Conclusion of INC Nat'l Assembly Meeting
Iraq News, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1999
By Laurie MylroieThe central focus of Iraq News is the tension between the considerable, proscribed WMD capabilities that Iraq is holding on to and its increasing stridency that it has complied with UNSCR 687 and it is time to lift sanctions. If you wish to receive Iraq News by email, a service which includes full-text of news reports not archived here, send your request to Laurie Mylroie .
I. NEW INC LEADERSHIP ELECTED, INC PRESS RELEASE, NOV 1
II. AMB. SCHEFFER, ADDRESS TO INC NAT'L ASSEMBLY, OCT 29
III. UNDER SEC STATE PICKERING, ADDRESS TO INC NAT'L ASSEMBLY, NOV 1
The House Int'l Relations Committee hearing on Iraq, scheduled for
tomorrow, has been postponed.
Several readers asked about the crash of Egypt Air 990. It is clear
that shortly after the plane reached cruising altitude, something
catastrophic happened. But what?
It is the third crash in four years of an airplane departing JFK. No
airport in the world has a record that bad. Perhaps it is chance, as
John Allen Paulos suggested in today's NYT. And perhaps not.
The first crash was TWA 800, which went down on Iraq's Nat'l day.
That morning Saddam gave the most vicious, vengeful speech he has given
since the Gulf war [see "Iraq News" Jul 17, 97]. Investigators
concluded that a fuel vapor explosion in the central fuel tank brought
down the plane. But what ignited the vapors? More than three years
later, that remains unexplained.
And what about Ramzi Yousef? Are terrorists using new methods to
bomb airplanes? After Libya's bombing of a French airliner in 1989,
there were no terrorist bombings or attempted bombings of airplanes for
five years--until Dec 94. Then, Yousef bombed a Philippine Airlines
plane with a liquid explosive that he could pass through metal
detectors. It was a test run for a plot to bomb 11 U.S. airplanes,
flying Pacific routes. But in early Jan 95, while mixing explosives in
his Manila apartment, Yousef started a fire; had to flee; and left
behind a computer with information in it that led to his arrest a month
later in Islamabad. But who is Ramzi Yousef? That point has never
been properly addressed. See L. Mylroie, "Who is Ramzi Yousef"?
http://www.fas.org/irp/world/iraq/956-tni.htm
The INC Nat'l Assembly elected a new leadership, consisting of a
7-member "leadership team" and a 65-member Central Council.
David Scheffer, Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, addressed
the INC Nat'l Assembly meeting Oct 29. Scheffer said, "The United
States Government is determined to see this clique of Iraqi criminals
stripped of their power, and, if possible, brought to justice. . . .
In Iraq today, atrocities are being carried out by Saddam's army against
the Arabs of the southern marshes with a ferocity that is as widespread
. . . as that waged by Milosevic's goons against the Kosovar Albanians
. . . The criminal enterprise is undeniable and glares at anyone who
cares to look closely at Iraq today. . . Our primary objective is to
see Saddam Hussein and the leadership of the Iraqi regime indicted and
prosecuted by an international criminal tribunal."
Under Sec State Thomas Pickering addressed the INC Nat'l Assembly
meeting Nov 1. Pickering said, "Our strategic goal is not only the
removal of a tyrant. . . The mere change of regime is guaranteed to
happen sooner or later. That inevitable event is only a necessary
condition for the less certain, and far more important, objective:
Recovery of Iraq's territorial integrity and national unity, of dignity
and prosperity of the Iraqi people, of a government that sees its duty,
under a constitution written by Iraqis, as serving its people-not the
other way around . . .
"Baghdad well understands our military 'red lines.' But I would
remind Baghdad in particular of UNSCR 949. We will enforce this
resolution, too, against any major movement of Iraqi forces southward,
whatever be their claimed purposes."
UNSCR 949 was passed after Iraq's Oct 94 lunge at Kuwait. Is that
an expansion of the US rules-of-engagement to include Iraqi forces
involved in the repression of the Iraqi people, something approaching
the no-drive zone Sen. Brownback called for in his speech to the INC
Nat'l Assembly? Or at least potentially so?
Pickering also said, "Since the passage of the Iraq Liberation Act,
we have been encouraging those Iraqis who share the goal of changing
their country in the direction you have described, to come together to
constitute just such an organized, accountable partner. . . . We are
ready to provide the Iraqi people, through the new Iraqi National
Congress, the first 5 million dollars' worth of material and training
support. We are beginning immediately with the kinds of support that
your movement most urgently needs and can now most readily absorb. That
is, we are offering the basic information and operational infrastructure
essential to an effective international political movement, whose main
weapon against the oppressor must be the truth."
That sounds like office equipment, doesn't it? And what does this
administration know about the truth? Would it even recognize the truth,
if it were a wet fish, slapped across its face?
Scott Ritter, in "Endgame" (pp. 184-5) tells a riotous story. As it
will be recalled, the administration hailed the Feb 22 '98 Kofi
Annan-Tariq Aziz agreement as the victory of "diplomacy backed by
force." However, it turned out that no sooner did UNSCOM inspections
begin again, than the administration was interfering with them.
As Ritter explained, he and other UNSCOM inspectors gathered in
Bahrain in preparation for the renewal of inspections. At that point,
on Mar 3 98, he received a message from Richard Butler, asking him to
call because, "Madeleine is not happy about you being chief inspector .
. . We need to consider other options."
U.N. Amb. Bill Richardson, whom Ritter described as the only
"stand-up person" on the administration's national security team,
learned of the situation through his political counselor on UNSCOM
affairs.
"'What the hell is Butler up to?' Richardson asked. 'I thought he had
committed to Ritter staying on.' The counselor replied that Secretary
of State Albright had put pressure on Butler. Richardson was incensed.
He told the counselor to get Butler on the phone. The counselor moved
into the foyer to make the call, but Butler was nowhere to be found.
Suddenly, Richardson called out to his counselor, who returned to the
ambassador's office. Richardson was on the phone, covering the
mouthpiece.
"'Did you get Butler yet? ' he asked. The counselor shook his head
no, and started to explain, when Richardson held up his hand, signaling
silence. It was Madeleine Albright on the line. 'Listen, Madeleine,
Richardson said. 'Butler is really irritated at your intervention. He
says Ritter's the guy, and that he resents your meddling into his
affairs. He may resign.'
"Albright was flabbergasted. 'But I just talked to him,' she said . .
'He didn't indicate any of this when I was on the line. I don't believe
it.'
"Richardson pressed. 'Believe it,' he said. 'Ritter's on or Butler's
out.'
"Still stunned, Albright said she would call Butler right away to
clarify the matter.
"Richardson hung up and looked at the counselor, who was standing by
in disbelief. 'This is high stakes, my friend,' Richardson said with a
laugh. 'Find Butler before Madeleine does, or we're both screwed.'"
And he did.
I. NEW INC LEADERSHIP
http://www.inc.org.uk/english/na/Finale.htm
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