US poised for night attack

By Jim Caldwell

President George W Bush gave the Iraqi leader 48 hours until early tomorrow morning Baghdad time to flee with his sons or face removal at the hands of the 280,000 US and British troops massed around his borders.

Saddam yesterday appeared on television in military uniform for the first time since the 1991 Gulf War and warned his commanders to prepare for battle.

Mobilised by a televised appeal, thousands of demonstrators swept into the streets of the Iraqi capital to show their support for Saddam. Waving pictures of Saddam, the protesters promised to give Saddam, their "blood and souls".

Saddam told his Cabinet he would emerge the victor despite Mr Bush's determination to depose him, dismantle his government and rebuild a new, more democratic Iraq.

"The meeting stressed that Iraq and all its sons were fully ready to confront the invading aggressors and repel them," the television announcer said, reading a Cabinet statement.

"The wives and mothers of those Americans who will fight us will weep blood, not tears," Saddam's elder son, Uday, said.

In the final day before hostilities, the US military continued bombarding Iraqi units with leaflets, broadcasts and e-mails urging them to surrender.

UN arms inspectors left Iraq yesterday. French and Greek envoys also pulled out, leaving few diplomats in Baghdad, whose people prepared for the worst. Impoverished by UN sanctions since 1990, people stocked up on food and other essentials.

Pregnant women crowded maternity wards asking for Caesarean surgery rather than face giving birth in crowded bomb shelters.

Several thousand Iraqis, including women waving pistols, marched through Baghdad in a government-organised demonstration and urged a jihad against invaders. About 120 Western peace activists, volunteer human shields, were still in Iraq, scattered around sites near Baghdad, including an oil refinery, food silo and power stations.

Meanwhile, US troops in the Kuwaiti desert packed their gear and made final preparations for an invasion. Soldiers packed tents and kits to move to new positions in readiness for the imminent assault.

Some 280,000 US and British troops are massed in the region, ready to inflict a massive bombardment on Iraq's largely ill-equipped forces and to drive deep into the country in a rapid helicopter and tank assault.

Irish soldiers were ordered home yesterday as the UN scrambled to dismantle its base on the border between Iraq and Kuwait and scrap its monitoring operation there.

The five officers are part of UNIKOM, the UN observers' mission set up immediately after the previous Gulf War when Iraqi forces were driven out of Kuwait. They are expected to arrive in Ireland some time today.

"The UN is 99% certain that US and British forces are on the point of overrunning their positions in preparation for an assault on Saddam Hussein's forces," a source said yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Government is facing major political and public opposition to any move to allow the US military continued use of Shannon Airport without a UN mandate. The Cabinet will review the Government's position on Shannon at a meeting this afternoon. It is expected an official motion will be formulated to put to the special Dáil meeting tomorrow.

Opposition parties say they will oppose any motion that would allow the US military use Shannon without a UN mandate.

"The Taoiseach will have to face up to some legal and moral issues to make a decision on pragmatic grounds would be reprehensible," said Labour leader Pat Rabbitte.