World Notes IRAQ

When you're fiftysomething, you're entitled to a little extravagance. But few birthday parties could match the spectacle staged by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein for his 53rd last month. Saddam invited Cabinet members, prominent government officials and diplomats to his home village of Tikrit for lavish festivities that included a two-hour parade and banners proclaiming YOUR CANDLES, SADDAM, ARE THE TORCHES FOR ALL THE ARABS.

At the climax of the parade, the residents of Tikrit wheeled out a simple cabin, and people dressed in the robes of ancient Babylon and Assyria prostrated themselves before it. When the cabin split open to reveal a palm tree from which 53 white doves were released, Saddam appeared to a wave of applause.

The President sat and watched the remainder of the show, including a tableau -- Moses redux? -- of a baby Saddam rocking in a cradle in the marshes. Remarked a Western diplomat: "Even to veteran Saddam watchers, this spectacle reached new heights."