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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Joe NYC who wrote (164975)	3/19/2003 7:59:56 PM
From: d[-_-]b	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1573093

Jozef, re:Considering the total mess the diplomats have made, any change may be for the better. No shit! I hope the world sees our "role as undisputed world hegemon" as benign or at the minimum wants to join us. I'm not too concerned about the Middle East dictators feelings - it's the democracies that concern me (like our allies).

To: Joe NYC who wrote (164975)	3/19/2003 8:07:25 PM
From: Joe NYC	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1573093

Excited Kuwaitis Weigh Dangers, Opportunities Reuters Wednesday, March 19, 2003; 6:29 PM By Mohammed AbdulSalam KUWAIT (Reuters) - Iraqi soldiers are surrendering, the stock market is soaring and the emir has advised Kuwaitis to be cautious but stay calm. With war about to break out on their borders, Kuwaitis are facing the future in a comparatively upbeat mood, excited and nervous by turns at the prospect of the man who ordered Iraq's 1990 invasion of their country being driven from power. On Wednesday, the wealthy voted with their wallets in favor of a U.S.-led war on Iraq by going on a buying spree on the stock exchange, sending the index to a fresh five-year high on the prospect of trade with a "free" Iraq. "Business is good and it is about to become even better," said Abdulaziz Sultan al-Issa, a prominent businessman. "Companies are doing well. Some have already signed contracts for Iraq business after the war." Kuwaitis say a cloud of gloom that has enveloped the country since Iraq's occupation will start to lift if and when they hear news that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has been toppled by an invasion by U.S.-led troops advancing from Kuwait. The United States and Britain have massed a total of some 280,000 troops around Iraq. President Bush has given Iraqi President Saddam Hussein until 0100 GMT on Thursday to leave the country or face war. "Despite our anxieties for the future this is, nevertheless, a time of hope as we along with millions of people around the world wait to see the fall of a tyrant," museum curator Hussah Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah said in a newsletter to friends overseas. "Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 and for us the traumas of those dark days are not easily forgotten." EMIR CALLS FOR CALM The emir, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah, whose brother was shot and killed by Iraqi troops on invasion day on August 2, 1990, called for calm and spoke of his bitterness at the seven- month occupation of his country, which owns of 10 percent of the world's oil reserves. "Our nation was stolen from us for seven months and the thief was an Arab brother and a Muslim neighbor," he said. "At this time of danger for our nation and the whole region, I am speaking to you with the bitterness of what happened in the past still blocking my throat. "You should be cautious but not worried because Kuwait now is not Kuwait in 1990," he said, in an apparent reference to his belief that Kuwait is better defended than it was a decade ago. As rumors swept the country about the build-up to war, one story swapped by Kuwaitis on their mobile phones turned out to be true -- the tale of 17 Iraqi soldiers who gave themselves up to U.S.-led forces in northern Kuwait. President Bush, who gave Saddam and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq on Monday night, is expected to unleash a blitz of 3,000 bombs and missiles in an opening salvo of war if Saddam stays put. Western expatriates have been leaving in a steady stream over the past two months. But on the brink of war a mood of stoicism has taken hold, at least among the British. The British Foreign Office chartered a plane capable of carrying 300 people that flew out to Birmingham in the United Kingdom. It took off almost empty. "We're all at work as normal," said British expatriate Rosemary Lloyd. "Quite a few Brits have gone that we know but equally there are quite a few staying. This idea of everyone fleeing is nonsense. I don't know any Kuwaitis who have left in my immediate circle." But less affluent Arab and Asian expatriates were more keen to leave. Foreign guest workers crowded onto planes taking them to safety elsewhere in the Gulf or back home to Egypt, India and points further east. Two Thai nationals admitted they were scared and wanted to go. They were among several hundred visibly worried passengers in a jostling crowd trying to secure seats. Alex Miraflores, a Filipino working in a shop, said people had been panic buying materials to make their houses safe in the event of a chemical or biological weapon attack. "A lot of people came to buy things like duct tape every day. I've already sold 10 boxes of duct tape, candles, water. They are panic buying. It started three days ago. Of course they are scared. Everyone I am asking says they are scared." washingtonpost.com