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U.S. Checks Possible Iraq Weapons Sites

WASHINGTON - U.S. forces in Iraq are checking out sites identified by captured Iraqis as possibly holding biological or chemical weapons, the commander of American ground troops said Friday.

Lt. Gen. David McKiernan and Pentagon officials said they had no confirmed discoveries of chemical or biological weapons to announce. But the general said he was confident weapons of mass destruction eventually would be found.

President Bush (news - web sites) said he ordered the U.S.-led war with Iraq to eliminate stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons that he said deposed President Saddam Hussein's government had collected. No such weapons have been found.

Information on chemical and biological weapons is rare because so few Iraqis were involved in those programs, McKiernan told Pentagon reporters over a video link from Iraq's capital, Baghdad. He said, however, that questioning of some Iraqi officials has been fruitful.

"From some interrogations, we get information that leads us to another source, that we have to go locate certain facilities and go in there and check those out," McKiernan said. "I'm not going to go into the details, but there is discussion from both the chemical and the biological side that leads us to intelligence that we have to go confirm or deny."

The failure to find any banned weapons in Iraq has prompted critics in the United States and abroad to question whether Bush overstated the evidence that Saddam's government had them. McKiernan said he had no such doubts.

"Even if there were no interrogations, I would tell you personally, I think there's a lot still hidden that it will take time for us to uncover," McKiernan said.

The general said the attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq do not appear to be coordinated by any central authority. A prominent former Iraqi exile, Ahmed Chalabi of the Iraqi National Congress, said this week that Saddam was still alive and offering bounties for the killing of American troops.

McKiernan said the attacks were "only coordinated locally, not nationally."

Still, "there is the probability that there are financial trails that lead to other parts of Iraq, and there might be communications that go to other parts," McKiernan said. He didn't elaborate.

McKiernan said many of the attacks were from former members of Saddam's Baath Party, his intelligence services or the former president's Special Republican Guard. Those are former combatants who "know they have zero future in the next Iraq and will do everything they can to attack coalition efforts in this country."

American troops will begin to leave Iraq "when the time is right," McKiernan said, but he refused to predict when that might be. Some units, such as the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, have been in Iraq for almost three months after spending nearly a year in Kuwait preparing for the invasion.

"I'm not worried about our units and our soldiers losing their combat edge," McKiernan said, although he said some equipment had to be repaired or replaced.

An Iraqi on a bicycle passes next to a U.S. army truck full of soldiers on patrol near the town of Balad, 60 miles north of capital Baghdad June 13, 2003. A U.S. drive to root out supporters of Saddam Hussein from his heartland north of Baghdad is fueling mounting hostility toward the American forces occupying Iraq, angry local people said Friday.

Iraqis Irate as U.S. Forces Roam Hostile Countryside

BALAD, Iraq (Reuters) - A U.S. drive to root out supporters of Saddam Hussein from his heartland north of Baghdad is fueling mounting hostility toward the American forces occupying Iraq, angry local people said Friday.

Thousands of U.S. troops launched their biggest operation this week since major combat was declared over, raiding hide-outs of suspected Saddam loyalists around the small agriculture market town of Balad.

In the bloodiest clash of the operation so far, U.S. forces said they killed 27 people who ambushed a tank patrol in the area Friday.

But locals said the harsh U.S. crackdown would only alienate Iraqis and stir up discontent.

"What does America expect? We are eating bread from the same flour that Saddam distributed. The United States has not done anything for Iraq," said Jasem al-Obeidi.

Since Saddam was ousted in April, food distribution mostly stopped and unemployment rose in Balad, which is dependent on jobs in the military and agriculture.

The town is full of orchards, watermelon fields, fig and apricot trees. An Iraqi air base now occupied by U.S. forces is next to the town.

U.S. helicopters fly low over the fields. Iraqi warplanes that have not flown for years for lack of spare parts lie looted between sand dunes. Beside one was an ejector seat, apparently triggered by looters.

HOMES RANSACKED

Iraqis around Balad say their homes have been ransacked and their property damaged by U.S. troops during the raids, which began Monday. Many say they were assaulted, or handcuffed and detained for hours for no reason.

"The United States sent the Iraqi army home without compensation. They set up checkpoints and prevented farmers from going to work," said Taleb, a farmer, as he watched a truck full of U.S. soldiers pass in front of his home.

He said his brother recently drove to town to sell tomatoes and cucumbers but was detained for four days on the way.

The U.S military says its sweep through Balad, dubbed Operation Peninsula Strike, is aimed at flushing out supporters of Saddam who have staged repeated deadly ambushes on American soldiers in mostly Sunni Muslim parts of Iraq.

Shi'ites, predominantly in the south of the country, are the majority Muslim sect, but Sunni Muslims have traditionally ruled the country.

Saddam also exercised power through the Baath Party and Balad residents said the Americans were relying on dubious local informants to arrest former party members and break its influence.

"The approach is naive. One had to become a Baathist to live in Iraq, even as a kindergarten teacher," said Haitham, a technician.

Farmers said many civilians had been killed in the U.S. operation, including five who they said died after American forces came under attack Thursday near an air base.

U.S. Lt. Col. Andy Fawler said his troops would not target civilians.

"My men have strict orders not to shoot at any unarmed civilian day or night. If they had weapons and they were shooting, then my troopers will return fire," he said.