Sandstorms slow advance on Baghdad, civilian woes in Basra

British troops battled die-hard Iraqi defenders of Basra on Tuesday as warnings mounted of a humanitarian crisis for the city's 1.3 million residents. Blinding sandstorms plagued the American-led advance on Baghdad.\nDespite adverse weather in some parts of Iraq, U.S.-led warplanes bombed targets in the northern part of the country. And U.S. troops in control of a vast Iraqi air base sealed 36 bunkers, earmarked as possible sites of Saddam Hussein's elusive weapons of mass destruction.\n"We cannot know the duration of this war, yet we know its outcome," President Bush said after receiving an update at the Pentagon. "We will prevail. ...The Iraqi regime will be ended ... and our world will be more secure and peaceful."\nNot surprisingly, Saddam Hussein saw it differently. State television carried what it described as a message from him to tribal and clan leaders, saying, "Consider this to be the command of faith and jihad and fight them."\nWeather or not, the U.S.-led invasion moved ahead.\nElements of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division were about 50 miles from Baghdad and hit Republican Guard units defending the Iraqi capital with an all-night artillery barrage.\nThousands of other troops hastened - as much as the sandstorms would allow - to join them for the coming battle against Saddam's seat of power.\nBut some helicopters were grounded by the weather, and combat aircraft taking off from the USS Harry Truman returned a few hours later without dropping bombs on their targets.\nDistant explosions could be heard in Baghdad, and efforts were underway to dig deeper defensive trenches around the city. Witnesses said Saddam's intelligence headquarters as well as a sprawling defense complex were hit in overnight bombing.\nIn the early hours of the invasion, military commanders had hoped that Basra's population would welcome the invading forces.\nInstead, resistance by irregular and other forces has kept British troops from securing the city and paving the way for the flow of relief operations.\nAnd in an about-face, a British spokesman told reporters, "We are seizing tactical opportunities as they occur on our terms."\nStill, the spokesman, Col. Chris Vernon, described a situation of enormous difficulty. "We are not firing into the center of the city because we cannot risk the collateral damage to civilians, even though we are being fired on by their artillery," he said.\nIn addition, Vernon said Iraqi troops are using the local population as human shields, marching them toward the British troops, then firing from behind them before retreating.\nThere were reports of clashes between forces loyal to Saddam and civilians in Basra, but U.S. Marine Maj. David C. Andersen said they were unsubstantiated. "We are closely monitoring the situation," he added.\nUnited Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and others have warned of a possible humanitarian crisis in the city. The International Red Cross said during the day it had begun repairs at a war-damaged water-pumping station serving the city.\nBeyond the need for water and electricity, Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Program, said government food warehouses are "practically empty."\nBush, after receiving his war update, said U.S. forces were clearing the approaches to Umm Qasr of Iraqi-laid mines. "Coalition forces are working hard to make sure that when the food and medicine begins to move it does so in a safe way," he said.\nBritish Prime Minister Tony Blair, who will confer with Bush this week at the presidential retreat at Camp David, was at pains to prepare the British public for difficult days.\n"There will be resistance all the way to the end of this campaign," he said.\nDefense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld also made clear he didn't know how long the war would take. "We're still needless to say much closer to the beginning than to the end," he said.\nThe war unfolded side by side with diplomatic maneuvering.\nSpeaking in Toronto, the American ambassador Paul Cellucci said Canada's refusal to send troops to the war effort has upset and disappointed the United States and caused a "bump in relations."\nIn Saudi Arabia, Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said his country has contacted the United States and Iraq with a peace proposal, and was awaiting a response.\nHe did not disclose the proposed terms. The Bush administration said it was not aware of any Saudi peace proposal, and there was no response from the Iraqi government.