MIDEAST NEWS DIGEST
Saudi-Iraqi Border Reopened in Peace Move
As part of the growing pattern of events signalling Saudi Arabia's opposition to the planned war against Iraq, and the need for better relations among nations of the region, a 101-member Saudi business delegation witnessed on Oct. 31 the reopening of Arar border post, which was closed 12 years ago in wake of the Gulf war. The reopening is expected to boost trade between the two Arab neighbors.
The Saudi delegation, representing 43 companies and including government officials, was the first to cross the border after the reopening to attend a major trade fair in Baghdad. Organized by the Saudi Exports Center, the team includes Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Zamil, chairman of the center and a member of the Shoura Council (the legislative authority in the country), and Dr. Fahd Al-Sultan, secretary-general of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Iraq announced it is reopening the border post to allow goods into the country under the United Nations oil-for-food program. The move is one of several signs that Baghdad wants to improve its relationship with Saudi Arabia, said the English-language Arab News Oct. 31.
The move is described as a major step toward upgrading trade ties between Iraq and Saudi Arabia because Saudi Arabia's exports, now sent indirectly through neighboring countries, will go directly into Iraq when the crossing at Arar is reopened. The crossing, 340 km southwest of Baghdad, was a major conduit for goods in and out Iraq before the Gulf War. Saudi Arabia asked Iraq to reopen the crossing in October 2000, and Baghdad gave its approval last June. Five years ago there was no trade between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, but trade is expected to reach $1 billion in 2002.
Iran Takes Diplomatic Role in Seeking Regional Stability
In addition to the peaceful initiative between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, another of Iraq's neighbors, Iran, has taken significant diplomatic steps against an Iraq war, and for stability in the region.
At a press conference in Spain with Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar on Oct. 30, Iranian President Khatami said the Bush Administration and Al Qaeda are "two poles of extremism which both lead to terrorism in the world," according to the paraphrase offered by the Iranian state news agency IRNA. Khatami "voiced Iran's opposition to the U.S. unilateral and bullying approach toward the international issues and said that the U.S. Administration has not the right to interfere in Iraqi internal affairs and make decisions on behalf of the Iraqi people, because certainly the American people will not allow the Iraqi government to set up a government for them," reported IRNA.
At a reception organized in his honor, at the Madrid Royal Palace, Khatami declared, "Terrorism can be neutralized only from the positions of morals and justice." That is why it is inadmissible to pursue "a policy of unilateral actions and divide the world into countries of 'the axis of evil' and 'the axis of good.'" Khatami is on a three-day state visit to Spain. Contracts are to be signed for investments in the oil and gas industries, up to 5 billion euros.
On Oct. 27, reports IRNA, in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi totally rejected an alleged press report citing him as saying that Iran may assist opposition Iraqi groups in a move to oust Saddam Hussein. "This news is totally unfounded. We are basically opposed to a war and think that the Iraqi problem must be resolved through diplomatic ways, and when our position is a total rejection of any military operation, there remains no room for such talk." Kharrazi was speaking in a press conference in Tehran together with Swiss Foreign Minister Joseph Deiss. Kharrazi also indicated that "despite a slight change of tone in U.S. rhetoric toward Iran recently, the two countries remained at odds as before, even with more distrust existing between them." He added, "Since the Afghanistan events and the American way of behavior towards Iran after them, distrust [between Iran and U.S.] has increased. We have, however, noticed a change in the American tone, but this does not mean problems between the two countries have been resolved."
The two Foreign Ministers also ruled out speculation that Deiss may have been carrying a message from the U.S. government in his visit, stressing that the trip was only aimed at bolstering ties between Tehran and Bern. "Mr. Deiss is visiting as the Foreign Minister of Switzerland and not as the representative of America," Kharrazi said, adding "differences between Iran and America are still remaining and no effective step has been taken." Deiss said Tehran and Bern held common stances on the fight against terrorism and that Switzerland is opposed to unilateral American action against Iraq. "The Swiss government believes that any action must be carried out under the UN auspices and it is opposed to unilateral American moves," he said, adding that the "Iraqis must also cooperate with the United Nations on a peaceful settlement of the crisis."
Iran Builds Economic Ties to Russia, Iraq
Iran and Russia are negotiating a 10-year economic agreement, according to news released Oct. 24 in Moscow after talks between Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko and Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh. The 10-year deal is to pave the way for wide-ranging bilateral economic cooperation, the oil and fuel sector. Zanganeh also held talks with Energy Minister Igor Yusufov, which focussed on Russian investments in the Iranian Southern Pars, the world's biggest gas field.
As reported in the RUSSIA NEWS DIGEST, the talks occurred at the same time as the Saudi delegation's visit to Moscow (See this week's INDEPTH for full coverage).
At the same time, INA, the official Iraqi state news agency, is reporting that more than 50 Iranian companies are expected to take part in Baghdad's Annual International Trade Fair this week, plus dozens of European firms, mainly French and German.
Israeli Crimes Against Humanity Continue in Palestine
A new report by Doctors for Human Rights details the medical atrocities that Israel is responsible for in the occupied territories. Stillbirths in Palestinian villages in the West Bank are up by 500%, while the number of babies born at home has doubled because of the Israeli sieges, closures and roadblocks. Thirty-nine births have taken place at roadblocks, and some 600 cases are reported of the Israeli Army preventing ambulances from moving sick and injured people. In addition, there have been 140 attacks on ambulances. Ambulances were prevented 70% of the time from reaching the places where they are needed, forcing the sick to meet the ambulance at a roadblock.
The report, entitled "Organized Injustice the Right to Health in the Occupied Territories Under Closure and Siege," says, "With the transportation of doctors, the ill, medicine, and even oxygen tanks, the Palestinian health system encounters one of the harshest human rights violations. This violation ... is hidden in a mountain of bureaucracy and is presented as if its goal is to help civilian life continue under the closure and siege, which are the fruits of Israel's security policy...."
Professor Eran Dolb who is not a member of the group, but director of international medicine at Tel Aviv's Ichilov Medical Center and former chief medical officer of the Israel Defense Forces expressed outrage at the findings. "As a civilian and a doctor, I cannot sit quietly as these things happen. It is not possible that an entire population is captive on health matters and the rights on which there can be no argument." When asked why he was criticizing the Israeli policy, he said, "There are subjects that go beyond belonging to an organization, when you face your conscience and say no more."
In another development, Ha'aretz of Oct. 29 reports that Palestinian detainees at the Ketsiot prison camp in the Negev are being held under concentration-camp-type conditions. Prisoners are protesting the conditions at the camp, which is no more than a fenced-in enclosure, where prisoners live in crowded tents with no hot water, and electricity is available for only a few hours a day. There are 1,000 prisoners in the camp; 80% are administrative detainees, meaning that they have not been charged with any crime; they have been held for months and have not been able to see their relatives.
This is only one of several prisons where up to 10,000 prisoners are reportedly being held under conditions that violate the Geneva Conventions.
U.S. Puts Military Pieces in Place for Iraq War
The London Financial Times on Oct. 31 became the latest publication to point to a major military buildup in the Middle East/Persian Gulf, which is anything but routine. "The Pentagon has been ordering new troops to the Gulf, in a further sign that the U.S. is preparing for war with Iraq, should weapons inspections fail," said the FT.
This weekend "saw the departure of the USS Constellation carrier group, which will head towards the Arabian Sea. The group which includes 8,000 sailors on eight ships will join the USS George Washington and the USS Abraham Lincoln, two other carrier groups in the region. It will be followed by the USS Harry Truman, which is scheduled to head to the Gulf in early December."
The FT says that an estimated 48-50,000 American soldiers have been deployed in the region. Patrick Garrett, a military analyst with GlobalSecurity.org, is quoted: "Not only have the actual numbers there changed dramatically.... There's a lot of hardware that's getting moved out that was not scheduled to move any time soon."
Meanwhile the U.S. military liaison on war with Iraq, James Metzger, assistant to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Myers, arrived in Israel on Oct. 31. He met with Israeli Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon and is expected to meet other top officials, including National Security Adviser Ephraim Halevy. It is not reported how long he will be staying.
Bush Policy Means World War III, Charges Cronkite
The usually staid former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite is charging that if the Bush Administration goes it alone in Iraq, it could lead to "World War III." In a speech at Texas A&M University this week, he commented, "The threat from the White House is to go in anyway. Our only ally would probably be Great Britain. That is not good enough. I see the possibility, if we do that, of really setting forth World War III." Cronkite added that "legitimacy of our actions" depends on endorsement through the United Nations, but also that "our democracy is in some danger" in the U.S. because of how elections are run. Noting that only about a quarter of the U.S. electorate vote to choose leaders, he complained, "That means we don't have a democracy. We've got an oligarchy here..."
Another veteran news commentator, syndicated columnist Georgie Anne Geyer, says that the Bush policy on the Middle East "falls so far from the truth that one has to wonder exactly what planet our leaders inhabit." She refers specifically to the fallacy pushed by Bush and others since Sept. 11, that the reason the Islamic world opposes the United States, is that "they hate us because of our freedoms."
Writing from Amman, Jordan, Geyer says that the rage against the U.S. in the Middle East is not based on some clash of civilizations, or envy; but "on very realistic resentments of very specific U.S. acts, policies, and presumptions." She says an Arab journalist warned "the Middle East may be off limits to Americans very soon. You're embarrassing all the Arab regimes ... people feel that American policy has developed from being pro-Israel to anti-Islam to taking Iraq and its oil fields."
Implicitly, such commentators are calling for a different American policy, but fall short of suggesting one. Exactly such an alternative is laid out by EIR founder Lyndon LaRouche in his strategic study, "A Boldly Modest Proposal for a U.S. Global Mission," where LaRouche lays out a real "American" foreign policy as developed by President John Quincy Adams' "community of principle among perfectly sovereign nation-states," and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "Good Neighbor Policy."
War Party Recycling False Information of Iraq Links to Anthrax Attack
Over a year ago, Iraq warmonger Richard Butler, former head of the UN Weapons Inspection team UNSCOM, put out the wildly false story that Iraq and Saddam Hussein were behind the anthrax letter attacks in the United States. Butler soon was exposed as what he is a propaganda merchant for the Iraq war party, run by the nest of neo-con/Israeli agents inside the Bush Administration around Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, and Dick Cheney's National Security aide, Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
But on Oct. 28, the Washington Post again became the outlet for the war party's propaganda in a lengthy front-page story that again tried to lay the unsolved anthrax attacks at Iraq's doorstep. The Post authors say, "UN and U.S. intelligence documents reviewed by the Post show that Iraq had bought all the essential equipment and ingredients needed to weaponize anthrax bacteria with silica for a grade consistent with the Daschle and Leahy letters." And, they say, "Bush Administration officials have acknowledged that the anthrax attacks were an important motivator in the U.S. decision to confront Iraq, and several senior Administration officials say today that they still strongly suspect a foreign source perhaps Iraq...." EIW has carefully tracked this "story" over the past year, and found it stems from Butler, former CIA Director James Woolsey, of the rabid Israeli rightwing think tank the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), and convicted financial scam artist Ahmed Chalabi, who wants to be the U.S.-installed head of an Iraqi puppet state (see article, INDEPTH).
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