US and UK planes have taken part in an attack on a major Iraqi defence facility in the west of the country. About 12 jets dropped bombs. The operation, which targeted the main air defence command centre for western Iraq, is part of the enforcement of the air-exclusion zones over the country. [From Yahoo news:] Iraq considers the patrols a violation of its sovereignty and frequently shoots at them with anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles. In response, coalition pilots try to bomb Iraqi air defense systems. There have been more than 30 allied attacks against Iraqi installations this year. Sorry to burst the bubble, but war this is not. Iraq is probably not even unusually upset or concerned about it. After the 35th such event in the last 8 months (and, no doubt, after hundreds of such engagements over the last decade), this stuff has become routine. I find it interesting that this story is, at present, nowhere to be found on the New York Times and LA Times web sites. Iraqi air defence site attacked | BBC News | 
