U.S. begins war on Iraq

The United States began military operations in Iraq last night in what President George W. Bush described as the "opening stages" of the campaign to drive Saddam Hussein from power.

In a brief televised speech from the Oval Office, Bush said he had ordered the 300,000 U.S. and British forces now massed in the Persian Gulf region to begin striking "selected targets of military importance" in Iraq. The goal of the strikes, he said, was to undermine Hussein's ability to wage war.

"My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger," Bush said. "These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign."

The opening salvo of the campaign consisted of about three dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles that were launched from U.S. warships at Iraqi "leadership targets" in Baghdad and other parts of the country, according to a senior Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Hussein was among the targets, The Associated Press reported.

Several hours after the attack began, Hussein appeared on Iraqi television to condemn the "criminal attack." The strikes did not constitute an all-out assault, appearing instead to be limited to specific targets. There was no indication that ground forces had been involved.

Bush spoke to the nation at 10:15 p.m., about 45 minutes after the Iraqi capital of Baghdad awakened to the sound of air raid sirens blaring and anti-aircraft batteries firing, and slightly more than two hours after Bush's deadline for Hussein to yield power and go into exile expired without fulfillment.

About 5:30 a.m. in the Iraqi capital, as light began to permeate the dust clouds that had hung over Baghdad for 24 hours, the first burst of anti-aircraft fire erupted. Red tracers streaked across the sky followed by sporadic shootings and incoming missiles and bombs. The guns became silent after about five minutes, then continued sporadically.

Shortly after the Baghdad sirens broke the dawn stillness, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer heralded the start of the campaign with a one-sentence statement delivered to waiting reporters in the White House briefing room: "The opening stages of the disarmament of Iraq has begun."

In his remarks, Bush vowed that the forces he has ordered into action would make every effort to spare innocent civilians, despite what he called Hussein's efforts to use Iraqi citizens as a shield - a tactic he called Hussein's "final atrocity against his people."

The president warned Americans against expectations of quick or easy success. "A campaign on the harsh terrain of a nation as large as California could be longer and more difficult than some predict, and helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable and free country will require our sustained commitment," he said."Now that conflict has come, the only way to limit its duration is to apply decisive force. And I assure you, this will not be a campaign of half measures and we will accept no outcome but victory."

A senior administration official said Bush made the decision to order the strikes at a nearly four-hour meeting of his national security team that ended around 7:20 p.m. "There is no doubt the war has begun," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

As a silvery sun rose through the dust clouds at 6:30 a.m. in Baghdad, the bombardment had clearly begun. Initially, at least, the attacks were on the city's outskirts.

One visible target was to the south of the city, in the vicinity of al-Daurra oil refinery. Several large mushroom clouds rose over the site and were blown away on the gentle morning breeze. The blasts were distant from the center of Baghdad but strong enough to set off some car alarms.

The city's electricity supply continued to work as normal. In the streets there were few vehicles - a few taxis and some pickup trucks belonging to Iraq's security agencies.

Central Baghdad, still hazy in the desert dust storm, remained apparently untouched by the attack. Next to the meandering River Tigris, one of Hussein's largest palace complexes, a likely target for American missiles or bombs, stood untouched.

Staff writers Matthew McAllester in Baghdad, Stephanie McCrummen aboard the USS Constellation, Timothy M. Phelps in Washington and special correspondent Knut Royce contributed to this story.