Hussein called on his people to rise up and defend the nation against a new U.S.-led attack

MOSCOW, January 17 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The United States will provide fresh evidence that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction and believes that UN resolutions provide sufficient authority for the U.S. to take military action, the U.S. ambassador to Moscow, Alexander Vershbow, said Friday, January 17.

"We believe that there is already enough in existing resolutions to underpin various actions against Iraq, including military" if Iraq should fail to prove that it has completely disarmed,” the envoy told reporters, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"The U.S. will certainly provide inspectors with additional information based on the considerable evidence that we have that Saddam continues to possess weapons of mass destruction," Vershbow told reporters.

"My own government will be presenting additional facts," he said.

Warning that Washington was "preparing for a possible military operation," he said the United States "hopes Saddam takes us very serious. So far his cooperation has been minimal and largely passive."

"This is really Saddam's last chance to comply with the international community as expressed through the Security Council," he said.

He stressed, however, that war was "not inevitable."

Washington claims that UN resolutions currently provide sufficient authorization to justify strikes on Iraq.

Russia and France insist that a second UN resolution should be passed before strikes can be authorized.

U.S. to Rule Iraq to ‘Protect’ Oil Fields

The U.S. military will likely rule Iraq for several months after a possible war, with the chief mission of ‘protecting’ the country's oil fields and preventing rival factions from tearing the country apart, the Washington Post reported Friday.

Citing an almost finished government blueprint that has yet to be presented to President George W. Bush, the daily said Washington does not intend to install a government of opposition figures in Iraq, but its members would be given chances to prove themselves as prospective Iraqi leaders.

It also intends to call for the prosecution of Iraq's top civilian and military leaders for war crimes and other offenses. The fate of lesser ranking officials would be made later by Iraqis, the paper said.

Iraqis relegated to advisory roles in the immediate postwar period would gradually be given greater roles, but would not regain control of their country for a year or more, U.S. officials familiar with the blueprint told the daily.

U.S. forces, which will probably remain under the command of Army Lieutenant General David McKiernan, would likely stay at full strength in Iraq for months, with a continued role for thousands of U.S. troops there for years to come.

In the initial post-war phase, the troops would maintain stability and search for weapons of mass destruction, the officials said.

To prevent the partition of Iraq, the U.S. military is expected to maintain a show of force in the Kurdish-dominated north and the Shiite Muslim-populated south, the officials said.

The plan has been under development for months and indicates a readiness to make a significant, long-term commitment of manpower and money in Iraq, the daily said.

The U.S. officials, however, stressed that there is much uncertainty over how the Iraqi situation will evolve and the plan could change depending especially on how Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ends his rule, AFP said.

In reference to a United Nations role in a post-war Iraq, U.S. officials said the United States is wary of having it assume management of Iraq because it lacks experience in such an ambitious project.

The officials said they are mulling a plan to designate a non-military person outside the U.S. administration who commands international respect to focus on economic and political reconstruction issues in Iraq.

Under ‘calmer’ conditions in Iraq, in what U.S. officials said would be a second phase in the post-war blueprint, international relief agencies would be invited to help deal with the potential refugee flow and food shortages.

Saddam Warns U.S. will Face "Suicide"

In a speech to the nation to mark the 12th anniversary of the outbreak of the Gulf War, the 65-year-old Iraq President vowed Friday to confront any attack on Iraq, warning that the United States faced "suicide" if it were to invade his country, AFP said.

Hussein called on his people to rise up and defend the nation against a new U.S.-led attack.

"The people and rulers of Baghdad have resolved to compel the Mongols of this age to commit suicide on its walls," Saddam said in reference to U.S. forces and the Mongol invaders who sacked Baghdad for 40 days in 1285.

"Everyone who tries to climb over its wall, be they an aggressor, insolent, wicked, perfidious or an oppressor will fail in their attempt.

"And for this, we have prepared our plans and muster our strength at the level of the army, people and leadership, after placing our reliance on God," Saddam said.