-Caveat Lector- >From Electronic Telegraph (UK) ISSUE 1362Tuesday 16 February 1999 Iraqis in effort to turn neighbours against the West By Alan Philps, Middle East Correspondent, and Amberin Zaman in Ankara IRAQ yesterday re-doubled its attempts to split its neighbours from the West as US aircraft launched strikes in the north and south of Iraq after they were fired on from the ground. In Baghdad, an Iraqi military spokesman said planes taking off from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait had bombed civilian and military targets in the south, killing five people and wounding 22. "These formations returned to their evil bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia after carrying out 42 missions," the statement said. There was no confirmation of the deaths or details of the targets. The US military said the strikes were in response to Iraqi provocation. In the northern no-fly zone, aircraft from the Turkish base at Incirlik hit two targets, but there were no reports of casualties. The action came as Saddam Hussein stepped up his campaign against three neighbouring states: Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which allow their air bases to be used for US and British patrols of the no-fly zones. As the US air force was hitting northern Iraq, the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, Tariq Aziz, was in Ankara asking the Turks to stop allowing its territory be used by the US Air Force and RAF. After three hours of talks, Turkey's new Leftist Prime Minister, Bulent Ecevit, referred to Mr Aziz as "my old friend", described the meeting as "very useful" and shrugged off criticism that the visit would disrupt relations with America as "exaggerated". He defended his Nato allies. "The US and British pilots open fire only to defend themselves," he said. But as a diehard anti-American Mr Ecevit has been a harsh critic of US policy on Iraq and a vocal proponent of mending ties with Saddam. "Turkey's problem is not Saddam," he said yesterday, "but the suffering of the Iraqi people and preventing the dismemberment of Iraq." The Iraqi leadership has begun a more sinister campaign against Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, saying that their air bases could be attacked if allied aircraft continued to use them. "We are able to target sources and means of aggression, from wherever it is launched, relying on God and the support of the Arab nation," an Iraqi statement said. It said "patriotic" nationals of the two countries might carry out the attacks, suggesting that Saddam hopes to mobilise a terror campaign against air bases. The Iraqi campaign is already unsettling the Saudis, who are described by Western diplomats as "jumpy". Saddam is clearly hoping that his campaign will scare the Saudis into withdrawing their permission to use of air bases. For years the two no-fly zones, imposed after the 1991 Gulf war, have been patrolled with only rare incidents. But since last December's US and British bombing campaign, Saddam has provoked the patrolling aircraft almost daily, turning what had been a low-key affair into a very public war. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >From ArabicNews.CoM Iraqi source: Agreement near with Ankara to restore control of Kurdistan to Baghdad Iraq, Politics, 2/16/99 Iraqi diplomatic sources in Amman have talked about a nearby agreement between Iraq and Turkey and the Kurdistani Democratic Party led by Mesoud Barzani to restore control of northern Iraq (Kurdistan) to Iraq's central government. The sources added that basic points of concern toward this issue were discussed by Iraqi Deputy Premier Tariq Aziz with Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Barzani when he passed through a border point between Iraq and Turkey that is controlled by Barzani's forces. The Iraqi diplomatic sources added that Aziz asserted to the Turkish side the renewal of the security agreement preventing the movement of enemy forces between the two countries, asserting that the restoration of the central government's control over Iraq's Kurdish region will end the dangers posed by the Turkish Kurdistani Workers Party (PKK), which had launched a campaign that annoyed Turkey for a long time. In 1985, Iraq signed with Turkey an agreement that provides for permitting Turkish troops to penetrate into the Iraqi territories for an incursion of five km in chasing the Kurdish opposition, under the condition that Turkey will permit Iraqi troops the same incursion into its territories. Syrian - Iraqi relations developing Iraq, Politics, 2/16/99 Iraqi Foreign Ministry secretary Nouri Ismael Elweis, who is in charge of Iraq's diplomatic relations with the "Bilad al-Sham" countries, said his country hopes to have a turning point in its relations with Damascus. In a statement to the London based al-Sharq al-Awsat daily published on Sunday, Elweis added that relations between Iraq and Syria are proceeding toward the better and that points of agreement between the two states are increasing. He added that steps to open the two countries' embassies have been completed: "It only needs a decision for opening the embassies." In a similar statement to the paper, Iraqi Trade Minister Muhammad Mahdi Saleh said the volume of trade contracts with Syrian governmental and private companies will exceed US $600 million for 1999. He added, "We have ambitious plans to develop our relations with Syria, either according to the memorandum of understanding signed with the UN or according to direct contracts." AL chief criticizes Iraqi threats against its neighbors Regional, Politics, 2/16/99 Arab League Secretary General Esmat Abdul Meguid has refused the threats made by Baghdad to attack air bases from which US and British planes fly to impose the two no-fly zones on the northern and southern parts of Iraq. The AL chief added, "We refuse undermining the sovereignty of any state." He continued, replying to questions put by journalists in Kuwait on Monday, "We do not accept threats, and problems cannot be sorted out by launching threats, rather by dialogue and negotiations." Abdul Meguid recalled the statement released by the ministerial meeting of the Arab foreign ministers of January 24 in Cairo which stressed the need for Iraq's commitment to UN resolutions. He reiterated his call to maintain reconciliation among the Arab states and welcomed the decision adopted by the UN Security Council to form three committees to review the Iraqi issues: weapons of mass destruction, humanitarian conditions, the question of Kuwaiti prisoners and the return of properties to the Kuwaitis. Abdul Meguid, however, started a visit to Kuwait on Sunday and met on Monday with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah and Crown Prince Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! 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