US forces ready for any surge in violence in Iraq

US forces ready for any surge in violence in Iraq

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon said Friday that U.S. forces in Iraq are braced for any violence that may follow the execution of former President Saddam Hussein.

''U.S. forces in Iraq are obviously at a high state of alert anytime because of the environment that they operate in and because of the current security situation,'' said spokesman Bryan Whitman. ''They'll obviously take into account social dimensions that could potentially led to an increase in violence which certainly would include carrying out the sentence of Saddam Hussein.''

Saddam has been in U.S. custody since he was captured in December 2003, and his lawyers said Friday that he had been handed over to Iraqi authorities. But there was conflicting information.

Tom Casey, deputy spokesman at the State Department, said in early afternoon that ''there has been no change in his status'' and that Saddam remained in American hands. In Baghdad, an Iraqi government official who refused to be identified by name because he was not authorized to release the information said authorities there were not yet in control of Saddam.

Casey said the information he had was provided by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

''I don't have any more details to offer you,'' he told reporters at the State Department. Casey reiterated the Bush administration's view that ''we think it's very important there be acountability.'' He said ''it was up to the Iraqis'' to formally request that Saddam be brought forward for execution.

Asked when that might occur, Casey said, ''I really don't have a timeline on this.''

The White House declined to comment on the timing of the execution.

Deputy White House press secretary Scott Stanzel, talking to reporters Friday from Crawford, Texas, where President Bush was vacationing, said the hanging of Saddam was a matter for the sovereign Iraqi government. Earlier, the White House said the appeals court decision to uphold the sentence marked an important milestone for the Iraqi people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law.

Said Whitman: ''Our forces stay at a constant state of high readiness in Iraq and I would expect through this period they would do the same.''

He wouldn't comment further on any potential troop movements to strengthen security for the execution, but said the commanders in Iraq have the ability to move forces as they deem appropriate based on conditions on the ground.

Whitman also said he wouldn't comment on anything that President Bush might be contemplating in terms of changing U.S. war policy in Iraq or in connection with the intensive administration review now under way on American strategy there.