Iraq Notebook
Tape said to be Saddam urges attacks

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BAGHDAD, Iraq — A new audiotape purportedly made by Saddam Hussein told Iraqis to step up their resistance to the U.S.-led occupation, saying the United States and its allies "thought they were going on a picnic" and misjudged the difficulty of occupying Iraq.

The CIA said it would analyze the tape, broadcast yesterday on the Arabic-language television station Al-Arabiya. In Washington, President Bush dismissed it as "propaganda."

The speaker, who sounded like the ousted Iraqi leader, made an apparent reference to the U.S. plan to speed the transfer of political power to Iraqis, which was announced here Saturday, and called Iraqis who cooperate with the coalition "stray dogs that walk alongside the caravan."

Bush breaks silence on topic of risks, fatalities in Iraq

WASHINGTON — President Bush departed yesterday from his practice of not commenting on particular setbacks in Iraq.

"Today, I spent some time in prayer for our servicemen and women who are in harm's way," he said after returning from a weekend at Camp David. "I prayed for their families, I prayed for those who are still in harm's way, whether it be American troops or coalition troops."

Asked about Saturday's chopper crash, which killed 17 soldiers, Bush said: "It's sad. It's a sad day when we lose life. It doesn't matter whether it's in a chopper crash or an IED (improvised explosive device), the loss of life is sad."

Clark: U.S. should put Saddam on trial, not kill him

WASHINGTON — If U.S. forces find Saddam Hussein, he should be tried in an international court, not killed, in order to bolster "the rule of law" in Iraq, retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a Democratic presidential candidate, said yesterday.

"I would hate to see us bust into a bunker and not be able to bring him out alive to stand trial," Clark said.

"We should be working very hard at the civil justice level, and we want to emphasize rule of law. You've got to be careful that trying Saddam too soon doesn't break the institutions, but nevertheless, a trial, it seems to me, is so much more preferable to death by hostile action."

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