- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.
officials said they had no confirmation about Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's
fate but speculation persisted on Friday over whether he survived an initial
U.S. missile strike that targeted him.
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- A CIA analysis determined it was Saddam's voice giving
a speech aired hours after the United States launched a war to topple him
on Wednesday by bombing a residence where he and his two sons were believed
to have been.
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- But it was unclear whether the tape, in which Saddam
appeared unusually wearing glasses and reading his words, was made before
or after the attack, so it offered no clue about whether he survived, U.S.
officials said.
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- Rumors were rampant about whether Saddam was alive, dead,
or wounded as the United States intensified air strikes on Baghdad and
other cities and a ground invasion thrust deeper into Iraq toward the capital.
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- "There are all kinds of rumors about what has happened
to Saddam Hussein and his sons, but there are no concrete facts to report,"
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
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- In Baghdad, Iraqi Information Minister Saeed al-Sahaf
said Saddam had survived the U.S. air raids and was safe.
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- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he did not know
whether Saddam was currently in control of Iraq.
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- On Wednesday, the United States bombed a residence compound
in the southern suburbs of Baghdad near the Tigris River where he was believed
to have been with his two sons Qusay and Uday.
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- Two F-117A stealth fighters dropped precision-guided
2,000-pound bombs and nearly 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from
ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf hit the residence and other select targets
that night.
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- "We believe it is most likely that he and the boys
were somewhere in the compound," a U.S. official said on condition
of anonymity. "Were they killed? We don't know. Were they wounded?
We don't know. Are they alive? We don't know."
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- U.S. officials say there were casualties from the strike,
but they do not know how many or their identities.
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- "You don't drop 40 cruise missiles and not hurt
somebody," the official said.
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- SADDAM'S VOICE
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- U.S. intelligence has found no signs that Saddam has
communicated with his troops, adding to the uncertainty about the fate
of the Iraqi leader, officials said.
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- "They believe they made some very good hits in the
bunkers. And there's been very little communication, after that first hit,
out of their command post, but no confirmation whatsoever," Sen. Kay
Bailey Hutchison, a Texas Republican, said after a Senate briefing with
Pentagon officials.
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- The first strikes launched 90 minutes after President
Bush's 48-hour deadline to Saddam and his sons to leave Baghdad expired
at 8 p.m. Wednesday (0100 GMT Thursday) were aimed at killing senior Iraqi
leaders.
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- Saddam, dressed in a military uniform, appeared on state
television three hours after the raid, and made a speech saying that Bush
had committed a crime against humanity.
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- A tired-looking Saddam read from a prepared text, wearing
heavy black-framed spectacles, rare for him in public, which led to speculation
about whether it was the Iraqi leader.
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- "It would not be surprising if he did make videos
ahead of time. In this instance, we don't have anything conclusive to report
one way or another," Fleischer said.
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- Iraqi television also showed him on Thursday chairing
a Cabinet meeting but it was impossible to verify when the footage was
shot.
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- ABC News reported witnesses saw Saddam taken out of a
bombed building wearing an oxygen mask on a hospital gurney.
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