Iraqis Protest U.S. Airstrikes
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 7:51 p.m. ET
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Thousands of Iraqis marched in the rain Sunday to protest U.S. and British airstrikes, and Iraqi television showed damaged houses and shops in a town where one man was killed when allied missiles hit nearby.
President Saddam Hussein met with his top air defense commander to explore ways of protecting the country from allied attacks in the wake of the raid, which targeted radar and command-and-control sites.
Friday night's strikes around Baghdad -- which killed two people and wounded at least 20 -- have raised strong condemnations from Arab allies of the United States. And Iraq warned that it raised tensions ahead of key talks with the United Nations.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf is due to meet U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan for Feb. 26-27 discussions seen as a chance to restart dialogue on resuming weapons inspections and lifting economic sanctions.
In a letter to Annan and the Security Council, al-Sahhaf said the U.N. chief should ``condemn the dangerous aggression and the increase of tension'' and should take ``speedy steps to prevent such attacks from taking place again,'' the official Iraqi News Agency said Sunday.
The news agency reported Saturday that Saddam ordered the training of about 300,000 volunteers for what he called the Al-Quds -- or Jerusalem -- Army aiming to free Jerusalem from Israeli control.
``If little Bush considers his aggression a message to Iraq, then we have the answer, which is the formation of al-Quds Army ... ready for jihad (holy war) and liberating Palestine,'' the official Iraqi daily Al-Thawra said in a front-page editorial Sunday.
The United States and Britain said the strikes were needed to thwart Iraq's improving capabilities in targeting allied jets patrolling a southern no-fly zone. They said five military facilities were hit.
Democrat and Republican policy experts expressed approval Sunday of the decision to bomb Iraq's air defenses.
``I think they wanted to send a signal to Saddam Hussein that this continued gradual escalation on his side will not be tolerated. And I think most Americans are very supportive of that,'' said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on ``Fox News Sunday.''
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke told CNN's ``Late Edition'' that the strikes were ``well within the bounds of previous policy.''
Sen. Carl Levin, ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, agreed the strikes did not represent a policy change.
``This is a continuation of a policy -- not a very satisfying policy by the way but the best that is available to us probably,'' Levin told ABC's ``This Week.''
Iraq's state-run satellite station repeatedly broadcast footage showing civilian buildings in two towns it said were damaged by the raids.
In the farming village of al-Hafriya, 25 miles south of Baghdad, houses had windows were shown with shattered and doors torn off after a missile struck on the outskirts of town. Two stores, for agricultural supplies and automotive spare parts, suffered similar damage. A 28-year-old man from the town was killed.
``This is an agricultural area and there are no military installations here,'' Fawzia Ibrahim, a resident of one of the damaged houses, told the TV station.
In al-Rashdiya, 12 miles north of the capital, a witness said the missile had landed in a field of mud, softening the explosion.
Foreign media have not been allowed access to the bombed sites. It was not known where the strikes' other reported victim -- a woman -- was from.
More than 2,000 people -- including Deputy Foreign Minister Nabil Najim -- took part in Sunday's protest in central Baghdad, and at least 1,000 others gathered across the city near the offices of the ruling Baath party. ``This dangerous aggression shows how much the Americans and Britons hate Iraqis and do not respect any international law,'' Najim told the demonstrators.
Popular Syrian film star Raghda, who flew to Baghdad on Saturday night, told the crowd: ``Nothing could stop me from coming here. The people of Iraq and children of Iraq are in my heart.''
The demonstration came amid renewed Arab condemnation of the airstrikes.
Egypt, a key U.S. ally that rallied behind the drive to oust Iraqi troops from Kuwait 10 years ago, sent Economy Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali and Public Sector Minister Mokhtar Khattab to Baghdad to show solidarity with Iraq.
``We are here to support the Iraqi people and promote economic and financial relations between our countries,'' Boutros-Ghali told reporters.
In Jordan's parliament, many members lashed out at the United States. Prime Minister Ali Abu-Ragheb told lawmakers: ``The condescending attitude and the use of force will lead to no results, but only incites sentiments...''
In Syria, the state-run newspaper, also called Al-Thawra, called Friday's attack a ``dangerous precedent in international relations.'' Libya and Tunisia in a joint statement called for the lifting of sanctions imposed on Iraq and for the ``immediate cessation to all acts of aggression.''