Saddam Meets Iraqi Air Force Chief Amid U.S. Anti-Iraq Threat

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 29, 2001

Saddam Meets Iraqi Air Force Chief Amid U.S. Anti-Iraq Threat

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on Wednesday met with Iraqi Air Force Commander Hamid Rija Salah and a number of officials in the air force command amid widespread speculations that the United States might soon launch a military campaign against the country.

During the meeting, Salah pledged to Saddam that the pilots and soldiers of the Iraqi air force are ready to carry out any task under the president's order and defend Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.

"Saddam hails the efforts and achievements of the air force fighters, and blesses their keenness to improve their fighting abilities with advanced technical means," the INA said.

Saddam has held frequent meetings recently with his top military aides to discuss the security situation in the country as the U.S. toughened its rhetoric against Iraq since the September 11 terror attacks on the U.S..

In the latest warning to the sworn enemy, U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday demanded Saddam to allow arms inspectors back "to show us that he is not developing weapons of mass destruction."

When asked about the consequences if Iraq rejects, Bush said: "He will find out."

Iraq on Tuesday rebuffed the warning as "arrogant" and vowed not to bow to any threats.

Iraq, who has rejected international arms inspection since it was attacked by the U.S. and Britain in December 1998, insists that the return of arms inspectors hinges on the total lifting of the sanctions.

Iraq has been under sweeping United Nations sanctions since its 1990 invasion of neighboring Kuwait.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that the U.S. could turn attention to Iraq after its military campaign in Afghanistan is over.

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