Saddam Hussein: God protects Arabs and Muslims

From a televised speech by the President of Iraq broadcast to the country's citizens

Among the lessons gained from the history of mankind there is the fact that greed and arrogance combined lead the oppressor to do injustice not only to others but to himself as well, once this union of greed and arrogance has misled him into a sense of undefeatable power. Proceeding from this sick imagination, he commits the most heinous of acts and then falls down the precipice into hell.

This is the inevitable outcome awaiting all those who try to attack Arabs and Muslims. If anyone – with greed, arrogance and vanity combined – wants to learn from history, he ought to remember this fact and think again. Otherwise, he will end up in the dustbin of history. We have never, and will never, face any aggression with the power of our weapons or the strength of our muscles, but with the strength of our faith and our belief that God always makes the faithful victorious.

In this way, the faithful shall remain steadfast. Darkness shall be defeated. Clouds carrying no useful rain shall clear. And the sun shall shine, ushering in an endless spring blessed by God. The forces of evil shall carry their coffins and die of their disgraceful failure, with their schemes backfiring on their countries. Or they will dig their own graves after they bring death unto themselves in every Arab or Muslim land, including Iraq – the land of jihad, an honourable stance – that they attack.

The right path is for the Security Council to respond to Iraq's questions and honour its obligations under its own resolutions. Those who use threats and aggression will only fail, even if they hit their targets.

I say this in such clear terms so that no weakling might imagine that our refusal to respond to ill talk is a sign of fear of the impudent threats.