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12/20/2004:

"Saddam, from His Prison Cell, Urges Iraqis to Unite"

AMMAN (Reuters) - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein appealed to Iraqis from his prison cell to unite against what he called U.S. efforts to sow sectarian divisions, his lawyers said on Sunday.

Ziad Khasawneh, a Jordanian lawyer and spokesman for Saddam's defense team, told reporters: ``President Saddam Hussein urged the unity of his Iraqi people, regardless of their religious and ethnic creed, to confront U.S. plans to divide their country on sectarian grounds.''

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Saddam relayed his messages through Khalil Dulaimi, an Iraqi lawyer and member of the defense counsel who met the ousted leader for more than four hours on Thursday -- Saddam's first access to lawyers since he was arrested a year ago.

Dulaimi's identity was until Sunday kept secret by Saddam's Amman-based legal team for fears over his life after he escaped an assassination attempt two weeks ago, defense lawyers said.

Saddam, who is denied access to news, was eager to know what had happened in Iraq since his captivity, Khasawneh said.

Saddam said Iraqis had to be cautious after Dulaimi told him U.S.-backed elections would take place next month, said Lebanese lawyer Bushra al-Khalil, who is on the defense team.

But the former strongman was as defiant as ever and high-spirited in captivity, his lawyers said.

``If my commitment to my principles was 90 percent before the U.S. invasion then after what happened to me it's 100 percent firm,'' Khasawneh quoted Saddam as saying.

Saddam sent a plea to Iraq's men of religion from all persuasions to ``shoulder a historic responsibility'' in rallying people in Iraq's difficult times, the lawyers said.
Full Article: nytimes.com/reuters