Iraqis Blame Hardship On U.S.
Christmas may mark a holiday of peace, but as CBS News Correspondent Byron Pitts reports, on Friday, Iraqi soldiers were chanting about war.
The soldiers took a group of Iraqi journalists to a remote area near Basra to show what they called "evidence" of a U.S. missile attack this week. This is a claim that the Pentagon denies.
Meanwhile, as CBS News Correspondent Kimberly Dozier reports, terrorist suspect Osama Bin Laden, writing in an Arabic newspaper, called on all Muslims to attack Americans and Britons to avenge last week's missile strikes.
As for the millions of Christians in Iraq, they spent their day much as Americans did -- going to church, opening presents, and seeing family. Many are Catholic Chaldeans, the name for an Iraqi Christian sect that has worshipped in the country since the times of Babylon. They still pray in that lilting ancient cousin of Arabic-Aramaic-the language of Jesus.
The festivities grow less and less grand each holiday as people struggle to make ends meet under the eighth year of sanctions.
While what remains of the 'well heeled' in Baghdad, sipped champagne on Friday, the masses were forced to sell their belongings just to make ends meet this Christmas.
"Whether books, whether antiques whether clothes even...because they have no revenue," says Issam Mohammed.
Mohammed is a retired clerk. He does not blame economic sanctions on Saddam Hussein's refusal to do away with all his weapons of mass destruction. In Baghdad, it's safer to blame Washington.
"President Clinton says he has nothing against the Iraqi people. It's the Iraqi leadership. See, this is the trouble...he's not here. He's not seeing what the Iraqi people are suffering here," Mohammed says.
Just after Midnight Mass, there was also a reminder that this Christmas comes under the threat of more American air strikes. Two air raid sirens went off in the early hours of Christmas morning, sending some running for shelter. Others stayed put and prayed there would be no more bombs this time.
In his Christmas message to the nation, Saddam Hussein called America and Britain "the enemies of war." He appeared on Iraqi television on Christmas Day, smiling like a man without a worry.
The Christian community in the northern Iraqi town of Mosul, however continues to believe in the power of prayer. They cancelled their Christmas celebration in protest over American threats and spent the day praying for peace.
In a church in East Baghdad, Christian Iraqis sang the same ancient songs once uttered by Christ. The faithful here have always celebrated Christmas, but this holiday, most can't remember the last time they enjoyed it.
Reported by CBS News Correspondents Byron Pitts and Kimberly Dozier