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U.S. Planes Hit Iraqi Defenses; Iraq Moves Missiles http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20020916_537.html
Sept. 16 — By Charles Aldinger and Elaine Monaghan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. warplanes have changed tactics in response to Iraqi attacks on their patrols and are now striking methodically to damage Iraq's air defenses in "no-fly" zones in the north and south of the country, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Monday.
In another sign of heightened tension, a U.S. official said Iraq had moved missiles and other military equipment close to civilian sites in recent days, mirroring similar movements in the past that signaled Baghdad was feeling under threat.
The military stirrings coincided with the bellicose tone from President Bush against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, threatening unspecified action if he fails to respond to pressure through the United Nations to end programs to make weapons of mass destruction.
Attacks by U.S. and British planes in the "no-fly" zones were now directed at fixed targets like key command-and-control buildings and military airfields instead of difficult targets such as small, mobile radars, U.S. military officials said.
"The recent strikes have degraded the air defense capabilities" of Iraq, Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Pentagon briefing.
Rumsfeld said at the briefing he had ordered the change, which affected planes patrolling the zones in the north and south where Iraq's aircraft are banned from flying.
PLANES BEING SHOT AT
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