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Saddam Trying to Prolong War
Saddam Hussein's war strategy may look chaotic from the outside, but military experts believe it's a carefully crafted plan meant to drag out the fighting and prolong a humanitarian crisis that would prompt the international community to push for a political solution. "That's his only hope for survival," said retired Army Maj. Gen. William Nash, now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. In Basra, Iraq's second largest city, Iraqi forces said to be members of the paramilitary Fedayeen prevented British troops from taking the city and fired on about 1,000 civilians trying to flee. British forces have encircled the city for days, but have been reluctant to enter for fear of becoming trapped in urban warfare. In such a situation, the defenders almost always have the advantage and many believe that is why Iraq appears to be waiting for coalition forces to get to Baghdad. Nash said that strategy would also "give Saddam a decision point of whether he wants to revert to chemical warfare." Iraq's defense minister said the real fight will be in the Iraqi capital â home to 5 million people. "The enemy must come inside Baghdad, and that will be its grave," Sultan Hashim Ahmed said. "We feel that this war must be prolonged so the enemy pays a high price." Posted by: George 2003-03-28 |
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