Shasta (AE 33) - Naval Cruise Book

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1 S 51 I ALL HANDS BRIEF ON SHASTA'S MISSION After 47,000 allied air sorties, U.S. analysts puzzled over the cam- paign's results. CIA pessimists estimated the Republican Guard had been degraded by 5 percent. Pen- tagon analysts believed the Guard's effectiveness was down 25 percent. Either number was well below the 50 percent target. The battleship i WISCONSIN opened X c I Ere with its I6 meh 'N 'N- guns for the first time since the Korean War. The fierce bombardment prompted jordan's King Hussein to accuse the United States of trying to destroy Iraq. 16 SHASTA MAN'S HER GUN MOUNTS i troops: major roads and bridges were bombed out. Iraqi probing forces engaged allied troops in the first ground battles at Khafji and points to the west. After 36 hours of fighting, Saudi and Qatafi troops, with U.S. support, retook Khafji. In fighting near Wafra and Umm Hujul, ll Marines died-at least seven victims of friendly fire. Allies declared air supremacy, having destroyed lraq's air defensesg at least 89 Iraqi planes flew to Iran, where they stayed until the wars end. Allies also cutoff resupply routes to lraq's

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The air attack began with Tomahawk cruise missiles slipping through Iraqi radar to hit high-priority targets. A radar- evading F-I 17A Stealth fighter dropped the first laser-guided bomb, a direct hit on a Baghdad tele- communications center. Allied aircraft worked in concert to bind Iraqi radar. F-4G Wild Weasels destroyed anti-air- missile sites. Iraq fired its first Scud missiles at Tel Aviv and Haifa. The allies stepped up attacks against Scud launchers, and the United States sent Israel Patriot missiles. '- .. - -. f - fw . 4 , .M-4 'U' - 4- am .+ A v . .- A me I I 0 i K as .9 .E if st I 'T -W use K I s t a sr sta: ,V -A Q 1 'Xl . M t X . ' ' Ai I fr'f 's' wif..-1 Nw-...-- I MINE WATCH SET INSIDE THE GULF 'rss ...tt X. ,-MW,q, . 411 NEVER ENDING VERTREPS FROM HELL! Allied planes continued to bomb supply routes to Republican Guard units and troops along the Iraq X Kuwait border. B-52s pummeled the Guard units with heavy bombing. Iraq set several oilfields ablaze in Kuwait and began pumping millions of gallons of crude oil into the gulf, creating the world's biggest spill, threatening coastal wildlife and desalination plants. Scud attacks on Israel and Saudi Arabia continued. Iraq paraded allied prisoners on international television. WAR WEEK BY WEEK 15

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211 HIT , 7 e fr' - ' ' ' , -- W ' 'g o-Q -4-vwvyw 'N' '. -. , . . uh. .,. n x.-v AJ Lf r-' L' g -mf 3 A - - L. .. , V -I V, IQ-'E ' ' ' 'IA T' 'i ' N W - 4: '. -. V A f t sa? . If 4 'f RJR f 'I S a S . I ,I-Y Ma Qs. . I . W Q Stealth F-117A fighters l dropped two 2,000- pound bombs on an air-raid bunker in Baghdad, killing 300 civilians inside. The United States insisted the bunker had a militaiy use. NEWSXWZEK learned allied intelligence had identified the bunker as one of perhaps two dozen intended to protect Saddam's inner circle. Still, I Americans were i horrified. Saddam, sensing a propaganda W coup, announced he would discuss withdrawing from Kuwait. But the offer I was conditional, and President Bush dismissed it as a cruel hoax. DISCOVERY OF MINES IN THE GULF PUT EVERYONE ON EDGE Anticipating a ground war, Iraq's foreign minister, Tariq Aziz, shuttlecl between Baghdad and Moscow, trying to broker a peace deal. Moscow announced Iraq had agreed to leave Kuwait unconditionally and then gave conditions. President Bush, sensing Saddam was on the ropes, rejected the plan. The Soviets refined Iraq's terms. A stern George Bush gave 24 hours to give up. Baghdad fired a Scud missile at Israel. At 8 p.m. CESTJ Feb. 23, the largest U.S.-led assault since World War II was launched. V , slat-:Ts OF THE wAn Bnoucsur BACK BY Eon. WAR WEEK BY WEEK 17 l , fs-n-ns.4-a--fi-1 i I I I E I .