Operation Southern Watch

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Operation Southern Watch was a operation conducted by Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) with the mission of monitoring and controlling airspace south of the 33rd Parallel in Iraq, following the 1991 Gulf War up until the March, 2003 invasion of Iraq.

[edit] General information

The 5-country multinational fleet during Operation Enduring Freedom in the Oman Sea. From the upper left to the bottom right: ITS Maestrale, FS De Grasse, USS John C. Stennis, USS Port Royal, Charles De Gaulle (R 91), HMS Ocean, FS Surcouf, USS John F. Kennedy, HNLMS Van Amstel and ITS Luigi Durand de la Penne (18th of April 2002).

Operation Southern Watch was formed August 27, 1992 with the stated purpose of ensuring Iraqi compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 688 of April 5, 1991, which demanded that Iraq "immediately end this repression and express the hope in the same context that an open dialogue will take place to ensure that the human and political rights of all Iraqi citizens are respected." Nothing in the resolution spelled out the Iraqi no-fly zones or Operation Southern Watch.

Iraqi military bombing and strafing attacks against the Shi’ite Muslims in Southern Iraq during the remainder of 1991 and during 1992 indicated Hussein chose not to comply with the U.N. resolution. Forces from Saudi Arabia, the USA, the UK and France participated in Operation Southern Watch. The commander of JTF-SWA reports directly to US Central Command.

Military engagements in Southern Watch occurred with regularity, though they were usually only reported in the press occasionally. An intensification was noted prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, though it was said at the time to just be in response to increasing activity by Iraqi air-defense forces. It is now known that this increased activity occurred during an operation known as Operation Southern Focus.