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Posted on 08/08/2002 4:02:11 AM PDT by prisoner6
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Anyone who attacks Iraq will die in "disgraceful failure," Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites) said in a speech to the nation Thursday.
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Speaking on the anniversary of the end of the Iraq-Iran war of 1980-88, Saddam made no direct mention of the U.S.-British demand for the return of U.N. arms inspectors to Iraq, which has sparked talk in Washington of a military strike against the country.
In his speech, Saddam did not mention America and Britain by name, but referred to them as the "forces of evil" — a phrase the Baghdad government frequently uses after U.S. and British airstrikes in the no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq.
"The forces of evil will carry their coffins on their backs to die in disgraceful failure," he said in the televised speech.
The United States has warned Iraq of unspecified consequences if it does not allow U.N. inspections to resume, and Iraqi diplomats have held three meetings with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan ( news - web sites) this year to discuss the issue and related topics.
Saddam said the Security Council "should reply to the questions raised by Iraq and should honor its obligations under its own resolutions."
He was referring to 19 questions given to Annan at a meeting in March, and to the council resolutions which say that U.N. sanctions on Iraq can be lifted once it has eliminated its weapons of mass destruction and fulfilled other requirements.
Iraq has long said it has fulfilled these conditions and that the sanctions imposed since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait should be lifted.
Annan circulated the 19 questions, which deal with various Iraqi complaints, to the Security Council members, who have not replied.
Saddam spoke dressed in a dark gray suit in front of a white curtain and with a spread of white lilies on his desk.
Recent reports from Washington say the U.S. government is gearing for an attack on Iraq to topple Saddam. U.S. officials have not ruled out such a strike, but insist no decision has yet been made.
C'mon Saa-daam...Let's see what ya got.
prisoner6
Hmm...my first posting from Netscape 6. I haven't used Netscape for awhile and I think I messed things up. There may be multiple posts and it was supposed to go to Front Page not Breaking.
Maybe it was Netscape or maybe I just hit the wrong buttons. It sure took a LONG time to post. I thought my machine was locked.
Has anyone else had trouble posting with Netscape 6?
prisoner6
Why do I have the notion that the lilies are significant?
Y'know, I'm pretty tired of all the "talking tough" rhetoric that comes out of Iraq - - a third-world country with a despot at its head...the sad thing is that a large part of his uneducated population DO believe themselves indestructable - Boy are they in for a surprise!
>blinks<
So true..
This bunch is comprised of nothing but blowhards and total cowards. The only thing they they are capable of is sending hundreds or thousands of mind dead Allah-bots to their deaths.
Haven't we heard this kind of talk from Saddam before? I guess we might have to have one of those mother-in-law-of-all-battles again.
Bet ol' Saddam hides himself 14 levels underground this time too.
Uncle Sodom.
From the man who brought you the mother of all surrenders...
Of course, the fallout will dissipate a great deal before they reach you. <g>
yeah they surely mean it; they wrote it in chalk.
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