- BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi
domestic television showed footage of President Saddam Hussein on Wednesday,
smiling and laughing with members of his cabinet.
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- Saddam was wearing military uniform in the footage. The
president and his ministers appeared to be in a bare, closed room, with
no windows or curtains.
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- Iraqi television earlier reported that Saddam had chaired
a meeting of top officials, including his two sons Uday and Qusay. No pictures
of that meeting were shown and there was no independent confirmation that
it had occurred.
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- In the past 24 hours, as U.S. and British planes bombarded
Baghdad for a 14th day, two messages attributed to Saddam were read out
on Iraqi television, one by a presenter and one by a minister.
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- There has been intense speculation about Saddam's fate
since U.S. bombs targeted him on the first night of the war on March 20.
Long obsessed with his own security, Saddam, 65, hardly ever appears in
public or on live television.
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- State television has shown Saddam addressing the nation
twice since then, and also shown him in meetings with his top officials
and his two sons. But it has not been possible to say when any of the footage
was taped.
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- In an interview with France 2 television recorded earlier
on Wednesday, Uday al-Taei, a senior information ministry official, said:
"He is still alive, he is in our hearts, he is our president."
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- Asked what proof he had of that, he added: "It is
not a question of proof. This is what I am telling."
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- In a message read on Tuesday by Iraq's information minister,
Saddam said jihad (holy war) was a religious duty and he urged his people
to fight invading U.S. and British troops.
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- "Hit them. Fight them. They are evil aggressors
damned by God. You are victorious and they are defeated," the message
said.
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- Early on Wednesday, a second statement read on Iraq's
satellite channel quoted Saddam as saying: "Victory is within our
reach... we have used only one third of our army or even less while the
criminals have used up all of the forces they brought to commit aggression
against Iraq."
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- A television presenter said Saddam was offering a 10
million dinar (approx. $3,120) reward for anyone catching an enemy agent
or providing information that led to their capture.
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