EmergencyNet News Morning News Briefs-18 Dec 98-09:00CST

BAGHDAD (EmergencyNet News) - Deafening explosions rocked Baghdad on Friday in the latest wave of U.S. and British air raids that Iraq says have killed at least 25 people and wounded 75 others in the last two days. Baghdad came under missile attack hours before dawn, following a barrage of strikes several hours earlier. But as a new day dawned, there was little evidence of tension. Early risers were seen going about their normal business and traffic was light, in keeping with the Muslim sabbath. An assessment of the damage from the second night of attacks wasn't available. Foreign reporters in Baghdad cannot move around the city without official escorts.

COPENHAGEN (EmergencyNet News) - A Danish news agency said that the U.S embassy compound in Denmark was searched by police and embassy security staff on Thursday after an anonymous caller told the fire department that a bomb would explode there. The search, which included specially trained dogs, ended without police finding any explosives. Earlier, police said they had increased security near the U.S., British and Israeli embassies in Copenhagen as a precaution in case of violent protests against the U.S.-led air strikes against Iraq.

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (EmergencyNet News) - The United States, in heightened security over Washington's military strikes against Iraq, has told its citizens in the Gulf to maintain a low profile, change travel plans constantly and watch out for suspicious mail. A statement issued by the U.S. embassy in the Saudi capital Riyadh said: "In light of the military operations against Iraq and the potential for retaliatory action, the Department of State urges U.S. citizens travelling or residing abroad to review their security practices, remain alert to the changing situation and to exercise much greater caution than usual."

LONDON (EmergencyNet News) - A second night of concentrated U.S. and British bombing raids on Baghdad provoked a furious response from China and Russia on Friday. Russia withdrew its Washington and London ambassadors and said it was rethinking security strategy, including relations with NATO. China said the U.S. and British attacks on Iraq had "set a dangerous and odious precedent."

WASHINGTON (EmergencyNet News) - Federal buildings were placed on a maximum state of alert and authorities tightened security at airports around the country on Thursday, bracing for any potential retaliation for U.S. and British air raids against Iraq. The General Services Administration (GSA), which oversees federal buildings, said security had been raised to a maximum state of alert from a heightened security alert.

FRIDAY MORNING SITUATION REPORT

ERRI Risk Assessment Services Friday, December 18, 1998 EARLY EVENING

BAGHDAD (EmergencyNet News) - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein voiced defiance on Friday, saying Iraq would not back down in the face of a third night of air attacks and called on Arabs to resist what he called the agents of Satan. Saddam said in a taped television address broadcast: "By God, we will not compromise."

MOSCOW (EmergencyNet News) - Russia on Friday raised the stakes in its opposition to U.S. and British air strikes against Iraq saying its ties with Washington, long seen as a priority of Moscow's foreign policy, could fall victims to further attacks. After calling home its ambassadors from Washington and London for consultation, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov warned U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright by telephone of damage from further military strikes:

WASHINGTON (EmergencyNet News) - The United States and Britain launched a third wave of air strikes against Iraq on Friday and senior U.S. officials said more cruise missiles had been fired so far than in the 1991 Gulf War. U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen told a news conference, "The United States and British forces are continuing to attack a wide range of military targets in order to decrease Iraq's ability to threaten its neighbors."

WASHINGTON (EmergencyNet News) - As U.S. and British forces bombed Iraq for a third day, the Pentagon said bombs and missiles had hit targets from Saddam Hussein's Republican Guards to TV transmitters and an oil refinery. U.S. jets also dropped leaflets on Iraqi forces in southern Iraq warning them not to threaten moderate states in the region.

Other developments:

-- Pentagon officials say most missiles are hitting intended targets, but that initial damage assessments indicate only a small number of the 75 targets attacked have been destroyed or severely damaged.

-- Iraqi General Command issues a statement saying air defense forces have shot down 77 cruise missiles since the attacks began. United States has fired nearly 300 cruise missiles at Iraq, more than were launched in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

-- Senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says United States reserves right to attack in weeks or months after present strikes end if intelligence indicates some key targets intact.

-- Anti-American protests erupt in a half-dozen Arab capitals.

-- Palestinian authorities move to contain anti-U.S. demonstrations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and shut down media broadcasting pro-Iraqi sentiments.

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WASHINGTON (EmergencyNet News) - Military forces from the United States and Great Britain pounded for a third day on Friday. The Pentagon said its bombs and missiles have hit targets that range from Saddam Hussein's Republican Guards to TV transmitters and an oil refinery. U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen and Joint Chiefs of Staff General Henry Shelton told a press conference that U.S. planes also dropped leaflets on Iraqi forces in southern Iraq warning them not to threaten neighboring states in the region.

General Shelton said the raids were gathering momentum and had already used more U.S. cruise missiles than the 289 fired at Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War. Operations and intelligence officials from the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the attacks had gone virtually unchallenged. They denied Iraqi claims that more than 77 U.S. cruise missiles had been shot down.

U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Scott Fry, director of operations for the chiefs, said, "If there is any surprise, it is the complete lack of response."

The U.S. officials said intelligence photos and aircraft gun camera tapes showed that the first two days of raids had damaged bases of elite Republican Guards in Baghdad and Tikrit, Saddam's home town. They had destroyed part of a missile-building facility north of Baghdad and hit anti-aircraft and air defense facilities in southern Iraq. Also hit, they said, were five Iraqi air bases with a special aim at destroying helicopters that might be used by Iraq's military to attack Kurds in northern Iraq.

Chairman Shelton said Iraqi forces in the southern part of the country had not been struck, but that the leaflets had warned them "to stay put, not to engage their neighbors and they would not be engaged (attacked)."

The General said 75 targets had been struck in the first two days and that heavy U.S. B-52 and swing-wing B-1 bombers were used in strikes on Thursday night and Friday morning in Iraq. The B-52s fired powerful cruise missiles with 2,000-pound warheads and the B-1s dropped bombs.

Secretary Cohen stressed that a wide variety of military targets had been struck. He also confirmed that missiles and bombs had damaged an oil refinery in Basra in southern Iraq and at least one radio-television station in Baghdad. Cohen said that Saddam used radio-television facilities to communicate with and direct his military forces and that the oil facility was being used by Iraq to violate a U.N. embargo.

U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Thomas Wilson, chief of intelligence on the military Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that assessment of the damage was in a very early stage. Both Wilson and Shelton conceded that some targets had not been hit or badly damaged and might have to be revisited by attack jets or missiles. Pentagon officials said there was no way to assess the cost of the mission to date and they noted that many of the ships and aircraft in the region would be steaming or involved in training even if they were not in the Gulf.

Saddam Hussein voiced his defiance on Friday, saying Iraq would not back down in the face of the air attacks and called on Arabs to resist what he called the agents of Satan. In a taped television address, Saddam said: "By God, we will not compromise. We stand against the barbaric way of those that have used our airspace to launch an aggression against our people. A curse on the agents of Satan. We will fear nothing but God and we will not kneel except to the face of God."

Iraq's armed forces said they had shot down 77 out of 305 missiles fired since U.S. and British air raids began early Thursday.

In other news, Russia raised the stakes in its opposition to U.S. and British air strikes against Iraq saying its ties with Washington, long seen as a priority of Moscow's foreign policy, could fall victims to further attacks.

After calling home its ambassadors from Washington and London for consultation, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov warned U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright by telephone of damage from further military strikes: "If this action is not stopped, Russian-American relations can seriously suffer ... Everything must be done to rule out a setback in our relations."

Ivanov's warning went much further than an earlier Kremlin statement, which angrily condemned the strikes but said ties with Western partners would not be severed.

Moscow's ability to respond to the crisis is limited. Its role on the world stage has declined since Soviet days and it is dependent on the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in which Washington is influential, for loans to help it through its economic crisis.

Russia's military called into question its embryonic relations with long-time foe NATO Friday and said the Iraq crisis was forcing it into an overall security rethink that could create a new Cold War- style divide.

Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev said in a statement: "The situation that has arisen demands careful analysis and a correction to our approaches to the problems of international security. What kind of cooperation and partnership is it possible to talk about with the alliance now if Russia's opinion is openly ignored?"

His international cooperation chief, Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov took a harder line and said: "If Russia's opinion continues to be ignored, Moscow will be forced to change its military-political priorities and may become the leader of that part of world society which disagrees with diktat."

In another jibe by Russia's military, which is seeking more funding, its air force chief, Colonel-General Anatoly Kornukov, said the strikes on Iraq had been less effective than expected. He said he based his conclusion on information from "various sources in the Gulf."

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