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

To: BigBull who wrote (65909)	1/14/2003 6:52:29 AM
From: Ilaine	Respond to of 281500

Jerusalem Post reporting that US troops stationed in Kuwait are being inoculated for smallpox. jpost.com

To: BigBull who wrote (65909)	1/14/2003 8:03:15 AM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

>>Saudi defense official denies state of alert in the armed forces Saudi Arabia-Iraq, Politics, 1/13/2003 The Saudi deputy minister of defense and aviation prince Khaled Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz has denied the existence of unfamiliar moves or a state of alert in the lines of the Saudi armed forces on the ground of an eminent war against Iraq. In a statement issued yesterday by the Saudi daily Okaz replying to information stated by an American news network that Saudi military units were positioned on the northern borders of Saudi borders with Kuwait and other units were ordered to station in "Hafer al-Batin," the Saudi official said that this information is groundless. He added that "the situation for our armed forces is very normal." Prince Khaled stressed that leaves for the Saudi armed forces army officers and soldiers were not canceled.<< arabicnews.com Now, if Bilow read this, he'd say, "see, the Saudis armed forces are not on a state of alert." When I read it, I say "why are they reporting this if there is no news?" Could be that the Saudi armed forces are actually on a state of alert, but they don't want to admit it. Could be that the Saudi armed forces are not on a state of alert but they want Saddam to think they are. But then, Saddam lives right next door to Saudi Arabia, he should be able to tell whether the Saudi armed forces are doing anything unusual. Thus, more likely than not that the Saudi armed forces are behaving unusually but are saying "nobody here but us chickens."

To: BigBull who wrote (65909)	1/14/2003 11:41:30 AM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

>>Saddam agrees to send top aide to discuss possible exile SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM Tuesday, January 14, 2003 CAIRO — Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has for the first time signaled openness to an Arab plan for his exile in an effort to prevent a U.S.-led war against Iraq. Arab diplomatic sources said Saddam has agreed to send a senior aide to discuss "personal issues." The sources said the aide could arrive in Cairo over the weekend for talks on a plan to organize asylum in a Middle East country. On Monday, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz said Saddam would never leave Iraq Saddam's envoy was identified as Ali Hassan Al Majid, a senior member of the Iraqi Revolutionary Council. Majid, known as "Chemical Ali," has been accused of ordering Iraqi chemical weapons attacks on Kurds in northern Iraq in the 1980s, Middle East Newsline reported. The sources said Saddam has not accepted the Arab plan, promoted by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. But they said the Iraqi president has agreed to explore the prospect that he, his family and aides would find safe haven in an Arab capital along with Western guarantees that he would not be prosecuted by any foreign government or international court. On Tuesday, the London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat reported that Saddam plans to send a message through Al Majid that the Iraqi president would not consider any plan for exile. The newspaper quoted an Iraqi official as saying that Al Majid's visit is meant to update Mubarak on the situation in Iraq and the activities of United Nations weapons inspectors. "Saddam Hussein will never leave his country, but will stay there until the last Iraqi shot is fired," Aziz told the London-based British Broadcasting Corp. "The danger will be greater for Iraq if the president leaves." But the sources said Saddam agreed that Al Majid would discuss what they termed "personal issues" with his Egyptian hosts. The sources said Al Majid, Saddam's cousin, was chosen over Iraq's prime minister or foreign minister. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who said any exile plan must be approved by the United States, is expected to meet Al Majid. Diplomatic sources said this will be the first high-level contact between Baghdad and Cairo since the visit by Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri to Egypt in November.<< worldtribune.com

To: BigBull who wrote (65909)	1/14/2003 12:00:53 PM
From: Ilaine	Respond to of 281500

Trash talk? >>U.S. Sending Huge Armadas to Persian Gulf <snip> The Navy also is prepared to put as many as six aircraft carriers within striking distance of Iraq. Two already are in position, two are prepared to sprint to the region and two are gearing up for possible deployment. <snip> The vessels pegged for movement with Marines from the West Coast are the amphibious assault ships USS Bonhomme Richard and USS Boxer; the USS Cleveland and USS Dubuque, amphibious transport dock ships that carry troops, vehicles and cargo; and three dock landing ships that carry troops and amphibious craft like air-cushioned troop transports — the USS Comstock, the USS Anchorage and the USS Pearl Harbor. All seven are based at San Diego. The Marines they will transport are based at Camp Pendleton, just north of that Southern California city. A separate deployment of Marines aboard Navy ships, led by the amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa, left San Diego on Jan. 6. That group, with about 2,200 Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, is on a regularly scheduled cruise. A similar-sized unit led by the USS Nassau and carrying Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit has been off the coast of Yemen for weeks. The Navy's other major forces within striking distance of Iraq are the battle groups of the carriers USS Constellation in the Persian Gulf and the USS Harry S. Truman in the Mediterranean Sea. The carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which was to have returned to its home port at Everett, Wash., this month, is being kept in the Western Pacific, currently at Perth, Australia, in case it is needed back in the Persian Gulf. Similarly, the USS George Washington, which returned home to Norfolk, Va., just before Christmas, has been told that it should be prepared to head back to sea on short notice. The carrier USS Carl Vinson left its home port at Bremerton, Wash., on Monday for a training exercise in the Pacific that could turn into a deployment for war. The Norfolk-based carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, which returned from its most recent deployment in March 2002, is speeding up its training cycle and could be ready to deploy if necessary by February.<< story.news.yahoo.com Anything coming out of the west coast could just as easily be headed elsewhere than Iraq, although I suppose the dead giveaway is the pattern of the camo.