-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">
</A> -Cui Bono?-
Friday, February 4 1:02 AM SGT
US gave Russia advance warning on ship boarding
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (AFP) -
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright gave Russian leaders in
Moscow this week advance warning that the US Navy would board a
Russian tanker suspected of smuggling oil from Iraq, US officials
said Thursday.
"We've been in discussion with the Russians for upwards of a
month on the subject of Russian flagged tankers suspected of
sanctions busting," a senior US official said.
The rare US naval action against a Russian vessel brought demands
by Moscow for the immediate release of the Volgoneft and denials
that it was carrying Iraqi oil.
But US military officials said the ship was tracked leaving Iraqi
waters and followed as it hugged the Iranian coastline. It was
intercepted and boarded Wednesday by the USS Monterrey as it
crossed the Gulf toward the United Arab Emirates, they said.
"We have had our eye on this Russian ship for some time," a
Pentagon official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"This particular ship was stopped, boarded and now it will
undergo further investigation in port to determine whether this
is indeed Iraqi oil it is carrying," said White House spokesman
Joe Lockhart.
The oil's origin can be determined by an analysis its chemical
characteristics, officials here said.
"It's like a finger print," said a Pentagon official. "Once they
complete the analysis they'll be able to know if it's Iraqi or
not."
The US Navy has been monitoring suspected smuggling by Russian
flag ships in the Gulf for the past month, Pentagon officials
said.
The Russian government was given advance warning that the Navy
would board the ship, according to US officials, who said
Albright discussed it with Russian leaders during her meetings in
Moscow this week.
US Navy ships have boarded a Russian vessel only once before in
the Gulf, said Major Joe LaMarca, spokesman for the US Central
Command in Tampa, Florida.
About 700 ships from a variety of countries were boarded last
year by US warships patrolling the Gulf and Red Sea to enforce UN
economic sanctions on Iraq, he said. But only 17 ships were
diverted to port, he said.
A senior US military official, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said there was "no reason to suspect" that the Russian
ship was part of an officially sanctioned smuggling operation.
But the incident was sure to aggravate tensions between the
United States and Russia, which have been increasingly at
loggerheads over the use of US military force against Iraq and
Serbia, both traditional Russian allies.
In Moscow, Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev said he viewed
"negatively the fact that a Russian trading vessel was
intercepted by American military ships."
While Russia has pressed for an easing of sanctions against Iraq,
Washington has vowed to keep the pressure on Baghdad with a
campaign of intermittent air strikes and enforcement of
sanctions.
The latest US action comes amid a surge in oil smuggling from
Iraq which has tracked a sharp increase in oil prices, LaMarca
said.
"The amount of illegal oil virtually doubled since resumption of
oil smuggling in late August," he said.
The Navy estimates that 367,000 tonnes of oil were smuggled out
of Iraq in January, up from 191,000 tonnes in September, he said.
Oil smuggling was virtually halted in December 1998 when US and
British forces hammered Iraq with four days of air strikes, which
among other things struck oil loading facilities in Basra.
The aircraft carrier USS Kennedy and six US surface warships in
the Gulf are joined by British navy ships in enforcing UN
sanctions against Iraq.
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
*Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day.
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