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To: stockman_scott who wrote (154049)	3/9/2003 9:56:19 AM
From: Alomex	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

Retired Gen. Anthony Zinni made the same point before a congressional hearing. His nightmare was the prospect of seeing, on a split TV screen, Israelis killing Arabs on the West Bank and Americans killing Arabs in Iraq. He suggested it might stimulate enlistments in al-Qaida. This is what worries me the most. We are going to Iraq to avenge Dubya's father and in the process the cowboy we have in the oval office will jump start Al-Qaeda biggest recruiting drive...

To: stockman_scott who wrote (154049)	3/9/2003 7:33:46 PM
From: Victor Lazlo	Respond to of 164684

Kuwaitis eager for Saddam ouster: Expect business to boom by Jules Crittenden Sunday, March 9, 2003 KUWAIT CITY - The removal of Saddam Hussein's regime could end a threat that has hampered business in the Persian Gulf for more than a decade, and could lead to an explosion of development and a return of economic ``normality'' in the region, Kuwaiti leaders and businessmen say. ``It used to be, during the annual Hajj season, Iraqis would come down and clean out the market,'' said Ahmed Ibrahim al-Faris, a jeweler and gold merchant in the downtown Kuwait City's Mubarakiya Souk. After the pending war, with the expected normalization of relations between Kuwait and Iraq, he said, ``Imagine when they come into the market. Gold, clothes, shoes.'' Lawyer Basim al-Muthaffar, having evening tea with al-Faris, said, ``We have many development projects we cannot do, because we don't know what will happen tomorrow. If Saddam Hussein goes, the whole region will benefit.'' The message was emphasized recently by former Kuwaiti Planning Minister Ali al-Musa in an address to the Kuwaiti Press Club. ``As a Kuwaiti citizen, far from our official roles, I do not look for war in Iraq or any place,'' al-Musa said through a translator. ``But we look forward to the moment when the Iraqi regime is gone, removing the threat to us and the entire region.'' In the three decades of Saddam's brutal rule, al-Musa said, ``There have been millions of victims and big destruction. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been drained from the people. Many years of development have been wasted. The demands of development in the region cannot be fulfilled if the regime remains a threat.'' Al-Musa said ever since the first Gulf War, Kuwait has had a poor investor rating that has kept local businessmen from tapping into international investment dollars. In addition to improving that rating, he said, Kuwaitis expect to play a role in the redevelopment of Iraq both privately and as a nation. That might include having to forgive some of the more than $70 billion that Iraq owes Kuwait in compensation for the damage of the 1990 invasion. The Kuwaiti government is beginning to develop plans for Iraq's reconstruction after more than a decade of sanctions and war, but al-Musa declined to discuss details. ``What we want to know is whether Iraq will retain a form of socialism or state capitalism, or if the private sector will be allowed to develop,'' al-Musa said. ``The development of the private sector in Iraq and any country is a foundation of the democratic system. Building a democratic system is critical to the stability and future of Iraq. It is in our interest that the reconstruction of Iraq should go as fast as possible.'' But al-Musa said he expects it will take at least 10 years before Iraq can erase the economic damage of two decades of war and sanctions. In the souk, sharing an evening cup of tea with gold merchant al-Faris, lawyer Basim al-Muthaffar said whatever the war brings, for the Kuwaiti economy, ``it can't be worse than the last 10 years.'' While oil wealth has helped maintain the overall standard of living, he said both large-scale developers and small business owners have suffered from a general slowdown. Now, real estate prices are rising along the road through the desert to the southern Iraqi port city of Basra, and Kuwaitis who own property in Iraqi are dusting off old deeds. ``We used to have good trading relations with Iraq,'' al-Muthaffar said. But al-Faris said as Kuwait and the world wait to see what a war will bring, there are only questions. ``The regime afterward, who are they, what is their plan?'' al-Faris said. ``Iraq has always been in turmoil. No ruler has ever ruled Iraq without fire. Iraq has always been like that. What's going to happen? We don't know.''