JERUSALEM (s.d.l.) – Dark suit, elegant tie, the flag to his right, a bouquet of flowers in front. In the mouth, words of war. Saddam Hussein denies the rumors that give him a dying heart attack and celebrates the power of his Iraq: “The people have the means to equip themselves with an” invincible weapon, capable of beating the enemies of the country at any time “, thunders on TV. And immediately gives words of applause to the “brothers” already in the trenches against the oppressors of the Arab world: “A special greeting – marks – to the heroic Palestinian fighters, who carry the flag of the struggle to free their land, from the Jordan River to the sea “. This is the third time that the Baghdad rais appears on television since last Sunday, when the exile opposition circulated the news of the disease. However, those in charge of the presidential office have not clarified whether what the Iraqis saw on their screens was a live broadcast or a recording made who knows when. The occasion for the message to the nation was the celebration of the Armed Forces, which yesterday celebrated eighty years from the foundation. In fifteen minutes, Saddam used his entire repertoire of belligerent leader, but omitted any reference to the next head of the White House, George Bush jr, son of the president who defeated him in the Gulf War ten years ago; not even the impasse in relations with the UN, with which theoretically Iraq should begin talks on the destruction of mass weapons by February, did not even speak of a word, and did not finally mention the issue of the embargo, which he has been strangling his “subjects” for over ten years. On the other hand, Colin Powell, the next US secretary of state, spoke of the sanctions against Baghdad, which called for “new vigor”. Saddam’s praise for the Palestinians comes just days after the fears expressed by Ehud Barak about a possible “enlarged conflict in the Middle East”. Words, those of the Israeli prime minister, harshly criticized at home, because they are considered a dangerous means of pressure on autonomy as well as an electoral expedient to recover the lost consensus in comparison with the “hawk” Ariel Sharon. In the Territories the Iraqi dictator is celebrated as a great supporter of the Intifada. Unlike many other Arab countries that have promised their economic support to the PA, but have not honored the commitments, Iraq – which is also in a disastrous economic situation due to the embargo – continues to send large sums of money to families of Palestinian “martyrs” who fell in clashes with Israelis. The fighters with the kefiah reciprocate by bringing the portrait of the rais next to that of Arafat triumphantly in the streets.