http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=564&e=3&u=/nm/20030306/ts_n
m/iraq_usa_uniforms_dc

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has ordered uniforms replicating those worn
by U.S. and British troops and will issue them to paramilitary fighters who
would attack Iraqi civilians and blame it on Western forces, the U.S.
Central Command charged on Thursday.


A command spokesman said in a statement that U.S. intelligence had obtained
the information, but refused to say how such intelligence was gathered or
provide any details.


The accusation was another in a series of allegations that have been made by
Washington in a war of words with Saddam as tension grows ahead of a
possible U.S.-led invasion of Iraq to rid that country of alleged chemical
and biological weapons.


"Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has ordered the procurement of military
uniforms identical down to the last detail to those of the United States and
United Kingdom forces" now gathered in the Gulf, said James Wilkinson, a
senior spokesman for Central Command.


"Saddam intends to issue these uniforms to 'Fedayeen Saddam' troops who
would wear them when conducting reprisals against the Iraqi people so that
they could pass the atrocities off as the work of the United States and the
United Kingdom."


A "fact sheet" provided by Central Command, which is headquartered in Tampa,
Florida, and has responsibility for any war in Iraq, said that Fedayeen
Saddam, or "Men of Sacrifice," has a strength of more than 15,000 and was
founded by Saddam's son, Uday, in 1994.


Many members of the organization are in their teens and recruited in areas
noted for loyalty to Iraq's president, according to Central Command.


"Though not an elite force, the group does deal with unrest during an
emergency," it added. "The force carries out patrols and anti-smuggling
duties and is separate from the army command, reporting directly to the
presidential palace."


The Pentagon has also charged that Saddam is putting military targets near
civilian sites and may be planning a "scorched earth" policy of setting fire
to oil fields and destroying power plants and food stocks in any conflict,
then blaming that on any attackers.


"This campaign of fear and misinformation would represent the latest chapter
in Saddam Hussein's long history of brutal crimes against the innocent
people of Iraq," Wilkinson said.





xponent
Sneaky Maru
rob

smart patrol
nowhere to go
suburban robots that monitor reality
common stock
we work around the clock
we shove the poles in the holes



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