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| Iraq |
| Sammy: Iraq Threw Only Third Of Forces Into Battle |
| 2003-04-02 |
| Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said a third of Iraq's armed forces have engaged in battle with the U.S.-led invasion forces so far. Brilliant! The other two thirds are sneaking up behind us, via Ecuador... Iraq will be victorious against the U.S. and British invaders, Saddam vowed in a message read out in his name on Iraqi satellite TV on Wednesday, April 2, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP). Still hasn't come out, huh? Is it the weather? Wonder if he's troubled by rheumatizz these days? Or rigor mortis? In his new message to the Iraqi people, his second in days, Saddam ordered his people to "fight" the enemy. He pledged that "victory, thank God, is (near). We have only deployed a third of our army, or even less than a third." "Maybe only a sixth. Or a ninth..." "Fight them ... God will make you victorious. They are criminals, aggressors," Saddam said. "The opportunity is there today to defend religion, honor and principles in the face of the invaders," he said in his message, dated April 1 and read out by a presenter in military uniform. "They're ugly, and we don't like them. Do we?" The speech was greeted by a series of explosions shaking Baghdad during the morning as the southern, western and northwestern outskirts came under new waves of bombing. "Hey! Couldja keep it down? We're givin' a victory speech here, dammit!" On Tuesday, April 1, Saddam called for Jihad and again promised victory, in a speech delivered on Iraqi television by Information Minister Mohammed Said al-Sahhaf. The latest call, the presenter said, was issued to salute the Iraqi armed resistance, especially near Nasiriyah, which lies on the road to Baghdad in southern Iraq. "Our family in Iraq and our courageous armed forces have been confronting the aggressions for the past 12 years," Saddam said. "You are fighting them and have held your ground all this time, inflicting, especially the 11th army, losses on the outskirts of Nasiriyah," he added. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #10 Still hasn't come out, huh? Is it the weather? Wonder if he's troubled by rheumatizz these days? Or rigor mortis? He's got a bad case of maggots. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-04-02 18:59:25 |
| #9 Wasn't Sammy's 11th Army more or lest destroyed by day five? I can't remember - the days all seem the same: Bomb Baghdad, destroy an army, infiltrate a city, blow up a Baath party headquarters - it kinda gets monotonous after a bit... |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-04-02 18:42:16 |
| #8 The speech was greeted by a series of explosions shaking Baghdad during the morning as the southern, western and northwestern outskirts came under new waves of bombing. "Hey! Couldja keep it down? We're givin' a victory speech here, dammit!" LOL Funny. Fun-eeee. |
| Posted by: Celissa 2003-04-02 15:33:45 |
| #7 whoever wrote the above is not far off, but drawing the wrong conclusions. Using only 1/3 of your force, while coalition employs ALL its forces, shows that due to your loss of command and control, and coalition control of the air, you can't concentrate your forces. The regime is sending its troops in piecemeal, to be destroyed. Its most unlikely that the remaining 2/3rds can be concentrated either - most are held down in the north, or near Amara on the Tigris. So it is now clear that the regime cant win outside urban areas, it is slowly losing in the urban areas of the south. Its only chance now (other than WMD) is the "battle of Baghdad" - and Id say its chances in that battle look a lot worse today then they did 3 days ago. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-04-02 14:20:31 |
| #6 " ...but the other 2/3rds all stared at the Ark when Uday opened it and they all melted. So that's a tough break right off the bat." |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-04-02 14:05:03 |
| #5 "The opportunity is there today to defend religion, honor and principles in the face of the invaders. You go do that. I'll be in St. Tropez, on the beach, ah . . . recruiting reinforcements, yeah, that's it." |
| Posted by: Mike 2003-04-02 13:26:22 |
| #4 Required reading for all Ba'athist officials...if they're going to perpetuate the fraud, they could at least entertain us..."Weekend at Sammy's" http://www.amctv.com/show/detail/0,,10688-1-EST,00.html |
| Posted by: mjh 2003-04-02 13:25:57 |
| #3 I am glad he is holding back the other two-thirds, it makes easier for them to desert. |
| Posted by: pj 2003-04-02 13:17:38 |
| #2 The other 2/3 deserted, apparently. |
| Posted by: jrosevear 2003-04-02 13:10:54 |
| #1 Could the call for "Jihad" have been mistaken for an April Fools joke? |
| Posted by: tbn 2003-04-02 13:05:54 |