Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : The Millennium Crash -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (3795)	11/15/1998 5:19:00 PM
From: yard_man	Respond to of 5676

biz.yahoo.com UNITED NATIONS, Nov 15 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan telephoned Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz on Sunday to clear up confusion over Aziz's comments that delayed the start of Security Council consultations, a U.S. official said. Annan sought clarification of a remark by Aziz during a CNN interview in which he said he was ''only committed to the contents of the letter'' he sent to Annan on Saturday saying Iraq had rescinded its decision to stop cooperating with U.N. weapons inspectors. biz.yahoo.com Clinton called off second attack on Iraq Sunday WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Bill Clinton called off not one, but two attacks against Iraq, halting the second strike early on Sunday morning after deciding to accept Iraq's offer to resume U.N. inspections, U.S. officials said. The officials disclosed the second strike as they offered details of the White House's actions from Friday through Sunday as it reacted to Baghdad's offers to let U.N. inspectors resume searching for Iraqi chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. The officials, who asked not to be named, said Clinton gave the original order for an air strike on Friday evening. He put that strike on hold on at about 8 a.m. EST (1300 GMT) on Saturday morning when the White House first learned that Iraq planned to release a letter letting the inspectors back into the country. The officials said Clinton's decision to ''pause'' the action required the U.S. military to carry out plans for the operation 24 hours later. ''The president's decision to put that on hold kicks it over 24 hours and cocks the gun again,'' said one U.S. official who asked not to be named. They said the second strike was called off some time after 3 a.m. EST (0800 GMT) on Sunday after the U.N. Security Council received two clarifications of Iraq's original letter making clear that the offer to resume U.N. weapons inspections was unequivocal and unconditional. ''It was going forward and would have gone forward until (Sunday morning) when the president said stand down,'' said another U.S. official. Clinton announced on Sunday that he had accepted Iraq's offer to allow the inspectors to resume work but said he remained ready to take military action if Iraq failed to keep its word. biz.yahoo.com U.S. to bolster efforts to replace Saddam (Recasts lead, adds Iraq reaction in paragraphs 6-7, additional U.S. comments in paragraph 10) By Randall Mikkelsen WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The United States spared Iraq's President Saddam Hussein a military pounding on Sunday but also made clear it would intensify efforts to remove him from power. President Bill Clinton's call for a ''new government'' in Baghdad was the most emphatic statement of the U.S. desire to see Saddam replaced and comes backed by recently passed legislation approving a nearly $100 million campaign to remove him. ''Saddam Hussein remains an impediment to the well-being of his people and a threat to the peace of his region and the security of the world,'' Clinton said in announcing that Iraq had averted imminent military strikes by agreeing unconditionally to let U.N. weapons inspections resume. ''Over the long term, the best way to address that threat is through a government in Baghdad -- a new government -- that is committed to represent and respect its people, not repress them; that is committed to peace in the region,'' he said. The president said the United States had worked during the past year to bolster opposition forces in Iraq and ''we will intensify that effort.'' Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz, in an interview on CNN television, denounced Clinton's statements as a violation of international law. ''I have to condemn strongly the statement of President Clinton regarding the plans of his government to overthrow the government of Iraq. This is a flagrant violation of the (U.N.) Security Council resolution as well as the international law,'' he said. White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said the effort began to take shape early this year after a showdown with Iraq over U.N. arms inspections was averted through the last-minute intervention of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Asked whether the United States had concluded Saddam was ''irredeemable,'' Lockhart said, ''We believe, no matter what he says, Saddam is someone who doesn't respect international law, he doesn't respect the rights of his own people, and is a threat to his neighbors in the region.'' U.S. officials briefing reporters after Clinton spoke sought to temper the president's remarks. They said he was not explicitly calling for an overthrow of Saddam and stressed that the U.S. aims were for the long term. But the nonbinding Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, which Clinton signed in October, says, ''It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime.'' The act authorizes the spending of $97 million to arm and assist Iraqi opposition groups. Clinton said on Sunday he would work with Congress to implement the act as the United States tightens the screws against Saddam. A White House official said later there were ''no immediate plans'' to give opposition forces surplus military equipment as authorized in the act but arming the rebels could not be ruled out. An earlier milestone in the effort was a U.S.-brokered reconciliation between two leaders of opposition Kurdish factions in northern Iraq, Lockhart said. In September, Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Jalal Talabani, chairman of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, met for the first time in four years at the State Department and committed themselves to holding elections and unifying the administration of territories they control. The commander of U.S. forces in the Gulf, Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni, criticized the anti-Saddam measure in October before it was signed into law, saying he saw no viable opposition in Iraq and an abrupt overthrow of Saddam could split Iraq and destabilize the opposition. Asked about the criticisms, the White House official said the United States remained committed to ''the territorial integrity of Iraq'' but ''we think the region will be far better off with a different regime in Baghdad.'' Clinton's goal of removing Saddam was praised on Sunday by Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. ''That's easier said than done, but I think that's, candidly, the next objective, and I'm glad to hear the president talking about it openly and forcefully,'' Specter said on CNN.