>From: Mark Clement <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >IRAQ SANCTIONS MONITOR Number 114 >Monday September 4 2000 > >US jets bomb Iraqi defense sites in southern Iraq [B] >By The Associated Press MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.--Sept 3-- > >U.S. jets bombed air defense sites in southern Iraq Saturday after allied >planes came under missile attack, the U.S. military said. All the planes >returned safely from the strike, and the military is assessing the damage, >according to a press release from MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, Fla. > >"The sites were targeted to further degrade Iraq's ability to jeopardize >coalition pilots and aircraft enforcing United Nation's mandates," the >military said. > >There was no immediate word from Iraqi officials about any damage or >casualties. > >The last air strike against Iraqi air defense sites was Wednesday. Iraq >claimed the strike hit a village, injuring three people, including a child. > >The United States and Britain have been enforcing no-fly zones over northern >and southern Iraq since the end of the Gulf War in 1991. Iraq regards the >zones violations of its territorial sovereignty and has been challenging the >patrols since December 1998. > >The zones were set up ostensibly to protect Shiite Muslims in the south and >Kurds in the north from attacks by Iraq's army. > >Group: Iraq Sanctions Miss Target > >BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) _ U.N. economic sanctions against Iraq are missing their >target, hurting not President Saddam Hussein but ordinary civilians, a group >of U.S. activists said Sunday at the end of a six-week experiment in living >among the Iraqi working class. > >Five members of the Chicago-based group, Voices in the Wilderness, told a >news conference at the Iraqi Trade Ministry that their stay in a low-income >district of the southern city of Basra had shown them that sanctions >crippled the ability of Iraqis to have safe water and an adequate diet. > >``We have been eating the same food they get in the rations and drinking the >same water people here drink,'' said Liza Gizzi, 31, referring to the food >rations distributed to compensate for the shortages caused by the sanctions. > >``The food was not enough and the water made us sick,'' said Gizzi, from St. >Paul, Minn. > >When the activists began living in al-Jumhouriya in Basra, 345 miles south >of Baghdad, there were six of them. But Ken Hannaford-Ricardi of Worcester, >Mass., found the conditions unbearable and, sick with diarrhea, left Iraq >after two weeks. > >Voices and other critics have said the sanctions imposed since Iraq invaded >Kuwait in 1990 have prevented the flow of pumps, parts and other means to >repair the country's infrastructure. Electricity works only intermittently. >Systems for purifying drinking water and processing sewage do not work. > >``Children are dying because of the bad sewage and water systems,'' said Tom >Jackson, 40, from Dover, N.H., who was part of the group living in Basra. >``My government and Britain are making these children lose the most >beautiful years of their life,'' he added. >Bad water has created an epidemic of dysentery and infectious diseases, >resulting in thousands of child deaths. UNICEF says the number of infant and >child deaths in Iraq has doubled in the decade since the sanctions began. > >The United States and Britain are the chief backers of maintaining the >embargo until Iraq proves it has eliminated its weapons of mass destruction. >Iraq says it has done so and refuses to cooperate with U.N. disarmament >inspectors. The inspectors have accused the government of failing to make a >full disclosure of its weapons programs. > >Voices and other critics say the U.N. sanctions are the true weapons of mass >destruction. > >``The American and British administrations are missing the target with their >sanctions the way their warplanes are missing their targets when bombing >Iraqi civilian properties,'' said Kathy Kelly of Chicago, co-founder of >Voices in the Wilderness. > >U.S. and British warplanes that patrol no-fly zones over north and south >Iraq frequently attack when challenged by Iraqi air defense systems. Allied >spokesmen say the planes attack only military targets, but Iraq accuses them >of bombing civilian sites. > >The activists, who are headed home, intend to start a campaign on the >Internet offering fans made of date-palm leaves, Kelly said. > >Iraqis use such fans to cool themselves when the power cuts make it >impossible to use electric fans and air-conditioners despite stifling >temperatures that rise to 120 degrees. > >Kelly said they would give fans to members of the U.N. Security Council, the >U.N. secretary general, U.S. presidential candidates and the State >Department officials on the Iraq desk. > >``We want to remind each of these officials of the good they could >accomplish by revising these insidious policies,'' Kelly said. > >The other members of the group were Lauren Cannon, 30, from Dover, N.H., and >Mark McGuire of Winona, Minn. > > >ISRAEL DOWNPLAYS U.S. FEARS OF ATTACK BY IRAQ >From CHICAGO TRIBUNE, September 2nd, 2000 > >Prime Minister Ehud Barak displayed no anxiety Friday about reported >U.S.concerns that Iraq might be preparing to attack Israel, brushing aside >the news that the United States has put a Patriot anti-missile battery on >alert for possible deployment in Israel's defense. > >"I don't know if this Patriot missile battery really needs to be bothered," >Barak said, adding that he did not think Israelis should worry. > >No state of alert exists in Israel and no concern is being expressed. The >lead story on the evening news was the opening of the school year. > >In the town of Ramle on Friday morning, Barak suggested that Israelis not be >distracted by the reports. >"I would recommend that the students concentrate on their studies," he >added. > >U.S. officials confirmed Friday that the Pentagon had ordered an air defense >artillery brigade based in Germany to be prepared to move its Patriot >anti-missile battery to Israel. > >National Security Adviser Samuel "Sandy" Berger said, "A decision was made >that it would be prudent to put these batteries on a shorter leash time than >ordinarily." The full battery consists of 64 supersonic surface-to-air >missiles built to intercept incoming missiles. > >It was unclear whether the Pentagon had specific new information suggesting >an imminent attack or was preparing for the possibility that Iraqi leader >Saddam Hussein might consider the timing right for a sudden move, with the >U.S. in its presidential election campaign. >Berger said that he knew of no threat against Israel from Iraq, adding that >given the "vituperative statements" that Hussein had made against Kuwait and >Saudi Arabia, and the prospect of sending inspectors back into Iraq, the >batteries were placed on alert. > >If Israel were attacked or threatened with imminent attack by Iraq, it would >be unlikely to rely on a Patriot anti-missile battery for its defense >anyway, military experts say. > >An earlier model of the Patriot, deployed in Israel during the Persian Gulf >war in 1991, proved ineffectual against the 39 Scud missiles that Iraq fired >at Israel. > >In 1998, when tensions ran high between Iraq and the United States, Israel >deployed a new-generation Patriot said to be better at tracking and >intercepting missiles. > >Iraq accuses UN chief of using double standard > >BAGHDAD, Sept 2 (AFP) - An Iraqi newspaper run by President Saddam Hussein's >eldest son accused UN Secretary General Kofi Annan Saturday of using a >double standard in his dealings with Israel and Iraq, which has been under a >UN embargo since 1990. > >"Why does Kofi Annan close his eyes to the machinations of the Zionist >entity and its attacks on the Arab nation, and especially the Palestinian >people?" > >"How can the UN secretary general ignore (the embargo) and its destructive >effect on the life of an entire people," asked Babel newspaper, which is >managed by Uday Saddam Hussein. > > >Jordanian Officials to Visit Iraq for Closer Trade Ties > >BAGHDAD (Sept. 3) XINHUA - Jordanian Minister of Transport Mohammad >Kalaldeh, >Minister of Trade and Industry Wasif Azar will arrive here on Monday for >closer trade ties between the two neighbors. > >The Jordanian officials are expected to hold talks with their Iraqi >counterparts and other senior officials on ways of boosting bilateral >economic cooperation and trade exchanges, the official Iraqi News Agency >(INA)reported. > >Saddam said suffering from lymphatic cancer, family council formed > >The Iraqi leader is reportedly suffering from lymphatic cancer and is said >to have set up a family council chaired by his son >Uday to run the country's affairs if he is no longer able to carry out his >duties. > >Quoting an Iraqi doctor "who enjoys an >excellent reputation", a London-based Arabic-language newspaper said Saddam >Husayn will be treated by a team of three French doctors, one German and one >Swiss. > >Source: 'Al-Sharq al-Awsat' web site, London, in Arabic 3 Sep 00 > > >Iraq fires broadside at US over Patriot missile alert > >BAGHDAD, Sept 3 (AFP) - Iraq's official media hit out Sunday at the United >States after the Pentagon put a Patriot anti-missile unit on alert to go to >Israel fearing Iraqi hostility during the presidential campaign. > >"This measure was taken after Iraq succeeded in highlighting its right to >have sanctions lifted," said the Al-Qadissiya daily. > >The United States put the battery in Germany on alert for possible >deployment to Israel in response to heightened concerns that Iraq might try >to launch a missile attack during the US election season, a Pentagon >official said Friday. > >Al-Qadissiya said the move was "intended to save the face of the treacherous >leaders of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia who have not been able to justify taking >part in the aggression against Iraq." > >Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel during the 1991 Gulf War when a US-led >coalition drove Iraqi forces from Kuwait. > >The surface-to-air missiles, designed to intercept enemy aircraft and >missiles, have been deployed in Israel in times of crisis such as the Gulf >War, and in December 1998 when Iraq refused to cooperate with UN weapons >inspectors. > >Iraq calls for oil embargo on any state transferring embassy to Jerusalem > >Text of report by London-based newspaper 'Al-Sharq al-Awsat' web site on 3rd >September > >Iraq has called for an oil embargo on any state which seeks to transfer its >embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and said that >this step should be taken as soon as possible before the end of the talks, >which would determine the future of the city. > >In a statement to the Iraqi news agency [INA], Iraqi National Assembly >Speaker Dr Sa'dun Hammadi has said that Iraq calls for >reconsidering all economic relations with whoever encroaches on the Arab >character of Jerusalem. Hammadi, who is currently in New York to attend the >Inter-Parliamentary Union [IPU] meetings, said: "The Palestinian people have >been left defenceless without any weapon to face Israeli and US pressure to >seize Jerusalem." > >Iraq condemns GCC final statement on Iraq > > Text of report by Iraqi TV on 3rd September > >At the end of its 76th session, the Ministerial Council of the Gulf >Cooperation Council [GCC] issued a press statement full of falsehood, >fabrications and attempts to twist and falsify facts. > >As in every meeting, the council asked Iraq to implement what it called the >resolutions of international legitimacy and to quickly respond to the >Security Council Resolution 1284. The GCC also asked Iraq to stop what it >termed campaigns and threats that do not serve security and stability in the >region. > >An official spokesman for the Ministry of Culture and Information commented >on the GCC Ministerial Council's statement by saying: It is very clear that > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for anti-imperialist news. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
