Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said Friday that Iraq had mobilized its forces to defeat U.S. forces at the gates of Baghdad should they invade his country. "We have determined and planned to defeat the aggressors. We have mobilized our abilities, including those of the army, people and leadership," he said in the text of a televised speech marking the 12th anniversary of the Gulf War. "Baghdad, its people and leadership, is determined to force the Mongols of our age to commit suicide at its gates," Saddam said. Calling U.S. troops the "new Mongols," the Iraqi leader said they would not be able to conquer a "mobilized and determined" Iraq. "The army of Hulagu has come again to clash with Baghdad after it was born anew. They will commit suicide on the walls of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities," he conveyed.
For history buffs, in 1258, under Hulagu Khan, the Mongols invaded Baghdad and put an end to the remnants of the once-glorious 'Abbasid Empire. The ancient systems of irrigation were destroyed and the devastation was so extensive that agricultural recovery, even in the twentieth century, is still incomplete. Hey, Saddam, compared to the U.S. military, the Mongols were wimps! |