NEWS, 15-22/10/00

The news as such this week is pretty uninteresting, apart from the Syrian plane item. This is, I think, the first of these flights (apart from the Russian and the French who, as permanent members of the Security Council, are above the law) which has gone without giving prior notification to the Sanctions Committee. There are some interesting items in the Supplement ­ alarm at the apparent unravelling of US policy, and some explanation of why a US gunboat policing sanctions should have been allowed to refuel in Aden.

*  Azza Ibrahim to head Iraqi delegation to the Arab summit
*  Gadafi's son mediate regarding Kuwaiti captives in Iraq
*  Iraq Seeks To Contest U.N. Awards
*   Iraq holds on to hijackers
*  IAEA remains ready to resume verification work in Iraq
*  Iraq Earns Another 450 Million Dollars in UN "Oil-for-Food" Program
*  Syrian Plane to Iraq Defies UN Ban
*  Israel says its anti-ballistic missile operational
*  Mexican authorities discover another group of Iraqi Christians
*  UN Oil-For-Food Deal Fails to Meet Basic Needs: Iraq
*  Iraqi help for Palestinians
*  Iraq opposed to hijackings
*  Saudi Says Iraq Holding Pilot Missing Since 1991
*  IPU [Inter-Parliamentary Union] urges lifting of sanctions on Iraq
*  India befriends Iraq in bid to get oil
*  $1bn aid pledge by Saudis [report on Arab summit]
*  Iran Opposition Launches Mortars

URL only, for those who understand oil pricing policy:
http://www.gulf-news.com/19102000/BUSINESS/business24.html
*  Lifters say proposed Iraq Kirkuk price hike fair

NEWS SUPPLEMENT, 15-22/10/00 (sent separately)

*  Iran's diplomatic push highlights its key regional, Muslim roles
*  Saudi- Yemeni arrangements to carry out border demarcation agreement
*  The Saddam angle [by Laurie Mylroie. Who has recently published a book arguing that Saddam will have his revenge]
*  United States and Russia: Battling for Influence in Yemen
[Stratfor.com analysis of the strategic importance of the Yemen]
*  Middle East stalemate benefits Iraq [not much here we don't know but an interesting, non hysterical, summary of recent developments]
*  Middle East spends more than £7bn on weapons ['Saddam's neighbours' don't seem to feel that the protection we offer them is quite enough]
*  Suppose Baghdad Was Behind the Cole Bombing by Jim Hoagland [seems to be advocating that Iraq should be flattenedon the off chance that it might have had a hand in the Cole bombing]
*  War Scares: Beware, Globalization Doesn't Have to Succeed by Robert J.
Samuelson ['Globalization presumes that materialism refashions world politics' ­ an interesting statement of the general philosophy behind US foreign policy]
*  Zinni: 'Significant' change in Yemeni attitude led to decision to refuel Cole at Aden
*  Britain opens links with North Korea
*  Rogues? Not any more ­ The doctrine of containment is dying [two articles from the Guardian which I include because of the parallels between North Korea and Iraq]
*  Hastert Withdraws 'Genocide' Resolution [on the resolution before congress to ask Clinton to call the Turkish massacre of the Armenians 'genocide'. This was prompting Turkey to become less cooperative in the containment of Iraq.]
*  Whatever happened to the rogue states?
*  Documents link Gore to arms sales to Iran
*  Limits to participation [Germany and Japan both getting over their inhibitions about engaging in military action]

AND, as a special treat for football fans:

FOOTBALL SUPPLEMENT, 15-22/10/00 (sent separately)

*  Lebanon hold Iraq to a draw
*  Gulf war revisited [comment prior to the Iran-Iraq match]
*  Iran beats Iraq for first time since 1976
*  [Programme for next week]


NEWS, 22-29/10/00

The main development this week seems to have been the moves towards conversion from the dollar to the euro but note also the bombing raid on Monday and another incident this weekend. Note also the item on the Gulf War payouts. These include "Yugoslavia [SIC ­ PB], $13.2 million; China, $12.3 million; Russia, $11.5 million; and South Korea, $11.2 million." So everyone gets a cut. Flights to Baghdad airport have continued but though these are important they're rather repetitive so I've only given URLs. The Supplement is mainly interesting on general matters of US foreign policy and international law.

*  Mesopotamia's 'city of graves' excavated
*  Western warplanes bomb Iraq no-fly zone, U.S. Says
*  Iraq discreetly slips back onto Arab scene
*  Iraq slams outcome of Cairo Arab summit
*  Pentagon says Iraqi troops not a threat to Israel
*  Japan turn on style to break Iraqi hoodoo [football special]
*  Kadhafi will be first Arab leader to return to Iraq, his daughter says
*  Proposals between Iraq and Iran to open borders
*  Remains of the missing Saudi pilot found?
*  Millions spent on Camp Saddam
*  Jordan to ditch dollar in trade dealings with Iraq
*  Iran halts normalization with Iraq
*  4,000 Iranian pilgrims to visit holy sites in Iraq per week
*  Oil rises on Iraq rumours
*  UN approves $1.27 billion payout to Gulf War claimants
*  UN: Euro Account for Iraq Feasible
*  Iraqi troop movements no threat: Israel
*  US Denies Plane Hit by Iraq
*  Iraq still a threat to region: Kuwait

URLs ONLY
http://www.brecorder.com/story/S00DD/SDJ23/SDJ23317.htm
*  Pak-Iraq oil & gas sector co-operation discussed
Business Recorder (Pakistan)

*  Lebanese delegation in Baghdad, 26th October
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/001026/2000102603.html  

*  Syrian and Egyptian planes arrive in Baghdad today, 26th October
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/001026/2000102605.html  

*  More Russian flights to Baghdad
BBC World Service, 27th October
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_993000/993615.stm

http://www.news24.co.za/News24/World/Middle_East/0,1113,2-10
35_932628,00.html
*  Ukraine, Turkey, Egypt defy Iraq embargo

SUPPLEMENT (sent separately)

*  U.S. To Pay Victims of Terrorism
*  Vietnam may ask US for wartime compensation
*  Decline of the UN Council
*  Surprise for Yemenis: Cole Blockaded Iraq
*  FBI Uses Light Touch in Yemen Blast Probe
*  Containing Iraq: A Forgotten War [on patrolling no-fly zones]
*  Iraqi troop movement causes tension in Mideast
*  U.S. military spread across 142 countries
*  The role for the US in UN peacekeeping [by Jeremy Greenstock, United
Kingdom's permanent representative to the United Nations]

KURDISH SUPPLEMENT (sent separately)

*  Britain says Iraqi Kurdish area is an example to Saddam
* Barzani, UK Foreign Office Minister Hain Hold Talks
* KDP's Ankara Representative Interviewed on Ties With PKK, PUK
[Interview with Safin Diza'i, Ankara representative of the KDP. Very
informative.]
* PUK Concentrates Forces Near PKK Positions, Situation Tense
* Kurds battle daily for ethnic survival {quite useful general account of
situation in Turkey]
* Film Notes [A time for drunken Horses, by Kurdish film director, Bahman
Ghobadi]


NEWS, 29/10-5/11/00

*  Iraq reports two killed, one injured in U.S.-British airstrikes
*  Palestinian plane lands in Iraq
*  No Objections to Iraq Commercial Flights, Says U.S
*  Saddam fedayeen terrorising women
*  Iraq Gets UN OK for Euro Account [extract]
*  Fianna Fail MEP on Dublin-to-Iraq aid flight
*  Iraq says national airline to fly again [extract]
*  Iraq ready to build oil pipeline to Jordan
*  Turkish minister in Iraq for border trade talks [extracts]
*  Iran, Turkey relent on Iraq aid plane flight corridor
*  Iranian opposition says forces shell camp in Iraq
*  Saddam told to put his people before whisky [guess by whom?]
*  Kuwait had no official contacts with the Palestinian government
*  Iraq seeks Syria oil sales, tests U.N. Curbs
*  Jordan's Prime Minister flies to Baghdad for fair
*  Baghdad turns away Mauritania flight
*  UN committee fails to agree on Jordanian flight to Baghdad
*  Chinese Power Station Built in Iraq
*  Iraqi: We Got Bomb Info From U.S
*  Murders and mutilation in Iraq revealed
*  You have mutilated the truth about Iraq [by G. Galloway]
*  Saddam film-maker gets death threat
*  France Rejects [US] Iraq Flight Proposals
*  US warning on flights over Iraq
*  Kuwait Seizes Iraqi Ship
*  [Japanese] Govt to reopen embassy in Iraq in late Nov
*  Saddam's son tortured defeated footballers
*  Things improving in Iraq [report of Voices in the Wilderness visit to
Iraq]

SUPPLEMENT (sent separately)

*  Flights to Iraq Carry a Message to U.N. ^Ë Sanctions: As more nations challenge embargo imposed after Kuwait invasion, even the U.S. is rethinking its stance. [Los Angeles Times ­ with URLs for similar reflections in The Times and The Observer]
*  SAS top brass left us to die ­ Bravo Two Zero survivor blames ex-commander [tales of the Gulf War]
*  US Troop Alert in S. Arabia, Kuwait [this is interesting on the need to smuggle the USS Cole back without passing through the Suez canal, where it would be liable to the derision of the Arab populace]
*  Will US attack Afghanistan ? [From a Pakistani perspective]
*  Iraqi vendetta against dollar gives welcome boost to euro [Financial
Times]
*  A discreet way of doing business with Iraq [Financial Times. Largely on US involvement in business with Iraq]
*  Cheney Broke His Word on Dealing With Iraq [an American Jewish comment on the above story]
*  Addressing Iraqi Sanctions [editorial from the Hartford Courant on a series of anti sanctions articles they have run. Links are given to help find the articles in question]
*  Guessing game about future US set-up [Pakistani view on the foreign policy personnel of each of the two candidates for the US presidency]


NEWS, 5­12/11/00

I am trying to keep the news digests short, honest I am, but I'm not really succeeding. It all seems very interesting at the moment as the international community manifests its impatience with the 'international community', and the new generation of Arab leaders (Morocco, Syria and Jordan) perhaps show what stuff they're made of.

*  European firms compete at Baghdad trade fair
*  Mubarak meets Iraqi foreign minister
*  French Seek to Revamp Iraq Oil
*  Iraq grants political asylum to two Saudi hijackers
*  Iraqi flights challenge no-fly zone
*  Iraq Again Defies No-Fly Zone
*  Lebanese airlines to resume flights to Iraq
*  Baghdad rejects British report on Iraq
*  Iraqi Foreign Minister Concludes Visit to Yemen
*  Egypt upgrades ties with Iraq
*  Iraqi on trial in Baghdad after UN killings
*  Iraq paper criticises satellite TV delay
*  Saudi Arabia opens land border with Iraq
*  UK criticises French policy on Iraq [For Hain's speech to the Royal
Institute of International Affairs, see Supplement]
*  Iran firms seek slice of Iraqi market
*  Second French plane flies to Iraq [Jean Marie lePen and his Front
National]
*  18 Arab envoys call on BJP chief [in India]
*  Annan to talk to Iraqis about breaking impasse on inspections
*  Iraq Seeks Meeting With U.N.
*  Iraq queries future of UN's oil-for-food
*  Hain apologises for calling Paris contemptible
*  Iranian Foreign Ministry source quoted on return of Iraqi aircraft
*  Iraq Peace Prize [H. Von Sponeck]
*  Moroccan industry minister arrives in Baghdad
*  Greeks to fly to Iraq to oppose sanctions
*  Egypt hoists flag on mission in Baghdad
*  Iraq Asks U.N. to Extend Current Oil-For-Food Phase
*  [US] Defense Chief To Visit Gulf States
*  Partial operation for the Iraqi- Syrian oil pipeline
*  The US and the Iraqi oil pipeline [and, by way of an archive item: *
 Britain warns Iraq against opening oil pipeline to Syria]
*  Indian MPs ask Annan to lift curbs on Iraq
*  Arab suspects linked to big operation against US [in Kuwait]
*  Assad meets with top Iraqi official
*  Row brews over Iraq request for control over revenues
*  UN committee condemns Iraq abuses
*  Saddam: 6.6 million volunteers, army to liberate Palestine
*  Islamic summit: Break ties with Israel
*  Jordan to help rehabilitate grounded Iraqi planes
*  Trip to Baghdad flies in face of UN sanctions [G.Galloway's flight]
*  Turkey raises diplomatic representation with Iraq
*  Bombing in Iraq an 'undeclared war'  ­ Lib Dems accuse MoD of misusing no-fly zones


NEWS SUPPLEMENT, 5­12/11/00 (sent separately)

*  Misunderstanding Sanctions [a summary of the argument in favour of maintaining sanctions]
*  Iraqi nuclear arms specialist tells of a CIA snub as he fled [more of
Kidhir Hamza]
*  Oil is one thing - unity is another [Israeli view of Arab attitudes to
Iraq]
*  Western style of democracy proposed [Kuwaiti intellectual on democracy and Islam in Pakistan]
*  What Game Are We Playing in Yemen? [on differences in attitude towards the Gulf between the US Defense Departtment and the State Department]
*  Yemen, Islamic Jihad, bin Laden and Iran's hardliners
*  His file of threats to his people [Full text, I think, of Foreign
Office report on atrocities in Iraq]
*  Upon his return from a gulf tour [Full text of P.Hain's address to the
Royal Institute of International Affairs]
* Federalisation of Iraq [Kurdish view on how Iraq could be reorganized to prevent domination from Tikrit]
*  Not an alliance - yet [Israeli view on relations between Iraq and
Syria]
*  Commentary: US emerging as defacto world government? [US feeling that the rest of the world is ganging up on them]

URL ONLY
http://www.bangkokpost.net/today/121100_News24.html
*  Ignoring Baghdad puts all at risk, Bangkok Post editorial, November 12, 2000 A curious item. An apparently deeply felt call on the US to stuff Saddam back in his box. But why should they feel so strongly about it in
Bangkok?

http://www.economictimes.com/today/12poli08.htmNew Economy | Companies |
  | Updated 0003 hrs IST 1333 EST
*  Russia hints at triangular alliance
Economic Times (India, I think)
The idea of an alliance between Russia, India and China to counterbalance
the US.


NEWS, 12-19/11/00

The main items of interest in all this lot seem to me to be two new
bombing raids by the US and UK; Iraqi proposals to levy a sum on oil
transactions outside Oil for Food for maintaining the infrastructure of
the oil industry; and, in the supplement, the visit to Iraq of former war
prisoner, John Nichol, his effort to create sympathy for the Iraqi
people, and the fact that this is being supported by the Mirror
newspaper. My favourite item is 'Saddam Accepts Gift of Boeing 747' with
the quote from the donor, Sheikh Hamid bin Ali Ali-Thani, to the effect
that: "There is no political significance to the gift ^Ê it only reflects
my true love for Iraq and its wise leadership,"

*  Jordan, Iraq and Syria as fertile Crescent nucleus
*  Bin Laden denies involvement in Cole explosion
*  Iraqi Promoted to Chief U.N. Envoy
*  Russian FM to urge Iraqi to allow inspectors
*  U.S., Brits Strike Iraqi Radar Site
*  UN, Iraq to hold comprehensive talks
*  Iraqis and former GIs to sue in US over depleted uranium
*  Moves begin for Kuwait, Iraq patchup
*  Iraq emerges victor of "intifada" summit
*  Coventry honours German dissident's son over Iraqi work
*  U.S. Warplanes Pound Iraqi Sites
*  UN paying dearly for blunders: auditWaste and theft cost $17-million
-- but gift shop doing well [extract on misuse of UN funds in northern
Iraq]
*  Aziz Could Visit China End-November
*  Iraq vetoed nomination of Saudi to head OPEC
*  Prince Andrew meets emir of Kuwait
*  Hundreds of Poets Gather in Baghdad
*  Six killed in bomb attack on cafe in northern Iraqi city of Arbil
*  Syria says it will resume full diplomatic ties with Iraq
*  Oil higher on U.S. winter, Iraq worries [an interesting overview of
the general oil situation that has put Iraq in a strong bargaining
position]
*  Baghdad renews assault on sanctions [Iraqi proposals to UN for having
the means to maintain its oil industry infrastructure]
*  Iraq beefs up oil price to beat sanctions [Iraqi instructions to its
customers independent of the UN for having the means to maintain its oil
industry infrastructure]
*  Annan: sanctions must be more effective
*  Kuwaiti government expected to resign beginning of next week
*  Cohen Affirms U.S. Role in Gulf
*  Saddam Accepts Gift of Boeing 747
*  Iraq says more than nine-thousand killed by sanctions
*  Briton killed, wife injured in Riyadh by suspected car bomb
*  'Main elements' arrested in bombing [in Yemen]
*  Russia's Ivanov has Kuwait talks on Gulf tensions
*  Cohen: Mideast Violence May Spread [extract on US relations with the
United Arab Emirates]
*  Cohen: Qatar condemns Qatari sanction-buster [extract. The article
indicates that Sheikh Hamid bin Ali Ali-Thani wasn't acting on behalf of
the Qatari government when he gave Saddam Hussein a Boeing 747. It
doesn't actually say that the Qatari government condemned him for it]
*  Mine blast injures six children in southern Iraq
*  International Energy Forum underway in Riyadh

URLS ONLY
I didn't have the heart to include these two latest releases from the
Foreign Office. The first is more or less the 'restricted' FO document
that was 'obtained' by the Guardian a couple of weeks ago, now recycled
as the story of an unnamed 'high level defector'. The second is based on
satellite pictures showing Republican Guards moving boxes around together
with news gleaned from the 'debriefing' of yet more defectors. With
regard to making out a case against Saddam Huseein I suspect that any
subscriber to this list could probably do a better job.

http://observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,399714,00.html
*  Saddam indulges in execution orgy
by Paul Harris
Observer, Sunday November 19, 2000

http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=000579381554028&rtmo=VkjZmmjx&atmo=99999999
pg=/et/00/11/19/wsad19.html
*  Saddam stockpiling deadly chemical weapons
By Christina Lamb, Diplomatic Correspondent
Sunday Telegraph, 19 November 2000

NEWS SUPPLEMENT (sent separately)

*  U.S. ally Turkey doubting Iraq embargo
*  John Nichol - Back To My Cell (RAF hero John Nichol's emotional return
to Iraq)
*  John Nichol: Ten years ago I tried to bomb your country yet now we're
here as equals. My heart is very full.
*  Back to Iraq: The people [extract from BBC account of John Nichol's
visit to Iraq]
*  Lift the sanctions against Iraq now [article by John Nichol in The
Observer]
*  Analysis: Bashar's slow, steady start [on Bashar Assad in Syria]
*  Degraded policy [attack on sanctions policy by Jeremy Hardy in the
Guardian]


NEWS, 19-25/11/00

The main element this week seems to be the confrontation between William
Cohen and Igor Ivanov. Ivanov wants a system of security co-ordination
which would include Iraq and, implicitly, threaten Israel; Cohen wants a
system of security co-ordination against Iraq. there is also the
re-opening of the pipeline to Syria; and the continuing question whether
or not Iraq will reduce its oil output, thus still further raising
prices.

The discussion articles in the News supplement do not add much to what we
know but generally support the anti-sanctions cause. I have added a
special supplement mostly on sanctions elsewhere, most interesting with
regard to Afghanistan.

*  Bulgarian Politicians Land In Baghdad
*  Russian FM calls for "regional security system" with return of Iraq
*  Iran blasts Cohen for U.S. presence in the Persian Gulf
*  Iraq pays Israeli farmers $7.9 million in Gulf War damages
*  Mercy plea for Kuwaiti man convicted of treason [head of the Iraqi
installed 'government' of Kuwait]
*  U.S. has no Saudi assurance on oil supply hike [in event of Iraq
radically reducing oil supplies]
*  Iraq seeks 'economic unification' with neighbors ['fertile crescent'
poposal of an Iraqi-Syrian-Jordanian-Lebanese alliance, mentioned in last
week's news]
*  Cohen: Sanctions can be lifted even with Saddam in power [this article
is especially interesting on US-Jordanian relations]
*  Russia says it lost $30 billion through anti-Iraq sanctions
*  Turkomans seeking unity in north Iraq meeting
*  Iraq may allow U.N. inspectors back -- Saudi paper
*  Iraq set to resume Syria oil exports
*  Iraq denies oil exports to Syria
*  UN: Iraq denies its exporting oil to Syria, but plans pipeline
*  Washington's new archbishop -- a foreign affairs specialist
*  Iraqi Marsh Homeland Can Be Restored, Says UK MEP
*  Iraq submits low December crude prices, UN resists
*  Over 15,000 war veterans died of chemical weapons syndrome [Iran suing
the US for supplying chemical weapons to Iraq]
*  Lack of clearance grounds first scheduled Baghdad flights [from the
UAE]
*  Switzerland opens mission in Iraq
*  Iraq threatens halt to oil exports
*  India favours lifting sanctions against Iraq
*  Russia-Belarus Slavneft to sign upstream Iraq deal
*  [Syrian delegation to Baghdad]

URLs ONLY:

http://www.wn.com/?action=display&article=4497956&template=worldnews/search.
txt&index=recent
*  1.7 million Iraqis parade in support of Palestinians
UPI, Mon 20 Nov 2000

http://www.wn.com/?action=display&article=4515018&template=worldnews/search.
txt&index=recent
*  Iraq Claims To Hit 'Enemy Warplane'
BAGHDAD, Iraq (Associated Press, Tue 21 Nov 2000)

NEWS SUPPLEMENT, 19-25/11/00 (sent separately)

*  Analysis: Iraqi sanctions solution nearer
*  Arabs more willing to work with Iraq
*  Inside the Pariah's den
*  Kurds face nightmare of mines
*  Voucher system fails to halt rise in asylum applicants [largely owing
to big influx of Iraqis]

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT ON SANCTIONS, 19-25/11/00 (sent separately)

*  U.S., Russia work for Afghanistan sanctions
*  Afghanistan: the way out
*  US, Russia face opposition to extra Afghan sanctions
*  US stance on Osama is not tenable
*  US imposes missile sanctions on Pakistan
*  Lockerbie prosecution leaves a 'gaping hole'
*  U.S. threatens sanctions against Russia [for arms sales to Iran]
*  Russia ignores US warnings of sanctions over Iran


NEWS, 25/11­3/12/00

My efforts to reduce the size of these mailings are proving to be quite
futile but it is difficult to resist items with titles like 'Did Saddam
write rousing novel'?

The most obviously important news is the Iraqi suspension of oil sales. I
have gathered the articles on this together into a separate supplement
without distinguishing news and commentary. It makes a little story on
its own.

As for the other news, the most obviously important items are Tariq
Aziz's tour (Syria, China, Russia, Syria again); improvements in
Syrian­Iraq relations; improvements in Iraqi­Indian relations; and
preparatory skirmishes for a new round of Iraqi­UN talks early next year.

*  Iraqi minister flies to Damascus defying UN embargo
*  Iraqi Airways reopens Damascus office
*  US Sanctions Air Gulf Falcon President Over Gift To Iraq
*  Three held in Iraq sanctions protest [on the activities of a
previously unheard of anti-sanctions group called 'Moses in the
Wilderness']
*  We'll sell oil to help Palestinians: Saddam
*  Saddam calls for attacks on US, Israeli targets [extract]
*  Iraq sends Palestinians 50 trucks of provisions
*  Saddam Increases Iraqi Food Rations
*  Iran Investigates Seizure of Vessel by Kuwait
*  Russia to help Iraq, Lybia clear mines [this includes interesting
indications that our government and its US ally have been obstructing
mine clearing operations in Libya and Iraq]
*  ONGC [the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, India] joins hands with
Reliance for Iraqi oil property
*  How Saddam's blue eyes make Panja's heart melt
*  Oil for India, food for Iraq & embargo for UN
*  China Condemns No Fly Zone in Talks With Iraqi Aziz
*  Golden goal wins title for Iraq [in the Asian Youth Under-19
Championship]
*  Japan embassy in Baghdad opens unofficially, on limited basis
*  Diplomats return to Baghdad [extract]
*  Iraq's Aziz in Moscow for sanctions talks
*  U.N., Iraq To Talk After Ramadan [the article also includes
information on a new head for the UN Compensation Committee]
*  Did Saddam write rousing novel?
*  Jordan Sends Disputed Flight to Iraq [with related URLs]
*  Iraq Is Her Destination Of Choice [about Voices in The Wilderness's
Kathy Kelly]
*  Top U.S. official [Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs
Thomas Pickering] signals softer stance on Iraqi sanctions
*  Iraq Says Western Planes Go Beyond No-Fly Zones
*  Aziz: Iraq Won't Agree to U.N. Team
*  West's overtures to Saddam alarm Kurds
*  These mothers say sanctions killed their children [BBC report]
*  Annan scolds U.S., Iraq for delays in food programme
*  Iraq: French plane 'defies' UN sanctions
*  Iraqi archeology exhibition in Lyon in 2002

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT ON THE IRAQI OIL SUSPENSION CRISIS (sent separately)

*  Iraq to defend price mechanism, says oil minister
*  Ships refuse to pay Iraqi oil surcharge
*  Iraq strengthens resolve on December oil pricing
*  Iraqi plan threatens winter oil supplies
*  UN says buyers may lift Iraqi oil without price agreement
*  US makes goal to ship 23 mln bbls of emergency oil
*  Oil eases on US and Saudi assurances [small extract]
*  Iraqi oil export suspension looms from midnight [small extract]
*  Iraq: Oil Prices 'Noncompetitive'
*  Iraq halts oil exports [small extract]
*  Iraq Halts Oil Exports as Clash of Wills Continues
*  IEA and US hold the line as Iraq pressures the crude market
*  Why Saddam is flexing his muscles
*  Experts: Iraqi oil move shrewd, calculated
*  'Bully' Saddam theatens to cut off oil supply [small extract]
*  Iraq dispute threatens oil inventories
*  OPEC's Rodriguez says no action planned on Iraq
*  Quick solution to Iraqi dispute unlikely, say diplomats

NEWS SUPPLEMENT (sent separately)

*  Air Force Shifts Bombers' Missions [on US policy to base its bombing
capacity closer to the intended targets]
*  Gulf War Syndrome vets show brain flaws
*  Britain 'backing US against world court'
*  Saddam's Bombmaker [favourable review of Khidhir Hamza's book]
*  Sanctions Against Iraq Be Removed as Soon as Possible [unusually
forthright article from the People's Daily in China]
*  U.S., Russia Seek Taliban Embargo
*  Yemen pact on Cole probe a loser [Problems with the Yemeni government]
*  Pentagon rolls back anthrax program again
*  Bioterrorism: can we deal with it?
*  Sanctions fears panic Afghans
*  Revealed: Executioner tells of mass slaughter in Saddam's jails [a new
defector, at least new to me]
{and, lest we forget that there is in existence a body which has some
legitimate claim to be called the voice of the 'international
community':]
*  UN General Assembly slams Israel again


NEWS, 3-10/12/00

The oil story turned out less exciting than it seemed to be at the end of
last week but there's still a lot of it so I've again put it into a
separate 'supplement', probably more important than anything in the main
news. The 'News Supplement' includes a couple of pieces on what foreign
policy might be under Bush so readers may like to delay reading those for
a few days to see if it matters.

*  Iraq to open four new embassies
*  Iraq gets planes back from Tunisia, Jordan
*  Iraq's Trade Minister Visits UAE
*  UN Criticizes Human Rights in Iraq
*  Exiled Jerusalem bishop visits Iraq
*  U.S. Gulf War study cuts chemical release by half
*  P[eople's] H[ealth] A[ssembly, meeting at 'Savar', which I can't find
in any of my atlases ­ PB] calls for end to sanctions on Cuba, Iraq
*  Russia criticizes U.S. for highly politicized stand on Iraq
*  Kuwait seizes smuggled Iraqi goods ['The Kuwaiti Interior Ministry
said hundreds of goats and sheep and a large quantity of dates were
confiscated.' It is very difficult to summon up
any feeling of respect for the Kuwaiti government]
*  Lebanese ministers discuss economic, oil cooperation with Iraq
*  U.N. awards $208 million in Gulf War claims
*  Irish claims against Iraq deplored
*  Western air strikes wound 3 in Iraq
*  Riyadh gives up demand for extradition of hijackers
*  Arab economic union to meet in Baghdad next june
*  Extra Syrian oil supply raise suspicions over Iraq
*  Ending the misery in Iraq is Seattle minister's prayer
*  Iraq Supports Palestinian Uprising [with payment of nearly $1billion]
*  Turkey says north Iraq Kurdish clashes intensify
*  Iraq says UN has approved oil-for-food deal with India

URLs ONLY:
http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3H3DR3BGC&live=t
ue
*  Editorial comment: Saddam's oil weapon
Financial Times, December 3 2000
This does not add to our knowledge except that it shows the Financial
Times in favour of maintaining total UN control over the Iraqi economy.

http://www.wn.com/?action=display&article=4727664&template=worldnews/search.txt
index=recent
*  UN Team Hopeful for Iraq Inspection
Just really a reminder that the Weapons Inspection team exists.

OIL SUPPLEMENT (sent separately)

*  Iraq Blames U.S. for Its Halt of Oil Export
*  Iraq Bans Reselling Oil to Enemies
*  Iraq, U.N. discuss compromise on Dec oil prices
*  Iraq crude boycott targets U.S. oil import reliance
*  Iraq oil-for-food deal extended
*  OPEC Oil Output And Iraq
*  France proposes plan to adjust Iraq's oil-for-food program
*  UN extends Iraq oil program, relaxes spending restrictions
*  Iraqis Delay Agreeing to U.N. Deal
*  U.N. and Iraq Agree on Oil Price
*  OPEC oil price falls below $28

NEWS SUPPLEMENT (general discussions and items not immediately about
Iraq. Sent separately)

*  Platform: The sanctions boomerang [an Indian warning that the
sanctions imposed on Pakistan may not have the desired effect]
*  The IDF is taking lessons in communication skills [secrets of the
MoD's success in managing the media]
*  US Officials Should Look Beyond The Terrorist Pawns Deployed By Bin
Laden And Take Action Against The States That Support Him
*  How Helms is sparking a real crisis [the ''American Servicemembers
Protection Act'' aimed to ensure that no American serviceman will ever go
before an international tribunal]
*  Israel Launches Observation Satellite From Siberia
*  Pentagon Shapes the Bush Policy Team
*  The wrong man to run the State Department [On Colin Powell: 'After the
irresolution of the Christopher-Albright years, the next secretary of
state must be someone who is not uneasy with the assertion of US
leadership or nervous about the projection of power abroad.'  This seems
very unjust to Madeleine Albright.]
*  Putin makes a political misstep in trip to Cuba [not only should the
Russians cut off all help to their old ally they shouldn't even go there
without US permission]
*  Saddam Wins, America Sleeps [the selection of US foreign affairs
hysteria I am offering in this supplement comes to its shuddering climax]
*  CIA warns US faces biggest threat since World War II [though this runs
it close]
*  The Biggest Robbery of the Century [about the UN Compensation
Commission. But its just a rewrite of the Monde Diplomatique article
circulated to this list by Sandeep Vaidya on 18th October]
*  Iraqis on the list [letter to the Observer commenting on 'Saddam's
executioner' which featured in last week's supplement]


NEWS, 10-17/12/00

The major news is of course the imminent departure of Madeleine Albright
and her replacement by Colin Powell. It would be foolish to hope too much
but so far it seems to me that the signs are as good as they could be.
Most of the articles concerning Bush and Powell are in the Supplement.
Due to the sheer quantity of items in both the news and the Supplement I
am not, as previously,  giving the Supplement headings here.

Two URLs ONLY which give something of the difficulty of choosing
oil-related articles, especially this week. We've also had Iraq demanding
the surcharge and not demanding the surcharge and, of course, as ever,
oil prices rise, oil prices fall:
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/001213/2000121329.html Free!
*  IRAQ'S SUSPENSION OF OIL EXPORTS CONTINUES, UN SAYS
http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=144178
*  UN CONFIRMS IRAQ RESUMES OIL LOADINGS

*  Bad Weather Delays Resumption of Iraqi oil sales
*  Mole reveals Saddam plots against Iran [not actually a mole but yet
another defector. Someone high up in Iraqi ruling circles who, for some
strange reason or other, isn't being treated like a war criminal]
*  Iran Calls for Reactivation of Security Accord with Iraq
*  Iran, Iraq for normalizing relations [extract]
*  Iraqi Paper Criticizes France
*  Cuba/Iraq: Radio, TV and news agencies to cooperate
*  Iraq Agrees to Oil-For-Food Deal Extension
*  Iraq airline plans regular flights to Jordan
*  Iraqi spokesman reports US-UK air sorties on 10th December
*  Egypt, Libya, Iraq agree to establish a free zone area
*  Iraq insists again on surcharge for oil sales
*  Saddam reportedly withdraws troops from Kurdish safe haven ['Iraqi
sources reportedly stated that the Yezidi Kurds -- a small faction in
northern Iraq, living in the town of Ba'adra -- had invited the Iraqi
army to "liberate" them from the KDP forces ...']
*  Saddam Opens Palaces To Feed Poor [in Ramadan]
*  Hit Iraqi ground forces from air, allies urged [by Iraqi National
Congress]
*  Hussein Forcing Kurds, Non-Arab Iraqis to Flee Homes [in Kirkuk area.
This is from Benon Sevan, not from either our or the US government so it
deserves to be taken seriously. So far, however, I have seen nothing
about it in the Kurdistan Observer]
*  Saddam gives £6,000 for every intifada martyr
*  2 Iranian letters circulated at U.N. Security Council [about Iraqi
violations of the Iran/Iraq ceasefire. But why is Iran treating the
Security Council as if it has a right to interest itself in the matter?]
*  Russia blocks UN panel attack on Iraq oil surcharge [I remember seeing
a report in the last two weeks, but can't find it in the material I sent
out, which seemed to indicate that Russia was PAYING the surcharge]
*  Egypt to Re-open Regular Flights to Baghdad
*  Norway takes on responsibility for UN's Iraq sanctions
*  Baghdad: three men in Ode's [Uday's] assassination attempt is [sic] in
a neighboring state [Iran]
*  Iraq considering buying Proton cars [from Malaysia]
*  Bush will follow predecessors: Iraq
*  Spanish flight in Baghdad for first time in decade
*   Iraq admits the cost of sanctions ["America is trying to bleed Saudi
Arabia and Kuwait, especially by selling American weapons to these two
countries, using the excuse of Iraqi threats. It is in the interests of
the military industry complex (in the United States and Britain) that the
situation stays the same so they can sell weapons to countries which do
not need such weapons and cannot even use them." ­ Tariq Aziz. Not a bad
summary]
*  Kurdish refugees return to Turkey from Iraq
*  Iraq accepts Iran's plan on PoWs
*  Powell calls for stiff sanctions against Iraq [a fuller account of
Powell's remarks is given in the Supplement. My reading of diplo-speke
suggests that 're-energising' the sanctions regime might be a euphemism
for making it more tolerable]
*  People's committee [in Syria] to back the Iraqi people
*  Russia serious in lifting sanctions on Iraq

SPECIAL BUSH POWELL SUPPLEMENT, 10-17/12/00


*  Bush, foreign policy novice, has set out principles ['He says he will
maintain tough sanctions on Iraq']
*  At last, a US president who won't meddle [Simon Jenkins being very
optimistic: 'This suggests ... that sanctions might be lifted from Iraq.'
They won't be. But they might be modified in a positive way]
*  Powell's speech - excerpts [quite a full account]
*  Powell says foreign commitments will be reviewed [short extract]
*  US spies likely to move out of 'cushy' Europe [On Powell's British
connection]

URL ONLY:
http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2000/12/15/News/News.17452.html
Friday,  
*  President-elect Bush to avoid personal Mideast role, say aides
by Janine Zacharia
Jerusalem Post, December 15 2000, 18 Kislev 5761
Israeli view of what to expect with Bush. Mainly that he should be fine.
NB: 'Bush thanked the prime minister [Ehud Barak] and said he has great
respect for the way the people of Israel have over the last few months
handled the test that has been placed on the way to peace.'

SUPPLEMENT TITLES

*  Tougher sanctions [against the Taliban]
*  174,000 Afghan refugees voluntarily return home this year [from Iran]
*  Air Guard troops return from Gulf [this may be a rather frivolous item
but the thought that some of the pilots overflying Iraq are women from
Hawaii induced in me a state of culture shock]
*  Saddam's empty oil threat [a curious piece from the FT which starts
off ridiculing recent Iraqi policies and finishes by suggesting that they
might succeed]
*  Putin slams Cuba sanctions
*  U.S. panel seeks anti-terrorism plan ['U.S. terrorism experts sources
say there were 392 acts of terrorism worldwide in 1999, and of the total
169 were aimed at U.S. targets, and the trend is upward. There are 858
known U.S. anti-government extremist groups and 86 known non-U.S. groups
with an anti-U.S. agenda.' Scary, huh? Shows, the panel of anti terrorism
experts concludes, that we need a full time, well-paid panel of
anti-terrorism experts]
*  Military chairman: Armed forces under strain [New enemies. New threats
to America. The armed forces need more money]
*  U.S. Must Prevent China From Becoming Threat, Says Shelton [extract.
More of same]
*  US going it alone on Iraq ['Except for the British (and they are
increasingly wobbly) ...', so there's hope yet]
*  Anti-missile system that raises the ante [Scottish defence of the US
proposed National Missile Defence scheme. It seems that, without the US
to keep order in the world, the rest of us would all be at each other's
throats]
*  Putin Backs Cuban Goals
*  World Criminal Tribunal [the NY Times thinks the US should support it:
'As one of the nations most often asked to clean up the messes created by
troublemakers like Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein, the United
States would greatly benefit from the existence of a court that could try
such men and put them behind bars.']
*  Yemen sees new era in ties with Saudi Arabia
*  RAF crisis as personnel quit: Flight crews are frustrated by
underfunding and lack of adequate training, says senior officer [need
more money]
*  The refugees' champion fights the tide: UNHCR is caught between
growing indifference in the west and ever greater need
*  Cleric's memoirs ignite a cyber war with Tehran leaders [on Montazeri,
whose memoirs should be very interesting, but are still, alas, only
available, on the web, in Persian]
*  UK demands speedy arrests after Saudi bombing


NEWS, 17-24/12/00

Nothing of any great interest this week. Britain bombs Iraq, Saddam
builds super-computer out of Playstation 2s stolen from American
children, new/old defector reveals to general world amazement that Iraqi
scientists are investigating the possibility of building a nuclear bomb -
usual old stuff. I have divided the Supplement into two - one directly
related to Iraq, the other to related issues, mainly aspects of the 'new
world order'. This may be the general pattern in future mailings.
Silliest quote of the week (a week in which the competition has been
tough) come in one of the NWO articles, "Britain in N-missile summit":
'Foreign Office Minister Peter Hain yesterday said that the British
Government recognised US concerns over the threat of missile attack by
rogue states such as Iraq.'    

*  Airlines prepare to resume flights to Iraq - paper [extract on Iraqi
contract with Airbus - see message sent to list by F.Arbuthnot]
*  UN embargo claims 10 000 Iraqis [Iraqi figures for November]
*  Iraq trade delegation visits Muscat
*  Turkey's parliament renewed no-fly zone permission
*  Kuwaiti puppet govt head wants freedom or death [trial of head of
government installed by Iraqis in Kuwait]
*  Syria ups sour crude sales as Iraqi imports flow
*  U.S. says has Syrian assurances on Iraqi oil
*  U.S. Purposely Ignores Iraq Oil Flow
*   Saddam grabbing PlayStation 2s for weapons
*  Iraq buys 4000 PlayStation 2s in world conquest bid
*  UN sends oil lifters telex advising against Iraq fee [nb. the wording
of this telex is the same as the wording that was reported 'blocked' by
Russia in last week's news report]
*  UN oil overseers accept Iraqi oil-pricing formula
*  Iranian Pilgrims Banned from Visiting Iraq Via Third Countries
*  Iraqi attorney seeks death penalty for UN killings
*  Annan Reports no progress on missing Kuwaiti issue
*  Iraq asks to diversify funds in Paris-based bank
*  Iraq seeks surcharge on exports
*  Iraq can destroy Israel, defense minister says
*  China Sends Plane to Iraq for First Time Since Gulf War
*  Japan to let firms join U.N. humanitarian program for Iraq
*  Mubarak Calls for Establishment of Arab Common Market
*  U.S., British Planes Hit Iraq
*  Jails get ready to house asylum seekers [short extract giving figure
of 1,150 Iraqi asylum seekers last month]
*  Moscow says will work with new U.S. government on Iraq
*  Saddam Meets Senior Official From China
*  Iraq restarts nuclear bomb effort, report says [You guessed it!
Another 'defector' revealed by the Sunday Times. This one has been living
in Jordan since 1998 and only now is he going to be interviewed by the
IAEA]

URLs ONLY:
http://www.timesofindia.com/201200/20mide8.htm
*  Iraq accuses Arafat of 'sell-out'

http://www.irna.com/newshtm/eng/30192554.htm
*  Iran wins U.N. tender to sell soap to Iraq

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001222/wl/egypt_iraq_dc_1.html
*  Egypt Sends Plane Carrying Theater Troupe to Iraq

http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/001222/2000122210.html
*  Iraqi parliament tells to British House of commons sanctions are
killing innocent people
Arabic News, 12/22/2000

IRAQI SUPPLEMENT, 17-24/12/00 (sent separately)
[Articles of reflection directly dealing with Iraq]

*  Grief-stricken Palestinians getting checks from Iraq
*  Iraqis reeling under sanction see glimmer of hope
*  Bush's Saddam test [Israeli view of Powell's remarks on sanctions.
They are not reassured]
*  Bush Team Sets Ambitious Target in Iraq Policy [I include this in full
because it gives a rundown of the views of a wide range of 'experts' in
the field]
*  Report: economic growth linked to Iraq, Mideast peace [extract]
*  Matthew Norman's 'turncoat competition' [on P.Hain]
*  Board Sees Stress As a Primary Cause of Gulf War Illnesses
*  No cover-ups on Gulf War Syndrome, panel says
*  Powell Reconsiders Sanctions on Iraq (5 years ago he wrote against
them; now he'd make them tougher) ["The problem is that sanctions are
most often imposed against regimes that have only their own interests and
the retention of power at heart ... And since these leaders are still
going to have a roof over their heads, food on their table and power in
their hands, sanctions rarely work against them." ­ Colin Powell, 1995]
*  The Anglican Church's voice in the Valleys [very short extract. The
Archbishop of Wales' views on Iraq]

NEW WORLD ORDER SUPPLEMENT, 17-24/12/00 (sent separately)
*  Japan divided over call to contribute more to U.N. Peacekeeping
*  Britain in N-missile summit [Britain's role in proposed US National
Missile Defence system]
*  The dilemma of intervention criteria [by Yasushi Akashi, former head
of the U.N. Transitional Authority in Cambodia and special representative
of the U.N. secretary general to the former Yugoslavia]
*  Taliban bashing by another name [sanctions on Afghanistan]
*  Arbitrary & ill-advised [sanctions on Afghanistan]
*  Talented Ms Rice will play a new tune [account of new US national
security adviser, Condoleeza Rice]
*  Port visit for U.S. warship diverted after terrorist threat [in
Naples, AND Suspect in Cole bombing identified]
*  Albright highlights importance of foreign policy continuity ['She said
the Clinton Administration "picked up a lot of issues from the first Bush
administration." One of those issues was the Bush's policy of unifying
Europe under democratic governments, a theme her policy team continued in
involvement in the Balkans. Albright said the aim of a Bush policy on
Europe was that it "be whole and free and the missing piece was the
Balkans. I think as a result of our policies that piece is now in
place."']
*  Test of trust between nations [on intelligence sharing among EU
countries and between the US and the UK]


NEWS 24-31/12/00

Not easy to spot any important trend in the main news apart from China's
apparent growing interest in the Iraq issue. I apologise for continuing
to run the Playstation story but hopefully that's now at an end. The
article 'Southland Muslims Seek to Ease U.S.-Led Embargo on Iraq' in the
Iraqi supplement is a quite encouraging account of anti-sanctions efforts
by a variety of different religion based groups in the United States. The
article 'Castro, Saddam and Chavez Pose Challenge to Bush' is in the NWO
section because its mainly about Chavez but its quite relevant to Iraq as
well.

*  Saddam's son Uday attends Iraq parliamentary session
*  Saddam's son Uday says Iraq heading for multiparty system
* Conference on Persian Gulf to be held in Tehran
*  India considering humanitarian flights to Iraq
*  Chinese Exports to Iraq Amount to Two Billion Dollars in Four Years
*  China calls for early lifting of UN curbs on Iraq
*  Iraq accuses Turkey of blocking water-sharing plan
*  Saddam Calls Holy Fight on Israel
*  Iran does not let Iraq-bound flights via Iran's route
*  Saddam donates hundreds of Korans to Iraqi Kurds
*  Iraq: Saddam receives message of allegiance from Kurdish tribal
leaders
*  Baghdad Says US, British Jets Bomb Southern Iraq
*  Experts weigh in on Iraqi Playstations
*  If Saddam wanted PlayStations he, too, would have to wait in line
*  Iraq Questions Credibility of UN [for failing to report or prevent
violations of its air space]
*  Iraq wants peace talks [with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, but doesn't ask
for them with the sort of language that could be expoectewd to get them]
*  Iraq again interrupts Mina Al Bakr exports
*  Heroes and villains [letter to the Independent from Harold Pinter on
the villainy of T.Blair]
*  Iraq Urges A[rab] L[eague] Intervention to Halt US, British
Aggressions
*  Ceyhan pipeline started pumping Iraqi oil Thursday
*  Gulf Council States Discuss Rapid Deployment Force
*  Yugoslavia to take on Iraq in opener in Kochi

IRAQI SUPPLEMENT (sent separately)

*  Suffering of war opens way to a brighter future for Kurds
*  Southland Muslims Seek to Ease U.S.-Led Embargo on Iraq
*  IAF reveals Gulf War attack plan
*  Saddam guard wants to stay in Oz [this is one of a spate of articles
about the conditions of refugees at Woomera in Australia. I haven't
included these articles but many of the refugees in question are from
Iraq]
*  Iraqi dissidents deal with U.S. Life [the advantages and disadvantages
of seeking asylum with the people who have destroyed your country]
*  Sanctions give Iraq little to celebrate [the end of Ramadan in Iraq]
*  Saddam £10k to kill Top Gun [The Sun reports on the heroism of our
boys having to face five hours without the possibility of a having a wee
in order to break Iraq's national pride. Does this indicate a tabloid war
with the Mirror after its piece on John Nicoll?]
*  Muslims mark sombre Eid [the end of Ramadan in Iraq]
*  Saddam Hussein: the last great tyrant (by Robert Fisk)
*  Next Pentagon chief a supporter of Iraqi resistance [on Donald
Rumsfeld's support for the Iraqi Liberation Act]

NEW WORLD ORDER SUPPLEMENT (sent separately)

*  Madeleine Albright [brief account of career with sycophantic
interview]
*  Venezuela calls on OPEC to go to battle over oil price
*  Sanctions target the innocent
*  OIC [Organisation of Islamic Conference] urged to impose sanctions on
India [over Kashmir]
*  How the mighty are fallen...
*  European nations probe illnesses of troops in Balkans ['Some
specialists argue that uranium rounds are environmentally harmful.']
*  Moscow-Tehran ties threaten Gulf
*  Bush's Pentagon Pick Is Missile-Shield Savvy [on the new Defense
Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, who persuaded the US government that their
country faces a serious threat of missile attack from Iraq and therefore
need to spend lots of money on an anti-missile umbrella]
*  Promoting the national interest - exercising power without arrogance
[by the new US security adviser, Condoleezza Rice]
*  Iran Now a Hotbed of Islamic Reforms [a rare article that presents
Iran as a country in which there are many people who have a variety of
different and interesting thoughts about the world. The author, who also
wrote the piece on Madeleine Albright which begins our selection, finds
this fact stunning and amazing]
*  Castro, Saddam and Chavez Pose Challenge to Bush
*  This is the world in 2015 [new global trends report from the CIA. The
document itself may be had at
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/globaltrends2015/index.html]