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News, 24-31/8/02 (2) NORTHERN IRAQ/SOUTHERN KURDISTAN * Turkey to complain about South Kurdistan to US * Turks and Kurds, Washington's Uneasy Iraq Allies * US to protect Kurdistan from any Iraqi or regional threats * Norwegian aid project in Iraq taken over by terrorist group * Over 300 Iraqi Refugees Return to Their Country * Ankara stakes its claims in post-Saddam Iraq IRAQI/MIDDLE EAST-ARAB WORLD RELATIONS * U.S. Ally Turkey and Iraq to Work for Long-Term Economic Deal * Analysts seek clarity in Qatar's view on Iraq * Qatar's foreign minister says his country opposes attack on Iraq * Saddam 'ordered Nidal killing' * Saudi trade fair in Iraq from Sept 9 * Saleh defends Yemen about missiles: All Arab states to have Iraq's fate * Iraq, Kuwait Agree on Arrangements for Archives Returning * Iraq VP in Syria for New Trade Talks * Mubarak warns against attack on Iraq as Baghdad launches diplomatic offensive * Qatar rules out help for any US war on Iraq * Why the Arabs Shun Bush on Iraq * Bush fails to sway Saudis on Iraq * Riyadh has some tough choices to make * Jordan set to support attack on Iraq NORTHERN IRAQ/SOUTHERN KURDISTAN http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=2816 * TURKEY TO COMPLAIN ABOUT SOUTH KURDISTAN TO US by Robin Kurd [sic! - PB] KurdishMedia.com, 24th August Turkey is to complain to the US about Kurdish political parties "attempts to establish an independent state" and their threats to its army, reported Hurriyet today. The Foreign Secratary, Ugur Ziyal, will deliver the complaint during his visit next week. Ziyal is to meet with the Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz and Undersecretary of State, Marc Grossman. "Kurdish groups think that they have the US behind them. We would like to inform you that we are very uncomfortable with this", Ziyal is to complain. Ziyal is also to ask for US officials to stand by their claim, "The US does not want a Kurdish State to be established in northern Iraq". Hurriyet reported that the discomfort caused by the anti-Turkey discourse of Mesud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), would be the main subject during talks. Ziyal is also to complain about the absence of Turkmen during the meeting of the Iraqi opposition that was held in the US last month. http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=8/24/02&Cat=2&Num=14 * TURKS AND KURDS, WASHINGTON'S UNEASY IRAQ ALLIES Tehran Times, 24th August ISTANBUL -- The looming prospect of upheaval in Iraq has exposed long-simmering divisions between the Turkish and Iraqi Kurdish allies Washington may be banking on to help end the rule of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. NATO member Turkey and a major Kurdish faction in Northern Iraq have been exchanging barbed statements for days in a resurgence of the historic mistrust between the two neighbors. "Idiocy," was the verdict of Turkey's Sabah daily on reports Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani had said Turkey would suffer defeat if it tried to interfere in Northern Iraq. Turkish airbases close to the Iraqi border and Iraqi Kurdish "Peshmerga" militia of Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) could both play roles in any U.S.-led strike on Iraq. U.S. President George Bush says he wants to oust Saddam but has no firm plans. Turkey, facing economic hardship and polls in November, says it is against any strike on Iraq but is likely to extend at least logistical support, Reuters reported. Barzani failed to attend a White House meeting of leading Iraqi opposition figures last week. The New York Times said this was partly due to Ankara hindering his travel across Turkey. His absence was a blow for bush and sign of difference in visions for a post-Saddam future among two elements he may need. Saddam's fall, while threatening turmoil, may offer Kurds a chance to entrench the frail autonomy they have carved out -- with U.S. and reluctant Turkish support -- since the 1991 Persian Gulf War. For Turkey, ever watchful of rising Kurdish nationalism, that is the very outcome that must be prevented. "Whether or not the United States attacks Iraq...(Northern Iraq) will continue to occupy Ankara," columnist Sami Kohen wrote in the Milliyet newspaper. Turkey keeps troops in Northern Iraq to fight separatist guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who have largely withdrawn from Turkey since the capture of their leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999. More than 30,000 have died since the PKK began a campaign in 1984 for a Kurdish state in southeast Turkey. Barzani recently issued a draft constitution for Iraq, seeing a flag, Parliament and presidency for an Iraqi Kurdistan that would be a largely autonomous part of a federal Iraq. Those trappings of statehood, coupled with a claim to the oil-rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk as a capital and a plan for a meeting of a United Iraqi Kurdish Parliament, rang alarm bells in Turkey where the idea of a Kurdish state is unacceptable. "The political parties in Northern Iraq ... must not forget the need to carefully avoid any assertions about the future of the country," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a sharply worded statement issued late on Wednesday. It reminded Barzani that it is a Turkish airbase from which the U.S. and British warplanes that protect his enclave operate. "The development and security the people of the region have secured in the last 10 years is first and foremost owed to the understanding and cooperation of Turkey," it said. The KDP says it has tried to convince Turkey it wants to remain a part of Iraq and has no ambitions to full independence. "We've done what we can to alleviate concerns on every occasion to our friends in Ankara," KDP Ankara representative Safeen Dizayee said recently. "We have no designs other than our declared polices. But time and time again we are accused of a secret agenda of (pursuing) an independent state." http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=2817 * US TO PROTECT KURDISTAN FROM ANY IRAQI OR REGIONAL THREATS by R. M. Ahmad KurdishMedia.com, 25th August Mr Talabani, the General Secretary of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), started his visit to the US two weeks ago. On the 20th of this month, he met the Deputy of USA Defence Secretary, Dr Paul Wolfowitz, the Assistant of USA Defence Secretary, Douglass faith, and the Deputy Assistant of USA Defence Secretary, Dr Bill Looty, in Pentagon. During the discussions Talabani asked for the protection of Kurdistan from 'any threats'. His American hosts promised to continue to protect Kurdistan and its Democratic Experiment from 'any threats', now or in the future. The meeting ended with a banquette given to his honour at Pentagon, the US Defence Ministry Headquarters. In the morning of the same day, Talabani visited the US Foreign Ministry and met the Ambassador, Ryan Kroker, Deputy Assistant of the US Foreign Secretary and Michael Mckawn from the Office of Iraqi Affairs of the US foreign Ministry. The American side confirmed Washington's commitment to protect Kurdistan. On the same day he visited Madeline Albright, the former US Foreign Secretary, and the architect of the Washington Peace Agreement between the PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)and also the architect of the Red Line that prevents Saddam Hussein from crossing to attack Kurdistan. During all these meetings, he was accompanied by Dr Barham Salih, the Prime Minister of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG-Suleymania), and Bafil Talabani, PUK representative in the US. It is time for a sigh of relief now that the US will undertake to protect Kurdistan and Kurdistan's democratic experiment from 'any threats', whether from the Iraqi government or a regional threat. Finally, the US has realised that the only remedy to eradicate the threat of terror and terrorism against the free world is to let democracy and the ideals of civil society take its course in the Middle East. Kurdistan's democratic experiment can become a cornerstone for this. The US has taken a wise decision to protect Kurdistan's democratic experiment to become a cornerstone of democracy in the region and to influence the whole region, as the only practical means to eradicate conditions which breed terror and terrorism. This is a correct decision. Kurds implement these ideals and will continue to do so with their full commitment. They have already accepted the ideals of democracy and civil society. If they are protected, the Kurds will commit themselves to the ideas of the democracy and civil society and fight for it, similar to when Kurds accepted Islam and fought for it. http://www.norwaypost.no/content.asp?folder_id=1&cluster_id=20435 * NORWEGIAN AID PROJECT IN IRAQ TAKEN OVER BY TERRORIST GROUP Norway Post, 27th August A power plant built by the Norwegian People's Aid (NFH) in Northern Iraq is now supplying electricity to one of Mullah Krekar's training camps. The plant was built to provide electric power to around 200 families in two villages in the area. The plant was completed in 2000. -When the plant was completed, the people of the villages wanted to celebrate. However, armed men from Krekar's group put a stop to the festivities, says former head of NFH's projects in Northern Iraq, Ragnar Hansen to NRK Radio. US authorities are in the possession of pictures from Krekar's camp. These will be shown on a NRK TV documentary broadcast Tuesday evening. Kurdish-born Krekar came to Norway as a refugee in 1991, and has Norwegian residence permit. However, he has not been granted Norwegian citizenship. The Norwegian Immigration Dorectorate (UDI) has written a report on Krekar's background, and this has been passed on to the Department of Foreign Affairs. It is expected that the Government will make a decision early this week on whether or not there are grounds for expelling Krekar from Norway. http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=8/28/02&Cat=2&Num=1 * OVER 300 IRAQI REFUGEES RETURN TO THEIR COUNTRY Tehran Times, 28th August SANANDAJ - A total of 307 Iraqi Kurdish refugees returned to their country, the democratic Kurdistan radio of Iraq said on Monday. The radio heard in Sanandaj said the returnees constitute 97 families who returned to their fatherland in cooperation with the Iranian authorities. The Iraqi refugees who returned home had lived in Iranian cities for 27 years, IRNA reported. The return of refugees follows a previously signed agreement between Iran and Iraq to encourage the voluntary repatriation of nationals from both sides to be performed under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The radio commented on the situation of the refugees and said that the Iraqi local authorities provided them with assistance after they arrived in Iraq. It further said that the refugees have returned to Iraq owing to the prevailing calm and stability in the northern Iraq where the Kurds live. Reportedly some 6,000 Iraqi refugees have returned home on a voluntary basis over the past two to three months. Meanwhile some 125 Iranians residing in Iraq voluntarily returned home on August 14. The convoy of Iranian refugees was made of 18 families that had been residing in Iraq during the years of the Iraqi imposed war on Iran. The refugees will be kept in quarantine before they are returned to their cities of domicile. In the first quarter of 2001, the government of Iran conducted a mass registration of all aliens in the country, the results indicate 2,650,000 aliens of whom 2,350,000 are Afghans and 203,000 Iraqi Arab and Kurds. An EU delegation headed by Elmar Brok, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the of the EP visited recently an Iraqi refugees camp in Iran' Fars Province. The delegation was briefed on the way the Iranian officials provided services to the refugees and conducted interviews with refugees themselves, the Fars refugees camp shelter some 3,000 Iraqi refugees. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/opinion/29_08_02_c.htm * ANKARA STAKES ITS CLAIMS IN POST-SADDAM IRAQ Daily Star, Lebanon, 29th August Twice in the space of a single week, Turkish Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu made controversial comments about northern Iraq that caused much alarm in the Arab world. He characterized the Mosul and Kirkuk districts of Iraq as parts of Turkey that were forcibly taken away from it after World War I, and northern Iraq in its entirety as a "trust" under Turkey's "safekeeping," which it will do its utmost to retain. This is not the first time this issue has been raised in Turkey, but it is the first time these territorial claims have been staked officially and by a figure as senior as the minister of defense. They refer to the former velayet of Mosul, which was in Ottoman hands at the end of the World War I when the armistice was signed at Modros on Oct. 27 1918. Yet the British, coveting the province's oil resources, proceeded to occupy it four days later. Turkey refused to accept the loss of any of the territory taken from it after the signing of the armistice, and accordingly in 1920, the Turkish Parliament included the Mosul-Kirkuk area within the country's borders as defined by the "Misaki Milli" or National Pact. The district remained a bone of contention in the years that followed, and the issue was not resolved in 1923, when the Turkish Republic was proclaimed within its current borders. In furious parliamentary debates that took place at the time, the republic's founding father, Mustafa Kemal, argued that while Turkey could not formally cede the area, it would only be in a position to recover it once it had become more powerful. But whatever Turkey's case for claiming Mosul during the early 1920s, it formally and conclusively dropped it on June 5 1926, when it signed an agreement with Great Britain and Iraq recognizing the border between itself and British-controlled Iraq. After that, the issue was all but forgotten until the advent of the 1990-1991 Gulf crisis over Kuwait. Between the time Iraqi forces occupied Kuwait in August 1990 and the start of the US-led war to eject them six months later, Turks were bombarded with reminders by politicians and the media of all their history connecting them to northern Iraq in general and Mosul and Kirkuk in particular. The bulk of what was published then emphasized the "Turkishness" of the two oil-producing districts. But the nostalgia for the past and the yearning to recover Turkey's "usurped" legacy did not take any direct or official form. The closest things got to that was when the late President Turgut Ozal was reported by journalist Cengiz Candar, who was close to him, to have drawn up a map envisaging an Iraq divided into three parts - Arab, Turkmen and Kurdish - bound together as a federation. By December 1991, shortly before the start of the Gulf War, Ozal had taken to referring to the Iraqi "peoples." According to Candar, by invoking the documents relating to the velayet of Mosul in the period following the World War I, Ozal was seeking to affirm that there was a strong legal and historical case for Turkey to establish a special relationship with the Iraqi Kurds. The Kurdish "threat" had been central to Turkey's refusal to cede Mosul in the early 1920s, and that same "threat" lies at the heart of Turkey's current interest in developments in Iraq. The constants of Turkish policy vis-a-vis Iraq are long established: maintaining Iraq's territorial integrity, preventing the establishment of an independent Kurdish state, and keeping the country weak. In recent years, a new component has emerged: securing autonomy for the Turkmen minority - estimated to number between around 500,000 and 1.5 million - in Kirkuk and the surrounding area. Turkey's concern with the Turkmens of Iraq is multi-faceted. The Kirkuk area in which they are concentrated is rich in oil. With no oil resources of its own, Turkey would not be averse to gaining some in Iraq if circumstances were to permit. Securing autonomy for the Turkmens would meanwhile bestow a national identity on an ethnic group that is related to the Turkic race. In any case, the Turkmens constitute a tangible "card" that Turkey can use to intervene in internal Iraqi affairs, and claim a permanent say in what happens in the country. Relations between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds have lately taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Having been Ankara's closest Kurdish ally in Iraq for years, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) chieftain Masoud Barzani was transformed into its bitter enemy by his insistence that the Iraqi Kurds want Iraq turned into a federation, and that Kirkuk is "a Kurdish city." The Turks felt that they risked losing their two Iraqi trump cards amid the multitude scenarios being cooked up for post-Saddam Hussein's Iraq. They feared their future plans were not only in peril, but could backfire and leave them without either Kirkuk or the Turkmens, their most effective means of putting pressure on both Baghdad and the Kurds. Their anger turned to fury when Barzani proceeded to publicly oppose any Turkish military intervention in northern Iraq, threatening to turn the region into the Turks' "graveyard." Hence came Defense Minister Cakmakoglu's remarks asserting that northern Iraq and Kirkuk region are "Turkish" areas which are under Ankara's "direct safekeeping." If the Turkish minister's remarks are "serious" in the sense that they reflect an official policy, then this would truly be a matter of the utmost gravity. It would constitute a historic shift in Turkish policy toward Iraq. But that would also automatically open up the hornet's nest of territorial disputes between Turkey and its other neighbors - including Syria (over Alexandretta), Armenia, and Greece. This would mean setting the stage for a fresh period of turmoil and a potentially endless succession of wars. Turkey is seeking admission to the European Union and would not gain from reopening historical wounds at a time when the Europeans are demanding that it resolve its problems with its neighbors, notably Cyprus and Greece. It is more likely that Cakmakoglu's remarks were not "serious" or "official" but intended to put pressure on the Iraqi Kurds to abandon the dream of a Kurdish state, and by extension any demand for Kirkuk or the Turkmens to come under Kurdish control in post-Saddam Iraq - as reflected in the stand taken by Barzani, who is now being accused of aiding the Kurdistan Workers Party. The verbal exchanges between Ankara and the Iraqi Kurds in recent days underscore the fact that the principal impediment to an independent Kurdish "entity," or one enjoying extensive autonomy, is not Baghdad - which has granted "self-rule" to Iraq's Kurds since the early 1970s - but Ankara. It is demanding autonomy and cultural rights for some 1 million Iraqi Turkmens in the Kirkuk area, while having only just grudgingly extended limited cultural rights to its own Turkish Kurds who number over 12 million. Mohammad Noureddine is an expert on Turkish affairs. He wrote this commentary for The Daily Star IRAQI/MIDDLE EAST-ARAB WORLD RELATIONS http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=8/25/02&Cat=9&Num=6 * U.S. ALLY TURKEY AND IRAQ TO WORK FOR LONG-TERM ECONOMIC DEAL Tehran Times, 25th August ANKARA -- Iraq and Turkey, a key U.S. ally, have agreed to work for a long-term economic cooperation pact similar to a deal discussed between Baghdad and Moscow, visiting Iraqi Trade Minister Mohammed Mehdi Saleh said Friday. The move is likely to displease Washington, which values NATO member Turkey as an important Muslim ally whose support would be crucial in a possible U.S. attempt to oust the regime in Baghdad. Ankara is strongly opposed to any such operation. Speaking after a meeting with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, the Iraqi minister told AFP that Baghdad had proposed to Ankara an accord involving comprehensive joint investment projects. "This proposal was accepted in principle. The two sides will begin work over the details later," Saleh said in comments through an interpreter. He then elaborated in English: "The principle is to develop a program by which we conclude ... a long-term agreement to promote the economic and trade relationship between Iraq and Turkey. "This agreement shall include all aspects of economic cooperation in the field of oil, extraction of oil, gas, refineries," Saleh said. Cooperation in the sectors of health, agriculture, infrastructure development, electricity, transport and communication was also envisaged, he added. There was no immediate comment on the issue by the Turkish side. Much to the discontent of Washington, Russia this week confirmed it was close to sealing an economic cooperation pact with Iraq, which has been valued by some at up to $40 billion. Asked about the value of the planned deal with Turkey compared to the one with Russia, Saleh said: "Maybe it's more or less, we will conclude (this) according to the projects." Turkey has in recent years revitalized trade with Iraq in a bid to compensate for economic losses -- estimated at some $40 billion -- inflicted by UN sanctions imposed on Baghdad for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Turkish officials, who met with Saleh earlier, hailed the improvement in bilateral trade. "Our trade volume, which had all but stopped in 1990, has reached a point of surpassing one billion dollars," State Minister Edip Safter Gaydali said, according to Anatolia news agency. Foreign Trade Minister Tunca Toskay underlined that "a very serious relationship based on (mutual) trust has been developed with Iraq in the past three years." Turkey has become one of the main exporters to Iraq and Turkish companies have undertaken projects worth $1.2 billion there, Toskay said. But he added: "We are concerned over a war breaking out there ... it is obvious we will suffer." Saleh said that during their meeting Ecevit reiterated Turkey's support for Iraq's territorial integrity and the need to resolve tensions between Baghdad and Washington peacefully. Stuck in a deep economic recession, Turkey also worries over the financial fallout of a war at its doorstep and constantly reminds Washington of the massive losses it has suffered due to the sanctions imposed on Iraq after the Persian Gulf war, when Turkey backed the United States. Saleh was to travel on to Istanbul to meet with Turkish businessmen and then to Izmir to visit an international trade fair. http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c =StoryFT&cid=1028186020799&p=1012571727172 * ANALYSTS SEEK CLARITY IN QATAR'S VIEW ON IRAQ by James Drummond in Doha Financial Times, 25th August Al-Udaid, a massive airbase south-west of Doha, the Qatari capital, has been pencilled in by many as the main launching pad for a US-led strike on Iraq. But the view from Qatar is somewhat less clear. The six-member Gulf Co-operation Council, of which Qatar is a member, reiterated at the weekend that it was opposed to any attack on Iraq. However Qatar has said little on its own account since George W. Bush, the US president, raised the prospect of regime change in Baghdad, diplomats in Doha say. That is likely to change when Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani, the Qatari foreign minister, visits Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, today. Analysts will be watching closely to see if Sheikh Hamad makes an explicit statement on behalf of Qatar opposing an attack on Iraq - or if he can avoid making one. His silence on the issue would be construed as giving the US unconditional support for an attack against the regime of Saddam Hussein. The proximate reason for the sotto voce in Doha is that Hamad bin Khalifa, the emir, and his right-hand man, the foreign minister, have been overseas during the hot summer months and returned to Qatar only last week. But Qatar also has a history of what is politely called heterodox policymaking in the conservative and conformist Gulf. At times Qatar, a country of 600,000 people, only a 150,000 of whom are native-born Qataris, can seem to be more motivated by the prospect of "getting one over" on its neighbours than is prudent, diplomats say. One feature of the desire to be different is the al-Jazeera satellite news channel. Qatar is currently involved in spats with both Jordan and Saudi Arabia over what those countries see as al-Jazeera's habit of granting a platform to opponents of their ruling families. Arab critics point out that the domestic Qatari media do not live up to the spunkiness of al-Jazeera. The Qatari press has been noticeably silent when it comes to speculation about Qatar's role in any forthcoming conflict, for example. Fellow Arabs are also riled by the continued presence of an Israeli trade office in Doha. While Qatari officials argue simply that closing the office would not serve the wider cause of peace, critics see it as giving moral support to Israel during the nearly two years of the Palestinian uprising. Few doubt however that the ruling Al Thani can manage domestic public opinion should al-Udaid be used against Iraq. There have been few, if any, anti-US demonstrations during the Palestinian uprising and opposition to the Al Thani is virtually non-existent, diplomats say. Others discern greater sophistication in Qatari foreign policy, motivated primarily by a desire to maintain independence. "I think the Qataris are in the business of insurance. One conclusion to be drawn if you allow someone to build a huge airbase in your back yard is that they are going to protect it - and protect you," said one western diplomat in Doha. "For Qatar, al-Udaid is an insurance policy and al-Jazeera is an insurance policy," the diplomat said. http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/international/ap_qatar08262002.htm * QATAR'S FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS HIS COUNTRY OPPOSES ATTACK ON IRAQ Boston Herald, from Associated Press, 26th August BAGHDAD, Iraq - Qatar's foreign minister said Monday his country opposes any U.S. attack on Iraq, but he also urged Baghdad to allow U.N. weapons inspectors to return. Qatar is home to three bases used by U.S. forces, including al-Udeid Air Base, which likely would be a hub for the U.S. military in an attack on Iraq. In recent months, the United States quietly has moved munitions, equipment and communications gear to the base. Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani told reporters upon his arrival at Saddam International Airport that Washington has not asked Qatar for "any new military facilities or any permission regarding a ... military action against Iraq." Sheik Hamad's visit came as Washington weighs options to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Sheik Hamad said he hopes to persuade Iraqi officials to comply with U.N. resolutions and allow the weapons inspectors back into the country. Their return is a key demand of the 15-member council, especially the United States, which has accused Iraq of rebuilding its banned weapons programs and of supporting terrorism. President Bush has warned Iraq of unspecified consequences if the inspectors are not readmitted to the country. "We ask Iraq to cooperate with us by accepting U.N. resolutions and the return of the inspectors," said Sheik Hamad. "We would like to reach a solution with our Iraqi brothers that would prevent any harmful military action." "We are against any military action," he added. "This issue should be resolved through the United Nations and diplomatic means." Under U.N. Security Council resolutions, sanctions imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait cannot be lifted until U.N. inspectors certify Iraq's biological, chemical and nuclear weapons have been destroyed along with the long-range missiles to deliver them. The inspectors left Iraq in 1998 and Baghdad has barred them from returning. http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=945872002 * SADDAM 'ORDERED NIDAL KILLING' by Alastair Jamieson The Scotsman, 26th August THE international terrorist Abu Nidal was ordered to carry out the Lockerbie bombing by the Libyan leader, Colonel Gadaffi, it was reported yesterday. It was also claimed that Saddam Hussein ordered his assassination for refusing to train al-Qaeda fighters based in Iraq. It was reported that Iraqi officials had lied about the death of Nidal, 65, by saying he had committed suicide after being implicated in a plot to overthrow Saddam. The Palestinian terror leader was told to carry out the Lockerbie attack in revenge for the US bombing of Tripoli in which Col Gadaffi's adopted daughter was killed, according to a former aide. The bombing, which killed 259 people on Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 and 11 people on the ground, earned Nidal's group, the Fatah Revolutionary Council (FRC) £12 million, according to the aide, who worked for Nidal until several years ago. The former FRC aid told the Sunday Times that the original revenge attack on the US was the botched hijacking of Pan Am flight 73 in Karachi on 5 September 1986, in which 22 passengers died. The unnamed aide then claimed Gadaffi asked Nidal if a more effective attack could be carried out, prompting the proposal that an aircraft be blown up remotely. Gadaffi asked Nidal's explosive experts to come up with the device while the Libyan leader decided where the attack would take place. The aide added that Flight 103 was meant to have been blown up over the Atlantic, but that the delayed departure from Heathrow meant the timed device exploded over Scotland. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was jailed for life last year by a Scottish court in the Netherlands of involvement in the bombing. Jim Swire, the spokesman for the families of the British victims, said: "This is certainly interesting, but if someone does have evidence of this kind, they should come forward to the relevant authorities to explain it." In Iraq, opposition groups claimed Nidal, who died last weekend, had been living in Baghdad for months as Saddam's personal guest and was being treated for a mild form of skin cancer. US officials who received the opposition group's reports now say they believe Nidal had come under pressure from Saddam to train al-Qaeda fighters who moved to northern Iraq after fleeing Afghanistan. But Nidal apparently refused, prompting the Iraqi leader to order intelligence chiefs to have him assassinated. Nidal worked closely with Saddam during the 1970s and early 1980s, helping to carry out attacks in the Middle East and Europe, including the attempted assassination of the Israeli ambassador to London, in 1982. The level of al-Qaeda activity in Iraq has become a matter of concern to the US which believes a number of senior members of the group are based on the Iranian border. The US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, said: "There are al-Qaeda in a number of locations in Iraq. In a repressive dictatorship that exercises near total control over its population, it's hard to imagine the government is not aware of what is taking place in the country." http://www.dailystarnews.com/200208/26/n2082605.htm * SAUDI TRADE FAIR IN IRAQ FROM SEPT 9 Daily Star, Bangladesh, 26th August Baghdad, AFP: The first Saudi Arabian trade fair to be held in Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War will open on September 9 for five days, an official newspaper reported Saturday. "The biggest Saudi companies" will be represented at the event and offer foodstuffs, electrical and medical equipment and textiles, al-Ittihad weekly said, quoting an oficial source at the Iraqi trade ministry. A big Saudi trade delegation was also expected. [.....] http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/020826/2002082615.html * SALEH DEFENDS YEMEN ABOUT MISSILES: ALL ARAB STATES TO HAVE IRAQ'S FATE Arabic News, 26th August The Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Saturday defended his country's right to buy Skud missiles, noting that Sanaa was not exposed to the American sanctions because it backs the American war against terrorism. Just several days ago, American officials said that Washington imposed sanctions against a Northern Korean company for selling the components of Skud missiles for (to?) Yemen and noted that the Yemeni official "apologized" for Washington over finalizing this deal, stressing this will not be repeated. In a speech he delivered before thousands of his party's members, the people's general congress, Saleh said "we have bought these missiles and this is a legitimate right for Yemen." He added, talking at the inauguration of a meeting for the ruling party that the US imposed sanctions on northern Korea and not Yemen because Yemen is collaborating with it in the war against terrorism. According to the center for limiting armament in Monterey, California, Yemen owns 18 Skud missiles and few of these missiles were used during the civil war in Yemen in 1994. The Yemeni president, on the other hand, renewed his country's rejection to (of?) the American threats against Iraq. He said "This is a serious phenomenon that a 'certain country' seeks changing the regime in any other country. This matter belongs to the people of this country." Saleh considered that the US will find it difficult to find out a new "Karazai," -- a reference to the Afghanistani leader after displacing the Taliban leadership -- which the USA has said represents a similar situation to Iraq's -- adding that the "region is boiling politically and all the Arab states will have the same destiny as Iraq." He continued "What is happening to Iraq will happen to the neighboring countries: Iran. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other countries." Meantime, the Yemeni news agency Sabaa said that the people's general congress ruling party has established, on the 20th anniversary of its foundation, a court which will try its members who are involved in violations of its regulations and laws. The agency explained that member of the general committee ( the political bureau) of the said party, Jafaar Basaleh, who is the deputy speaker of the parliament in Yemen will preside over the court. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200208/27/eng20020827_102131.shtml * IRAQ, KUWAIT AGREE ON ARRANGEMENTS FOR ARCHIVES RETURNING Peoples Daily, 27th August Iraq and Kuwait have agreed on the detailed arrangements for Iraq's returning of Kuwaiti national archives seized by Iraq during its occupation of the emirate twelve years ago, an UN envoy said on Monday. Iraq will begin to transfer the documents within the next few weeks after the United Nations working group gets ready for the operation, Richard Foran, an envoy of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for missing Kuwaiti documentation, was quoted by the official Iraqi News Agency as saying. Foran also expressed his appreciation of Iraq's efforts to facilitate the operation, the INA added. The UN envoy has held talks with both Iraqi and Kuwaiti officials in Baghdad and Kuwait City in the past two weeks to mediate the transferring operation. [.....] http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=8/27/02&Cat=9&Num=5 * IRAQ VP IN SYRIA FOR NEW TRADE TALKS Tehran Times, 27th August DAMASCUS -- Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan is in Syria today for a fresh round of economic talks between the two neighbors amid rapidly improving relations. Ramadan and Syrian Prime Minister Mustafa Miro are to chair a meeting of the two countries' economic cooperation committee which is due to conclude agreements on higher education, information and environmental cooperation. They will also discuss plans to build a water pumping station on the Tigris river, which forms the northern section of their common border, following a previous agreement on the project. The committee is also to discuss an investment agreement and the creation of a joint irrigation and water research company, the official Syrian news agency SANA reported. On the sidelines of the committee meetings, Ramadan will hold talks with senior Syrian officials. Relations between Iraq and Syria, which are ruled by rival wings of the Baath Party, have been on the mend since 1997. Syria today strongly opposes any U.S. strike on Iraq, unlike in 1991 when it joined the U.S.-led coalition to force President Saddam Hussein's troops out of Kuwait. In 2001, Iraq imported two billion dollars worth of Syrian goods under the UN-administered oil-for-food program. Iraqi Trade Minister Mohammad Mehdi Saleh, who met the Syrian prime minister in Damascus Thursday, told a Sunday newspaper that trade had totaled four billion dollars since 1997. "This figure will rise considerably after the unfair (UN) embargo is lifted because our policy is to give trade priority to Arab countries," the minister told the Iraqi government daily Al-Jumhuriya. Saleh's talks in Syria focussed on implementing a January 2001 free trade agreement between the two neighbors, AFP reported. http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/international/ap_baghdad08272002.htm * MUBARAK WARNS AGAINST ATTACK ON IRAQ AS BAGHDAD LAUNCHES DIPLOMATIC OFFENSIVE Boston Herald, Associated Press, 27th August BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq launched a diplomatic offensive Tuesday to garner support against any U.S. attack, while Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak - a top U.S. ally - came out strongly against any American military action, saying it would throw the Middle East into chaos. Iraq sent top officials to Syria and China, as some Arab governments pressed Baghdad to accept the return of U.N. weapons inspectors. Iraq's vice president dismissed the issue, saying President Bush plans to attack whether or not inspections resume. The comments came a day after Vice President Cheney made the toughest comments yet by the Bush administration to build a case for action to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Cheney called arguments against a strike on Iraq were "deeply flawed." The Egyptian president, however, warned that a U.S. attack would enflame the Arab public, especially at a time when violence rages between Israel and the Palestinians. Many Arabs accuse the United States of bias toward Israel in the conflict. Mubarak, in Egypt, said he told Washington that "if you strike at the Iraqi people because of one or two individuals and leave the Palestinian issue (unsolved), not a single (Arab) ruler will be able to curb the (rising of) popular sentiments." "We fear a state of disorder and chaos may prevail in the region," Mubarak said in an address to university students in the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria, aired on state-run television. He said Israel's military campaign against the Palestinians "is completely futile and the killing and the destruction might continue for another 50 years." Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, meanwhile, held talks in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who rejected threats against Iraq, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA. "Iraq is indifferent to current threats," Ramadan told reporters after the talks. Ramadan said Bush intends to attack Iraq regardless of the inspections issue. The U.N. inspectors "were the reason behind four U.S. aggressions on our country since 1991. So why should their presence in Iraq now prevent new U.S. attacks?" he said in comments published Tuesday in the Iraqi newspaper Al-Rafidain. Also Tuesday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri was in China, a traditional friend of Iraq and one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. Beijing has repeatedly urged Iraq to allow arms inspectors to return. Arab diplomats in Cairo said Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz was also expected to head abroad as part of a new Iraqi diplomatic campaign to drum up support. Iraq succeeded Tuesday in getting the U.S. threats put onto the agenda of a Sept. 4-5 meeting of Arab League foreign ministers. The agenda was the subject of fierce debate Tuesday at the Arab League, with many members pressing for the meeting to urge Iraq to accept a resumption of inspections. Baghdad instead sought a firm Arab statement of support against Washington. Finally, the league agreed to discuss threats against "some Arab countries, especially Iraq." [.....] http://www.dailystar.com.lb/27_08_02/art4.asp * QATAR RULES OUT HELP FOR ANY US WAR ON IRAQ by Mona Ziade Daily Star, Lebanon, 27th August Arab governments, increasingly worried that a go-alone US strike on Iraq would plunge their region into worse turmoil, are displaying a rare show of unity in a campaign to stave off a military venture that could push strained relations with Washington to the point of no-return. Syrian President Bashar Assad paid a lightening visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday for talks with Crown Prince Abdullah. Separately, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani arrived unexpectedly in Baghdad to voice objection to a military campaign against Iraq. As high-profile Arab diplomatic shuttles accentuated the US-Arab rift in the post-Sept. 11 era, American envoys were fanning out in key Middle East capitals, probing ways to prevent more disagreements over President George W. Bush's policy toward Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Qatar's foreign minister, Sheikh Hamad, said in Baghdad that his country would not allow its soil to be used as a launch pad for such an adventure. Sheikh Hamad said Washington has not asked Qatar for "any new military facilities or any permission regarding a Š military action against Iraq." And he indicated that if it did, he Doha would not oblige. "We are against any military action," Sheikh Hamad said. "This issue should be resolved through the United Nations and diplomatic means." He was referring to US demands, endorsed by the UN Security Council, that Iraq allow unrestricted access to international weapons inspectors to ascertain that Saddam Hussein's regime was not developing weapons of mass destruction. Sheik Hamad said he hoped to convince Iraqi officials to comply with UN resolutions to strip Washington of its pretext for a military onslaught. "We ask Iraq to cooperate with us by accepting UN resolutions and the return of inspectors," he said. "We would like to reach a solution with our Iraqi brothers that would prevent any harmful military action." But the Arabs, especially Iraq's Gulf neighbors, have been increasingly alarmed by statements from Bush administration officials stressing a desire to remove Saddam from power, whether or not the weapons inspectors were allowed back. Qatar is home to three bases used by US forces, including Al-Udeid Air Base, which military officers have touted as a likely hub for an attack on Iraq. In recent months, the US has been quietly moving munitions, equipment and communications gear to the base, amid tension in ties between Washington and Saudi Arabia, the main US hub in the 1991 war that drove Saddam's forces from Kuwait. Today, US-Saudi ties are strained like never before amid suggestions in Washington that the Saudis are not doing enough to aid the "war on terror" and criticism of the kingdom's support for Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority - which, like Saddam's regime, the Bush administration wants out of power. Adding insult to injury was a lawsuit filed earlier this month by the families of 900 people killed in the Sept. 11 attacks accusing Saudi nationals, including three senior Saudi princes, Saudi and other foreign banks of funding Osama bin Laden. The suit has inflamed ordinary Saudis, already irked by a leaked Pentagon report describing the kingdom as a "kernel of evil" and an emerging enemy of the United States. The Saudis, and most Arabs, fear that ousting Saddam by force is a dangerous precedent which would destabilize other regimes at odds with Washington's Middle East policy. One country which also has been cast in a negative light is Syria, whose president went to Saudi Arabia, apparently hoping to place his concerns on the agenda of Saudi-US dialogue should one be put on track. Assad and Prince Abdullah reviewed "developments in the (Gulf) region which may lead to undesirable results, destabilize peace and security in the region and the world and produce human tragedies," an official statement said, alluding to US threats to wage war on Iraq. They also discussed the situation in Palestine and efforts to reach a "just settlement" with Israel. The Saudi ambassador to Syria, Bakr bin Bakr, said the "two countries stand against wars and destruction, and back political and diplomatic solutions, and totally reject interfering in the internal affairs of any country." On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia's Washington envoy, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, will pay Bush a visit at his ranch in Texas to deliver a letter from the Saudi crown prince. The Saudi Okaz daily quoted unnamed sources as saying the letter deals with US-Saudi relations, where differences are becoming hard to hide. On the eve of the meeting, Saudi Arabia responded to what it described as "a smear campaign" orchestrated by some Western media. The regular Cabinet meeting discussed "the ill-intentioned smear campaign by some Western media that aim to present an image (of the kingdom) that is far from its moderate and balanced policies," the official Saudi Press Agency reported. It quoted Crown Prince Abdullah as saying: "Such allegations, whose aims and fomenters are well known, will not harm the kingdom or affect its positive role in achieving international peace, stability and prosperity." But he said Riyadh would continue to "support and fortify international efforts to combat terrorism in the framework endorsed by the United Nations." By absolving the US administration of blame for the propaganda campaign, the Saudis are apparently seeking a thaw in relations. And Washington seems equally enthusiastic about the prospects of narrowing the post-Sept. 11 gap, not only with the Saudis, but also with the rest of the Muslim world. Washington has named Charlotte Beers, a celebrated advertising magnate, to the newly created post of undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, with priority on healing the post-Sept. 11 US-Islam rift. John Blazey, senior staff member at the House Appropriation Committee, and Timothy Isgitt, special assistant to Beers, have been in the region for a week. They have been to Egypt, Syria and Lebanon, meeting informally with molders of public opinion to determine a course of action for changing negative perceptions of US foreign policy and presenting Washington as a credible troubleshooter in a region exasperated by bias toward Israel at the Arabs' expense. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,344779,00.html * WHY THE ARABS SHUN BUSH ON IRAQ by Tony Karon and Scott MacLeod Time, 28th August [.....] Going forward, Washington's checklist for winning Arab endorsement of a war in Iraq: ‹ Proof of an imminent threat from Baghdad; ‹ A war plan that would result in a quick, decisive victory with minimal civilian casualties; ‹ Visible progress towards separating Israel and the Palestinians; and ‹ A plausible scenario for a stable, post-Saddam Iraq. What the Saudis have been saying is that they don't see any checks on that list. [.....] http://www.iht.com/articles/69103.html * BUSH FAILS TO SWAY SAUDIS ON IRAQ by David E. Sanger International Herald Tribune, from The New York Times, 29th August CRAWFORD, TexasPresident George W. Bush told Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States that Saddam Hussein was "a menace and a threat" to both his Middle East neighbors and the United States. But after a meeting that lasted several hours, Saudi officials said their position was unchanged - that war was not acceptable and they would not cooperate in any military action. Bush's meeting Tuesday with Prince Bandar ibn Sultan, the longtime Saudi ambassador and a friend of the Bush family since before the Gulf War in 1991, followed a speech by Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday in which he made the strongest case yet that military action was the only realistic choice to remove Saddam from power. But the White House said Bush told Bandar that he had still made no decision about whether the United States should proceed with a military overthrow of the Iraqi government. A few administration officials - including some who fear that administration hawks are trying to press the president into making a decision - suggested privately that the vehemence of Cheney's language had taken them by surprise. Bandar came and left Crawford without making any comments, and reporters were kept miles from the session. But after it was over, a Saudi spokesman, Adel Jubeir, made the rounds of television shows and reporters to make it clear that the Saudi position about how to deal with Saddam was unchanged. "There is a process under way with the UN to bring the inspectors back in," he said, speaking in Washington. "If it is successful, we can achieve our objectives without firing a single bullet or losing a single life. "There is no country I know of supporting the use of force in Iraq at this time," he added, saying that "the rhetoric about using force is way ahead of the policy." It was not immediately clear whether Cheney's comments Monday meant the administration was no longer interested in getting weapons inspectors back into Iraq, as the Saudis and others insist. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Negroponte, said Tuesday that the United States was still interested if inspectors had "unfettered and unconditional access," though he cautioned that "Iraq's track record in the past in this regard has not been a particularly encouraging one. "But if they were to cooperate fully with an international inspection regime," he said, "that could be an important part of the resolution of this question of disarming Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction." [.....] http://www.dailystar.com.lb/opinion/30_08_02_b.htm * RIYADH HAS SOME TOUGH CHOICES TO MAKE Daily Star, Lebanon, 30th August [.....] Saudi Arabia is not quite out of options with which to confront American pressures. To realize what the Saudis have at their disposal, one has to look into the issue of "the state and the revolution" in the kingdom - or in other words, the future relationship between the responsibilities of the modern state on the one hand, and the justifications for the religious-ideological revolution in the country on the other. A symbiotic relationship between the two has built up - albeit with difficulty - over the years since the establishment of the Saudi state. Saudi Arabia had to walk a fine line between conforming to the technological advances of the modern age and the conservative requirements of its Wahhabi roots. This symbiosis was made possible thanks to a strict division of responsibilities: Political decisions were taken by the state, while the country's powerful religious establishment took care of society. This arrangement worked quite well, so well in fact that the religious establishment succeeded in projecting Saudi influence throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds. The jewel in the crown of this relationship between the religious and the temporal was the eviction of Soviet forces from Afghanistan. Even before then, "Saudism" had replaced Nasserism as the dominant ideology in the region. But this relationship entered into a deep crisis after Sept. 11. All of a sudden, religious activism ceased to be a strategic asset and turned instead into a liability. Overnight, a chasm appeared in Saudi foreign policy between the interests of the state and the ambitions of the religious establishment. In spite of the fact that this separation was not reflected domestically (perhaps because of the inherent religiousness of Saudi society and its intense aversion to outside interference), it became clear nevertheless that external dynamics would force changes inside the kingdom sooner or later. But what changes are we talking about here? One of these is the emergence of a state ideology in Saudi Arabia. Such an eventuality would be facilitated if the Saudi state decided to embrace liberal Islam. This will be a difficult task, but not an impossible one by any means. Saudi Arabia had indeed embarked on a modernization drive some 50 years ago, a drive that has created new traditions among the Saudi people that are totally different to those of the Wahhabis. These are modern traditions that need parallel ideological, cultural and political trends. Needless to say, Saudi Arabia is standing at a historic crossroads. Decisions taken now as far as domestic issues are concerned will shape the future for decades to come. Although no one can predict what these decisions will be, one thing is certain: relations between the modern state and the zealous religious establishment in Saudi Arabia will never be the same again. It would be impossible for them to go back to business as usual - neither now nor in future. Saad Mehio is a Lebanese journalist and writer. He wrote this commentary for The Daily Star http://www.dawn.com/2002/08/31/int11.htm * JORDAN SET TO SUPPORT ATTACK ON IRAQ by Suleiman al-Khalidi Dawn, 31st August, 21 Jamadi-us-Saani 1423 AMMAN: Jordan might have deep misgivings about a US attack on Iraq but the kingdom which sat on the fence in the 1991 Gulf War would have no choice but to join a US-led campaign, officials and diplomats said on Friday. But the pivotal US ally in the Middle East wedged between Iraq and Israel would be hoping that any military action would be brief because of fears a prolonged war could go dangerously wrong and wreak havoc in a volatile neighbourhood, they said. "We paid a heavy price for our position in 1991, why repeat history and the situation has changed now?" a former senior government official, who requested anonymity, said. "It's a very tricky situation...it needs to be a surgical success that does not drag on for months and builds opposition," he said. Jordan sympathized with Iraq during the 1990-91 Gulf crisis sparked by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Jordan did not join a US-led coalition that drove Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991. The kingdom has never had the attention of US officials, legislators and politicians as it has now. Few world leaders have had as many private audiences with US President George W. Bush over the last year as the country's monarch King Abdullah. Jordan's elevated role in both US military and political thinking as an important frontline ally with borders with Iraq allows it to provide logistical assistance in a US-led attack against Baghdad, Western diplomats say. Jordan flouted strongly anti-US sentiment over Washington's support of Israel and went further than other moderate Arab states in its public support of Bush's "war on terror" and the military campaign against Afghanistan. Jordan has been rewarded by a Free Trade Agreement and increased US aid. The reward came with the biggest jump in years in a hefty military and economic aid package that will almost double economic aid to $250m in 2003. That does not include considerable secret aid assistance to the country's army, trained and equipped by the United States. Politicians say Washington's stewardship of the country's political elite for a new status in a newly shaped Middle East under American aegis has a price tag. Diplomats and officials say the kingdom is positioned to gain in a redrawing of the regional map that would install a pro-Western regime in Iraq but not without some short-term pain. The kingdom is eager to protect its own national interests, in maintaining as long as possible the lucrative $1 billion annual oil trade with Iraq that has cushioned its treasury should the United States wage war and win. Washington, with all its powerful leverage, cannot match Iraq's generous $300 million oil grant and over $350 million worth of oil supplied in an bargain barter deal. The United Nations allowed Jordan to get supplies from Iraq after the Gulf War on grounds it was the only affordable source.-Reuters _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk