New tape for Saddam Hussein on Baath party anniversary
Iraq-USA, Politics, 7/18/2003

The Arab mass media broadcast a voice recording for the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on the 35th anniversary of the Baath party assuming authority in Iraq.

Saddam Hussein said that the new Iraqi governing council will not be useful to Iraq because it was appointed by the occupation and serves only the occupation. He said "the occupation administration orders come according to directives from Washington, Tel Aviv, and London.. It appointed persons who obey their order," in remarks to the transitional governing council but without naming it.

He added " we are confident that our people will reject all orders of the occupation forces," noting the "one who is appointed by a foreigner and the occupation is but their servant rather than the servant of people." He called on the Iraqis to resist the American occupation.

Hussein indicated in the tape that the American and British allegations about the weapons of mass destruction are groundless, accusing the US President George W. Bush and the British prime minister Tony Blair of lying to justify the war against Iraq.

Meantime, the high commander of the US military forces in Iraq, Gen. John Abizaid, admitted that the attacks against his soldiers in Iraq are a sort of traditional war gang.

In a press conference held Wednesday at the headquarters of the Defense Department he said mid-level Baathist intelligence, Special Security Organization and Special Republican Guard people "have organized at the regional level in cellular structure and are conducting what I would describe as a classical guerrilla-type campaign against us. It's low-intensity conflict in our doctrinal terms, but it's war, however you describe it.

Military officials said "We're seeing a cellular organization of six to eight people armed with (rocket-propelled grenades), machine guns, etc., attacking us, sometimes at times and places of their choosing, and at other times, we attack them at times and places of our choosing. They are receiving financial help from probably regional-level leaders."

Although the level of resistance isn't escalating in numbers of incidents, Abizaid said, the resistance is getting more organized. The Iraqis are learning and adapting to coalition tactics, techniques and procedures.

"At the tactical level, they're better coordinated," he said. "They're less amateurish, and their ability to use improvised explosive devices and combine the use of these explosive devices with some sort of tactical activity -- say for example, attacking the quick reaction forces -- is more sophisticated."

Coalition forces are also adapting to the Iraqi opposition's tactics, techniques and procedures. "We can handle the tactical problems that are presented," the general said. U.S. and coalition forces are doing a magnificent job dealing with the current situation, he added.

"War is a struggle of wills," Abizaid noted. "You look at the Arab press (and) they say, 'We drove the Americans out of Beirut. We drove them out of Somalia. We'll drive them out of Baghdad.' That's just not true. They're not driving us out of anywhere." Just as U.S. and coalition forces take casualties, they also "cause casualties to be inflicted upon the enemy because we are at war," he said. Abizaid noted that as many Americans have died in offensive actions against enemy forces as have been killed in enemy attacks.

The goal in Iraq is to reduce the level of violence so that governance can move forward, Abizaid said, but progress toward this goal will most likely be met with more violence.

"You have to understand that there will be an increase in violence as we achieve political success," he said. Those "who have a stake in ensuring the defeat of the coalition realize that time is getting short" as Iraqis become more involved in governing themselves.

Local government throughout Iraq, particularly in the North and the South, is moving ahead in a "spectacular way," Abizaid said. "In the areas where we're having difficulties with the remnants of the regime, it's less secure and people that cooperate with us are at risk. We have to create an environment where those people do not feel at risk. That means we have to take our military activity to the enemy and we have to defeat these cells."

In his first press conference he held at the headquarters of the defense ministry after he assumed his post, he added he will not hesitate to ask for additional force to work in Iraq if he finds that necessary.

This comes in light of the escalated Iraqi resistance operations against the occupation and the state of frustration among US soldiers with the almost daily killing and the extension of the presence of the American soldiers in Iraq beyond what was originally stated.

Previous Stories:
  Okaz: Sabah al-Ahmad: we should forget Iraq's aggression against Kuwait   (7/17/2003)
  Iraqi resistance attacks; one American killed; plane survives ground-to-air missile   (7/17/2003)
  Washington suspends Russian oil contracts with Saddam's regime   (7/16/2003)
  Washington extends presence of its forces in Iraq; New council spends time on war crimes   (7/16/2003)
  Three attacks on American forces in Baghdad   (7/15/2003)

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