    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 36 (Monday, September 9, 1996)]
    [Pages 1648-1649]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks Prior to a Meeting With the Vice President and an Exchange With
    Reporters

    September 4, 1996

    Missile Strikes on Iraq

        The President. Good afternoon. I am pleased to report that according
    to the information I have received from Secretary Perry today, the air
    strikes, the missile strikes that were conducted over the last 2 days
    have been successful. The targets were either destroyed or sufficiently
    damaged so that we can say that our mission has been achieved. That made
    it possible for us to implement the expanded no-fly zone today, and I
    want to commend the military once again for the exceptional job they
    have done in carrying out this mission.
        Now, what has happened is that this has changed the strategic
    situation, particularly in the southern part of Iraq, which Saddam used
    as a staging ground for his invasion of Kuwait and then in 1994 for the
    massing of his troops near the Kuwaiti border. He is strategically worse
    off than he was before these strikes began, and I am satisfied that this
    was an appropriate measured response.
        Obviously, we can't predict entirely what Saddam Hussein will do,
    but now he knows that there is a price to be paid for stepping over the
    line that the United Nations resolutions imposed.
        The Vice President and I are about to start our weekly lunch, and
    we'll be discussing this further, but I did want to make this report.
    I'm very pleased by the results this morning that we have.
        Q. Mr. President, there are reports of explosions in Baghdad. Are
    you aware of anything going on, or----
        The President. I have received the reports of the explosions; I do
    not know anything about them. I can tell you that they are not the
    product of any action that we have taken.
        Q. Are you disappointed, Mr. President, with the lack of public
    support from the former coalition partners, and does that mean that the
    coalition is dead?
        The President. I don't think it's dead; I think quite to the
    contrary. We have received good support from the British. The Prime
    Minister of Canada called me last night. The German Chancellor issued a
    strong statement. I think that our Arab partners clearly understand what
    we were doing and what the risks are, and we're still flying the no-fly
    zone out of bases in Saudi Arabia. So I think things are on track, and I
    feel good about it.
        This was an action that I thought we had to take. It was a measured,
    strong, appropriate action, and I believe we did the right thing.
        Q. Mr. President, after twin missile strikes yesterday, there were
    two challenges today by Saddam's forces against the United States. Does
    this raise questions about whether you've really knocked out his ability
    to hit American planes or allied planes?
        The President. There was a fixing on one of our planes that occurred
    from a site north of the 33d Parallel, but it does not. We believe we
    can fly this expanded no-fly zone now. It gives us an attempt to
    measure--or it gives us the capacity to measure what he's doing all the
    way up to the southern suburbs of Baghdad. So I think we're in good
    shape there.
        Now, we will do whatever we have to do in the future to protect our
    pilots and to protect their ability to fly the no-fly zone in safety. We
    will do whatever we have to do. But I'm satisfied that this mission has
    achieved the objectives we set out for it. And our de-

    [[Page 1649]]

    fense advisers, from the Secretary of Defense to General Shalikashvili
    to our commander in the area, all believe that we did what was
    necessary, and they feel good about where we are now.
        Q. Has the situation in northern Iraq changed, though? That's the
    key question, isn't it?
        The President. No. The key question is--well, first of all, the
    situation in northern Iraq seems to have changed. There has been a
    withdrawal of the forces, a dispersal of the forces. But it's too soon
    to say that this is permanent or that further action will not be taken.
        What we have done is to show that we are prepared to change the
    strategic realities that Saddam Hussein faces if he violates the United
    Nations prohibitions on either threatening his neighbors or repressing
    his own people. And I believe that we did the right thing. I think we
    had the right response, and I think it will have good results. If it
    doesn't, we'll take the facts as they come.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:41 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these
    remarks.