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

To: maceng2 who wrote (38375)	8/17/2002 10:21:03 PM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Huge trade deal draws Russia to Iraq Iraq says Russia has "full priority" in the oil sector Russia and Iraq are planning to sign an economic co-operation deal worth up to $60bn, senior Iraqi diplomats say. The Iraqi ambassador in Moscow, Abbas Khalaf, said the deal would probably be signed within the next couple of weeks. It will include new projects as well as the modernisation of Soviet-built infrastructure in Iraq, but will not violate United Nations trade sanctions against Baghdad, he said. Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said the deal was designed for the next 10 years and included 67 contracts in the areas of oil and gas extraction, transport and communications. Warning to West In a message to the UN concerning inspections of Iraqi facilities, Mr Sabri was at pains to applaud ''Russia's great role in a settlement around Iraq and the traditional friendly nature of relations between the two countries". Foreign Minister Naji Sabri praised Russia's "great role" in Iraqi affairs He added: ''We have given full priority to Russian companies in Iraqi oil trading on the world market.'' Soviet or Russian specialists built much of the infrastructure in Iraq, so Baghdad wants Russian expertise to help repair or upgrade it. A BBC correspondent in Moscow, Steve Rosenberg, says news of the deal was a warning to the West that Russia would be unlikely to support any US military operation against Iraq that would threaten its own economic interests. Mr Khalaf said: ''What we need from Moscow is moral, political and diplomatic support because Iraq has shown the whole world that it can defend itself. "America's aggressive statements against Iraq aroused a negative reaction in Russia.'' Moscow also continues to have close ties with the two other nations named by US President George W Bush as part of an ''axis of evil'' along with Iraq. It recently announced plans for increased nuclear co-operation with Iran, while the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, is to visit Russia later this month news.bbc.co.uk

To: maceng2 who wrote (38375)	8/17/2002 11:16:16 PM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

These are very sad stories. These guys saved our butts and deserve all the help they need if required... (edit.. sorry if this is a re post. story dated July 28...just I never saw it before) Alarm at Afghan war stress as three soldiers kill their wives 28-07-2002 By Tony Allen-Mills London, The Sunday Times: AN ERUPTION of domestic violence at one of America’s biggest military bases has forced commanders to examine possible connections to the stress of wartime service. Three soldiers who fought with US special forces in Afghanistan have allegedly murdered their wives in the past six weeks at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. A fourth soldier who was not involved in the war allegedly murdered his wife at the same base earlier this month. The killings have baffled Pentagon officials, who say thousands of soldiers have returned from Afghanistan to other bases without incident. It was also reported yesterday that Major David Shannon, an officer attached to the army special operations command at Fort Bragg, was shot and killed last week as he slept in bed at his home in nearby Fayetteville. News of the murders emerged as five American soldiers were wounded and two Afghan militia members were killed during a four-hour gun battle yesterday after they were ambushed on a reconnaissance mission in southeastern Afghanistan. The Americans’ injuries were not life-threatening. As the headquarters of both the US army’s special forces and the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg has been heavily involved in the Afghan campaign. Troops returning from combat zones are routinely provided with family counselling and redeployment training. The first sign of a problem came on June 10 when Sergeant Rigoberto Nieves shot his wife Theresa and then committed suicide in their Fayetteville bedroom two days after he returned from Afghanistan. Nieves had earlier asked to be sent home to resolve personal problems. On June 29 Master Sergeant William Wright is alleged to have strangled his wife Jennifer. Wright reported her missing two days later and eventually led police to her body, buried in a shallow field near the base. On July 9 Sergeant Cedric Ramon Griffin allegedly stabbed his estranged wife Marilyn 50 times and then set fire to her house. Griffin was in an engineering battalion that had not left Fort Bragg. Ten days later Sergeant Brandon Floyd shot his wife Andrea and then killed himself at the family home. Relatives identified Floyd as a member of the elite Delta Force, the US equivalent of the SAS. He returned from Afghanistan last January. Commanders are expected to conduct a review of the cases to see if any lessons can be learnt, but some relatives of the murdered wives are already convinced that the stress of special forces operations in Afghanistan helped to provoke the killings. Penny Flitcraft, the mother of Andrea Floyd, said of her son-in-law: “I truly in my heart believe that his training was such that if you can’t control it, you kill it.” muslimnews.co.uk