Saddam - 'Forces of evil' will fail

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Ever defiant, Saddam Hussein organized a big military parade Thursday and then warned "the forces of evil" not to attack Iraq as he sought once more to shift the debate away from world demands that he live up to agreements that ended the Gulf War.

The Bush administration has threatened to use military force to oust Hussein, who has barred U.N. weapons inspectors from returning to the country. Iraq remains under tight U.N. sanctions until inspectors certify Hussein no longer has chemical, nuclear or biological weapons or the missiles to deliver them.

The sanctions were imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, eventually touching off the 1991 war.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday that the Iraqi government hadn't given "an inch" toward meeting U.N. demands for the return of the inspectors. "I don't see any change in attitude," he said.

In a televised speech on the anniversary of the end of the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war, Saddam said "the forces of evil" -- a reference to the United States and its chief ally, Britain -- will "die in disgraceful failure" if they attack Iraq.

Hussein said the real issue was not Iraqi behavior, but the U.N. Security Council's refusal to respond to his questions about the inspections.

"The right way is that the Security Council should reply to the questions raised by Iraq and should honor its obligations under its own resolutions," Hussein said. "There is no other choice for those who use threat and aggression."

Talks collapsed

Iraq submitted 19 questions to Annan in March when talks began on the possible return of inspectors. The talks have since collapsed, and the Security Council, where the United States holds veto power, has issued no response.

Earlier Thursday, about 15,000 members of Hussein's Jerusalem Army marched through Baghdad in a 90-minute display of support for the president. Dressed in khaki uniforms and armed with Kalashnikov rifles, the marchers carried photographs of Hussein and placards with slogans such as "Long live Saddam!" and "Down with U.S.A!"

Iraqi demonstrations

In the past week, as rhetoric has heated up on all sides of the Iraq issue, Hussein has organized several demonstrations by the Jerusalem Army, a force of men, women and children that he set up in 2000 to drive the Israelis out of Jerusalem. Since it was established, the army has trained and marched in Baghdad.

A White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, said Hussein's speech did not alter President Bush's view of Iraq in the slightest. "The Iraqi government needs to comply with the responsibilities it agreed to at the end of the Gulf War," he told reporters.

Iraq's strategy is to avoid war with the United States by strengthening ties with its neighbors and appearing open to some level of international weapons' inspections, said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Urban fighting

If war comes, Iraq's best option is to try to force the United States to fight it in the cities, the official said. Hussein knows the high civilian casualties caused by urban combat is distasteful to the Americans and their European allies. Urban warfare also limits the utility of precision air strikes, as U.S. bombers try to avoid collateral damage to civilian buildings.

While the United States says it has reached no decision on attacking Iraq, Washington has nearly 10,000 troops in Kuwait and heavy equipment and warplanes at bases in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. There is substantial U.S. naval and air power on aircraft carriers in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.

Despite Washington's argument that Hussein is a danger to all, U.S. allies in Europe and the Arab world are cool to launching an attack on Iraq.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud on Wednesday said the United States would not have access to Saudi facilities for an attack and affirmed the kingdom's opposition to an incursion.

European opposition

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has warned that a U.S. attack could wreck the international coalition against terrorism and throw the Middle East into turmoil. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, considered Washington's strongest ally, faces strong opposition to a move against Iraq.

Wednesday, Vice President Cheney said if Hussein is not stopped, "it's the judgment of many of us that, in the not-too-distant future, he will acquire nuclear weapons."

Cheney said he was skeptical the return of U.N. inspectors, whom Iraq has refused access since 1998, would solve the problem of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

There have been no inspectors in Iraq since 1998 when, complaining of lack of cooperation from the Iraqis, U.N. inspectors left just ahead of allied airstrikes to punish Iraq for blocking inspections.