NEWS, 31/12/00­-6/1/01

 

The star item this week is of course von Sponeck's letter to the Guardian,

the comprehensive demolition of the usual FO arguments (in the 'Iraqi

supplement')

 

*  Saddam, Firing Shots in Air, Greets Big Army Parade

*  Saddam suffers 'severe stroke' [note that the report comes from the

Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the Iran backed Shi'i

opposition group which refuses to accept any financial support from the US.

This inclines me to take what they say seriously.]

*  Iraq Says Reports of Saddam Illness Are Absurd

*  Saddam TV footage 'may have been doctored'

*  Gulf Arabs Sign Defense Pact, Soften Anti-Iraq Words [Gulf Co-operation

Council meeting]

*  Gulf security pact [a commentary from the Pakistani paper, Dawn, which

concludes that 'the GCC cannot hope to become in the near future an

economic, political or security force to be reckoned with in the Middle

East, let alone in world politics']

*  Presence of foreign troops irks Arabs: poll [this contains the

interesting information that 'leading religious scholars' are organising an

apparently quite effective boycott of US goods in Saudi Arabia. Fast food

chains are particularly badly hit]

*  Kuwait can pump oil for 132 years [so, other things being equal, it will

be 132 years before the west throws it like a gnawed bone into the hands of

Iraq]

*  British sanctions-breaking group leaves for Iraq

*  Buyers say Iraq oil sales still dogged by problems

*  India in touch with UN on Iraqi deal [This article may help to explain

current Iraqi strategy, perhaps even including their refusal to restore

'normal' oil sales. The UN allows for exceptional direct deals outside the

'Oil for Food' structure, such as the deal with Jordan. The Iraqis would

like to multiply deals of this sort which are also in the interest of the

other partner who thereby, in this instance at least, becomes an ally]

*  Iraq Slams UN for Delaying Decision to Aid Palestine

*  Iran to release Iraqi POWs

*  UN-Iraq Talks Seen Starting in Feb

*  Egypt's exports to Iraq up

*   Iraqi official seeks expansion of trade relations with Iran

*  Iraq Sanctions Pose 'Moral Problem' Says Chirac

*  Syria Removes Restrictions on Travel to Iraq

*  Saddam's son attacks Russian firms [does Uday's recent burst of activity

hint at the likelihood of a succession struggle?]

*  Norway elected to head the UN Committe on Sanctions Against Iraq

*  UAE envoy may visit Baghdad shortly

*  Iraqi [sic. Should be Saudi ­ PB] pilot remains found in the Iraqi desert

*  Turkey appoints first ambassador to Iraq since Gulf War

*  Iraq wants to boost trade with Pakistan

 

IRAQI SUPPLEMENT

 

*  History Is the Best Proof [an article from the Tehran Times about the

recent criticisms of Ayatollah Khomeini made by his one-time designated

successor Hossein Ali-Montazeri. The article is interesting here for what it

says, rightly or wrongly, about the role played by the Mojahedin Khalq

Organization in the Iraqi attack that launched the Iran-Iraq war]

*  The great survivor [long Guardian article on the triumph of S.Hussein]

*  Syria joins Iraq, Iran against Israel [on Bashar Assad's foreign policy]

*  'It is an outrage that you repeat fabricated disinformation' [letter to

the Guardian from Graf Hans von Sponeck on Peter Hain's defence of

sanctions]

*  UK defends Iraq sanctions [Hain's reply]

*  Iraq has a rich cultural heritage

 

URL ONLY:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk_politics/newsid_1096000/1096054.stm

*  Bush faces Iraq dilemma

by diplomatic correspondent Barnaby Mason

BBC, 1st January

[This article is just an attempt to spin some words out of Powell's

're-energise sanctions' phrase]

 

NEW WORLD ORDER SUPPLEMENT

 

*  U.S. Signs Treaty on War Crimes Tribunal

*  Global justice? Haider has heard that story before ['Under the proposed

court's rules, the United Nations Security Council (of which the US is one

of five permanent members) can authorise a court prosecutor to investigate

claims of crimes.This allows the US to have it both ways - avoid its

citizens ever being tried, but ensuring it can initiate attempts to

prosecute the war crimes of others.' The 'Haider' in question isn't Jorg,

but an Iraqi refugee called Haider Aljuboory]

*  Peace is the wrong strategy [Jerusalem Post article auggesting that

Israel should emulate the US and abandon the failed strategy of 'employing

peace as an element of strategic defense']

*  Peacekeepers [sic - PB] face radiation testing as more deaths reported

[of soldiers serving in Kosovo, where depleted uranium was used]

*  First British Victim Of 'Balkan War Syndrome' Revealed

*  Nato urged to clean up its uranium debris in Kosovo

*  Back to the Future: Globalization Grows Up and Gets Political [by Fareed

Zakaria, who has been  appointed to become editor of Newsweek International]

*  Targeting Muslim countries [Pakistani former general compaining about the

demonisation of Islam.]

*  Profile of the week: Osama bin Laden [as, for example ...]

*  5 nations take turn on UN Council [Colombia, Ireland, Mauritius, Norway

and Singapore are to be permitted on occasion to sit in the same room as the

rulers of the world]

*  Briefing of the week: Bosnia [short extract on US deployment overseas.

The article as a whole is interesting on Bush's policy with regard to

withdrawing from the Balkans.]

*  Holbrooke Leaves His Mark at U.N. [mainly on Holbrooke's success in

getting the US debt to the UN rescheduled]

 

URL ONLY:

http://www.dawn.com/2001/01/04/op.htm#1

*  Will the UN sanctions on Afghanistan work?

by Dr Ayesha Siddiqa-Agha

Dawn, 4th January

[Interesting article on one of the next horrors that is developing in the

world]

 

 

 

NEWS, 7­14/1/01

 

Lots still happening. These reports seem to be getting way out of hand at

the moment. Most obviously, the world seems at last to have noticed the

scandal of depleted uranium. I have given it a separate supplement, but

don't claim that my selection is exhaustive or even that I've managed to

assemble the best pieces. In particular, there were important articles in

the Guardian and the Independent which I haven't given here.

 

At the same time, with much less publicity, Turkey has sent 10,000 (perhaps)

troops into northern Iraq, without the consent of the Iraqi government.

Which I imagine is an illegal act, but 'international law' as we know, is a

rather selective affair. As usual, I've turned to the Kurdistan Observer and

produced a selection of articles from that.

 

Otherwise, there's the tomato, Ramsey Clark arriving in Iraq, Clinton

handing over a large sum of money to the INC, more ambiguity over Iraq's oil

policy, which is very difficult to follow, and continuation of the Hain/von

Sponeck confrontation ,which I've put in the 'Iraq supplement' together with

various reminiscences of the Gulf War.

 

*  Mortars Explode in Iranian Capital

*  What's wrong with Saddam? Sore feet

*  Iraq Demands U.N. Man's Withdrawal

*  Galloway seeks answers on phone tapping

*  Britain seeks u-turn over Iraq bombing

*  Security Council Designates Chairpersons Of Sanctions Committees

*  U.N. panel split over Iraqi offer to Palestinians

*  Iraq Withdraws from India Tournament

*  Iran, Iraq exchange bodies of soldiers

*  Tomato hits Blair in protest about Iraq sanctions

*  Two in court over Blair tomato

*  India hopes to buy 1 mt crude from Iraq

*  Iraq resumes normal exports from Gulf port: Press

*  [Egyptian] Aid flight to Baghdad stopped

*  Routine Syrian Jan oil exports cloud Iraq pipeline issue [not clear if

the Syrians are 'illegally' receiving Iraqi oil]

*  Iraq oil exports still well below average: UN

*  Iraq still out of market

*  Peace Action to march against Iraq sanctions [protests in Oakland County,

in Metro Detroit, particularly interesting because it seems to be largely an

Iraqi ­ largely Iraqi Christian ­ immigrant community]

*  Shot-Down Flier Could Be Alive, Says Navy

*  Iraqi defector reported U.S. pilot in Iraqi hospital

*  Iraq Rejects Reports US Pilot Lived

*  UK Iraq policy 'bonkers' [account of BBC interview with George Galloway]

*  Iraqi Airways reopens Beirut office

*  Iraq starts distributing ration cards for 2001

*  Iraq Blames UN Committee for Shelving Humanitarian Contracts [1,762

contracts altogether, worth some US$4billion]

*  Iraq Says Two People Injured in Air Raid

*  Nuclear watchdog to inspect Iraqi nuclear material [Annual IAEA

inspection]

*   Iraqi vice-president to visit Egypt

*  US gives go-ahead to Iraqi opposition

*  Iraq wants OPEC oil output cuts of three million bpd by March

*  U.S. activists land in Baghdad airport

 

URL ONLY: 

http://www.timesofindia.com/110101/11euro2.htm

*  Russia urges US, Britain to end strikes on Iraq

Times of India, 11th January

 

URL ONLY;

http://www.economictimes.com/today/12comm02.htm

*  Iraq asks for certified fungus free wheat

Economic Times (India), 12th January

[Not an unimportant item since the India/Iraq wheat for oil deal seemed to

indicate a possible way by which the Oil for Food arrangements could have

been made redundant]

 

DEPLETED URANIUM SUPPLEMENT, 7-­14/1/01 (sent separately)

 

*  Allies 'told in 1991 of uranium cancer risks' [Felicity Arbuthnot et al]

*  Tests reveal weapons dust danger to British soldiers

*  British safety claims wilt as uranium panic grips Nato

*  Iraqi paper likens US to Dracula

*  Iraq Demands U.S., British Compensations for Depleted Uranium

*  These children had cancer. Now they are dead. I believe they were killed

by depleted uranium [by Robert Fisk]

*  DU fears are baseless [so that's all right]

*  Protests against depleted uranium weapons planned [quite interesting on

the troubled state of the factories that made the stuff]

*  U.N. and NATO differ on depleted uranium risk

*  10 years on, Iraq feels vindicated by Balkans Syndrome

*  NATO's Use of Depleted Uranium Munitions a 'Crime Against Humanity', Says

China [Yes, well. So is turning Tibet into a nuclear dumping ground]

*  MoD backtracks on cancer report: Advice on shells came from senior

officers, ministry admits

 

IRAQ SUPPLEMENT, 7­14/1/01 (sent separately

 

*  I fought apartheid. I'll fight Saddam [Peter Hain's reply to Hans von

Sponeck's letter to the Guardian, which was in last week's news digest]

*  Admit you have failed, Mr Hain [H.von Sponeck's reply, and other replies,

to Peter Hain (selection sent to list by Seb Willis)]

*  Fighting Talk [This is quite an interesting short account of the present

state of the Iraqi economy, of the impossibility of trying to run an oil

industry when one is only allowed to spend money on food and medicine]

*  Saddam Threat Looms, Thanks to Papa Bush [On the difficulties of being an

upright, straight in the eye American living in a world full of devious and

self serving Europeans and Arabs. Includes some intriguing gossip on the

subject of economic relations between Iraq and Syria]

*  Albright regrets passing on Iraq problem [short extract complaining about

the UN allowing Saddam some money to refurbish the oil industry]

*  Quiet...Then the Sky Caught Fire [account of what it was like in Iraq on

the first day of the Gulf War]

*  Dunes of Glory [Scottish hero of the Gulf War. Only for readers for

strong stomachs but the hero in question did see the aftermath of the

massacre on the road to Basra: "When you see the carnage of the Basra road,

it leaves a mark on you."]

*  10 years after Gulf War Kuwait opens up [but is still wholly dependent on

foreign assistance for its defence]

 

URL ONLY:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=000579381554028&rtmo=wenKfMAb&atmo=99999999&pg=/et/01/1/10/nblur310.html

*  Britain and US isolated over Iraqi sanctions

by Anton La Guardia

Daily Telegraph, 10th January

[Daily Telegraph's mournful reaction to the tomato]

 

URL ONLY:

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=6786

 *  Link survives between Iraq, Arab-Israeli conflict

 

KURDISH SUPPLEMENT, 7-­14/1/01 (sent separately)

 

News report editor's introduction

*  Turkish army enters South Kurdistan [December 19]

*  A PUK Official confirms [reports] of Turkish troops in Suleymania-region

[December 20]

*  HADEP [People's Democracy Party]: Mediator in war in northern Iraq

*  Report: Turkish Troops Sent in Iraq [6th January]

*   Iraqi Kurdish leader [Jalal Talabani, of the PUK] in Ankara as PKK

assault gathers steam

*  Iraqi Kurd Chief Denies Seeks Turkish Military Aid

*  Kurdish leader urges Turkish investment in northern Iraq

*  Talabani To Ask For Money And Weapons [a pro-PKK account]

*  Talabani Has Put The South Up For Sale [another pro-PKK account]

*  Interview-Iraqi Kurd Leader [Talabani] Says U.S. Tough Talk Not Helpful

[apparently preparing a Turkish ­ Iraqi Kurd ­ Iraqi rapprochement]

*  An unwelcome cuckoo in the nest -- Part 1 [an informative article

supporting a US/Turkish alliance to achieve the final suppression of the

Turkish Kurds]

*  An unwelcome cuckoo in the nest [presumably part 2, mainly about the PKK

and the support it supposedly receives from Iran. I haven't seen a part 3]

*  KDP keeps distance from Ankara

 

NOTE: Some background material on the confrontation between the PUK and PKK

can be got from the earlier Kurdish Supplements sent in these news reports

for 1­7/10/00 and 22­29/10/00

 

NEW WORLD ORDER SUPPLEMENT, 7­-14/1/01 (sent separately)

 

*  Opec proposes output cuts, but US disapproves

*  Pentagon Cites Germ Weapon Threats [How all the money that has been spent

on conventional and nuclear weapons is useless against a teaspoonful of

anthrax. They don't, however, come to the conclusion that it would be better

to save on the expenditure and stop trying to reorganise the rest of the

world in their own image ...]

*  Emerging agenda: The world according to Helms ['nuff said]

*  Holbrooke: EU blocking Council reform [I found this very difficult to

follow ­ not clear what the 'reforms' in question are ­ but more

knowledgeable people may find it interesting]

*  Analysis: Bin Laden's Witness [for those who are curious to know what

evidence the US have to support their policy of imposing sanctions on

Afghanistan.]

*  Cheney, Powell Face Old Nemesis Saddam [an extract giving the new Bush

team's record of demanding tough action against Saddam, when they weren't

actually responsible for policy]

*  Rogue states and terrorist threats identified in attempt to boost

spending [The Guardian beginning to sound quite radical for a change]

 

URL ONLY:

http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/friday/news_a3f5140ea57a705100c0.html

*  Yemen questions Cole security, paper says

Atlanta Journal, Friday, January 12, 2001

 

URL ONLY:

http://www.iht.com/articles/7481.htm

*  Zoellick [Bush's appointment as chief trade representative] Was Key

Player In Both NATO and WTO

New York Times Service, January 13, 2001

[He seems from the article to be profoundly uninteresting. But very

brilliant, of course. Was he the model for Woody Allen's film 'Zelig'?]

 

 

 

NEWS, 14-21/1/01

 

*  Saudi firm to start direct exports to Iraq

*  Iraq says oil exports will soon return to 2 million barrels a day [press

conference by Iraqi oil minister, Amer Mohammed Rashid]

*  Iraq will not let U.N. inspectors return, minister says

*  Iraq: U.S. attempting to 'cover the truth' with missing Gulf War pilot

*  Egyptian FM Rejects "Indefinite" U.N.-Imposed Sanctions on Iraq

*  Iraqi fishermen say they [are] harassed by Iran, Kuwait

*  Iraqi oil smuggled out on train via Syria

*  Saudi, Iraqi ministers discuss upcoming haj plans

*  Iran Group Claims Mortar Attack [in Teheran by Iraqi based Mujahedeen

Khalq]

*  [Indian] PM writes to Saddam ['conveying India's interest in the

reconstruction of Iraq']

*  Aziz Finds Friendly Audience [in US activists]

*  Iraq gives $9m to intifada [actually 900m, though not clear that its

actually or will actually change hands. PLO rep in Baghdad to discuss

modalities]

 *  Iraqi Feb Kirkuk oil prices approved by U.N

*  British oil firms in talks with Iraq

*  'Stop the war' with Iraq, Canadian churches urge

*  Water and sanitation kills Iraqis: British activists [Voices in the

Wilderness visit to Iraq]

*  Minister says Iraq has right to sell oil freely

*  London traffic stopped by Iraq sanctions demo

*  Hunt supporters sanction rival protest

*  Aziz blames West for Gulf War [Extract giving account of Voices protest

in NY]

*  Syrian mediation between Iraq and the Arab Gulf states

*  Iraq denies mediation for reconciliation with Saudi Arabia

*  Jordan forms committee for building oil pipeline from Iraq

*  Australian Government Urged to Change Policy Towards Iraq [by group

including ex-PM, Malcolm Fraser]

*  Baghdad lavishes riches on elite [short article has a bit more nuance

than the headline]

*  US air strike in southern Iraq

*  End To U.N. Sanctions Sought [Fellowship of Reconciliation in New York

targetting Richard Holbrooke]

*  Britain promises flexibility on Iraq inspections [Hain trying to sound

reasonable. Unfortunately the Iraqi experience of weapons inspectors from

1991 to 1998 argues against him]

*  Palestinians march for Iraq on Gulf War anniversary

*  Hussein Calls for Arab Unity [account of SH's 10th anniversary TV speech]

*  UN Complains Iraq Neglecting Health, Oil Sectors [Report from Benon Sevan

criticising Iraqi purchasing policy]

*  Saddam may hold the key to West's prosperity [by making up the gap

created when OPEC reduces its oil quotas]

*  Egyptian - Iraqi relations beyond diplomatic representation [and related

URLs]

*  Iraq shoots self in foot again [Uday reasserting claim to Kuwait and

reaction among Arab and Gulf states. With related URLs]

*  Some 11,000 Iraqis die in December, 2000 of the siege

*  Vietnam flouts Iraq air embargo

*  Iraq, Kurds still in dialogue despite break: Baghdad

*    Dr. Barham Salih becomes the new Prime Minister of the PUK-controlled

region of Southern Kurdistan

*  Iraq Says Airstrike Kills Six

*  Israel investigates its envoy in Atlanta for alleged Iraqi link [He is

accused of having an Iraqi friend, a very serious offence, it appears]

*  Iraq seeks UN permission to aid 'wretched Americans'

 

URLs ONLY:

http://www.nypostonline.com/news/worldnews/21297.htm

*   Saddam's vicious sons to fight it out

by Niles Lathem 

New York Post,January 14,2001

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk_politics/newsid_1119000/1119736.stm

*  Call to end Iraq sanctions

BBC, 16th January

[Account of BBC interview with Tony Benn. Also starring Peter Hain and the

Kuwaiti ambassador to London. Summary of well established positions]

 

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010117/wl/iraq_leadall_dc_1.html

*  Iraq Marks Gulf War with Eye on New U.S. Leader

by Nadim Ladki (Reuters, 17th January)

[Account of Baghdad rally attended by Ramsey Clark's International Action

Center]

 

http://www.dawn.com/2001/01/19/ebr3.htm

*  Wheat export to Baghdad, Kabul, Tehran targetted

by Aamir Shafaat Khan

Dawn (Pakistan) 19th January

 

IRAQ SUPPLEMENT, 14-21/1/01

 

*  In the wake of the high-tech 'storm' [NY Post. A US-eye view from high

tech wizardry to regret not pushing on to Baghdad to Gulf War Syndrome. Not

much on how the Iraqis may have lived it]

*  Female POW: I wasn't a hero [Seattle Times. An account of imprisonment in

Iraq by Gulf War POW, Michelle Koidin who was, as it happens, treated

correctly]

*  Gulf War didn't stop Hussein  [Sunday Times. I haven't bothered with the

article but I include a chronology given at the end of it]

*  A time for celebration [Jerusalem Post. The Arabs have been kept down,

which is good, but they still have delusions of grandeur, which is bad]

*  A war without end [Observer. John Nichol, the Gulf War prisoner. While

justifying the war he argues against the postwar bombing and sanctions]

*  Kuwait bears scar of war [suggests that Kuwait has suffered a moral

collapse since the Gulf War]

*  Gulf War Tied Israel's Hands [Life in Israel during the Gulf War]

*  Saddam sent hitman to kill London foes [A defector's tale, by Marie

Colvin, who seems to specialise in this sort of thing. Sunday Times]

*  Iraqi deserter prospers in US [an extract describing a huge 'tent city'

in the Saudi desert full of Iraqi refugees]

*  Kurds Still Dependent on Outsiders [useful account of present situation

of Kurds. More informative than Peter Hain as to why they're presently

better off than the rest of Iraq. But it does pose a question as to whether

we in the anti-sanctions movement should be opposing the existence of the

no-fly zone over Iraqi Kurdistan]

*  Iraq's Basra now a far cry from its past glory [tragedy of Sinbad's

birthplace]

*  Kuwait's crossroads [Western liberties or faithfulness to tradition?]

*  Gulf War lesson: how the peace was lost [The Age, Australia:  'instead of

the success of post-World War II West Germany, Iraq has been more like a

post-World War I Germany: alienated people seeking revenge against the

victors.' Quite a good critique of the post war policy from a

pro-Imperialist standpoint]

*  Links between FF and the Iraqi regime [Article by Fintan O'Toole in the

Irish Times suggesting that the opposition to sanctions by leading Fianna

Fail representatives, though wholly honourable, is, or may be, or we will

insert into the ear of our readers that it is, motivated by greed. This is

one nasty little piece of work]

*  Let's finally end the Gulf War [a strange article using the arguments

that are usually used in favour of sanctions, eg the bold assertion that

'Western intelligence indicates that Iraq has rebuilt its arsenal of weapons

of mass destruction', to argue against them]

*  Eyewitness: Iraq stuck in timewarp [BBC. Account of life in the

University of Basra]

*  Ten years after the Gulf War, UN should stop punishing people of Iraq

[very good statement of basic argument]

*  Saddam ready to put Bush to test [Extract giving some not very

encouraging quotes from Bush aides Rumsfield, Rice and Wolfowitz]

*  Over a barrel: Abandoning sanctions now would simply strengthen Saddam

[Nasty little editorial from the Times]

*  First Night of Gulf War Detailed [What S.Hussein was doing. Extracts from

The Secret Battle, Its Leader, The Events And Facts That Preceded It by

Iraqi Lt. Gen. Abed Hammeed Mahmoud]

*  Powerful, moving pictures in the wake of war [account of some films made

about the Gulf War and its aftermath]

*  Saddam is aiming for a regional war [it seems that, thanks to that woolly

minded liberal Madeleine Albright, Saddam is now more heavily armed, at any

rate he has more tanks, than he was at the start of the Gulf War]

*  Standing firm against Saddam [Nasty little editorial from the London

Evening Standard]

*  If Saddam doesn't get you the UN sanctions will [I used to think Saddam

was vicious until I realised what Tony Blair was up to ...]

*  Ten years after the Gulf War, Saddam smiles again [Ha'aretz worried at

Saddam's success in the Arab world]

*  Defying misery caused by the UN embargo [on the thriving art scene in

Baghdad, and they aren't all pictures of S.Hussein ...]

 

URLs ONLY:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_1118000/1118923.stm

*  Agony of Kuwait's missing

by Frank Gardner in Kuwait

BBC, 15th January

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_1118000/1118539.stm

*  Gulf War: Iraq's legacy of pain

by Barbara Plett in Basra

BBC, 15th January

[mentions road to Basra]

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_1118000/1118611.stm

*  Flashback: Desert Storm

by Tarik Kafala

BBC, 15th January

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_1118000/1118812.stm

*  Lessons of the Gulf War

by Defence Correspondent Jonathan Marcus

BBC, 15th January

 

http://www.cnn.com/chat/transcripts/2001/01/16/sadler/

*  CNN's Brent Sadler looks at Iraq since the Gulf War

CNN, 16th January

[Nothing here we don't know but it seems to be quite a reasonable account of

the present state of Iraqi public opinion]

 

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010116/wl/kuwait_iraq_dc_1.html

*  KUWAIT WANTS OIL-FOR-DEMOCRACY PLAN FOR IRAQ

by Ashraf Fouad (Reuters, 16th January)

 

http://www.news24.co.za/News24/World/Middle_East/0,1113,2-10

35_967330,00.html

*  Saddam's sons cultivate power

News 24, 18th January

[Does contain the following: 'Odai also has a paramilitary force called

"Saddam's Commandos", though it's better known for bizarre antics than

military prowess. Members wear black masks and have been shown on television

butchering cats, dogs and wolves and then eating the raw meat.' Is this well

attested? Is it very likely from a group which has pretentions to being

'Muslim'?]

 

http://www.worldnews.com/?action=display&article=5348766&template=worldnews/

search.txt&index=recent

*  TURK, IRANIAN RIVALRY IN IRAQ

UPI, Thu 18 Jan 2001

[Account of the situation in Iraqi Kurdistan. Not particularly enlightening]

 

http://www.dawn.com/2001/01/18/op.htm#2

*  IRAQ: TEN YEARS OF CRUEL SANCTIONS

by Asma Rashid

[Sympathetic article from the Pakistani paper Dawn, but it more or less

restates the case using the same sources we do eg von Sponeck v Hain]

 

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT OF NEWS ITEMS RELATING TO DEPLETED URANIUM, 14 21/1/01

 

*  West's DU ammunition worries ring hollow in Iraq

*  Gulf war file gave uranium warning. [Includes the following interesting

little bit of information that I haven't seen anywhere else: 'Ray Bristow, a

Gulf war veteran, was last night prevented from travelling to Iraq when the

Foreign Office refused to allow his chartered plane to leave Britain.

Bristow wanted to see the alleged effects of DU on children in the south of

Iraq.']

*  Four nations took brunt of toxic shells [gives details, from military

sources, on where and when it was used]

*  Facts overruling DU emotions [Cool headed, reflective, objective

researcher Mark Laity calms our fears]

*  Are the governments of Nato guilty of committing a heinous war crime?

[but not those of R.Fisk, who quotes NATO documents on the need to do what

M.Laity is doing 'until something better comes along']

*  DU admission stokes Gulf war health row  [traces of plutonium in DU

shells]

*  I see no evidence of harm: The Ministry of Defence's chief scientific

adviser attacks the press [He says there is no danger if the correct

procedure is adopted. He does not say if the children of Basra adopted the

correct procedure or were informed as to what the correct procedure is]

 

http://www.worldnews.com/?action=display&article=5375532&template=worldnews/

search.txt&index=recent

*  GERMAN OFFICIAL CITES URANIUM PAPERS

BERLIN (Associated Press, Fri 19 Jan 2001)

Incidents involving DU in Germany in the eighties

 

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/national/010120/5031433.html

*  'I'M SURE WE'VE BEEN EXPOSED' TO DEPLETED URANIUM, SOLDIERS SAY

by Douglas Quan, with files from David Pugliese, Christopher Guly and Ryan

Baker

Ottawa Citizen, 20th January

[Canadian soldiers involved in clearup on road to Basra. One might have

hoped they would have had still more shocking things to report]

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_1118000/1118306.stm

*  IRAQI ALARM OVER DU AMMUNITION

by Barbara Plett in Basra

BBC, 15th January 

 

NEW WORLD ORDER SUPPLEMENT, 14-21/1/01

 

*  The questionable future of NATO [by Henry Kissinger. The veteran

mass-murderer, responsible for the bombing of Cambodia and Laos, see Simon

Jenkins' piece later on, suggests that, under Bush, Europe will just have to

come to terms with America's greatness]

*  We must fight the good fight for jingoism [by Michael Gore in The Times.

Another attempt to give credibility to the Bush conception of foreign

affairs. Which has also all of a sudden become the Hague conception, though

in Bush's absence we didn't hear much about it]

*  West claimed moral high ground with air power [by John Keegan of the

Daily Telegraph, a classic article that everyone should have framed on their

wall as a reminder of the depths to which we fall when we give free reign to

our propensity for moral self righteousness]

*  U.N. Sanctions Keep Iraqis Poor, Hopeless [The title is very misleading.

The article is actually about the nature of modern weaponry and ends up with

a brief description of the best known items in the American arsenal]

*  Bombs that turn our leaders into butchers [Simon Jenkins' powerful

description of the Plain of Jars in Laos. After which let no-one think that

we and our allies are in any position to accuse anyone of 'war crimes']

*  Condoleeza Rice comments Iraq sanctions, Balkans [Nothing's gonna change

our world ...]

*  Deadly blast from the past [an account of the virtues and shortcomings of

'fuel air' weapons. Concludes that cluster bombs are a more effective way of

killing people, though fuel air bombs are good for dispersing the evidence

of a chemical weapons attack]

*  Analysis: Khalilzad and Bush's Afghanistan policy [Account of the Afghani

who may guide the process of sanctions against Afghanistan. He favours

pitting the Pashtun against the Talibani. Since the Talibani are themselves

the present day representatives of the Pashtun, this may be difficult.]

*  Diverse faith groups at prayer lunch [A self indulgence on my part. But

I'm intrigued by the apparent respectability of Sun Myung Moon who, as I

knew, controls the Washington Times and also, as I didn't know but was

beginning to guess, the United Press International. Both these two organs

seem to be very anti-Iraq]

 

URLsONLY:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/commentary/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV0101160080,FF.html

*  DISPUTE REFLECTS DEEPER CONFLICTS, RIVALRIES BETWEEN EUROPE AND U.S.

by William Pfaff

Chicago Tribune (probably from Los Angeles Times), 17th January

 

http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/01/17/afghanistan.us.threats.reut/index.html

*  U.S. OFFICIAL SAYS AFGHANISTAN CENTER OF TERRORISM

CNN, January 17, 2001

 

 

 

NEWS 21-27/1/01

 

Owing to lack of time this is a modest mailing compared to previous efforts.

Main items are probably the oil ones, and the possibility that Iraq is

succeeding in imposing its surcharge; the likelihood of a visit by the Pope;

the WHO inspection of the effects of DU on civilians (potentially a much

more important development than the enquiries into the effects on soldiers

in the Balkans); and the excuse that factories capable of producing chlorine

may provide for new bombing raids.

 

IRAQI LARGESSE

*  U.S. nationals seek Iraqi financial aid, Iraq says

*  U.N. council kills Iraqi plan to aid Palestinians

 

BOMBING RAIDS

*  6 Iraqis die in Western air attack

*  Iraq: Allied Warplane Confrontations

 

BRITISH POLICY

*  Britain Shows Flexibility on Iraq Arms Inspections

*  Calmer tone on Iraq from MoD

 

REVIEW OF SANCTIONS POLICY

*  'Sanctions on Iraq only benefited Baghdad's ruling elite'

*  Kuwaiti FM backs call to lift sanctions on Iraq

*  Iraq demands 'action' from Kuwait to lift sanctions

*  Ankara Supports Lifting U.N. Sanctions Against Iraq

*  UN panel head Norway wants review of Iraq sanctions

*  Powell asks staff to look at Iraq, other sanctions

 

UN et al INSPECTIONS

*  An End to the Impasse? U.N. Seems Ready to Appoint Weapons Inspector for

Iraq

*  WHO plans Iraqi uranium study

*  Nuclear Inspectors Praise Iraq

*  Iraq: UN technical team to visit next month

*  UN, Iraq ready aid distribution plan

 

OIL STORY

*  Iraq sells to obscure companies as exports remain patchy

*  UN not pursuing illegal oil surcharges paid to Iraq

*  U.S. firms play key role in Iraq export revival

*  Poor refining margins obstacle to Iraq crude sales

 

FACTORIES OF DEATH

*  Pressure on Iraq over 'new weapons'

*  Iraq dismisses N.Y.Times report on arms as groundless

*  London and Washington fear revival of Saddam

[See also, in Iraqi supplement: *  West Must Answer Saddam's Threat]

 

OTHER

*  Iraq to sign free trade agreement with Syria

*  Pope defies West with Iraq visit

*  Iraq, Syria to invite Turkey to water-sharing meeting in Baghdad

*   Iraqi asylum seekers treble in a year

*  Baghdad settles war scores on celluloid

*  Iraq Protests over World Cup Qualifier Venue Change

*  Reno Lifted Restrictions on Iraqis

*  Chantal Kreviazuk Offers Peace And Hope In Iraq

*  Egypt cautious over Iraqi flight request

*  Turkey and Iraq for developing trade and economic relations

 

IRAQ SUPPLEMENT, 21-27/1/01

 

*  Ten Years after the Gulf War [Naive and apparently innocent article ­

'the 'Arab solution for an Arab problem' advocated by Egypt failed because

of the differences of opinion among Arab countries on Iraq's invasion to

Kuwait' ­ which ends up naively invoking SC resolution 687 which calls for

the removal of ALL weapons of mass destruction from the Middle East, not

just Iraqi ones]

*  Baghdad booms as Saddam turns sanctions into gold [' The road from the

Jordanian capital of Amman may be crowded, bumpy and narrow, but once across

the border, and past a recent statue of a sword-wielding Saddam on a rearing

horse flanked by four flaring Scuds, you hurtle along a new six-lane

motorway complete with laybys and picnic spots.']

*  Baghdad wolf woos Arab fold [Surprisingly moderate article from Ha'aretz

in which an 'American diplomat' argues convincingly that Israel has nothing

to fear from Iraq. Is he going to keep his job?]

*  West Must Answer Saddam's Threat [and, by way of contrast, a hysterical

piece from the New York Daily News which suiggests that the US has

everything to fear from Iraqi factories capable of manufacturing chlorine]

 

 

 

NEWS, 28/1­2/2/02 (1)

 

Although these are not divided into supplements as previously, I'm sending

them in two batches on the possibility that some people's computers may have

problems with large mailings.

 

Titles of items I would recommend are given in CAPS:

 

IRAQI RELATIONS WITH THE US/UK

 

*  Iraq Says Gulf War Bomb Kills Four Children

*  Iraq: Airstrikes Injured 7 People

*  U.S., British jets bomb Iraqi missiles

*  Iraq seeking reconciliation [extract, giving more details on missiles

bombing]

*  Iraq's bitter British rift [an interesting article flawed by the

assumption that Iraq's memories of Britain prior to the Gulf War were all

favourable]

 

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

 

*  Saddam has made two atomic bombs, says Iraqi defector

*  Cheney Accuses Iraq of Seeking Deadly Weapons

*  Ex-UN inspector says Iraq had Brucella biological agent

 

IRAQI RELATIONS WITH THE UN

 

*  Iraq accuses UN over oil payments

*  OIL-FOR-FOOD PLAN WON'T OFFSET LOSSES: SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAQ [a very

important article which gives an explanation as to why the Iraqis have been

so slow in recent months in putting in orders for food and medicine]

*  Iraq asks damages for its children for UN sanctions [it appears the

Iraqis will never learn the basic principle of the New World Order:  that

there are people who get compensation and people who don't get

compensdation]

*  UN Council Mulling Sanctions Plans [French proposals to  introduce a

carrot along with the stick]

*  WHO Seeks Fund for Forward Work on DU in Balkans, Iraq

 

IRAQI INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

 

*  Iraq, Syria plan to build new pipeline [positive view of Iraqi/Syrian

rapprochement]

*  Iraq plots anti-Israel alliance [negative view of Iraqi/Syrian

rapprochement]

*  Iraq invites Arab countries for mutual free trade zones

*  Iraqi refugees return back home from Saudi Arabia

*  Iraq seeking reconciliation with Kuwait, Saudi Arabia: Mubarak acting as

mediator

by Syed Rashid Hussain

*  Saddam about to bomb Israel?

*  Jordan: Time to change U.S. policy on Iraq

*  Iraqi conditions to establish a free trade with Jordan

*  Iraqi- Eritrean agreement on diplomatic representation

*  Indonesia calls for sanctions on Iraq to be lifted

*  U.S. Regrets Return of Turkish Envoy to Iraq

 

OIL SUPPLY

 

*  Russian energy minister flies to Baghdad

*  Russia submits list of firms to lift Iraqi oil

*  IRAQ FINDS NEW WAYS TO GET OIL REVENUES

 

 

NEWS, 28/1­2/2/02 (2) [sent separately]

 

HIJACK INCIDENTS

 

*  Britons see mid-air hijack attempt fail

*  Trial of Yemen Hijacker Starts in Sanaa

*  Yemen Hijacker Testifies in Trial

*  Yemeni hijacker gets 15-year prison term [Yemeni justice doesn't hang

about ­ PB]