Leaflets tell Iraqis of US military broadcasts

ABC news, Friday 3 January 2003. Posted: 10:34:55 (AEDT)

Warplanes taking part in United States and British patrols have dropped 480,000 leaflets over two cities in a no-fly zone of southern Iraq, pressing Iraqi troops and citizens to listen to American special forces radio broadcasts to the area.

Leaflets providing frequencies of broadcasts slamming Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and providing information on UN Security Council Resolution 1441 and UN arms inspections in Iraq were dropped over Basra and an Nasiriyah, the US military’s Central Command said in a statement.

It was the 12th such mass drop of leaflets in the past three months, warning the Iraqi military to stop targeting US and British warplanes.

Western military aircraft have increasingly attacked Iraqi air defenses in no-fly zones of northern and southern Iraq with bombs and missiles in recent months in response to what the US military says are attempts to shoot down the jets.

Tension has also mounted sharply with speculation the US military might lead an invasion of Iraq to oust Saddam.

US President George W Bush has repeatedly warned Saddam to give up what Washington says are Iraqi programs to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

Iraq does not recognise the no-fly zones, set up after the 1991 Gulf War to protect Kurdish rebels in the north and minority Shi’ite Muslims in the south from attack by Saddam’s forces.

The Central Command said in December modified C-130 Commando Solo military cargo planes were being used to broadcast messages to the Iraqi people about their president, and UN Security Council Resolution 1441 ordering Iraq to abandon any programs to develop weapons of mass destruction.

More recently the broadcasts have been directed to the area by Special Operations ground stations outside Iraq.

Do not let Saddam tarnish the reputation of soldiers any longer. Saddam uses the military to persecute those who don’t agree with his unjust agenda, the Central Command quoted one such broadcast.

Another noted that Bush said in a recent speech Saddam must not be permitted to threaten the world with horrible poisons and diseases and gases and atomic weapons.

One broadcast compared Saddam with former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who killed and imprisoned millions of his own people.

The dictator cared nothing for his own people, he merely sought to exploit them to perpetuate his regime and flawed ideology, the broadcast added.

Iraq has accused the United States of targeting civilians and commercial activities in bombings in the no-fly zones, but the US military says it never targets civilians.