Operation Desert Fox Begins - Impeachment Vote To Be Delayed

In a move that has met with broad support from American politicians from both sides, the United States today launched air attacks on Iraq. The military strike, named Operation Desert Fox, is a combined operation of the United States and British military forces.

In a televised speech at 6pm, Eastern Time in the US, President Bill Clinton said that the purpose of the strike was to "attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors."

Clinton said: "Their purpose is to protect the national interest of the United States, and indeed the interests of people throughout the Middle East and around the world.

"Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas or biological weapons."

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