Saddam makes television appearance
The meeting was aired less than three hours after a coalition warplane fired missiles into Saddam's main presidential compound in Baghdad's city centre. It was the first time Uday, who heads the Fedayeen Saddam paramilitary militia and runs media outlets, was seen since the war began.
The meeting was also attended by Saddam's younger son and heir apparent, Qusay, who heads the elite Republican Guard, as well as Defence Minister Sultan Hashim, Air Force Commander Hamid Shallah, Military Industrialisation Minister Abdel Tawwab Mulla Huwaish and his deputy, Muzahem al-Hassan.
Some military analysts believe Saddam has set up a system giving his most trusted lieutenants and local tribal leaders the power to mount a guerrilla campaign or other military measures without waiting for his orders.
The Iraqi dictator reorganised his chain of command before the war so that he need not give every order and thus make himself vulnerable to US electronic detection. American officials, however, see the absence of Saddam’s strong hand on the battlefield as a sign that he may be dead or wounded. Although Saddam may not be issuing all the orders, his prediction of a tough ground fight is on the mark, and his defensive measures appear to be paying off.
“I don’t know whether the leader of this regime is dead or alive,” US war commander Gen Tommy Franks said in Doha, Qatar. “I have not seen credible evidence over the last period of days that this regime is being controlled from the top.”
Five days before the war began, the Iraqi government announced Saddam had divided the country into four military regions under the command of his son Qusai and three of his most trusted lieutenants.
