Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Saddam Thumbs Nose at U.S. > BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- President Saddam Hussein will > lavishly celebrate his 61st birthday Tuesday, appearing > more firmly in control of Iraq than anytime since the > 1991 Gulf War. > > New Saddam statues and portraits were being unveiled > everywhere. Government offices were festooned with > ribbons. Baghdad municipality was sprucing up the city, > and Saddam exhibitions were opening in all major towns. > > The celebrations promised to be as big as in those in > the past, despite the grinding poverty caused by the > U.N. economic embargo imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait > in 1990. The invasion sparked the Gulf War. > > The three Kurdish provinces in northern Iraq outside > government control are unlikely to celebrate. > > On Tuesday, birthday cakes will be cut in every > government ministry and branches of the ruling Baath > party in an annual tradition. The finale will be a > fireworks show in Baghdad. > > The revelry will provide a brief diversion for children > forced by their jobless parents to beg on the city's > streets, or for the families whose children have died > from lack of medicines. Most Iraqis blame the > sanctions, and to many, Saddam remains a hero. > > Saddam was born to a poor family on April 28, 1937, in > the northern town of Tikrit, where the grandest > celebrations will be held. In the big cities, the > highlight will be military parades. . > > ``The streets will be filled with people's mujahideen > (freedom fighters) brandishing their weapons and > singing (Saddam's) praises in defiance of U.S. > arrogance,'' trumpeted the official Alif Ba weekly. > > Saddam has ruled since 1979. Before that, he was in > virtual control as the strongman in late President > Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr's government that seized power in a > 1968 coup. > > Saddam has faced virtually no challenge at home. With > memories of the Gulf War defeat fading, he has become > increasingly bolder in countering U.S. efforts to > isolate his regime. > > This year, the United States and Britain failed to win > international backing for military strikes on Iraq > after it refused to comply with U.N. disarmament > demands. Fellow Security Council's members -- Russia, > France and China -- voted against a military option. > > Tension was defused when Saddam agreed under a Feb. 23 > deal to give U.N. weapons inspectors access to sites > suspected of hiding information on Iraq's weapons of > mass destruction program. > > The Security Council is scheduled to meet Monday to > extend the sanctions, a mandatory move that will > continue indefinitely until U.N. inspectors certify > that Iraq is free of all mass destruction weapons. > > However, there is growing international protest over > the hardships caused by the sanctions on Iraq's 22 > million people. > > On Friday, Russia called for an end to the inspections > of Iraq's suspected nuclear facilities. It cited an > International Atomic Energy Agency report that said > there is no indication that Iraq is constructing > nuclear arms. -- Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
