Friday, Oct 03, 2003
Carving up the Iraqi cow Paul Bremer, US civilian administrator in Iraq, stirred up a hornets nest when he suggested that Kuwait and Saudi Arabia might drop their compensation claims against Iraq over its invasion of Kuwait in 1990, wrote Abdul Bari Atwan wrote in Al-Quds al-Arabi on Wednesday.
Kuwaiti opposition parliamentarians temporarily suspended their attacks on the government to insist that Kuwait should not drop its claims, which are backed by the UN and cannot be waived, said Mr Atwan, who added: "It would have been more appropriate for Kuwaiti politicians to come up with a proposal themselves to freeze the compensation payments, given their insistence before the war that Kuwait's quarrel was with the Iraqi government and not its suffering people - who are in greater need than ever of assistance."
The Saudi government was silent, and no word of the issue appeared in the Saudi press, even though its claims against Iraq amount to $120bn, noted Mr Atwan.
Given the Saudi and Kuwaiti stance in both Gulf wars, which caused so much destruction to Iraq's infrastructure, and given the fact that Kuwait allowed US forces to use two thirds of its territory to launch its March invasion, Iraq could argue that it deserves compensation from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, rather than the other way around, he suggested. Kuwaiti traders' expectations that they would win the lions share of contracts with Iraq after the war proved misplaced, he went on. Their merchants do not dare cross the border at Safwan. Meanwhile, Haliburton, the US company formerly chaired by Dick Cheney, US vice-president, has won contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars and a company, whose directors include friends of George Bush senior has been set up to offer advice to companies hoping to win contracts in Iraq. "But something important could still ruin the spoils for the American wolves, and that is the strengthening Iraqi resistance, which has begun to make its presence felt and is no longer as sporadic as US officials have repeatedly claimed." Hashim's controversial amnesty Fresh information provided by Sultan Hashim, former iraqi defence minister, prompted US investigators to re-interrogate some of the former senior Ba'ath officials in their custody, according to a report in Al-Hayat on Wednesday.
Hashim, who surrendered under a deal in which the Americans promised to treat him with lenience and respect, was transported by private helicopter from Mosul to the Republican palace in Baghdad, where he was received by the head of the US forces in Baghdad, General Ricardo Sanchez. After a three-hour meeting, Sanchez told Hashim his name would be removed from the list of the 55 most wanted former Iraqi officials and gave him a written guarantee of amnesty. US officials described the information he provided as "highly valuable", the paper reported.
Al-Quds al-Arabi reported on Wednesday that Kurdish political circles and newspapers in Suleimaniya had criticised the decision to offer Hashim immunity, holding him responsible for crimes against the Kurdish people. The Kurdish paper Hawlati published the text of a telegram sent by Hashim to Saddam in 1988, announcing the success of the Anfal operation (in which 186,000 Kurds were killed) and signed: "Chief of Staff Sultan Hashim, commander of the Anfal operation on September 19 1988."
New Palestinian government Ahmad Qurei, Palestinian prime minister-designate announced on Wednesday that he had finalised the formation of his cabinet, which would be formally announced on Sunday or Monday, reported Al-Quds al-Arabi on Thursday. The paper said an inner cabinet, composed of 12 ministers, would be announced initially, of which the most prominent appointee would be the interior minister Nasr Youssef. This would be followed by the appointment of a further 12 within a month. Mr Qurei's initial list of 24 hit problems when MPs from Mr Arafat's Fatah faction said they would insist on all nominees being subjected to a vote of confidence in parliament, the paper reported. It cited Abu Rudeina, Arafat's close aide, as saying most former cabinet ministers would retain their posts.
Arafat fears poisoning Asharq al-Awsat on Thursday revealed that samples of Yassir Arafat's blood have been sent to Amman for test, amid fears that his food may has been poisoned. Arafat's personal physician said after examination the Palestinian president was found to be suffering from severe inflamation of the stomach, but he is improving and likely to make a full recovery.
Al-Quds al-Arabi reported on Thursday that an unnamed Arab intelligence service - thought to be that of Lebanon - had thwarted a plot to assassinate Khalid al-Mishal, head of Hamas's external office. What has the intifada achieved? Three years into the Palestinian intifada, it's time for Yasser Arafat to ask some serious questions about what it has achieved and where it is leading, says Ghassan Charbal in al-Hayat on Saturday. Nor should Hamas or Islamic Jihad be absolved from asking the same questions, despite their absence from government.
No-one can deny the strong roots Hamas has in Palestinian society. Its leaders have become skilled at both uniting and polarising Palestinians since the first intifada of the mid 1980s. Hamas has gained a wide following among young Palestinians through its work in charitable works in mosques, health and education services. Oslo represented a potentially fatal challenge "and it is this, in my opinion, that pushed Hamas and Islamic Jihad into conducting suicide operations", said Mr Charbel. Although Ariel Sharon, Israeli prime minister, has not left Hamas with many choices, the organisation's leadership should pause for thought. Where is the Intifada going and what has it achieved? What can Hamas do for the government of Abu Ala, now that Palestinians have made clear the loyalty they feel for Yassir Arafat? How will the next phase of the conflict be conducted now that the net is closing around Hamas and Jihad? Sudan 'puts war behind it' After 20 years of civil war, Sudan is moving towards a peace that will rid the country of its worst problems, Al-Hayat cited Sudan's President Omar Hasan Al Bashir as saying. In a speech in Qatar, reported in Al-Hayat on Monday, Bashir said Negotiations between Ali Othman Mohamad Taha, Sudan's vice-president, and John Garang, representing the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, have "put war behind us". The next step was to lift the state of emergency, and the main challenge for the transition period would be to convince the people of the south to vote in favour of unity [rather than secession].
The next round of negotiations, to be held on October 6, will address the distribution of power and money, the situation in the disputed territories of the Blue Nile, the Nuba mountains and Ibi. Ali Othman Mohamad Taha, is set to meet John Garang on October 10, and "God willing, they will continue the process and we will reach final agreement," said Mr Bashir. Al-Hayat on Tuesday carried an interview with Mustafa Uthman Ismail, Sudan's foreign minister, in which he said that US involvement in the Sudanese peace process had been "pivotal". Whereas the previous US administration had focused on removing the Khartoum regime, the Bush administration had decided to help bring an end to the conflict through dialogue with Khartoum. The main obstacle to agreement that was overcome with the help of outside mediation, had been Khartoum's refusal to withdraw its forces from the south. Under the new agreement, most government forces would be removed from the south, but a number would remain, with an equivalent number of southern forces being posted to the north. Mr Othman said he hoped that UN observers would be sent to Sudan by the end of the year to oversee the implementation of the treaty.
Egyptian Islamist group repudiates violence A new book by the 'historic leadership' of outlawed Egyptian Islamist organisation Jama'at Islamiya will condemn the September 11 attacks and criticise the 'conspiracy theory' - one that has gained wide currency in the region - that the attacks were carried out by Mossad, the Israeli secret service, rather than al-Qaeda, Asharq al-Awsat reported on Thursday. The book will also repudiate any ties with the World Islamic Front for the killing of Americans and Jews, founded in 1998, the paper said.
Al-Hayat reported the same day that two books containing the new thinking of the organisation, urging the peaceful promotion of its views, have appeared on the Egyptian market. Coming less than a week after the release of the organisation's leader Karam Zuhdi, who spent over 20 years in prison for his role in the assassination of former president Anwar Sadat, the books will help dispel doubts about the credibility of the peaceful stance the organisation's leaders have adopted for the past six years, said the paper.
Fiona Symon
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