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US Will Not Succeed in Toppling Saddam: Iraqi Minister. The United States will not be able to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power, just it had tried, but failed, in the past to topple the Iraqi strongman, Iraqi Minister of Culture Hamed Yussef Humadi said on Saturday. The United States will not be able to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power, just it had tried, but failed, in the past to topple the Iraqi strongman, Iraqi Minister of Culture Hamed Yussef Humadi said on Saturday. "They (the US) have been trying this for the past 20 years and they admitted for many times that they did not succeed. They are not going to succeed because Saddam has the whole (Iraqi) population behind him," Humadi said after attending the opening ceremony of a Chinese photo exhibition in the capital Baghdad. US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said recently that toppling the Saddam regime remained as an aim of the US foreign policy. When asked about the possibility of the US attacks on Iraq, Humadi said that the US has been attacking Iraq over the past years, referring to US air strikes on targets in two no-fly zones in Iraq set up by the US-led Western allies after the 1991 Gulf War. The US and Britain have been enforcing the two air exclusive zones since the Gulf War with the claimed aim of protecting the Kurds in the north and Shiite Muslims in the south from the persecution from the Iraqi government. Humadi also reiterated Iraq's rejection of the return of UN arms inspectors. "We reject spies and intelligence people to come (to Iraq) as arms inspectors, and they are not allowed back." He claimed that such accusations that the arms inspectors served as "spies" and "intelligence people" were not made by Iraq, but by Richard Butler, former head of the now-defunct UN Special Commission in charge of Iraq's disarmament. "Butler has acknowledged ... he worked for the (US) Central Intelligence Agency," Humadi said. Iraq has repeatedly rejected the return of the arms inspectors, who withdrew from Iraq ahead of four-day U.S.-British military strikes against Baghdad in December 1998. **** US Senate Approves 318 Billion Dollar Defense Bill. U.S. Senate on Saturday approved a 318 billion dollar defense bill for fiscal 2002 and a 20 billion dollar compromise anti-terror package which was attached to the defense bill. U.S. Senate on Saturday approved a 318 billion dollar defense bill for fiscal 2002 and a 20 billion dollar compromise anti-terror package which was attached to the defense bill. The defense bill, which was passed on a voice vote early on Saturday, provides the military 27 billion dollars more than the fiscal 2001 measure, but the amount is still 1.9 billion dollars below President George W. Bush's budget request. The bill grants 7 billion dollars for development of the missile defense plan and gives Bush the option of using an additional 1.3 billion dollars for missile defense or switching it to homeland security. It increases the pay for the troops by five percent and boosts health care and retirement benefits for them. The measure also provides 61 billion dollars for new weapons procurement and allows the Air Force to lease up to 100 Boeing 767s to replace an aging fleet of KC-135 air tankers. The Senate killed a Democratic-written 35 billion dollars anti- terror package but approved the 20 billion dollars alternative submitted by the Democratic Party. Bush, who repeatedly threatens to veto anything exceeding 20 billion dollars, congratulated the passage of the smaller anti- terror package, saying the measure honored the agreement he reached with the Congress and resisted "unnecessary nondefense spending." "We have ensured the funding necessary to recover from the September 11 attacks and to protect and defend our homeland," Bush said in a written statement. Three days after the September 11 attacks, Congress approved 40 billion dollars emergency spending bill. According to the bill, President Bush controls half of the money, but lawmakers must vote anew on the details of the second 20 billion dollars. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved a 318 billion dollars defense bill and a 20 billion dollars anti- terrorism package last week. The Senate and the House must work out the differences between the two measures in a conference. The 20 billion dollars package approved by the Senate early Saturday shifted about 7 billion dollars that Bush wanted for defense and other programs to efforts tightening domestic security and helping New York and other areas recover from the September 11 attacks. Congressional sources said one reason Democrats agreed to a smaller anti-terrorism package is that they were unwilling to delay indefinitely a wartime spending bill for the military. According to the new, smaller Democratic anti-terrorism plan, 8. 5 billion dollars will be allocated for countering bioterrorism and other domestic security programs, 4.1 billion dollars more than Bush requested; 9.5 billion dollars are for the New York and Washington metropolitan areas to recover from the attacks, 3.2 billion more than Bush asked; and 2 billion dollars for defense, 5. 3 billion dollars less than Bush asked. **** President Jiang Urges Increased Research of Military Sciences. Chinese President Jiang Zemin said Saturday the study of military sciences is vital to improving national defense and modernizing the Chinese army. Chinese President Jiang Zemin said Saturday the study of military sciences is vital to improving national defense and modernizing the Chinese army. Jiang, also chairman of the Central Military Commission, spoke Saturday to deputies of the Military Academy of Sciences attending the academy's fifth congress of the Communist Party of China. "Advanced military theories are important conditions for guiding a healthy development in the construction of the army and for winning victories in military strikes," said Jiang, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee. Jiang spoke highly of the achievements the academy has made in basic research of military sciences and applied research. He urged the deputies to improve understanding of military scientific research work, intensify leadership over the work, stepup scientific research on major issues related to national defenseand modernization of the army, produce more high-quality scientific research achievements and train more high-quality scientific research personnel. The fifth Party congress of the Military Academy of Sciences was opened on December 4, with 240 deputies in attendance. The congress summed up the Party-building work carried out in the academy and its achievements in military scientific research in the past years, and laid out the academy's goals for the next five years. **** Northern Alliance Helicopter Crash Kills 18: AIP. A Northern Alliance military helicopter crashed Saturday night in northern province of Takhar, killing 18 people, according to the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) on Sunday. A Northern Alliance military helicopter crashed Saturday night in northern province of Takhar, killing 18 people, according to the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) on Sunday. The private news agency said the helicopter crashed at Farkhar, some 35 kilometers southeast of Taloqan, capital Takhar province. Quoting an unidentified spokesman for the Northern Alliance, it said all the victims were Afghans, including anti-Taliban commanders Mohammed Mustafa and Arbab Mohammed Hashim. **** Tajik President, Afghan FM Discuss Bonn Meeting Results. Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov held talks Saturday with Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Adbullah on the results of the recent Bonn conference on Afghanistan and the latest developments in the Central Asian republic. Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov held talks Saturday with Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Adbullah on the results of the recent Bonn conference on Afghanistan and the latest developments in the Central Asian republic. Their meeting was held in private and no details of the talks were available. But Itar-Tass news agency reported that "reliable sources in Dushanbe" had said that the Tajik president and the Afghan minister discussed the results of the Bonn conference approving the composition of Afghanistan's interim government, and the latest developments in Afghanistan. Dushanbe regards the Bonn agreement as an important step towards a lasting peace in Afghanistan and appreciates the spirit of compromise manifested by all Afghan delegations at the negotiations. Rakhmonov believes that the current composition of Afghanistan' s interim government is "quite natural and reflecting the real line-up of political forces in the country," the sources said. The Afghan foreign minister arrived in Dushanbe for a visit Friday. He met Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov in the Tajik capital on Friday evening, the latter briefed the Afghan side on Russia's attitude to the Bonn agreements. **** Mkapa: Tanzania Proud of 40-Year Achievement Since Independence. Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa has said that his people have all the reasons to be proud of achievements realized during the past 40 years since independence. Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa has said that his people have all the reasons to be proud of achievements realized during the past 40 years since independence. On the eve of Tanzania mainland's 40th independence anniversary which falls on Sunday, Mkapa stressed in a special interview with local media by the weekend that revival of the self-reliance spirit was pivotal in preserving the country's freedom. "The 40 years of our country's independence is the period we deserve to be proud of. First of all, we are among a few African countries that have been able to protect their freedom and also strengthen the unity of the people," he told journalists at the State House. Mkapa said that the government did much to improve people's living conditions with the policy of Ujamaa, a kind of socialism conceived by Tanzania's founder president, the late Julius Nyerere, and self-reliance being the pillar. He noted that apart from a few hitches, Tanzania's general performance in the economic and political spheres since independence from Britain is commendable. He stressed the need for self-reliance and the importance of improving productivity through joint action as well as the adoption of efficiency-improving reforms in state-owned enterprises. The period since independence has seen dramatic developments as successive governments struggled to improve the people's living conditions under the spirit of collective strength, Mkapa said. He said privatization was necessary because the firms could no longer be manageable for lack of expertise, technology and managerial skills. "We reached a stage where the cost of sustaining this ideology in the changing world economic order was too big and neither the government nor the public sector could meet this cost. "State-owned enterprises were operating below capacity, government revenue was dwindling and export earnings declining steadily. On the one hand people's expectations were rising faster than before," he said. Dismissing claims by privatization critics that disposing of the enterprises benefited foreigners more than locals, Mkapa said the exercise has proved beneficial to Tanzanians with at least 122 out of 300 divested firms so far going to locals. He added that the enterprises, which have been fully divested to foreigners, do not exceed 15. The impact of new policies tacitly redrawn, and which, in a surprising short period, have brought about a remarkable resurgence of economic fortunes have put Tanzania on a better footing, he said. He cited the example of Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL), Tanzania Cigarette Company (TCC) and Mtibwa Sugar factory as examples of privatized firms which have contributed tremendously to the government coffers in tax revenues. Mkapa noted that the country has to struggle to extricate itself from aid dependence. Despite its economic reforms, an increase in aid dependence is broadly judged to impair Tanzania's long-term development prospects. Mkapa said that the agricultural sector, which is seen as a key generator of future economic expansion, is to receive special attention under the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party government, which has just accomplished a special program on ways to revolutionize the agricultural sector. The Tanzanian president said that his government did a lot to restore donors' confidence by reviving the self-help spirit, the effort, which he contends, paid dividends. The two Bretton institutions announced late November that they will offer Tanzania 3 billion U.S. dollars debt relief in 20 years to reduce the country's total multinational debt load by 54 percent. The debt relief would enable the government during the next 20 years to allocate the funds which were meant for settling the debt to education, health, water, roads and poverty eradication sectors. The relief came under the enhanced framework of the Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative which is administered by the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) which was formerly known as the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility. **** China, South Africa to Launch Bi-National Commission. South African President Thabo Mbeki arrived in Beijing Sunday afternoon to begin a state visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Jiang Zemin. South African President Thabo Mbeki arrived in Beijing Sunday afternoon to begin a state visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Jiang Zemin. Jiang and Mbeki will officially launch the China-South Africa Bi-National Commission, and preside over the first session of the commission. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
