IRAQ SANCTIONS MONITOR Number 199
Tuesday, January 30, 2001
The Monitor is produced each weekday by the Mariam Appeal.
www.mariamappeal.com
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Ten years later, Iraq suffers proudly. Years of sanctions have left
Iraq's economic structure in a shambles, but . the resolve of its
people seems undented.
>From CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, January 30th, 2001
Wearing an artfully trimmed goatee and a shirt labeled
"Versace," Hazim Dawood is out for an evening stroll along the
magnificent illusion known as Baghdad's Karrada Street.
Sidewalk vendors neatly display everything from white doilies for
the table to black polish for the shoes. The gold shops glitter,
the clothing boutiques are spare and elegant, and the
electronics stores beckon Baghdad techies.
Standing here, one can hardly believe that Iraq has been the
subject of an international trade embargo for more than a
decade. The televisions are from South Korea, the cardigans
from Syria, the razors from Turkey.
"A number of people around the world think it is not right that
America continues to blockade Iraq," explains Mr. Dawood, who
studies mechanical engineering in Baghdad. So the embargo is
faltering and life is good here - or so it seems.
The reality is that despite the profusion of consumer goods in
Iraqi shops and triumphant pronouncements about the
crumbling US-led sanctions, the structural effects of the
embargo are proving profound and hard to repair. A decade of
near-isolation may be engendering support for radicalism, but
political thinking is hard to measure in Iraq, where everyone
questioned during a week-long visit voices support for President
Saddam Hussein.
For the West, and particularly the US, the sanctions policy may
yield a host of unanticipated consequences. "You think all this
suffering is not going to give the Iraqi people the right to get
compensation?" asks Abdul Razaq Al-Hashemi, a former
cabinet minister who runs a state-funded organization that
promotes Iraqi ties with other countries. "Believe me, Iraq will
get every compensation."
The intent of the embargo - as defined after the Gulf War in 1991
- was to force Mr. Hussein to allow UN inspectors to destroy
Iraq's capability to develop biological, chemical, and nuclear
weapons, and the means to deliver them. A less obvious goal,
revealed in the comments of some US officials, was to use
economic hardship to turn the Iraqis against their leader.
The first mission was at least partly and perhaps fully
accomplished, but a 1998 impasse over inspections resulted in
the departure of the inspectors and a 70-hour bombing
campaign against Iraq conducted by British and US forces.
Since then the inspectors have not returned.
The second mission seems to have failed. Diplomats and other
observers inside and outside Iraq say Hussein's political
standing is firmer than it has been in years. Reports of the Iraqi
leader's ill health have appeared in recent weeks in the Arab
press, but Iraqi officials deny that Hussein is anything but
entirely fit.
While it is obvious that Iraq is doing large amounts of trade -
much of it under a UN program that allows the country to use oil
revenues to buy food and humanitarian supplies - it is also clear
that the country has a long way to go to catch up to its former
self.
There is no question that the embargo, aggravated by Iraqi
government priorities that favor the elite over the poor, has been
a disaster for most Iraqis. In the years from 1984 to 1989, the
chance that an Iraqi child would die before reaching the age of 5
were 56 out of 1,000; in the period from 1994 to 1999, these
grim odds had nearly tripled to 131 out of 1,000, according to a
recent international survey led by UNICEF.
The restaurants and markets of Baghdad and other cities are
full of plenty, but the country's economic infrastructure is in sad
shape. In 1998 Iraq produced less than 15 percent of the
number of eggs it produced in 1989, before the sanctions,
according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.
It can't be measured in statistics, but the decade-long embargo
has afflicted the Iraqi soul. Dawood doesn't hesitate when
asked to specify the embargo's worst effect on his life: A little
nephew died in 1994, he says, because of a lack of medicine for
a stomach illness.
As UN and Iraqi officials struggle with the complexities of
rebuilding what was once one of the most advanced economies
in the Middle East, diplomats worry about how the "sanctions
generation" will mature. The "embargo is generating
radicalism," says one European diplomat here, who spoke on
condition of anonymity.
As a result of sanctions, millions of young Iraqis have grown up
amid economic and educational deprivation that the government
has blamed on the US and the UN. The result is a significant
segment of the population that is uninformed and alienated
from the West, this diplomat says, adding that "the real menace
[of the embargo] is that Iraqi society is destroyed."
At a Baghdad eatery on the banks of the Tigris River, after a
succulent meal of fire-roasted fish, an Iraqi teacher sums up
the attitude of his nation. "The Iraqi people," he says, "think that
yesterday was better than today and that today is better than
tomorrow."
Iraqi officials, however, prefer to emphasize their victory over the
US-led sanctions, rather than to dwell on the negative effects of
the embargo. Nizar Hamdoun, Iraq's deputy foreign minister,
even notes that the sanctions have produced "some positive
outcomes, particularly in terms of self-sufficiency."
Other Iraqi observers cast the situation as a sort of global
repudiation of US policy here and elsewhere.
"The people of the world are waking from the false dream of the
'new world order,' " says Mr. Al-Hashemi, the former Cabinet
minister. In the Middle East, he adds, "the people of the region
are waking from the false dream of the peace process ... and
agreements with Israel."
The promise was that accession to American ideas about
human rights, democracy, and free markets would bring
universal happiness under a US umbrella, Al-Hashemi asserts.
But the "new world order" has instead featured a US
government that protects Israeli interests over Palestinian
needs and a campaign of sanctions against Iraq that
Al-Hashemi equates with "genocide."
For whatever reason, many nations are frustrated with the
sanctions policy. Iraqi officials say that more than 100 flights -
many bearing deal-hungry businesspeople - have landed at
Saddam International Airport since the middle of last year.
Iraq's burgeoning trade, within and without the UN's oil-for-food
program, has dramatically improved the ability of most Iraqis to
get the food and medicine they need. But a senior diplomat here
notes that turning around the child-mortality rate will require
substantial investments in Iraq's ability to produce clean water,
adequate supplies of electricity, and effective sanitation.
The UN is aiming to organize such improvements using
oil-for-food funds, but recent cuts in Iraq's oil production mean
that less money will be available for spending on infrastructure.
And US and British suspicions about Iraq's weapons mean that
any sort of technology has a hard time making it through the UN
committee that oversees how the oil-for-food money is spent.
Tun Myat, a Burmese official who is the United Nations
Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, says the committee has
approved the purchase of pesticides, but not the sprayers
needed to apply them. Irrigation pipes have been approved, but
not the submersible pumps needed to move the water through
them. "What good are the pipes without the pumps?" he asks.
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Hijacker says he did not threaten passengers
January 30th, 2001
(AP) _ A Yemeni man who hijacked a plane carrying 91 people,
including the U.S. ambassador, said Tuesday he had not
threatened the passengers but only asked to go to Iraq.
Jaber Yehia Ali Sattar was testifying on the second day of his trial
for hijacking a Yemenia Boeing 727 just after it took off from
San'a to fly to the southern city of Taiz on Jan. 23.
``I did not have intentions to threaten or frighten the passengers.
I only wanted to redirect the plane to Baghdad,'' he told the court.
The state has charged Sattar with kidnapping, endangering the
safety of passengers, forging official documents and carrying
unlicensed weapons. If convicted, he faces the death penalty.
Defense lawyer Mohammed al-Saqqaf asked the court to drop
the charges.
``He did not use threats against the passengers, and there was
not a premeditated intent of hijacking. He didn't have any
aggressive intention, and the proof is that the American
ambassador was among the passengers. He only intended to
direct the plane to Baghdad,'' al-Saqqaf said.
The trial was adjourned to Wednesday.
U.S. Ambassador Barbara Bodine, other embassy staff and
Abdulwahab Al Hajjri, Yemen's ambassador to Washington,
were among the passengers. U.S. officials have said it appears
the hijacker was unaware the diplomats were aboard.
The plane landed in the nearby Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti,
where Sattar was overpowered by crew members. There were
no injuries.
He was extradited Thursday under a security agreement
between the two countries.
Sattar had ordered the pilot to fly to Baghdad in what appears to
have been meant as a show of support for Iraq and President
Saddam Hussein.
Sources at the prosecutor's office have said Sattar made
conflicting statements during interrogation, first claiming that he
hijacked the plane to show he sympathized with the Iraqi people
and then saying he planned to take passengers hostage in
return for money.
At one point, Sattar, who is believed to come from the northern
province of Saadah, said he hijacked the plane to protest a
border demarcation accord signed last year between Yemen
and Saudi Arabia, according to the sources, who spoke on
condition of anonymity.
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Hussein puts price on Palestinian `martyrdom`
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Iraqi president Saddam Hussein
has given $10,000 to the family of every Palestinian killed in the
latest round of clashes with Israel, The Washington Post
reported Tuesday.
More than 340 Palestinian men and boys have been killed in the
last four months.
A representative of the Iraqi leader has appeared on the
doorstep of the family of victims, bearing a check. The Iraqi
government has also given checks to an estimated 3,000
Palestinians wounded in the fighting: $1,000 for serious injuries,
$500 for lesser wounds.
"Saddam Hussein has no equal," said the brother of a
15-year-old boy killed by an Israeli soldier. "I'm not saying this
because of the money he gave us.
Despite the suffering in Iraq, he's sharing our suffering. If all
Arab leaders would do this, we would not be in this situation."
In opinion surveys, Hussein -- a longtime supporter of the
Palestinian cause -- has consistently outpolled Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat.
As expected, Hussein's distribution of cash to Palestinian and
Arab Israeli families has stirred controversy even among some
of the beneficiaries, the Post reported.
"Saddam Hussein is trying to buy credibility and popularity in the
eyes of the Arab people," said Ghassan Khattib, head of the
Jerusalem Media and Communication Center, a Palestinian
research organization in Jerusalem.
Some families have refused to accept the checks, while others
seem ashamed to be seen taking what some perceive as
payoffs for a loved one's death.
But other families have found themselves in desperate need of
the contributions. In a community with an average annual per
capita income of about $1,610 before the fighting began,
$10,000 is considered a fortune.
"We hope the money will come to the relief of the family in any
way it wants," said a member of the Arab Liberation Front. "We
as Palestinians and Arabs consider martyrdom an honor. It is
the ultimate sacrifice of one's life for the good of the community."
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Renegade British agent's book goes on sale
LONDON, Jan 30 (AFP) - The controversial memoirs of a former
British secret service agent went on sale here Tuesday after a
lengthy legal battle following their publication in Russia.
Overnight, the online information service 192.com imported
1,500 copies of Richard Tomlinson's "The Big Breach" on an
Aeroflot flight from Moscow.
A few books were sent to newspaper editors when the plane
touched down and the remaining were going on sale.
Only 10,000 copies have been printed by the Russian
publishers, and 192.com said it secured 5,000 of them for the
British public.
Last week, the Court of Appeal here ruled that the book could
be published in Britain after all, with the Sunday Times being
able to serialise it once it was in the public domain.
Several newspapers have already anticipated its availability in
Britain by reporting some of the book's more remarkable claims
after it was published in Russia.
Tomlinson, who served with Britain's foreign intelligence
service MI6 from 1991 to 1995, was jailed in 1997 for breaching
secrecy legislation.
He now lives in Italy.
Among the book's claims are that British intelligence services
perfected a means of invisible writing using a humble pen.
The book also claims MI6 agents helped avert an
assassination plot against Nelson Mandela, who enjoyed
"years of friendly contacts and assistance" with the service.
MI6 devotes much time seeking to infiltrate Britain's European
neighbours, with agents penetrating institutions such as the
European Central Bank and the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development, Tomlinson said.
The book also alleges that in 1994, MI6 was proposing to
infiltrate one of its agents into the UN team looking for weapons
of mass destruction in Iraq.
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Iraqi artillery gunners await Saddam's orders to shell Israel:
official
BAGHDAD, Jan 30 (AFP) - Iraq's heavy artillery is ready and
awaiting orders from President Saddam Hussein to start
bombarding Israel, the artillery corps chief warned on Tuesday.
"Iraq's heavy artillery is totally ready to carry out at any moment
the orders of the president and bombard the positions of the
Zionist enemy," General Yassin Taha Mohammad told the
weekly Al-Rafidain newspaper.
"Units of the Iraqi artillery have the necessary equipment to
control the firepower, and artillery cannons have been
modernised and their range extended to more than 40
kilometres (25 miles)," the general said.
"The modernisation has focused on the need to hit enemy
targets," he added. "Despite the embargo (imposed on Iraq after
its 1990 invasion of Kuwait), Iraqi artillery pieces have been
modernised to reach objectives accurately."
In support of the Palestinians, Saddam threatened on the
January 17 anniversary of the 1991 Gulf War over Kuwait to
bombard Israel every day for six months.
"Could Israel resist uninterrupted artillery shelling for six
months?" Saddam asked. Baghdad alone could carry out the
barrage, "even if the Arabs just encourage Iraq saying, 'We
support you'".
Despite the general's eagerness, Israel is way out of reach of
his guns in Iraq, and even of his missiles, whose range
post-war UN resolutions limit to 150 kilometres (95 miles),
putting Israel out of range.
During the Gulf conflict, Iraq launched 39 Scud missiles at
Israel, killing at least one person and wounding hundreds of
others, as well as causing serious damage.
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Russia denounces Iraqi air strikes
Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax
Moscow, 30 January: Moscow has expressed an extremely
negative reaction to reports of further US and British air raids
against southern Iraq.
Russia "has always categorically opposed the bombing of Iraq",
a Russian Foreign Ministry source told Interfax on Tuesday [30
January]. "We proceed from the assumption that the
establishment of the so-called no-flight zones over that country is
absolutely illegitimate," this source said.
Another Russian diplomat, saying he absolutely shares these
sentiments, added that Washington and London "have been
regularly bombing Iraq, ignoring not only other countries'
positions, but also official resolutions of the most
authoritative international organs, such as the UN and its
Security Council, despite being members themselves".
US and British aircraft targeted civilian and service facilities
in the southern Iraq on Monday, injuring 7 people, according to
reports from Baghdad.
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Iraqi envoy denies media reports about nuclear bombs
Excerpt from report in English by Russian news agency Interfax
Moscow, 30 January: The Iraqi ambassador to Russia, Muzhir
al-Duri, has described as "fabrications and a specially-mounted
campaign" Western media reports that Baghdad has two
nuclear bombs in its possession.
This campaign "was organized after the US policy in Iraq
completely failed and the whole world saw the pointlessness of
the blockade", Al-Duri told Interfax on Tuesday [30 January].
"These fabrications are designed to prepare the ground for
maintaining Washington's inhuman policy in relation to Iraq,"
the ambassador said. "They are necessary for justifying the
US's aggressive policy and the preservation of the blockade."
Moreover, he charged, the scandal surrounding the nuclear
threat allegedly emanating from Iraq is designed to distract
attention from the disclosure of the use of weapons containing
depleted uranium in Iraq and Yugoslavia by the United States.
Another airstrike on Iraqi territory by US and British aircraft on
Monday that wounded 7 people "is vivid confirmation of
everything said before", he continued...
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Jordan to open talks with Iraq to set up free trade zone: prime
minister
AMMAN, Jan 29 (AFP) - Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb
on Monday said his country will hold talks with Iraq to set up a
free trade zone between the two countries.
Trade and Industry Minister Wassef Azar will lead the talks in
Baghdad next week, Abu Ragheb told the 40-member House of
Notables, or Senate, in a statement broadcast live on state
television.
"The trade and industry minister will lead a delegation of 150
industrialists, merchants and businessman to Iraq next week to
activate the trade protocol that has been signed between Iraq
and Jordan," Abu Ragheb said.
"The minister will also discuss and implement, inshallah (God
willing), an agreement for a free trade zone with Iraq," Abu
Ragheb added.
His remarks came as Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yassin
Ramadan began a groundbreaking two-day visit to Damascus
Monday, aimed at setting up a free trade zone between Iraq and
Syria.
The agreement will be the second, following one signed
between Iraq and Egypt on January 18.
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Facing Up to Iraq
>From WASHINGTON POST, January 29th, 2001
OF ALL THE booby traps left behind by the Clinton
administration, none is more dangerous -- or more urgent --
than the situation in Iraq. Over the last year, Mr. Clinton and his
team quietly avoided dealing with, or calling attention to, the
almost complete unraveling of a decade's efforts to isolate the
regime of Saddam Hussein and prevent it from rebuilding its
weapons of mass destruction. That leaves President Bush to
confront a dismaying panorama in the Persian Gulf: intelligence
photos that show the reconstruction of factories long suspected
of producing chemical and biological weapons; reports of
massive illegal Iraqi exports of oil through Syria; a stream of
planes landing at Baghdad airport in violation of sanctions,
carrying passengers from France, Russia, Turkey and Italy, in
addition to Arab states; Turkey and even Britain signaling that
they may no longer be willing to support U.S. air operations over
Iraq. And, in case there is any doubt about Saddam Hussein's
intentions, he recently presided over a bellicose military parade
in Baghdad featuring 1,000 tanks and scores of mobile missile
systems.
The Clintonites had one clear reason for trying to ignore this
worsening threat: It is hard to know what to do. Efforts to tighten
sanctions on Iraq in the U.N. Security Council, or even to
maintain the ones that exist, are blocked by France, Russia and
China, which are eager to do business with Iraq.
Arab states -- and in particular the wobbly new leaders of Syria
and Jordan -- have no interest in supporting a U.S. effort to crack
down on Baghdad. On the contrary, Arabs throughout the Middle
East are angry at the United States for its perceived support for
Israel during recent clashes with the Palestinians, and that
mood is likely to grow still uglier in the months ahead. The Iraqi
opposition remains weak and divided; even its latest, modest
plan to mount clandestine aid and propaganda operations
inside Iraq, reluctantly funded by the outgoing Clinton
administration to satisfy a congressional mandate, seems like a
reach.
In this light, the two-word prescription for Iraq that Secretary of
State Colin Powell has so far repeated -- "reinvigorate sanctions"
-- is more ambitious than it sounds, while the hugely aggressive
plan endorsed two years ago by Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld and his likely deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, which involved
recognizing an alternative Iraqi government and providing it
military cover to set up a headquarters in southern Iraq, sounds
just as ambitious as it is. Both ideas would require radical
reversals by unhappy allies such as Turkey and Jordan, and
Secretary Powell would have to win over non-allies such as Syria
and Russia too. Other options are more plausible but far
weaker: The United Nations is due to resume talks with Iraq next
month and could try to broker a deal that would end sanctions in
return for Iraq's acceptance of new weapons inspections; some
Europeans are suggesting a refocusing of sanctions on
essentials, such as controlling Iraqi oil exports and stopping the
import of militarily useful materials.
In all this, the option the Bush administration can least afford is
Mr. Clinton's inaction. Saddam Hussein -- who tried to
assassinate Mr. Bush's father after losing the Persian Gulf War
to him -- is likely to challenge the administration soon; among
other things, Iraq has been laying the groundwork for an attempt
to disrupt world oil markets by withholding its production as
OPEC tightens supplies. To be sure, it will take considerable
time and effort to roll back Saddam Hussein's gains. But in the
short term, some steps can be taken. Pressure can be focused
on Syria, as well as on Turkey and Jordan, to stop the illegal
export of Iraqi oil. And the administration can take a clear stand:
If new Iraqi production facilities for weapons of mass destruction
can be identified, the United States quickly will take action
against them -- with or without its allies.
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