"In 1991, we lacked the experience in this kind of fighting...but now our armed forces are stronger and our soldiers understand better their duties and role," Saddam told the commanders of the elite Republican Guards, headed by his youngest son Qusay, on Monday, the Iraqi Army Day.

"No army in the world has gained the experience in fighting an advanced army like the experience that we have gained from the circumstances that we went through in 1991 and what followed," Saddam said.

Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait in August 1990 and was evicted out of the small emirate by the US-led multinational coalition forces in the 1991 Gulf War.

"It seems that what the enemy called the overthrow of the Taliban regime is enticing it to make an aggression against Iraq," Saddam told his elite officers.

"Iraq is different from Afghanistan," Saddam said, adding that Iraq is a "rich, well-organized and stable country" that "produces oil and does not need to import it."

In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington, the United States launched an unprecedentedly massive campaign against terrorism, which led to the overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

US President George W. Bush has repeatedly accused Iraq of pursuing weapons of mass destruction, and threatened war if it refuses to disarm.

In the face of mounting US saber-rattling, Saddam remains defiant, dismissing the US war threats as "empty clamour."

"The Americans love to exaggerate and bully. They bring some soldiers to the desert and then take them away by planes to other places while the media show their images and movements... This is continuous empty clamour." Saddam said.

"They are hiding many goals...One of the goals is to open the chance for the (UN arms) inspectors to work beyond the announced goals of the (UN) Security Council," he said.

"Although all the goals of UN Security Council are against Iraq, unjust and illegal, including Resolution 1441, yet spying on Iraq is not among the goals of these bad (UN) resolutions," Saddam said.

"They are doing cheap intelligence work without paying direct and daily cost as they would have if they sent spies to do their work," the Iraqi president said.

While denying US allegation that it has weapons of mass destruction, Iraq accepted weeks ago UN Security Council Resolution1441 that provides for a tougher weapons inspection regime in the country.

Under Resolution 1441, the weapons experts resumed their huntingfor prohibited weapons of mass destruction in Iraq on Nov. 27 aftera four-year suspension.

The inspectors, who have so far searched more than 200 suspectedsites in Iraq, must give their first report to the UN Security Council about Iraq's weapons programs by a Jan. 27 deadline.

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2003)