Saddam Issues 'No-Fly Zone' Warning
Aug. 8 -- A day after U.S. and allied planes bombed Iraqi defense systems, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein today warned the United States against continuing to police the "no-fly zones" over his war-ravaged country.
Speaking on the 13th anniversary of end of the Iran-Iraq war, Saddam said the Iraqi people would not tolerate U.S. and coalition flights over the no-fly zones.
"If you care that your pilots and your aircraft are notharmed by the weapons of the spirited freedom-fighters of greatIraq, then take your aircraft and battleships and go home," he said in a televised speech.
On Tuesday, Iraqi forces fired surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft guns at U.S. and coalition aircraft. The United States and Britain responded by attacking Iraqi defense systems around the town of Mosul in the northern no-fly zone.
Iraq considers the no-fly zones to be illegal and has often tried to shoot down allied planes.
Tuesday's firing was the eighth such incident in the northern no-fly zone since Jan. 1.
No Sign of Successor
Addressing the nation more than a decade after Iraq signed a cease-fire agreement with Iran after an intractable eight-year war, Saddam said the United States and Britain were using the Iraqi defensive systems as a pretext to attack the country.
"Do you know the pretext this time? [Washington] is sayingIraq is threatening American aircraft of aggression, which breakinto its air-space and trespass on its skies, sovereignty, land,people and wealth," he said.
He was referring to what his administration considers "pretexts" to launch the 1991 Gulf War and subsequent sanctions and raids on Iraq.
Although experts were watching today's speech for any signs of the Iraqi leader hinting at a successor, a healthy-looking Saddam shed no light on the issue.
Saddam's eldest son Uday was seriously injured in a failed assassination attempt a few years ago. His other son, Qusay, headsthe army's elite Republican Guard.
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