CIA Says Voice on Audiotape 'Most Likely' Saddam's

[Jay ay Beee]

http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3049036

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The CIA confirmed on Monday that an audiotape aired on Arab television last week allegedly of Saddam Hussein urging Iraqis to support resistance to U.S. forces, probably was authentic.

CIA spokesman Bill Harlow said the quality of the audiotape aired on July 4 by al Jazeera was too poor to be absolutely certain that it was Saddam's voice.

"But the CIA's assessment, after a technical analysis of the tape, is that it is most likely his voice," he said, adding that the date of the recording could not be determined.

It was the first real proof that Saddam had survived the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. He has not been seen in public since being ousted from power in early April.

Addressing the Iraqi people, the voice on the tape said: "I urge you to protect the heroic resistance fighters and not to give the infidel invaders or their aides any information or help."

The recording also mocked the Americans' failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which Washington gave as the main justification of the war.

The tape, which was aired on American Independence Day, said Saddam was in Iraq with a "comrade."

The tape was aired one day after the United States offered a $25 million bounty for information leading to Saddam's capture or for providing evidence of his death. Smaller rewards were offered for his two sons.

The tape, which was full of classical Arabic idioms and laden with the Islamic rallying cry "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest), bore the hallmarks of Saddam's style.

A U.S. intelligence official said the rhetoric, style and substance of the message on the tape was consistent with previous messages by the ousted Iraqi leader.

GUERRILLA ATTACKS

The tape urged Iraqis to protect those fighting the U.S. occupation of their country. "The next few days, God willing, will be arduous for the infidel invaders and honorable for the faithful," it said.

The voice on the tape said the recording had been made on June 14, but CIA experts could not confirm the date.

In the days since the tape was aired a spate of guerrilla attacks have left more U.S. soldiers dead in Iraq.

Two U.S. soldiers were killed and four wounded in Iraq overnight, officials said on Monday. A total of 29 U.S. soldiers have been killed in action since President Bush declared major combat over on May 1.

When asked if those who were killing U.S. soldiers were loyal to Saddam, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer called them the "worst enemies of the Iraqi people."

"Those who engage in the murder of American military personnel, who are there to help reconstruct Iraq, do great harm to the Iraqi people," he told reporters. "There are a number of them operating in a limited area."

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Ahem Mr Bush

[King Tech Quadafi]

LOL @ Baathist Saddam acting all religious now

Presidency 101.

If you want the populace to support you, and fight for you, dont oppress them for 30 years.