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| 1.
What are the no-fly zones? |
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The no-fly zones are areas in Iraq
forbidden to Iraqi planes. In the north, all airspace north
of the 36th parallel is off-limits. In the south, all airspace
south of the 33rd parallel is off-limits. The airspace is patrolled
by U.S. and British warplanes, and their missions are called
Operation Northern Watch
and Operation Southern Watch. |
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| 2.
Why were they established? |
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The United States, Britain and France
established the first no-fly zone in the north in 1991 as part
of
an effort to respond to a U.N. resolution prohibiting Saddam's
repression of the local Kurdish minority,
and allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Kurdish refugees.
The southern no-fly zone was
established a year later as a way of protecting the local Shiite
minority. |
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| 3.
Has Saddam engaged the patrols? |
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Saddam challenged the patrols as
early as 1993 by firing on coalition aircraft. But pilots had
restricted permission to return fire, and there were few engagements.
Tensions escalated after Operation Desert Fox in December 1998,
when U.S. and British forces bombarded Iraq in response to Saddam's
refusal to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors. Saddam said
he would no longer recognize the no-fly zones, and coalition
forces expanded pilots' liberty in returning fire. Dozens of
Iraqi targets have since been destroyed; no manned coalition
aircraft has yet been downed. |
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| 4.
Have the no-fly zones been effective? |
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Supporters of the no-fly zones say
they prevent Saddam from taking genocidal actions like he did
in
the 1980s, when he killed thousands of civilians with chemical
weapons. When the northern no-fly zone was created in 1991,
it was part of Operation Provide Comfort, which gave humanitarian
aid to Kurdish refugees in Northern Iraq. Critics point out
the humanitarian aspect of the no-fly zones is no longer in
effect, and that they simply remain to contain Saddam and bully
Iraq. There are also concerns that coalition jets have killed
civilians. |
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| 5.
Are the no-fly zones popular? |
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Britain and the United States are
the only two members of the permanent U.N. Security Council
who
now support the no-fly zones. China and Russia say the no-fly
zones are a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. France completely
withdrew from patrols in 1998. Critics say the no-fly zones
are not authorized by the United Nations nor are they specifically
sanctioned by any U.N. resolution, and may be a violation of
international law. |
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| 6.
Is there any foreign presence on the ground in the no-fly
zones? |
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In late 2002, U.S. forces established
an official presence in northern Iraq for the first time since
withdrawing in 1996. The presence includes small numbers of
CIA operatives and special operations
troops. There is no official coalition presence in southern
Iraq. Warplanes that patrol the northern no-fly zone are launched
from Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, and warplanes used in the
southern no-fly zone are launched from air bases in Saudi Arabia
and aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf. |
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