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Politics : Stop the War! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Just_Observing who wrote (2656)	3/25/2003 2:30:33 AM
From: Just_Observing	Respond to of 21614

US FURY AS SADDAM APPEARS ON TV Mar 25 2003 From Richard Wallace, US Editor in Washington DC THE US propaganda war took a direct hit yesterday when Saddam Hussein appeared on TV, apparently alive and well. The Iraqi dictator talked about current battles and urged his followers to "kill your enemy precisely and accurately" - although some US officials said the video could have been recorded before the war. Crucially, Saddam's appearance suggested the "decapitation" strike on the first night of the campaign - which the US believed had either killed or at least badly wounded the dictator - was a failure. The Iraqi dictator - without the glasses he wore in Thursday's TV pictures - appeared calm, fit and healthy, in contrast to the dishevelled figure who had read hesitantly from notes five days ago. His hair appeared darker and sleeker and there was no sign of the owlish spectacles of last week. Furious US Defence chief Donald Rumsfeld, already enraged at Iraqi TV pictures of US PoWs, now wants to strangle Saddam's exploitation of the airwaves by targeting Iraqi radio and TV stations in bombing raids. A Pentagon official said: "He's jumping up and down about this - expect TV screens to go blank in Iraq very soon indeed." A second tape screened later in the day showed Saddam laughing and joking with his generals and son Qusay - also believed killed or wounded, according to the US. In another blow to the coalition's battle for the hearts and minds of the population - and international opinion - Iraqi TV showed a captured US Apache helicopter, its crew either taken prisoner or on the run. It came 24 hours after gruesome TV pictures of dead US troops and five terrified PoWs being interrogated. Saddam's 20-minute address, predicting "glorious victory", was long on flowery rhetoric but too short on detail to suggest it was delivered live. But Saddam's direct references to fighting in specific areas and his rallying cry to troops indicated that, if it was a recording, it must have been made very recently, probably at the weekend. US analysts insist, however, Saddam could have recorded a mass of video messages before the war and they may have been spliced together using key phrases or locations. Saddam declared: "Today, you are standing in a position that would please the friend and would anger the enemy and all the infidels. "The lesson you are teaching the enemy will render him not only hesitant, but without the courage to again harm you, your nation or humanity. By this and with your jihad, you will tire the souls of the enemies." Seated at a podium in his military uniform, Saddam even praised particular members of the Iraqi army, something he could hardly have done on TV if dead or incapacitated days ago. He singled out by name individual officers from the 45th Brigade of the 11th Infantry Division who had been fighting at Umm Qasr in southern Iraq. With a flag and white sheet behind him, Saddam sat at a nondescript desk in a makeshift studio to minimise identification of his location. At one point, he said: "These are your days, you Iraqis are in line with what God has ordered you to do - to cut their throats and even their fingers. Strike them and strike evil, so that evil will be defeated." Saddam said the Iraqi people were all heroes and claimed US and British forces were being defeated. Taunting the allies, he asked: "Have you found what the devil that besets your soul promised you in Iraq?" He promised "victory is very near" in Basra, southern Iraq, which US and British tank units were still trying to secure. And he called on de-fenders of Baghdad and northern city Mosul to hold firm. Saddam referred to the ground invasion: "This time, they sent their infantry troops. This time, they have come to invade and occupy your land" - but he did not mention the capture of US servicemen, even though they were paraded on state TV and treated as a major coup. His appearance will rally those Iraqis who support him and will make mass defections less likely. America and Britain attempted to play down the significance of Saddam's apparent miracle recovery. Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said: "Obviously, analysis continues but I can say straight away that those pictures were not live. "We are well aware that he spent many hours recently tape recording various messages. We need to do a little more analysis of what was actually said to see if that was, in fact, Saddam Hussein." The CIA is also analysing the tape to verify it was given by Saddam, and not by one of his three doubles. Although Saddam frequently uses body doubles in public appearances, those doubles usually do not speak because of the Iraqi leader's distinctive, high-pitched voice. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said: "There are doubts about whether that tape is canned or whether it is anything that is fresh. "It would not be a surprise if Saddam Hussein some time ago put in the can numerous statements designed to be released later." mirror.co.uk

To: Just_Observing who wrote (2656)	3/25/2003 9:40:29 AM
From: epicure	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21614

It may be shocking the American people. Give it time.

To: Just_Observing who wrote (2656)	3/25/2003 1:16:21 PM
From: PartyTime	Respond to of 21614

>>> "There was an expectation of instant victory,"<<< There's a reason why this was so and it goes right to the heart of the Bush Administration's propaganda campaign. Much as it's been said that when the Iraqi leaders conduct their press conferences, they're speaking to the pan-Arab world and not the worldwide media; so it was that when Powell presented to the UN he actually was presenting to the American people; that when the terror alert was elevated it was so to appeal and solidify the fears of the American people; that when bin Ladin's two sons supposedly were captured, again it was to appeal to the American people; that when the guy we once took claim for killing was suddenly caputred and paraded as the Mastermind behind 9/11, again this was aimed at moving the opinions of the American people. You see, Bush's handlers knew very well how to work the needed demographics, how to bring aboard that tiny sliver of middle ground Americans into supporting this war. Once enough support was obtained, shortly thereafter America went to war. So the expectation of an early victory had to exist in order to make Americans support the war. This is because it requires a giant leap to commit our sons and daughters into a war that is predicated only on fear and speculation and has nothing to do with the doctrine of a just cause war.