US ready to pound Baghdad

Saddam Hussein has until 1.15 this afternoon to leave Iraq or face an attack that will start with a devastating air assault on Baghdad, eclipsing the opening barrage of the previous Gulf War.

United States commanders are threatening to rain 3000 smart bombs and missiles mainly on the Iraqi capital in an operation they are calling "Shock and Awe".

Precision-guided missiles, fired from American and British ships, submarines and aircraft, will pick out military and Government buildings in the city - and Saddam's known hideouts.

One British military planner said yesterday that the intention was not to wreak indiscriminate destruction on the Iraqi military but to "post a few precision-guided weapons through the letterboxes of those who matter".

A defiant Saddam Hussein yesterday rejected President George W. Bush's ultimatum.

A statement read on state television said: "Iraq does not choose its path on the orders of a foreigner and does not choose its leaders according to decrees from Washington, London or Tel Aviv, but through the will of the great Iraqi people."

A United States intelligence source said there was an intense focus within the CIA and Pentagon on killing Saddam.

"It could result in a lot more civilian casualties. Put it this way, if we spot people crossing the border we will take them out and then ask questions later."

American authorities have acquired a DNA sample from a relative of Saddam, which will be used to identify any body parts thought to be the remains of the Iraqi leader.

"It's extremely important to get him," said a Bush Administration official.

"We will simultaneously hit all the places where we think he may be. But we may not get him. He's very slippery. Someone may offer him hidden sanctuary."

One American concern is that Saddam could flee Iraq and become a figurehead like Osama bin Laden.

Once the initial assault has passed, Stealth bombers flying from the British Indian Ocean base of Diego Garcia and B52s from Britain will follow to bombard Greater Baghdad.

They will be supported by layer upon layer of combat aircraft.

The aim will be to show Iraq's leaders they have no place to hide.

Saddam, who lived through the 38 days of the first Gulf war by sleeping in a different place every night, uses a complex system of doubles to counter assassination attempts, and has built fortified bunkers and secure escape routes.

If he continues to defy the ultimatum, smart bombs and cruise missiles will target buildings such as the defence ministry in Baghdad almost immediately.

The command posts of the Special Republican Guard and Republican Guard defending the capital will also be destroyed.

Hopes are high that the Iraqi military will not resist an Allied advance, so there is unlikely to be any carpet bombing of troop positions in the early stages of the air war.

Mr Bush and his main ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, have amassed 280,000 troops in the region.

The British Prime Minister faced down a revolt among his Labour Party MPs to win parliamentary backing for the invasion.

France said yesterday that it would reverse its opposition to the war if Iraq retaliated with biological or chemical weapons.

The New Zealand Government could also change its stance if that happened, Prime Minister Helen Clark told Parliament yesterday.

She believed the use of prohibited weapons would cause the United Nations Security Council to endorse disarmament by force.

Facing their third conflict in little over 20 years, anxious Iraqis raced to find essential supplies for the grim days ahead.

The dinar currency plunged, the price of basic goods soared and most Baghdad businesses closed as the capital braced for war.

In a last-ditch plea to avert that war, Saudi Arabia said Saddam should go into exile. But diplomats said the Iraqi leader was not being offered permanent refuge.

In the US, backing for a strike against Baghdad jumped. Nearly three out of four Americans supported a US-led war on Iraq in a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Public opinion in favour of a US-led war has risen 12 points from last week's 59 per cent, and 64 per cent of Americans approve of the way Bush is handling the confrontation with Iraq - nine points higher than last week.

In the financial markets, war worries pushed Asian stock prices down. Gold, a haven in times of trouble, rose in price.

Oil prices rose slightly, and the value of the US dollar held steady against other currencies.

The United States said about 45 countries privately or publicly supported its intention to oust Saddam by force.

The only allies known to be contributing military forces are Britain and Australia.

Turkey said yesterday that it had agreed with the United States to present a motion to Parliament today allowing for the overflight of US troops and military aircraft to Iraq via its airspace and bases.

It has also agreed with Washington that Turkish troops will be allowed into northern Iraq during any US invasion to set up a buffer zone against an exodus of Iraqi refugees.

- AGENCIES

Herald Feature: Iraq