A Subdued National Day for Iraqis

National Day in Iraq was quieter than usual this year. There were some fireworks in the evening, but there were no boats parading on the Tigris River nor any colored lights strung gaily on lampposts in Baghdad, as in past celebrations of the July 17, 1968, coup that brought the Arab Baath Socialist Party of Saddam Hussein to power.

Hussein himself, appearing in a dark civilian suit, white shirt and red tie, gave a muted 45-minute speech that never mentioned the United States specifically and contained only a veiled reference to the possibility of renewed air attacks on Iraq’s military.

After denouncing enemies of Iraq, including Arab allies of the multinational coalition that fought the Persian Gulf War, Hussein boasted, according to an official translation of his speech, that those enemies’ hopes “will be further disappointed in forthcoming days, with the help of God.”

But the speech was not bellicose. Rather, Hussein promised a “new phase of Iraq’s development in which pluralism will be the main pillar.” He was referring to proposals for allowing political parties and affording representation to Iraq’s large Shiite Muslim population, and also to a proposed agreement with Iraq’s Kurdish minority.

All the proposals aired Wednesday have been heard before. But the tone and thrust of Hussein’s remarks were significant because he spoke against a background of tension in this capital, where the state’s massive security forces are on high alert.

The alert is not primarily against a new American air attack, according to an Iraqi with close knowledge of the military, but against possible demonstrations. Shiite Muslim holy days are approaching, and there is fear of demonstrations in southern Iraq and in the sprawling and poor Saddam City section of Baghdad, where riots followed the end of the Gulf War.

Hussein spent most of his speech Wednesday telling Iraqis, somewhat cryptically, that they have paid a great price for the weakness and backwardness of other Arab countries. He said Iraq has paid a “dowry” of sacrifice for honor, and he said the Iraqi people deserve “prosperity and glory.”

“But to the Arab mind, his speech is pure weakness,” said a diplomat in Baghdad. “The reality is, Saddam Hussein is now head of a country under United Nations mandate.”