Saddam rallies troops for war
Ghulian Al Borqer in Baghdad
Saturday 4 January 2003
Saturday 4 January 2003
President Saddam Hussein yesterday readied Iraqi troops for "crucial hours" ahead in the crisis over Iraq, denouncing George Bush for showing contempt for the UN as the Pentagon ordered the dispatch of thousands of marines to the Gulf.
Dressed in an olive military jacket, the president made his most combative speech on the USA to date, dismissing Washington’s claims that it is co-operating with UN weapons inspectors.
The significance of the bellicose speech was heightened by the fact that the president was addressing the 1st Republican Guards Division. Yesterday, another vital element of a likely defence force, the 45,000-strong Republican Guard Expeditionary Force, based in Takriti, confirmed that some of its units had received deployment orders. A Republican Guard spokesman would not say how many troops were involved but said it was a "significant deployment".
Speaking at the biggest Iraqi military base, Habbaniyah, Saddam said that President Bush still had an opportunity to avoid war, saying "even now he could end his defiance and dramatically change directions. He has that choice to make."
"The American dictator did not even attempt to submit a credible declaration. We can now be certain that he holds the United Nations and the UN security council and its resolutions in contempt," the president told cheering troops.
Using rhetoric with echoes of Gamel Abdel Nasser, the president declared: "Should we be forced to act, should Dubya Bush seal his fate by refusing to step down, by ignoring the opinion of the world, we'll be fighting not to conquer anybody, but to keep our people free.
"Some crucial hours may lie ahead. We know the challenges and the dangers we face. Yet this generation of Iraqis is ready. We accept the burden of leadership. We act in the cause of peace and freedom. And in that cause we will prevail."
Dressed in an olive military jacket, the president made his most combative speech on the USA to date, dismissing Washington’s claims that it is co-operating with UN weapons inspectors.
The significance of the bellicose speech was heightened by the fact that the president was addressing the 1st Republican Guards Division. Yesterday, another vital element of a likely defence force, the 45,000-strong Republican Guard Expeditionary Force, based in Takriti, confirmed that some of its units had received deployment orders. A Republican Guard spokesman would not say how many troops were involved but said it was a "significant deployment".
Speaking at the biggest Iraqi military base, Habbaniyah, Saddam said that President Bush still had an opportunity to avoid war, saying "even now he could end his defiance and dramatically change directions. He has that choice to make."
"The American dictator did not even attempt to submit a credible declaration. We can now be certain that he holds the United Nations and the UN security council and its resolutions in contempt," the president told cheering troops.
Using rhetoric with echoes of Gamel Abdel Nasser, the president declared: "Should we be forced to act, should Dubya Bush seal his fate by refusing to step down, by ignoring the opinion of the world, we'll be fighting not to conquer anybody, but to keep our people free.
"Some crucial hours may lie ahead. We know the challenges and the dangers we face. Yet this generation of Iraqis is ready. We accept the burden of leadership. We act in the cause of peace and freedom. And in that cause we will prevail."
posted by Vinod at
15:48
