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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Night Trader who wrote (4685)	10/12/2001 11:52:24 PM
From: CIMA	Respond to of 281500

Iraq: Hussein's Son Takes Over Foreign Policy October 12, 2001 Summary As the world's eyes turned toward Afghanistan and a U.S.-led war on terror, Iraq's foreign ministry was upended and reshuffled. It now appears that Qusai Hussein, Saddam's second son and likely successor, has taken actual control of the ministry -- laying the groundwork for the United States eventually to normalize relations with Iraq. Analysis Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri al-Hadithi called on Muslim foreign ministers gathering in Qatar Oct. 9 to condemn U.S. strikes on Afghanistan, saying the United States could also target Iraq to settle old scores. Al-Hadithi was speaking before an emergency meeting of the 56-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference. Most Iraq-watchers saw al-Hadithi as a chair-warmer when he was appointed foreign minister six months ago. But in recent days, he has overseen the largest reshuffle in the Iraqi Foreign Ministry since the 1991 Persian Gulf War. It now appears that Qusai Hussein, President Saddam Hussein's heir apparent, has control of the ministry, with his loyalist al-Hadithi officially at the helm. Qusai's move into foreign policy won't make headlines, but it will be noted by state departments and foreign ministries from Washington to Tokyo. Qusai is as ruthless as his father but maintains a lower profile. More important, the United States and its allies have not demonized him. His ascendancy is an essential step for the eventual normalization of relations between Washington and Baghdad. It is impossible to say at this point when Washington, focused on its new war against terrorism, will re-examine diplomatic priorities such as the standoff with Iraq. But lowering tensions with the Middle East nation -- whether in six months or six years -- could allow the United States to shed a diplomatic albatross that has hindered its relations with Muslim countries for a decade. Related Analysis: Military Brass Behind Musharraf Musharraf's Ban May Split Pakistan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: this is an abbreviated version of a full-length STRATFOR report previously seen by our Members. To access STRATFOR's complete range of in-depth, objective intelligence and analysis on the globe, including our award-winning daily full text and graphics reports, click here and become a Member today!

To: Night Trader who wrote (4685)	10/12/2001 11:57:19 PM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 281500

In absolute numbers the Russian losses in WWII were mind-numbing. Not just deaths, but everything imaginable, rape, robbery, enslavement - or should I say unimaginable? I've only got a little glimpse of it - it's hard to get at in the US. Took a class about the Nazis this summer, and became curious because I saw names of death camps on maps that I had never heard of. And the way the Russian soldiers were treated - I can't find the reference book I was looking for, so just by memory out of 3 million POWs inside Russia, less than a million survived. During WWII, 14.5 million Ukranians died as a result of the conflict. 27 million Soviets total. After the Iron Curtain came down, there was no cooperation between historians and archivists in the East and the West. Actually the Jews had a pretty hard time getting people to realize what they suffered. No one in the West spoke for the Poles and the Russians. No one in the East spoke for the Jews, they wanted to talk about the deaths of the Communists and the Socialists (Hitler's first victims). People developed little fiefdoms, as intellectuals are wont to do. The Holocaust Museum in DC is pretty much about the Jews. I don't want to diminish in any way the suffering of the Jews in WWII - no one suffered as much as they did. I don't want to whitewash Stalin, either. Just pointing out, as you are, that the suffering of the ordinary Russians in WWII was beyond belief, but we never learn about it. Six million Jews was most of the Jews in Europe, except for the ones who escaped. Almost no Jews left in Poland, out of 3 million. But how to compare that to 27 million Soviets? Why get into a measuring contest? Horrible is horrible. Still, percentage wise, the Poles had it worse than the Soviets, I think. 6 million dead out of 20 million, half of them Christian, half Jewish. Maybe 50% of intellectuals were killed, doctors, lawyers, college professors, journalists, on the basis of their status as intellectuals. Many, many Catholic priests. My faulty recollection is that 75% of Polish officers died. Wish I knew what I did with that book.