Chuck Noe, NewsMax.com
Friday, Aug. 9, 2002

In an unusual change of pace – these days the nation's major left-leaning newspapers ordinarily spill American war secrets – the Times reported that Hussein aims to lure U.S. forces into Baghdad and other cities, where his equipment and troops would be less exposed.

'Significant Advantages'

"Urban fighting is one of the most daunting scenarios U.S. military planners face. Baghdad in particular is a sprawling setting, where Hussein's forces would have significant advantages," the Times said.

"His planning appears to be driven partly by lessons from the 1991 Persian Gulf War – in which Iraqi tanks and other equipment were easily destroyed in the open desert by American aircraft – and by the significant erosion of Iraq's military capability since then."

The Bush administration isn't the only one plagued by leaks. Iraqi defectors and opposition groups have spread Hussein's intentions to U.S. intelligence operatives, according to the Times.

Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst at Brookings Institution, said: "It's almost a foregone conclusion." Hussein "won't fight out in the desert."

As always, Saddam has no compunction about exploiting his subjects as human shields. The higher the death toll, the louder the cries from the blame-America-first left, domestic and foreign.

"Military targets in Baghdad are sprinkled among a population approaching 5 million. Hussein has constructed an elaborate warren of underground bunkers and escape routes. U.S. soldiers would probably have to slog through Baghdad's streets wearing chemical-weapons suits and carrying extra equipment," reported the Times.

"U.S. defense and intelligence officials acknowledge that they don't know where Hussein is hiding many of his chemical and biological weapons, let alone how he might use them in a pitched battle for Baghdad."

Hussein boasted Thursday that U.S. threats did not scare him and that the enemy would fail.

'Disgraceful Failure'

"The forces of evil will carry their coffins on their backs, die in disgraceful failure, taking their schemes back with them, or digging their own graves," he said in a televised address marking the anniversary of the end of the disastrous 1980-88 war with Iran.

"As it was broadcast, thousands of Iraqis clad in military fatigues and clutching assault rifles paraded in Baghdad, denouncing the United States and vowing to defend Saddam to the death," Reuters reported.

The United States and even the United Nations dismissed Hussein's rhetoric.

'Bluster'

The speech was "bluster from an internationally isolated dictator, demonstrative yet again that his regime shows no intention to live up to its obligations under U.N. Security Council resolutions," State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said.

"I don't see any change in attitude" about readmitting U.N. weapons inspectors, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said.

Iraqi opposition leaders, in Washington to meet with officials at the Defense and State Departments, said Thursday that Hussein's latest show of defiance showed his cunning side.

"Saddam Hussein believes that he's going to be attacked by the United States. Internally, he is positioning himself so that there will be no significant battles in the field. He is preparing for streetfighting," Sharif Ali of Iraqi National Congress said.

Alone Again, Naturally

The Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a major reversal, now unanimously support a U.S.-led military mission to oust Hussein, the Washington Times reported Wednesday. That same day, U.S. "ally" Saudi Arabia made clear its refusal to help, Germany likewise showed disapproval, and even Britain voiced reservations.

The American people are more willing to act. Fox News reported Thursday that almost 70 percent of respondents in its latest poll favored U.S. military action against Iraq.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

Bush Administration

Middle East

Saddam Hussein/Iraq

United Nations

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