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To: marek_wojna who wrote (89329)	9/6/2002 9:49:50 AM
From: onedrill	Respond to of 116756

No its true but not reported in the US. Iraq claims to be "impregnable fortress" as air defense base hit September 06, 2002, 12:11 PM arabia.com BAGHDAD (AFP) - The war of words over Iraq heated up with Saddam Hussein's press trumpeting boldly that the country is an "impregnable fortress" while his regime ignored claims that US and British warplanes have carried out a major strike on an Iraqi air defense facility. The press here was devoid of any reference to claims by London's Daily Telegraph that about 100 US and British aircraft raided an Iraqi air defense installation in the biggest operation over the country in four years. Instead, newspapers limited themselves to carrying an official announcement that warplanes had bombed civilian installations southwest of the capital, without causing any casualties. Iraqi officials, meanwhile, remained mum, while British and US officials confirmed that a raid did take place on a defense facility. The Telegraph said the attack appeared to be a prelude to possible special forces operations, with the aim apparently to remove air defenses to allow helicopters to fly easily into Iraq via Jordan or Saudi Arabia to hunt down Scud missiles before a possible war. Twelve warplanes dropped precision-guided bombs in the raid, but scores of other support aircraft also took part, the paper said, adding that it was the first time a target in western Iraq had been attacked during air patrols of the southern "no-fly" zone. The US military said Thursday US and British warplanes bombed "an air defense command and control facility at a military airfield 240 miles (380 kilometers) west and slightly south of Baghdad" in response to "recent Iraqi hostile acts." Britain confirmed the raid but refused to reveal its scope. Despite news that Iraq's defenses had again been breached, the mouthpiece of the country's ruling party warned that "the little Bush must get it into his head that Iraq is united and stands as an impregnable fortress. Turning to Tony Blair, who has promised to release damning information on Baghdad's alleged attempts to develop nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, Ath-Thawra charged that the British prime minister would come up with a set of "lies." Meanwhile, in a BBC interview to be screened on Sunday and excerpts of which were released Friday, Blair said he was very reluctant ever to get into military action, "but there are some times in which it is inevitable." Asked if he recognized that the US-British "special relationship" involves being prepared to "pay the blood price," Blair said: "Yes. What is important though is that at moments of crisis they (the US) don't need to know simply that you are giving general expressions of support and sympathy. "That is easy, frankly. They need to know: Are you prepared to commit, are you prepared to be there when the shooting starts?" Blair argued that Britain was "with America in so many issues" because this is in its interest, "not because America snaps its fingers and we feel we have to jump to it." The British premier is set to fly to the United States for talks with Bush on Saturday. On Friday, meanwhile, Bush plans to continue efforts to convince the world that his campaign against Saddam is just. He is to speak by telephone with his French, Russian and Chinese counterparts to stress that the world's "worst leaders" should not have access to the "worst weapons." With the exception of Blair, Washington's European allies continued to voice opposition to a strike, a move German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said would be a "big mistake." Australia, South Korea and the Arab League have also reiterated their opposition in the last two days.