Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : WAR on Terror. Will it engulf the Entire Middle East? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scoobah who wrote (1358)	12/28/2001 10:18:41 AM
From: Scoobah	Respond to of 32591

U.S. Pushes Limits of Cooperation in Middle East 2100 GMT, 011226 Summary The U.S. Navy intercepted an Iranian oil tanker Dec. 19, using explosives to open a door on the vessel. Washington may have also been searching for al Qaeda fighters fleeing Afghanistan. The United States has shifted its focus in the war against terrorism from Afghanistan to the Middle East, where it must rely upon local governments to prevent al Qaeda from regrouping. Washington will now step up demands for cooperation as well as intimidation tactics, further damaging already strained relations with Middle Eastern countries. Analysis U.S. Navy officials forcibly boarded an Iranian tanker flying the flag of Belize on Dec. 19, using explosives to open a door after the crew refused to cooperate. Swiss Ambassador to Iran Tim Guldimann, who represents U.S. interests in Tehran, claimed the Navy had mistaken the vessel for a tanker smuggling illegal Iraqi crude, though it proved to be carrying Saudi crude from the port of Jibeir to the Abadan refinery in southern Iran. The aggressive tactics used in boarding the Iranian ship are not unusual for the United States, but they are indicative of heightened tension in the Persian Gulf. U.S. forces on the lookout for al Qaeda fighters fleeing Afghanistan have raised their alert level throughout the region and are now turning to regional governments to act as proxies in the war against terrorism. The interdiction of the oil tanker is the first of what will likely be a series of incidents that will aggravate U.S. relations with Middle Eastern governments. Washington is now employing a two-pronged strategy to secure anti-terrorism cooperation from these governments: It is intimidating foes and pressuring allies to step up their own counter-terrorism efforts. But local political and military realities -- as well as growing anti-American sentiments -- will limit what Middle Eastern regimes can do to help capture al Qaeda fighters. In Saudi Arabia, for instance, the government recently arrested hundreds of rioters in the port city of Jeddah. Domestic political concerns, however, would prevent Riyadh from extraditing suspected al Qaeda members or even allowing U.S. intelligence to question them.