Defiant Saddam declares Iraq ready for war

A DEFIANT Iraqi President Saddam Hussein yesterday declared his country ready for war and issued his first public criticism of UN weapons inspectors, accusing them of engaging in “pure intelligence work”.

In a 25-minute televised message on Army Day, Saddam dismissed US threats to disarm Iraq by force as “clamour, commotion and hysteria” aimed at diverting attention from US domestic and foreign policy failures, and the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

“As we monitor the hiss of snakes and bark of dogs accompanied by continued aggression in the north and south of the country, we act with the confidence of the assured whose actions are not hurried or confused,” he said. “Here, we have prepared for everything.”