Dozens of Baath party members, in their hallmark olive-green uniforms and armed with Kalashnikovs, deployed in clusters of fours and fives across Baghdad. Some of them stood behind the hundreds of sandbagged fighting positions that have been erected around the capital over the past two weeks. 

President Bush gave Saddam and his sons until 8 p.m. EST Wednesday (4 a.m. Thursday in Baghdad) to leave the country. About 300,000 U.S. and British troops stand ready to invade. 

The White House would not rule out a U.S. attack before the deadline, leaving the door open in case Saddam launched a pre-emptive attack or was about to do so. 

Iraq's people, Hammadi said, "stand united ... against treacherous forces and are ready for all sacrifices in their legitimate defense of their honor, principles and sanctities." They are "standing beside him (Saddam) in his holy struggle in defense of the independence of the country," he added. 

During the parliamentary session, legislators shouted, "With our blood, our souls we redeem you, Saddam!" and waved their fists in the air. 

At a news conference, Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf accused Washington of lying to American troops about the number of casualties they would suffer. He said the notion that invading Iraq "will be like a picnic" is "a stupid idea." 

Al-Shabab television, owned by Saddam's son Odai, showed patriotic songs and archive footage of the Iraqi leader greeting crowds and firing a rifle in the air. 

Ordinary Iraqis were phoning in the station, by far the most watched in Iraq, to express their support for Saddam. "We shall fight and be martyrs," said one male caller. "No, we shall fight and be victorious," the anchorman told him in a firm voice. 

Outside on a hazy day, the streets of Baghdad were quieter than usual, with some shops shuttered and light traffic even during rush hour. A day earlier, Baghdad residents mobbed bakeries and gas stations in a desperate rush before the deadline expired. 

"Death will come to you no matter where you are," Lamia'a Kazem Mohammed, a 55-year-old housewife in a black chador, said as she headed home with two small shopping bags in Baghdad's Al-Saydia area. "I am not going anywhere when the bombs fall. I am staying put at my house." 

Shelves in many shops in the commercial heart of Baghdad were nearly empty after store owners moved their merchandise to warehouses, fearing bombing or looting. 

At the Al-Saydia food market, shoppers showed a preference for onions and potatoes. "They can keep for a long time, so people are buying them in big quantities," said vegetables vendor Mohammed Adnan. 

The demand has caused prices to rise. A kilogram of potatoes was selling for 650 dinars, or about 36 cents, compared with 450 dinars, or 25 cents, a week ago, Adnan said. 

The dinar, Iraq's currency, lost ground against the U.S. dollar, slumping to about 2,900 to the dollar, compared with 2,800 on Tuesday and 2,600 a week ago. 

The exodus of diplomats continued, with ambassadors from Greece and France taking the overland road to Jordan. Many of the hundreds of foreign journalists covering the standoff have also left, with only several dozen now in the capital.