IRAQ: A sixth tape said to come from deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was broadcast yesterday by the Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera, writes Michael Jansen
"God will support us," said the voice on the tape, so that "one day the occupation army will falter." "Victory is possible at any moment."
The audiotape appeared to be an attempt to rally more of the Iraqi people to the resistance war being fought against American troops, by assuring the mass of people they had nothing to fear if he were to return to power. He did this by issuing an amnesty for looters.
"We have decided to consider all the properties of the party and the government a gift to whoever has it, to use as they see fit, to keep or to sell without any restrictions, free from any legal constraints, now or in the future," the voice said.
Of those who had gone against him, he said, "We feel bitterness about what has happened, but we are insistent on taking the responsibility to save our people and brothers, even those who have betrayed the nation and co-operated with the criminal invaders.
"We feel that not handling this case with caution would make those concerned feel guilty and fear the future if they commit the crime of treason. God forbid they should. . . aid the foreigner." Instead they should become "a loaded rifle in the face of the invading foreigner."
While Iraqis agreed that it sounded like President Saddam, the tape's authenticity could not be confirmed. The tape was purportedly recorded last Sunday. While few Iraqis think that he could return to power, the emergence of these tapes from time to time create a certain amount of tension and nervousness among the citizens.
Two houses were raided in Tikrit yesterday, where two men said to be Saddam's close associates, were captured. The object of the raid, one of 300 during the past week, was to secure news of the former dictator.
One hundred soldiers swept into two houses during the siesta and seized the two men before shots were fired. The US hopes that by seizing his comrades, they will come closer to Saddam.
Iraqis interviewed by The Irish Times said that they hope he is killed rather than captured. "We want to finish with the former regime. If he is captured and put on trial, he will be able to draw things out and create tension and instability."
On Thursday, Saddam's daughters, Raghad and Rana, were granted refuge in Jordan with their nine children. Their husbands, defected to Jordan in 1996, were interviewed by the CIA, returned to Iraq, having been given guarantees of safety, and were then executed.
It is not known where Saddam's first wife, Sajida Khairallah Telfah, and his youngest daughter, Hala, are located. His second wife, Samira Shabandar, and his youngest son, Ali, have also disappeared.
The bodies of his sons, Uday and Qusay, killed in Mosul two weeks ago, remain at an improvised morgue at US headquarters at Baghdad International Airport.