[casi] News titles, 02-10/1/03

[Peter Brooke <pbrooke@DELETETHISukonline.co.uk>]

News titles, 02-10/1/03

A longer mailing than usual, and I've added a supplement which includes the
text of Prime Minister Blair's speech to the assembled British ambassadors
abroad outlining his idea of the role of Britain in the world. Which is
essentially to help the US in its task of imposing the victory of order and
democracy over violence and anarchy. Like President Bush, Mr Blair knows
that he himself is a good man and that certain other people are evil. And
the good must not be squeamish in the means they use to oppose the evil.
Then there is the text of the resolutions made by the Opposition conference
held in London in December; and a speech by one of the Kurdish delegates.
These are included largely because the Opposition and the Kurds seem to have
faded from view lately (the Shi'ites never came much into view in the first
place) and I can't help thinking this is deliberate. The US government has
decided it needs the Turks more than it needs the Kurds, and it doesn't
really need the Opposition at all.

A couple of articles - 'Aflaq-political guru of Saddam Hussain?' and 'Saddam
remembered as manipulative convict', both in the inside Iraq section -
convey a more credible and interesting picture than we usually get of Mr
Hussein. They show him as a highly motivated believer in an ideology. Much
has been made of the apparent opportunism of his use of Islamic terminology
when everyone knows his ideology (Baathism) is supposed to be secular. Some
time ago, however, I remember opposition sources claiming that he had
retired to his palaces and immersed himself in reading Sufi poetry. The
implication was that he was now a washed out shadow of his former self
living in a world of dreams. But Sufi poetry is heady stuff and could
equally well have given him a new interest in life and a much more
invigorating idea of what it is to be a Muslim. The tendency to dismiss our
enemies as mere gangsters is dangerous. President Hussein is a convinced and
militant Fascist, and Fascism - which seems to be comfortably outliving its
old rival Communism - is no mean political philosophy. And in matters of
religion it is very flexible, as witness Mussolini's relations with the
Pope. And let us quickly add that there is a substantial philosophy behind
the Bush government as well. Perhaps the whole thing could usefully be
described in terms of an intellectual duel between (the ex-Jew) Leo Strauss
in the American corner and (the ex-Greek Orthodox Christian) Michel Aflaq,
for the Arabs.

The weapons inspectors seem to be picking off the items in the British
Weapons of Mass Destruction dossier one by one. The aluminium tubes seem to
have gone. Though perhaps not entirely, since, apart from the tubes the
Iraqis have got which they claim date back to the 1980s, there are also the
tubes they tried to obtain. The US government and media continues to try to
persuade us that it has a great alliance lined up, but very few people -
least of all the most important people, Iraq's immediate neighbours - are
willing to put their head above the parapet. Speculation is beginning ('What
if there's no Iraq war?' in the Implications of War section) that maybe it
won't happen. And this is quite possible. But if it just means the
continuation of an intolerable status quo then it may not be a Good Thing.
It is up to the anti-sanctions movement to keep insisting on the lifting of
sanctions. And this in the full knowledge that it means restoring power over
the Iraqi economy to the Iraqi government. Which I have just characterised
as Fascist.

I don't myself think this would result in a new war against Iran or Kuwait
or even (but here the danger is greater) the Kurds; nor an increase in
repression of the Iraqi people. On the contrary, I feel quite sure that all
the effort would go into rebuilding a powerful economy. Accompanied by much
triumphalism, celebration of President Hussein's greatness, and scorn poured
on his enemies.

That's what I think. But of course I could be wrong ...


NEWS, 02-10/1/03 (1)

INSIDE IRAQ

*  In Baghdad, art thrives as war hovers [Mainly about painting and the
theatre. Interesting that this is a totalitarian regime that favours
abstract art (not, unfortunately, the very impressive tradition in 'abstract
art' developed historically within Islam) over social realism ...]
*  Aflaq-political guru of Saddam Hussain? ['All this suggests that Saddam,
contrary to his image in the West is hardly thug or a bully, but a
missionary whose lofty ideology has not changed in four decades.']
*  Iraq issues decrees on smuggled money, banned materials [Rather
surprising that laws against smuggling currency and pornography don't exist
already?]
*  In Iraq's Tribes, U.S. Faces a Wild Card
*  Saddam's troublesome marsh dwellers left high and dry by drainage [The
article neglects to tell us why the British and Turks too tried to suppress
the Marsh Arabs]
*  Excerpts: Saddam's Army Day speech
*  Two-layer defense for Baghdad
*  Puzzle over Iraqi minister's ouster [Oil minister, General Amer Mohammad
Rashid, husband of famed biological weapons scientist, Dr Rihab Taha]
*  Iraqis may have GPS [global positioning system] jammers
*  Saddam remembered as manipulative convict [Account of young Saddam. Much
more than simply a thug. The article also indicates interestingly that the
Iraq Nationalist/pro Syrian division was already present in the Iraqi Baath
Party at this time]


AND, IN NEWS, 02-10/1/03 (2)

IRAQI/US RELATIONS

*  Why Iraq matters more than North Korea [Intelligent account of US
government intentions with regard to the two countries: 'The Bush team -
rightly as I see it - regards Kim Jong-il's regime as an ossified
ideological relic with no future potential for attracting adherents to its
creed, while Saddam Hussein's regime, while it lasts, in effect anchors
Islamist fascism in the Middle East and the Muslim world beyond.' See also
'Kim Jong-il out-Saddams Saddam' in International Relations.]
*  Arab Americans scared, angry at idea of Iraq war [Interviews with members
of the Arab American community of Toledo]
*  Suicide from fear of death [Foolishness of Bush administration in opening
even a modest possibility of an Iraqi terrorist attack in the US without
adequately preparing for it. The article is noteable for its discussion of
'Bismarck's characterization of preventive war as "suicide from fear of
death."']
*  Congress's Rollover on War [William Raspberry argues that under the US
Constitution the decision to go to war rests with Congress not the President
and suggests that Congress should reclaim it. He mentions in passing 'World
War II, our last declared war' ...]
*  NAACP reaffirms opposition to war in Iraq
*  Saddam Stepping Down Will Not Prevent War: Analysts [Optimistic view from
Egypt: '"There is a new anti-U.S. global system in the making now, such a
war will hasten its formation and enrich its effectiveness," he added.']
*  Depending on oil [Article from the Financial Times arguing that on the
whole the war against Iraq won't have very much to offer the oil industry]
*  War in Iraq Could Cause Police Shortage [since a significant proportion
of US police and special troopers are also army reservists]
*  Bin Laden, Iraq Lose Trade Center Suits After Failing to Appear
*  A Routine Briefing Turns Into U.S. Embarrassment Over Iraq [Heated
exchange between Ari Fleischer and Helen Thomas, the most senior member of
the White House press corps. More heat than light]
*  Director Scorsese latest celeb against Iraq war
*  US weapons dossier may remain a secret [even if the US decides to go to
war without a UN resolution, sez D.Rumsfeld. But perhaps they'll tell us
afterwards?]
*  US Navy's daily patrols put squeeze on Iraq

URLs ONLY:

http://huknews.hoovers.com/fp.asp?layout=displaynews&doc_id=NR20030103670.4_
e88e01542043c7f7
*  Brand Strategy: Branding war and peace
Hoover's (Financial Times), 3rd January
[Long reflection on the relation between advertising and national ideology,
based on the job assigned to Charlotte Beers, former chairwoman of ad
agencies J Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather, to 'rebrand and sell Uncle
Sam to a hostile Muslim world'. Colin Powell chose her because she persuaded
him to eat 'Mr Ben's' rice which, assuming that this is an error for Uncle
Ben's 'rice', and that Colin Powell knows what rice can taste like, was
indeed quite an achievement.]

http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=366199
*  The double standards, dubious morality and duplicity of this fight
against terror
by Robert Fisk
The Independent, 4th January
[The article is mainly about terrorist counterterror in Algeria and the
targetting of Arabs and Muslims in the US]

http://www.counterpunch.org/neumann01072003.html
*  American Power and Jewish Power
by MICHAEL NEUMANN
Counterpunch, 7th January
[Lengthy but interesting discussion of Jewish pro-Israeli influence in US
politics, including an account of Arab and Jewish competition in the 1950s.
His general thesis is that the Jews only manage to push the non-Jews in
directions they want to go anyway. Some memorable expressions such as: 'it
is helpful to conceive of Jewish power in America somewhat like eunuch power
in the Ottoman Empire'; 'Jewish power does exist at the good pleasure of non
Jewish Americans, both in government and throughout the general population.
This holds even where Jews exercise the most effective control, in
Hollywood. That's why you don't see Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the
widowed, retired Israeli paratrooper, raining fire and death on the leering
Palestinian thugs who killed his children and gang-raped Selma Hayek, their
beloved Israeli Arab nanny.' and 'Jewish tribalism ... is immoral, but not
as contemptible as the whining of those who supposedly want to do something
about Israel, yet are astounded to encounter Jewish opposition and slink
off, muttering about 'being in the grip of Jewish power'. The article
finishes with an excellent set of recommendations as to what should be done
about Israel]


AND, IN NEWS, 02-10/1/03 (3)

IRAQI/MIDDLE EASTERN RELATIONS

*  Americans "100 times more savage" than Iraqis: Safavi [General Rahim
Safavi, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards army]
*  Beware Syria, Iraq's new pal [sez the NY Daily News]
*  Israel to launch new test of Arrow missile ahead of any Iraqi attack
[There are those who are allowed to defend themselves; and there are those
who are not allowed to defend themselves]
*  Gul to lead regional peace bid [and Turkish Foreign Trade Minister Kursat
Tuzmen is to visit Iraq, accompanied by some 150 businessmen. Which doesn't
sound as though they're preparing to do a deal with the Americans]
*  Saudi Arabia promises to hike oil production in event of US war on Iraq
*  $15 billion asked of U.S. ['Israel hopes to receive the aid as a reward
for good behavior during a war in which it may be asked once again to
restrain itself even if it absorbs missile strikes from Iraq.' Its a
difficult neighbourhood. Everyone else has to be bribed to co-operate.
Israel has to be bribed not to co-operate]
*  Thousands to rally in support of Iraqis [in Bahrain on Friday 3rd
January. From the Al Fateh Mosque to the car park opposite Fun Land.]
*  Milliyet: Turkey for a Swiss system in Iraq [Proposing distinct Kurdish
and Turcoman cantons]
*  Why Turkey is 'for sale' to the United States [Argues that the US
government envisage a long drawn out series of wars after the demise of
S.Hussein and are trying to secure a substantial land base in Turkey (though
why would they need it if they have Iraq?)]
*  Turkey says studying historic claims to N.Iraq oil [Turkey's foreign
minister, Yasar Yakis, in 'the first high-level mention of the international
treaties made in 1920s'. For more on this interesting question, see 'If Iraq
operation takes place' in News, 22-29/11/02 (5).]
*  Turkey sees disaster in Iraq war [Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul,
after a tour of Egypt, Syria and Jordan: 'Senior Jordanian officials told
Reuters they were assured of an additional aid package by Washington worth
hundreds of millions of dollars to offset the damage of war, in addition to
the approximately $450 million Amman already gets each year. Turkey is also
negotiating an aid package designed to reassure international markets and
prevent any economic crisis in Turkey if Washington goes to war against
Iraq.' Every cloud has a silver lining.]
*  Iranian foreign minister under pressure over Iraq [Threat to impeach the
Foreign minister if Naji Sabri is allowed to visit Iran. On the grounds that
Iran doesn't want to be seen siding with the loser]
*  Kuwait Not to Take Part in War Against Iraq: Speaker
*  Turkey Allows U.S. to Inspect Bases-Papers
*  Kuwait repatriates four Iraqi seamen
*  Some Arabs Urge Saddam to Quit [sez Philippines Foreign Secretary Blas
Ople]
*  Khatami sets prerequisites for Sabri's visit: press [More on the
impeachment proceedings against the Iranian foreign minister. Which seem to
be serious since they've obliged him to impose conditions that make it very
unlikely the visit will go ahead (though a later article suggests this is
not so)]
*  To pacify Kuwait, U.S. buildup of troops kept largely invisible ['The
U.S. government is engaged in a juggling act -- advertising loudly to Saddam
Hussein that he faces the threat of massive force if he fails to give up
weapons of mass destruction, while trying to keep a low profile in the gulf
region to ease local sensitivities.']
*  Ramezanzadeh: No change in Iran's policy towards Iraq ['The Iranian
official rejected the claim that the Iranian government had set conditions
for visit to Tehran of Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri.']
*  Iran Frees Last Lebanese Prisoner from Iraq War [A member of the Lebanese
Baath Party who had been fighting with Iraq]
*  US connection of the Lebanese lawyer leading the push for Saddam's exile
[It isn't clear what point Fisk is making in showing that one of the
signatories - not it seems the most prominent one - is a friend of Ahmed
Chalabi's]
*  Iraq, Kuwait begin talks after four years [on the missing persons. The
article does not address the crucial question of whether or not USUK
representatives were present]
*  Turkish trade delegation urges Iraq to avert war [The 150 delegates of a
previous article - which already seemed plenty - here become 350]
*  Turkey will complete first phase of war [Richard Beeston of The Times
claims that the US have won a 'considerable US diplomatic victory' in
persuading all Iraq's neighbours 'to do Washington's bidding'. He provides
not a shred of evidence for this assertion which goes against all the public
pronouncements of said neighbours. All he has to offer is this: 'If and when
hostilities do break out, it is hard to imagine any country in the region,
including stubborn holdouts such as Syria and Saudi Arabia, choosing to
stand up to the Americans and risk being seen to side with President Saddam
Hussein in his final hour.' Which is doubtless true but could have been said
at any time over the past year.]


AND, IN NEWS, 02-10/1/03 (4)

IRAQI/UK RELATIONS

*  Britain to commit 20,000 troops to Iraq war [The article, from the
Chicago Tribune, turns into an essay on the inadequacies of Britain's
military hardware. The British, it appears, are the only ones who make any
effort to keep up, but they really aren't in the running.]
*  Envoys called home for Iraq talks ['Foreign Office sources said that all
the sites in the British dossier on Iraq had now been seen by UN weapons
inspectors.']
*  Church [of England] issues prayer against Iraq war
*  If war against Iraq is just, it must be proved [Article by Moderator of
the Church of Scotland, Dr Finlay MacDaonald, who quotes the Chief Rabbi and
the Koran and a whole host of Bishops, leaving us with the impression that
the Scottish Presbyterian tradition doesn't have much of its own to offer.
The whole is a reply to last week's piece, also in The Scotsman, by Magnus
Linklater ('Morals take a back seat in churches as conflict with Iraq
nears', News, 27/12/02-2/1/03 (6)) and is stuck in the same swamp of the
anti-christian notion of a 'just war theory' . In this case the Moderator is
left attributing authority over questions of war and peace to the UN
Security Council, the body that is directly responsible for the murder of
hundreds of thousands of Iraqis through the sanctions regime. Strange that
people who claim to speak for the Church do not recognise Babylon when they
see it.]
*  Britain: 2nd U.N. Iraq Plan Preferred [Explains why USUK keep saying war
isn't inevitable: '"Britain and America want the threat of military action
to be credible but not inevitable and want Saddam to think he can still do
something about it. They do not want him to start concentrating on defense
strategies."]
*  Iraq war must have UN backing, Labour MPs tell Blair [Uninspired account
of Question Time and its aftermath]
*  Poet laureate joins doubters over Iraq
*  Support for Tam over Iraq action [Letter from Field Marshal Sir John
Stanier arguing that US behaviour breeds terrorism]
*  Straw: Saddam is a threat to Islam
SEE ALSO, IN SUPPLEMENT: 'Full text: The Prime Minister's address to British
ambassadors in London' and 'The EU should spearhead the drive for world
peace'

INSPECTIONS PROCESS

*  U.N. inspectors set up new base [in Mosul]
*  UN inspectors search 16 sites, anger Iraqis
*  U.N. teams in Iraq use copters for first time
*  UN inspectors 'cast doubt on UK evidence dossier'
*  Iraq Bioweapon Report Lacks Key Answers
*  Suspect Iraqi Tubes Unintended for Atomic Arms -UN
*  Iraqi arms report had nothing new, Blix tells Council [Account from the
New York Times. The fullest I've seen]


AND, IN NEWS, 02-10/1/03 (5)

NORTHERN IRAQ/SOUTHERN KURDISTAN

*  Already ailing, north Iraq faces medical threat from war [Looming
nightmare in Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan. The report comes from 'the
western half of the autonomous region', which is presumably Barzani
territory and Barzani has been noticeably less enthusiastic about war than
Talabani. Note the assumption that, prior to the recent US warmongering, a
Kurd with a difficult brain tumour would have had it seen to in Baghdad.]
*  Leader of Iraq's PUK arrives in Tehran
*  Is this proof of an al-Qa'ida link to Iraq? [Ricin in Kurdistan, since
ricin is in the news ... Unpleasant spectacle of Bernard Kouchner lumbers
once again into view]
*  Iraqi Kurdish leader visits Turkey in sign of rapprochement [Barzani]
SEE ALSO, IN SUPPLEMENT: 'The Iraqi people do not trust American policy'

IRAQI/UN RELATIONS

*  The UN's cozy cabal [The permanent members of the Security Council.
Someone's noticed that they are the only ones who count.]

NO FLY ZONES

*  Coalition Planes Attack Iraqi Target in No-Fly Zone [Al Kut, Thursday,
2nd January]
*  Allied aircraft strike in Iraq 'no-fly' zone [Near An Nasiriyah, about
170 miles southeast of Baghdad, Saturday 4th January]
*  Iraq Says Two Killed in U.S. Airstrike [Monday 6th January, unpecified
location; Tuesday, 7th January, near Al Amarah, about 165 miles southeast of
Baghdad]
*  U.S. planes strike in Iraq southern no-fly zone [Wednesday, 8th January,
Iraqi military air defence cable sites between Al Kut, Al Basrah and An
Nasiriyah, all between about 100 miles (160 km) and 245 miles (392 km)
southeast of Baghdad]

OPPOSITION

*   Saddam's Foes Plan to Meet in Iraq ['to convene as a congress -- which
could act like a government-in-waiting']
*  Iraqi Opposition May Delay Jan. Meeting [Plus ca change ...]
*  Opponents disrupt meeting of Iraqi Shiite opposition [Newly launched
movement led by Abdel Majid al-Khoei is a son of the late Grand Ayatollah
Khoei, a top Iraqi Shiite cleric who died under house arrest in 1992 in the
holy city of Najaf south of Baghdad.]
SEE ALSO, IN SUPPLEMENT: 'Political statement of the Iraqi Opposition
Conference in London, 14-16 December 2002 '

REMNANTS OF DECENCY

*  During Baghdad visit, U.S. church official urges diplomacy over war [Bob
Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches]
*  Canadian Activist Dies in Crash in Iraq [George Weber, 73, of Chesley,
Ontario, a member of the Chicago-based Christian Peacemaker Teams, and one
of the heroes of our age]
*  9/11 tragedy spurs peace mission to Iraq [Peaceful Tomorrows]

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

*  Daman launches Dh184m Iraq-focused fund ['Daman Asset Management has
launched a new investment product - Daman Iraq Opportunity Fund - with a
view to providing investors with the opportunity to participate in the
international reintegration and reconstruction of Iraq.' Pretty distasteful
but ... you know it makes sense ...]


and, in News, 02-10/1/03 (6)

IRAQI/INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

*  Cimatu team to assess status of OFWs in ME [13-man Middle East
Preparedness Team (MEPT), headed by retired Gen. Roy Cimatu, to assess the
condition of the estimated 1.5 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)]
*  Germany denies report on coup against Saddam [Iranian speculations on US
intentions]
*  Pakistanis Protest Possible War With Iraq [Muslim protests on Friday 3rd
January]
*  This Europe: Lying idle off Italy's coast, the pride and joy of the Iraqi
navy [Account of Iraqi naval ships, ordered but never delivered in the
1980s]
*  Tutu slams 'arrogant' US [interviewed for British TV with Mary Robinson]
*  Greek Church Prepares Humanitarian Aid for Iraqi Refugees [The article
mentions that the Greek Church also organised aid to 'Kosovo'. And not to
Serbia?]
*  Top U.S. Military to Meet in Germany [The US army is determined to
implicate Germany. Isn't it time Germany got rid of them?]
*  Gas masks to be given to Filipinos in Kuwait if Iraqi war happens
*  Kim Jong-il out-Saddams Saddam [by Jim Lobe in the Asia Times, arguing
that this is one of those occasions on which the Clinton team proved itself
wiser than its successor, which has largely brought this particular problem
on its own head. Few people however seem to appreciate the core of the
problem - that the US, including the Clinton team, reneged on the deal it
had made with North Korea in 1994. See also 'Why Iraq matters more than
North Korea' in US Relations]
*  Keep us out of Bush's war on Iraq [by Laurie Brereton, former foreign
affairs speaker of the Australian Labour Party]
*  Labor split widens over Iraq [The Murdoch press in Australia exults over
perceived divisions in the Australian Labour Party]
*  Two-thirds of French oppose Iraq war - poll
*  Greece Launches EU Peace Mission on Iraq
*  US has "no disagreement" with Malaysia over UN stand on Iraq: US official
[Visit of John Bolton to the region]
*  Rafidah: 5,000 Proton cars heading for Iraq [from Malaysia]
*  Iraq splits coalition ['Analysts have also cited the difficulties that
Germany would have in its goal of becoming a permanent member of the
Security Council alongside the United States, Britain, France, China and
Russia, if the country voted against a second resolution.' Where Germany
should be campaigning for the abolition of the permanent member system]
*  PM can't have it both ways on Iraq: Crean [Simon Crean of the Australian
Labour Party makes the party policy clear: do whatever the 'United Nations'
(code name for the US, UK, France, Russia and China) think best]


AND, IN NEWS, 02-10/1/03 (7)

IMPLICATIONS OF WAR

*  What if there's no Iraq war? [Robert Malley, Middle East program director
at the International Crisis Group and special assistant to President Bill
Clinton for Arab-Israeli affairs from 1998 to 2001, reflects on the
(increasingly likely) possibility of an indefinite continuation of the
status quo and suggests a policy of rewards for good behaviour rather than
unrelenting punishment. Funny the idea doesn't seem to have occurred to him
in the late 90s. He also manages to discuss the security situation and
'non-conventional weapons' in the Middle East without mentioning Israel,
which is quite an impressive feat.]
*  Gulf War lessons, learned or not [Useful summary of flaws in conduct of
the first UN Gulf War - friendly fire, failure to intercept Scuds etc]
*  Gulf War syndrome looms anew
*  U.N. Warns of War's Humanitarian Impact [Article based on a CASI press
statement. It has been taken up by many newspapers throughout the world.]
*  The other war has begun - the one to save lives [Problem for humanitarian
agencies - to be ready for war without contributing to the war fever]
*  Iraq: another fake liberation ['Post-Taliban Afghanistan is essentially
the Taliban Afghanistan minus law and order. Stonings continue and women
remain under burqas, but now thugs and rapists roam the streets unchecked.']
*  U.S., British Troops Concerned by Anthrax Vaccine ["What we are seeing
from those who have been given the vaccine is usually something to do with
blackouts, with seizures and motor problems. We are finding that these
people become affected by skin lesions, they develop sores and problems that
just never go away."]
*  Relief groups expect worst in Baghdad
*  Why the US and the UK are right to target Iraq [Philip Bobbit in The
Times argues that if President Hussein is not deterred now, he will get his
WMDs then all hell will break looose in the Middle East. The argument seems
quite reasonable until we get to the complaint that the Iraqi government
'shot repeatedly and continuously at coalition forces enforcing the no fly
zones imposed by the UN in 1991' and 'the regime has been able to build up
its armies in this period and use the sanctions to wring ever greater
suffering from its people, blaming the West'. At that point we realise we're
in the presence of just another government propaganda hack]

URL ONLY:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/06/international/middleeast/06IRAQ.html
*  U.S. Is Completing Plan to Promote a Democratic Iraq
by DAVID E. SANGER and JAMES DAO
New York Times, 6th January
[NY Times article which spawned a lot of articles in lesser journals but
doesn't really go beyond the sort of speculation we could all do for
ourselves. The only definite statement I could find was this: 'After long
debate, especially between the Pentagon and the State Department, the White
House has rejected for now the idea of creating a provisional government
before any invasion.' Eat your heart out, Ahmed]


AND, IN NEWS, 02-10/1/03 (SUPP)

*  Full text: The Prime Minister's address to British ambassadors in London
[This strikes me as a coherent and well thought out view of Britain's place
in the world and its necessary relation to the US; it is the 'image' the
ambassadors will be expected to convey to the rest of the world. It is
dominated by the all too real danger of the proliferation of 'weapons of
mass destruction'. It is my view, and probably the view of most members of
the list, that USUK policy is contributing to this danger mightily but Prime
Minsiter Blair's argument merits a considered and detailed response which I
haven't yet seen on our side of the question. Though some elements of it may
be found in the next article, by Dan Plesch.]
*  The EU should spearhead the drive for world peace [Dan Plesch usefully
gives the bones of an alternative vision of Britain's place in the world,
and of what we could do about 'weapons of mass destruction', starting with
our own.]
*  Political statement of the Iraqi Opposition Conference in London, 14-16
December 2002 [Lengthy statement mainly to do with the wrongs that have to
be righted. But note the opposition to any 'occupation, internal or external
military rule, external mandate and regional interference' and in para 19
the assumption that the Oil for Food arrangement will continue. Nothing is
said as to whether or not Iraq will continue to pay compensation or indeed
the money claimed against Iraq by various US court cases]
*  The Iraqi people do not trust American policy [Kurdish spokesman,
supporting the US invasion, nonetheless gives many reasons for Kurdish
suspicion. He notes that nothing has been done to protect Kurds against
chemical or biological attack (while material has been provided to protect
Israeli cats and dogs); and remarks that: 'Mr Zalmay Khalilzad, President
Bushıs envoy, spoke in the afternoon session for 15 minutes. He failed to
mention either the words "Kurd" or "Federalism" in his speech. This despite
the fact that he had been sitting between the two Kurdish leaders Massoud
Barzani and Jalal Talabani since the morning; and had been hearing the word
"Federalism" dozens of times from the various other speeches.']


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