Baghdad, Feb 08: Iraqis are stoically bracing for an armed confrontation with the United States, carrying out public safety and defence drills and stocking up supplies to help them survive what could be a punishing US military onslaught. President Saddam Hussein has been conferring with his aides on a daily basis besides listening to war preparations, giving out instructions and discussing resistance strategies, which could include urban combat to confront invading US troops. Officers, taking written notes, declare that they are working night and day in collaboration with the ruling Baath Party to get ready for the attack, which Washington has threatened to carry out on the grounds that Saddam has refused to abandon weapons of mass destruction.

Saddam has called on Iraqi troops to learn from suicide bombers and to be ready to give their lives to resist the invading Americans. Thousands of civilian volunteers are in training around the country in hopes of becoming an urban defence force to back regular troops in major cities and towns.

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Government ministries and public offices have also begun preparedness drills, planning for power cuts and forming committees to administer ground floor shelters. Iraqi citizens, no strangers to lean times in a country that has been under harsh UN economic sanctions since 1990, have been crowding supermarkets and shops to stock up on food, medicine and fuel.

Bureau Report