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Iraq under 'blanket of fear'
15/08/2003 22:16 - (SA)
Baghdad, Iraq - The commander of coalition forces in Iraq said on Friday that a "blanket of fear" would hang over the Iraqi people until Saddam Hussein is captured or killed.
Speaking with Associated Press Television News, Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez said finding Saddam would help end the guerrilla resistance, which has killed 60 Americans since May 1.
"I believe that as long as Saddam is out there, and we can't positively either kill him or capture him, there will remain a blanket of fear over the Iraqi people," he said. "If we can accomplish that task then it will be a significant turning point in the belief ... of the Iraqi people that that regime will never come back."
In a Shi'ite Muslim slum in northeast Baghdad, an imam at Friday prayers equated the American occupation with Saddam's brutal repression of the Shi'ite majority. An estimated 25 000 people jammed the mosque and environs.
His sermon was heavy with references to an incident on Wednesday in which a US Black Hawk helicopter appeared to have purposely blown down a Shi'ite religious banner from a communications tower, sparking a melee in which one Iraqi was killed and four were injured.
The Americans said the dead man had fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a US Humvee and was killed when soldiers returned fire.
Abdul al-Hadi al-Daraji, preaching at the Ahil al-Bait mosque in Sadr City, stopped short of calling for an uprising against Americans but said their occupation was driven by greed for Iraqi oil.
"The Iraqi people should be aware of the fact that America is not a charity organisation that works to liberate the Arabs and the Muslims. American needs Iraq for its resources," al-Daraji said.
After the events in the poor neighbourhood, an American commander issued an apology to the people of the former Saddam City, saying he was investigating and would punish those found responsible.
Also on Friday, the US Army began training an Iraqi militia force to take up civil defense duties and pave the way for US forces to leave Iraq eventually.
Fifty young men hand-picked by tribal leaders started three weeks of intensive training in the northern town of Tikrit at one of Saddam's main palaces, which is now headquarters for the 4th Infantry Division.
Lt Col Steve Russell said similar training programs were expected to begin in other cities across Iraq shortly.
"Our goal is that you will take our place and take over the security of your own people," Russell told recruits and tribal leaders. "We are training you to be the leaders of a larger force that we will be creating in the coming months."
The militia will start off working with US soldiers in joint patrols, but eventually will be responsible for defending key infrastructure and government buildings, Russell said.
The founding members of the new militia will be paid $125 a month - more than twice the salary of former Iraqi soldiers - and are expected to commit to working in the civil defence force for a minimum of a year, Russell said.
The US military reported two crew members of an Apache helicopter were injured 15km outside Tikrit when their aircraft made an emergency landing during a maintenance test flight on Thursday. Both were hospitalized in serious but stable condition, a spokesperson said.
- AP
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