Saddam tells troops to swim

2003-03-06 17:00

Baghdad - President Saddam Hussein has ordered Iraqi troops to go swimming as they wait for the long-threatened US attack, Iraqi newspapers said on Thursday.

Regular swimming would improve their physical condition ready for the fight ahead, said Saddam, who is noted as a keen amateur swimmer himself.

"Don't forget swimming," the president told a meeting of army officers and lower ranks, according to the reports.

"When we were like you, we did not limit our time swimming to one, two or three hours, but we swam as often as we could," he added.

Saddam said that the soldiers "should learn to swim and show endurance and perseverence so that the combatant can spend a whole day in the water".

He noted that it was "easier to swim in the sea than in a river, because of the salinity".

Saddam has been seen several times on television swimming across the Tigris river, which runs through Baghdad.

The Euphrates is the other main river in Iraq, whose only coast is a narrow outlet into the Gulf.

The Iraqi leader has stepped up meetings with military personnel in recent weeks as the prospect of a US-led attack looms ever closer.

At the meetings, he has repeatedly urged the armed forces to improve their physical fitness.

A few weeks ago he told them to work on their speed so they could hit targets in enemy territory, saying an estimate by officers that they could cover 75km in 17 hours, including a two-hour break, was not enough.

Saddam has also issued decrees that would cut in half the salaries of overweight government officials and army officers.

- AFP