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

To: NickSE who wrote (68258)	1/24/2003 1:24:52 AM
From: NickSE	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Baghdad embassies closing in weeks All foreign diplomats expected to leave by Feb. 15 worldnetdaily.com Most foreign diplomatic officials are planning to clear out of Baghdad and close down embassies and consulates by Feb. 15, a senior Indian official tells Dubai's Gulf News. The paper quoted the official as saying "the decision has been taken by the diplomats, keeping in mind the safety and security of the diplomatic staff and their families," after receiving mixed signals on when the war is likely to start. "Safety is their overriding concern," he added. "They do not expect anything to happen until the annual Haj pilgrimage is over," he said. The official, who was in Baghdad earlier this week, said diplomats in the Iraqi capital believed that with the U.S. bombing of Iraq likely to begin by Feb. 15, it would be best for the missions to close. He said there had been a similar exodus of the diplomatic corps from Baghdad in the wake of the allied attack on Iraq in January 1991. He also said that the residents of Baghdad had been given strict instructions by government officials that in the event of an attack they must all stay indoors. "They have been told that when the bombing begins, they must not venture outside, and that their food and provisions will be delivered to them,'' the Indian source told the Gulf News. In addition, the people of Baghdad have been warned that unlike the last time around when allied forces stopped at Safwan, U.S. soldiers are likely to enter the city, according to the report. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Russia's armed forces have obtained information that the United States and its allies have already decided to launch military action in Iraq from mid-February. The news agency Interfax's specialist military news wire AVN, quoting an unnamed high-ranking source in the Russian general staff, said U.S.-led operations would be launched once an attacking force of 150,000 had been assembled in the Gulf.