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Politics : Israel to U.S. : Now Deal with Syria and Iran -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Edscharp who wrote (801)	5/8/2003 1:01:33 PM
From: Machaon	Respond to of 22250

<font color=blue> You wrote:"Not all of Hussein's people were toadies and sychophants. He had a number of clever Iraqis who were very clever and took great care to hide the WMD program from detection BECAUSE they knew they had to hide them from the inspectors."<font color=black> I worry about the WMD getting into the wrong hands. America is in a race against the clock to locate those dangerous weapons. Every day that goes by is another day that America could be targeted by an Iraqi WMD. The worst case scenario is that we won't be able to get our hands on them, which means someone else has them.

To: Edscharp who wrote (801)	5/8/2003 2:01:02 PM
From: Jim (Hijacked)	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 22250

"I can't help it if you and some of the other gibbering anti-American demogogues are impatient." If a president, any president, Rep or Dem decides to shove it up your arse and you refuse does that make you an anti-American demagogue?

To: Edscharp who wrote (801)	5/9/2003 9:15:06 AM
From: Ed Huang	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22250

For WMDs or Israel(supported by US government) domination and oil? Even many Iraq war supporters don't bother to mention or believe WMDs propaganda any more. The true intention of Israel/US government for the war is gradually surfacing. Now, Bush administration ask for control of the Iraq's oil revenues for AT LEAST a year. ----------------------------- US to Ask Approval to Control Iraq's Oil Industry Fri May 9, 2003 07:59 AM ET By Evelyn Leopold UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States and Britain face Security Council members on Friday on their resolution that would end 12 years of U.N. sanctions against Iraq and give them control of the country's oil revenues for at least a year. The tough resolution, to be formally introduced, in effect relegates the United Nations and other international institutions to an advisory role. It would phase out over four months the existing U.N. oil-for-food humanitarian program. The United States and Britain, which sponsored the U.S.-drafted measure along with Spain, want a vote by June 3, when the oil-for-food program, which gives the United Nations control over the oil revenues, needs to be renewed. Without an adopted resolution, no Iraqi, U.S. or U.N. entity in Baghdad has the legal authority to export oil. The Bush administration is counting on approval from Russia, France, China and Germany, who had the strongest anti-war position in the 15-member council, with officials saying there was little enthusiasm for another bruising fight. Nevertheless, the text, which two senior council diplomats called 'hard' and 'in your face,' will probably face amendments from France and Russia, who have favored suspending the sanctions but leaving some control with the United Nations until an Iraqi government is established. And nearly every council member, including Britain, had wanted to send U.N. weapons inspectors back to Iraq, as called for as in at least 16 resolutions as a condition for lifting the sanctions, imposed when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990. But the draft resolution ignores any such requirement. The U.S. proposal, endorsed by Britain and Spain, would deposit Iraqi oil revenues in an 'Iraqi Assistance Fund' for humanitarian and reconstruction purposes, to be held by the Iraqi Central Bank, currently managed by Peter McPherson, a former deputy U.S. Treasury secretary. The fund would have an advisory board that would include officials appointed by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan as well as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and others. This group would audit expenditures. IRAQI ASSISTANCE FUND But decisions on where to spend the money would be made mainly by the United States and Britain, with perhaps some input from other allies, like Australia, who sent some troops to the effort to oust President Saddam Hussein's government. They would make those decisions in consultation with an Iraqi interim authority Washington is now setting up until a new government is formed, which could take years. The money in the Iraqi Assistance Fund, which would be used 'for the benefit of the Iraqi people' would remain there until 'such time as a new Iraqi government is properly constituted and capable of discharging its responsibilities.' The draft resolution also asks Annan to appoint a 'special coordinator' to supervise U.N. humanitarian assistance and 'reconstruction activities in Iraq.' Those may include establishing governing institutions, promoting human rights and legal reforms and building an Iraqi police force. The resolution would phase out the U.N. oil-for-food humanitarian program over four months but honor 'priority civilian goods' in contracts already approved. This would probably include the $1.6 billion in Russian contracts currently in the pipeline. The program was designed to ease the impact of sanctions imposed in August 1990. It allowed Iraq to sell oil to purchase food, medicine and other civilian goods under U.N. supervision. Oil money goes into a U.N. escrow account to pay suppliers. The oil-for-food fund has $13 billion in outstanding contracts for food, medicine and other civilian goods ordered by the ousted Iraqi government. The document asks all countries to watch out for, return and prohibit trade of Iraq's cultural properties looted from Iraq's National Museum and National Library last month. reuters.com