Iraq: An audio tape purportedly from Saddam Hussein urged Iraqis yesterday to continue the fight against occupying US forces, saying that the war was not yet over.
"Our will will not surrender and won't be defeated. The battle is not over yet," the deposed leader said, addressing the Iraqi armed forces.
The tape, aired by Dubai-based Al Arabiya television, was dated July 20th, two days before US troops killed Saddam's two sons, Uday and Qusay, in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq. "We tell our armed forces and our people that if America has achieved military superiority, it will not achieve supremacy in the battle of wills against the Iraqi people."
The voice on the tape sounded identical to that of Saddam. In it, he quoted many verses from the Koran, the Islamic holy book.
"Although the occupation is factually present in the form of the US army, occupation is not officially settled. The will of the people and that of the armed forces and the political leaderships are not subdued," he said.
The tape said that US forces, facing increased attacks, would not be safe in Iraq despite their military might and weaponry.
It urged Iraqis and members of the armed forces to rise up in a new "liberation army".
"Let our awakening be a new lesson that can be added to the history of our nation and humanity," he added.
US officials have blamed Saddam loyalists for the guerrilla insurgency against American forces, but other groups have also claimed responsibility for the attacks, distancing themselves from Saddam's secular Iraqi nationalism and embracing the Islamist, anti-American slogans of al-Qaeda.
This latest audio tape claiming to be from Saddam was the fourth in a month to be aired by Arab broadcasters. A tape last week called on Iraqis to fight the Anglo-American occupiers and "evict the enemy from Iraq".
A CIA analysis has determined that the tape aired last week was "probably" the voice of Saddam.
US forces have been operating on the assumption that Saddam is still alive and probably hiding in northern Iraq.
The tape aired yesterday said that every member of the armed forces, even those who are retired, should join the resistance to form what was described as the "core of the new liberation army".
"My brothers at the armed forces and republican guards, the hard task troops, the news of your actions honouring jihad (holy war) is reaching me and making me feel proud and happy . . . Use every possible means and continue your jihad," he added.
Celebratory shots rang out over Baghdad on Tuesday night at the news that Uday and Qusay Hussein had been killed in a six-hour gun battle in Mosul, but sceptical Iraqis are still demanding concrete proof that they are dead. - (Reuters)