Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro
America and Iran
The United States and Iran lUe engaged
in the delicate business of trying
to rPnAir a bfoken relationship. Rccœ-
~öß will not be easy, and mar prove
impossible if Iran does not end Its supportof
temlrism and itseffort to develop
nuclear weapons. But the initial signs
lUepromising and should be pursued.
Iran's lieW president,. MOhammed
Khatami, and President Bill Clinton
have ~ altered the tone of relations
by speaking respectfully of one
another's country and cul~. Iran has
shifted policy by accepting the idea of
Israeli-Palestinian peace tlÛkS, curbing
Iraqi oil smuggling and inviting cultural
exchanges with America. After
Iran warnùy greeted an American wres-.
ding team in February, Mr. Clinton
acknowledged the gesture by receiving
the wresders at the White House.
These may seem modest steos. but
they required a fair degree of courage
by both leaders. Mr. Clinton still faces
strong opposition in Congress to improved
relations and knows that a misstep
with Tehran could hand Republicans
a foreign policy issue in this
year's congressionalelectioos. President
Khatami, for his part, must contend
with the conservative clerics who still
hold supreme authority in Iran and lUe
wary ofhis leadership in general and his
opening to Washington in particular.
Even now he is restrained from opening
direct ta1ks with the White House.
The benefits ofbetter relations could
be significant for both countries. For
America, the military containment and
economic isolation of Iraq would be
gready simplified. Mideast peace
talks, if they can be revived, would
unfold in a less hostile regional environment,
and Syria would feel pres-
de la Prensa-Basm Ozeti
sure to bargain on realistic tenns. Tensions
between America and Europe
:over energy investments in Iran would
be defused, and more economical
pipeline routes would be feasible for
oil and gas from newly developed
fields in the Caspian basin.
With an end to American pressure,
Iran could obtain cheaper capital to
develo~ its energy resources and the
rest of Its economy. It could also draw
greater profit from its geographic location
as the most direct route for oil
and gas pipelines from the Caspian to
Turkey, Europe and beyond. Better
.relations with Washington would
leave Iran less isolated and vulnerable
to Iraq, and better able to exercise its
influence as a regional power.
Obstacles remain, but mending relations
between America and Iran is
worth some work and some risk for Mr.
Khàtarni and Mr. Clinton.
- THE NEW YORK TIMES.
The Trouble to Remove in Iraq Is Sf!ddam;
WASHINGTON - The ~ m- ByThomasL.Friedman Uwmself ~
' spectors entered the room mane
of Saddam Hussein' s "palaces." What It is almost funny, ibis charade, but
n~
was in this room, wbat was its function'!
the inspectors asked the Iraqi
not hu~ely.
The mspectors had eliminated much aggression that brought the Gulf War,
~
monitors crowding around them. of Saddam' s chemical, biological and never deigned to conceal his plans to
"Office of the special security or- nuclear weaponry and were close to the dominate the Middle East.
ganization," was the answer. Then rest. they were looking mosdy for But .~~'s srow.ing pqwer at the
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how come there is nota piece ofpaper, documents.- d~uments that could United Nations has focused some U.S. ~
a document. of any kind to be found ~eal. Iraqi testing of chemical and minds on the reality that America faces :z;
here'! The Iraqis just did not know. blologlc~ ~eapons on live humans, - not inspection, not .sanctions, but Q
Thepa1aceslUegreatcompoundsthat lead to mIssmg warheads, disclose or- Saddam. In an article for the Los ~
include offices and warehoQses of Sad- ~ers for chemicals that make the chem- Angeles ~ Syndicate, Henry Kis- :<
dam' s military, wèapon-production and ~cals~t make people dead. So foiling singer put it entirely straight and clear: ~
security organizations. As part of a deal
with UN Secretary-General Kofi Anms~on
~hing
b~ sanitizing sites and atnon-mspectors
to the inspec-
"After all that has passed between
Saddam Hussein and the U.S., no deal
~
nan last month, Saddam gave inspectors bon team were important to Saddam. is conceivable no matter what Saddam
permission to enter the compounds Sometimes inspec~rs tried to save does regarding inspection. The depth
barred to them for seven years. Nobody face for the United Nations by saying, of this feeling must be understood by
was crude enough to say that under the my, how cooperative the Iraqis had be- f~ign leaders pressing for accommocease-fire
~en~ he signed with the come. ~e truth is ~t after a few days dabon ... If we cannot negotiate with
Gulf War coalibon m 1991 be had no the iraqiS started whittling down even S~ we must try to weaken or, if
right to keep them out for a day. the Annan-Saddam tenns. They began poSSible, to overthrow him. The out-
N~w, in return for his act of grace and skipping appointments, losing keys to come of any crisis with Saddam must
pendmg contracts, he knows that Rus- locked doors, protesting against taking be viewed in terms of its impact on
sia, France, China and the Muslim coun- this picture or that, pushing surveillance that objective. "
tries will push hard to lift the sanctions so tight that it risks accidents. Tile New York Times.
that bave blocked bis military growth.' The inspectors are the system's only
I wonder how diplomats kept a remaining protection. They will not
straight face during the closed UN Se- give Saddam the clearance he needs to
curity Council meetings, when they get sanctions lifted wiless he suddenly
approved the deal that Saddam had decides he does not want weapons of
worked out with Mr. Annan. It bears mass -.destruction after all. But he has
~e ~ of destructi.on of the entire powerful friends at the United Nations,
mspecbon system, which uncovered so and the United States so far has been no
much o~ Saddam's weaponry of mass pillar of constancy against Saddam.
des~cbon - but not all. Once again, Saddam, with the help
FIfSt, Saddam gets away penalty- of UN allies like China, Russia and
free for !taving tieduP. the inspection France, has come out way ahead. As in
sys~ s~ce last f~. Blgge~: 'The sys- every self-made crisis since the end of
tem ISr~~sed to his taste, With ~ small the Gulf War, he has gained prestige by
army of dipl~ts attached to 1ßSpect suckering the United States.
the profess~onal mspectors.
This time Saddarn & Co. made the
And, the kicker: ~en inspectors world concentrate on his campaign
fmally.entered suspect Sites,he had had against the sanctions instead of on the
more bIne than he needed to move out core issue: that Saddarn was and alsuspicious
documents and materials, as ways will be a danger to world ~.
he did in that "security" office. He has never forsworn the kind of
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