Kitty Bryant and Bob Allen

              Campaign to End the Sanctions
              5 Awbury Rd.
              Philadelphia Pa 19138

             Middle East Crisis Affects Sanctions on Iraq

              In his recent tour of the Middle East US Defense Secretary Cohen promoted US
              military power to counter the perception of US vulnerability and political
              weakness in the Middle East. The AP (11-17-00) reports Cohen projecting "US
              forces would remain 'forward deployed' in the gulf for the 'indefinite
              future." He cited the overwhelming consensus of both parties' candidates for
              continued US imperial domination of the Middle East. Speaking from the USS
              Abraham Lincoln in the Persian Gulf, he could gloat over the incontestable US
              military superiority in the region. Warplanes from this ship patrol Iraqi
              airspace and regularly bomb the country under the US policy of "no-fly-zones."

              But US strength/weakness in the region is not fundamentally a military
              question. It is essentially a political problem. Witness the attack on the
              militarily sophisticated billion dollar USS Cole.

              The failure of the US-brokered Peace Process and the subsequent uprising of
              the Palestinian people has electrified the region. Instead of a new
              Palestinian State materializing, the people of the region now watch the daily
              killings of Palestinians by the US ally, Israel. Throughout the Middle East
              widespread anger is focused on Washington as much as Tel Aviv. (If not more.)
              The region's leaders now see open support for US policy as a political
              liability. And the crisis in Palestine is far from over.

              In this context the US is constrained from fully utilizing its military power
              to attack Iraq and enforce sanctions. Two years ago President Clinton, citing
              Iraq's "noncompliance with UN weapons inspections," ordered a massive cruise
              missile bombing campaign on Iraq. Since then politics of the region have
              shifted. Such a course today risks provoking an uncontrollable region-wide
              explosion.

              Challenges to sanctions

              In recent weeks diplomatic flights to Iraq have become almost commonplace.
              Ministers from Russia, France, China and numerous Arab nations have expressed
              the desire to normalize economic relations with Iraq. The Turkish foreign
              minister cited the loss of $35 billion in trade because of sanctions: "There
              is growing reaction against the sanctions," Ismail Cem said. "The US really
              should consult with others to see what is wrong with the policy and to see if
              together we can develop a new one." (Chicago Tribune, November 12, 2000)

              Washington's initial reaction to international flights into Baghdad was to
              assert the need for a UN approval of flights into the country. The State
              Department's Richard Boucher ominously warned on November 3, "It is important
              that any foreign aircraft that do fly to or from Iraq avoid these areas
              [no-fly zones] and proceed only through the safest possible air corridors
              between the 33 degrees and 36 degrees north latitude."

              The same day the government of Iraq re-established civilian flights within
              Iraq through the "no-fly-zones." The State Department then changed its
              position by pledging to make efforts not to shoot down civilian airplanes.
              Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon on November 7, stated "There have been
              appropriate changes made to make sure an accident does not happen," declining
              to elaborate. He said the US military can easily distinguish between an Iraqi
              fighter and a civilian transport plane." We can all be reassured.

              Sanctions against Qatar?

              A measure of the sentiment in the region and the tenuous hold of UN sanctions
              are shown in the case of a donated jet airliner to Iraq. A November 19
              Reuters report:

              The United States is investigating a Qatar royal family member's gift of a
              jumbo jet to Iraq, a State Department official said on Sunday, adding the
              present may prompt the United States to impose sanctions against the small
              Gulf State.
              Sheikh Hamad bin Ali bin Jabr al-Thani, head of the Gulf Falcon air services
              company, presented the Boeing 747 plane at Saddam International Airport on
              Thursday, calling it an expression of solidarity with President Saddam
              Hussein and the citizens of Iraq, the Iraqi News Agency said.
              But a State Department official said it is illegal to supply Iraq with
              aircraft under existing United Nations sanctions. "We urge other states in
              the region to conduct their own investigations and impose whatever sanctions
              are appropriate, including the possibility of prohibiting the operation in
              their territory of any person or company involved in this illegal transfer,"
              the official said. "When we determine what the facts are in this case, we
              will consider our own action against those involved."

              If the empire is judged from its Middle East policy it is not doing well. And
              for this we can truly give thanks.

              November 23, 2000

              Kitty Bryant and Bob Allen

              Campaign to End the Sanctions
              5 Awbury Rd.
              Philadelphia Pa 19138