PENTAGON: The US Defence Secretary yesterday warned that the war in Iraq was closer to its beginning than its end, after setbacks to advancing allied troops at the hands of pro-Saddam Hussein "terrorists".
The situation "could become more dangerous in the coming days and weeks" as the Iraqi regime was faced with "certain death", Mr Donald Rumsfeld said.
But "coalition forces are closing in on Baghdad and will not stop until that regime is defeated". Mr Rumsfeld refused to confirm reports of an uprising in the southern Iraqi city of Basra against the ruling Baath Party, but said those opposing Saddam Hussein's forces "have a whole lot of courage and I hope they are successful".
The use of the word "terrorist" by Mr Rumsfeld appears to be part of an emerging Pentagon strategy to discredit militia groups attacking the invading forces to sustain American public support for the war as casualties mount.
On Monday Pentagon spokeswoman Ms Victoria Clarke said the acts of Iraqis who pretended to surrender and then opened fire could be likened by some to "acts of terrorism", and yesterday Air Force Maj Gen Victor Renuart, briefing reporters in Qatar, said the Fedayeen militia were "almost terrorist type forces."
At his daily Pentagon briefing yesterday, Mr Rumsfeld said of the militia, "I'm not going to call them troops, they are essentially terrorists. They represent a terrorist-type threat."
He also called those fighting the US and British troops a force of "dead-enders" who supported a dying regime. These people had "committed acts of treachery on the battlefield," he said. They had used Red Cross vehicles to courier military instructions and white flags to surrender and then attack, he stated.
He also said that "their treatment of coalition POWs is a violation of the Geneva Convention". He repeated his daily warning to Iraqi officers not to use weapons of mass destruction, and addressing his remarks to Iraqis in general: "You know by now coalition air strikes are not aimed at you."
The chief of the general staffs, Gen Richard Myers, said at the briefing, "Some of the biggest losses we've taken are the result of serious violations of the laws of armed conflict."
US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell urged France yesterday to recognise that the government in Iraq was finished and to join the US in planning for a better future for the Iraqi people. In an interview broadcast to France, he said it was time to put aside the debate on using force to disarm Iraq. "I regret that we have not been able to see eye-to-eye on this issue with France and we will move forward from here," he said.