US pushing world towards blood filled pit says Saddam

American aggression toward Afghanistan was pushing the world toward a pit ‘‘filled with blood and tragedies,’’ Iraqi President Saddam Hussein warned today.

In his third open letter since the September 11 terror attacks, Saddam said the US was pushing the world toward a deep pit from which it will not leave until ‘‘that pit is filled with blood and tragedies.’’

‘‘The world needs to abort the United States’ aggressive schemes, including its aggression on the Afghan people, which must be stopped,’’ said the letter that Saddam addressed to the people and governments of the United States and the West.

Saddam, one of America’s most ardent foes, said the West has failed to assess the reasons behind the attacks on New York and Washington. US foreign policy was to blame, he said.

‘‘Injustice and the pressure that results from it on people leads to explosions and the events of September 11 should be seen on this basis,’’ Saddam said.

A newspaper owned by Saddam’s son Odai Hussein predicted today that the United States would attack Iraq by the year’s end.

‘‘Bush, the son’’ will try to settle the unfinished business left by his father who was not able to overthrow Iraq’s government during the 1991 Gulf War, Babil wrote in a front-page editorial.