not fully cooperating” is not “kicking out”. It’s not just semantics. Also remember that at the time the CIA was suspected of placing operatives in the UN inspection teams which could have led to a little less “cooperation”.
And I meant UncleBill’s post that notes how unclear the UN mandate has been on the no-fly zones.
In fact k2dave you should go through fair.org a little more thoroughly. You might have found this:
"Here are a few examples of commonly repeated errors:
- “But as U.N. weapons inspectors prepare to return to Iraq for the first time since Saddam kicked them out in 1998, the U.S. faces a delicate balancing act: transforming the international consensus for disarmament into a consensus for war.” --Randall Pinkston, CBS Evening News (11/9/02).
One of the most common media errors on Iraq is the claim that the U.N. weapons inspectors left Iraq in 1998 because they were “kicked out” or “expelled” (Extra! Update, 10/02). The inspectors, led by Richard Butler, actually left voluntarily, knowing that a U.S. bombing campaign was imminent. This was reported accurately throughout the U.S. press at the time: “Butler ordered his inspectors to evacuate Baghdad, in anticipation of a military attack, on Tuesday night” (Washington Post, 12/18/98). "
Thats funny, CarnalK.
The reason the bombing was imminent was because Saddam wouldnt allow the inspections go on unhindered. The Iraqi military would literally stop the inspection teams from going to a particular site and spy satellites would show covoys of trucks leaving from that site. When the last truck left, then the teams would be allowed in.
Yeah Butler left voluntarily. He didnt want to be a hostage when the bombs started dropping. That was conditional upon Saddam allowing unconditional access to suspected sites, which he refused before Butler left. Maybe they werent technically expelled but they were pretty useless there when Saddam said no.
“Maybe they werent technically expelled but they were pretty useless there when Saddam said no.”
Since this is GQ maybe we should stick to what’s “technically” true and leave the spin to GD.
OK, they specifically violated UNSCR 687, 707, and 1137 when they stalled the inspectors and move material from the inspection site.
The US specifically said they would attack.
The UN Inspectors left, having been made ineffective by the Iraqi government forces.
They were not kicked out.