August 6, 2004

World Media Watch

by Gloria R. Lalumia

BUZZFLASH NOTE: WMW provides BuzzFlash readers foreign views and perspectives that are not usually available from the media here in the U.S. The presentation of these articles from these international publications is not an endorsement of their viewpoints.

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WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR AUGUST 6, 2004

1/The Daily Star, Lebanon--MUSLIM TROOPS MUST BE SEPARATE FROM IRAQ'S OCCUPIERS' (A proposed Muslim peace keeping force must operate separately from US-led coalition forces and be accepted by all Iraqi people, Malaysia said Thursday, the day after UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that UN staff returning to Iraq would have to rely on US troops for security since a Saudi idea for an Islamic protection force has not taken off...Annan's new special representative for Iraq is expected to return to the war-torn country with a small UN team in time for an Aug. 15 national political conference seen as a crucial step toward January elections, Annan said. But "for the time being, for practical measures, we have no other choice but to rely on the multinational force and this is the way we are going," Annan told reporters. "We haven't had much success attracting governments to sign up for the dedicated force," he added.)

2//Arab News, Saudi Arabia--KINGDOM SUSPENDS TRUCK TRAFFIC TO IRAQ (Saudi authorities yesterday suspended local trucks from heading to Iraq via Arar due to the deteriorating security conditions in Iraq which is threatening the safety of truck drivers. A director of one of the Saudi companies working in Iraq, Hazam Al-Jeri, told Al-Eqtisadiyah daily, a sister publication of Arab News, that there are 221 Saudi trucks waiting on the borders with Iraq for permission to enter Iraq. He added that his company was supervising the transport of 3.2 million liters of refined petroleum products for the Iraqi National Institute...After a Turkish trucker was shot dead this week, Turkey's International Transporters' Association urged its members to immediately stop shipping cargo to US troops in Iraq. Daoud and Partners, a leading Jordanian firm and key supplier of foodstuffs to the US Army in Iraq, also said it was quitting after two of its drivers were kidnapped.)

3//dw.Worlde.de/Deutsche-Welle, Germany--EUROPE MUM OVER NEXT STEP ON IRAN (The US says it's working with Europe on a "tough set of resolutions" demanding Iran's compliance on the nuclear issue, but it's not clear whether Europe will abandon its engagement with Iran to follow the US position...European diplomats have kept quiet on how they intend to proceed. While there's little doubt that European negotiators were frustrated by the lack of progress at last week's talks, Europe has been committed to a process of engagement with Iran, which the EU says has been developing in a "positive direction." According to reports in the Iranian media, European diplomats in Tehran said they will continue engagement and communication, though there was mention of a "cooling off period," referring to the pause in negotiations on a Trade and Cooperation Agreement between Brussels and Tehran.)

4//The Daily Times, Pakistan--IRAN URGES AZERBAIJAN TO MOVE CLOSER (Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, on his first official visit to Iran's pro-Western neighbour Azerbaijan Thursday, said the two Muslim countries had a historic obligation to move closer together. Tehran is known to be unhappy about the Western orientation chosen by Azerbaijan, an oil-rich former Soviet republic on Iran's northern border, and is also uneasy about a growing US military presence in the country...According to analysts, Azerbaijan is caught in the middle of a tussle between Iran and the United States for influence in the strategically-important region around the Caspian Sea.)

5//The Toronto Star, Canada--CANADA-U.S. AMEND NORAD PACT (The Canada-U.S. Norad agreement has been amended in a move critics says pushes Canada closer to participating in a controversial U.S. missile defence program. But Defence Minister Bill Graham told a news conference today that the amendment doesn't commit Canada at all...Alexa McDonough, foreign affairs critic for the NDP, said Canada is, "aiding and abetting Bush's weaponization of space with bogus arguments," about needing to preserve Norad functions. "The Prime Minister throughout the election promised repeatedly that Canada would, under no circumstances, be a party to Bush's weaponization of space," she said in a release. "The government's decision today takes us one step closer to full and official participation in Bush's Star Wars.")

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1//The Daily Star, Lebanon Friday, August 06, 2004
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=6997

MUSLIM TROOPS MUST BE SEPARATE FROM IRAQ'S OCCUPIERS'
OIC says all Iraqis must accept peacekeepers before they are deployed

Compiled by Daily Star staff

A proposed Muslim peace keeping force must operate separately from US-led coalition forces and be accepted by all Iraqi people, Malaysia said Thursday, the day after UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that UN staff returning to Iraq would have to rely on US troops for security since a Saudi idea for an Islamic protection force has not taken off.

Malaysia heads the 57-member Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), which is considering the Saudi proposal for an Arab or Muslim force to replace the US-led troops in Iraq under the auspices of the UN.

"We must first ascertain if the troops from the OIC countries will be accepted by the people of Iraq," Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters.

"It's not necessarily enough for the interim government to invite us but there must be a mechanism for us to determine that Iraqis representing all groups would like to see OIC troops in Iraq," he said.

"They must also ensure that we are not seen alongside US-led multinational forces because the coalition force is seen as an occupying force and they are the target of continuous attacks by certain groups in Iraq, therefore the US position and plans in Iraq must be made known first."

Asked if this meant that OIC would only send troops if the American-led force withdrew, Najib dodged the question, reiterating that operating alongside the multinational force would be dangerous because they were "targets for attacks by elements within Iraq, including suicide bombers."

Najib said OIC troops could operate as part of a United Nations force but this required a Security Council resolution and funds from the world body.

A resolution adopted by the 15-nation Security Council in June called on the United Nations to play a vital role in helping Iraq down the path to its first democratically elected government, and said a special unit of the multinational force should be set up to guard UN officials and facilities.
Annan's new special representative for Iraq is expected to return to the war-torn country with a small UN team in time for an Aug. 15 national political conference seen as a crucial step toward January elections, Annan said.

But "for the time being, for practical measures, we have no other choice but to rely on the multinational force and this is the way we are going," Annan told reporters.

"We haven't had much success attracting governments to sign up for the dedicated force," he added.

(SNIP)

Reports earlier said Malaysia, along with the north African states of Tunisia and Morocco along with Pakistan, have offered to send troops to protect the United Nations should it return to Iraq.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf remained committed to the possibility of sending troops Thursday, saying that it would be "very undiplomatic" to rule it for good.

"I never said we will send troops, but I also don't say that we will never send them," he told the Dawn newspaper.

However the level of domestic opposition to a troop deployment to Iraq made it impossible to send them right now, he noted.

(MORE)

2//Arab News, Saudi Arabia Friday, 6, August 2004 (20, Jumada al-Thani, 1425)
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=49438&d=6&m=8&y=2004

KINGDOM SUSPENDS TRUCK TRAFFIC TO IRAQ
Staff Writer

RIYADH, 6 August 2004 - Saudi authorities yesterday suspended local trucks from heading to Iraq via Arar due to the deteriorating security conditions in Iraq which is threatening the safety of truck drivers.

A director of one of the Saudi companies working in Iraq, Hazam Al-Jeri, told Al-Eqtisadiyah daily, a sister publication of Arab News, that there are 221 Saudi trucks waiting on the borders with Iraq for permission to enter Iraq.

He added that his company was supervising the transport of 3.2 million liters of refined petroleum products for the Iraqi National Institute.

He noted that 50 Saudi companies transported the same cargo to Iraq on a daily basis. Al-Jeri added that Saudi companies have suspended their trucks from going to Iraq last month until protection was provided. The move followed robbing and vandalizing of 50 Saudi trucks within Iraqi territories.

(SNIP)

After a Turkish trucker was shot dead this week, Turkey's International Transporters' Association urged its members to immediately stop shipping cargo to US troops in Iraq.

Daoud and Partners, a leading Jordanian firm and key supplier of foodstuffs to the US Army in Iraq, also said it was quitting after two of its drivers were kidnapped.

Seven truck drivers - three Indians, three Kenyans and an Egyptian - are currently held captive by Iraqi kidnappers.

3//dw.Worlde.de/Deutsche-Welle, Germany 05.08.2004
http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1433_A_1289065_1_A,00.html

EUROPE MUM OVER NEXT STEP ON IRAN

The US says it's working with Europe on a "tough set of resolutions" demanding Iran's compliance on the nuclear issue, but it's not clear whether Europe will abandon its engagement with Iran to follow the US position.

Earlier this week, the United States stepped up its rhetoric against Iran, warning that Tehran would face increasing international pressure if it refused to back down on its nuclear program. White House National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice warned that the Iranian government would be isolated if it fails to comply with measures to ensure full disclosure and transparency of its nuclear activities.

"Iran is going to be confronted," Rice told the US broadcaster Fox News. She said that a "very tough set of resolutions" demanding Iranian cooperation would be ready for consideration in September, when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) next meets to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

The warnings came two days after Iran said it had resumed building nuclear centrifuges, which the US says are intended to make weapons-grade enriched uranium for use in bombs.

No progress in Paris

Last week, diplomats from the European Union's "big three" -- Germany, France and Britain -- held talks in Paris with Iranian officials about the country's nuclear program, and stressed their wish to see a halt to Iran's work on the centrifuges. The talks produced "no substantial progress." Iran denies that it is seeking to build a nuclear bomb, and says the centrifuges are being used to meet increasing demand for electricity.

(SNIP)

European diplomats have kept quiet on how they intend to proceed. While there's little doubt that European negotiators were frustrated by the lack of progress at last week's talks, Europe has been committed to a process of engagement with Iran, which the EU says has been developing in a "positive direction."

According to reports in the Iranian media, European diplomats in Tehran said they will continue engagement and communication, though there was mention of a "cooling off period," referring to the pause in negotiations on a Trade and Cooperation Agreement between Brussels and Tehran.

4//The Daily Times, Pakistan Friday, August 06, 2004
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_6-8-2004_pg4_9

IRAN URGES AZERBAIJAN TO MOVE CLOSER

BAKU (AFP): Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, on his first official visit to Iran's pro-Western neighbour Azerbaijan Thursday, said the two Muslim countries had a historic obligation to move closer together.

Tehran is known to be unhappy about the Western orientation chosen by Azerbaijan, an oil-rich former Soviet republic on Iran's northern border, and is also uneasy about a growing US military presence in the country.

(SNIP)

Khatami added: "The Iran-Azerbaijan border is a border of peace and friendship. We consider the security of Azerbaijan as important as our own. Both leaders have a strong will to develop relations." According to analysts, Azerbaijan is caught in the middle of a tussle between Iran and the United States for influence in the strategically-important region around the Caspian Sea.

In recent months, the Pentagon has been ramping up its military assistance to Azerbaijan, which, like Iran, has a Caspian shoreline. The US military has run joint exercises with the Azeri navy in the Caspian.

Senior US defence officials say they now want to begin a training programme for Azeri troops and also use military facilities in Azerbaijan as bases for any future deployment of US forces in the region. Washington says its military presence is designed to help protect Azerbaijan's oil infrastructure.

The US is backing a major project to export Azeri oil from the Caspian Sea - home to some of the world's biggest untapped oil and gas reserves - to international markets. But Iran is suspicious of US motives, particularly after President George W. Bush described the country as part of an "axis of evil" following the September 11 attacks. "For Iran... the participation of the (United States) in the fate of the Caspian region is a very sensitive issue," said Rashad Rzaquliyev, an analyst in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku. For its part, Azerbaijan is pressing Iran for a solution to a long-running dispute over maritime borders in the Caspian Sea.

5//The Toronto Star, Canada August 5, 2004. 03:45 PM
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagenam...

CANADA-U.S. AMEND NORAD PACT
Critics say move means Canada on verge of agreeing to participate in U.S. missile defence system
Canadian Press

OTTAWA - The Canada-U.S. Norad agreement has been amended in a move critics says pushes Canada closer to participating in a controversial U.S. missile defence program.

But Defence Minister Bill Graham told a news conference today that the amendment doesn't commit Canada at all.

He said Ottawa had to agree to the change, which makes Norad the lookout for the U.S. system, or the 50-year-old agency would have become obsolete.

Without it, he said, the Americans would have built a second warning system, which could have marginalized Norad, the joint defence pact that has been a mainstay of continental defence for five decades.

"This decision . . . had to be made, it had to be made now or the United States would have commenced constructing that system and that eventually would have rendered Norad obsolete."

The amendment, set out today in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, lets Norad keep its missile warning function, but it will now make the data available to U.S. missile defence system commanders.

Graham said Norad must be preserved to maintain Canada's clout in continental defence. The agency, officially the North American Aerospace Defence Command, was originally formed to counter a potential Soviet bomber attack on North America, but it has also has watched the skies for hostile missiles for more than 30 years.

Alexa McDonough, foreign affairs critic for the NDP, said Canada is, "aiding and abetting Bush's weaponization of space with bogus arguments," about needing to preserve Norad functions.

"The Prime Minister throughout the election promised repeatedly that Canada would, under no circumstances, be a party to Bush's weaponization of space," she said in a release.

"The government's decision today takes us one step closer to full and official participation in Bush's Star Wars."

But Graham said the amendment is straightforward, without any hidden implications.

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