Saddam Hails Worldwide Anti-War DemonstrationsSat Jan 18, 5:55 PM ETAdd Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By Nadim Ladki
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) hailed worldwide anti-war demonstrations Saturday and said the protests showed that Iraq had international support for standing up to the United States.
Saddam ordered his top officers to look after their soldiers to gain their confidence and make sure they were well-fed and kept warm as they prepared to sacrifice their blood to defend Iraq.
Tens of thousands of people took part in protests across the globe Saturday to demand that Washington abandon likely plans to invade Iraq over alleged weapons of mass destruction.
"They are supporting you because they know that evildoers target Iraq to silence any dissenting voice to their evil and destructive policies," Saddam told senior military officers and his son Qusay, the commander of the elite Republican Guards.
A recording of the meeting was broadcast on Baghdad's state- run television.
"Iraq's cause has become clear...it simply is that Iraqis are in their country while others cross the seas to reach them and tell them 'we want to share with you your country or we want to be the masters and you the followers'," Saddam said.
"We don't need to exert ourselves to make Iraqis understand that their cause is just. They understand that their cause is just," he added.
The United States is massing tens of thousands of troops, hundreds of tanks and aircraft, and several battleships and aircraft carriers to the Gulf to be ready to launch an offensive if Iraq's fails to disarm. Baghdad denies it has any nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
The Iraqi strongman, who said Friday that U.S. troops would be committing suicide if they tried to take Baghdad, said Iraqis would not be defeated despite the superiority in arms and technology of the American military machine.
"You, as military people, know that the battle will only be determined by armies on the ground, but despite this your enemy has the capability of harming when it uses long-distance weapons," Saddam said.
But he said Iraq would emerge victorious.
"When a people believe in the justice of its cause, it can stand fast in the face of evil, no matter what equipment or technology it has. This is the lesson that you are teaching the world now," Saddam said.
He ordered the officers to look after soldiers and keep them warm, "like you would check on your young children before going to bed and check their blankets while they are sleeping."
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