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World Media Watch
by Gloria R. Lalumia
BUZZFLASH NOTE: Once again, these are the views and perspectives of the individual papers, not of BuzzFlash or Gloria. They offer BuzzFlash readers a way of reading what other nations are saying about the crisis, whether we like it or not. We repeat: This is not an endorsement of their viewpoints.
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1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong-ANALYSIS: OLD ALLIANCES, NEW RISKS (...And in yet another unexpected development more related to the current crisis in North Korea than Iraq, Rumsfeld has reportedly informed South Korea that it is prepared to gradually withdraw the 37,000 US troops who are based there, first to the southern part of the country from current positions close to the demilitarized zone where they are intended to act as a "tripwire" in the event of a North Korean invasion, and then off the peninsula altogether..."It's a no-lose proposition," noted one conservative congressional staffer. "If we get our troops out of range of the North's guns, our freedom of action for acting against the North is greater.)
2//Turkish Daily News, Turkey--TURKEY WANTS COOPERATION AND NOT FRICTION IN NORTHERN IRAQ (The military, meanwhile, was extremely offended by some talk among American congressmen that a few billion dollars would convince the Turks to cooperate with the U.S. Sources said the banner headline in mass daily Milliyet on Monday quoting military sources saying "we are not missionary soldiers" was a reaction to this...Turkish officials say they want cooperation and coordination between Turkish, American and Iraqi Kurdish officials instead of friction and arguments...But sources close to the military say they suspect the British are trying to influence the Iraqi Kurds to create distrust for Ankara. The TDN was told this was the main reason why Turkey told the U.S. it will not accept British forces in the northern front.)
3//Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran--KHATAMI WARNS US AGAINST BACKING ISLAMIC REPUBLIC'S OPPONENTS (President Mohammad Khatami here Tuesday issued a blunt warning to US leaders against supporting Iranian dissidents and exiled opposition as Iran commemorated the 1979 victory of the Islamic Revolution with anti-war and anti-American rallies held around the country...He reverberated Iran's categorical rejection of a probable US attack on Iraq, saying "the Islamic Republic is opposed to any military attack on Iraq".)
4//Philippine
Daily Inquirer, Philippines--MACAPAGAL ORDERS IRAQI ENVOY'S
TERROR LINKS PROBED (PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
on Tuesday ordered an investigation into allegations of terror
links by an Iraqi diplomat in Manila, who denied the charge.
The diplomat at the center of the diplomatic row, Second Secretary
Husham Hussein, has not been asked to leave the Philippines but
has been put on notice to stop such activities, Macapagal spokesman
Ignacio Bunye told reporters.)
5//Arab News, Saudi Arabia--GCC FORCES WILL NOT ATTACK IRAQ:
KHALED (The Kingdom said yesterday that joint GCC defense forces
to be deployed in Kuwait will not take part in any attack against
Iraq, should there be a fresh US-led war on Iraq..."The
deployment of these troops in Kuwait, at this country's behest,
is aimed at protecting its territory" against Iraqi attack. "These
forces will not undertake external missions," Prince Khaled
said.
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1//Asia
Times Online February 12, 2003
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EB12Ak02.html
ANALYSIS
OLD ALLIANCES, NEW RISKS
By Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON - With the Bush administration in a seemingly headlong rush to war, the current international crisis over Iraq's disarmament appears to be threatening the global system of alliances Washington built in the post-World War II era.
The latest example is the growing transatlantic divide between the United States on the one hand and France, Germany and Belgium - the very core of Western Europe - on the other.
And already administration hawks are arguing that the French-Belgian veto of Turkey's request for NATO arms to defend against itself against a possible Iraqi attack has put the Atlantic alliance's very survival into question. "If this is what the US gets from NATO, maybe it's time America considered leaving this Cold War institution and reforming an alliance of nations that understand the new threats to world order," said an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, reiterating Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld's reaction to the veto as "truly shameful".
But the strains brought on by the Bush administration's increasingly irrepressible eagerness to invade Iraq are also raising serious questions about other historical alliances around the world. This weekend, for example, it was reported that Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah and his closest advisers have decided to prepare to disengage militarily from the United States as part of a series of measures to shore up the ruling family's political support in the kingdom.
First rumored but strongly denied in late 2001, Abdullah's plans are to be implemented after the current crisis in Iraq is resolved one way or another, according to the reports, which cited Saudi sources as saying that a US withdrawal from the kingdom would give its rulers more room to implement reforms without appearing to be doing so at Washington's behest.
And in yet another unexpected development more related to the current crisis in North Korea than Iraq, Rumsfeld has reportedly informed South Korea that it is prepared to gradually withdraw the 37,000 US troops who are based there, first to the southern part of the country from current positions close to the demilitarized zone where they are intended to act as a "tripwire" in the event of a North Korean invasion, and then off the peninsula altogether.
While the administration indicated the offer derives from the perception that South Koreans are increasingly angry with Washington for failing to promote detente with the North and, in the words of one official, "we don't go where we're not wanted", others noted the move was designed to "raise the stakes" for incoming President Roh Moo-hyun, whose softer line toward Pyongyang has irritated some in the administration.
"It's a no-lose proposition," noted one conservative congressional staffer. "If we get our troops out of range of the North's guns, our freedom of action for acting against the North is greater. And if Roh gets worried about being left to the tender mercies of [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-il, that gives us more influence."
(MORE)
2//Turkish Daily News 11 February 2003
http://www.turkishdailynews.com/FrTDN/latest/for.htm#f3
TURKEY WANTS COOPERATION AND NOT FRICTION IN NORTHERN IRAQ
Turkey says US can command the northern front but decisions have
to be taken jointly
Ilnur Cevik
Turkey has no intention of issuing ultimatums to the United States in northern Iraq and the current negotiations which will go well into the religious holiday are aimed at establishing the groundwork for proper cooperation and coordination of Turkish and American forces if and when the U.S. decides to lead a campaign against Iraq, Turkish government and military sources told the Turkish Daily News.
The sources stressed Turkey has no intention of entering northern Iraq to grab the rich oil-fields of the region or control Kirkuk and Mosul. "We will be there and cooperate and coordinate with the Americans and the Iraqi Kurds in a joint operation to secure a better future for the Iraqi people if war becomes inevitable," a highly placed government source told the TDN.
According to plans being negotiated between Turkish and American officials the bulk of the American troops will land in the southern port city of Mersin and then be moved to southeastern Turkey to various bases for deployment.
The ones to be deployed on Turkish soil will be the technical personnel to be stationed in air bases like Incirlik, Diyarbakir and Batman and the logistic and support forces for the main force that enters Iraq.
Also according to plans the main U.S. force will go straight into Iraq via Turkey along with the Turkish forces.
Turks say for every American soldier that enters Iraq they want to have one Turkish soldier in Iraqi territory.
Some Turkish forces are already deployed in northern Iraq and will be bolstered to be used to open the way for the U.S. troops.
The U.S. wants these forces to be commanded by their own commander in Iraq while Turks say our forces should be commanded by a Turkish general who coordinates his activities with his American counterpart as was the case in Afghanistan, in Somalia and in the Korea war.
(SNIP)
The military, meanwhile, was extremely offended by some talk among American congressmen that a few billion dollars would convince the Turks to cooperate with the U.S. Sources said the banner headline in mass daily Milliyet on Monday quoting military sources saying "we are not missionary soldiers" was a reaction to this.
The military has told the government that it should get written guarantees and congressional actions on proposed economic aid for Turkey to offset possible losses during a new Gulf War.
Turkish officials say they want cooperation and coordination between Turkish, American and Iraqi Kurdish officials instead of friction and arguments. They say Turkey does not want to dominate the lives of the Iraqi Kurds and has no intention of grabbing oil-fields or the cities of Kirkuk and Mosul.
But sources close to the military say they suspect the British are trying to influence the Iraqi Kurds to create distrust for Ankara. The TDN was told this was the main reason why Turkey told the U.S. it will not accept British forces in the northern front.
(MORE)
3//Islamic Republic News Agency last Update Tuesday, 11-Feb-2003
07:29:52 PST
http://www.irna.com/en/hphoto/0302100000-0.ehp.shtml
KHATAMI WARNS US AGAINST BACKING ISLAMIC REPUBLIC'S OPPONENTS
Tehran, Feb 11, IRNA -- President Mohammad Khatami here Tuesday issued a blunt warning to US leaders against supporting Iranian dissidents and exiled opposition as Iran commemorated the 1979 victory of the Islamic Revolution with anti-war and anti-American rallies held around the country.
"America has once tried its luck in confronting this nation
by supporting the regime of Shah, but I hope it will not be under
further illusion to support the remnants of the former regime," he
told a flood of the people who had converged at the Azadi square,
west of Tehran.
(SNIP)
Khatami cited "bigger threats" against independent states, saying "any effort to impose tyrannical policies threatens the independence of all countries".
He reverberated Iran's categorical rejection of a probable US attack on Iraq, saying "the Islamic Republic is opposed to any military attack on Iraq".
Khatami, however, distanced himself from sounding to support the Iraqi regime which waged an eight-year imposed war against the Islamic Republic, leading to massive human and property losses.
"Our opposition to any attack on Iraq does not imply that we are content with the Iraqi regime," he said, adding "a military strike, besides inflicting massive damage to the noble Iraqi people, will lead to tension and insecurity in the region". Attack on Iraq is in line with America's unilateral policy and its illegitimate intervention in other countries' fate. But, world countries have announced that they object unilateral and bullying policies," Khatami said.
(MORE)
4//Philippine Daily Inquirer Posted: 7:02 PM (Manila Time) |
Feb. 11, 2003
http://www.inq7.net/brk/2003/feb/11/brkpol_12-1.htm
MACAPAGAL ORDERS IRAQI ENVOY'S TERROR LINKS PROBED
By Agence France-Presse
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Tuesday ordered an investigation into allegations of terror links by an Iraqi diplomat in Manila, who denied the charge.
The diplomat at the center of the diplomatic row, Second Secretary Husham Hussein, has not been asked to leave the Philippines but has been put on notice to stop such activities, Macapagal spokesman Ignacio Bunye told reporters.
The Iraqi mission defended the diplomat and insisted he had done nothing wrong.
The row occurred amid mounting domestic criticism of Macapagal's staunch support of US President George W. Bush's confrontation with Baghdad over the latter's alleged weapons of destruction.
Foreign Secretary Blas Ople alleged on Monday that Hussein was in telephone contact with an Abu Sayyaf Muslim guerrilla leader hours after a bomb attack in the southern Philippines that left a US soldier dead and another injured in October.
"Allegations of diplomatic involvement in terrorism constitute a grave matter anywhere in the world and should be dealt with vigilance and immediacy," Bunye said in a statement.
"The investigation should leave no stone unturned and the results thereof must be made known to the Filipino people and the international community," he added.
The Iraqi mission said it "denies and condemns strongly what was broadcast by the Philippine television networks, regarding the accusation to the Second Secretary of the Embassy, that he made contacts with certain groups out of his diplomatic duties."
"The Embassy reaffirms here that this accusation is baseless, and (dares) everybody to bring an evidence about such allegations," it said in a statement.
(MORE)
5//Arab News 12 February 2003 / 11 Dhul Hijjah 1423
http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=22704
GCC FORCES WILL NOT ATTACK IRAQ: KHALED
RIYADH, 12 February 2003 - The Kingdom said yesterday that joint GCC defense forces to be deployed in Kuwait will not take part in any attack against Iraq, should there be a fresh US-led war on Iraq.
"These forces will not take part in any military operation against Iraq," Prince Khaled ibn Sultan, deputy minister of defense, told Okaz newspaper.
"The deployment of these troops in Kuwait, at this country's behest, is aimed at protecting its territory" against Iraqi attack. "These forces will not undertake external missions," Prince Khaled said.
The Peninsula Shield forces will come under the orders of the host country, he added.
Prince Khaled said that the departure of US forces stationed in Saudi Arabia was linked to the end of the "no-fly" zones over northern and southern Iraq imposed by London and Washington after the 1991Gulf War.
"The presence of American, British and French forces in the Prince Sultan airbase in Al-Kharj was for a precise reason, that is ... the control of the southern exclusion zone.
"If that reason goes away, the presence of US and other forces will end," he said.
Following a meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) defense and foreign ministers on the Iraq crisis, Kuwait announced on Saturday that its partners had accepted its request for units to be deployed from their joint defense force.
The GCC members - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates - in 1986 created the common Peninsula Shield defense force which is now stationed at Hafr Al-Baten in northeastern Saudi Arabia.
The council for the past several years has studied the possibility of increasing the number of troops in the force from 5,000 to 22,000. It has conducted exercises but has never before been deployed.
(MORE)
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© 2003, Gloria R. Lalumia, insight@zianet.com
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