July 18, 2003
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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--US TURNS TO ARABS TO KEEP THE PEACE (The United States is turning to Arab regimes for support against increasing armed resistance in Iraq, official sources here say. A source close to the Egyptian foreign ministry confirmed reports that surfaced in the Arab press late last week that the United States has sought the help of Egyptian peacekeeping forces...Analyst Anas Fouda wrote on the popular bab.com website that Egypt helped persuade Palestinian groups to stop resistance activities against Israel, and that Egyptian support to the US presence in Iraq could be calculated to have a similar effect. "But this time if Arab countries send troops to protect the Americans, the public will not look at this as effort to establish peace but as an effort to legitimize American occupation," he said.)
2//F.A.Z./ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany--TRYING TO BE FRIENDS AGAIN (It was planned more to set the tone for a further relaxation in bilateral tensions than to reach any hard decisions on the issue that is still bitterly dividing the two countries, and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer's trip to the United States appears not to have surpassed that modest expectation. As Fischer returned home to Germany on Thursday, neither he nor the Americans were claiming that they had moved any closer on the question of Iraq and how it is to be governed.)
3//Gulf News Online, United Arab Emirates--IRAQI DIESEL FLOWING
FREELY TO UAE MART (Iraqi diesel has emerged as a major attraction
in UAE markets in the post-Saddam Hussain era. The chaos on the administration
front and a difficult law and order situation have added a new dimension
to the diesel business, which has flourished with the lifting of
UN sanctions. During the past few weeks the Iraqi diesel supply business
has become so lucrative that some operators have bought back the
old vessels they had sold for scrapping.)
4//The Straits Times, Malaysia--US-JAKARTA TIES HIT ROCKY PATCH
(There are tremors of apprehension in the United States about a
serious downturn in its relationship with Indonesia. Matters came
to a head on Wednesday when the US House of Representatives voted
down funds for military education and training to Indonesia until
the murder of two Americans in Papua last year is investigated
properly...They are standing firm on this matter, despite the desire
of President George W. Bush's administration to restore the funding,
which was cut off after the involvement of the Indonesian army
in massacres in the former East Timor... Last week's furore over
the intrusions of US F-18 jets into Indonesian airspace indicates
how, given the current tense state of relations, a small incident
may cause ties to plummet further.)
5//The Moscow Times, Russia--JUST HOW FAR WILL PUTIN LET THE PENDULUM SWING? (Apart from the already evident economic damage to the country from the Yukos affair, President Vladimir Putin could be politically weakened if he continues to sit on the fence as two Kremlin clans do battle, analysts said..."The raid against Yukos opened the door for attacks on large business groups," Makarkin said. The clan of siloviki, which is widely believed to be led by deputy heads of the presidential administration Viktor Ivanov and Igor Sechin, is trying to gain influence and resources ahead of the elections to have more leverage over the president, the analysts said.)
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1//Asia
Times Online July 18, 2003
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EG18Ak03.html
US TURNS TO ARABS TO KEEP THE PEACE
By Emad Mekay (Inter Press Service)
CAIRO - The United States is turning to Arab regimes for support against increasing armed resistance in Iraq, official sources here say.
A source close to the Egyptian foreign ministry confirmed reports that surfaced in the Arab press late last week that the United States has sought the help of Egyptian peacekeeping forces.
"The Americans raised the issue," said the official who wished to remain unidentified. "They were testing our pulse." He declined to reveal what the Egyptian response would be.
A US congressional delegation arrived in Cairo from Baghdad earlier this week for talks with Egyptian officials on the situation in Iraq. Chairman of the House intelligence committee, Florida Republican Porter Goss led the team.
"The escalation in attacks against US forces in Iraq was at the center of Goss' talks with Egyptian officials," the official source said.
The US Senate called last week for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and United Nations (UN) troops to be sent to Iraq. Spain, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, the Baltic states and possibly the Philippines, Thailand and Mongolia may send peacekeeping forces.
The Lebanese newspaper al-Kifah al-Arabi reported Saturday that the United States is seeking troops also from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a regional grouping that includes Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Earlier this week, the London-based pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat reported that the United States was seeking Egyptian help also to "win the support of other Arab states". Al-Hayat reported that the US wanted Egyptian support particularly to persuade other countries to accept ambassadors appointed by the new governing council in Iraq.
(SNIP)
Analyst Anas Fouda wrote on the popular bab.com website that Egypt helped persuade Palestinian groups to stop resistance activities against Israel, and that Egyptian support to the US presence in Iraq could be calculated to have a similar effect.
"But this time if Arab countries send troops to protect the Americans, the public will not look at this as effort to establish peace but as an effort to legitimize American occupation," he said.
On Tuesday, a previously unknown Iraqi resistance group warned foreign countries, including Arab nations, not to give in to US demands to send troops to Iraq.
"We will resist with weapons any military intervention under the umbrella of the United Nations, the Security Council, NATO, or Islamic and Arab countries," the group calling itself the Iraq Liberation Army said in a statement broadcast on the Dubai-based al-Arabiya television.
2//F.A.Z./ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Jul. 18, 2003
[LINK]
TRYING TO BE FRIENDS AGAIN
As Fischer leaves Washington, no indication that U.S. and Germany
closer on Iraq
By Michael Gavin
It was planned more to set the tone for a further relaxation in bilateral tensions than to reach any hard decisions on the issue that is still bitterly dividing the two countries, and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer's trip to the United States appears not to have surpassed that modest expectation.
As Fischer returned home to Germany on Thursday, neither he nor the Americans were claiming that they had moved any closer on the question of Iraq and how it is to be governed.
Fischer's talks with Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell and other top officials appeared friendly, with Powell at one point jokingly presenting the German foreign minister with the empties from a gift of beer Fischer made to the American during a visit to Berlin earlier this year. Germany and the United States, said Powell, are "two great allies with great mutual respect."
Still, the enthusiasm from the American side does not yet include the government of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who has been persona non grata in Washington since emerging almost a year ago as an outspoken opponent of an attack on Iraq. His foreign minister was not offered a private meeting with President George W. Bush, something the White House uses to signal its approval of favored guests - like Hesse Premier Roland Koch; a state-level politician and perhaps not coincidentally one of Schröder's most virulent domestic critics, he met with Bush for 15 minutes when he visited Washington in May.
(SNIP)
A common interest is what the United States also wants Germany to see in Iraq: Although German officials say that no request has been made, the Americans clearly want Germany to make an important contribution to a pacification and rebuilding process that is beginning to appear far more difficult, complicated and expensive than the White House had predicted.
But Fischer reiterated Berlin's position that Germany would only consider such a role if the Security Council passes a new mandate giving the United Nations more say in running Iraq, and appeared determined not to be budged from it.
3//Gulf News Online 17-07-2003
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=92830
IRAQI DIESEL FLOWING FREELY TO UAE MART
Dubai |By Kamlesh Trivedi, Staff Reporter | 17-07-2003
Iraqi diesel has emerged as a major attraction in UAE markets in the post-Saddam Hussain era.
The chaos on the administration front and a difficult law and order situation have added a new dimension to the diesel business, which has flourished with the lifting of UN sanctions.
During the past few weeks the Iraqi diesel supply business has become so lucrative that some operators have bought back the old vessels they had sold for scrapping.
At the same time steel prices have skyrocketed in recent few months, crossing $220 per tonne, which makes selling old vessels for scrap the best option for owners.
Sources in the petroleum product market told Gulf News that the sudden jump in the Iraqi diesel supply business has raised demand for vessels 4,000 DWT to 5,000 DWT in size, which is considered ideal for transporting diesel.
The operators familiar with the sea route in the Gulf use small capacity vessels to transport diesel to the UAE.
Sometimes, diesel transporters use cargo vessels to take cars and other commodities from the UAE and bring back diesel, said sources. The competitive price of diesel is the major attraction for local buyers. A major portion of Iraqi diesel is used for blending purposes, they said.
(MORE)
4//The Straits Times JULY 18, 2003 Updated 6.51 am
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,200230,00.html?
US-JAKARTA TIES HIT ROCKY PATCH
Tardy efforts to find killers of two Americans, Aceh and lack of
support for Iraq war among sticking points
By Roger Mitton
In Washington and Derwin Pereira in Doha (Qatar)
WASHINGTON - There are tremors of apprehension in the United States about a serious downturn in its relationship with Indonesia.
Matters came to a head on Wednesday when the US House of Representatives voted down funds for military education and training to Indonesia until the murder of two Americans in Papua last year is investigated properly.
Congressmen believe Indonesian military elements were involved in the Papua atrocity and want the guilty parties punished.
They are standing firm on this matter, despite the desire of President George W. Bush's administration to restore the funding, which was cut off after the involvement of the Indonesian army in massacres in the former East Timor.
The amount involved, about US$400,000 (S$705,000), is relatively small, but Jakarta views it as symbolic of America's commitment to friendly relations.
As a result of the military funding impasse and other contentious issues, ties have hit a rocky patch despite efforts by the State Department to keep things on an even keel, with aid continuing in areas such as health and education.
'I would say it is pretty bad,' said Mr Donald Emmerson, a senior fellow at the Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, who is regarded as the doyen of America's experts on Indonesia. 'There are a number of on-going points of tension and potential flashpoints.'
(SNIP)
The US now regards Indonesia's belated entry into the fight against terrorism as having tapered off, without Jakarta robustly following through against Jemaah Islamiah and other such groups.
But it is the apparent involvement of the Indonesian military in the killings of the two American teachers from an international school in West Papua last August that is currently the major irritant between the two nations.
A campaign by the widow of one of the victims has made a big impact on congressmen, who have let Mr Bush know that they will not approve military-related funding for Jakarta until this case is resolved properly.
As if that were not bad enough, the Indonesian military's massive crackdown on Aceh separatists is also upsetting the US.
Most galling to the Americans has been the way Indonesia has openly modelled its Aceh strategy on the 'shock and awe' technique used by the US in Iraq, even to the extent of using embedded journalists.
Although Washington has repeatedly made clear that it supports Indonesia's territorial integrity, it has not condemned the Aceh separatist group GAM in the way Jakarta would like.
'The Indonesians would love the US to declare GAM a terrorist organisation, like the Abu Sayyaf, but the US has not done this,' said Mr Emmerson.
Not only that, but many in the US view the Indonesian military as being as bad as GAM. Last week's furore over the intrusions of US F-18 jets into Indonesian airspace indicates how, given the current tense state of relations, a small incident may cause ties to plummet further.
The taut situation is expected to cause apprehension across South-east Asia.
No one in Asean wants a crisis to develop between its largest member and the US. 'Asean would love to have much better US-Indonesia relations,' said Mr Dillon. Unfortunately, it is not happening. Basically, he said: 'Americans don't understand Indonesia and the Indonesians really don't understand the US.'
5//The Moscow Times Friday, Jul. 18, 2003. Page 2
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/07/18/019.html
JUST HOW FAR WILL PUTIN LET THE PENDULUM SWING?
By Simon Saradzhyan and Igor Semenenko
Staff Writer
Apart from the already evident economic damage to the country from the Yukos affair, President Vladimir Putin could be politically weakened if he continues to sit on the fence as two Kremlin clans do battle, analysts said.
"As the creator and keeper of balances, Putin needs to say 'break' and restore the balance," said Andrei Ryabov of the Carnegie Moscow Center.
If he does not, and one clan wins, he is liable to become overly dependent on the victorious clan going into next year's presidential elections, Ryabov said.
The powerful clan of siloviki from the security, law enforcement and defense agencies is cornering oil major Yukos in an attack against the corporate heavyweights that enjoy close ties with the clan of holdovers from Boris Yeltsin's team, still known as the Family, analysts said.
So far Yukos is losing ground, with key shareholder Platon Lebedev held in prison on charges of stealing state property in a 1994 privatization deal, analysts said.
If not stopped, the siloviki -- who seem to have little concern for what the attack on Yukos is doing to the markets and economy in general -- may take on other big businesses over other past privatization deals, said Alexei Makarkin, head of research with the Center for Political Technologies.
"The raid against Yukos opened the door for attacks on large business groups," Makarkin said. The clan of siloviki, which is widely believed to be led by deputy heads of the presidential administration Viktor Ivanov and Igor Sechin, is trying to gain influence and resources ahead of the elections to have more leverage over the president, the analysts said.
Should Putin allow the siloviki to defeat the rival clan, he may find himself stuck with a team dominated by former security and law enforcement officials that is not at all qualified for building democracy and a fast-growing economy in Russia, the analysts said.
"Once one side wins, Putin may find himself with no one to rely on if he disagrees with the objectives of this side," Ryabov said.
More important, he may see domestic big business and foreign investors lose confidence in the stability of his administration, which would disrupt his plan to double GDP within 10 years, said Vyacheslav Nikonov, head of the Politika think tank.
(MORE)
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©2003, Gloria R. Lalumia, insight@zianet.com
Radio for the Left at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical/radio.htm
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