Saddam Delivers High-Octane Speech

In TV Address, Dictator Remains Defiant; CIA Skeptical Of New Tape

(CBS)  With U.S.-led forces closing in on Baghdad, a composed Saddam Hussein tried to rally his people and his troops with a stirring address Monday in which he vowed that allied forces would be crushed and "victory will be ours soon."

The Iraqi president appeared in full military uniform and seemed more robust and relaxed than during his last nationally televised address on Thursday, which followed the first round of cruise missile attacks on his capital.

As CBS News Correspondent Mark Phillips reports, this time Saddam seemed less bloated and his vision seems to have improved from last week. The glasses were gone, but the defiance remained. As he spoke to his troops, he seemed neither shocked nor awed nor did he seem ready to give up.

"Iraq will strike the necks (of each enemy fighter)," he said. "Strike them, and strike evil so that evil will be defeated."

Taunting the allies, he asked: "Have you found what the devil that besets your soul promised you in Iraq?"

Saddam insisted that Iraqi troops would prevail in the fight against a more technologically advanced enemy.

As Phillips reports, Saddam's references to recent fighting seemed designed to make this appearance seem current, he singled out commanders in Basra and Umm Qasr for commendation for example.

"I am thankful in the battle of Umm Qasr to him and all the people that did well," he said.

The references Saddam made to various battles could have easily been picked beforehand, citing locations where it could have been anticipated that battles would occur, like the ones around Basra, for example.

Among those he named were the commanders of the 51st, 11th and 18th divisions, which are posted in Basra.

He told the people of Basra, which has been isolated but not occupied by allied forces, to be patient because "victory is imminent."

Saddam said the ground battles were going well and Iraqi troops had been able to inflict great losses on the enemy. He praised his commanders, several of them by name, saying their units fought fiercely against coalition troops.

"Those who are believers will be victorious. In these decisive days, the enemy tried not using missiles and fighter jets as they did before. This time, they sent their infantry troops. This time, they have come to invade and occupy your land," he said.

Praising his troops, Saddam said Iraqi fighters were "causing the enemy to suffer and to lose every day."

"As time goes by, they will lose more and they will not be able to escape lightly from their predicament," he said. "We will make it as painful as we can."

This tape, however, does not confirm that Saddam is alive. A CIA source tells CBS News that analysts are taking a look at the latest tape seeking clues regarding when it was made. The initial take is that there is not enough there to determine when it was made, meaning the tape is not solid evidence Saddam is alive or well.

"There is still the possibility of Saddam Hussein's people issuing a tape recording. I'm well aware he has spent many hours recently tape recording various messages," says British Defense Minister Jeff Hoon.

In addition, some of the units Saddam refers to have not even been engaged in battle to a significant extent, which also raises suspicions.

There are a lot of jumps in the cutting of the tape, says the source, which could indicate it was tailored for public consumption.

In the video, Saddam said American and British forces had "become entangled" in Iraq's desert, with "Iraqi residents surrounding them and aiming their fire at them."

Addressing the people of Iraq's cities — Basra, Baghdad, Mosul and elsewhere — Saddam warned that the enemy will intensify its raids as their troops suffer casualties on the ground.

"Be patient. God's victory is coming...Be tolerant," he added.

Saddam said the allies were "trying to avoid engaging our forces" — a clear reference to the U.S. strategy of avoiding having to enter provincial cities — adding that "they are using their warplanes to attack our troops without engaging them in fighting."

"Whenever they penetrated our territory, they were faced with fierce resistance from Iraqi people, tribes, party members, Saddam's Fedayeen and security forces," he said.

In Washington, the State Department had no immediate comment on the speech.

After his last purported TV speech, it took the CIA several days to conclude that the man speaking probably was Saddam, but that there was no way to determine whether it was taped and, if so, when the tape was made.