Saddam says victory at hand

Saddam Hussein

AMMAN - In an open letter, Saddam Hussein told Iraqis "victory was at hand" and urged insurgents to show magnanimity to opponents, saying he himself forgave Iraqis who aided the killers of his two sons.

In the letter dictated to his chief lawyer Khalil Dulaimi during a four-hour meeting on Saturday in his prison, the former Iraqi leader also said Iraqis should put aside differences and set only one goal - to drive US troops out of Iraq.

"Victory is at hand but don't forget that your near-term goal is confined to liberating your country from the forces of occupation," Saddam said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters today.

Dulaimi said the letter was written days before the court trying Saddam over the killing of 148 Shi'ite men from the town of Dujail in the 1980s is due to meet to review witness testimony.

Saddam urged his Sunni minority community, the backbone of the insurgency, to even forgive Iraqi informants who helped US troops track down and kill his two sons, Uday and Qusay, in a gunbattle at a house in Mosul in 2003.

"When you achieve victory and it is close.. remember you are God's soldiers which means you should show genuine forgiveness and put aside revenge over the spilt blood of the sons of Saddam Hussein," Saddam wrote.

"I call on you to apply justice in your Jihad (holy war) and not be drawn to recklessness and urge you to be forgiving rather than tough with those who have lost the path," he added.

The former leader said he resorted to an open letter for the first time since his trial began in October 2005 on charges of crimes against humanity to give his message without censorship.

But Saddam warned his supporters excessive force against opponents who failed to support the insurgency would only lose the anti-US resistance widespread popular support.

"There should be no settling of scores...and you should not attack for the sake of attacking when an opportunity arises while you are carrying a gun."

Saddam's former officers took up arms after the army was disbanded and built up the insurgency into a devastating force, which has not been broken by military offensives.

Saddam used emotive language to express his pain over the surge in sectarian violence between Shi'ites and Sunnis that has gripped Iraq since the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in February.

"I cannot bring myself to use the terminology used by the foreigner to sow divisions among us...this was never a real reason for division in the past," he said.

Thousands have been killed in tit-for-tat revenge killings and more than 300,00 have fled their homes.

Saddam, echoing fears of many Sunni Iraqis over the breakup of the country, called on Iraqis to preserve their unity.

"You are sacrificing your lives for these great principles and at the forefront is the great Iraq united," he said.

- REUTERS