Roundup: Saddam Vows to Defeat US, While US Sends More Ships to Gulf Region

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Roundup: Saddam Vows to Defeat US, While US Sends More Ships to Gulf Region

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Saddam Says US will be Defeated if it Invades Iraq

In the face of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's warnings that the United States will be defeated if it invades Iraq, the US Navy sent seven more warships to the Gulf region on Friday, while mediation by the international community and anti-war protests continued in efforts to prevent a war.

President Saddam Hussein said on Friday a fully-mobilized Iraq would defeat the United States if it was to invade Iraq.

"We have determined and planned to defeat the aggressors. We have mobilized our abilities, including those of the army, people and leadership," he said in an address marking the 12th anniversary of the outbreak of the Gulf War. The speech was broadcast on Iraqi TV.

"Let your rifles wait for them, and let your faith be the leader," the Iraqi president said in the speech addressed to "Iraqi people, the Iraqi Army and the whole Arab Nation."

His remarks came as the United States accused Iraq of secretly developing weapons of mass destruction, and at the same time continued pouring tens of thousands of troops into the Gulf region to back up its threats to disarm Baghdad by force.

In the face of mounting US pressure, the Iraqi President remained defiant, saying: "The United States is incapable of disciplining itself."

"The Iraqis held their rifles at night on Jan. 16-17, 1991 and after that Baghdad kept on defending, defending and defending, until they defeated the evil concentration (of troops) from more than 30 countries," he said.

Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait in August 1990 and was evicted from the small emirate by the US-led multinational coalition forces in the 1991 Gulf War.

The US navy was sending seven more ships on Friday, with nearly10,000 Marines and sailors on board, to the Gulf region, Pentagon officials said.

The ships involved in the deployment from California include the amphibious USS Bonhomme Richard, which was loaded earlier this week, and the USS Boxer.

The Pentagon said the additional deployments were part of an overall plan to build up forces at a "steady rate" and were not in esponse to the discovery of empty chemical warheads in Iraq by United Nations weapons inspectors, Thursday.

The navy may also send at least three more aircraft carriers to join two already positioned within striking distance of Iraq in preparation for a possible war, US defense officials said.

The navy is considering sending the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Kitty Hawk to these areas, but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had made no decision by Thursday, officials said.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt, based in the Norfolk, Virginia, is conducting training off the east coast of the United States, and the USS Abraham Lincoln is undergoing repairs at Perth, Australia.The USS Kitty Hawk, which is based at Yokosuka, Japan, is the only Navy aircraft carrier permanently stationed abroad.

The USS Harry S. Truman and the USS Constellation are already positioned in the Mediterranean and in the northern Gulf area.

The USS George Washington, which returned to Norfolk just last month after a six-month deployment, is also available for potential deployment from the East Coast.

Each aircraft carrier, with about 70 aircraft aboard, is accompanied by a battle group of destroyers, cruisers and other ships, plus a submarine.

The deployment of aircraft carriers in the Gulf, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea will make it possible for the US military to attack Iraq from three directions.

During the 1991 Gulf War the United States deployed six carriers, stationing three in the Red Sea and three in the Persian Gulf.

The Bush administration is stepping up its military deployments to the Gulf as the UN team continued its inspection work on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Since Dec. 24, Rumsfeld has authorized the deployment of 62,000more military personnel to the Gulf region.

Pentagon plans to put 150,000 troops in place for possible military action against Iraq by mid-February.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday expressed his strong support for the work of the UN weapons inspectors in Iraq and called on Iraq to make the most of its chance to disarm.

"The prime minister stressed how important it was for Saddam to ake full advantage of this opportunity to disarm," a spokesman for Blair said after visiting chief UN weapons inspector, Hans Blix, briefed Blair on arms inspections in Iraq at Blair's countryside residence.

Blair welcomed the continuing build-up in the intensity of the inspection program as more inspectors arrived in Iraq and as their resources improved, the spokesman said.

"He said Britain looked forward to Blix's key report to the UN Security Council on Jan. 27," the spokesman added, emphasizing that Blair also urged patience with the inspection process.

The one-hour meeting between Blair and Blix took place amid growing concerns over the discovery of 11 empty chemical warheads in Iraq on Thursday.

Reports said UN weapons inspectors found undeclared but empty chemical warheads at a munitions dump south of Baghdad.

Speaking to reporters before his talks with Blair, Blix played down the importance of the discovery, saying that what the inspectors found in Iraq was not "a smoking gun."

Britain, which strongly backed the US hard-line position on Iraq, also said Friday that it would not rush to decide if the discovery of empty chemical warheads could trigger a military strike against Iraq.

After his meeting with Blair, Blix was due to meet his inspection team in Iraq. He is scheduled to present the first progress report to the UN Security Council on Jan. 27, a date which local media reports said would be crucial for the United States to decide whether to go to war with Iraq.

The United States said Friday that the discovery of 12 empty chemical warheads in Iraq was "troubling and serious," accusing Baghdad of failing to list those weapons in its declaration submitted to the United Nations in December.

"The chemical warheads found by the inspectors were not on the declared list of weapons that Iraq issued just one month ago," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters.

"The fact that Iraq is in possession of undeclared chemical warheads, which the United Nations says are in excellent condition, is troubling and serious," he added.

"Under the UN resolution, Saddam Hussein has an obligation to disarm. It is becoming increasingly clear that he is not doing so," the spokesman said.

Addressing a regular briefing Friday, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher stressed that the UN weapons inspectors have complained that Baghdad has failed to fully cooperate with them in a number of areas relating to the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions.

"There's no point in continuing forever... if Iraq is not cooperating," Boucher said.

The UN weapons inspectors said Thursday that they found 12 empty chemical warheads in southern Iraq when they searched a bunker built in late 1990s.

The Iraqi authorities claimed that they had already listed the warheads as old artillery weapons in its 12,000-page declaration on its weapons program.

Russia on Friday warned against hasty conclusions about the chemical warheads found by international inspectors in Iraq.

Russia believes the results of the inspection require a thorough expert analysis before any conclusions can be made, Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"It is necessary to emphasize that Iraq continues to provide immediate and unconditional access to all facilities that interest inspectors of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) in accordance with its obligations under Security Council Resolution 1441," the statement said.

In the United States, anti-war activists are massing in Washington and other cities across the nation for the weekend. Activists from more than 200 cities in 45 states are planning to charter buses or drive in convoys of cars to attend the Saturday protests, organizers said.

In Ankara, capital of Turkey, some 500 peace activists gathered in front of the US Embassy on Friday. The protesters, organized by Ankara Anti-War Platform, placed a black wreath before the embassy's compound to show their anger over the United States.

In the Gaza City, at least 10,000 Palestinians rallied Friday to demonstrate support for Iraq and oppose the US decision to launch military actions against Baghdad. The demonstrators waved Palestinian and Iraqi flags, and carried posters of both President Saddam Hussein and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

In Cairo, dozens of Egyptian women held a sit-in protest outside the US Embassy on Friday. The protesters in black carried candles and banners bearing the words "Women oppose any war against Iraq."

In downtown Cairo, hundreds of people held a rally, shouting anti-US slogans and calling on the Arab world to take a firm stance to oppose the US Middle East policy.

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