Re: Re: Iraq war and the Turkish economy
Here is the most recent stuff on Iraq and Kuwait agreement: Qatar Says Iraq, Kuwait Reach Deal at Arab Summit Wed Mar 27, 1:55 PM ET BEIRUT (Reuters) - Qatar said that it and fellow Gulf Arab state Oman had persuaded Gulf War (news - web sites) foes Iraq and Kuwait to agree on a statement at an Arab summit Wednesday. The issue of Iraq and Kuwait is now resolved and we have agreed on a statement between Iraq and Kuwait which is acceptable to the two sides, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani told reporters after the first day of the Arab summit in Beirut. A Kuwaiti minister said the document included new Iraqi compromises and a pledge by Baghdad to the effect that it would not repeat its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf confirmed only that a deal had been reached but did not confirm the Kuwaiti account of its contents. Delegates said the head of the Kuwaiti delegation, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, had applauded the speech of his Iraqi counterpart Izzat Ibrahim at the summit. - Original Message - From: Sabri Oncu [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: PEN-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2002 1:03 PM Subject: [PEN-L:24352] Re: Iraq war and the Turkish economy Here is the article I based my opinion on: From the Times of India Iraq breaks ground at summit, recognises Kuwaiti rights AFP [ MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2002 9:23:29 PM ] Possibly the above article was written before the first day of the summit ended? Several others, such as Jordan Times and CNN, verify the Reuters story. http://www.jordantimes.com/Tue/news/news4.htm http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/meast/03/28/arab.summit.01/index.ht ml This one, Lebanese The Daily Star, seems somewhat in line with the AFP story. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/26_03_02/art1.htm Interesting.
RE: Re: Iraq war and the Turkish economy
Ken writes: . By the way I understand that Kuwait is not in favor of a US attack and that Iraq has just recently made conciliatory gestures toward Kuwait. ... Ken, This happened very recently. Sabri +++ Old Foes Kuwait and Iraq Clash at Arab Meeting Mon Mar 25, 3:07 PM ET BEIRUT (Reuters) - Gulf foes Kuwait and Iraq clashed at an Arab foreign ministers' meeting in Beirut on Monday, with a Kuwaiti minister accusing Baghdad of blocking any attempt to bridge differences between the two countries. There is no serious change in the Iraqi policy toward Kuwait, Kuwait's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammad al-Salem al-Sabah told reporters after a day-long meeting to prepare for this week's Arab summit. The faces have changed, the messenger has changed, but the message remains the same, he said in reference to Iraq's Foreign Minister Naji Sabri, who was appointed to his post late last year. Sheikh Mohammad said the meeting failed to agree on the wording of a statement on the Iraqi-Kuwaiti rift after the Iraqi delegation refused to pledge never to attack Kuwait again and in return requested Kuwaiti guarantees to preserve Iraq's security. Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 and occupied it for seven months. A U.S.-led coalition drove Iraq troops from Kuwait in 1991. The Kuwaiti minister said the situation between Iraq and Kuwait was discussed in depth at the meeting, but he requested that the issue be kept off the agenda of the Arab summit because of Iraq's hard line. If Iraq rejects the proposed formulas, then we want the whole topic dropped by the summit, Sheikh Mohammad said. There was no immediate reaction from the Iraqi delegation, but delegates from other countries confirmed the meeting failed to reach an agreement. Asked whether Kuwait would join a possible Arab call to reject a U.S. attack on Iraq, Sheikh Mohammad said: In as much as Iraq is threatened by the United States, we are threatened by Iraq. You can't speak of Iraq's security in isolation from the security of Kuwait. Speculation has grown about possible U.S. military action against Iraq since President Bush (news - web sites) labeled the country as part of an axis of evil along with North Korea (news - web sites) and Iran.
Re: RE: Re: Iraq war and the Turkish economy
Here is the article I based my opinion on: From the Times of India Iraq breaks ground at summit, recognises Kuwaiti rights AFP [ MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2002 9:23:29 PM ] EIRUT: Iraq has softened its line towards Kuwait, saying for the first time in a formal document to an Arab summit that it recognises the right to security and independence of the neighbour it occupied in 1990, Arab officials said here Monday. The new stance in Beirut, taken as Baghdad faces a threatened US attack, is in marked contrast to last year's Amman summit. President Saddam Hussein's regime then played the party-pooper, blocking any attempt to work out a resolution on Iraqi-Kuwait relations. Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri even told AFP Iraq did not want to get involved, considering that this year's summit in the Lebanese capital should concentrate on supporting the Palestinian cause. He said that only when it learned that the Kuwaitis had asked for their continued grievances to be put on the summit agenda that Iraq had countered with a document of its own. An Arab League official said Kuwait had taken a relatively hard line, listing its complaints since the Iraqi invasion in August 1990 and subsequent seven-month occupation and the question of Kuwaitis still missing from the war. The Iraqi document was conciliatory, the official said, expressing respect for the security and independence of Kuwait and stressing that the priority for Arab states was to concentrate on the essential questions, namely the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and threats against Arab countries. Arab ministers also said they had been pleased to see Sabri and Kuwait's minister of state for foreign affairs, Sheikh Mohammad al-Sabah, having a constructive dialogue in an informal meeting of the Arab world's top diplomats on Sunday. There were no harsh exchanges between the two countries as is sometimes the case in this sort of meeting, one official said. He added that it was expected that some sort of satisfactory compromise would be reached in the summit's final declaration to be approved at Thursday's end to the two-day summit. Saddam's regime has been stepping up efforts to improve ties with other Arab states, especially since US President George Bush's administration lumped it into an axis of evil with Iran and North Korea in January. Washington has intimated that Baghdad would be the next target in the war against terrorism because of its alleged continued development of weapons of mass destruction and its refusal to let international arms inspectors back into the country. Arab countries, some of which joined the US-led coalition under Bush's father that ended the occupation of Kuwait, have strongly opposed any US strikes on Iraq, and a clause to that effect is expected to figure in the summit declaration. It is a far cry from the Amman summit, when Iraq objected violently to a draft resolution that mentioned respect for Kuwait's independence and sovereignty within internationally recognised borders, non-interference in its internal affairs and the need for Iraq to adopt policies along these lines. Following Amman, then Iraqi foreign minister Mohammad Said Sahhaf was sacked by Saddam and replaced by Sabri, considered more moderate. Saddam has not left his country since the 1991 Gulf war, but Vice President Ezzat Ibrahim, was the first participant at the summit proper to arrive in Beirut on Monday. He came by road from Iraq through Syria, another long-time rival with which ties have now been mended. Ken writes: . By the way I understand that Kuwait is not in favor of a US attack and that Iraq has just recently made conciliatory gestures toward Kuwait. ... Ken, This happened very recently. Sabri +++ Old Foes Kuwait and Iraq Clash at Arab Meeting Mon Mar 25, 3:07 PM ET BEIRUT (Reuters) - Gulf foes Kuwait and Iraq clashed at an Arab foreign ministers' meeting in Beirut on Monday, with a Kuwaiti minister accusing Baghdad of blocking any attempt to bridge differences between the two countries. There is no serious change in the Iraqi policy toward Kuwait, Kuwait's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammad al-Salem al-Sabah told reporters after a day-long meeting to prepare for this week's Arab summit. The faces have changed, the messenger has changed, but the message remains the same, he said in reference to Iraq's Foreign Minister Naji Sabri, who was appointed to his post late last year. Sheikh Mohammad said the meeting failed to agree on the wording of a statement on the Iraqi-Kuwaiti rift after the Iraqi delegation refused to pledge never to attack Kuwait again and in return requested Kuwaiti guarantees to preserve Iraq's security. Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 and occupied it for seven months. A U.S.-led coalition drove Iraq troops from Kuwait in 1991. The Kuwaiti minister said the situation between Iraq and Kuwait was discussed in depth at the meeting, but he requested
Re: Iraq war and the Turkish economy
Here is the article I based my opinion on: From the Times of India Iraq breaks ground at summit, recognises Kuwaiti rights AFP [ MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2002 9:23:29 PM ] Possibly the above article was written before the first day of the summit ended? Several others, such as Jordan Times and CNN, verify the Reuters story. http://www.jordantimes.com/Tue/news/news4.htm http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/meast/03/28/arab.summit.01/index.ht ml This one, Lebanese The Daily Star, seems somewhat in line with the AFP story. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/26_03_02/art1.htm Interesting.
Re: Iraq war and the Turkish economy
Maybe some of our Turkish Pen-lers might have comments on this. Cheers, Ken Hanly Ken, I am not ignoring your question. I was waiting for a response from those Turkish Pen-lers who live in Turkey. As far as I remember from an earlier post of Michael, from some six months ago or so, there are some. Very interesting things are happening in Ankara in these days and I am as curious as you are about getting insider information/comments. In the mean time, I will look for a few English articles on the topic. Best, Sabri
RE: Re: Iraq war and the Turkish economy
This doesn't say anything about the economy but it shows how important Turkey is to the US operation in Iraq. Sabri Former CIA chief says Iraq-Al-Qaeda links obvious Turkish Daily News - March 25, 2002 Former director of the U.S. intelligence agency, the CIA, James Woolsey said that links between the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Iraq were obvious, commenting that only Turkey's support of an operation on Iraq would be vital. Taking part in a CNN television program, Woolsey spoke about the possibility of the United States opening their second stage of the war on terrorism against Iraq. Woolsey drew attention to CIA Director George Tenet's remarks at the U.S. Congress, where he referred to the links between Iraq and the Al-Qaeda network, which was behind the Sept. 11 attacks. Woolsey stated that Iraq has been training terrorists on how to hijack with knives, and that the Iraqi intelligence officials' contacts with leading terrorist Muhammed Atta in the Czech Republic have been confirmed by Czech intelligence. Woolsey indicated that there was considerable evidence to prove the Iraq-Al-Qaeda link. Arguing that the United States would not need the support of any state apart from Turkey, Woolsey said that Turkey's support was crucial. I think difficult negotiations will be needed, he stated. The support of Kuwait is also needed, but their support will gradually be provided. We need the support of Britain and Saudi Arabia, but Turkey is the key state here. Its support should be secured. If the help of the other states cannot be secured, there would not be significant consequences, because, for a military strike, we just need a few U.S. infantry, which means a few good men, Woolsey continued. Michael O'Hanlon of The Brookings Institute, based in Washington, on the other hand, said that there was limited evidence of links between Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and the Al-Qaeda. It would mean committing suicide for Saddam to be on close terms with the Al-Qaeda. We don't see strong evidence, such as extensive cooperation, financing contacts, weapons of mass destruction or education, he said. Stating that Saddam knows he would be toppled in the event of any step taken by him against the United States, O'Hanlon said that if a serious link between Saddam and the Al-Qaeda were to be found, the United States should seriously think about ousting him.
RE: Re: Iraq war and the Turkish economy
These should give you some information on the current economic conditions, of course, if you take them at the face value. Sabri +++ Privatization Minister says sell-offs so far unsatisfactory Turkish Daily News, March 25, 2002 Turkey has carried out $7.4 billion worth of sell-offs since 1985, which is an unsatisfactory figure, Privatization Minister Yilmaz Karakoyunlu said. Of this total, $4 billion has been performed in the last four years. In response to an official question by Saadet (happiness or contentment) Party (SP) Deputy Zeki Celik, Karakoyunlu said a shortage of capital and technology accumulation and political instability had deterred privatization over the past 15 years. Substantial progress has been made in privatization in the past four years, particularly during 1998-2000, he added. Turkey aims to carry out $1.5 billion worth of privatizations in 2002. In its first major privatization attempt since the financial crisis that broke in February 2001, the government last week secured $183 million in proceeds from the secondary public offering of a 16.5 percent stake in oil retailer POAS. Another major company slated for privatization this year is oil refiner Tupras, which the government wants to put on a third offer by June. Looking at the track record on privatization, the government has largely failed to meet its targets. Turkey projected $4 billion in privatization receipts in 1999 and managed to raise $38 million. In 2000 the target was $5.2 billion and the figure that actually turned out was $2.7 billion. Last year, the government expected $1 billion worth of privatization operations and managed only $119 million. Karakoyunlu suggested that the agency responsible for privatization should acquire autonomy, so that sell-offs can be carried out more efficiently and swiftly. He added that work on the legislative changes that will establish an independent privatization body has been completed. The government has drafted a privatization bill to accelerate sell-off operations by handing over the final decision-making to a privatization agency, which will partly transform from the current Privatization Administration. The bill empowers the Cabinet for marking the companies slated for privatization, but after that the autonomous privatization agency will be responsible for the whole sale procedure. -- OECD urges time, patience for economic growth Turkish Daily News, March 25, 2002 The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said recent developments in Turkish financial markets were an indication that the Turkish economy has started picking up. Economic recovery will resume, provided that Turkey implements the measures in the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-backed program as planned, OECD Turkey desk chief Alexandra Bibbee said in remarks quoted by the Anatolia news agency. But a little time and patience is needed, Bibbee added. OECD chief Bibbee also said they need fresh economic data to make predictions about the economy. Financial markets in Turkey have stabilized since late 2001, on the back of the optimism created by the new IMF-backed economic program. The U.S. dollar has weakened to below 1.35 million to the lira as of last week's close, from above 1.6 million in October last year. Lower-than-expected February inflation figures have also created optimism, prompting the Central Bank to cut short-term interest rates twice in a month's time, thereby triggering a rate cut spree. Despite increased optimism in the markets, however, economic actors are not so positive about the outlook, as there is yet too little -- if any -- evidence that would suggest the growth process has resumed. Bibbee's remarks address concerns in business and industry circles that the economy might be heading for a deflation under tight IMF policies, while international finance institutions see the strict implementation of the program as the key to resolving once and for all the problems that deter economic growth. In an earlier report on Turkey the OECD had suggested that the emergency issue in the Turkish economy was a restructuring in the banking sector and that economic stability depends on sustained reform efforts. The OECD has also cautioned of the wide gaps in income distribution, calling for a fair wage policy across social masses.
Re: RE: Re: Iraq war and the Turkish economy
Former director of the U.S. intelligence agency, the CIA, James Woolsey said that links between the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Iraq were obvious, commenting that only Turkey's support of an operation on Iraq would be vital. Taking part in a CNN television program, Woolsey spoke about the possibility of the United States opening their second stage of the war on terrorism against Iraq. Interesting, especially in light of Woolsey's statements on the morning of 9/11 in a phone interview with Peter Jennings on ABC. He said the attack was due to regulations imposed on the CIA and the FBI after the Church Commission hearings in 1970's (These supposedly ended domestic spying, assassinations of foreign leaders and the FBI's COINTELPRO program which will come under scrutiny again on April 8 in Oakland CA in the Judi Bari vs. FBI Oakland Police trial in federal court.) His interview was immediately followed by Jennings interviewing, again by phone, former Secretary James Baker (the architect of the Florida vote scam) who said almost exactly the same thing as Woolsey. Jennings had to ask what the commission in the 70's was. It seemed to me at the time that Woolsey and Baker were reading from the same script. This was before the buildings collapsed and when all the networks were talking about the plane that had crashed into Camp David, or that it is believed that one of the planes was headed for Camp David. I've always wondered if Woolsey and Baker got their scripts from the same people who floated the unfounded -- but important -- rumor about Camp David, 9/11 being the anniversary of the accords and all. By the way, Jennings did ask Woolsey then or since about the terrorism regulators say Sun HealthCare Group, Inc imposes on many of this nation's elderly. Woolsey sits on its board. Dan Scanlan Grass Valley CA
Re: RE: Re: Iraq war and the Turkish economy
The US simply does not want any nation to have an effective defence against it, if that can be avoided. Iraq is no doubt attempting to develop weapons that would make US attempts to simply impose their will on Iraq quite costly. The US is convinced it has the power to simply replace Hussein one way or another and install a more compliant regime. By the way I understand that Kuwait is not in favor of a US attack and that Iraq has just recently made conciliatory gestures toward Kuwait. Given that the US is publicly committed to a unitary state in Iraq I can't see how they can get much support from the Kurds or even Shiites in the south who might want to join Iran. Cheers, Ken Hanly - Original Message - From: Sabri Oncu [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: PEN-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, March 25, 2002 5:01 PM Subject: [PEN-L:24320] RE: Re: Iraq war and the Turkish economy This doesn't say anything about the economy but it shows how important Turkey is to the US operation in Iraq. Sabri Former CIA chief says Iraq-Al-Qaeda links obvious Turkish Daily News - March 25, 2002 Former director of the U.S. intelligence agency, the CIA, James Woolsey said that links between the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Iraq were obvious, commenting that only Turkey's support of an operation on Iraq would be vital. Taking part in a CNN television program, Woolsey spoke about the possibility of the United States opening their second stage of the war on terrorism against Iraq. Woolsey drew attention to CIA Director George Tenet's remarks at the U.S. Congress, where he referred to the links between Iraq and the Al-Qaeda network, which was behind the Sept. 11 attacks. Woolsey stated that Iraq has been training terrorists on how to hijack with knives, and that the Iraqi intelligence officials' contacts with leading terrorist Muhammed Atta in the Czech Republic have been confirmed by Czech intelligence. Woolsey indicated that there was considerable evidence to prove the Iraq-Al-Qaeda link. Arguing that the United States would not need the support of any state apart from Turkey, Woolsey said that Turkey's support was crucial. I think difficult negotiations will be needed, he stated. The support of Kuwait is also needed, but their support will gradually be provided. We need the support of Britain and Saudi Arabia, but Turkey is the key state here. Its support should be secured. If the help of the other states cannot be secured, there would not be significant consequences, because, for a military strike, we just need a few U.S. infantry, which means a few good men, Woolsey continued. Michael O'Hanlon of The Brookings Institute, based in Washington, on the other hand, said that there was limited evidence of links between Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and the Al-Qaeda. It would mean committing suicide for Saddam to be on close terms with the Al-Qaeda. We don't see strong evidence, such as extensive cooperation, financing contacts, weapons of mass destruction or education, he said. Stating that Saddam knows he would be toppled in the event of any step taken by him against the United States, O'Hanlon said that if a serious link between Saddam and the Al-Qaeda were to be found, the United States should seriously think about ousting him.
Iraq war and the Turkish economy
Maybe some of our Turkish Pen-lers might have comments on this. Cheers, Ken Hanly
