Nexus - 0202 - New Times Magazine-pages

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TO The now exiled Al-Sabbah family control a fortune estimated at in excess of one trillion dollars, while the people back home face imminent starvation. There is little doubt that the Al- Sabah’s manipulation of the oil prices (downwards) was ultimately done to service Anglo-American interests and at their behest. The country which actually stood to lose the most, however, was Russia. As the largest producer of oil in the world, it was quite happy with the OPEC quota system, which ensured stable, reasonable prices. The only thing which would have suited them better was a higher price and a major cut-off of supply from the Gulf. This, of course, is exactly what they are in the process of getting. After three years of failed negotia- tions, the Iraqi’s and it must be added, the rest of the OPEC nations, were getting a bit sick of the Al-Sabah antics. Through March and April there had been several meetings of these coun- tries to try and resolve the matter. The other subject discussed at these meet- ings was the increasingly obvious plan of Israel to invade Jordan, annexe half that nation and move the Palestinians there as the “final solu- tion” to their plan to settle the Sout Bank and the Gaza Strip. In April and May, Saddam Hussein met with members of the Arab League and spelled out a plan to invade Kuwait, oust the Al-Saba family and establish some form of representational government there, after which Iraq would withdraw from Kuwait. In turn Hussein wanted the Ara’ League nations to agree to some form of Arab-supplied peace-keep- ing force to occupy the 3km wide strip of Kuwait which straddles the Rumailia Oil Field and monitor the amount being pumped out, in accor- dance with the original Iraq-Kuwait amant 1- that Iraqi forces withdraw IMME- DIATELY once the Al-Sabahs were gone, to be replaced with an Arab Force and 2 - that the Arab Force not include Egyptians, who were viewed as having entirely sold out to Anglo- American interests. In June, Hussein met with Soviet officials, who not only agreed to the plan, but eagerly supplied their num- ber one tank strategist and 3,000 experts in the fields of communica- tions, tank and anti-tank warfare and radar monitoring. Most of these peo- ple are still there today. On July 25, Hussein met with the US Ambassador to Iraq and spelled out what was going to happen. He specifically ASKED if the Americans had any major objections to his plan and was assured that the Americans viewed his and the Arab League’s actions as the “best solu- tion” to the problem and one that would “ensure stabiltiy in the Gulf Region”. Hussein also expressed concern at the build-up of American Forces in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Sea. He was advised that this was not aimed at him, but at preventing Soviet exploitation of the situation. (This is not hearsay: the meeting was recorded and both transcripts of the conversation and copies of sub- sequent communications between the Ambassador and Washington have been reprinted in the papers in USA.) The official US line now, is that the Ambassador “exceeded her authority” and she has been demoted. The former Ambassador’s line is that she was fol- lowing strict instructions. All this has been openly reported in the USA press and accounts for the sudden drop for Bush’s actions, from 76% at the beginning, to less than 40% at the time of writing and falling like a rock. Over 20% of the members of the US Congress have signed a Resolution condemning Bush’s actions, denouncing them as unconstitutional and calling for US withdrawal. agreement. The Arab League generally agreed to the Iraqi plan, with two provisos: On August 2nd, Iraq invaded Kuwait. On the VERY SAME DAY, the United Nations Security Council, all the members of which just hap- pened, by sheer lucky coincidence, to be sitting around UN HQ doing noth- ing and twiddling their thumbs, imme- diately called an emergency session and voted to condemn Iraq’s actions. In several decades and over six hun- dred Resolutions, this was THE FIRST TIME that the UN had ever taken such action without first calling before it the Foreign Minister of the country involved, to allow them to present their side of the story. On August 12th, in the face of mounting UN sanctions and the mas- sive US build-up, Hussein announced is wish and intention to withdraw his orces from Kuwait, to be replaced by some form of Arab Nation peace- eeping Force. In the light of UN sanctions, howev- er, Hussein stated that, in order to bring eace and stabiltiy to the region, EVERYBODY should withdraw from EVERY WHERE, under the same condi- tions, subject to the same rules and pun- ished by the same (UN) sanctions for ailure to comply. Withdrawal should be supervised by the UN in accordance with the various Resolutions it had passed over the years, condemning the various occupations. As well as Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait, he specifically listed the Israeli occupation of Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese territories (the subject of UN Condemnation, but no action for 8 years): Syrian occupation of parts of Lebanon; and US with- drawal from Saudi-Arabia. The only other thing Hussein called for was that the Kuwait should be allowed to democratically decide its own future, rather than having the Al- Sabah regime re-imposed on them. “Inside News” is produced fortnightly and is only available on subscription. Full rates are $60 per year and $40 for students, pensioners, unemployed, etc. POBox 311, Maleny, Qld 4560. Ph:(074) 429 271 NEXUS - 23 FEBRUARY 1991 *- YEAR BOOK The Trap is Sprung