Baghdad Missile Attack
26 JUNE 1993
BAGHDAD MISSILE ATTACK
The decade following Operation “Desert Storm” was marked by Iraqi frustration over continuing United Nations sanctions and Coalition policing. Then seemingly to rub salt in Iraq’s wounds, on 14 April 1993 a specially chartered Kuwait Airways Boeing 747 touched down at the Kuwait City carrying former President George Bush, his wife, his son Neil, three Bush daughters-in-law, former White House Chief of Staff John Sununu, former Secretary of State James A. Baker, and former Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady. As a gesture of good-will facetiously dubbed “Operation Love Storm,” a grateful Kuwait welcomed the crafter of “Desert Storm’s” coalition. At a state dinner hosted by Kuwaiti leader Sheik Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah, Bush received the Mubarak al-Kabeer (Mubarak the Great) Medal, Kuwait’s highest civilian award, named for Mubarak al-Sabah, a turn-of-the-century ruler.
But the night before Bush’s arrival, Kuwaitis had quietly arrested 14 agents who had entered Kuwait in possession of high explosives and detonators. Among these were two Iraqi nationals, Ra’ad al-Asadi and Wali al-Ghazali, reportedly recruited specifically for the purpose of assassinating our former President. A Toyota Landcruiser was seized in whose rocker panels had been secreted 80 kilograms of high explosives wired for remote detonation. It was estimated by the CIA that had the bomb been set off, a four-city-block area would have been leveled. In the event the car bomb failed, al-Ghazali wore a leather belt packed with explosives that he was to detonate after working through the crowds near the former President. Al-Ghazali was reportedly paid the equivalent of $1300 US dollars for his work.
In the weeks that followed, a CIA, FBI, and Justice Department inquest discovered likely Iraqi involvement in this assassination plot. The Clinton White House acted this night when targeting data were transmitted to USS CHANCELLORSVILLE (CG-62) in the Persian Gulf and USS PETERSON (DD-969) lying in the Red Sea. Nine Tomahawk cruise missiles from the cruiser and 14 from the destroyer burst from their silos. An hour later, the pre-dawn darkness of Baghdad was broken by the flashes of twenty-three 1000# warheads impacting at or near the Iraqi Intelligence Service compound, a six-story building two miles from the center of Baghdad. US officials estimated the target to be completely destroyed in an action the Joint Chiefs of Staff characterized as “highly effective.” Quoting an old American war cry, President Clinton warned the Iraqi’s, “Don’t tread on us… The Iraqi attack was an attack against our country and against all Americans. We could not let such action against our nation go unanswered.”
Watch for more “Today in Naval History” 29 JUN 24
CAPT James Bloom, Ret.
Associated Press. “Kuwait Continues Bomb-Plot Trial of 14: Agent Testifies on Plan to Kill Bush.” San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 June 1993, p. A-11.
Associated Press. “`They Told Me to Kill Bush,’ Iraqi Says.” San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 June 1993, p. A-17.
Condon, George E., Jr. “U.S. Missiles Blast Baghdad: Plot to Kill Bush Avenged.” San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 June 1993, p. A-1.
Farrell, John Aloysius and John W. Mashek. “Clinton Wins High Marks in Raid Polls.” San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 June 1993, p. A-1.
Reuters. “Executions Considered on Plot on Bush.” San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 September 1994, p. A-29.
Reuters. “Kuwait Charges 16 with Attempt to Assassinate Bush.” San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 May 1993, p. A-7.
Reuters. “Kuwait Gives Bush its Highest Honor: `This was a Very Moving Day,’ Ex-President Says.” San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 April 1993, p. A-20.
Reuters. “Kuwait Nabs Iraqis Reportedly Targeting Bush.” San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 April 1993, p. A-10.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: Bush also toured Kuwait University during his three-day visit, where he was presented a plaque and an honorary degree by the Kuwaiti Education Minister, Ahmed Al Mubai.
Most correctly, international law forbids retaliation, reaction, retribution, and revenge, and the United States never officially takes these actions. However, Article 51 of the United Nations charter grants any nation the right to take all necessary actions toward its own self-defense. The US justifies events such as the above with our right to self-defense in preventing future similar episodes of terrorism.
The Kuwaiti investigation eventually turned up 17 individuals implicated in the plot against former President Bush. Six were convicted and sentenced to death, seven others were sentenced to varying prison terms.
It did not go unnoticed by Congressional Republicans that Clinton’s decision to strike at Baghdad coincided with a sagging 39% public approval rating. Following the missile strike, Clinton’s rating shot up to 50%. Such “rally events” generally boosted Clinton’s approval rate an average of 8% for 10 weeks.
