HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2002/october/10_13_2.html Middle East Newsline Ocotober 14, 2002 IRAN LAUNCHES MAJOR EXERCISE TO DETER U.S. NICOSIA [MENL] -- Iran launches a major military exercise meant to deter Iraq and the United States amid the rising prospects of war. Officials said the Iranian military began a three-day exercise near Qom on Friday. They said the maneuvers would include ground troops supported by air platforms. Iranian commanders said the exercise was meant to demonstrate Iran's military capability in an effort to deter Teheran's enemies. The reference appeared to focus on the United States, which Teheran fears will launch an attack during or after a war against Iraq. "The three-day exercise consists of maneuvers by various units of ground forces aimed at displaying the country's latest military achievements, as well as promoting defensive capabilities," Iranian army commander Brig. Gen. Nasser Mohammadi-Far said. "The enemy should know that we will retaliate against any move. We are preparing so that no enemy will dare attack us." ------------------------------------------------------- http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=10/14/02&Cat=2&Num=014 Tehran Times October 14, 2002 British MP Reveals Anglo-American Plan to Break Up Saudi Arabia, Sudan TEHRAN -- In a speech at the American University of Beirut, George Galloway, a British Labour MP, revealed what he called were joint U.S. and British plans for breaking up Saudi Arabia and Sudan. "American and British leaders are in the process of carrying out plans to break up Saudi Arabia and Sudan, and also expand Jordan's borders to areas in central Iraq," Galloway said in his speech published by the Lebanese daily ***Al-Bayan*** and quoted by IRNA in a dispatch from Beirut yesterday. Galloway, a Scottish member of Parliament who is known for his views opposing the imperial policies of the United States, also sharply criticized some Arab leaders and organizations and called on Arabs in certain countries to "overthrow their oppressive governments." "The entire world has protested against and condemned the United States and its policies, but you do nothing. How do you watch the current events and don't take any action in opposing them?" Galloway asked his audience of university students. Meanwhile, in a related story, a Syrian lawyer said yesterday the U.S. is planning to break up "certain countries of the region once it has attacked Iraq." IRNA quoted Mamdouh Rahmoun in Beirut as calling on Middle Eastern countries to promote solidarity among themselves in face of continuing U.S. and Israeli warlike policies in the region. He also said that Turkey will never survive the hostile policies of the White House, and that the U.S. is planning to break up Turkey as well. ------------------------------------------------------- http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/14/int7.htm Dawn (Pakistan) October 14, 2002 Syria angry about US stance on its N-plan DAMASCUS, Oct 13: The Syrian foreign ministry demanded on Sunday that US ambassador Theodore Kattouf explain his country's expression of concern about Syria's nuclear programme, a ministry statement said. "A formal complaint was presented to him over what is being circulated by State Department spokesmen on Syrian-Russian cooperation in the field of nuclear research," the statement said. It was referring to remarks by US Undersecretary of State John Bolton last week to a Senate committee. Bolton said: "We remain very concerned that the nuclear and missile programmes of Iran and others, including Syria, continue to receive the benefits of Russian technology and expertise." Washington brands both Syria and Iran as state sponsors of "terrorism". State Department officials said last week they had no immediate explanation for Bolton's expression of concern about the Syrian programme. They referred inquiries to a CIA report which says the Syrian nuclear programme is for research and civilian purposes, notes Syria has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and is under comprehensive safeguards through the International Atomic Energy Agency. "The (foreign) ministry requested a formal explanation at a time when the United States knows this," the Syrian statement said. "It expressed its strong distaste for cooperation between the United States and Israel in various arms fields, and for US silence on the Israeli nuclear programme." Syria's relations with Washington have been strained during the US "war on terrorism", which Washington says also targets the Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas and radical Palestinian groups that Damascus backs. Bolton, who is in charge of arms control and international security at the State Department, is a hawk suspicious of multilateral arms control agreements. He caused a stir earlier this year by saying that Cuba has a programme to develop biological weapons. Many analysts said there was no credible evidence for the allegation.-Reuters ------------------------------------------------------- http://www.turkishdailynews.com/FrTDN/latest/for.htm#f5 Turkish Daily News October 14, 2002 Ecevit accuses US of steering Kurds Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit on Sunday accused the United States of steering independence seeking Kurds and has declared that the "situation in northern Iraq has gotten out of hand." On Friday the prime minister warned in a TV interview that Iraqi Kurds are "out of control" after they reportedly agreed on a draft constitution ahead of possible U.S. strike against Iraq. Daily Milliyet and other newspapers reported Saturday that two Kurdish factions controlling most of northern Iraq met this week and drafted a constitution for a federal Kurdish region in northern Iraq. The constitution allegedly outlined Kurdish and Arabic as official languages in the region and named Kirkuk, an oil-rich city currently not under Kurdish control, as the regional capital. Asked about the Kurdish meetings, Ecevit said: "The situation is out of control ... A constitution has emerged in a deceiving way. It's a worrying situation that we can't accept." "We need to talk in detail about this with the United States," Ecevit said. On Sunday, however, the prime minister took a tougher stand and told the Milliyet that the U.S. was not only "encouraging" the Kurds but it was also steering them. Ecevit apparently clarified his remarks saying that the situation in northern Iraq has gone out of control saying, "Turkey is being dragged into a war against its will in Iraq." He said: "We can say that a Kurdish state has been founded in northern Iraq. Turkey cannot accept their draft constitution in any way." He said the developments in Iraq go way beyond a security issue and has a political aspect: "We do not want to enter a war but we are being dragged into it. The U.S. is not only encouraging the Kurdish groups in northern Iraq but is actually steering them." He said, "We have to discuss this issue with Washington at length." Some analysts claimed Ecevit feels the U.S. would encourage the Kurds to declare independence and draw reluctant Turkey into the fight in Iraq. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said Turkey has to participate in any operation against Iraq on the side of the U.S: "The events in Iraq will influence us whether we participate in the operation against Iraq or not. If we participate we will gain and if we don't we'll lose," Yilmaz told a TV interview on Sunday. ------------------------------------------------------- http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=34744&Sn=WORL Gulf Daily News (Bahrain) October 14, 2002 Turks protest against blitz -However, Ecevit's deputy, Mesut Yilmaz, said Turkey should join US forces in an attack on Iraq. ISTANBUL: Hundreds of people took to the streets of Istanbul yesterday to demonstrate against military intervention in Iraq amid growing popular opposition to a possible US-led attack, the Anatolia news agency reported. Protesters at the demonstration, organised by the left-wing opposition Freedom and Solidarity party (ODP), shouted slogans such as "We will not be America's soldiers" and "USA - hands off the Middle East". "We will not stand by and watch (the US attack Iraq) as a pretext for the US to take control of the region's oil reserves," ODP leader Ufuk Uras said. There is growing indignation at the prospect of US military intervention in Iraq among Turkey's military leaders, civil society groups and government. Turkey fears the economic fallout of a new regional conflict as well as the prospect of an independent Kurdish region in northern Iraq if its leader Saddam Hussein is removed. "We don't want to see our young men killed," Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said yesterday in a television interview, adding that Turkey had "already suffered great loss of life" over 15 years of conflict with Kurdish separatist rebels. However, Ecevit's deputy, Mesut Yilmaz, said Turkey should join US forces in an attack on Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1033848925240&p=1012571727172 Financial Times October 11, 2002 UN says war on Iraq would hit West Bank aid By David Buchan and David Gardner War over Iraq would increase tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, and make it even harder to get food and basic services to people in the occupied territories, a senior United Nations official predicted on Friday. Peter Hansen, director of the UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa), said his agency was already facing increasing problems in feeding and caring for 210,000 families in Gaza and the West Bank. "I can only imagine the enormous difficulties of getting food convoys through if there is full mobilisation [by the Israeli army], rising tensions and Scud missiles [from Iraq]," said Mr Hansen in London, where he was seeking extra money from the UK to help cover the contingency of a war over Iraq. With Israeli army curfews over the past two years hampering food distribution and shopping, malnourishment among Palestinians is now on a par with the crisis countries in Africa, he said. Medical specialists from Johns Hopkins university in the US have classified 13.2 per cent of Palestinian children in Gaza as suffering from chronic malnutrition and 22.5 per cent suffering from acute malnutrition. These proportions are higher than in Zimbabwe and the same as in Congo. With two out of every three Palestinians now out of work, Unrwa was also providing emergency employment to some 49,000 people. "The enormous reduction in freedom of movement is suffocating the economy, pushing half the population into absolute poverty," Mr Hansen said. Mr Hansen said he had appealed for an extra $179m (£ 115m, €182m) in funding this year, but had received only $93m in pledges so far. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
