US to Keep Pressure on Iraq After Spy Plane Incident-Bush

By Charles Aldinger
July 26, 2001

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iraq's President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) ``is still a
menace'' a decade after the Gulf War (news - web sites), President Bush (news - web sites)
said on Thursday after a near-miss attempt by the Iraqi military to shoot down a high-flying
U.S. U-2 spy plane.

``We're going to keep the pressure on Iraq,'' Bush told reporters at the White House when
asked about Tuesday's unsuccessful attempt against the U-2 using a Russian-made
anti-aircraft missile in a ``no-fly'' zone over southern Iraq.

``The no-fly zone is still in place. Plus I'm analyzing the data from the incident you talked
about,'' the President said.

``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.''

Senior U.S. defense officials told Reuters that the missile just missed the unarmed,
single-seat spy plane. One said the close call was a surprise because the missile, believed to
be a SAM-2 modified with extra fuel, was apparently fired without the use of ground-based
targeting radar.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has warned that U.S. and British pilots patrolling no-fly
zones over northern and southern Iraq faced increasing danger from attempts by Saddam's
forces to down their first allied warplane in a decade of enforcing the zones since the 1991
Gulf War.

``We are concerned that the Iraqis might be using some new tactics or modifications. We are
looking into it and I remind you that we reserve the right to respond to such attempts at the
place and time of our choosing,'' said one Pentagon (news - web sites) official.

``CAT-AND-MOUSE'' GAME

The White House brushed off the near-miss attempt, stressing that the U.S. military would
continue to protect Washington's interests in the region.

``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,'' White House spokesman Ari Fleshier told reporters.

``That's what you see happening and, frankly, that is nothing new,'' he added.

Senior U.S. defense officials, who asked not to be identified, said that the missile came close
to hitting the spy plane at an altitude of up to 70,000 feet.

``It was close to the aircraft, but not close enough to do any damage,'' one of the officials told
Reuters.

The officials said that the U-2 pilot suddenly saw the missile streaking toward him before it
exploded behind and below him.

``The pilot felt a shock wave. But there was no damage to the aircraft,'' one official told
Reuters.

U.S. and British warplanes have been patrolling the zones since the Gulf War. Iraq was
banned from using all aircraft, including helicopters, in the air exclusion zones.

The zones were set up by Western powers to protect minority Kurds and Shiites in Iraq from
attack by Saddam's military.

No allied aircraft have been lost, although the Iraqi military has repeatedly fired anti-aircraft
guns and missiles at the warplanes, which have responded by dropping bombs and firing
missiles at Iraqi air defense sites.

The Bush administration is trying to reform U.N. sanctions on Iraq to make them less
onerous on the Iraqi people and is reviewing its level of support for opposition groups but
has shown no inclination to change its policy on the no-fly zones.

``Our policy has been focused on keeping (Saddam) isolated, containing the threat that he
posed to his neighbors, to the region, to regional stability,'' State Department spokesman
Philip Reeker told reporters.
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