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Iraq ready to

face US threats

BAGHDAD: Iraq on Sunday denied any unusual movement of its troops and said it was ready to fight if attacked by U.S. forces assembling in the Gulf region.

"Iraq is prepared for any possibility and would fight on all fronts with extraordinary power," the official English-language daily Baghdad Observer said in an editorial.

It said there was no truth to U.S. claims that Iraq was moving troops to attack its neighbours Jordan and Kuwait.

The United States has sent aircraft carriers to the region within striking distance of Iraq and advanced the date of regular joint exercises with Kuwait to discourage what it describes as menacing movements by Iraqi armed forces.

"The U.S. administration thinks that sending additional forces to the region would apply pressure on Iraq. But it should realise that Iraq cannot be intimidated by such manoeuvres and is prepared for the worst," said the Observer.

The ruling Baath party newspaper al-Thawra said the presence of American troops in the region was meant to continue depicting Iraq as "a permanent enemy to the U.S."

"The haughty Iraqis have proved that they are always ready to defend their country under all circumstances," it said.

"To beautify its ugly image in the region, the Clinton administration says it is prepared to defend Jordan," the Observer said. "It is a twisted logic."

The Observer described U.S. moves as "belligerent", stemming from "a feverish desire to subjugate the people of the region and control its oilfields".

It said Washington was trying to blackmail Arab countries by "disseminating fabricated reports on an alleged Iraqi movement of troops".

"It falls within the U.S. policy of intimidating these countries to blackmail the Gulf states to fork out more billions of dollars for its occupying forces," the Observer said.-Reuter