- BAGHDAD (Reuters) - President Saddam Hussein
has vowed in a letter that Iraqi forces will stop U.S.-led invaders advancing
on Baghdad and will drive them out of Iraq, state television reported on
Thursday.
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- "Damn them, and by God, there will be thousands
of soldiers fighting for what is right, virtue and faith in defense of
the land of prophets and holy places, of belief and devotion," it
quoted Saddam as writing in a letter to his niece on April 1 .
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- "They (Iraqi soldiers) will not let them reach Baghdad.
They will cripple them until they return to their countries defeated, leaving
our country for its people," Saddam was quoted as telling his niece,
Thurayyah Barzan.
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- U.S. forces thrust to within 20 miles of Baghdad on Wednesday,
smashing two of Saddam's elite Republican Guard divisions that blocked
their way, military sources said.
-
- The United States and Britain launched their war on Iraq
on March 20 to topple Saddam over his alleged possession of weapons of
mass destruction. Iraq denies having such arms and so far none have been
found.
-
- Iraqi television on Wednesday showed Saddam smiling and
laughing in a meeting with ministers, hours after speculation swirled around
world financial markets that he might be dead or wounded.
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- It was unclear whether the pictures were new and the
new footage did nothing to diminish such rumors.
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- Thurayyah was quoted in a letter to Saddam, also read
out on television, as saying she would fight the invaders if they reached
Baghdad.
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- "This war is not like previous wars. It is truly
a jihad (holy war) for the sake of God and the nation. It is a war between
Muslims and infidels," said her letter dated March 31.
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