As soon as the news of the U.S. attack on suspected terrorist sites in Sudan and Afghanistan broke, Americans wanted to know how. Sources will not say how many missiles were fired, but there are seven ships in those regions capable of firing the missiles.
Cruise missiles are a very convenient method of attack for a number of reasons.
In fact, of all the military operations that the United States has launched in recent years, the only one that achieved this kind of surprise was the 1993 cruise missile strike against Iraqi intelligence headquarters. And finally, it would take a huge assault by thousands of soldiers to reach Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the recent U.S. Embassy bombings and other terrorist attacks. But cruise missiles can hit his facilities much more easily. That base then becomes a target for terrorist attacks. We have nothing to gain by providing information that could be used against us.