American Aircraft Based in Turkey Attack Iraqi Air Defense Centers - 2002-02-13

American warplanes stationed at bases in Turkey attacked Iraqi air defense centers in the northern part of the country. The attack occurred after Iraqi anti-aircraft batteries opened fire on American planes patrolling the no-fly zone over northern Iraq. The U.S. European Command stated that Iraqi artillery in northeastern Mosul fired upon allied aircraft. U.S. military officials reported that all allied aircraft returned safely to their base after dropping precision-guided bombs on Iraq's integrated air defense network. The last similar incident in that area occurred five months ago. Bulent Ecevit, the Prime Minister of Turkey, stated that Saddam Hussein, the President of Iraq, has not shown any signs indicating his readiness to allow the return of United Nations weapons inspectors to Iraq. The Turkish leader recently wrote a letter to Saddam Hussein requesting that he allow UN inspectors to return to Iraq, warning of severe consequences otherwise. Ecevit responded to reporters asking about Saddam's reply, stating that there has been no change in the Iraqi leader's stance. UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in December 1998 ahead of U.S. and British airstrikes. Excerpts of Saddam's response to the Turkish leader were published yesterday evening. The Iraqi leader claimed that Iraq no longer possesses weapons of mass destruction and has no intention of producing such weapons. Saddam Hussein stated that Turkey should oppose American threats against Iraq. It has been widely rumored that Iraq may be the next target of America's war on terrorism after Afghanistan. However, Turkey, as a NATO member and U.S. ally, fears that this could lead to insecurity among the Kurds in Turkey and weaken the Turkish economy.