U.S. Forces Continue to Press North Toward Baghdad

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein tried to reassure his followers in an address broadcast today that Iraqi resistance would “dishearten the aggressor” as American and British forces battled Iraqi troops for control of cities and essential supply lines in the southern part of the country.
Despite reports that he may have been gravely wounded in last week’s attacks on his compound, Hussein spoke strongly, labeling foreign invaders the “evil ones” and calling on Iraqis to repel the enemy.
The message appeared to be taped, and U.S. officials refused to say whether they thought it was recent or recorded before the battle began. But Hussein referred to specific battles in recent days and praised military commanders by name. As British forces took positions around Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city, Hussein said, “I tell our beloved in Basra, ‘Patience, brothers, for victory is close at hand.'”
U.S. forces continued to press north toward Baghdad, where a significant confrontation is expected with the Republican Guard-considered to be more loyal, disciplined and better-trained than regular Iraqi army units operating in the south.
A punishing air campaign designed to weaken Republican Guard units is underway outside Baghdad, U.S. military briefers said this morning in Doha, Qatar.
Gen. Tommy Franks, the chief commander in the war theater, said allied forces are still choosing which units to target, while holding discussions with some enemy commanders. He said “many” orders issued by Iraq’s military leadership have gone unobeyed since the war began.
As U.S. generals gather forces for a battle for Baghdad and British units converge on Basra, allied commanders are bracing for difficult combat in urban areas where the invaders’ firepower advantage is reduced. They are also anticipating further trouble toward the rear, particularly from paramilitaries, including militias loyal to Hussein’s oldest son Uday.
In the race toward Baghdad and the principal goal of overthrowing Hussein and his top command, Franks acknowledged that U.S. and British forces have left themselves vulnerable to attacks from behind. He noted that Iraqi soldiers and militias are “milling about” in southern Iraq, where they can do further damage.
Over the weekend, Iraqis faked surrenders, staged ambushes and employed other guerrilla tactics to capture or kill American troops. Franks said the Americans had “intentionally bypassed enemy formations. You can expect that our cleanup operations are going to be ongoing. It isn’t that we don’t know where they are.”
Iraqis shot down an Apache helicopter that was hunting enemy units, the U.S. briefers in Qatar said. The crew is reported missing.
U.S. troops flowed into northern Iraq as the Pentagon prepared to establish a second front. Unable to move armored forces through Turkey because of the refusal of the Turkish government to permit it, the Americans used cargo aircraft to ferry troops into the Kurdish-controlled region.
Hussein’s appearance on Iraqi television seemed to undermine Bush administration hopes that he was killed or knocked out of commission by last week’s assault with cruise missiles and guided bombs. Much of his speech was devoted to boilerplate criticism of U.S. and British ambitions.
But Hussein also referred to the battle for the Persian Gulf port of Umm Qasr and named other towns where fighting has taken place. He emphasized the Iraqi strategy of defeating what U.S. planners hope will be a rapid and decisive campaign into a war of attrition.
“Iraqi fighters of all ranks are inflicting serious loses on the enemy. The enemy is trying to shorten [the war] to contain his crisis and we are extending it and making it worse . . . until he chokes and is defeated, cursed and terrified,” Hussein said, according to a transcript produced by Reuters.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said it remained unclear whether Hussein’s address was new or among the recordings that U.S. intelligence believes were recorded by him ahead of the war.
“We don’t know when it was recorded, how old it may be, whether it was new,” said Fleischer, who told reporters that the tape would be analyzed closely. “But that’s only one half of the puzzle, because even if it’s his voice, it doesn’t give you any indication about when it was taped.”