DATE=02/18/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=ARABS/IRAQ (L-O)

NUMBER=2-27272

BYLINE=DALE GAVLAK

DATELINE=CAIRO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Iraq says U-S and British warplanes have resumed patrols over the country amid continuing international and Arab criticism of Friday's air strikes outside Baghdad. From Cairo, Dale Gavlak reports that Iraq's state-run press has blasted U-S President George W. Bush for ordering the attack.

TEXT: The official Iraqi News Agency says President Saddam Hussein and his aides have discussed plans for retaliation in the event of further Western attacks on the country.

It also reports that President Saddam has ordered the formation of 21 military divisions of Iraqis who have volunteered to fight alongside Palestinians in their uprising against Israel.

Iraqi protesters took to the streets of Baghdad to condemn the air attacks that authorities say killed two and injured 20-civilians. Five-thousand demonstrators rallied in the city's center, carrying Iraqi and Palestinian flags and shouting - Saddam is our president forever. Another three-thousand marched in a southern suburb chanting - yes to holy war, no to submission.

Baghdad's state-run press is calling for effective world and Arab action against Washington. The al-Qadissiya paper claims Baghdad was attacked because of Iraq's support for the Palestinian uprising. The al Thawra paper says Iraq will not be intimidated and will continue to support the Palestinians.

U-S and British officials say the strike was in response to an increased threat to their planes patrolling the no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq.

Babel newspaper, run by President Saddam's son Uday, called President Bush a criminal who will fare no better against Iraq than his father. The elder Bush led the 1991 Gulf War coalition against Iraq to end its occupation of Kuwait.

The air strikes have evoked strong criticism from America's Arab allies, even those who sided with the United States during the Gulf War. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in a newspaper interview that Saddam Hussein no longer posed a threat to the world. He said the air raids served only to complicate the situation, killing innocent civilians.

Arab League chief Esmat Abdel Meguid said in Cairo the attacks could not be justified and only succeeded in provoking angry sentiments and discontent in

the Arab world.

More than 200 Jordanians demonstrated their support for Baghdad outside the Iraqi embassy in Amman, while Foreign Minister Abdel Ilah al-Khatib said Jordan - never condones the use of military force against Iraq. He added that anything related to Iraq's military capability should be handled within U-N Security Council resolutions.

In the Persian Gulf, newspapers said President Bush has made a bad start with the Arab world by an act of what one of them called - banditry - against an Iraq that was being reintegrated into the region. Although the Saudi government made no official comment on the strikes, one of its newspapers, the Arab News, said President Bush has played into Iraqi President Saddam's hands. (SIGNED)

NEB/DG/DW/RAE