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Accurding to Bush A,dministration defence sources, the Tomahawk cruise missile that slammed into the Al Rashid Hotel in downtown Baghdad on 19 January was deflected from its 'real' Itarget in the southern suburb of Zaafaraniya by anti-aircraft gunners in Baghdad city. Contrary to Bush Administration claims, the missile could not have trav elled as far as the Al Rashid by mistake. At appmximately 9 pm on Sunday 19 January, American warships in. the persian Gulf started disgorging Tomahawk cruise missiles. Each Tomahawk rapidly sank to an altitude of less. than one hundred metres as its miniature turbofan engine steadily increased mis_sile speed to 800 kilometres per hour on a pre-planned flight path for Zaafaraniyaua high-tech factory complex alleged by the Bush Administration to be a nuclear facility. The Tomahawks would n:ot risk anti-aircraft fire over the city of Baghdad during the attack because Za.afaraniya is located a full twenty kilometres to the south-south-east of the city and well out of range of the latter's formidable array of anti-aif>Craft guns. Baghdad was not 'on the way' to Zaafaraniyal because each Tomabawk was flying up from the south at treetop height and would hit the target factory and explode into oblivion long before the lights of Baghdad city appeared on the horizon. As each individual TomahaWK streaked north across the dark ened countryside of southern Iraq, its inertiati guidance system was continually making microscopic adjustments t.o height and speed, ensuring the missile would strike inside a 15 metre 'bullseye' at the target factory. Pentagon claims for such phenomenal accuracy were rein forced on 19 January by both American and Iraqi sources. The target was complete1y pulverised by 36 Tomahawk missiles, all of which fell inside the boundary fence of the factory complex. Missile number 37 was not programmed for Zai!fQ1aniya. As its 36 cousins slammed into the factory with massive explosions Vol 2, No13 -1993 from their 450 kilogram warheads, missile number 37 continued alone, flying a further 20,500 metres 110rth along the main high way into Baghdad before diving into its carefully pre-pro grammed target, the Al Rashid Hotel in the city cenlIe. Just six hQurs before the Tomahawks were launched from US ships in ,the Persian Gulf and southern Reg Sea, 200 delegates from 51 countries attending an Islamic conference in Baghdad voted overwhelmingly to back President Hussein's demands that the illegal US 'no fly' zones over Iraqi sovereign territory be removed. When the lone Tomahawk appI:-oached its target six hours [ater, those same 200 delegates were preparing for bed at the Al Rashid. Eleven delegates were seriously wounded. There are those in the Pentagon who might try to cl!!.im this was merely an unfortunate 'mistake', and that they had 'forgot ten' to mention the Tomahawks llad no need to fly over central Baghdad when launched from the Persian Gulf or southern Red Sea against the factory complex at Zaafaraniya in the south. On this singular occasion the Penta-gon apologists would be trapped by the demonstrated prowess of the Tomahawk cruise missile system. Its accuracy at the target means the Tomahawk is guaranteed to fall within a 176 square metre circle. Iraq con tains just over two billion such circles in a total land area of 435,000 square kilometres, each equally vulnerable to the 37 cruise missiles launched outside Iraqi sovereign territory. The clrances of the Tomahawk hitting the Al Rashid 'by accident' are less than one in two billion. Put another way. the chances that Ithe Tomahawk in question was deliberately launched against the only five-star civilian hotel in Baghdad hosling the 20Q delegates to the Islamic con ference that backedl President Hussein earlier in the day, are more than two billion-to-one in favour. If me Bush Administration deliberately fired the Tomahawk at the Al Rashid Hotel in order to frighten, maim or kill the Islamic delegates, then a new dimension has been added to US 'New World Order' atrocities in the Middle East, that of attempted politiCal assassination. There is another new and frightening dimension. During the Gulf 'War', the Bush Administration showed its utter contempt for the media by trapping the entire press corps inside a five star hotel in Riyadh, where jOlunalists were force-fed propagan da by the US military public relations machine. With the Tomahawk attack OJ1 the Al Rashid hotel, base for most western network crews in Baghdad, the US Administration had indicat ed that the lives of western journalists are of no concern what ever during a punitive military strike. President Clinton rerently went public with a statement that the United States would never countenance political assassina tion. Perhaps President Clinton will now be prepared to outlaw 'attempted' political assassination as well. NEXUS·" CID 00