Bush: Iraq strikes part of 'strategy'

Iraq says U.S. airstrikes on Friday caused this damage     WEB EXCLUSIVE Jane Arraf: Attack seen as affront to Muslims Christiane Amanpour: The British connection

In this story: Targets 'threaten our forces' Bush: Ground commanders called strike All aircraft returned safely RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. President George W. Bush called Friday's attack on Iraqi radar sites "a routine mission to enforce the no-fly zone."

United States and British warplanes attacked five Iraqi anti-aircraft radar control sites around Baghdad and 20 other radar installations, Pentagon sources said.

The 24-aircraft mission was the first against targets outside the southern no-fly zone in two years, but White House officials said it did not indicate an escalation in attacks against Iraq.

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Iraq released a statement condemning the attack and said it was carried out by the United States and Israel and is the prelude to a holy war.

"The aggression of this night, the 16th of February, came to confirm that America was planning and working hand in hand with the Zionist entity," the statement said.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was said to be in an emergency meeting with the ruling Baath Party and the Revolutionary Command Council.

Iraqi television said two people were killed in the attack and showed pictures of other injured civilians, including children, in a hospital.

Bush on a one-day visit to Mexico, said the missions to enforce the no-fly zones are "part of a strategy, and until that strategy is changed, if it is changed, we will continue to enforce them." (More on no-fly zones)

Bush added that the United States fully expects Hussein to adhere to agreements he signed after Operation Desert Storm 10 years ago.

"Our intention is to make sure that the world is as peaceful as possible and we're going to watch very carefully as to whether he develops weapons of mass destruction," Bush said. "If we catch him doing so, we're going to take appropriate action."

The White House said missile attacks against Iraqi military command and control centers south of Baghdad on Friday did not "represent an escalation in attacks against Iraq or a change in policy."

Targets 'threaten our forces'

An administration official told CNN that the White House views the attacks as consistent with U.S. policy established at the end of the Persian Gulf war.

"The targets were struck pursuant to existing policy in place since 1991," the official said. "The policy allows the U.S. to take out assets that threaten our forces. The president was aware of and approved the action. We have hit targets that constituted a threat to our forces, but this does not represent an escalation in our activity against Iraq or a change in policy."

The operation was prompted by an "increased threat to our aircraft and our crew," Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold said at a Pentagon news conference.

A spokesman for the British Minitry of defense told CNN that Iraq has launched more attacks aginst allied planes patrolling the no-fly zone in the month of January of 2001 than it did in the whole of the year 2000.

It marks the first time since Operation Desert Fox in 1998 that the allies have struck targets outside the no-fly zone, in this case north of the 33rd parallel. The no-fly zones are bands running across Iraq that are bordered by the 33rd parallel in the south and 36th parallel in the north.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld issued a written statement on the attacks on Iraq.

"The objective of today's mission by coalition forces was to degrade Iraqi air defense capabilities and thus reduce the threat posed to coalition aircraft and aircrews," The statement said.

"The specifics of the mission were planned by the military commander in the field, and were presented to and approved by the national command authorities. The administration intends to enforce the no-fly zones in Iraq and will take appropriate steps to reduce the threats to coalition forces engaged in this mission," Rumsfeld's statement said. (More on the mission)

Iraq says this man was one of the injured in Friday's airstrikes

Bush: Ground commanders called strike

Bush authorized the attack on Thursday, CNN Senior White House Correspondent John King reported.

Bush said the decision to attack was made by military commanders in the region.

"Commanders on the ground rightly make the decision how to enforce the no-fly zone," Bush said at a press conference in Mexico, where he was meeting with President Vicente Fox. "Some of the missions require the commander in chief to be informed. This was one of them."

Asked whether he approved of the strike on Iraq, Fox said, "I do not have a position or statement at this time. That will be done through the Foreign Ministry in the future."

All aircraft returned safely

U.S. sources confirmed that at least six British aircraft participated in the attacks. All planes involved in the attack returned safely, Newbold said. (More on British participation)

In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Tony Blair was apprised of the strikes, but it was the Minister of Defense Geoff Hune who authorized the strike, according to British government sources.

CNN correspondents Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon and Jane Arraf in Baghdad and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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