August 8: President Saddam Hussein marked the 12th anniversary of the end of Iraq's war with Iran on Tuesday by firing a verbal salvo at Gulf Arab leaders and lecturing Iraqis on the lessons of war.Saddam did not mention Iran even once in a speech carried by Iraqi radio and television to mark Tehran's acceptance of the ceasefire in the 1980-88 war, which cost nearly a million lives.Instead, he lashed out at the leaders of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states for hosting American and other Western military bases since the 1990-91 Gulf conflict over Kuwait.Wearing a dark suit, and with an Iraqi flag to his right and flowers in front of him, Saddam said it was a disgrace that Arab countries were letting U.S. and British planes bomb "the citadel of the Arabs" and maintain a no-fly zone over southern Iraq."It is they who have sold out their souls and have appointed (the foreigner) to rule over everything that is dear and precious in the values and wealth of their people," he said."Whatever they find saleable they have sold to the United States and Zionism, thus becoming mere agents getting commissions that are deducted from the wealth of their own people and getting chairs of ignoble authority to sit on."Gulf Arab countries supported Iraq during its war with Islamic Iran, but turned on Saddam when he sent his troops into Kuwait in 1990 after a dispute about oil quotas.Iraq and Iran blame each other for their ruinous war and each sees the outcome as a victory. The two oil-producing giants have still not resumed full diplomatic ties and each continues to support rebel forces seeking to undermine the other.Saddam said he would change the style of his annual address to present "the lessons deduced from honourable fighting.which convey all the meanings of virtue".He listed the gist of 58 "great lessons" ranging from how to treat friends and foes to how to choose your leaders.Saddam's safety kit- Do not provoke a snake before you make up your mind and summon up the ability to cut off its head.- Guard your secrets carefully. Do not divulge them to anyone.- Let not your enemy hope for your forgiveness, nor your friend lose hope of it.- Do not put your friend and your enemy on an equalfooting.- When you take a decision, do not regret it. But when you find a mistake in it, do not hesitate to rectify it.- Keep your eyes on your enemy. Be ahead of him but do not let him be far behind your back.- Do not choose as leaders those who claim higher roles for themselves in the success of victory and disclaim their responsibility for failure or defeat.Banners and posters praising Saddam for what Iraqis call the "Great Victory Day" were on display across Baghdad. Guns in Iraq's various provinces were due to fire 101 shots in salute.Iran announced its acceptance of a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire on August 8, 1988 after several setbacks on the battlefront, and the ceasefire went into effect on August 20.
