A senior Iraqi official is threatening that Iraq will carry out suicide attacks against Americans in this country and the region if the US carries through with its threats to strike Iraq.
"Martyrs, perpetrators of suicide attacks, are our new weapons, and they will not only take action in Iraq," Taha Yassin Ramadan, a vice president who is considered among the nation's top two officials after President Saddam Hussein, is quoted as saying in the new issue of the German magazine Der Spiegel. "The whole region will be set ablaze. This part of the world will become a sea of resistance and danger for Americans."
Saddam also repeated warnings that American soldiers would be killed before being able to enter Baghdad, the capital.
"The enemy will not enter Baghdad's suburbs because he will die," he told top military commanders on Friday night, according to the state press. "Even if they send a million soldiers, our boys will kill them."
The Iraqis' comments came amid heightened talk of war both here and in Washington, with US President Bush George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair warning that time was running out for Iraq to give up the illegal weapons they say it has.
For the last two weeks, Saddam has appeared regularly on state television in a display of the nation's preparations for war. On Friday night, he discussed with military officials the way he expected American soldiers to carry out any invasion: by landing in the desert and moving to take the capital.
Echoing recent comments from other top officials, he repeated that any bombing campaign could be devastating, though he said it would not defeat Iraq.
"When the enemy lands, he ensures air protection," he said. "And when you attack to destroy him, he will destroy you with his air forces."
"The force which counters an enemy landing must be close to it," he advised the commanders. "For that, we have to spread troops across the desert at the risk of exposing them to enemy fire, and our training must be carried out in line with this theory. Otherwise it will not be realistic."
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city
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