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Politics : Clinton -- doomed & wagging, Japan collapses, Y2K bug, etc -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

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To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 9:18:00 AM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   BBC - London - 10/02/98 Unscom surveillance aircraft - information has been exchanged with Israel Iraq has accused the United Nations Special Commission for weapons inspection (Unscom) of working with the intelligence services of its enemies. In a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz called for an investigation of the commission's work. The Iraqi complaint followed remarks by former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter, who on Tuesday told an Israeli newspaper that UN inspectors had received help from Israeli intelligence. "These statements show... that Unscom, which works in the name of the UN Security Council and the United Nations... is firmly connected with the intelligence agencies of states that pursue anti-Iraq policies," the letter said. The chief UN weapons inspector, Richard Butler has also confirmed that his teams have been exchanging information with Israel on Iraq's weapons programme. "We have had such cooperative relations with 50 member states, that is almost one third of UN membership. Israel is one of them," Mr Butler said at a news conference in New York, but he would not go into more detail of that co-operation "to respect confidentiality." But Mr Butler also said that Mr Ritter, who resigned from the inspection team in August saying that western leaders did not want to push the weapons issue, in some cases was telling "not quite the correct story". In particular, Mr Butler denied Mr Ritter's claim that Iraq has the components to make nuclear weapons. "Does anyone in this room honestly think that if we had information that Iraq had three partly fabricated nuclear weapons, that we would not have called that to the attention of the International Atomic Energy Agency or put it on the table of the Security Council?" Mr Butler asked. "Have you seen us do that? No." Baghdad's co-operation in further doubt A BBC US correspondent, Janes Hughes says that Mr Ritter's revelations have given Iraq new ammunition with which to criticise what it considers the bias of the weapons inspection teams. "These facts... confirm our complaint and anxiety that the real objective of this body is not to follow up the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions, but to deliberately act to maintain the embargo against Iraq and to spy against it," Mr Aziz wrote in his letter to the UN. Dismantling Baghdad's weapons of mass destruction is a pre-condition for the lifting or easing of stringent trade sanctions imposed in August 1990, when Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait. Iraq halted regular inspections in August, permitting only the Unscom monitoring system to function and thereby stopping new inspections. The UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan has met Mr Aziz earlier this week, and said he believed he was persuading Baghdad to resume co-operation with the UN, but correspondents say the latest developments are likely to harden Iraq's position. The cabinet in Baghdad has just ordered the resumption of a large-scale military training exercise, in which more than 1,000,000 civilians are learning to use light weapons. The training exercise started earlier this year, at the hight of a crisis with the UN over the weapons inspection. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has also instructed that Iraqi airports, out of use since the international embargo was imposed, should be repaired and their buildings refurbished as soon as possible.

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 9:19:00 AM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   The Telegraph - London - 10/02/98 By Hugo Gurdon in Washington A MULTI-million-signature petition demanding President Clinton's resignation is to be delivered to Washington on convoys of lorries organised by the former presidential candidate Ross Perot. Mr Perot, the Reform Party founder who won 19 per cent of the vote in the 1992 election, announced on Wednesday night that he was putting his formidable organisational skills into an effort to oust "a President that cannot tell the truth." Saying that "this man cannot be in that office", the pugnacious Texan billionaire said he intended marshalling "the largest petition drive from the grass roots of America in history". He said his activists would collect locally organised petitions. "Then we're going to start a truck convoy on the West Coast, have another one coming out of Texas, another coming out of Florida, and probably a number of other locations. "And the truck convoy will get longer and longer, and as it approaches Washington it's going to be a big one. We will have a dignified turning-in ceremony and a candlelight vigil in Washington to get the message over that we expect a whole lot more from our President than this man has given us." Mr Clinton has said he will never resign and the White House gave Mr Perot's statement scant attention yesterday, but the President's allies scent danger. James Carville, the "Ragin' Cajun" and a leading architect of Mr Clinton's 1992 election victory, described Mr Perot as "half a quart low". The Texan populist disinterred the subject of Mr Clinton's drug use. The President has admitted trying cannabis in his youth, but more recent witnesses have alleged frequent use of hard drugs such as cocaine while he was governor of Arkansas, and Mr Perot suggested this as an explanation of the President's recklessness. Mr Perot said: "Here is a man who should set the highest example, who is totally out of control, who is mentally unstable. Either he's got mental troubles, or he does something like take drugs to spin him out from time to time." Hugh Davies in Washington writes: A New York millionaire, Abe Hirschfeld, 78, offered yesterday to pay the $1 million (£600,000) that Paula Jones wants to settle her sexual harassment lawsuit against Mr Clinton. Mike McCurry, 43, left his post as White House Press Secretary yesterday. One of the few wits in the administration, he once explained that his job was to tell the truth, "but tell it slowly". He is succeeded by Joseph Lockhart, 39, a former Sky Television News reporter.

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 9:20:00 AM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   Washington Times - 09/30/98 By Martin Sieff Yasser Arafat said after meeting with President Clinton yesterday that he had accepted a proposal under which Israel would turn over another 13 percent of the West Bank to his Palestinian Authority. That means the two sides may be able to sign an interim agreement next month that would clear the way for final-status talks to begin. Under the terms of the Oslo peace accords, "permanent status" negotiations must be completed by May 4. The talks would cover such questions as an independent Palestinian state and the prickly issue of Jerusalem, which both Israel and the Palestinians want as their capital. Mr. Arafat said yesterday after his talks with Mr. Clinton that he would yield to the Israeli demand that 3 percent of the territory handed over to the Palestinians be designated as a nature reserve, from which construction would be forbidden. "We have accepted it," Mr. Arafat said. But he insisted that the Palestinians share responsibility for security in the nature preserve, which would be located in the Judean desert southeast of Jerusalem. Now that Israel has agreed to give up 13 percent of the West Bank on top of 27 percent promised in -- Continued from Front Page -- past accords, the focus of U.S. mediation shifts to whether Mr. Arafat would provide the kind of security concerns to seal a deal with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. At a three-way meeting Monday, Mr. Clinton asked Mr. Arafat and Mr. Netanyahu to return to Washington in mid-October to complete the West Bank agreement. White House spokesman Michael McCurry said "the president is determined to see an agreement arise" from his series of talks and mediation leading up the mid-October summit. Mr. Arafat said he hoped there could be a signing by then. "Peace is a Palestinian need, Israeli need, Arab need, international need," he said. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat quoted Mr. Arafat as saying he "will make every possible effort" to meet that deadline. Mr. McCurry said the president was prepared to take a hands-on role in the mid-October summit. "I think the president is determined to see an agreement arise from this exercise," he told reporters. He said Mr. Clinton would be "directly involved in some way, shape or form" at the summit, but played down the idea that the gathering would be similar to the marathon sessions led by President Carter at Camp David in Maryland in 1978. At yesterday's meeting, Mr. Arafat talked alone with Mr. Clinton for 20 minutes and met with the president together with senior aides, including Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and National Security Adviser Samuel R. Berger, for 40 minutes, said a White House official. The meeting appeared to end on a very warm note, as the president saw Mr. Arafat to the White House driveway and shook hands with him several times for the benefit of photographers. Mr. Netanyahu told reporters Monday that he thought the interim agreement could be signed within a month, following more than eight months of deadlock. But he said the two sides had not yet agreed on the precise areas to be vacated and to be defined as a nature reserve. When asked if a mutually agreed-upon map of these areas had been drawn up, he replied, "No." The Israelis have insisted that the 3 percent be consolidated in a single area in the uninhabited Judean desert. The Palestinians have in the past rejected this and insisted that the nature reserve area be scattered in different parts of the West Bank. The subject appears arcane but is vital because the hilly desert region controls the approaches to Israel from the Jordan Valley and would be crucial to block any land invasion from the east. U.S. diplomats said now the focus in the negotiations would return to the issues of Palestinian compliance with the 1993 and 1995 Oslo accords. Israel has complained that Mr. Arafat has more than twice as many men under arms as he agreed to in the accords; that they are being trained to function as an army and not a police force; that the Palestinian Authority has refused to extradite any terror-murder suspects back to Israel; and that it has made no serious move to repeal the clauses in the 1964 Palestine National Charter calling for the destruction of Israel. In an industrial area of the West Bank yesterday, a car rigged with explosives blew up, killing a member of Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, which has waged a car-bomb campaign slaughtering scores of Israeli civilians. Palestinian police said they were investigating the possibility that the car was being readied for a suicide attack in Israel. Israel has been bracing for a renewal of Hamas bombings, and yesterday sealed its borders with the West Bank and Gaza Strip ahead of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur to try to deter violence. Mr. Netanyahu has demanded that Mr. Arafat use his powerful security forces to crack down on Hamas to prevent terror attacks. On Monday, Mr. Netanyahu confirmed at the White House that he was relinquishing Israel's claim to more land on the West Bank provided it would not be used as a base for attacks on Israel.

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 9:22:00 AM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   Pentagon Launches New Nuke Agency By Laura Myers Associated Press Writer Thursday, October 1, 1998; 3:10 a.m. EDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon is launching a new agency to deal with modern-day threats of weapons of mass destruction -- nuclear, chemical and biological -- by consolidating Cold War-era agencies that focused mostly on keeping Moscow in line. Creation of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency with the start of the new fiscal year today is part of Defense Secretary William Cohen's plan to streamline the Defense Department by reducing duplication and trimming its 130,000 work force by one-fifth in five years. In this case, it does not look as if any jobs will be lost by combining the Defense Special Weapons Agency, the On-Site Inspection Agency and the Defense Technology Security Administration. The new agency will have about 1,800 employees and a budget for fiscal year 1999 of $1.9 billion -- about the same as the current organizations. Instead, Defense Department officials said the goal is to combine efforts of agencies that had been doing related work on nuclear and high-technology matters and to concentrate on the growing threat of developing weapons of mass destruction in nations outside the former Soviet Union, which dissolved in 1991. ''We are asking this new agency to deal with threat reduction in the broadest sense,'' Jacques Gansler, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and technology, said in July in announcing establishment of an outside expert committee to advise the agency. ''We want it to address every conceivable approach to reducing the threat from weapons of mass destruction -- to prevent the spread of these weapons, to deter their use, to protect against them if they are used, to identify who is responsible for such use and to support an appropriate response,'' Gansler said. Iraq, Iran and North Korea head the list of U.S. concerns about secretive programs to develop so-called doomsday weapons that can kill many people at the same time. John Pike, a security analyst for the Federation of American Scientists, applauded the Pentagon's move to have one agency deal with weapons threats at a time when many countries are thought to be developing weapons programs. ''This is a high-priority threat,'' Pike said. Pike said, however, that the United States isn't addressing what he called ''the most broken part'' of U.S. attempts to track and respond to weapons development -- intelligence abilities to sift through information from many sources. The CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency and others don't work closely enough, he said. The On-Site Inspection Agency was created to verify the breakthrough 1987 U.S.-Soviet treaty that eliminated an entire class of weapon -- land-based missiles with ranges between 310 miles and 3,410 miles. The organization also enforces the START I treaty signed in 1991 in which the two countries slashed nuclear arsenals by one-third to about 7,000 warheads each. The Defense Special Weapons Agency is responsible for keeping track of the nation's nuclear weapons and calculating the effects of enemy atomic bombs. Before President Clinton signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1996, the organization -- formerly the Defense Nuclear Agency -- was responsible for atomic testing. The Defense Technology Security Administration's analysts are probably best known for recommending whether to allow export of sensitive technology to other countries, such as satellite sales to China and to Russia. © Copyright 1998 The Associated Press

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 9:24:00 AM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEFENSE THREAT REDUCTION AGENCY Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen today established the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) in a ceremony near Dulles Airport where the new defense agency will initially be headquartered. DTRA is dedicated to reducing the threat to the United States and its allies from nuclear, chemical, biological, conventional and special weapons. Speaking to an audience that included employees of the new organization, Cohen said, "Today's harsh reality is too powerful to ignore: at least 25 countries have, or are in the process of developing, nuclear, biological or chemical weapons and the means to deliver them... We must confront these threats in places like Baghdad before they come to our shores. Because America should not rush into the future without being rooted in the proven strengths of the past, we turn to you - the proven professionals." Most of DTRA's 2,089 personnel were previously employed at organizations that merged to form the new agency. Elements of the Office of the Secretary of Defense staff, the Defense Technology Security Administration, the Defense Special Weapons Agency and the On-Site Inspection Agency were consolidated as a result of Cohen's November 1997 Defense Reform Initiative (DRI) which directed the creation of DTRA. That initiative is part of the Clinton administration's overall effort to improve government efficiency. "I want you to know that by bringing you together we are elevating and enhancing the critical work you do; your talent, your creativity and your remarkable expertise," Cohen told the audience. Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamre called DTRA a "coherent, focused organization that will create the intellectual infrastructure for a new approach to deal with the weapons of mass destruction challenge." Hamre said, "The Agency will bring together into one organization the principal department of defense organizations with weapons-of-mass destruction expertise." DTRA executes technology security activities; cooperative threat reduction programs; arms control treaty monitoring and on-site inspection; force protection; nuclear, biological and chemical defense and counterproliferation. The Agency supports the U.S. nuclear deterrent and provides technical support on weapons of mass destruction matters to Department of Defense organizations. Dr. Jay Davis is the director of DTRA. The Agency's FY 99 budget is projected to be about $1.9 billion. Additional information about DTRA is available on the DTRA website at dtra.mil. -END-

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 9:26:00 AM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   European Parliament report accuses agency of widespread spying By Neal Thompson Sun Staff The National Security Agency has incurred the wrath of some U.S. allies and triggered debate about increased global eavesdropping, thanks to a new report that accuses the agency of spying on European citizens and companies. With the help of a listening post in the moors of northern England, NSA for nearly a decade has been snatching Europe's electronic communications signals, according to a report for the European Parliament. "Within Europe, all e-mail, telephone and fax communications are routinely intercepted by the United States National Security Agency, transferring all target information to Fort Meade," said the report. 'Powerful threat' It warned that the NSA's tactics represent a "powerful threat to civil liberties in Europe" at a time when more communication -- and commerce -- is conducted electronically. A preliminary version of the report circulated overseas in recent months, touching off heated debate, with front-page stories in Italy, France, Scotland, England, Belgium and even Russia. The NSA won't discuss the report or even admit that the listening post exists. But this week, two days of debate in the European Parliament continued the extraordinary public disclosure of comprehensive post-Cold War spying by the agency. On Wednesday, the Parliament passed a resolution seeking more accountability from such eavesdropping arrangements and more assurances that they won't be misused. "We want to make sure that somebody's watching them," said Glyn Ford, a British member of the European Parliament, the legislative body for the 15-member European Union. Observers say this was the first time a governmental body has described in detail -- and then criticized -- the NSA's tactics. "The cat's well and true out of the bag," said Simon Davies, director of the London-based watchdog group Privacy International. "I would argue that we have made the grandest step in 50 years toward accountability of such national security transparencies." The report describes a sophisticated program called Echelon, which the NSA established in conjunction with British intelligence agencies. The program includes a listening post in Menwith Hill, in Yorkshire, whose satellite dishes soak up the satellite and microwave transmissions carrying Europe's telephone conversations, faxes and e-mail. Unlike Cold War spying aimed at the military, Echelon is a global electronic surveillance system that targets individuals, businesses, governments and organizations, the report says. The U.S. shares the information with Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand as part of an intelligence-sharing agreement called UKUSA. Each nation has its own set of key words, so it can seek information on specific issues, the report states. Europe is but a fraction of Echelon's target area -- and the Menwith Hill post is one of at least 10 around the world, the report adds. "One reason its a bigger deal over there than it is over here [in the U.S.] is because the SIGINT [signals intelligence] systems are over their heads and not our heads," said Jeffrey Richelson, an analyst with the National Security Archives, a U.S. group seeking to declassify intelligence related documents. Echelon repercussions But the disclosure of Echelon could soon resonate across the Atlantic after the European Parliament action. Furthermore, it could complicate current negotiations between the U.S. and the European Union over encryption programs that scramble or encode computer information, said Parliament member Ford. The U.S. has been lobbying for back-door access to such codes for security reasons. Originally published on Sep 19 1998 The Baltimore Sun, 1998

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 9:28:00 AM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   Russia Reasserts Global Ambitions Despite Current Crisis In a meeting on September 30 with his Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, Russian President Boris Yeltsin declared Russia's intention to resume a global role as it emerges from its current economic crisis. In a clear stab a the United States, Yeltsin said, "Everyone must understand that, in the modern world, global problems can not be resolved unilaterally." Additionally, Yeltsin stressed the need for Russia to play a more active role in the Group of Eight, which links Russia with the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations. Yeltsin's message was already familiar to Ivanov who, following meetings with G7 leaders in New York on September 26, told the press that Russia remains "a great power" in spite of its economic difficulties. Ivanov said that, during these meetings, he had emphasized the importance of Russian participation in managing international problems. The first step in Russia's return as a world power involves getting its own house in order. Of immediate concern for Moscow is the refusal of a number of regions to pay their taxes or even to allow the export of foodstuffs. As Russia sank into economic and political collapse, the region's governors were forced to take a greater role in maintaining local stability. Now that Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov is finalizing his cabinet and preparing to take on the task of pulling Russia out of its cumulative crisis, the regional governors are unwilling to resume payments. The governors have argued that the central government does not pay its subsidies to the regions, nor can it impose local order, and therefore they, who must deal directly with striking workers and breadlines, can not afford to contribute to the federal government. At a meeting with regional governors on September 29, Primakov threatened that "those who set up individual fiefdoms in the Russian regions" will be brought to justice. Primakov then announced his intention to draft a new law that would allow the federal government to fire elected regional officials who violate the Russian constitution. Said Primakov, "There should be no scope for some Russian regions in effect to agree not to transfer money to the federal budget and not to allow food and other goods to be taken out of their territory at this difficult time for the country... We must put an end to this fiefdom thinking. Otherwise we will lose Russia as a unified state." With regional governors on notice, Primakov turned his attention to the next layer of a renewed and Russia, the former Soviet republics. On September 30, Prime Minister Primakov visited Moscow's closest ally Belarus. Belarus' hard-line President Aleksander Lukashenko is a strong supporter of Primakov and a critic of the previous, Western-oriented Russian government. Lukashenko favor's a centrally regulated economy, and a joint union budget has already been drafted. Wednesday's meeting focused on the signing of the Belarusian-Russian "union treaty". The union treaty was first proposed in 1996 and was designed to guarantee freedom of movement, trade, and supranational institutions between Belarus and Russia. It also serves as the core of a rebuilt Russian empire. After his meeting with Primakov, Lukashenko said that the "Ukraine and other Soviet republics are bound to join the Belarus-Russia union sooner or later." Ukraine has thus far been able to hold off on Russian and Belarusian calls to rejoin the union, but economic and political realities make resistance essentially futile. On the same day that Primakov was meeting with Lukashenko, Belarus' Prime Minister Syarhey Linh met with Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma in Kiev. The meeting focused on the current bilateral relations between the countries and the prospect of creating a similar mechanism for economic cooperation as Belarus shares with Russia. Primakov is taking a dramatically different approach to governing Russia than did his reformist predecessors. Faced with economic collapse, he is not turning toward the West, who he in fact blames for the crisis, but is instead trying to play on Russia's strengths, with an aggressive foreign policy and a return to strong central government. While breaking up the empire and bowing to Western political wishes got Russia no-where, Primakov is instead attempting to rebuild the empire and reassert Russian international influence, at least on a regional level. Where a piecemeal attempt at privatizing the economy and following the prescriptions of Harvard economists led to Russia's economic collapse, Primakov is handing the economy back to Gosplan, with plans to re-nationalize key industries and print more rubles. Belarus is already an eager partner in this plan, and Ukraine is being inexorably drawn in as well. Russian geopolitical ambition the healthiest part of the Russian system, a matter of clear concern to the West. However, an important opportunity appeared for NATO and the West in Central Europe last week. In September 25-26 parliamentary elections in Slovakia, Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar's nationalist, populist party, the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), won only 27 percent of the vote. Although this was the highest result for an individual party, HZDS still effectively lost the elections to a coalition of four opposition parties, called the Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK). Meciar's party will not be able to create a majority government, as its only possible coalition partner, the Slovak National Party, gained just 9.07 percent of the vote. Together, the two parties hold only 57 seats in the new 150 seat Parliament. The opposition SDK announced they are ready to form a coalition government as soon as possible after the new Parliament convenes, and no later than October 29. The Slovak ballot has effectively ended the "Meciar era", during which Slovakia was excluded from the first group of post- communist Central European countries to join the European Union and NATO. Western Europe has leapt at the opportunity that Meciar's defeat presented. EU spokeswoman Lousewies Van der Laan said on September 30 that the European Commission would issue a new report on Slovakia in November, discussing the country's membership chances. Some European Parliament members called for the EP to move Slovakia into the first group of candidates. What remains to be addressed is the question of Slovakia's membership in NATO. Slovakia was excluded from the first round of NATO expansion on the grounds of the poor democratic record of Prime Minister Meciar. While satisfying political sensibilities, Slovakia's exclusion from NATO was militarily insane, as it effectively rendered new members Hungary and Poland indefensible. NATO now has the opportunity to remedy this error. Excuses are gone. It's time to see if NATO has a clear strategy, or if it has become a political toy.

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 9:30:00 AM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   What the future holds By Aaron Lerner (Arafat hasn't honored his obligations up to now, and he can be expected to be only worse if and when he has his state. The writer is director of Independent Media Review and Analysis) Yes, the Palestinians have a flag, a national assembly, ministries serving their people's needs from cradle to grave and even a security force which looks more like infantry than police. But to claim that there is no difference between this and a state, as Meretz MK Yossi Sarid and the rest of the "Palestine Now" crowd repeatedly does, is a dangerous mistake. The differences between the PA's current status and a Palestinian state are considerable and have far-reaching impact on the stability of the region and the possibility of an enduring peace between Israel and the Palestinians. A sovereign Palestinian state can enter into military alliances and has full legal control on its airspace and offshore waters. And it can exercise this sovereign control to effectively box in the Israeli Air Force and significant parts of the Mediterranean shore while it imports weapons and military personnel. The prospects of an Iraqi outpost within walking distance of Israel's major population centers is chilling. With so many claiming that a Palestinian state is inevitable, there is a natural tendency to succumb to the temptation to understate the seriousness of a Palestinian state, much as terminally ill patients engage in self- denial in order to cope with the inevitable horror they face. But Israel's condition is far from terminal. Recognizing the meaning of a Palestinian state for what it is, is the first critical step toward addressing the challenge. I would prefer to be optimistic about a state. Some Palestinian leaders willingly accept the kinds of limitations which all responsible Israelis justly require with regards to demilitarization. "We don't need the army," Fatah Hebron Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) representative Jamal Al-Shobaki told me this week. "We need bullets to solve the internal problems but not an army to make war with any country in the world.... "We are a very poor state. If we want to build an army we need money and we don't have money for school, roads and health." How about defense pacts with Iran and Iraq? "I think that if we reach for real peace we don't need any special relations with those countries," Al-Shobaki explained. "We live very close to the Israelis. We can't tell Saddam or Iran to attack Jerusalem when at the same time Palestinians and Israelis live together in Jerusalem. The same goes for Tel Aviv/Jaffa or Haifa or anyplace else." BUT IT WOULD be a mistake to extrapolate, as many "Palestine Now" advocates do, from one conversation. "Jamal is a friend of mine," Arafat's official spokesman Marwan Kanafani, told me. "He has an intellectual opinion concerning the economy and armed forces - military expenditure and the priorities of our budget. All the PLC members have the right to say whatever they want and none of their opinions are similar." So much for that. But can't this problem be overcome by a well-written final status agreement between the PLO and the Jewish State? To even think that this can be solved by fine legal script flies in the face of the disillusioning reality of the five-year Oslo process. Arafat hasn't honored his obligations up to now and, if anything, he can be expected to be only worse if and when he has his state and has determined that he has exhausted the "olive branch" stage. And while the Palestinian state may be declared in conjunction with a solidly written Palestinian-Israeli treaty, the existence of that state will not be conditional on that pact. No. Arafat isn't going to go on television and unilaterally tear up the treaty. He will "react" to Israeli "violations" - real or imagined. And given the Oslo experience, it is reasonable to expect that many in the world community will find it convenient to accept Arafat's interpretation. Judging by the Clinton administration's Herculean efforts to avoid recognizing Palestinian violations of Oslo these past years, American indifference - or self-denial - can be expected as well. Even Leftist segments of Israeli society may defend, as they do today, Arafat's stand. "The people live with the corruption in this government, unfortunately," Marwan Barghouti, the head of Fatah in the West Bank, told me recently, "because they concentrate on the political issues." There's no reason to expect a Palestinian state to be any less corrupt than a Palestinian autonomy. The alternative of crises with Israel to internal reform will be more tempting than ever. If Israel today feels it is in a thorny situation facing a Palestinian autonomy, this is child's play as compared to the challenge presented by a Palestinian state. While declaring Oslo "dead" might earn the scorn of the world, recognizing the same of a treaty with a sovereign Palestinian state would mean the end of any semblance, however tenuous, of peace. (c) Jerusalem Post 1998

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 9:33:00 AM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   Congress, on a bi-partisan basis, is fed up with the Clinton administration's do-nothing policy on Iraq. Today, the "Iraq Liberation Act of 1998" was introduced into the Senate and House. Those introducing the bill in the Senate were Sen. Majority Leader, Trent Lott, [R, Miss], Sen. Bob Kerrey, [D. Ne], Sen. John McCain [R, Az], Sen. Joseph Lieberman [D Conn] and Sen. Jon Kyl [R, Az]. Those introducing the bill in the House were Rep. Benjamin Gilman [R, NY] and Rep. Christopher Cox [R, Ca] I. S.2525, "IRAQ LIBERATION ACT OF 1998" 105th CONGRESS 2D SESSION S.2525 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES Mr. LOTT (for himself, Mr. KERRY, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. HELMS, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. BROWNBACK and Mr. KYL _________________________) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on ____________ A BILL To establish a program to support a transition to democracy in Iraq. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the "Iraq Liberation Act"of l998. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. The Congress makes the following findings: (1) On September 22, 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, starting an eight year war in which Iraq employed chemical weapons against Iranian troops and ballis-tic missiles against Iranian cities (2) In February 1988, Iraq forcibly relocated Kurdish civilians from their home villages in the Anfal campaign, killing an estimated 50,000 to 180,000 Kurds. (3) On March 16, 1988, Iraq used chemical weapons against Iraqi Kurdish civilian opponents in the town of Halabja, killing an estimated 5,000 Kurds and causing numerous birth defects that affect the town today. (4) On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded and began a seven month occupation of Kuwait, killing and committing numerous abuses against Kuwaiti civil-ians, and setting Kuwait's oil wells ablaze upon re-treat. (5) Hostilities in Operation Desert Storm ended on February 28, 1991, and Iraq subsequently ac-cepted the ceasefire conditions specified in United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 (April 3, 1991) requiring Iraq, among other things, to dis-close fully and permit the dismantlement of its weapons of mass destruction programs and submit to long-term monitoring and verification of such dis-mantlement. (6) In April 1993, Iraq orchestrated a failed plot to assassinate former President George Bush during his April 14-16, 1993, visit to Kuwait. (7) In October 1994, Iraq moved 80,000 troops to areas near the border with Kuwait, posing an imminent threat of a renewed invasion of or attack against Kuwait. (8) On August 31 1996, Iraq suppressed many of its opponents by helping one Kurdish faction cap-ture Irbil, the seat of the Kurdish regional govern-ment. (9) Since March 1996, Iraq has systematically sought to deny weapons inspectors from the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) ac-cess to key facilities and documents, has on several occasions endangered the safe operation of UNSCOM helicopters transporting UNSCOM per-sonnel in Iraq, and has persisted in a pattern of de-ception and concealment regarding the history of its weapons of mass destruction programs. (10) On August 5, 1998, Iraq ceased all co-operation with UNSCOM, and subsequently threat-ened to end long-term monitoring activities by the International Atomic Energy Agency and UNSCOM. (11) On August 14, 1998, President Clinton signed Public Law 105-235, which declared that "the Government of Iraq is in material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations" and urged the President "to take appropriate action, in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws of the United States, to bring Iraq into Compliance with its international obligations.". SEC. 3. POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES. It should be the policy of the United States to seek to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a demo-cratic government to replace that regime. SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT A TRANSITION TO DE-MOCRACY IN IRAQ. (a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.--The President may provide to the Iraqi democratic opposition organizations designated in accordance with section 5 the following assistance: (1) BROADCASTING--(A) Grant assistance to such organizations for radio and television broad-casting by such organizations to Iraq. (B) There is authorized to be appropriated to the United States Information Agency $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 to carry out this paragraph. (2) MILITARY ASSISTANCE--(A) The President is authorized to direct the drawdown of defense arti-cles from the stocks of the Department of Defense, defense services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training for such organiza-tions. (B) The aggregate value (as defined in section 644(m) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961) of assistance provided under this paragraph may not exceed $97,000,000. (b) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE--The Congress urges the President to use existing authorities under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide humanitarian assistance to individuals living in areas of Iraq controlled by organizations designated in accordance with section 5, with emphasis on addressing the needs of individuals who have fled to such areas from areas under the control of the Saddam Hussein regime. (c) RESTRICTION ON ASSISTANCE.-No assistance under this section shall be provided to any group witthin an organization designated in accordance with section 5 which group is, at the time the assistance is to be pro-vided, engaged in military cooperation with the Saddam Hussein regime. (d) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT -The President shall notify the congressional committees specified in section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 at least 15 days in advance of each obligation of assistance under this section in accordance with the procedures applicable to reprogramming notifications under such section 634A. (e) REIMBURSEMENT RELATINGTO MILITARY AS-SISTANCE (1) IN GENERAL--Defense articles, defense services, and military education and training pro-vided under subsection (a)(2) shall be made available without reimbursement to the Department of De-fense except to the extent that funds are appro-priated pursuant to paragraph (2). (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the President for each of the fiscal years 1998 and 1999 such sums as may be necessary to reimburse the ap-plicable appropriation, fund, or account for the value (as defined in section 644(m) of the Foreign Assist-ance Act if 1961) of defense articles, defense serv-ices, or military education and training provided under subsection (a)(2). (f) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS--(1) Amounts author-ized to be appropriated under this section are authorized to remain available until expended. (2) Amounts authorized to be appropriated under this section are in addition to amounts otherwise available for the purposes described in this section. SEC. 5. DESIGNATION OF IRAQI DEMOCRATIC OPPOSITION ORGANIZATION. (a) INITIAL DESIGNATION--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall designate one or more Iraqi democratic opposition organi-zations that satisfy the criteria set forth in subsection (c) as eligible to receive assistance under section 4. (b) DESIGNATION OF ADDITIONAL GROUPS.--At any time subsequent to the initial designation pursuant to sub-section (a), the President may designate one or more addi-tional Iraqi democratic opposition organizations that sat-isfy the criteria set forth in subsection (c) as eligible to receive assistance under section 4. (c) CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION.--In designating an organization pursuant to this section, the President shall consider only organizations that- (1) include a broad spectrum of Iraqi individ-uals and groups opposed to the Saddam Hussein re-gime; and (2) are committed to democratic values, to respect for human rights, to peaceful relations with Iraq's neighbors, to maintaining Iraq's territorial in-tegrity, and to fostering cooperation among demo-cratic opponents of the Saddam Hussein regime (d) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.-At least 15 days in advance of designating an Iraqi democratic opposition organization pursuant to this section, the President shall notify the congressional committees specified in section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 of his pro-posed designation in accordance with the procedures appli-cable to reprogramming notifications under such section 634A. SEC 6. WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL FOR IRAQ Consistent with section 301 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 (Public Law 102-138), House Concurrent Resolution 137, 105th Congress (approved by the House of Representatives on November 13, 1997), and Senate Concurrent Resolution 78, 105th Congress (approved by the Senate on March 13,1998), the Congress urges the President to call upon the United Nations to establish an international criminal tribunal for the purpose of indicting, prosecuting, and imprisoning Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi officials who are responsible for crimes against humanity, genocide, and other criminal violations of international law. SEC. 7. ASSISTANCE FOR IRAQ UPON REPLACEMENT OF SADDAM HUSSEIN REGIME. It is the sense of Congress that, once Saddam Hus-sein is removed from power in Iraq, the United States should support Iraq's transition to democracy by providing immediate and substantial humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, by providing democracy transition assistance to Iraqi parties and movements with democratic goals, and by convening Iraq's foreign creditors to develop a multilat-eral response to Iraq's foreign debt incurred by Saddam Hussein's regime. II. SEN. TRENT LOTT, STATEMENT ON S.2525 TRENT LOTT U.S. SENATOR FOR MISSISSIPPI SENATE MAJORITY LEADER CONTACT: JOHN CZWARTACKI, 202 224 5358 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, September 29, 1998 Lott bill calls for military aid for groups seeking Hussein's removal ~WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi today said the United States needs to seek the removal of Saddam Hussein from power through military support of Iraqi opposition groups. "It is time to move beyond political support to direct military assistance. It is time to openly state our policy goal is the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime from power," he said. Senator Lott today introduced the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, S. 2525, which allows the President to provide "direct and overt" military assistance to Iraqi opposition groups. He made the following statement: "I am introducing legislation allowing the President to provide direct and overt military assistance to the Iraqi opposition. This is a bipartisan initiative. I am joined by Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, Senator John McCain of Arizona, Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, and Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona. "Today is the 55th day without weapons inspections in Iraq. For months, I have urged the Administration to fundamentally change its policy. Monitoring the concealment of weapons of mass destruction is not enough. Our goal should be to remove the regime of Saddam Hussein from power. "We should have no illusions. This will not be easy and it will not happen quickly. But it can happen. The U.S. has worked with Iraqi opponents of Saddam Hussein in the past. We can and should do so in the future. "I have been working with a bipartisan group of Senators throughout much of the year to support a change in U.S. policy toward Iraq. In the State Department Authorization conference report, $38 million is authorized for political and humanitarian support for the Iraqi opposition. "In P.L. 105-174, Congress appropriated $5 million to support the political opposition and $5 million to establish Radio Free Iraq. "In the Senate-passed version of the Fiscal Year 1999 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, there is an additional $10 million for political support to the Iraq opposition. "These steps have been important. But they are not enough. It is time to move beyond political support to direct military assistance. It is time to openly state our policy goal is the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime from power. "As long as Saddam Hussein remains in power, Iraq will pose a threat to stability in the Persian Gulf. As long as he remains in power, Iraq will pursue weapons of mass destruction programs. His record speaks for itself. "The answer is not just 'containment' or a U.S.-led invasion. There are Iraqis willing to fight and die for the freedom of their country. There are significant portions of Iraq today which are not under the control of Saddam Hussein. "Our goal should be to support Iraqi freedom fighters and expand the area under their control. "I have discussed this approach with senior Administration officials. I have consulted with distinguished outside experts. I have raised this approach with heads of states and government officials from the region. I believe this approach can work. "S 2525, the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, has four major components. First, it calls for a policy to seek the removal of the Saddam Hussein regime. "Second, it authorizes the President to provide $2 million for broadcasting and $97 million in military aid to Iraqi opposition forces. The President is given the discretion to designate the recipients of this assistance. The military aid authority is similar to that used to support anti-narcotics operations in South America and to train and equip the Bosnian army. "Third, it renews Congressional calls for an international tribunal to try Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi officials for war crimes. This will be a crucial step in delegitimizing his reign of terror. "Finally, the bill looks toward post-Saddam Iraq and calls for a comprehensive response to the challenges of rebuilding the country devastated by decades of Saddam Hussein's rule. "Similar legislation has already been introduced in the House. We will make every effort to work with the Administration to see if we can enact this legislation before we leave. "We need bipartisanship now more than ever in foreign policy. This is a bipartisan approach to U.S. policy toward Iraq. We are interested in looking to the future. We are interested in protecting American interests and ensuring that Saddam Hussein can never again threaten his neighbors with military force or weapons of mass destruction." III. SEN. BOB KERRY, FLOOR SPEECH ON S. 2525 IRAQ POLICY Floor Statement of Senator Bob Kerrey September 29, 1998 Mister President, I rise to comment on the situation in Iraq and to urge my colleagues to support the legislation introduced by the Majority Leader today. I spoke on Iraq on this floor last November and again in February, but Saddam Hussein is still in power, still threatening his neighbors and oppressing his people, so I must turn again to this topic. In fact, I will keep turning to it, joining my colleagues from both sides of the aisle, trying to change U.S. policy toward Iraq, because I cannot abide the idea of Saddam Hussein as the dictator of Iraq and I will never accept the status quo in Iraq. One of three things will happen, Mr. President: Saddam Hussein will lose his job, I will lose my job, or I will keep talking about him on this floor. 1998 has unfortunately brought us a new and less advantageous situation in our relationship with Iraq. First of all, other threats have pushed Iraq into the background. Asia's recession and the collapse of the Russian ruble have sent shock waves through all the emerging markets. Economic instability is usually the harbinger of political instability, which in turn threatens the peace between nations and the ability of weakened nations to maintain their own security. The Indian-Pakistani nuclear confrontation and the unravelling of Russia's military are two highly significant examples of this trend. Russia's crisis is particularly important because our security and that of our allies depends on Russia keeping its nuclear weapons and fissile materials out of the hands of the rogue states and terrorist groups which would deliver them to us, either by ballistic missile or by the rented or stolen truck favored by terrorists. Terrorism may or may not actually be on the rise, but terrorists have recently shown the intention and ability to attack American targets overseas. As we confront organizations like that of Usama bin Ladin, we come face to face with people who will go to great efforts to kill Americans, and we react strongly. In the aftermath of events like the bombing of Khobar Towers or the two embassies in Africa, we naturally move terrorism to the forefront of our threat concerns. As peace is gradually made in the world's most intractable ethnic and religious conflicts, terrorism ought to decline, but our rationality can not penetrate terrorist motivation. In addition, there is proliferation. Rogue missiles and their deadly cargoes are rapidly developing, arid spreading: the North Korean launch follows launches by Pakistan and Iran and tests of nuclear weapons in both India and Pakistan. The trend in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is running against us as an increasing number of countries come to view these missiles as a low-cost way of placing the U.S. and our allies at risk without expending the resources to confront us militarily across the board. In a way, Iraq during the Gulf War was the precursor of this kind of thinking: they entered the war with a big army and air force, but in the end the only thing that made them a serious and deadly opponent was their arsenal of SCUD missiles. SCUDs and the like may be 1950's technology, but armed with biological, chemical, or nuclear warheads, these missiles are equalizers in 1998. And so, in this time of uncertainty and change, we rank the threats to our national life and to our individual lives and livelihoods, and we tend to forget Iraq. It is an old threat, after all, and we have lived with it for all this decade. In addition, Iraq seems held in check by its neighbors and by economic sanctions. Yet although the Iraqi threat may appear to be dormant, in fact the risk we and our allies run from the continuation of Saddam Hussein in power is, in fact, greater than it has been for years. We know, most recently and unambiguously from the former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter, that Iraq's program to develop weapons of mass destruction continues. We know that more than fifty days have elapsed since the last UNSCOM weapons inspection. Almost two months of immunity have been granted to a regime which used chemical weapons on its own people, which seeks biological weapons, and which had an active and advanced nuclear weapons program. Further, Iraqi regime rhetoric, stated most recently by Tariq Aziz at the U.N. General Assembly meeting this week, notifies us that Iraq will no longer accept UNSCOM monitoring, at least not in an effective form. So Iraq's neighbors, and we, can expect to be threatened by Iraqi weapons of mass destruction of ever-growing lethality in coming years, with no collective international action to halt it. Saddam Hussein pays for his weapons programs by smuggling oil, at which he is getting more proficient, and by diverting resources which should be going to the Iraqi people. His military may be less capable than before the Gulf War, but his troops could still overwhelm the remaining areas of Iraqi Kurdistan outside his control. They could move north at any time or attack pockets of resistance in the southern marsh areas. It is strongly in America's interest that Iraq's neighbors and our allies in the region live in peace and security. That interest alone more than justifies a policy to change the Iraqi government. But there is an additional reason which ought to have particular resonance in the United States. Mr President, I refer to the need to free the Iraqi people from one of the most oppressive dictatorships on earth. We Americans, who have striven for more than two centuries to govern ourselves, should particularly feel the cruel anomaly which is the Iraqi government. In an age in which democracy is in the ascendant, in which democracy is universally recognized as a government's seal of legitimacy, the continued existence of a Stalinist regime like the one in Baghdad should inspire us to action. Saddam Hussein rules by raw fear. In terms of absolutism, personality cult, and terror applied at every level of society, only North Korea rivals Iraq today. The existence of such a government is a daily affront to every freedom-loving person, to everyone who is revolted by the degradation of our fellow human beings I refuse to accept it, and I want the United States to refuse to accept it. As I have said on this floor before, when Saddam's prisons and secret police records and burial grounds are opened, when the Iraqis can at last tell their horrifying story to the international court which will try Saddam for his many crimes against his own people, we Americans will be proud we took this stand. Mr. President, over the past year we have made some progress toward a policy of replacing the Iraqi regime. The Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill passed by this body included funding for assistance to Iraqi opposition movements and for broadcasting to Iraq. The Administration has proposed a program to assist the Iraqi opposition abroad, to link the different groups together and get them organized. I support all these efforts, but they don't go far enough. The legislation before us takes the additional steps which indicate full commitment to helping the Iraqi people get rid of Saddam and his regime: the legislation states the commitment, and it enables the Administration to supply military assistance to the Iraqi opposition. Mr. President, should this legislation come into effect, we and the Administration should be prepared for the possibility that the Iraqi opposition may use the military equipment they receive, together with their own resources, to liberate some portion of Iraq. As I have said before that will be the time for the United States to recognize the opposition as Iraq's government and lift economic sanctions on the liberated part of the country. At this time in history, when some in the world seem ready to set aside their moral scruples and interact with Saddam, when the UNSCOM inspection system is at grave risk, when Saddam may attempt to break free of the sanctions which have restrained him since the Gulf War, it is urgent for the United States to clearly state its implacable opposition to Saddam and his regime. This legislation is the way to do that, and to simultaneously help Iraqis make their revolution. Besides strengthening the Iraqi opposition, this legislation tells Iraqis to keep up hope. It enables the Administration to tell Iraqis we know how bad Saddam is, we have the facts on him, and we will not rest until we see him in court. Iraqis will also learn that we understand the need to deal with the burden of debt Saddam has incurred, and we will work with Iraq's international creditors to find a solution for a post-Saddam Iraq. Iraqis will learn of our commitment to provide humanitarian assistance and democracy transition assistance to a post-Saddam Iraq. They will learn that an Iraq committed to democracy will be a welcome member in the family of nations. As they learn what we have done and what we are prepared to do, the Iraqi people will be our allies in an enterprise which will make them free, and America and its allies more secure. I yield the floor. IV. SEN. LOTT, "WE CAN REMOVE SADDAM" USA Today March 3, 1998 We can remove Saddam Opposing View: There are many ways the world can work against Saddam. A 'Free Iraq' is the goal By Trent Lott The strategy of :containing" Saddam Hussein is not working. Each time he cre-ates a crisis, he pays no cost--though the Iraqi people pay dearly. Each time he man-ufactures a confrontation, the United States finds itself with less support - and Saddam finds more apologists. Start with this unpleasant fact: As long as Saddam remains in power, he will threaten vital U.S. interests in the Middle East. His hatred for our country, our friends and our values knows no bounds. He has murdered uncounted thousands of Iraqis, invaded his neighbors, used chemical weapons against both Iran and his own people, and tried to assassinate former president George Bush. Who believe "containment"--will change this leopard's spots? There is an alternative which would give us--not Saddam--- the initiative. It al-ready has bipartisan support. We must strike at the fault lines of his regime. Oppo-sition groups already challenge his control over large areas of Iraq: Kurds in the North, Shutes in the South. He so fears his people that he rarely appears in public and moves from lair to lair each night. His son-in-law defected in 1991, his first wife was arrested a year ago, and his son was wound-ed in an assassination attempt in 1995. His military, regularly purged, is a shell of the force we defeated in Desert Storm. We should exploit those vulnerabilities, starting with an international move to in-dict Saddam Hussein for his war crimes. End his monopoly on information through a Radio Free Iraq. Toughen enforcement of existing sanctions. Expand existing no-fly and no-drive zones to degrade his armed forces' control. Support his oppo-nents so we can recognize liberated zones, lift sanctions and create a safe and prosper-ous "Free Iraq." Then watch the flood of defections from Baghdad. This strategy requires a strong U.S. mili-tary presence in the region, and that re-quires supplemental funding now and increased long-term defense funding. Critics claim this approach is too diffi-cult, that the United States would stand alone. On the contrary, key regional allies such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey are more likely to support a goal of removing Saddam than a policy that just leaves him madder--and securely in power. Doing the right thing will take leadership, com-mitment, and resolve. We've had it in the past. We need it now. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss, is Senate majority leader.

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 9:36:00 AM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   Russian Duma Speaker Warns NATO over Kosovo MOSCOW -- (Reuters) The speaker of Russia's State Duma said on Wednesday the lower house of parliament could try to rescind Moscow's treaty with NATO if the Western alliance used force against Yugoslavia over Kosovo. "I want to issue a warning. If a single missile falls on Yugoslavia...I don't rule out that the Duma will initiate procedures to annul the treaty that Russia has with NATO," Gennady Seleznyov told NTV television. He was referring to the Russia-NATO Founding Act signed in May last year, which was designed to alleviate Russian worries about the eastward expansion of the alliance by giving Moscow some say in how NATO operates. It is not clear whether the Duma, dominated by the opposition Communist Party, could go beyond issuing non-binding resolutions on the matter as it was never given a chance to ratify the Founding Act. A NATO official said earlier that NATO so far had seen "no evidence" to back Belgrade's assertion that its military and police offensive against the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in the Serbian province had ended. The official said NATO was "now in full swing" assembling the military assets -- mainly aircraft -- it would need if the allies decided to intervene in Kosovo. Seleznyov warned that a military intervention could lead to a serious war in the region. "A real war could start. The (Yugoslav) army is not one to let itself be bombed," he said. Russia has traditionally had good ties with fellow-Slav, fellow-Orthodox Christian Yugoslavia. It also strongly opposes plans by NATO, its Cold War foe, to expand into Central and Eastern Europe and, in particular, to get involved in a Balkan conflict. The Russian government, led by Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov who as foreign minister negotiated the Founding Act, has said repeatedly that it opposes the use of force in Kosovo. ( (c) 1998 Reuters)

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 9:37:00 AM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   DISASTER SITUATION Massive uncontrolled forest fires are affecting large parts of Eastern Russia, including the island of Sakhalin. The national authorities are blaming the blazes on unusually dry weather conditions. These large-scale fires are devastating the eastern Russian territory. According to the Russian Ministry of Emergencies, 181 fires have been recorded in the Far East Region, covering almost 500,000 hectares. Several populated areas have been swallowed up by the fires that have destroyed hundreds of homes and necessitated massive evacuations. The situation is especially severe on the sparsely populated island of Sakhalin. It is feared that more than 100,000 people might have to be evacuated to the mainland if the fires continue unchecked. In one village, 136 houses have been burned down making 249 families (683 persons) homeless. A number of other settlements are threatened by fires. At least three people have died in the fires that have raged for more than a week on the island. Most recent satellite imagery clearly shows that the number of fires have increased in Russia since last week. A close view from NOAA/AVHRR-14 demonstrates the large area affected by the fires. The area covered by smoke, as recorded by NASA/TOMS, is much larger than a week ago and the blaze continues to spread. According to the regional forestry authorities, the neighbouring mainland region of Khabarovsk has already seen around 1.2 million hectares of forest burned. NATIONAL RESPONSE The Russian authorities are trying to minimize the impact of this disaster. The affected population is being evacuated, and provided with temporary shelter and food. The Sakhalin Emergency Commission is implementing an action plan aimed at stabilizing the situation. They have committed to the relief effort 289 staff, 89 units of fire-fighting equipment, a fire-fighting train and 2 water-bombing aircraft IL-76 of the Russian Ministry of Emergencies. Dozens of volunteers have joined the firefighters. The fires are most fierce in mountainous, remote zones that are difficult to reach. Dense smoke is frustrating the fire-fighting operation. Locals have been forbidden to go near forest areas that have been declared to be under a state of emergency, and local police have been ordered to patrol the forests' major points of entry. A collection of charitable donations for victims left homeless by the fires has been organized by the region's Social Protection Fund. The Government of the Russian Federation is taking steps to provide assistance to the Administration of the Far East Region in coping with the fire disaster. NEEDS Initial reports from the region suggest that the lack of aviation fuel and fire-fighting equipment is severely hampering efforts to extinguish the fires. Food for the fire- fighters is also in short supply. INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE OCHA Disaster Response Branch (DRB), through its Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit, is closely monitoring the situation and staying in contact with the Russian Ministry of Emergencies and other competent national authorities. OCHA, in close cooperation with UNEP, is initiating the necessary steps to help ensure an appropriate international response to the environmental emergency in the Russian Federation. A United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team (UNDAC) is being urgently dispatched to Russia. The Team is led by OCHA, and comprises a representative from UNEP. This Team is tasked, in particular, with assessment of the impact of the fires in situ, evaluation of needs for complementary international assistance, and preparation of relevant recommendations to the international community.

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 2:45:00 PM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   EX-UN INSPECTOR WARNS IRAQ COULD PRODUCE NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN 'DAYS OR WEEKS' WITH SMUGGLED NUCLEAR MATERIAL If Iraq acquires fissile material from an outside source, it could assemble three nuclear weapons in "days or weeks" using pre-fabricated components it has concealed from UN inspectors, former UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) Inspector Scott Ritter testified today in the U.S. House of Representatives. Responding to questions from Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-NY), chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Ritter said his "confidence is very low indeed" that UN inspectors could detect the smuggling of weapons-usable nuclear material into Iraq. In August, Ritter resigned as UNSCOM's chief inspector of Iraqi concealment activities after the U.S. government intervened to block an inspection of facilities that UNSCOM had suspected contained hidden components for weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear- weapon components. On September 3, Ritter told a Senate hearing that Iraq had manufactured the components for three nuclear weapons and lacked only the fissile material needed to make them operable. He estimated it would take years for Iraq to have operable nuclear weapons if Iraq had to reconstitute the fissile-material production plants destroyed by UN inspectors after the Gulf War. At today's hearing, Gilman asked how long it would take if Iraq acquired the needed material on the black market or from another outside source. Ritter responded Iraq could assemble three nuclear weapons "in a very short period of time," which he further defined as "days or weeks" when pressed by Gilman. He also said UNSCOM had information indicating the weapons were being re-designed to fit Iraq's Scud missiles. "This is ominous news and should dispel all the loose talk that Iraq no longer poses a nuclear threat," commented Paul Leventhal, president of the Nuclear Control Institute (NCI). "Ritter has confirmed our estimate that Iraq would be only days or weeks away from having nuclear weapons if it obtains the needed plutonium or bomb-grade uranium from an outside source. Iraq's chances of successfully smuggling in fissile material are increased by the chaotic situation in the former Soviet Union and by growing commerce in plutonium fuel in Europe and Japan." NCI has issued a series of reports warning that Iraqi nuclear scientists had continued to advance their earlier work on nuclear weapons and to lie about their activities to UN inspectors. These reports can be found on the NCI Website: nci.org

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 2:49:00 PM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   Yeltsin Is Finished, Says Gorbachev ROME -- (Agence France Presse) Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Wednesday dismissed his successor President Boris Yeltsin as a man who "has had his day." "Yeltsin has not managed to impose his strategy. Now the line and the regime must change," Gorbachev said on a visit to Rome. The father of "perestroika" (restructuring) said that "neither Yeltsin nor the old communists who want to return to power can do anything" to get Russia out of its economic crisis. "The West must help us," he added. Gorbachev judged new premier Yevgeny Primakov as "slow but serious," saying: "He's thinking but doesn't yet have a program and the situation is getting worse." Gorbachev was in Rome to inaugurate the Italian branch of the ecological group Green Cross International, of which he is founder-president. ( (c) 1998 Agence France Presse)

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 2:52:00 PM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   CAMBRIDGE, MASS. In 1992, scientists from 70 countries issued a warning: Earth's environment is in such a grave state it demands the urgent attention of religious leaders as well as politicians, scientists, and educators. That call, says Mary Evelyn Tucker - associate professor of religion at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa. - helped galvanize a three-year exploration of world faiths and their views on the natural world that will conclude later this month at the United Nations. Past UN environment conferences revealed the need for a shared ethic, and an Earth Charter is being drafted. The series of conferences coordinated by Dr. Tucker and her husband, John Grim, seeks common ground among faiths and other disciplines for altering our worldviews and lifestyles. An academic discipline is being developed combining religion and ecology. The environmental crisis "is also a moral and spiritual crisis," Tucker says, and with this effort, "we are creating new modes of being religious in the contemporary world." Since May 1996, conferences have been held on ecology and Judaism, Christianity, Islam, indigenous traditions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism, and Jainism. The recent interdisciplinary gathering at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences here explored the relation of religious values to environmental education, science, economics, and public policy. On Oct. 20 and 21, culminating sessions about faiths and the environment will be held at the UN and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The aim is to spur new alliances for transforming values and practices, "reinventing industrial society on a sustainable basis." The URL for this page is: csmonitor.com

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 2:54:00 PM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   CNNfn - 10/02/98 Everest Capital loses nearly half of the $2.7B it managed at start of year October 2, 1998: 8:11 a.m. ET NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Everest Capital Ltd., a Bermuda-based hedge fund operator, reportedly has lost nearly half of the $2.7 billion it was managing at the beginning of the year, making it the latest victim in the emerging market fallout. The Wall Street Journal reports that Everest has lost $1.3 billion so far this year in its two large hedge funds, which had invested heavily in Russian bonds and Latin American stocks. The losses include major investments by financier Nelson Peltz, chairman and chief executive of RC Cola parent Triarc Cos. Two endowments for Yale and Brown universities also suffered heavy losses, according to the report. Peltz, one of the original investors in Everest Capital Fund, reportedly had about $6 million left in the fund at the end of July and Triarc (TRY) also had a "couple of million" dollars in the fund, the Journal said, quoting a spokesman for Pelz. In a Sept. 9 letter to investors, Everest Capital Frontier Fund founder Marko Dimitrijevic reportedly revealed the fund's value had plunged 52.4 percent in August, another 7 percent in early September and 68 percent for the year. "The magnitude of the losses on the Russian debt and the speed at which they occurred were something that I have never encountered since I began working in professional money management 17 years ago," he reportedly wrote. Dimitrijevic's other large fund, Everest Capital Fund, had lost 42 percent of its value through August. Still, the fund is financially better positioned than Long-Term Capital Management, the hard hit hedge fund that was bailed out last week by a consortium of 14 banks and brokerages, the Journal said. LTCM was highly leveraged and was on the brink of collapse until the group of financial institutions pulled together a $3.6 billion equity rescue package. Everest told the Journal it eliminated all leverage, which helped to insulate lenders from the fund's losses.

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 2:55:00 PM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   South China Morning Post - Hong Kong - 10/02/98 AGENCIES in Tokyo Japan's economy is in hard times with business confidence at its worst level for four years, its banking crisis deepening and the stock market taking a pounding. Further gloomy readings in the Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan survey, coming on the eve of important global finance meetings, were sure to raise the heat on the Japanese Government to act fast to pull the world's second-biggest economy out of its worst recession since 1945. The survey found sentiment among big manufacturing companies slid more than expected in September from June to minus 51, its lowest level since March 1994. The news provided a grim send-off for Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa as he leaves today for meetings in Washington with the Group of Seven, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The Nikkei-225 Index fell to a new 12-year low, closing off 1.56 per cent at 13,197.12. "I think these are very, very gloomy data, as have other recent data been," said Robert Feldman, chief economist for Japan at Morgan Stanley. "They will probably cause further downward revisions of profit expectations and business investment expectations and pressure on the government for more fiscal action." Companies overall said they plan to cut capital spending by 8.7 per cent this business year on top of a 3 per cent reduction last year. "The ball is clearly in the court of the politicians and the bureaucrats to restructure and try to generate the basis for growth down the road," said Andrew Shipley, economist at Schroders Japan. "They are already talking about another supplementary budget, more talk about tax cuts, public works spending," Mr Shipley said. "Unfortunately, these approaches haven't worked in the past. Clearly they are going to shift into a hyper-accommodative fiscal stance, but this is not what the economy needs."

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 2:57:00 PM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   USA Today - 10/02/98 World financial leaders meet Saturday to try to staunch rapidly eroding investor confidence and stock prices worldwide before they drive the U.S. and global economy into a damaging recession. Wall Street stock prices plunged again Thursday and Treasury bond prices surged as frightened investors dumped shares and fled to the safety of U.S. government securities. The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 210 points to 7633 while the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond yield, which moves opposite to the price, fell to a record low of 4.88% from 4.96% Wednesday. The steep decline in the Dow, which has fallen 5.5% since Tuesday, capped a day of dramatic price drops from Tokyo to London to New York. Behind the markets' meltdown: fears that the world economy is spiraling downward and no one can stop it. Saturday's meeting brings together finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven: Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. It is the first in a series of meetings the next week on the crisis. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin will represent the United States. Rubin warned Thursday that the crisis is far from over. "The world is going to have to work through these problems for some time to come," he said at a conference in New York. He urged Japan to act swiftly to fix its recession-riddled economy, saying that was critical to ending the crisis. He also pledged U.S. support for Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America and the next potential victim of the turmoil that began 15 months ago in Asia. Investors took little comfort from Rubin's remarks, and experts say it will take dramatic actions rather than words to restore market confidence. Tuesday's quarter-percentage point cut in short-term interest rates by the Federal Reserve is now viewed by the markets as too little given the immensity of the world's economic problems. International Monetary Fund chief Michel Camdessus sought to reassure investors Thursday by saying he expects the U.S. central bank to cut rates further. In testimony to Congress, Greenspan gave no hint of the Fed's plans. Instead, he was peppered with questions about the Fed's role in helping coordinate a bailout of a huge hedge fund speculator. Greenspan said the Fed acted because the financial markets are so fragile. In a sign of the stresses facing the system, the Fed said Thursday that major banks are clamping down on loans to global companies.

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 2:58:00 PM From: SOROS   Respond to of 1151   Ha'aretz - Tel Aviv - 10/02/98 As six Taibeh Arabs are arrested in Ramallah blast By Amos Harel and Nicole Krau, Ha'aretz Correspondents Hamas is planning a massive terrorist attack within the Green Line to avenge the killing of two members of its military wing, according to warnings received by the Israeli security establishment. Defense sources believe that Hamas will not settle for shooting settlers or soldiers in the occupied territories, but will rather try to hurt civilians on Israeli territory. The terror attack in Hebron on Wednesday, in which 13 IDF soldiers and border policemen were wounded, as well as other shooting incidents in the Hebron area in recent weeks, suggest that Hamas has faced temporary difficulties in carrying out plans for attacks within the Green Line, according to military sources. But with the discovery of a bomb laboratory in Hebron and the explosion of a car belonging to Hamas activists near Ramallah last week, the sources say it has become clear that preparations for a larger terrorist attack are underway. It is believed that the men killed in the Ramallah blast probably intended to place a car bomb in Jerusalem. Recent successes by the Israeli and Palestinian security forces, including the discovery of the laboratory in Hebron, could delay the Hamas plan. (See story page 2.) Meanwhile, six Arabs from the Israeli village of Taibeh were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the Ramallah car explosion. Four were arrested by the Palestinian Authority and two were arrested by the Sharon regional police and were transfered to the custody of the Shin Bet security service. The police refused to reveal details of the investigation. The explosion, which occurred at 1:30 P.M. on Tuesday, killed Zahran Ibrahim Zahran, 35, and injured two brothers - Salim Abu Eid, 33, and Suleiman Abu Eid, 27. According to the Abu Eid brothers, the explosion occured shortly after the three, who are known Hamas members, bought weapons and a case of explosives from an Israeli citizen from Taibeh. Palestinian sources suggested that the weapons dealer, Abdel-Kader Fahd, known as Abu Fahd, worked for the Shin Bet and was responsible for the explosion. The two Taibeh residents arrested yesterday were suspected of having connections to Hamas, and they appear to have been the ones who sold Abu Fahd the weapons that he then sold to Zahran and the Abu Eid brothers. One of the four arrested by the Palestinian Authority is Fahd, the son of Abu Fahd, according to Palestinian sources who asked to remain anonymous.

To: alan w who wrote (521) 10/2/1998 3:00:00 PM From: SOROS   Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 1151   Will JORDAN'S "King" get involved?????? Jerusalem Post - 10/02/98 By HILLEL KUTTLER and DANNA HARMAN JERUSALEM (October 2) - US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said yesterday that security is now the "critical issue" of the peace negotiations and that part of her efforts in traveling to the region next week will center on gauging Palestinian compliance with their security obligations. Speaking during a telephone briefing for officials of American Jewish organizations, Albright said the measurements include establishing a committee monitoring Palestinian incitement to violence. Albright said she believes that the US has been able to narrow some gaps and that both parties want to reach a deal, according to Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, who participated in the call. Albright said she is "optimistic but realistic" about US efforts in the weeks ahead to broker an Israeli-Palestinian accord. She added that she is "very concerned" by Wednesday's attack on IDF soldiers in Hebron that left 14 Israelis wounded, and said that the Palestinian Authority will have to address the matter and apprehend the attacker, Hoenlein added. "She said that [the Americans] expect performance," Hoenlein said. Hoenlein said Albright also said she believes that there now is a "momentum, a dynamism" to the peace process. Albright is scheduled to arrive late Monday night along with US special envoy Dennis Ross and meet with both Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Arafat the following day. No side trips in the region are expected. "This is a trip in preparation for the summit. Its focus is the Israelis, the Palestinians and the gaps between them. There are no other players now," said a spokesman for the Americans. Netanyahu told the cabinet yesterday that in all his meetings last week in the United States he had emphasized that any peace made must be based on security and reciprocity, and that unilateral actions - such as a Palestinian declaration of statehood - were to be rejected outright. The prime minister also told the cabinet yesterday that in his meetings with Arafat he discussed the need for a commitment to an "uncompromising war against terror," as a prerequisite for any deal. Finally, Netanyahu stressed that, despite reports to the contrary, Israel has not yet agreed to the scope of the redeployment in its details, although the "ten plus three" framework was acceptable in principle. Arafat said in Cairo yesterday that he was not certain Netanyahu really meant business. "I am not pessimistic or optimistic. My experiences with Netanyahu have shown me that I should be cautious because he has made many promises to so many leaders ... which he did not keep," Arafat said. Arafat said yesterday that this week's top-level talks in Washington have produced progress on a West Bank troop pullback. And Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia said that during the meetings "the ice began to break" between Arafat and Netanyahu who had not talked for a year. Despite such guarded optimism, the Palestinians said they were skeptical that renewed US mediation would produce an elusive redeployment agreement. Asked whether the Washington meetings produced progress on a security agreement and special conditions for a nature reserve, Arafat said "yes." He did not elaborate. However, Arafat spokesman Nabil Abourdeneh, said differences on the character of the nature reserve remained. The Palestinians insist that the restrictions on land use remain in effect only until May, the end of the five-year interim period of Palestinian autonomy. Israel has not yet responded to that demand. The ambassador to the US, Zalman Shoval, said yesterday that the upcoming Washington summit may be delayed by a week to allow more time for reaching an agreement. The summit had been tentatively scheduled to begin in the Washington area about October 15, the nearest workable date following the conclusion of Succot and Simhat Torah. But conflicts with Netanyahu's schedule leaves scant time to allow for the type of lengthier summit that might be needed, Shoval said. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Shoval said that "there's a chance this whole thing might be postponed" until later in the month, although the Americans prefer that it be held sooner. Shoval added that he will probably firm up the dates at a meeting today with Ross. But because Netanyahu will have to remain in Israel to launch an economic conference scheduled to begin next Wednesday, he will be able to remain in Washington just over two days before returning to Israel in time to open the new Knesset session on October 19. Still, Israel is not averse to the planned dates for the summit, if, the Americans estimate the window to be sufficient to conclude a deal, Shoval said. Also undecided is the venue for the talks. Shoval said that Camp David, the site of 1978 Israeli-Egyptian peace negotiations, has been excluded but that a number of other locations are under review. State Department spokesman James Rubin said that Albright would seek to close enough ground in those talks on areas where the sides are close, so as to "try to limit the number of issues that need to be addressed when the two leaders come to the United States for a meeting with the president." At yesterday's cabinet meeting, a majority of ministers, led by Industry and Trade Minister Natan Sharansky and Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai, voiced support for Netanyahu's direction. They also hoped that a deal would soon be concluded based on the principles laid out by the prime minister. Minister of Education Yitzhak Levy, on the other hand, criticized the prime minister, saying that Netanyahu should share the details of security demands being made on the Palestinians with all ministers before anything is signed. Levy and a number of other ministers demanded that the cabinet be briefed in detail about the status of security demands before any US summits are held. "This is a security paper worked out by the Americans with a small number of Netanyahu's associates," said Levy spokesman Yitzhak Raat. "Most of the ministers have not seen it, and this is truly wrong. Netanyahu wants to get things done swiftly and avoid details being leaked... but we want to be presented with the facts before they are a done deal." Netanyahu, asserted Levy, needs to do some "real thinking," about the consequences of leaving his ministers out of the historic decision-making process. Despite Levy's veiled threats, it is almost certain that if and when Netanyahu brings the redeployment deal to the Knesset for approval, he will get it. The issue at hand thus remains: will an agreement be reached and what will it look like? A hint at the answers should emerge next week during Albright's visit. Albright's advance team is already in Israel, planning out the mechanics of her brief visit. President Ezer Weizman said yesterday he was "a little bit more optimistic" about the chances of reaching an agreement with the Palestinians, after being briefed by Netanyahu. The two met privately over breakfast yesterday at Beit Hanassi, for the first time in three months. "There are a lot of ifs... but it seems like matters are moving," Weizman told reporters. Noting the upcoming summits in the US, Weizman said: "Now the big cannons have moved in and it will be as I had hoped for a long time - a meeting of the type held in the past with the pressure of circumstances and the desire on all sides to reach agreement... I left breakfast with an appetite for our next breakfast." Batsheva Tsur and AP contributed to this report

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