Posted on 07/29/2003 11:43:40 AM PDT by El Conservador
TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - An audio tape purportedly from former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) aired on an Arab television station Tuesday vowed to defeat the United States to avenge the deaths of his two sons by U.S. forces.
"I mourn to you the deaths of Uday and Qusay and those who struggled with them. You are the honor of this nation. America will be defeated," said the voice on the tape, broadcast by Dubai-based al Arabiya.
"They ... died martyrs in the name of jihad (holy war)," the voice said. The speech was rambling, breaking off in mid-sentence on occasions.
A number of tapes purportedly from Saddam have been broadcast in the past few weeks, but this was the first to refer to the killing of his two sons by U.S. troops last Tuesday in a bloody raid on a villa in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
The U.S. military said troops hunting Saddam had captured three key figures loyal to the deposed dictator, including a top bodyguard, and were closing in on Saddam himself.
"They are being questioned as we speak," a U.S. military spokesman said.
Maj. Josslyn Aberle, in Saddam's home town of Tikrit north of Baghdad, told Reuters one of the captured Saddam loyalists put up a brief struggle, and two gunshots were heard as the raid began, but there were no U.S. casualties.
Television pictures filmed through a night vision lens showed a man being escorted from a building by American soldiers, blood seeping through a blindfold.
U.S. troops, who invaded Iraq (news - web sites) and divided international opinion to topple Saddam, believe he may be hiding somewhere in the Tigris valley of dusty tomato fields and orchards.
Aberle said Saddam was sure to be captured. "When, I don't know, because he's a master of hiding," she said. "But when people are on the run they get tired and start making mistakes."
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said U.S. forces nearly captured Saddam in raids Monday near Tikrit.
"I think most people feel that the noose is tightening pretty regularly around the neck of Saddam Hussein, even today there were three raids and we believe we were just hours behind Saddam Hussein," he said on CNN.
U.S. SAYS INFORMATION FLOWING ON SADDAM
Officers say that after Saddam's feared sons were killed last week -- and Washington promised to pay an Iraqi informant a $30 million reward -- many more Iraqis were coming forward with information on Saddam himself.
The United States is offering $25 million for information leading to the arrest or proof of death of Saddam, toppled from power by U.S.-led forces on April 9.
Washington hopes finding Saddam would help end a guerrilla campaign that has killed 50 U.S. troops since President Bush (news - web sites) declared major combat over on May 1.
The U.S. military blames die-hard Saddam loyalists for the persistent violence, and some officers had said they hoped the killing of Uday and Qusay a week ago in Mosul would demoralize anti-American assailants.
But 11 U.S. soldiers have been killed in attacks since Saddam's sons died in a barrage of machinegun fire, grenades, rockets and anti-tank missiles as they mounted a last stand with AK-47 assault rifles.
Washington hopes tentative efforts at self-rule will appease Iraqis who dislike the U.S. occupation. The 25 U.S. appointees on an Iraqi Governing Council seem to have been making slow progress in its two weeks of existence.
The council agreed Tuesday that its presidency would rotate among nine members, ending two weeks of heated discussion over who should be in charge.
A source at the Council said the decision, taken after a six-hour meeting, reflected the members' "wish to share responsibilities in this sensitive period."
Choosing a leader was supposed to be one of the first tasks of the Council, which held its first meeting on July 13 and is seen in Washington as a first step toward a democratic government in Iraq after the war to topple Saddam. But members took more than two weeks to decide.
The nine include Iraqi National Congress head Ahmed Chalabi, heads of two Kurdish parties, Iyad Allawi of the Iraqi National Accord, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim of the Shi'ite Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, Ibrahim Jaafari of the Da'wa Party and Muhsin Abdul Hameed of the Iraqi Islamic Party.
Adnan Pachachi, a former foreign minister who has returned from exile, and Muhammed Bahr al-Uloum, an Islamic scholar, are also on the list.
The Council has the power to name and dismiss ministers, approve the 2004 budget and decide policy on economic and electoral reform, but final control of Iraq still rests with the U.S. civilian administrator in Baghdad, Paul Bremer.
blame Extremely Extreme Extremist
Holed up in a villa, taking viagra, and complaining about the lack of cable no doubt...
I find posting a rumor as fact out of character for this poster. Perhaps someone took him hostage as he was logged on and posted this thread while EEE was tied up???
Bwahahahahahaha ....him and what army.
Saddam reported to be meeting with Paul Begala and Chris Lehane to plot revenge course.
Judy Woodruff accepts post as official spokesperson.
Or a tape recorder that isn't crackly. $10 at Radio Shack. Makes you wonder if the Osama/Saddam tapes are fakes, the audio noise intended to cover evidence of the fakery.
You forgot the sarcasm tag. The only people who agree that Saddam was a good father are Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, etc.
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