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

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro
de la Prensa-Baszn Özeti
Iraq Still Prominent, Hussein Asserts
By Howard Schneider, Washington Post January 18, 2001 ; Page A16
CAIRO, Jan. 17 - Still in power after a decade in which a U.S.-led war destroyed much of his country's military
and U.S.-backed sanctions crippled its economy, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein today reasserted Iraq's place in
the Arab world and linked his country's travails to the Palestinian conflict with Israel.
In a taped, televised speech marking the 10th anniversary of the start of the Persian Gulf War, Hussein appealed
for Arabs to unite against foreign influence in the Middle East and called for the liberation of Palestinian lands
from "the river to the sea" - an allusion to Israel's destruction.
"After the immortal Mother of All Battles, and after the children, youth and the aged of Palestine, men ,and
women, have faced the weapons of the U.S. and Zionism with stones," Hussein said, "can fear find its way to the
heart of any Arab?" The address mingled religious inlagery about the United States and other "followers of Satan"
with pridefullanguage about Iraq's - and his regime's - durability.
"The missiles and bombs of aggression hit everything material and suitable as targets for their weapons," Hussein
said of the allied air bombardment that began 10 years ago today and continued untilland forces pushed Iraqi
invaders out of Kuwait. Despite the punishment, and the economic sanctions that continued after the war, "Iraq
has remained, the people have remained, the army has remained," the Iraqi leader said.
His address omitted the harsh language he has often used in discussing the participation of Egypt, Syria and other
Arab countries in the U.S.-led military coalition that ended Iraq's brief occupation of Kuwait. Instead, he focused
on asserting that Iraq still holds a prominent place among its Arab neighbors. "The Arab nation is our nation,"
Hussein said. 'We belong to it, and it belongs to us. It is our pride and our strength. It is our depth, and Iraq is
its depth." The remarks came at a comparative high point for Hussein and his country. After a decade in which
Iraq's economy has been crushed by sanctions, its grip on portions of its territory has been loosened, and its capital
has been subjected to missile attacks, the country is now enjoying the fruits of stronger oil prices and gradual
but steady political rehabilitation. Hussein himself, the subject of rumors that he is dying of cancer or has suffered
a massive stroke, has frequently been shown on Iraqi television as a picture of strength - meeting with his cabinet
or, at a recent military parade, firing one-handed rifle shots.
With Gulf War memories of his decision to fire Scud missiles at. Israel stilllingering, Hussein is hailed today as a
hero by Palestinians engaged in new clashes with the Jewish state. His donations of cash to the Palestinian cause
have cemented his image in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as the Palestinians' best Arab ally.
He remains estranged from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, which are still wary of Baghdad's repeated territorial threats.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said this week that Kuwait "got what it deserved" when Iraq invaded the
emirate in 1990, because it was undermining Iraq's oil prices and stealing Iraqi oil by drilling underneath their common
border. The president's son, Uday Saddam Hussein, a member of parliament, meanwhile suggested this week
that parliamentary maps be modified to include Kuwait "as part of larger Iraq." But Iraq's isolation from other Arab
states is easing. Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan is in Egypt this week to sign a free trade agreement, and
Iraq has been working with Syria, a traditional foe, on 'restoring a pipeline that could help Iraq further skirt an international
embargo.
The embargo itself, which stilllimits how much oil Iraq can sell and what it can buy with the revenue, luis become
less of a financial and political problem. Between high world oil prices and the easing of U.N. restrictions on the
amount Iraq can sell, Iraqi oil receipts have skyrocketed to the point where the country has $12 billion resting in
U.N.-monitored accounts.
"U.N. sanctions are eroding, and.Saddam thinks he is becoming stronger while the United States is becoming more
isolated," Patrick Oawson, research director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, wrote recently. It suggested
that Iraq's emerging ties with Syria, the pressure it can exert on Jordan and its ability to radicalize Arab public
opinion could pose a renewed threat to Israel. The Iraqi leader is not, however, completely unfettered. At the end of
the war, he agreed to dismantle the country's chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs. He allowed
teams of U.N. weapons monitors to oversee the process; economic sanctions were designed to ensure compliance.
Since Iraq kicked the inspectors out in 1998, that arrangement has been dormant. But Secretary of State-designate
Colin L. Powell, who chaired the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the War, has announced his hope to "energize" sanctions
to ensure Iraqi compliance with the w~apons regime. U.N. officials, meanwhile, are to open new discussions
with Iraq in February about a possible return of inspectors. The U.S. go~ernment has also pledged' $12 million to
help Iraqi opposition groups and recently proposed that the money be used to smuggle humanitarian supplies and
propaganda into Iraq. But Hussein's government insists that the inspectors will never return and scoffs at the notion
that exiled opposition leaders could crack their grip on power.
"Iraq has triumphed over the enemies," Saddam said today. "It will triumph in all the remaining rounds."
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