> >IRAQ SANCTIONS MONITOR Number 120 >Thursday, September 14, 2000 > >LATEST NEWS++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > >Iraqi spokesman explains cost of "hostile air sorties". >Text of report by Iraqi radio on 13th September > >A spokesman for the Air Defence Command said that hostile air forces, with >all their advanced technological abilities, have failed to affect the >activity and abilities of the Iraqi Air Defence. > >In a new conference held today and attended by correspondents from the Iraqi >News Agency, as well as by other Arab and foreign news agency correspondents >and television reporters, the spokesman said that the ability of the Air >Defence to stand up to hostile aircraft for the past several years >demonstrates Iraqi skill in countering a military force that is >technologically advanced. It also gives new meaning to the term 'superiority >in confrontation'. > > >Between 9th June 1991 and 27th August 1992, the spokesman said, there were >approximately 190,000 hostile air sorties conducted inside our airspace, >north of the so-called Parallel 36 and south of the so-called Parallel 32. >In addition, 45,000 air sorties were carried out inside and outside our >airspace by the various support planes. > >The spokesman added: If we take into consideration the fact that every armed >air sortie lasts approximately four to six hours, then the total number of >flights by hostile planes amounts to approximately 1 million flying hours. >The spokesman explained that the average rate for 1 hour of flying is around >100,000 dollars. With this, he said, the total cost of the hostile flights >in the aforementioned period of time amounts to approximately 100bn dollars. >This rate excludes the cost of bombs, missiles, plane maintenance services, >ground services, and the destruction of some of the planes. If added up, the >overall cost would rise to 150bn dollars. > >The spokesman went on to say: Given this overall cost, the average daily >cost of hostile flights is around 45m dollars, while the annual cost amounts >to 15bn dollars. The cost of maintaining 50 Saudi F15s is equivalent to 2bn >dollars. > >He added: What is extremely sad is that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait should >volunteer to pay the bills for aggression against the people of Iraq without >giving consideration to moral values or the fact that Arab money and >national resources are being squandered. In addition, he said, the Saudi and >Kuwaiti regimes are keeping their doors wide open, allowing the presence and >deployment of these hostile forces under the pretext that these forces are >protecting them from an alleged Iraqi threat. This has turned the phenomenon >of foreign forces' deployment in Saudi Arabia and Kuwaiti into an obvious >case of occupation. The US administration does not deny this when it states >that the presence of its forces in the region will continue indefinitely. > >The Iraqi spokesman added: Amid this [word indistinct] to the will of >foreigners, the Saudi and Kuwaiti regimes have given the enemy ravens the >widest operational advantages. They gave the enemy the opportunity to enter >Iraqi airspace from a 950-km-wide front at a time when the entry of hostile >aircraft could have been restricted to a front no greater than 35 km wide >from the Arabian Gulf. This would have been the case had the Saudi and >Kuwaiti regimes not been lured into participating in a war that was launched >against Iraq by the US administration and its lackey Britain. > >Russia's Aeroflot resumes flights to Iraq. >Text of report by Russian news agency RIA > >Abu Dhabi, 14th September: Aeroflot will resume flights to Iraq, stopped in >August 1990, said the Russian aviation company regional director, Pavel >Pryadko, after his talks with the Iraqi Transport and Communications >Minister, Dr Ahmad Murtada Ahmad Khalil, RIA correspondent reports. > >The political decision to resume the Aeroflot flights to Iraq was taken >during the talks between the Russian leadership and Iraqi Deputy Prime >Minister Tariq Aziz in August this year, Pryadko said. > >This step does not contradict UN Security Council resolutions to boycott >Iraq which do not ban civil aviation flights to Iraq, said the Aeroflot >representative. > >The Aeroflot representative office in Baghdad will be opened in mid-October. >At the moment the Russian Foreign Ministry is seeking permission from a >number of countries for Russian aircraft to overfly their territory, Pryadko >said. > >Spokesman reacts to "unbalanced" Albright statements on sanctions. >Text of report by Iraqi radio on 13th September > >The US secretary of state has stated that Iraqi President Saddam Husayn >holds the key to lifting the economic sanctions clamped on Baghdad for the >past 10 years. > >Commenting on the statement made by the US secretary of state, the official >spokesman for the Ministry of Culture and Information said: Albright >[passage indistinct] on both the domestic and external levels. Albright has >got into the habit of making confused and unbalanced statements, including >the statement that the Iraqi president holds the key to ending the economic >sanctions clamped on his country for the past 10 years. > >The official spokesman for the Ministry of Culture and Information added: If >it is true that His Excellency President Saddam Husayn holds the key to >ending the sanctions clamped on Iraq, as Albright has said, we would like to >say that lifting the unfair embargo and eliminating the injustice meted out >against Iraq for more than 10 years are the serious prelude to using this >key and to treating Iraq in a balanced and fair manner and in a way that >ensures meeting its fair demands and upholding its legitimate right to a >free and decent life away from the Zionist influence, which has largely hurt >the American people, particularly since this influence effectively and >vigorously affects US policies. > >The official spokesman for the Culture and Information Ministry concluded >his comment by saying: One should also act to halt the ongoing US-British >aggression against Iraq. This aggression is a flagrant violation of Iraq's >sovereignty and regional safety, and a blatant violation of the UN Charter >and international law. One should also discard all manifestations of Zionist >hegemony on the US decision-making, a hegemony that undermined US relations >with the world to serve Zionism and its designs in the Arab homeland and to >impose its control on the international community. > >France tells Iraq support for sanctions remains strong. >United Nations (UPI)-13Sep2000/910 pm EDT/110 GMT France has told Iraq it is >making a mistake if it thinks support in the UN Security Council for >sanctions is eroding. French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said Wednesday >he warned the only way out was to follow resolutions. > >USA: IN CHALLENGE, IRAQI JET FLEW OVER SAUDI DESERT, U.S. SAYS. > >WASHINGTON - An Iraqi fighter jet flew into Saudi Arabian airspace last week >in what officials here suspect was an attempt to provoke a confrontation >with the United States on the eve of the U.N. summit meeting in New York, >State Department and military officials said Wednesday. > >The jet, passing through a "no flight" zone over southern Iraq, darted over >a thinly populated desert in Saudi Arabia on the morning of Sept. 4 and >quickly left, the officials said. > >Nevertheless, the flight heightened what officials here described as a sense >that President Saddam Hussein of Iraq is determined to test U.S. resolve. >U.S. and British jets that patrol the southern "no flight" zone, below the >32nd parallel, were not flying that day and were unable to scramble quickly >enough to challenge the Iraqi plane before it left, military officials said. >Iraqi jets have entered the southern zone more than 150 times since the >United States and Britain launched four nights of air and missile strikes in >December 1998. > >Iraqi jets have also veered into Iranian airspace, but commanders at the >Pentagon said it was the first time an Iraqi had flown over Saudi Arabia in >at least a decade, the officials said. > >In the days leading up to the incident, the Iraqi air force dispersed its >aircraft in central Iraq, evidently to protect them from a potential >retaliatory attack, the officials said. Those aircraft have since returned >to their bases. "This does lead people to believe he was trying to provoke a >confrontation," a senior administration official said, "and was taking steps >to protect himself if that happened." > >The United States did not respond, fearing that new airstrikes could play >into Saddam's strategy of sowing division among the United States and other >members of the Security Council. But they warned that U.S. forces remained >prepared to counter any threatening military moves. "We are obviously very >careful not to overplay our hand," the senior official said. > >UNITED NATIONS - France has warned Iraq not to expect any weakening of the >Security Council's determination to send U.N. inspectors back into Iraq to >eliminate weapons of mass destruction before sanctions can be lifted. > >France's foreign minister, Hubert Vedrine, who has criticized the sanctions, >nonetheless said Wednesday that he told Iraq's deputy prime minister, Tariq >Aziz, on Monday that it would be "a very serious mistake" to think that an >erosion of the council's resolve would lead it to lift the sanctions, which >were imposed when Iraqi forces occupied Kuwait in 1990. > >"I in fact met with Tariq Aziz the day before yesterday, and I told him the >only solution for Iraq was to comply with Resolution 1284 and to cooperate," >Vedrine said during a breakfast interview with reporters. > >Eleven of the 15 Security Council members voted for the resolution at the >time. But France joined Russia, China and Malaysia in abstaining, prompting >the Iraqis to infer that support for sanctions was waning. The split >emboldened Iraq to reject the council's resolution. U.N. officials have been >concerned that Iraq keeps balking in hopes of forcing a further dilution or >even lifting of sanctions. Baghdad has refused to allow arms inspectors back >into the country, though the new inspection commission's executive chairman, >Hans Blix, says team members are ready to begin inspections. > >Aziz recently met several other diplomats besides Vedrine at the United >Nations to assess the Security Council's mood. But Ewen Buchanan, Blix's >spokesman, confirmed that "Aziz made no effort to come near Blix." Vedrine, >after meeting with Aziz, said he foresaw no short-term change in Iraq's >refusal to comply. "I regret that," he added. > >He told reporters Wednesday that France had helped broker the 1999 >resolution and had abstained from the vote because the resolution could have >been improved. France, which maintains commercial and diplomatic relations >with Iraq, continues to abide by the resolution, he said. > >The French foreign minister Wednesday called the sanctions "primitive," and >"a cruel measure" in their impact on ordinary Iraqis, and "completely >absurd" economically. Nonetheless, Vedrine said, "we take the security >concerns of Iraq's neighbors very seriously." > >L.A. hospital learns from Arab psychic. > >LOS ANGELES, Sept 14 (Reuters) - In a plain vanilla hospital room, several >average-looking patients hooked up to machines are walking on treadmills to >stretch their damaged lungs when in walks Lousi Al Alousi, the foremost >psychic of the Arab world, with a beautiful model and a personal musician at >his side. > >Welcome to Los Angeles' most famous hospital: Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre. >Because the rich and famous are such a common sight in L.A., nobody bats an >eye when they show up for medical care - bringing their personal quirks and >cultural preferences with them. > >"They call me the king of clairvoyants and magicians," Al Alousi announces >to the room. Due to a childhood illness in his native Iraq that stunted his >growth and constricted his lungs, Al Alousi stands less than 4 feet (1.2 >metres) tall and has a pinched voice reminiscent of the late actor Herve >Villechaize, who played Tattoo on the television series "Fantasy Island." > >One suspects that Al Alousi's past hardships in Iraq, which included a >medical treatment in which he was wrapped in dead fish and tightly encased >in plaster for more than a year, may contribute to a compassionate side that >compels him to offer to read every palm within his reach. > >He began telling fortunes of nurses as a child in a hospital back in Iraq >and he has been reading the stars ever since. Of course the patients, some >of whom are pale and share his struggle to breathe, do not know this. So >they smile and nod politely and continue exercising. > >"We just kind of go with the flow here," said nurse Susan Clark, who heads >the pulmonary rehab unit, gently guiding Al Alousi's musician Mohammad into >an outer room so he will not disturb the other patients with his piano >playing. > >A veteran lounge entertainer and composer of music intended to help people >sleep, Mohammad sets up a small electric keyboard just outside the door. On >Al Alousi's cue, he presses a button, activating a funky synthesized >drumbeat, and plunges into a medley that alternates between belly dance and >Country Western selections, two styles that Al Alousi's finds most relaxing. > >With a smiling, miniskirted model holding his arm, Al Alousi, barefoot and >dressed in a beaded caftan, stepped onto a treadmill to exercise. "God bless >America," he said, breathing deeply. "People are so kind to me here I >believe that I have lived in America in one of my previous lives!" > >On the edge of Beverly Hills at the corner of George Burns Rd., and Gracie >Allen Dr., Cedars attracts all types including a good number of stars and >rich Middle Easterners. Al Alousi came 7,000 miles (11,270 km) for pulmonary >treatment after a doctor in England and relatives in nearby Malibu >recommended it. >Last month, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones gave birth to a baby at Cedars and >Elizabeth Taylor slipped in for pneumonia treatment. Beyond its reputation >for quality care and advanced treatments, the hospital also is well >accustomed to accommodating stars who want their privacy respected and their >sometimes peculiar whims and requests satisfied. >"On our eighth floor there are some special VIP rooms that are double the >size of a regular room, and many times royalty from the Middle East will >come with staff. On occasion we can set up a block of rooms aside depending >on the availability of beds," said Dr. Spencer Koerner, Cedars medical >director of Telemedicine and International Health. > >The hospital often checks patients in under assumed names to protect their >anonymity, he said. "Because we're so accustomed to dealing with Hollywood, >that mechanism is well in place and all the staff has been briefed. The >doctor knows who the person is but the name on the chart is not their actual >name. We take patient confidentiality very, very seriously." > >Cedars also provides interpreters, sets up patients in nearby hotel rooms if >they need long-term outpatient care, delivers take-out Thai food or other >delicacies upon request and arranges excursions to places like Disneyland >for family members. > >Because Al Alousi spent three months taking daily treatment, he bunked at a >luxury hotel across the street from the hospital, travelling back and forth >with an entourage in a limousine. He says he always carries three cell >phones in the pockets of his caftan just in case anybody needs to reach him, >and plenty of business cards and magic rings to hand out as talismans. >Of course he has enough money to hire an ever-changing army of beautiful >models to accompany him to treatments, type his memos, dine and dance with >him at night, and monitor his breathing while he sleeps. > >This is partly because he predicted an assassination attempt on Qaboos bin >Said, the Sultan of Oman, who since then has made sure the psychic received >the best of everything. >As the weeks went by, his entourage expanded to include hotel employees, >journalists, the entire Cedars pulmonary rehab staff and a variety of others >who found it hard to turn down his gracious dinner invitations and impromptu >crystal ball readings in his hotel suite. "I bring good luck," he said. > >He may be able to read the stars and spread good fortune, but Al Alousi is _______________________________________________________ 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] _______________________________________________________
