[Chewbacca]

Is this too late? Has the damage already been done? Will changing tactics at this point undo it?


Story

THE United States military yesterday abandoned its "iron-fisted" hunt for members of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime, as Baghdad suffered its worst day of violence since the end of the war. Lieutenant-General Richardo Sanchez, the commander of the allied forces in Iraq, said he is switching from raids to a policy of intelligence gathering - amid fears that manhunts are creating more enemies than are being captured. The decision came as a bomb outside the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad left at least 11 dead and 50 wounded in what appeared to be a new wave of terrorist attacks. The embassy bomb, hidden inside a lorry, detonated in the early hours of yesterday morning while traffic was heavy, inflicting severe wounds on many passers-by. Two children were counted among the dead. The explosion - the first attack on non-Iraqi Arabs since the major conflict ended - was followed by insurgents storming the embassy and chanting anti-Jordanian protests, while tearing up photographs of the King of Jordan. Lt-Gen Sanchez said that this presented a new threat to the allied forces. "This shows there are terrorists acting here. We are still in a conflict zone." He had earlier conceded that the hunt for members of Saddam’s ruling party - in swoops which have so far seen hundreds of civilians arrested on suspicion - may have become counterproductive. "I started to get multiple indicators that maybe our iron-fisted approach to the conduct of operations was beginning to alienate Iraqis," Lt-Gen Sanchez said. He added that the local Iraqi leaders who welcomed the US-UK troops have recently said they are unable to support the methods of apprehending suspected Baath party members. The Iraqis’ message, Lt-Gen Sanchez said, is that "when you take a father in front of his family and put a bag over his head and put him on the ground, you have had a significant adverse effect on his dignity and respect in the eyes of his family". Since 1 May, when George Bush, the US president, declared an end to major fighting in Iraq, the US has lost 55 soldiers and the UK - which controls Basra and the more peaceful southern part of Iraq - has lost six. The US has focused on arresting Saddam and the most-wanted Baathist officials, illustrated in the "pack of cards". About 9,000 have been identified as Saddam sympathisers and thrown out of the military and police. Lt-Gen Sanchez suggested that this may be a good point to call off the hunt and focus only on Saddam - in case the arrest of innocent Iraqis fuels demand for revenge attacks. "We are in fact at a critical point in Iraq. The need for us to preserve the support of the Iraqi people lined up behind the coalition right now is very important." Four hours after the bombing, a blistering street battle erupted between US soldiers and gunmen, in which two soldiers were killed. On Wednesday, in the hunt for Saddam, 49 people were arrested and two killed in northern Baghdad. The Pentagon said that the arrests had hit several wanted names. The violence in Iraq is heavily concentrated in a triangle around Baghdad, and contrasts with the relative calm across the rest of the country. The approach of the US troops has been a source of controversy with the UK contingent, who have characterised their control of the Basra area with a lighter military presence in civilian areas. The US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, said that America intends to use "whatever techniques are appropriate" against followers of Saddam and other anti-American fighters, some of whom have crossed into the country. But, Mr Powell added that "it may be what you want to do is to stand back a little bit more and let Iraqis who have started to create forces, protect installations". That way, he said, "you don’t need a coalition military organisation protecting that installation". "We have to be nimble, flexible, as the situation changes," he said. The Secretary of State said that he had telephoned Jordan’s foreign minister, Marwan Muasher, to express his regrets over the loss of Jordanians and innocent Iraqis who happened to be on the street going about their own business. Mr Powell added, however, "the terrorists need to know we will not be deterred." Meanwhile, the orphaned Iraqi bomb victim, Ali Abbas, arrived in Britain yesterday, where he will have artificial limbs fitted. The 13-year-old, who lost both arms in a US bombing raid early in the war, landed at RAF Northolt, west London, in a private jet. Ali was joined on the flight by his uncle and Ahmed Mohammed Hamza, 14, who lost his left leg below the knee and his right hand in an American bombardment. The boys are to meet experts from the Limbless Association and will be fitted with prosthetic limbs at Queen Mary’s Hospital Rehabilitation Centre, Roehampton, south-west London, where they will be admitted on Monday morning. A hospital spokesman, Mark Purcell, said: "We are honoured that the rehabilitation centre has been chosen by the Kuwaiti government."