Saddam bids to dispel health doubts

Saddam Hussein looked fit and well as he celebrated Army Day

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has delivered an address to the nation to mark the 80th anniversary of the formation of the country's armed forces.

A special greeting to the heroes, the vanguard of the striving people of Palestine while they carry the banner of struggle to liberate Palestine

Saddam Hussein

The Iraqi leader looked fit and well as he paid tribute to his troops for their loyalty and to the Palestinians for their uprising against the Israelis.

The address came just days after Iraqi officials strongly denied reports that the president had suffered a severe stroke.

A BBC correspondent in Iraq, Barbara Plett, says it is impossible to confirm Mr Hussein's true state of health because such information is closely guarded. But she says, there is no unusual security presence in the streets of Baghdad that would suggest he is near death or incapacitated.

Doubts remain

But the Iraqi president's appearance does not itself dispel the recent rumours about his health, given that it was pre-recorded.

Saddam Hussein

1937: Born Takrit, central Iraq

1963-68: Jailed for involvement with opposition Ba'ath party

1979: Becomes head of state

1980: Invades Iran; eight year war ends inconclusively

1990: Invades Kuwait; driven out in Gulf War of 1991

2000: Unconfirmed reports of poor health

Questions about Mr Hussein's health surfaced last Sunday after he presided over the biggest military parade in Iraq since the Gulf War, which ended in 1991.

According to Iraqi opposition sources, the president suffered a severe stroke during or shortly after the parade.

Mr Hussein has made two other appearances on Iraqi television in the last two days. In one, he was shown presiding over a cabinet meeting, in the other he was seen chatting to a group of Middle Eastern entertainers.

Palestinian heroes

In his speech, Mr Hussein described the Iraqi army as "brave, heroic, loyal, trustworthy and great".

On Thursday, he was shown chairing a cabinet meeting

Saddam made no mention of the new United States administration of President-elect George W Bush, whose father is still a public hate figure in Iraq because of his part in the Gulf War 10 years ago.

Neither did he make any mention of the continuing UN sanctions against Iraq.

Mr Hussein promised support for the Palestinian uprising.

"A special greeting to the heroes, the vanguard of the striving people of Palestine while they carry the banner of struggle to liberate Palestine from the river to the sea," he said.

Stroke dismissed

On Wednesday, an Iraqi Government spokesman dismissed as ridiculous a report from an Iraqi opposition group in Syria that the president, who is 63, had suffered a stroke on Sunday.

"These press reports are stupid and do not even merit a response," a spokesman for Iraq's Information Ministry told reporters in Baghdad.

Iraqi dissidents living in exile said the television appearances could have been doctored using old video footage of the president.

'Taken ill' after parade

Anonymous Iraqi sources have been quoted by the Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper as saying that Mr Hussein was under intensive care in a Baghdad hospital.

The New Year parade went on for 13 hours

The report said he became ill during a banquet after the New Year military parade.

During the march-past, the president repeatedly stood up and fired into the air with a rifle which he held in one hand.

The Iraqi Information Ministry cited the president's appearance at that parade as proof of his health - although the stroke is alleged to have occurred later.

In September 2000, Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the Iraqi leader was stricken with lymph cancer and was preparing to undergo chemotherapy.