Director of Operations, the Joint Staff, Lt. Gen. Gregory S. Newbold, U.S. Marine Corps, takes questions from reporters at the Pentagon on Feb. 16, 2001, regarding air strikes conducted earlier today by U.S. and British aircraft against Iraq. The attacks against command and control nodes, including radar installations, above the 33rd parallel were ordered in response to recent attempts by Iraq to improve the targeting accuracy of their air defense systems. Twenty-four strike aircraft participated in the raid.