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Politics : WAR on Terror. Will it engulf the Entire Middle East? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: rrufff who wrote (6588)	10/27/2003 7:39:51 PM
From: Scoobah	Respond to of 32591

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report: Secret plans drawn up at NATO HQ in Brussels to consign “Middle East Peace Force” to Iraq on Afghan model that will also prepare ground for international peacekeeping force to separate Israeli and Palestinian combatants.

To: rrufff who wrote (6588)	10/27/2003 7:40:26 PM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32591

Oct. 27, 2003 - Palestinians demand missing PA money By KHALED ABU TOAMEH "Where are the millions?" is the name of a popular Arab song in which Lebanese singer Julia Botrus denounces the failure of the Arab world to go to war against Israel. The song is played repeatedly on Palestinian Authority radio and TV as a cry of despair aimed at mobilizing the Arab masses on the side of the Palestinians in their fight against Israel. In recent weeks, amid reports that PA Chairman Yasser Arafat is in poor health, many Palestinians are also beginning to ask the same question, but in a different context: They are demanding to know what has happened to hundreds of millions of dollars belonging to the Palestinian people. Some Palestinians believe they already know where the money is: in secret bank accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere. A group of Palestinian legislators, who form the Democratic Bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council, is demanding an investigation into the whereabouts of the huge amounts of money. Hassan Khraisheh, one of nine members of the Democratic Bloc, said he and his colleagues believe that Arafat's adviser on economic affairs, Muhammad Rashid (also known as Khaled Salam), is holding at least $200 million in a secret bank account. Rashid is now living in Cairo after he reportedly fell out with Arafat. According to Khraisheh, only Rashid, who is chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund, and Arafat know where the money is deposited. A delegation from the fund visited Egypt lately in an attempt to find out what happened to the money. "Rashid refused to cooperate in revealing where the money is," Khraisheh said. "He also refused to meet with the PLO ambassador in Egypt to talk about the issue." "This is money that belongs to the Palestinian people," Khraisheh added. "It could have been invested in establishing a social welfare system instead of shady deals. The Americans and the Egyptians are protecting [Rashid], and Arafat provides him with cover. We're talking about tens of millions of dollars. How is it that one person can control such huge sums? When we asked Arafat about it, he said, 'Muhammad Rashid is my man. He is my financial adviser.' This is Arafat's method. The source of Arafat's power is money." According to a report released last September by the International Monetary Fund, $591m. in tax revenue and an additional $300m. in profits from commercial investments were "diverted away from the budget." In other words, PA officials stole the money. The report said petroleum duties paid via Israeli customs were not reaching the PA Finance Ministry. Instead, they were being deposited in a private account controlled by Arafat and Rashid in an Israeli bank in Tel Aviv. In addition to numerous commercial investments, the IMF discovered that millions of dollars in fees and profits derived from cement, gasoline, and other lucrative monopolies controlled by senior PA officials were also being channeled into "off-budget activities." "We are trying to find out where all the money went, especially the money that was taken from the monopolies," said Khraisheh. "Senior officials control many monopolies and deposit the money in secret bank accounts abroad. We have also discovered that the Palestinian Authority has a secret bank account in Switzerland. That's where they deposit tax revenues from the workers paid by Israel." Khraisheh said Arafat and Rashid have exclusive control over the Swiss bank accounts. Last week, representatives of the international donors met in Ramallah with PA officials to discuss the PA's financial needs. The meeting comes ahead of the donors' conference in Italy next month, where the PA is expected to ask for hundreds of millions of dollars to cover its deficit. "The Palestinian Authority is going to ask for urgent aid for its general budget, which is suffering from a large deficit," said Imad Sha'ath, director-general of the PA Ministry of International Cooperation. "In addition, the Palestinian Authority will ask the donors to present vital projects to create jobs for thousands of unemployed laborers," said Sha'ath. PA Finance Minister Salaam Fayad is expected to tell the donors that he has succeeded in implementing major reforms in the PA. But Kharaisheh and his colleagues argue that as long as hundreds of millions of dollars remain unaccounted for, there can be no talk about real reforms. "They are talking about reforms, but nothing has changed," Kharisheh said. "I understand that Rashid and Arafat are now not talking to each other, and Rashid is refusing to return the money."

To: rrufff who wrote (6588)	10/27/2003 8:03:21 PM
From: Dennis O'Bell	Respond to of 32591

Am I wrong in thinking that these people celebrate their most holy of days by killing ? During the worst of the Algerian civil war from 1995-1999 when I lived in France and followed it since it was in the news there so frequently, it was generally the case that Ramadan was accompanied by the worst of the terrorist attacks. Along of course with calls for laying off in the hunt for the perpetrators because it was a religious holiday !! I think it's just base opportunism on the part of the terrorists rather than any "religious" celebration of killing. The holidays are times when people gather and it's more bang for the buck to kill en mass is all. What I'm saying is don't take any of this religious bullshit too seriously from these criminals. They are looking for personal glory and power over others among the living above all else. If some impressionable idiots believe the lies enough to sacrifice themselves, that's fine by them - the planner's family members are never put at risk. Sort of their version of "Uncle Sam Needs You".