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Tuesday, April 8, 2003

U.S. aircraft bombed a Baath party meeting in a residence Saturday. On Friday, two U.S. aircraft bombed Ali's Basra home. He was caught by the second bomb, according to military officials.

Ali Hassan al-Majid is believed responsible for the death of more than 100,000 Kurds in 1988, part of a broader effort to ethnically "cleanse" Iraq of Kurds, according to human rights groups. He ordered the use of cyanide gas on more than 60 villages. Five thousand people died in the town of Halabja alone.

"We believe that the reign of terror of 'Chemical Ali' has come to an end. To Iraqis who have suffered at his hand, particularly in the last few weeks in that southern part of the country, he will never again terrorize you or your families," Rumsfeld said.

Rumsfeld would not confirm whether a series of drums discovered Sunday by the 101st Airborne Division in Albu Muhawish, a town on the Euphrates River about 60 miles south of Baghdad, contained chemical weapons.

"I can tell you it takes days to get samples of things from wherever they are in the battlefield into a first place where they take a look, and then to a second place where things get checked. And I think that the prudent thing in a case like this would be to kind of let the thing play itself out and ... we'll eventually know," he said.

The Pentagon is particularly keen on finding evidence of chemical or biological weapons in Iraq as Saddam's possession of "weapons of mass destruction" is one of the primary reasons cited by the White House for the war. U.S. officials told United Press International they are being very careful to check out all reports. Claiming a chemical or biological find only to have it later disproved would harm U.S. credibility -- the geostrategic equivalent to crying wolf.

Preserving the Chain of Custody

Rumsfeld said the military is taking pains to prove the "chain of custody" of any chemical or biological weapons found to avoid charges that the evidence was planted.

"We've got people who have been alerted to the importance of chain of custody, and they're attentive to that and will be to the extent that it's possible in a battlefield environment," he said.

Also Monday, Rumsfeld said the United States would not support any single individual to lead Iraq -- despite the fact that it inserted Ahmad Chalabi, the exiled head of the Iraqi National Congress and a man with known ambitions to lead Iraq, into An Nasiriyah Sunday.

"The Iraqi people are going to sort out what their Iraqi government ought to look like, and that is very clear," Rumsfeld said Monday. "Clearly, the United States is not going to impose a government on Iraq."

The U.S. Air Force airlifted Chalabi and 700 fighters under his command to a landing strip outside of An Nasiriyah, giving them the patina of U.S. backing. The fighters will work to liaison between coalition forces and the Iraqi people, according to the INC. Chalabi is back in Iraq for the first time in 45 years.

"The war of national liberation which Iraqis have waged for 30 years is now nearing its end. We call on the Iraqi people to join with us in removing the final remnants of Saddam's Baathist regime," Chalabi said in a statement to the press.

Chalabi said on CBS's "60 Minutes" he would not seek a leadership position in post-Saddam Iraq.

Rumsfeld attempted to downplay the significance of the INC fighters in Iraq.

"There are, you know, six, eight, 10 different activities going on on the part of people who are Iraqis, either Kurds or Shia or expatriates or people from within the country. And that's a good thing. They can be very helpful to us in a variety of ways, and we appreciate it," Rumsfeld said.

He confirmed some of those groups are combat troops.

CIA Leery of the INC

The INC has been a divisive issue in the Bush administration, with the State Department and CIA leery of the group -- comprised of eight different organizations and headquartered in Iraq -- and the Pentagon and Vice President Dick Cheney generally supportive.

Former U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Anthony Zinni once famously derided the INC as "silk-suited, Rolex-wearing guys in London."

Zinni still believes Chalabi's acceptability to the people of Iraq is in doubt.

Zinni told UPI Monday the Iraqis would likely reject "those viewed as maybe imposed on them by the United States."

"I talked to some dissidents who really felt if left to the people, they would opt not to go with those who have lived outside the country during Saddam's reign," Zinni said. "I think his acceptability should be determined by the people."

Saddam's Whereabouts Unknown

Saddam's whereabouts remain unknown. The war began with an attack on one of his residences in Baghdad.

Rumsfeld insisted, however, Saddam's status is not an indication the war is won. Instead, it turns on whether the government he set up is still in control of the military and essential services.

"As his regime collapses around him, the question is asked, where is he? There are three possibilities: He's either dead or injured or not willing to show himself. We may not know if or where he is, but we do know that he no longer runs much of Iraq. His forces continue to surrender and capitulate. His regime is running out of real soldiers. And soon, all that will be left will be the war criminals," Rumsfeld said. "I don't think it would necessarily hinge on Saddam Hussein. At that point where he is not running his country ... the regime has been changed."

U.S. Central Command spokesman Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks denied military forces are even looking for Saddam.

"We have at no time said there is a hunt for any particular individual," he said Monday.

Despite the fast progress in Iraq -- U.S. forces "visited" two presidential palaces, including one in Baghdad -- Rumsfeld cautioned against declaring a premature victory.

"My guess is it would be later rather than sooner, simply because it's a big country, and the idea that you could conclude that the kinetic aspects were over without having really done a good deal of work around the country, it seems to me, would be inappropriate, and it conceivably also would be misleading, which would be unfortunate," he said.

The commander of British forces in Iraq has his own definition of regime change.

"Given that we talk continually about effects-based warfare, what we're looking for is the effect on the people of Iraq. Once they say, 'This regime no longer exists in our psyche,' then we have reached it," said Air Marshal Michael Burridge in Qatar Monday. "What happens to Saddam Hussein and others is largely immaterial. ... Now, personally, I'd like to see him standing trial, of course I would. But it's reaching that state where the Iraqi people recognize that they don't have this regime over the top of them."

While Saddam has not been seen in Iraq, U.S. Central Command made sure commander Gen. Tommy Franks was: Franks went to Iraq Monday to visit the troops. He did not travel to Baghdad. He did visit An Najaf, a predominantly Shiite town that has seen a great deal of fighting in the last two weeks.

A Central Command official told reporters Monday Franks was greeted with smiles and waves from the citizens as he rode through town, and that children were playing safely in the streets.

Copyright 2003 by United Press International.

All rights reserved.

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