The Pentagon said Friday that U.S. forces in Iraq are ready for any escalation of violence associated with 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," Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said Friday, hours before Saddam was hanged Saturday morning in Iraq.
U.S. forces will 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," Whitman said.
Closer to home, Americans were warned to be vigilant about the possibility of a terror attack. But an advisory that the FBI and the Homeland Security Department sent to local law enforcement agencies and intelligence community figures on Friday was routine and did not cite a specific threat.
Deputy White House press secretary Scott Stanzel, talking to reporters 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.
At the Pentagon, Whitman wouldn't comment on troop movements to strengthen security for the execution, but he said the commanders in Iraq have the ability to move forces as they deem appropriate based on conditions on the ground.