Operation Infinite Reach

From Free net encyclopedia

{{Infobox Military Conflict |conflict=Operation Infinite Reach |partof=the Post-Cold War era |image=Image:Operation Infinite Reach .jpg |caption=suspected bioweapons production facility in Shifa, Sudan destroyed during Operation Infinite Reach |date=August 20, 1998 |place=Afghanistan
Sudan |casus=bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, rapid escalation in Al Qaeda operations |result=Part of the Al Qaeda network disrupted |combatant1=United States |combatant2=Al-Qaeda |commander1=General Tony Zinni |commander2=Osama Bin Laden |strength1=circa 10 war ships & 5 submarines |strength2=unknown |casualties1=none |casualties2=around 100 killed or wounded }}

Operation Infinite Reach was a US cruise missile strike on purported terrorist bases in Afghanistan and Sudan on August 20, 1998. The attack was in retaliation for the bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people (including 12 Americans) and injured 5,000 others.

The missiles were launched from US warships in the Red Sea. Several hit the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory, which the United States claimed was helping Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the embassy attacks, build chemical weapons. The facility is also alleged to be linked to Iraq. The government of Sudan demanded an apology from both the Clinton and Bush Administrations; but none has been given, since U.S. Intelligence still alleges the plant had ties to chemical weapons.

About 75 cruise missiles landed in Afghanistan, where bin Laden's al-Qaida group was believed to have camps. About 20 people died in the Afghan strikes, and dozens were wounded in Sudan.

President Bill Clinton announced the attacks in a TV address, saying the target was terror. Some, however, saw this as a way of attracting attention away from the Lewinsky scandal. Image:Operation Infinite Reach 2.jpg The president of the Sudan harshly condemned the assault on his country, as did the Taliban in Afghanistan. Massive protests were staged around the world, mostly in Muslim countries, denouncing the attacks and the aggressive ways of the US. In retaliation for the attacks, a Muslim organization bombed a Planet Hollywood restaurant in Cape Town, South Africa on August 25, killing two and injuring 26. Osama bin Laden also pledged to attack the US again.