Star of the week is undoubtedly Colin Powell who says:
"I have every reason to believe we are able to keep the box
as tightly closed as we have the last 10 years, without
receiving the baggage that goes with it".
The baggage in question is of course the deaths by starvation
and disease of some hundreds of thousand of people. And one
may wonder, if this is possible now, why it wouldn¼t have been
possible some ten years ago. What nonsense it makes of
everything our government has been saying for the past ten
years! We may of course be sceptical about it but we can
still get some satisfaction from the panic in certain sections
of US public opinion. And also from the amusing dilemma of
Mr Blair and Mr Hague. They are both competing to see who
can be the toughest supporter of US policy. Well what are
they going to do if the signals being sent by the US
leadership are mixed? Or less tough than they were?
POWELL'S
'CONVERSION'
*Ý Egypt Urges a Review of Iraq Sanctions
Policy
*Ý Powell Will Scale Back Rather Than
'Re-Energize' Iraq Sanctions; Newsweek
[which
helpfully supplies us with a list of Powell's past 'errors']
*Ý U.S. considers lifting non-military Iraq
sanctions
*Ý Washington looks to modify Iraq sanctions
*Ý Iraq FM: Powell statements 'stupid'
*Ý Mubarak, Jordan's Abdullah seek compromise
on Iraq
*Ý Saudi, US agree on reconsidering sanctions
on Iraq
*Ý Powell tour over; 'solid agreement' with
Syria
*Ý Colin Powell's conversion [Washington Times
panics]
*Ý US body [American Muslim Council] hails
proposals on Iraq sanctions
*Ý Colin Powell's 2nd Iraq Blunder [New York
Daily News panics]
GENERAL
US POLICY
*Ý Defence nominee's Iraqi policy [some
indications that even Paul Wolfowitz
might
disappoint his friends]
*Ý Iraq: U.S. Rights Report a Bid to Impose
Will
US/UK
RAID(s)
*Ý A female eye takes aim in the Iraqi sky
['what appeals to her about
flying
is the challenge "to come up with a decent, sneaky enough tactic to
get in
unseen and shoot someone else" ... Sensitivities about shooting down
an
adversary do not figure. "He would be an anonymous character. An Iraqi,
maybe,
and I probably wouldn't get to see the aircraft ..."']
*Ý Making Sense Of The Airstrikes On Iraq [An
African view]
*Ý America Cluster Bombs Iraq [powerful article
on the evil of cluster
bombs]Ý
*Ý Iraq air strikes were a success, says
Hoon ['both weapons dropped by the
RAF hit
their intended target' ie the little things the US allowed the
British
to shoot for the sake of having them on board both hit their
targets,
despite the failure of the really important stuff launched by the
Americans]
*Ý Yugoslavs aiding Iraq air defense
*Ý Bombing of Iraq off target, Rumsfeld
confirms
WEAPONS
OF MASS DESTRUCTION
*Ý Iraq wants mass-destruction weapons cleared
from all Mideast [in
accordance
with UN resolutions. This is, in my view, a demand that should be
supported]
*Ý Iraqi three-year nuke threat called 'ploy'
[Israeli intelligence
sceptical
about Iraq's nuclear capacities]
*Ý Iran stockpiled tonnes of chemical weapons:
CIA
*Ý US: Iraqi Weapons Programs Intact
URL
ONLY:
http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/02/25/stirevnws01015.html
*Ý Was this Saddam's bomb?
Sunday
Times, 25th February
[Article
related to the recent BBC programme arguing that the Iraqis have
succeeded
in developing a nuclear bomb. Only think of the number of lives
that
could have been saved if it were true! I haven't given it because its
very
long]
UN/IRAQI
RELATIONS
*Ý Iraq: No inspectors even if sanctions lifted
*Ý Iraqi talks end, new round to take place in
weeks
*Ý Cashed-up Iraq shuns suffering [argument
that Iraq isn't spending all the
money available
to it]
*Ý Iraq sets five conditions for cooperation
with UN
*Ý 60 million people in 33 countries suffer
from food shortages, says FAO
report
[very brief extract in which the FAO gives 'sanctions' as one of the
reasons
for food shortages in Iraq]
*Ý U.N. Agency [UNMOVIC] May Buy Satellite
*Ý UN agency revives Iraq arms fears [UNMOVIC
again. Seems to be throwing
off the
mask of reasonableness and sounding more and more like UNSCOM]
*Ý Annan pleads for Security Council unity in
Iraq dealings
GENERAL
IRAQI/MIDDLE EAST RELATIONS
*Ý Emirati leader urges Arabs to end sanctions
on Iraq
*Ý Sharon: A plan to strike Iraq
*Ý Egyptian Iraqi Free Trade Zone agreement
effective
*Ý Two Syrian ministers arrive in Baghdad
*Ý Qatar Airways plans to start flights to Iraq
*Ý Not-so-smart sanctions for Iraq [short
extract giving, in summary,
Israeli
fears that humanitarian concern for Iraqis could result in
humanitarian
disaster for Israelis]
*Ý Syria approves free trade deal with Iraq
KUWAIT
*Ý Gulf war ended too soon, says Thatcher
*Ý Kuwait's Gulf War anniversary bash
'provokes' Iraq
*Ý Kuwait extends hand to Iraq decade after
invasion
*Ý Kuwait Supports Amended Sanctions on Iraq:
Official
IRAQI/EUROPEAN
RELATIONS
*Ý German president slams air strikes against
Iraq
*Ý How the anti-Iraq raids played in France
*Ý Iraq lifts trade boycott of Poland
*Ý Iraq threatens reprisals against Italy
*Ý Germany arrests Iraqi 'spies'
CHINA
*Ý China to Open Probe Into Iraq Sales
*Ý Chinese Firm Is Focus of U.S. Iraqi
Suspicions
RUSSIA
*Ý Iraqis step up secret Russian weapons trade
*Ý Iraqi oil drilling approval opens door for
foreign firms
GOOD
GUYS
*Ý The case for Mr Galloway [a very nice little
tribute from Tam Dalyell,
followed
by an interesting observation on the Lockerbie trial]
*Ý Hain: An enthusiastic liar [not a good guy
this, but the article is by
John
Pilger. A reply to the article by Kevin Toolis, Hain's world,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,435833,00.html]
*Ý Blind spots of British politics get bigger
[short extract on condemnation
of Iraq
raids by SNP leader, John Swinney]
GENERAL
COMMENT
*Ý 10 years on, Iraqis shrug off embargo [The
bright side. Mood of optimism
in
Baghdad.]
*Ý Saddam's children: the damned of Iraq [The
not so bright side]
*Ý Iraq - metamorphosis from aggressor to
victim [a rather interesting
article
from the Israeli paper, Ha'aretz, which, though supporting an
Israeli
view, shows itself capable of understanding the Arab point of view]
*Ý Smugglers are giving oil blockade the slip
*Ý Sanctions on Iraq Cause 200 Billion Dollars
in Losses Worldwide
NEWS,
4-10/3/01 (1)
The
only news that seems to stand out this week is the ongoing question as
to
whether China has broken sanctions by helping the Iraqi forces shoot down
pilots
who are violating Iraqi air space. The question seems to show a
surprising
ignorance of the first principle of international law: which is
that
international law cannot possibly be broken by any permanent member of
the
Security Council. China has the same rights in this respect as the US,
Britain,
France and Russia. It is no more, or less, in violation of any
principle
of international aw than the US (and Britain, insofar as Britain
can be
counted as having its own mind on this or any other matter) when it
unilaterally
imposed the no-fly zones in the first place.
US
POLICY
*Ý Cheney softens demand for Iraqi inspections
*Ý Powell Says Arabs Will Favor U.S. Plans for
Iraq
*Ý Powell expands list of facilities in Iraq
that may be bombed
*Ý U.S. rethinks patrols of Iraq no-fly zones
UN
POLICY/OIL FOR FOOD
*Ý U.S. blockages of Iraqi supplies rapped at
UN
*Ý UN seeks Iraq co-op in northern region
*Ý UN again delays oil experts' trip to Baghdad
*Ý Iraq's oil surcharge gambit a quiet success
* ÝIraqi Kirkuk exports halt again
*Ý US, France clash over curbs on child
vaccines for Iraq
IRAQI/MIDDLE
EAST RELATIONS
*Ý Iraq hands out checks to injured
Palestinians
*Ý Damascus accuses US of exaggerating Iraqi
threat to stay in Gulf
*Ý Iraq, Syria ink transportation,
communications accord, textile deal
*Ý Learning to live with a nuclear Iraq [This,
I think, is probably the most
interesting
article of the week. It comes from the Israeli journal,
Ha'aretz.
It concludes on the basis of the recent German BND report that
Iraq
wil probably have nuclear weapons in the near future. It reckons
there's
nothing anyone can or should do about it. It concludes with a
passage
I have put in capital letters because it seems to me about the most
sensible
thing I have ever read on the subject of relations with Iraq. Had
that
been said and acted upon ten years ago a lot of people would be alive
today
who are not alive today]
*Ý Kuwait Impounds Oil Tanker [after the last
article, its back to porridge]
IRAQI/INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS
*Ý Chua [Malaysian health minister] to visit
Jordan and Iraq
*Ý Russian Parliament Speaker to visit Iraq in
March
CHINA
*Ý China Talks Tough to U.S. Over Taiwan, Iraq
*Ý Three companies violated sanctions in Iraq:
China
*Ý China Is Testing Bush With Denial on Iraq
*Ý U.S. says China promising action on workers
in Iraq
ANTI-SANCTIONS,
ANTI-AIR RAIDS CAMPAIGNING
*Ý Algerian pedals to Baghdad in solidarity
with Iraq
*Ý Blair protester: I'll ignore fine [it appears
it was a mandarin, not a
tomato]
*Ý Greens Leader Attacks Missile Plan [still
some signs of life in the
German
Green Party, despite the wretched Joschka Fischer]
IRAQI
OPPOSITION POLITICS
*Ý The Iraqi opposition forces document
*Ý Interview of the week: Aras Kareem [INC's
'chief of operations'. Quite
interesting
on the INC's last days in Iraqi Kurdistan, but discreet on the
really
interesting question of the INC's relations with the main Kurdish
parties,
especially the KDP, which invited the Iraqi army in]
LIFE IN
IRAQ
*Ý Deadly wind from Gulf battlefields [depleted
uranium]
*Ý Iraqi Airways back in the skies - just
[mainly an account of Baghdad
airport]
THE
CHILDREN'S CORNER
*Ý Major left fuming after Thatcher reopens old
wounds
Once
again this news reports comes from an unfamiliar address. Complaints
and
queries should still be addressed to me at pbrooke@ukonline.co.uk.
The
most spectacular news has been the 'friendly fire' bombing in Kuwait.
The
pieces I have picked up don't seem to attach enough importance to the
fact
(at least I think its a fact) that these were shrapnel bombs, ie the
nastiest,
messiest sort of direct anti-personnel bombs. My own favourite
article
in a long but generally rather uninteresting selection isÝ *Ý US
blunder
'triggered global germ bomb race', under the New World Order
heading.
NO FLY
ZONES
*Ý Allies carry out 46 sorties over Iraq
*Ý U.S. jet mistakenly bombs ground observers, killing
6 [this article is
interesting
as showing that this is by no means an isolated incident]
*Ý U.S. serviceman directed Kuwait bombing
*Ý On killing of American soldiers in Kuwait [a
perhaps rather fanciful
speculation
that the people involved in the incident were experimenting with
ways of
assassinating Saddam Hussein]
*Ý 'Abort! Abort!' call too late
*Ý US investigators to begin work on Kuwait
bombing deaths
*Ý U.S. airman directing Kuwait attack was
injured
*Ý The price of closing Vieques [Vieques is a
training ground in Puerto Rico
where
there was a nasty accident mentioned in 'U.S. jet mistakenly bombs
ground
observers, killing 6' above. This article complains that it has been
closed
for political reasons ‚ namely the protests of Puerto Ricans living
near
it]
*Ý Britain and America's pilots are blowing the
cover on our so-called
"humanitarian"
no-fly zone [by John Pilger. A very important article which
if
anything understates the degree of Britain's involvement in the Turkish
repression
of the Turkish Kurds]
IRAQI
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
*Ý US to decide whether to complain to UN on
China
*Ý Cuban parliament speaker visits Iraq
*Ý A test for Poland's loyalties [on the rather
intriguing incident in which
a
government adviser was sacked for giving the impression that the Polish
government
supported the raids on Baghdad]
*Ý Moroccan truck firm to deliver Iraq 550
vehicles by end 2001
RELATIONS
WITH ISRAEL/PALESTINE
*Ý US needs a credible Iraq strategy [Jerusalem
Post in a state of alarm
that the
US appears to be appeasing Arabs]
*Ý Iraqis Seek To 'Liberate Palestine'
[Saddam's 'Jerusalem army]
*Ý Book Exposes Israeli Nuclear Policy ['The
CIA has estimated more recently
that
Israel has between 200 and 400 nuclear weapons. ']
*Ý Sharon to press for U.S. sanctions on
Damascus [for backing the Hezbollah
in
Lebanon]
*Ý Of water pipes and diplomacy [not directly
related to Iraq but
interesting
on Israeli/Lebanon relations. And once again it seems to me,
Ha'aretz
articulating an intelligent pro-Israeli position]
*Ý Saddam poses a diplomatic threat [Ha'aretz
again. 'Adopting a new tack in
discussions
with Powell, the Arab states grasped Saddam as their most potent
leverage
in relations with the U.S., so long as Washington sticks to its
sanctions
policy.' Should be read in conjunction with the next article from
the
Jerusalem Post]
IRAQI
MIDDLE EAST RELATIONS
*Ý Syria key to any anti-Iraq coalition - US
sources [Jerusalem Post again.
Israeli
anxiety about Syria again. Largely on the refusal of senior US
politicians
to meet the Maronite patriarch. The statement that the Maronite
church
is 'a splinter of the Roman Catholic Church' is a bit of a
simplification]
*Ý Ankara sends 400-member trade mission to
Iraq
*Ý Lebanon gears to restart diplomatic ties
with Iraq [obviously as part of
the
Syria/Iraq detente]
*Ý Saddam Says Leave Iraq Out of Arab Summit
*Ý Middle East could erupt in fireball, warns
Holbrooke
*Ý Troops swamp Beirut to deter protests
[protests in favour of the Lebanese
Christian
leader, General Michel Aoun. Remember him?]
*Ý Death sentence commuted for Kuwaiti puppet
leader
*Ý Lebanese seeks help over missing in Iraq
*Ý Moussa [Egypt], Sahaf [Iraq] exchange views
on Amman summit's agenda
*Ý Oman calls for greater Arab unity
*Ý Kuwait Ready to Discuss Iraq at Arab Summit
*Ý Saddam Invited to Attend Arab Summit
*Ý Saddam is expected to take part [in person,
which would be interesting]
in the
Arab summit
*Ý Iraq pardons 27 Iranian prisoners
*Ý Jordan, Iraq sign financial arrangements minutes
of meeting
*Ý Mubarak-Bush summit to focus on the peace
process, Iraq and free trade
zone
*Ý Kuwaiti man builds museum to remember Gulf
War horrors ['including a
mock-up
of an Iraqi trench complete with looted TV set and VCR.']
*Ý Yemen minister in Baghdad
LIFE IN
IRAQ
*Ý Gulf War's Deadly Legacy [depleted uranium]
*Ý Net gives a few Iraqis a window on the world
[internet cafÈs in Baghdad]
*Ý WHO to Study Health Effects of Depleted
Uranium in Iraq
*Ý Sanctions make two classes in Iraq
UNITED
NATIONS POLICY
*Ý Unpaid Pakistani victims of Iraqi invasion
[complaints that Pakistanis
missed
out on the Iraq compensation scam. Makes Dawn's opposition to
sanctions
appear a little hypocritical]
*Ý UN sanctions committee decides to compensate
Kuwait from the Iraqi oil
[no
such complaints here, yet]
*Ý UN weighs aid to Iraq on pollution claims
[Russian/French proposal,
opposed
by the US and Britain, that Iraq should be helped to research its
own
defense against compensation claims]
UNITED
STATES POLICY
*Ý How Saddam profits off mercy [to the great
disgust of the New York Post]
*Ý Powell Is Smart^Àand Tough^Àon Iraq
[Powell's policy is the best way to
keep
sanctions going]
*Ý The folly of sanctions that fortify
dictators [from The Scotsman]
NEW
WORLD ORDER
*Ý Global Realities Reshaping Bush Foreign
Policy Vision
*Ý US blunder 'triggered global germ bomb race'
*Ý Let's boycott the UN's racism conference [on
the grounds that dark
skinned
tyrants have the nerve to want to criticise white-skinned liberal
democratics]
*Ý 'Something special is at risk' [by Winston
Churchill. A long, friendly
interview
with Donald Rumsden and Paul Wolfowitz about US foreign policy in
general]
Sent
separately as
RIGHTS SUPPLEMENT
(11-18/3/01)
[A
series of articles put out by Arabic News giving excerpts from the UN
government
reports on the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and
Iraq]
The
main news - the forthcoming Arab summit in Amman - hasn't happened yet.
Much
speculation about it in the Middle East section. Otherwise, in the 'US
Policy'
and 'New World Order' sections we can see that Madeleine Albright's
ambitious
but merely terrestrial imperialist policy has been put on hold for
the
moment for an even more ambitious project: securing monopoly control
over
all the space that surrounds the planet Earth. That is certainly what
the
'National Missile Defence' scheme is all about. Only the most servile of
America's
courtiers - Britain, Australia and Germany (though Germany may be
playing
a little game of its own) - could take seriously the notion that the
US is
in danger from Iraq, Iran or North Korea. Once total control is
secured
over the Earth's atmosphere, Mrs Albright's policy can of course be
picked
up again ...'
CAMPAIGNING
*Ý Blair heckled over Iraq at Muslim award
dinner [well done, Mil!]
LIFE IN
IRAQ
*Ý Iraq exports via Ceyhan to stay at full
capacity
*Ý Diggers discover 4 700-year-old town
*Ý War robs Iraq of its history [on spoliation
of archaeologocal sites. We
note in
these articles the presence in Iraq of archaeologists and historians
with
Anglo Saxon names who probably rank among the real heroes of the past
ten
years]
*Ý Blast Injures 6 in Baghdad
*Ý Iraq blames Iran for latest blast
*Ý US, British Planes Drop Incendiary Bombs in
Northern Iraq: Spokesman
*Ý Iraqis Now Daring to Talk of Life After
Hussein [speculation about the
state
of Saddam Hussein's health ‚ which I am still inclined to take
seriously
given that it comes from the respectable end of the Iraqi
opposition,
the SCIRI]
URL
ONLY:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV
0103190064,FF.html
*Ý Smugglers thumb noses at sanctions
by Hugh
Dellios
Chicago
Tribune, March 19, 2001
[This
is the usual on the one hand there's all sorts of western goodies in
Baghdad
shops on the other hand people are dying of malnutrition and
treatable
illness.]
IRAQI
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
*Ý Iraq, Russia Call for Lifting No-Fly Zones
Against Iraq ['Russia' being
the
speaker of the Russian state duma which has called almost unanimously
for
Russia to do what it ought to do, namely, break the sanctions]
*Ý New Zealand and Iraq [NZ won't replace the
New Zealand soldier killed by
the
Americans because they disapprove of the policy of sanctions]
MIDDLE
EAST
*Ý Gulf arms bazaar opens for business ['The
United States, the main
guarantor
of security for Gulf Arab nations, has long advised the countries
to
acquire similar weapons that would complement each other in time of war.'
That's
what its all about]
*Ý Syria keeps up extra exports, helped by Iraq
[the 'illegal' pipeline's
still
pumping, it appears]
*Ý Kuwait Bolsters Position Against Iraq [this,
and the following articles
in this
sections are to do with the forthcoming Arab summit in Amman]
*Ý Gulf Arab ministers stand firm on Iraq
[having bought huge quantities of
weapons
of mass destruction at the Gulf arms bazaar at Abu Dhabi the Gulf
Co-operation
Council wants Iraq to abide by UNSC resolutions]
*Ý Arabs seek panel to reconcile Iraq with
Kuwait
*Ý 'Arms sale to Iraq can be blocked'Ý [surprising little piece in which the
Iraqis
seems to be endorsing the idea of 'smart sanctions']
*Ý Arab Foreign Ministers Wrangle Over Iraq
US
POLICY
*Ý From Bay of Pigs to Bay of Goats, History
Would Repeat Itself [defence of
Powell's
policy. 'He knows that for now, Hussein is in his box, and our
priority
must be to keep him there.' Points out that the US can't afford to
win
against Saddam because then they would have to take responsibility for
the
difficult job of ruling Iraq. Doesn't manage to draw the conclusion that
perhaps
these difficulties could help to explain the nastiness of
S.Hussein.]
*Ý Iraq 'unable to build weapons of mass
destruction' [saysVice Admiral
Charles
Moore, Commander of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, at the IDEX arms bazaar]
*Ý U.S. says making progress on Iraq sanctions
package
*Ý US Official: Iraq Sanctions Failed [defence
of Powell's policy by
Assistant
Secretary of State Edward Walker]
*Ý Anti-Saddam group angers US backers [this
and the next two articles
preparing
public opinion for the dirching of the Iraqi National Congress]
*Ý Bush changes tack on Iraq
*Ý U.S. Eyes Other Iraq Opposition Groups
Besides INC [the implication of
these
three articles is that there has been a split in the INC and the
Sunni/Ba'ath
element has gone off. And the Sunni/Ba'ath element ‚ the
element
closest to S.Hussein ‚ is the one the US wants to back]
*Ý Should we still bomb Saddam? [Apparently
not. Because he might soon be
able to
shoot down a US plane]
*Ý Iraq Weapon Goals Said Unfullfilled
[interview with Powell who says 'all
U.S.
efforts are designed to prevent Iraq from become a menace to its
neighbors.The
international community must not let them, because they are
threatening
the children of the region ...']
URL
ONLY:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/commentary/printedition/article/0,2669,SA
V
0103230007,FF.html
*Ý Bush's fuzzy stance on foreign policy
by
Georgie Anne Geyer
Chicago
Tribune, March 23, 2001
IRAQI/UN
RELATIONS
*Ý UN official asks staff to abide by oil deal
[its unclear in what way they
are not
abiding by the oil deal but it seems to be related to the next
piece:]
*Ý Iraq accuses UN official of recruiting US
spies
*Ý UN Adopts New Policy on Iraqi Oil Cargo
*Ý Sanctions Against Iraq Should Be Lifted,
Says UN Envoy [Tun Myat, who
'said
there was no programme that could substitute [for?] a normal economic
life in
Iraq.']
NEW
WORLD ORDER
*Ý Downer [Australian foreign minister]
understands US stand on missiles
*Ý This international court isn't simply
unjust, it is a threat to peace
[Norman
Lamont waking up to the fact that irresponsible people acting from
political
motives could construe certain things done by the UK government to
be 'war
crimes']
*Ý Rogue nation missiles threaten Canada: CSIS
POMPOUS
NONSENSE
*Ý Saddam of Sumeria [Editorial from The Times.
Rupert Murdoch's paper muses
on the
way in which the written word - invented in Iraq - can be used as an
instrument
of social control. Indeed]
A lot
of articles this week on the Arab League summit, with necessarily a
lot of
repetition but they each of them seem to bring something different to
a still
not very complete picture.
ARAB
SUMMIT
*Ý Arab leaders meet next week to bolster
economies
*Ý Arab group fails to get Iraq, Kuwait to
compromise
*Ý Arabs Slowly Overcoming Some Issues [a list
if issues under discussion
other
than Israel and sanctions on Iraq]
*Ý Arab leaders stress need to close Iraq -
Kuwait file; support uprising
[includes
a list of who spoke, though not much about what they said]
*Ý Chronology of Arab summits [a list of Arab
League summits since 1946 with
a brief
account of the circumstances of each of them]
*Ý Hussein condemns Jews; Arabs divided on Iraq
*Ý Saudi Arabia will not permit its land to be
used for military acts
against
Iraq [says Saud al-Faisal. Does this mean it can't be used for
policing
the no fly zones?]
*Ý King Abdullah to follow up on Iraq-Kuwait
row
*Ý Text of draft resolution [on Iraq-Kuwait
confrontation at Arab summit.
This
appears to be the pro-Kuwaiti text which everyone approved except Iraq.
It
implies conditions on the lifting of sanctions. There seems also to have
been a
pro-Iraqi one which everyone approved except Kuwait]
*Ý An Iraq-Kuwait Accord Eludes Arabs at Summit
*Ý Excerpts from communique [from Arab summit.
All to do with Israel and
Libya]
*Ý Arabs united on Israel, divided on Iraq [an
Israeli analysis from
Ha'aretz]
*Ý Arab summit outcome disappointing for Iraq
*Ý Amman Declaration [apparently agreed by
everyone. It calls for the
lifting
of sanctions on Iraq]
GENERAL
MIDDLE EASTERN-IRAQI RELATIONS
*Ý UAE says UN must overhaul its approach to global
developments [Sheikh
Sultan
bin Zayed Al Nahyan calls for the ending of all sanctions on
everyone]
*Ý Diplomat: Iran's Ties With Regional States
in Good Status [on Iran-Kuwait
relations.
Iran is proposing to supply Kuwait with water]
*Ý Morocco, Iraq hold 9th session of joint
commission [a very considerable
effort
seems to be going into promoting Iraqi-Moroccan trade]
*Ý Turks, Kurds Violate Iraq Oil Embargo --
With U.S. Blessing [some US
journalist
seems briefly to have woken up]
*Ý Izzat Ibrahim, al-Sahaf extend their stay in
Amman
*Ý UN presses Iraq over prisoners of war
GENERAL
INTERNATIONAL-IRAQI RELATIONS
*Ý Iraqi [health] minister arrives [in
Pakistan. We learn that local
pharmaceutical
companies in Pakistan 'had reached a stage where they were
capable
of manufacturing medicines of international quality, and compete
with
multinational companies based in the Middle East, Africa and Central
Asian
Republics, in exports.' This presumably means they are due a visit
soon
from the US Air Force]
IRAQI/UN
RELATIONS
*Ý Iraq hits out at UK, US proposals [to police
the companies who are buying
Iraqi
oil to prevent the payment of the surcharge]
*Ý Kurds: Saddam pressures UN for support [a question
as to whether the UN
work
should be administered by Arabs/Iraqis or by others whom the Iraqis
characterise
as spies]
*Ý Mix of Uses Tangles Sanctions [on
difficulties of determining 'dual use']
US
POLICY TOWARDS IRAQ
*Ý US moots changes in sanctions package for
Iraq
*Ý Powell, Vedrine Hold Talks on Iraq Sanctions
*Ý White House Defends Iraq Sanctions [this
article refers to 'an Arab
League
communique that demanded lifting all curbs on exports OF WEAPONS [my
emphasis
- PB] and technology to Iraq'. Note that in this article, Richard
Boucher
is accusing the Arab leaders of being liars, supporting the US
privately
despite their public pronouncements. Which are only made to
satisfy
the - by implication, ignorant -Arab people. So much for the US
commitment
to Arab democracy]
*Ý Firing blanks at the Iraqi military [debate
in the US military on the no
fly
zones]
*Ý The realists clean up [the New York Post
rejoices that the big softy
Colin
Powell is being edged out by the hard men, Cheney and Rumsfield. Has
anyone
noted the reversal of roles since the last administration, when the
Pentagon
seemed to be the more internationalist, 'moderate' element and the
State
department the more gung-ho?]
COLLATERAL
DAMAGE
*Ý 'A Great Deal Of Arrogance'Ý [on the US military's reluctance to have its
accidents
seriously examined]
*Ý Pentagon Cites Gulf War Gas Danger [a
possibility that some US soldiers
might
have been exposed when a chemical weapons depot was blown up. No
concern
expressed for anyone else who might have been in the area]
*Ý The depleted uranium: A slow, silent killer
*Ý U.S. Warplane Attacks Iraqi Site [not quite
'collateral damage' but the
article
also tells us about 8 children blown up by an unexploded missile
left
over from the Guilf War near the border with Kuwait]
NEW
WORLD ORDER
*Ý GOP Core Wants Bush to Intervene in Sudan
War
*Ý Washington studies possibility of an
ambassador to Khartoum; oil reserve
second
largest in region [this might prove to be important ...]
*Ý War Could Litter Space with Debris - U.S.
General
*Ý Creating a market for Star Wars
URL
ONLY
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,462960,00.html
*Ý Moscow doesn't matter any more. And neither
do we
by
Peter Preston
The
Guardian, 26th March
[Article
arguing that the Bush administration no longer take Russia
seriously
as a threat and consequently attach little importance to Europe.
Their
attention is focussed on China.]
CHILDREN'S
CORNER [two articles of mindnumbing triviality which are only
included
for patriotic reasons]
*Ý Cook defends Britain's 'ethical' foreign
policy
*Ý This means war [The Guardian's typically
frivolous reaction to the US
refusal
to abide by the terms of the Kyoto agreement. A joke about
sanctions.
Sanctions are not very funny]
Again,
please note that despite the stated address this comes from Peter
Brooke
and I am contactable at pbrooke@ukonline.co.uk
MIDDLE
EAST
*Ý Water crises stirs new disputes [mainly on
problems between Iran and
Afghanistan]
*Ý Egypt gives Bush an earful for Mideast talks
*Ý Iranian opposition group claims six attacks
[operations against the
Iranian
government by the People's Mujaheedin, based in Iraq]
*Ý Kuwait considers its document to Arab summit
'null and void' [this
article
on the aftermath of the Arab League summit covers very similar
ground
to the next two but they all seem to have slightly different angles
on a
dispute that still hasn't, in the material I have seen, been clearly
explained]
*Ý Iraq squandered its chance at Arab summit:
Kuwait
*Ý Huge obstacles to Gulf settlement
*Ý Free trade agreement between Syria and Iraq
in effect: Baghdad
*Ý Iraqi Kurds killed in landmine explosion
*Ý US, Jordanian experts meet on amending UN
sanctions on Iraq
*Ý 7 Arab countries owe $1.84 billion: Iraq
INSIDE
IRAQ
*Ý April Fool by Saddam's son taunts Iraqis
*Ý Iraq says sanctions kill over 10,000 in
February
*Ý Human rights group urges Iraq to end
violations
INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS
*Ý Pak Exports to Iraq Over 65 Million Dollars
in First Seven Months
*Ý Iraqi embargo "very stupid":
French speaker
*Ý Russians bid for Iraq work
*Ý Iraq to hold talks in Moscow on lifting of
embargo
*Ý Iraq to open embassy in Norway
IRAQI
OPPOSITION
*Ý Iraqi opposition ready for dialogue with
Washington [The opposition in
question
is the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution, the main Shi'i
opposition,
who have previously refused to deal with the US]
IRAQI/UN
RELATIONS
*Ý U.N. requires destination of Iraqi oil
*Ý The UN and the US-UK flights over Iraq
[Annan reports that it would be
too
complicated to monitor them. He appears in the article to call them
'violations']
*Ý Iraq denounces Blix as a 'new spy'
*Ý U.S. stands firm on tighter sanctions
against Iraq [says Hans Blix. The
article
goes on to report the Iraqi government mortality figures for
February
and the fact that Kuwait is permitting relatives of Iraqis held in
Kuwait
to visit them]
*Ý Iraq denies UN workers entry visa
US
POLICY
*Ý Policy Wars Over Iraq [Jim Hoagland is of
the opinion that the Americans
should
do something, not very clear what, very tough]
ACCIDENTS
*Ý Dead U.S. Soldier in Kuwait Identified
CAMPAIGNING
*Ý Protester who hit PM guilty of
harassmentÝ [the mystery of the tomato
and
the
mandarin has been resolved. There were two separate projectiles - one
was a
mandarin and the other a tomato. Silly of me not to have thought of
it]
NEW
WORLD ORDER
*Ý Labour is risking British soldiers, says
defence chief [apparently there
is a
risk that some ill intentioned foreigner might accuse a British person
of war
crimes for 'political' reasons. After all, look at what is happening
to Slobodan
Milosevic, though somehow that analogy doesn't appear in the
article]
*Ý It's hard to control what the American
military do to us [gives an
account
of the establishment of US bases in Britain and elsewhere in the
wake of
the 1939 war]
FOOT
& MOUTH
*Ý Iran, Iraq, China, Russia turn to India for
sourcing meat [not terribly
relevant
to Iraq but interesting to see what the crisis looks like in other
parts
of the world]
*Ý Experts: Plague could be bio-terror attack
*Ý Iraq halts meat imports to thwart foot and
mouth disease
*Ý Iraq to replace lab equipment ruined by
UNSCOM
URLs
ONLY
http://www.post-gazette.com/headlines/20010402iraqartifacts2.asp
*Ý World View: Iraq's past being looted for
cash
by Les
Donison
Post-Gazette,
2nd April
[Note:
this appears to be a longer version of an article on the degradation
of
Iraq's archaeological heritage which I sent out a few weeks ago.]
http://www.cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,191049-412,00.shtml
*Ý The First Casualty (Michael Scott Speicher)
CBS,
5th May
[This is
an update of a programme broadcast on 16th January. For anyone who
is
interested it seems to give a very full account of the affair of the
missing
US pilot shot down on the first day of the Gulf War.]
http://www.theage.com.au/news/2001/04/07/FFX535TB7LC.html
*Ý The warning that went unheeded
by
PETER MARES
The Age
(Australia) 7 April 2001
[On
conditions in which asylum seekers, largely from Iraq, were kept in
Australia]
Apologies
for the late delivery of the following:
IRAQI-MIDDLE
EAST RELATIONS
*Ý Egypt lifts restrictions on exports to Iraq
*Ý Iraq slams Gulf states' meeting in Saudi
Arabia
*Ý Jordan, Iraq and U.S. alignments
*Ý Kuwait Seeks 'Milosevic Model' to Confront
Saddam
* ÝPersian Gulf ship sinks, spilling smuggled
Iraqi oil
IRAQI-INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS
*Ý Pahad [Deputy Foreign Minister of South
Africa] to accompany mercy flight
to Iraq
*Ý Australia mocked as 'America's lackey' [by
New Zealand's minister for
disarmament.
Do we have one of those?]
*Ý Europeans Poised To Resume Ties With Hussein
[article particularly
interesting
on the views and activities of Fr Jean-Marie Benjamin]
*Ý Energy panel: Ease Iraq sanctions? [America
needs cheap oil]
*Ý UK leads way for Iraq dealings ['The UK is
home to more companies doing
oil
business with Iraq than any other country ...']
*Ý US, British jets bomb southern Iraq
*Ý Iraq rejects Russian deal to end sanctions
IRAQI-UNITED
NATIONS RELATIONS
*Ý Iraq seeking extra banks to deposit oil
revenues
*Ý UN Reports Sharp Increase in Iraqi Oil
Exports
*Ý UN confirms delay in talks with Iraq
INSIDE
IRAQ
*Ý Iraqis losing hope for a better life
*Ý Shi'ite opposition awaits clear U.S. policy
on Iraq
*Ý Jiving With the Enemy: Baghdad Chills Out on
American Radio [Uday Hussein
promotes
US culture in Iraq]
*Ý Saddam's son calls for shake-out in
parliament [Uday Hussein promotes
US-style
democracy in Iraq]
NEW
WORLD ORDER
*Ý Pentagon Studies Low-Yield Nuclear Weapons
for Underground Targets
Most
interesting items I think are the articles in the Oil section about the
'tankers'
that have gone down off the UAE coast. Another good reason why the
UAE
should be anxious to see sanctions ended, if that means (of course it
might
not) the end of smuggling. Most amusing item is the last, in the New
World
Order section on the top notch American fighter pilot ace in Saudi
Arabia
forced to wear a big baggy full length robe every time she leaves the
base.
IRAQI-MIDDLE
EAST RELATIONS
*Ý Saddam invites Arafat to Baghdad
*Ý Syria refuses an American request concerning
Iraq [won't go along with
'smart'
sanctions]
*Ý [Assistant Secretary of State Edward] Walker
to Visit Iraq's Neighbors
[Jordan,
Syria, Turkey], Discuss Sanctions
*Ý A Syrian - Moroccan initiative on Iraq [but
no details]
*Ý Iran, Saudi Arabia sign landmark security
pact
*Ý Iranian Scud missiles fired into Iraq kill
several people
*Ý Iran, Iraq Caution Each Other After Military
Action on Border
*Ý Iran rebels apologize [on Iranian TV] for
terror operations
*Ý Death toll from Iranian missile strikes
rises to 6
*Ý Al-Mahameed is a candidate for the Syrian
diplomatic mission to Iraq
*Ý Pope Shenouda [of Egyptian Coptic Church]'s
apology for not visiting
Baghdad
IRAQI/INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS
*Ý Iraqi Vice President in Moscow for Talks on
UN Embargo
*Ý UN rights forum condemns Iraq for 'terror'
*Ý UN council seeks Iraq coop on Kuwaiti MIAs
INSIDE
IRAQ
*Ý Saddam reshuffles cabinet, appoints new
minister
*Ý Saddam demotes foreign minister after
setbacks [more detailed and
interpretative
version of above]
*Ý U.S. Planes Bomb Iraqi Radar
PROBLEMS
WITH OIL
*Ý Crews still cleaning oil from Dubai beaches
[after sinking of Georgian
registered
tanker carrying Iraqi oil. Interesting detail. The tanker was
being
'escorted' by two US navy ships at the time]
*Ý Sanctions-busting ship was disaster waiting
to happen
*Ý Another ship spills oil off UAE coast
['after being hit on Sunday by
bullets
from Multinational Interception Force']
*Ý U.S. energy task force seeks sanctions
review [need for cheap oil may
prove
to be stronger than the need to impose virtue and the rule of law]
*Ý Bush: No Plans To Lift Sanctions [response
to previous news item, with
URL for
original Washington Post article]
*Ý [Swiss oil trader] Glencore pays $3 million
after diverting Iraqi oil
[The
problem seems to turn on the notion that Iraqi oil is less expensive if
destined
for the US market than it is for other markets. This is something I
do not
understand, especially since the Iraqis were talking of boycotting
the US
market. Which seems a very reasonable thing to do under the
circumstances]
*Ý UN to scrutinize Glencore's Iraqi oil
dealings [extract]
*Ý Kuwait denies stealing Iraqi crude oil
*Ý Iraq earns additional 418 million euros
under UN Oil-for-Food program
NEW
WORLD ORDER
*Ý Former secretary of state [Madeleine
Albright] asked to testify in
terrorism
trial [the lawyers of Mohammed al-'Owhali, accused of the Kenya US
Embassy
bombing, seem to think that US terror throughout the world is
relevant
to understanding his motivation]
*Ý Pentagon rethink on war doctrine? [excuses
for spending billions of
dollars
on expensive new gismos at a time when there is clearly no
possibility
of any threat to the security of the US as such - whatever about
US
troops policing the universal imposition of American commerce elsewhere
in the
world]
*Ý Saudi rules anger top Air Force pilot Female
officer speaks out against
Muslim
dress code for Americans [the poor woman seems to be under the
impression
that by flying missions over Iraq with the sole purpose of
humiliating
and antagonising the Iraqis she is 'risking her life' to protect
Saudi
Arabia]
NEWS,
22-28/4/01 (1)
The
most important developments are probably the depressing skirmishes
between
Iraq and Iran. The articles *Ý Iraq
sanctions create nightmare for
legitimate
shipping (under 'Smuggling') and *Ý
Secret u-turn to send Kurds
back
(under Miscellaneous) are particularly interesting. And I can't help
thinking
that something could be made of the revelation that both Bush Sr
and Jr
are members of what is quite is plainly a Satanist cult (also in the
Misc
section).
IRAQ/IRAN
RELATIONS
*Ý Iraq says Iran attack means no attendance at
Islamic conf.
*Ý Iran raid was signal to U.S., Saudi Arabia,
says Iraq paper
*Ý Iran rebels say attack police station in
capital
*Ý Iraq lays scores of cease-fire violations to
Iran
*Ý Iraq Slams UN Silence Over Iran's Missile
Attacks
*Ý Iran says eight rebels killed near Iraqi
border
IRAQ/US
RELATIONS
*Ý Iraq Invites US Companies to Hold
Exhibitions in Baghdad
*Ý Bill would repay Gulf War claims [proposal
to steal Iraqi money in US
banks
in order to speed up the compensation scam]
*Ý Bush Iraq team considers reviving coup option
[yawn]
*Ý Top Russian, U.S. Officials to Hold Talks on
Iraq
IRAQ/RUSSIA
RELATIONS
*Ý Alfa Eko, Sputnik Eye Iraqi Telecoms Deal
[possibility of Iraq getting
access
to a satellite system.]
*Ý Russian firms jostle for Iraqi oil but
problems ahead [for example,
competition
should sanctions end. And understandable Iraqi impatience at the
Russians
reluctance to simply break the sanctions]
IRAQ/GENERAL
MIDDLE EAST AND GULF RELATIONS
*Ý Dubai-Iraq ferry slashes fares as traffic
rises
*Ý Iraq demands UN to shrink size of
demilitarised zone along border
NO FLY
ZONES
*Ý Bombing Deaths in Kuwait Tied to Pilot Error
*Ý Iraq claims air raid death, UK says no
OIL ‚
SMUGGLING & OTHER PROBLEMS
*Ý Emirates to punish oil smugglers ['The
U.S.-led force charged with
intercepting
smugglers has impounded 24 ships found to be carrying illegal
Iraqi
oil this year ...']
*Ý Canadian warships cannot board
unco-operative vessels in Arabian Gulf:
report
*Ý US, Britain, threaten Swiss firm on Iraqi
oil sale [The mystery of why US
bound
oil should be cheaper than Europe bound oil is still not explained]
*Ý Iraq sanctions create nightmare for
legitimate shipping
IRAQI
'WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION'
*Ý French 'weapons grade' exports to Iraq
blocked [an accont of some of the
965
contracts being challenged by the sanctions Committee in the 18 month
period
to February 2001, all but one of them by Washington and London]
*Ý Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Knew [a former
weapons inspector in
Iraq
outlining nasty possibilities such as launching foot and mouth disease
on the
innocent American public. Well, its his job, after all ...]
*Ý German intelligence chief warns of Iraqi,
Iranian weapons threat
*Ý Iraq tested radioactive bomb [according to
another weapons inspector
looking
at a document which someone passed on to someone who passed it on
... ]
LIFE IN
IRAQ
*Ý Iraq, Kazakstan to World Cup Finals
*Ý Iraqi MPs recommend Saddam's birthday a
holiday
*Ý Jordanian Ambassador to Iraq Robbed
IRAQ/INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS
*Ý Czech Republic Ousts Iraqi Diplomat [no
explanation why]
*Ý Spain urges easing of sanctions against Iraq
*Ý Pope calls for an end to Iraq's suffering
MISCELLANEOUS
*Ý Secret u-turn to send Kurds back [Kurdish
refugees being sent back
because
Mr Straw thinks that Iraqi Kurdistan is safe. An interesting detail
I
didn't know is that there is a third Kurdish body which controls territory
in the
area - the Islamic Movement of Iraqi Kurdistan, and they apparently
control
Halabja, where the chemical weapons attack took place]
*Ý France to Study 'Gulf War Syndrome'
*Ý Bizarre secrets of Bush club exposed
[Further details of the 'Skull &
Bones
Club' may be had at
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/8425/BONES.HTM]
CHILDREN'S
CORNER
*Ý British police probing war crimes
allegations against Saddam [the crimes
incude
taking hostages in the run-up to the war. Will this prompt anyone to
ask why
Saddam Hussein RELEASED his hostages? All of them? Or will anyone
other
than myself notice that it was only when the last one had been
released
that the UN assault began? Note added, June 2003: Glen Rangwala has
since
shown me that my memory was at fault. I am still persuaded that it was
at this
point that F.Mitterand abandoned his support for the Jordan-Yemeni
peace
initiative]
*Ý Tonight, the Babylonian tyrant will sleep
less easy [in which we learn
that
'most of the medical equipment and medicines taken into Iraq by the UN
is
smuggled abroad to be sold for more cash on the black markets of Lebanon,
Syria,
Turkey and Iran.' Gosh. The article continues: 'I estimate that he
has
caused the deaths of more people than did Genghis Khan and Tamberlane in
the
13th and 14th centuries put together'. Presumably the author reaches
this
conclusion by ascribing to Saddam all the deaths that have been caused
by
Antony Blair, Robin Cook and their predecessors and allies]
*Ý Why is Yard chasing Saddam? [A historic
article. The first time ever I
find
myself in almost complete agreement with The Sun]
MIDDLE EAST,
MUSLIM AND ARAB INTER-RELATIONS
*Ý Oil pipeline between Jordan, Iraq in 2002
*Ý Iran, Mojahedin Issue Conflicting Casualty
Reports
*Ý King Mohammed voices solidarity with Iraq
[in the, I would have thought,
highly
significant form of very fulsome birthday greetings to S.Hussein]
*Ý Saudi openness to the Iraqi opposition [in
this case the Shi'ite Supreme
Council
for the Islamic Revolution, a body which I would imagine has certain
points
in common with the Hezbollah in Lebanon, but has Iran's support for
it been
included among the offences listed in the recent US State depatment
report
on terrorism? We wonder?]
*Ý Drift toward Mideast war
IRAQI/INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS
*Ý Iraq and Belarus sign economic accord
*Ý Convicted arms dealer funnels aid from
Europe's far right to Iraq [in
Austria]
*Ý Iraq denies visa to [Chief minister in
Indian controlled Kashmir] Farooq
Abdullah
*Ý Third tranche of Iraqi Bonds issue soon [in
India]
*Ý Exporters irked with govt on wheat row with
Iraq [in India]
*Ý Saddam's ex-crony returning to Canada
US
POLICY
*Ý Uncertain policy on Iraq [Bush team discover
that the options are rather
limited
and so fall back into the same pattern as the much maligned Clinton
team.
To the annoyance of 'veteran Iraq watcher' Laura Mylroie]
*Ý Saddam's Baghdad Escalates as Bush's
Washington Dithers [Jim Hoagland
condemns
the brutal, murderous blood lust of S.Hussein who, he says, wants
to
shoot down a US pilot. He fails to comment on the remarkably small number
ofAmericans
who have been killed by Mr Hussein or his agents. Especially
compared
with the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have been killed by
the
Americans and their agents]
NO FLY
ZONES
*Ý Commander will review Saudi dress code
*Ý US jets hit northern Iraq
*Ý In the Arabian Desert, U.S. Troops Settle In
[extract. A very interesting
extract
which tells us a) that despite all the hysterical ranting from
J.Hoagland
et al, US pilots in the No Fly Zones feel they are in very little
danger;
b) that the No Fly Zones have nothing to do with protecting Kurds or
Shi'i -
they are all to do with espionage and surveillance and c) we have it
straight
from the mouth of the commander, Brig Gen Gary R. Dylewski that
actually
the name of the game is permanent occupation of Saudi Arabia to
prevent
the SAUDIS from ever imposing another oil embargo: "Our attitude is
changing
from a temporary attitude to a long-term attitude. For the last 10
years .
. . we've been in a put up a tent mindset. We are changing that," he
said.
"We don't want to control the resources of the region. We want to make
sure
they are available uninterrupted to the rest of the world." The parts
of the
article I haven't given, about daily life in the fortress, protected
from
all contact with Arabs, all of whom are assumed to dangerous, is also
interesting
but only those with strong stomachs should attempt it]
COLLATERAL
DAMAGE
*Ý Iraq seeks Gulf war uranium check
*Ý Iraqis mourn victim of US-British raids
*Ý Iraq says Gulf War bomb kills eight children
WEAPONS
OF MASS DESTRUCTION
*Ý Iraq denies testing radioactive bomb in 1987
[refers back to article
given in
last week's mailing]
INSIDE
IRAQ
*Ý Iraqis redeem trust in President
[Festivities on S.Hussein's 64th
birthday]
*Ý Iraq Says Stolen Relic on Sale in London
*Ý Verdict of Iraqi gunman in anti-UN attack
put off ['The court has already
put
back the ruling five times to allow more lawyers to join a defence team
that is
now at least 20 strong, 15 of whom were appointed by the Iraqi
parliament.'
Who says you couldn't get a fair trial in Iraq??]
*Ý Iraq Is Thwarting Aid Projects, UN Charges
[which is to say that because
the US
and Britain won't allow Iraqis to fly planes in the No Fly Zones, the
UN
wants to employ non Iraqis to fly crop dusting planes to keep the date
plantations
- not allowed to export dates. I hope other list members like
myself
have been refusing to eat dates for the past ten years - in
existence.
But the Iraqis don't recognise the no fly zones, quite rightly,
and
therefore insist that Iraqis should fly the planes. Any reasonable
interpretation
of this story would say that it is the US and Britain that
are
thwarting aid projects]
CAMPAIGNING
*Ý Look-a-likes taunt Cook over 'lies'
*Ý Protest Targets Iraq Deployment
*Ý Catholic Groups Join Chorus Against Iraq
Embargo
NEW
WORLD ORDER
*Ý U.S. report details global religious
persecution
*Ý U.S. names N. Korea in state terrorism list
[on the grounds that they
have
been allowing members of the Japanese Red Army Faction to live in the
country
- in retirement - since 1970]
*Ý Bush Commits U.S. to Missile Defense
*Ý US gets Security Council presidency sans
envoy
*Ý Washington's enemies deliver snub at UN [by
refusing to re-elect a US
candidate
to the Human Rights Commission. 'Some diplomats said they believed
the
Bush Administration's opposition to the Kyoto climate-change treaty as
well as
its insistence on building a missile defence system contributed to
its
failure. Other nations may have been trying to punish Washington for
failing
to support the abolition of landmines, or recognise an International
Criminal
Court, and its opposition to cheap drugs being made available to
Aids
sufferers in the Third World.' Quite a lot of possible reasons, in
fact]
*Ý NMD brings 'space Pearl Harbour' scare
[makes the very necessary point
that
the NMD isn't about the threat that the US, with its 7,200 -see above,
'Bush
commits US to missile defense' - long range nuclear warheads, faces
from
Iraq or North Korea, but about getting a monopoly control of space -
and,
though the article doesn't mention this, keeping the arms industry in
business.
Its obvious, but no-one is saying it]