Newspapers Iraq

Newspapers in Iraq expressed outrage Saturday at U.N. resolutions easing trade sanctions but keeping oil revenue out of Baghdad's hands. But diplomats said President Saddam Hussein and his government have little choice but to comply with Thursday's resolutions. "Is it a Security Council or a house of prostitution?" asked Babil, a newspaper run by Hussein's oldest son.

An Iraqi newspaper on Monday threatened Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for abetting U.S. and British airstrikes on Iraq, as Israel and the United States began a Patriot missile exercise reminiscent of the Persian Gulf War. About 11,000 Iraqis marched Monday in the capital, some burning American, British and Israeli flags and carrying banners declaring that "aggression will not scare us and sanctions will not harm us"--the latest in daily rallies since Friday's attack.

A rush of mixed official signals issuing from Baghdad in the midst of a heavy public relations campaign have heightened anticipation over President Saddam Hussein's next move in the Persian Gulf crisis. In unusually plaintive tones, the state-run Baghdad Observer newspaper published a Christmas Day editorial calling for peace talks. Proposed talks between Baghdad and Washington in advance of the Jan. 15 U.N. deadline for an Iraqi pullout from Kuwait were sidetracked in a dispute over dates.

Newspapers in Iraq expressed outrage Saturday at U.N. resolutions easing trade sanctions but keeping oil revenue out of Baghdad's hands. But diplomats said President Saddam Hussein and his government have little choice but to comply with Thursday's resolutions. "Is it a Security Council or a house of prostitution?" asked Babil, a newspaper run by Hussein's oldest son.

The Iraqi leadership girded itself Saturday for a looming allied ground offensive to drive it from occupied Kuwait as Baghdad's talk of peace gave way to the rhetoric of war. Top Iraqi generals boasted of their war preparations, baiting the allies to abandon their "cowardly" air war.

"It was all blood, blood, blood," exclaimed a Monday report in Iraq's government newspaper. After a two-week media blackout on the country's bonfire of rebellion, Saddam Hussein's embattled regime is staging a wide-open campaign to turn public opinion against the insurgents. For the second straight morning, Baghdad dailies splashed photos and stories of the burgeoning civil warfare across their front pages.

An Iraqi newspaper on Monday threatened Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for abetting U.S. and British airstrikes on Iraq, as Israel and the United States began a Patriot missile exercise reminiscent of the Persian Gulf War. About 11,000 Iraqis marched Monday in the capital, some burning American, British and Israeli flags and carrying banners declaring that "aggression will not scare us and sanctions will not harm us"--the latest in daily rallies since Friday's attack.

Given the circumstances, it seemed a curious story to get such prominent display in the Iraqi capital's only English-language newspaper. The main news of the day, trumpeted in a headline just beneath the daily photograph of President Saddam Hussein, was: "Bush Seeks Friends' Help to Cover Gulf Buildup Costs." Nearby was an account of the Iraqi leader's extraordinary, televised session with his Western hostages.

The Baghdad Observer, the Iraqi government's English-language daily, Monday changed its new policy on front-page photographs of President Saddam Hussein. Earlier this month, the editorial staff decided not to carry Hussein's picture unless the president had done something newsworthy the previous day. But Monday it ran a photo with a caption reading only "President Saddam Hussein." The president's name did not appear anywhere else in the four-page newspaper.

President Saddam Hussein has told Iraqi journalists to write what they like, and he promised to take the blame for any mistakes they might make, an Iraqi newspaper said Friday. "Write what you like. If you get it right, you take the credit. If you get it wrong, I'll take the blame," he told a five-hour meeting of journalists, writers and intellectuals Tuesday. Al Thawra, the newspaper of the ruling Arab Baath Socialist Party, gave the first account of the meeting in a front-page editorial.

A Kuwaiti military tribunal resumed trials Saturday for 24 people accused of working for an Iraqi-run newspaper, and the prosecution for the first time produced witnesses to bolster its case. Among the 24 defendants is a Kuwaiti journalist, Ibtissam Dekhil, accused of writing columns supporting the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait and attempting to recruit her colleagues to work for the Iraqi-controlled Al Nidaa newspaper. Testifying against her were three other Kuwaiti journalists.

The Baghdad Observer, the Iraqi government's English-language daily, Monday changed its new policy on front-page photographs of President Saddam Hussein. Earlier this month, the editorial staff decided not to carry Hussein's picture unless the president had done something newsworthy the previous day. But Monday it ran a photo with a caption reading only "President Saddam Hussein." The president's name did not appear anywhere else in the four-page newspaper.

President Saddam Hussein has told Iraqi journalists to write what they like, and he promised to take the blame for any mistakes they might make, an Iraqi newspaper said Friday. "Write what you like. If you get it right, you take the credit. If you get it wrong, I'll take the blame," he told a five-hour meeting of journalists, writers and intellectuals Tuesday. Al Thawra, the newspaper of the ruling Arab Baath Socialist Party, gave the first account of the meeting in a front-page editorial.

"It was all blood, blood, blood," exclaimed a Monday report in Iraq's government newspaper. After a two-week media blackout on the country's bonfire of rebellion, Saddam Hussein's embattled regime is staging a wide-open campaign to turn public opinion against the insurgents. For the second straight morning, Baghdad dailies splashed photos and stories of the burgeoning civil warfare across their front pages.

The Iraqi leadership girded itself Saturday for a looming allied ground offensive to drive it from occupied Kuwait as Baghdad's talk of peace gave way to the rhetoric of war. Top Iraqi generals boasted of their war preparations, baiting the allies to abandon their "cowardly" air war.

A rush of mixed official signals issuing from Baghdad in the midst of a heavy public relations campaign have heightened anticipation over President Saddam Hussein's next move in the Persian Gulf crisis. In unusually plaintive tones, the state-run Baghdad Observer newspaper published a Christmas Day editorial calling for peace talks. Proposed talks between Baghdad and Washington in advance of the Jan. 15 U.N. deadline for an Iraqi pullout from Kuwait were sidetracked in a dispute over dates.

A Kuwaiti military tribunal resumed trials Saturday for 24 people accused of working for an Iraqi-run newspaper, and the prosecution for the first time produced witnesses to bolster its case. Among the 24 defendants is a Kuwaiti journalist, Ibtissam Dekhil, accused of writing columns supporting the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait and attempting to recruit her colleagues to work for the Iraqi-controlled Al Nidaa newspaper. Testifying against her were three other Kuwaiti journalists.

The Sudanese government again denied that Iraqi Scud missiles are stationed in Sudan for use against Egypt or Saudi Arabia. Information Minister Abdallah Mohammed Ahmed specifically criticized a report on ABC's "World News Tonight" that quoted diplomatic sources and Western relief workers as saying that Iraq has positioned combat aircraft and surface-to-surface missiles at strategic sites across Sudan, the official Sudan News Agency said.

Given the circumstances, it seemed a curious story to get such prominent display in the Iraqi capital's only English-language newspaper. The main news of the day, trumpeted in a headline just beneath the daily photograph of President Saddam Hussein, was: "Bush Seeks Friends' Help to Cover Gulf Buildup Costs." Nearby was an account of the Iraqi leader's extraordinary, televised session with his Western hostages.