Iraqi defense chief argued with Saddam over war: "Because Saddam overruled the battle plan, Iraqi resistance to invading coalition troops in the spring was far less than many observers on both sides of the conflict expected, according to a former Iraqi general. The general, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mr. al-Tai's battle plan also included the deployment of troops in small groups of fighters. The object would have been to make the coalition advance very slowly and painfully, drawing out the battle and then to put up 'a powerful defense' through urban warfare in and around Baghdad, the general said.

"'We believed neither Bush nor Blair could handle the political pressure at home if [many] soldiers were dead,' he added. Instead, the general said, Saddam believed he could 'solve the problem politically, as he had done at the end of the 1991 Gulf war,' and he clung to that belief almost to the end. "

Iraqi defense chief argued with Saddam over war: "Because Saddam overruled the battle plan, Iraqi resistance to invading coalition troops in the spring was far less than many observers on both sides of the conflict expected, according to a former Iraqi general. The general, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mr. al-Tai's battle plan also included the deployment of troops in small groups of fighters. The object would have been to make the coalition advance very slowly and painfully, drawing out the battle and then to put up 'a powerful defense' through urban warfare in and around Baghdad, the general said.

"'We believed neither Bush nor Blair could handle the political pressure at home if [many] soldiers were dead,' he added. Instead, the general said, Saddam believed he could 'solve the problem politically, as he had done at the end of the 1991 Gulf war,' and he clung to that belief almost to the end. "