The Western Mail January 7, 2003
SADDAM BROADCASTS HIS DEFIANCE TO THE WORLD
By MATTHEW COOPER
SADDAM HUSSEIN yesterday described US threats to disarm Iraq by force as hiss of snakes and bark of dogs'' but said his country had prepared for any possible invasion.
Nothing disappoints and puts down (the enemy) more than if the people prepare to confront any additional possibility for aggression which is already taking place daily on Iraq. Here, we have prepared for everything,'' Saddam said on a televised speech marking Iraq's Army Day.
The Iraqi dictator also accused UN inspectors of engaging in intelligence work'' instead of searching for nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The inspectors were interested in collecting names of Iraqi scientists, putting questions to them that indicate hidden agendas'' and gathering information about military facilities, he said. All or most'' of such activities constitute purely intelligence work,'' he added.
Under a Security Council res-olution passed in November, weapons inspectors are in Iraq to establish whether it still has chemical, biological or nuclear weapons or the means to deliver them. Iraq has denied it has such weapons, but America and Britain have accused it of hiding banned arms.
In Washington, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said, These are unfortunate remarks and the work of the inspectors needs to continue.''
President Bush has threatened to attack Iraq and topple Saddam's regime if it does not eliminate all weapons of mass destruction as required by UN resolutions adopted after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. But Foreign Secretary Jack Straw yesterday said war with Iraq is not inevitable'' and the preference of the international community is for it to be resolved peacefully.''
In his speech, Saddam mentioned US efforts to persuade inspectors to be more aggressive about questioning Iraqi scientists about arms.
In 1998, a previous UN monitoring regime collapsed over alleged US spying.
If the inspectors are gathering intelligence, it's intelligence for the United Nations,'' said Melissa Fleming, for the UN International Atomic Energy Agency.
Saddam raised the Palestinian question, saying America was trying to divert attention from the heinous crimes perpetrated by the Zionist entity (Israel) against our people in Palestine.'' On Sunday's twin Palestinian suicide bombing in Israel, Saddam saluted the champions of self-sacrifice who confront the Zionist aggression with their lives.''
Fleischer responded, There's no excuse for suicide bombers and for Saddam Hussein to publicly praise those who take innocent life is horrific.''
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov urged collective action only in Iraq.
Preparing for deployment to Middle East
SOLDIERS and their families at bases around the United States are preparing for deployment to the Middle East as the build-up for a possible war in Iraq goes on.
Recent steps include a hospital ship heading to the Indian Ocean and an army unit that some military analysts believe may be a key piece of the puzzle if Iraq is invaded.
Over 300 military and civilian crew boarded the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort in Baltimore at the weekend as it prepared to head overseas.
And in Georgia, two combat brigades from Army's Second Brigade, Third Infantry Division (mechanised) were about to join the unit's other combat brigade in the Persian Gulf region.
Soldiers from the Third Infantry have been training for months near Iraq, manoeuvring their Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles in the Kuwaiti desert.
If the area becomes a war zone, military analysts said, the unit will play a leading role.
The decisive element here, I think, is going to be the Third Mech,'' said John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org, a non-profit defence policy group.
All those Abrams and Bradleys showing up on the outskirts of Baghdad, that is going to convince the Iraqi people that Saddam's end is at hand.''
Since Christmas, the Pentagon has been alerting units around the US and overseas to prepare for deployment as a possible war with Iraq looms.
The US navy has been ordered to prepare two aircraft carrier battle groups and two amphibious assault groups to be ready to head to the region sometime this month.
Last week, soldiers from the Third Infantry Division donned desert camouflage and packed their bags after the Pentagon alerted the entire division for deployment, though no dates have been announced.
One of the division's combat brigades was sent to Kuwait in September.
The Third Infantry, which will have up to 17,000 troops in the Gulf, specialises in desert warfare and has a special focus on the Middle East.
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