Bush: “We Will Not Slow Down War Against Terrorism”

After Saddam’s arrest, the United States administration began his interrogation. In addition, the Iraqi interim council has decided to hand in to the United Nations a schedule for taking back its sovereignty from the U.S.

But despite Saddam’s arrest, two car bomb attacks took place on Monday.

In a formal television address on Sunday, the U.S. president, George W. Bush confirmed that “The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq. The United States shall not slow down its pace at the war against terrorism until it achieves perfect victory.”

The U.S. military captured Saddam in a safe house at one of the U.S. camps in Iraq, and has begun interrogating him as to whether weapons of mass destruction (WMD) have existed or currently exist in Iraq, and as to the details of the Iraqi insurgency.

Due to Saddam’s uncooperative demeanor, there has not been distinct progress in the interrogation, but at Saddam’s hideout, some documents, which might be helpful in assessing the insurgents, have been found, foreign news agencies reported.

“We will give Saddam the rights of a prisoner of war (POW), according to the Geneva Treaty,” Donald Rumsfeld, the defense secretary of the U.S., remarked, but he avoided clarifying whether or not Saddam would receive official POW status.

“We will turn over a schedule for taking back sovereignty to the United Nations, which is to prepare a draft constitution in February 2004, carry out the referendum for the new constitution in October 2005 and conduct general election in December 2005,” Hoshiyar Zebari, the Iraqi interim council’s foreign minister said that day.

But two car bomb raids, which targeted police stations in Ameriya, Baghdad and in Zuhur, near Baghdad, occurred on December 15, killing 10 people and wounding at least 30.

As the news of Saddam’s arrest spread, the tension and conflicts between the people and religious sects seemed to build even more than before. In Kirkuk, clashes between the Kurds and Sunni Islamists have taken place.

The Sunnis in Baghdad have even demonstrated in support of Saddam. In addition, a range of aggressive actions such as shooting rifle fire into the air have occurred so far, leaving four people dead and approximately 60 people wounded, 10 of them critically.

Ki-Tae Kwon kkt@donga.com